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Introduction Pearl Sydenstricker Buck (1892–1973) was an American novelist, humanitarian, and Nobel Prize laureate. Her works brought the culture, struggles, and everyday lives of Chinese people to the Western world with unprecedented depth and empathy. Best known for her novel The Good Earth (1931), Buck used her writing to humanize the East for Western readers at a time when Asia was often misunderstood. Her works reflect themes of family, tradition, social change, and cultural identity, making her one of the most influential literary figures of the twentieth century. Early Life and Education Pearl S. Buck was born on June 26, 1892 , in Hillsboro, West Virginia, but she spent most of her childhood in China , where her parents worked as missionaries. Growing up in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu Province, she learned both English and Chinese and developed a unique perspective that blended Eastern and Western cultures. Her bilingual upbringing and direct experience with Chinese customs and tr...

Introduction Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was one of the most prominent and controversial literary figures of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Celebrated for his vivid storytelling, memorable characters, and rhythmic poetry, he gave readers some of the most enduring works in English literature, including The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and the inspirational poem If— (1910). Kipling’s writings combined imagination with moral lessons, reflecting both his fascination with adventure and his complex relationship with the British Empire. In 1907, he became the first English-language writer and the youngest person to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, praised for his originality, narrative power, and style. Early Life and Education Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born on 30 December 1865 in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, where his father, John Lockwood Kipling, worked as an art teacher. His early childhood in India, surrounded by the sights, sounds, and cultural diversity...

Introduction Sinclair Lewis (1885–1951) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright who became the first American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1930. He is best remembered for his sharp social critiques of American middle-class life, materialism, and hypocrisy. Through novels like Main Street (1920), Babbitt (1922), and Elmer Gantry (1927), Lewis exposed the conformity, shallowness, and contradictions of American society while using humor, satire, and realism. His works continue to be studied not only for their literary merit but also for their vivid portrayal of American culture during the early twentieth century. Early Life and Education Harry Sinclair Lewis was born on February 7, 1885 , in Sauk Centre, Minnesota, a small Midwestern town that later became the inspiration for his novel Main Street . He grew up in a strict but educated household. His father was a physician, and his mother died when Lewis was young, leaving him with a sense of loneline...

Burlesque is a literary term that refers to a form of writing (or performance) that mocks, imitates, or exaggerates serious subjects, styles, or characters in order to create humor, satire, or ridicule. The word comes from the Italian burla (meaning joke or mockery). Burlesque can either make fun of something serious by treating it lightly , or make something trivial seem very serious . It often works by using incongruity , where the style and the subject do not match. Types of Burlesque High Burlesque – Treating a trivial or silly subject in a serious, elevated, or “high” style (mock-epic, mock-heroic). Example: Alexander Pope’s The Rape of the Lock – a mock-epic that treats the trivial incident of a stolen lock of hair as though it were a grand, heroic battle. Low Burlesque – Treating a serious subject in a low, crude, or comic style. Example: Cervantes’ Don Quixote – where the noble traditions of chivalry are presented through the foolish actions of Don Quixote....

Introduction Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586) was one of the most important figures of the English Renaissance. He was not only a poet but also a courtier, soldier, diplomat, and patron of the arts. Often remembered as the model of the “Renaissance gentleman,” Sidney combined intellectual brilliance with military courage and moral seriousness. Although his literary career was brief, his works— Astrophel and Stella , The Defence of Poesy , and Arcadia —had a profound influence on Elizabethan literature and helped shape English poetic tradition. His life, cut short in battle at the age of thirty-one, added to his reputation as both a literary genius and a national hero. Early Life and Education Sidney was born on 30 November 1554 at Penshurst Place in Kent into a distinguished aristocratic family. His father, Sir Henry Sidney, was a statesman and his mother, Mary Dudley, came from a powerful noble house. He received an excellent education at Shrewsbury School and later at Christ Church,...

Introduction Horace, whose full name was Quintus Horatius Flaccus, was one of the greatest poets of ancient Rome. He lived during the first century BCE and became one of the central figures of Latin literature in the age of Augustus. Horace is remembered for his graceful poetry, his philosophy of moderation, and his ability to capture human emotions and everyday life with elegance and simplicity. His works, especially his Odes , Epodes , Satires , and Epistles , have influenced Western literature for centuries, shaping not only Roman poetry but also Renaissance and modern writers. Early Life and Education Horace was born on December 8, 65 BCE, in Venusia, a small town in southern Italy. His father was a freedman, which means he had once been a slave but later gained freedom. Despite their humble background, Horace’s father made sure his son received an excellent education. Horace was sent to Rome to study literature and rhetoric, and later he went to Athens to study philosophy and ...

Introduction Aristotle was one of the greatest philosophers of ancient Greece and a towering figure in the history of human thought. He was born in 384 BCE in Stagira, a small town in northern Greece, and he died in 322 BCE in Euboea. A student of Plato and tutor to Alexander the Great, Aristotle made contributions to almost every field of knowledge, including philosophy, science, logic, politics, ethics, biology, rhetoric, and literary criticism. His works laid the foundation of Western intellectual tradition, and his method of reasoning shaped the way knowledge was studied for centuries. Early Life and Education Aristotle was born into a family of physicians. His father, Nicomachus, served as a court doctor to the king of Macedon. This background gave Aristotle an early interest in biology and the study of nature. At the age of seventeen, Aristotle went to Athens to study at Plato’s Academy, the most famous school of philosophy in Greece. He remained there for about twenty years...

Introduction Thomas Hardy was one of the most important figures of late nineteenth and early twentieth-century English literature. He was both a novelist and a poet, remembered for his tragic vision of life, his deep connection to rural England, and his portrayal of human struggles against fate and social conventions. Hardy was born on 2 June 1840 in Higher Bockhampton, Dorset, and he died on 11 January 1928. His novels, such as Tess of the d’Urbervilles and Far from the Madding Crowd , earned him fame and controversy, while his poetry established him as one of the great modern voices who bridged Victorian realism and early twentieth-century modernism. Early Life and Education Hardy was the son of a stonemason, Thomas Hardy Sr., and Jemima Hand, who encouraged his love for literature. He grew up in rural Dorset, surrounded by the countryside that later became the fictional “Wessex” in his novels and poems. Because of limited family means, he could not pursue higher university educ...

Early Life and Background Fanny Burney, also known as Frances Burney, was born on June 13, 1752, in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England. She was the daughter of Dr. Charles Burney, a music historian and composer, and Esther Sleepe Burney. Her mother died when she was very young, and the loss affected her deeply. She did not attend formal schools but instead educated herself by reading widely in her father’s library. She studied Shakespeare, Milton, and other major writers, and she developed an early passion for writing. This independent learning gave her originality as a writer and confidence to shape her own style. Evelina: The First Success Her first novel, Evelina, or The History of a Young Lady’s Entrance into the World , appeared in 1778 under anonymity because women writers often faced criticism. The story follows Evelina Anville, a young woman uncertain of her identity, who learns to navigate London society with its elegance and its dangers. The novel’s humor, vivid characters, an...

Ben Jonson’s play The Alchemist is one of the finest comedies of the Renaissance period. The play was first performed in 1610 and it reflects Jonson’s sharp wit, his knowledge of human weakness, and his ability to expose greed, hypocrisy, and foolishness. The play is a satire on the gullibility of people who allow themselves to be deceived when their minds are filled with greed and ambition. The play begins in the house of Lovewit, a gentleman who has left London because of the plague. During his absence, his servant Face takes advantage of the situation by teaming up with two clever tricksters, Subtle, who pretends to be an alchemist, and Dol Common, who plays different roles to fool people. The three of them plan to cheat gullible citizens by offering them wealth, power, or pleasure through the false promises of alchemy. Jonson gives us a clear picture of their fraudulent scheme in the opening quarrel between the three characters. Subtle accuses Face of being ungrateful, while Fac...