Art

Jonathan D. Spence’s The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (1984) is a biography of 16th-century Jesuit priest Matteo Ricci. Spence is a former professor of history at Yale University and a specialist in Chinese history. The biography is a study of cross-cultural exchange between Ming China and Counter-Reformation Europe. It charts Ricci’s attempts to teach a mnemonic device called the memory palace to scholarly elites in Ming China and his experiences as a missionary in... Read The Memory Palace Of Matteo Ricci Summary

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In Langston Hughes’s “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain,” the writer presents his argument regarding the creative limitations Black Americans face. Initially published in 1926, the essay traces a short, powerful argument that relies both on Hughes’s own identity as an artist as well as his critical observations of US society. As a Black author writing in the early 20th century, Hughes uses the terms “Negro” and “black” interchangeably; this study guide exclusively uses... Read The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain Summary

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“The Nightingale and the Rose” is a children’s story by Irish writer Oscar Wilde, included in his 1888 fairy tale collection, The Happy Prince and Other Tales. Like many of the other stories in the collection, “The Nightingale and the Rose” is a fable examining the nature of love and self-sacrifice. “The Nightingale and the Rose” conforms to the simplistic story structure of traditional fairy tales while subverting many of the genre’s norms.This guide refers... Read The Nightingale and the Rose Summary

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Edgar Allan Poe’s Gothic horror story “The Oval Portrait” is among his shortest narratives. As it recounts the story of the death of a painter’s young wife, it addresses the themes The Relationship Between Art and Life, The Dangers of Obsession, and The Nature of Romantic Relationships. “The Oval Portrait” is actually the 1845 revision of a longer story, “Life in Death,” which Poe wrote in 1842, shortly after his beloved young wife, Virginia, first... Read The Oval Portrait Summary

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The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux is a Gothic mystery novel first published serially in 1910. The novel follows a “ghost” who haunts the Paris Opera and the mysterious incidents attributed to this figure. The characters and the narrator himself try to uncover the secret of this ghost, who is really a masked man infatuated opera singer, Christine Daaé. The novel has been adapted into several formats, most notably a 1925 silent film... Read The Phantom of the Opera Summary

Edgar Allan Poe’s essay “The Philosophy of Composition” first appeared in Graham’s Magazine in 1846. A year earlier, his poem “The Raven” made him a celebrity. In the essay, Poe describes the process he claims to have followed in writing that poem. The essay illustrates Poe’s aesthetic principles according to which a poem must have a certain length, “unity of effect,” and connection among its elements. It also presents his ideas concerning beauty in poetry... Read The Philosophy of Composition Summary

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The Picture of Dorian Gray is a work of Gothic horror by fin-de-siècle Irish writer Oscar Wilde. Originally released as a novella in 1890, it was published in its complete form in 1891 and sparked public outcry for its perceived amorality. The work chronicles the life of Dorian Gray, a fictional 19th-century British aristocrat, in his pursuit of beauty and pleasure—a pursuit he shared with Wilde, who was a leading figure in the aesthetic literary... Read The Picture of Dorian Gray Summary

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Martin McDonagh is a British Irish playwright and filmmaker known for his absurdist black humor. He drew inspiration for The Pillowman from his own personal affinity for fairytales and his realization that many children’s stories have subtly dark undertones. The play is about two brothers, Katurian and Michal, who are under investigation for a series of child murders that bear an uncanny resemblance to some of Katurian’s fictional stories.The Pillowman debuted its first public reading... Read The Pillowman Summary