Admire Literature

 She Stoops to overcome opens with a prologue during which an actor mourns the death of the classical comedy at the altar of sentimental, “mawkish” comedy. He hopes that Dr. Goldsmith can remedy this problem through the play close to being presented. Act I is filled with set-up for the remainder of the play. Mr. and Mrs. Hardcastle sleep in an old house that resembles an inn and that they are expecting the arrival of Marlow, son of Mr. Hardcastle’s old flame, and a possible suitor to his daughter Kate. Kate is extremely on the brink of her father, such a lot so that she dresses plainly within the evenings (to suit his conservative tastes) and fancifully within the mornings for her friends. Meanwhile, Mrs. Hardcastle’s niece Constance is within the old woman’s care, and has her small inheritance (consisting of some valuable jewels) held until she is married, hopefully to Mrs. Hardcastle’s spoiled son from an earlier marriage, Tony Lumpkin. the matter is that neither Tony nor Constan...

Major Characters Dr. Faustus The main character of the story, Faustus is a professor of divinity at Wittenberg, as well as a renowned physician and scholar. Not satisfied with the limitations of human knowledge and power, he begins to practice necromancy. He eventually makes a deal with Lucifer (commonly referred to as the "Faustian bargain"), whereby he exchanges his soul for twenty-four years of the devil’s service to him. In the next twenty-four years, Faustus obtains all kinds of knowledge and power through his devil-servant, Mephistophilis. They travel all over the world, playing practical jokes on peasants and even the Pope, displaying magical powers to the emperor and the nobility; Faustus wishes and whims are played out in his various adventures. At times Faustus experiences doubt and despair over having sold his soul to the devil. He comes close to repenting at several crucial points in the story, but never follows through. Even to the end, Faustus refuses to fully r...

 The Chorus introduces the story of Faustus, born to lowly parents in Rhodes, going off to study at Wittenberg while staying with a kinsman. Faustus is gifted in divinity, but his self-conceit leads him to consider necromancy. Faustus sits in his study, analyzing different academic disciplines. He concludes that although divinity is the subject that is best, it does not satisfy him. He would rather pursue black magic so that he can be his own god. He orders his servant, Wagner, to get his friends Valdes and Cornelius, who are known to be practitioners of magic. Before they come, the Good Angel and the Evil Angel appear. Although Faustus is not aware of their presence, the Good Angel tries to discourage him, while the Evil Angel urges him to go forward. Valdes and Cornelius come and they offer to teach him the basics of magic. Through magic, Faustus conjures up the devil, Mephistophilis. Because Faustus has blasphemed against God in his incantations, Mephistophilis has come to see i...

William Shakespeare – a brief biography William Shakespeare was born on 23 April 1564 to John and Mary Shakespeare at Stratford- upon-Avon. He went to King’s New School, a local grammar school, and is said to have left  formal education at the age of fifteen or sixteen. Nothing much is known about his life from  1585 to 1590s and these years are hence termed “the lost years”. His emergence as a  playwright took place during the 1590s and by 1598, Shakespeare was renowned for writing  tragedy, comedy and history plays, besides poetry. He flourished as a playwright through the  Elizabethan and Jacobean ages, and died in 1616. The first anthology of his works, known as  the first folio, was published posthumously, in 1623.   The story A play in five acts, the first scene of Henry IV, Part I begins with a conversation between the  King, Westmoreland and Sir Walter Blunt in the palace. The King begins his dialogue with  an acknowledgement of the d...

A Midsummer Night's Dream takes place in Athens. Theseus, the Duke of Athens, is planning his marriage with Hippolyta, and as a result he is a planning a large festival.Egeus enters, followed by his daughter Hermia, her beloved Lysander, and her suitorDemetrius. Egeus tells Theseus that Hermia refuses to marry Demetrius, wanting instead to marry Lysander. He asks for the right to punish Hermia with death if she refuses to obey.Theseus agrees that Hermia's duty is to obey her father, and threatens her with either entering a nunnery or marrying the man her father chooses. Lysander protests, but is overruled by the law. He and Hermia than decide to flee by night into the woods surrounding Athens, where they can escape the law and get married. They tell their plan to Helena, a girl who is madly in love with Demetrius. Hoping to gain favor with Demetrius, Helena decides to tell him about the plan. Some local artisans and workmen have decided to perform a play for Theseus as a way ...

On a Venice street at night, Iago tells Roderigo that Othello, the Moorish general of the Venetian army, has eloped with Roderigo’s beloved Desdemona, daughter of Brabantio. Iago reassures Roderigo that he hates Othello because he made Michael Cassio his lieutenant while Iago remains the general’s ensign, a position of lower rank. Iago and Roderigo wake Brabantio and tell him of Desdemona’s flight. Brabantio storms off with officers to apprehend Othello. Brabantio arrives at Othello’s lodging at the same time as messengers who request the general’s presence before the Duke on state matters. The enraged Brabantio demands justice against Othello, and they depart to have audience with the Duke.   The Duke and members of the Senate discuss news that the Turks have launched a fleet to attack Venetian- controlled Cyprus. Brabantio accuses Othello of using witchcraft to ensnare his daughter. Othello describes their courtship; Desdemona is sent for and confirms that she freely gave her...

 The Scarlet Letter, novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850. It is considered a masterpiece of American literature and a classic moral study. The novel is set in a village in Puritan New England. The main character is Hester Prynne, a young woman who has borne a child out of wedlock. Hester believes herself a widow, but her husband, Roger Chillingworth, arrives in New England very much alive and conceals his identity. He finds his wife forced to wear the scarlet letter A on her dress as punishment for her adultery. After Hester refuses to name her lover, Chillingworth becomes obsessed with finding his identity. When he learns that the man in question is Arthur Dimmesdale, a saintly young minister who is the leader of those exhorting her to name the child’s father, Chillingworth proceeds to torment him. Stricken by guilt, Dimmesdale becomes increasingly ill. Hester herself is revealed to be a self-reliant heroine who is never truly repentant for committing adultery with the...