Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. — Proverbs 4:7 Ancient cultures had a special wisdom literature, such as Proverbs or Ecclesiastes in the Bible, a literature which gives direct, sage counsel. To a great extent, however, all of ancient and medieval literature counts as wisdom literature. […]
The Prince and the Pauper is a long-ago case of mistaken identity set in Britain’s glorious crown London, in what we in nowadays-America would call the suburbs. A poor boy (Tom Canty) and a rich boy (Prince Edward Tudor) exchange garments and lives for what they think will be a few vain, fleeting hours that […]
In his play Hamlet, Shakespeare has his protagonist attempt to determine whether the king, his uncle, is guilty of killing his father by organizing a play in which the events of his father’s murder are cast in another setting so that he may observe his uncle’s reaction. This “play within a play” (titled “The Mouse-trap”) […]
Western civilization is often seen as the fusion of the cultures of Jerusalem, Athens, and Rome, baptized in the blood of Christ to form what is known as Christendom. The faith of Christendom, its theological foundation, springs from Jerusalem and the Jewish covenant with God fulfilled in Christ. The rational grounds for Christendom, its philosophical […]
As an English professor, lecturer for the Honors College, and public speaker, I am afforded many opportunities to guide students of all ages and backgrounds through Homer’s Odyssey. One thing I love to emphasize along the way is how committed Odysseus, Telemachus, and the other noble characters are to the laws of xenia. Based on […]
How do we recognize a classic? Tradition has held that classics are works of a very high order that touch on matters of immense importance. They are not mere skilled works of whatever category; they establish a category of their own. In fact, when we examine those works that readers have agreed upon as classics, […]
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” – C. S. Lewis Sweet Home. It’s more than just a lovely sentiment cross-stitched on a pillow. You might say it’s engraved, embedded, etched on our very souls. […]
Many people see The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas as an amazing yarn, but not much more. And indeed, it boasts one of the most intricate, fascinating plots ever devised. But the tug-of-war between free will and Providence, between justice and revenge, between despair and hope make The Count of Monte Cristo much […]
Amidst the gushing river of popular culture, the turbulent climate of politics, media bias, and misinformation, the tornadic winds of modern educational theories, and the volcanic eruption of screens and technology, a pertinent set of questions exists: Why read literature? Of what value is literature? It is helpful to think about the role of literature […]
Every story, long or short, has five dimensions. They are usually called its 1) plot, 2) characters, 3) setting, 4) style, and 5) theme. We could call them respectively, the story’s 1) work, 2) workers, 3) world, 4) words, and 5) wisdom. “Philosophy” means “the love of wisdom.” So a story’s philosophy is one of […]