Category Archives: Literary Essays
A Kite Is a Metaphor
Taking metaphors to a new level! Dimitri scrutinises every stanza in Leonard Cohen’s poem “A Kite Is a Victim”, originally published in the 1961 collection The Spice-Box of Earth.
Courting Disaster
The what, how, and whom of Rape Fantasies! Dimitri discusses Margaret Atwood’s controversial short story, originally published in the 1977 collection Dancing Girls and Other Stories.
Defining the Definers
Defining the Canadian identity! Dimitri discusses three literary classics: Margaret Atwood’s Lady oracle, Margaret Laurence’s The Diviners, and Hugh MacLennan’s Two Solitudes.
Posted in Literary Essays
Tagged Canada, Hugh MacLennan, Lady Oracle, Margaret Atwood, Margaret Laurence, The Diviners, Two Solitudes
Leave a comment
Environmental Concerns
Literal mountains of metaphors! Dimitri discusses the use of setting in Ernest Hemingway’s short story Hills like White Elephants, originally published in the 1927 collection Men without Women.
Fitter Happier and Ready for the Slaughter
Losing one’s humanity… In song! From a literary perspective, Dimitri discusses “Fitter Happier”, the seventh track on Radiohead’s OK Computer.
Life and Other Calamities
In this literary essay, Dimitri discusses Elizabeth Bishop’s poem Crusoe in England, originally published in the 1976 collection Geography III, and briefly compares it to Sylvia Plath’s The Hanging Man.
Mortal Solitudes
Death, loneliness, and the limitations of language! Dimitri discusses the notion of death in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and William Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying.
Posted in Literary Essays
Tagged As I Lay Dying, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby, William Faulkner
Leave a comment
Of Strength and Other Weaknesses
It’s X versus Y! To celebrate the man’s birthday, Dimitri analyses the power dynamics in the one-act play The Stronger by renowned Swedish scribe August Strindberg.
Reading Tips for English Literature
Happy reading week! As a former teacher, Dimitri gives six survival tips for English literature students. That is, other than get a real major!
The Canadian Identity and other Oxymora
The Canadian identity crisis! Dimitri contrasts Ray Smith’s Cape Breton Is the Thought-Control Centre of Canada with Fred Wah’s Diamond Grill and makes a really awkward joke about Canadian stereotypes.