What ‘The Great Gatsby’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’ show us about the American Dream

The American Dream is a popular concept in American literature, and perhaps an even more popular study topic for high school English students.

Most people can’t tell these 4 literary devices apart: your guide to paradox, oxymoron, antithesis & contrast

Following my post on comparative devices (simile, metaphor, analogy and conceit), some readers have asked me to write a post on contrasting devices.

In my post on Macbeth, I propose that one of the reasons for our long-standing fascination with Macbeth the character is his outsized boldness.

Across the ages, war has always been a popular theme in poetry.

A question I often get about writing is whether it is ever ‘okay to write in first person’.

One of the first literary devices most English students learn is ‘simile’, which is derived from the Latin word ‘similis’, meaning ‘like’.

Like repetition, rhythm is another one of those seemingly innocent literary devices: simple in concept, but surprisingly challenging to analyse.

Before we get down and nerdy to literary business, here’s a synopsis of this post:

In this post, I want to address one of the biggest FAQs I get about the study and appreciation of literature:

For any English student, the ability to spot figurative devices and explain to what effect they are used is an important skill.