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Dante Alleghieri's Divine Comedy "has been translated into the most languages in the world & top printed work after the Bible"?
There is a MOOC about Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy by the The University of Naples Federico II, in which a certain professor named Raffaele Giglio starts a video (published in September 2017) in which he recites some verses from the work.
I…
O0123
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Did Isaac Bashevis Singer write only in Yiddish, or also in English?
While researching another question, a couple of us have found what appears to be a contradiction in the Wikipedia page for Isaac Bashevis Singer. The introductory section of the article says:
He was a leading figure in the Yiddish literary…
Rand al'Thor
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Looking for an old limerick mentioning a character named "Lady Jane"
In 1962, the famous British explorer Eric Shipton named one of the main summits of Cordillera de Darwin in Tierra del Fuego (Patagonia) as "Mount Lady Jane".
After talking to a member of the expedition, it turned out that the name came from a…
Camilo Rada
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What is the 'full' version of The Epic of Gilgamesh?
I looked at a PDF of the Epic of Gilgamesh, and it was very pretty. Then, I decided that I wanted to purchase the physical copy of the book. While the version that I read online, which I thought was very thorough, was only of maybe 30 pages, the…
user31078
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What ticked off Soviet bosses about "Inhabited Island"?
Нет, конечно. Насколько я помню, мы ничего об этом Супермене и не знали тогда. Я уже писал, что Максим был нашим ответом начальству: не хотите серьезной литературы? Пожалуйста! Вот вам залипуха о приключениях комсомольца 22-го века. Почему-то нам,…
DVK
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Does D'Hubert rape the maid at the beginning of Joseph Conrad's 'The Duel'?
Towards the beginning of Joseph Conrad's novella The Duel, the character D'Hubert visits the house of the hussar Feraud, where he tries to obtain information about Feraud's whereabouts from his maid. he is eventually successful:
"Thanks, my dear!…
John Gowers
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Meaning of the title "They Shoot Horses, Don't They?"
The title of Horace McCoy's novel They Shoot Horses, Don't They? is also
the last sentence of the book. When the policeman asks Robert why did he shoot Gloria, he answers with that sentence.
What is the meaning of this enigmatic sentence? How is…
user227
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Are "choose your own adventure" books literature or games?
This question concerns "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. These are books that start out as a normal story, but then ask the reader to make a choice. (The book will say something to the effect of "turn to page 8 if yes, page 9 if no"). In this…
user111
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1 answer
Why is "Oranges and Lemons" supposed to describe child sacrifice?
The popular nursery rhyme "Oranges and Lemons":
Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clement’s.
You owe me five farthings,
Say the bells of St. Martin’s.
When will you pay me?
Say the bells of Old Bailey.
When I grow rich,
Say the bells of…
Yasskier
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What does the Malvolio subplot add to Twelfth Night?
Most of Shakespeare's comedy Twelfth Night is about the group of main characters Viola, Sebastian, Orsino, and Olivia, and the affections requited and unrequited between them. But there's also a subplot surrounding Olivia's steward Malvolio and her…
Rand al'Thor
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What are all the stories left unfinished in The Neverending Story?
A recurring phrase in Michael Ende's The Neverending Story, often seen when some character or characters drop out of the story, is ".. but that's another story and shall be told another time". I believe this is what's being referenced by Bastian,…
Rand al'Thor
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Where is Momo set?
Every time I start to read the opening paragraphs of Michael Ende's Momo, I think for a moment "wait, is this set thousands of years ago and I forgot?" before realising those paragraphs are only backstory to explain the existence of the…
Rand al'Thor
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Did Dante plagiarize the Divine Comedy from Kitab al-Miraj?
By looking up what the Kitab al-Miraj was, you can see many similarities to the Divine Comedy: a traveler's journey through the afterlife.
Is it possible that Dante plagiarized this work?
user4281
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Who was the poet who said something like "Now only God knows (what I meant to say in that poem)"
I remember having an amazing teacher of literature who used to tell us about a symbolist poet (most probably British) who once said something like: "When I wrote this poem, only God and I knew what it meant; now, only God knows." The idea was that…
Gustavson
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What makes a poem a Grook?
I recently learned, while listening to the flow of wisdom, music, and monologue that flows from lauir, that there's a type of poem called a 'Grook'. Quoting from the Wikipedia page:
The grooks are multi-faceted and characterized by irony, paradox,…
Mithical
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