Most Popular
1500 questions
9
votes
1 answer
What is the significance of the fact that the covered wagons were traveling East at the end of Atlas Shrugged?
At the very end of Atlas Shrugged, a group of covered wagons picks up people who were stranded by the Comet's demise. Is it significant that they're heading east (e.g. that they were somehow "undoing" the progress of the people who contributed to…
EJoshuaS - Stand with Ukraine
- 17,886
- 7
- 39
- 123
9
votes
1 answer
Meaning of "put in all the salt and pepper"
From Chapter 48 of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations:
“Mr. Jaggers was for her [Molly, Mr. Jaggers's maidservant],” pursued Wemmick, with a look full of meaning, “and worked the case in a way quite astonishing. It was a desperate case, and it…
Soyuz42
- 538
- 3
- 12
9
votes
2 answers
Meaning of "as it was, she witnessed minor twinges of the appropriate emotions occurring distantly, as if to some other girl"
This passage is from The Children's Bach by Helen Garner:
Some things, Morty,’ he said, ‘strain a person’s sense of humour.’
He swept through the room. The three of them sat foolishly, with fading smiles. It was dark, and the rain had stopped.…
Viser Hashemi
- 947
- 5
- 10
9
votes
1 answer
Sci-fi short story about not getting into cars with strangers
I read this story in English in the 2000s (although it was probably much older), in a collection or anthology of several short stories by different authors; I think the collections may have been called something along the lines of "Tales of Mystery…
Rand al'Thor
- 72,435
- 26
- 236
- 488
9
votes
3 answers
What would it mean for a 19th-century German soldier to "wear the cross"?
In the first chapter of Theodor Fontane's Effi Briest, which I've started reading online, we are introduced to the character of Baron Geert von Innstetten as follows (emphasis mine):
"Yes, compose yourself and I'll begin. We were speaking of Baron…
Rand al'Thor
- 72,435
- 26
- 236
- 488
9
votes
1 answer
Why is there a courtroom scene?
The Merchant of Venice, Act 4 begins with a courtroom scene. During this scene, the contract between Antonio and Shylock is discussed.
But why is there a courtroom scene at all? Was every contract executed via a courtroom discussion? Antonio…
rosends
- 353
- 1
- 5
9
votes
1 answer
What is the "starry pole" in Blake's "Songs of Experience"?
Here's the beginning of "Introduction" from William Blake's Songs of Experience:
Hear the voice of the Bard,
Who present, past, and future, sees;
Whose ears have heard
The Holy Word
That walked among the ancient trees;
Calling the lapséd soul,
And…
red888
- 193
- 6
9
votes
0 answers
What mechanism does David Weber use to ensure internal consistency of works in the shared Honorverse?
In certain franchises/shared universes, there are well known mechanisms for ensuring internal consistency (E.g. Star Wars has LucasFilm's Holocron/LSG).
David Weber's Honorverse is a shared universe of books/stories, where other writers participate…
DVK
- 4,516
- 17
- 43
9
votes
1 answer
How much of The Song of Wandering Aengus by Yeats is based on Irish folklore?
Yeats was a keen student of Irish folklore and it is clear that the titular character in his poem The Song of Wandering Aengus is based on the pre-Christian Celtic god of love, youth and poetry.
However, little of what happens on the poem can be…
Matt Thrower
- 22,097
- 4
- 63
- 139
9
votes
1 answer
What is the meaning of the rescue of Tashtego?
In Moby Dick, Tashtego falls into the sinking head of a sperm whale from which the crew was extracting the spermaceti; he is saved by Queequeg who cuts the head and extracts Tashtego as if the head was giving birth to him.
This rescue seems…
mattiav27
- 307
- 1
- 9
9
votes
1 answer
How did Ibsen's writing in A Doll's House influence the James Joyce character Molly Bloom?
How did Ibsen's writing in A Doll's House influence the James Joyce character Molly Bloom? Richard Ellmann in his book James Joyce mentions Joyce reading and getting influenced by Ibsen many times:
He became more actively different from his parents…
MikeRoger
- 396
- 3
- 11
9
votes
1 answer
How many children had Lady Macbeth?
In Macbeth, when the eponymous hero is hesitating to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth urges him forward to the murder. She memorably says:
I have given suck, and know
How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my…
verbose
- 26,907
- 2
- 63
- 159
9
votes
1 answer
Why are some people dissatisfied with the titling of "The Red Wheelbarrow"?
I have read that many critics have been dissatisfied with the modern titling of XXII from Spring and All by William Carlos Williams as "The Red Wheelbarrow". Neil Easterbrook was displeased with the titling because he felt that it set the reader up…
Benjamin
- 6,053
- 2
- 30
- 76
9
votes
2 answers
What does "It is not meet" mean in "Idylls of the King"?
From Idylls of the King: The Passing of Arthur by Alfred Tennyson:
To him replied the bold Sir Bedivere:
'It is not meet, Sir King, to leave thee thus,
Aidless, alone, and smitten through the helm—
A little thing may harm a wounded man;
Yet I thy…
girraiffe
- 201
- 1
- 5
9
votes
1 answer
Searching for a sci-fi short story: three robots sent as ambassadors to prevent an interplanetary war
I remember reading a short story about three robots sent as ambassadors to (I think) Mars. It was an attempt by Earth to prevent a Martian invasion or war.
The robots arrived in a spaceship designed for them - no defence from lack of atmosphere etc,…
Lindsey
- 99
- 3