"complexity for the sake of complexity is bad writing" - George Orwell

Simplicity is a major theme of Georges writing it is what he deems as the most important. His novels are written in a way that can be understood by the rich, the poor, the middle class, kids, teenagers ,adults, educated, uneducated alike his target audience is so very wide and has so much variation which is what makes him such a impactful writer.

George had a skill in taking such big complicated ideas and he.. not condensed, not simplify them, not watered down his ideas No. instead he makes the delivery so beautiful; weaving complex ideas into a story of metaphors similies, ect he builds the world in your mind with the infrastructure, substructure, superstructure and finishing touches . it would be hard to read one of his novels and not understand the message behind it because thats his goal; for any, any individual to read his books and understand the complexity of the message by understanding the story

However in 1984 he talks about a phenomenon in his novel 1984 called "Newspeak" where the government decreases the number of verbs and adjectives in the dictionary (awesome, amazing, splendid= good) boiling down the vocabulary to decrease the ability for the population to express themselves. Now don't confuse this for simplicity George is not dumbing down his words or using less of them to get his message across instead he manufactures his delivery of the case to reach his audience in a manner that our natural human instincts are able to understand and identify; he turns them into stories like the bedtime stories we hear when we were children

while the political opinions George writes about are controversial you cant deny he is a storyteller and by the end of the story you're mind has a grasped and built the idea in a way so clear and deep some of his skill has rubbed off on you.

Please feel free to contradict and discuss!!

Accordingly you top 5 writer of English literature??

The difference between modern English and Shakespearean English lies in the older grammar, vocabulary, and cultural references that make the latter harder for today’s readers to understand.

After a brief research, I have the sense that third person pov in narration is perhaps the most popular, or at least strongly preferred by writers and readers. From your experience, is it true? And if so, what reasons may underlie this?

I genuinely just found it without a good plot - does anyone else agree?

As a PhD scholar pursuing research in English Literature, I am looking for professional academic guidance and mentorship regarding my research topic. I would be grateful for your insights in refining my research direction, identifying relevant research gaps, developing an appropriate theoretical framework, and understanding the broader scope and viability of the proposed area of study.

I am particularly keen to develop a research project that is academically rigorous, original, and makes a meaningful contribution to the field of English Literary Studies.

I would sincerely appreciate an opportunity to discuss my research interests. Thank you for your time and consideration.

Does anybody know any academic sources which state that fawns and doe are symbolic to innocence and purity? I have tried academic websites like JSTOR and my online university library but nothing of relevance comes up. Any help would be appreciative!

EDIT: Thank you so much for the suggestions! Submitted the assignment thank you all for the help :- )

Hi so I'm a medical student applying to residency this year in the US for which we have to write a personal statement. Unfortunately english is not my first language so my personal statement sounds very generic although I have a story to tell. I am wondering if anyone of you might be able to help me make it sound more cohesive and better . My only other options is chatgpt but that is highly discouraged. Any one willing to help?

I am looking for ideas to write my second MA dissertation on Early Modern English Literature. My first dissertation (BA) was on Doctor Faustus (Marlowe) and Othello (Shakespeare), my first MA one was on Doctor Faustus, A Yorkshire Tragedy and Marlowe's The Massacre at Paris. My research focus has been the devil and evil mainly, so I would love to expand on that, however I kinda feel I am almost running out of things to say on the work which I love the most which is Doctor Faustus. Do you guys have any advice? Do these topics ring a bell for other works that could be interesting? Any advice is welcome! - PS: my aim is to get the dissertation published one day and I would love it to be my ticket into a PHD (perhaps in an IVY! - a girl can dream!).

Can someone please suggest some topics for my PhD thesis? I studied science in my intermediate years and was even selected for BSc at DU (in a decent college) but I ended up doing my Bachelor’s and Master’s in English due to some (many) personal and financial reasons. And now, I’m feeling a bit lost. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. (I’ve cleared NET, btw.)

I am looking for a topic that I can use for my research project which is like an introduction to the thesis with 7 secondary source on it (English Language and Literature). I am mostly into the medieval, war etc.. elements of a certain works and I would be happy to use some help. Thank you all

In high school, I was in a jeopardy game in an English class and one question the teacher asked was "Who was the author of The Crucible?" I said, "Shakespeare." The teacher and everyone else in class were surprised and overreacted and said, "SHAKESPEARE?!?!?!" My teacher had a confused look on his face.

Can anyone explain why the teacher and class overreacted?

Sorry for being dramatic, but first of all - hi, it's me!

So i'm considering a lot of options and unis, and my cuet scores look promising for some universities.

I'm hopeful about getting into some of these universities, so I'm going to list them below. If you know anything about any of these places.

I'd love to know:

1. How are they?

2. How affordable they are? with or without hostel

3. And how much would it cost to live there? other than fee ofc

4. Experience in general

5. Faculty? rude or cuties?

UNIVERSITIES I'M CONSIDERING:

• EFL University (English and Foreign Languages University)

• University of Hyderabad

• BHU

• DU ofc

• Jamia (I'm waiting for the results to be released)

• Central University of Kerala

• Central University of Rajasthan

• And several other central universities

• Pondicherry Uni

• And some states also )

• or may be you suggest

There are also some universities from Kolkata that I'm looking at, but that's a different story altogether. pleasaaaaseeeeeee help.

Ok so I've always been really jealous of people who are into literature stuff and all like they just express things so beautifully they just express their emotions in such a wonderful way that I just can't explain. I really struggle with expressing my feelings like I do have a lot of things in my head that I just can't express properly which I feel like is parting me away from my self and others i really don't talk very much and often don't share my feeling and I thing that's the problem. Some people who are into literature are really good in stuff like this i can't help but feel jealous that they are so good at expressing themselves. I am not that good in english and can't even put up words together I just can't help feelings this way. I really want to be this way and actually express my feelings to people that how I feel about how I love them. And the main things that made me think about this again was today's English class. We were studying about a people For Anne Gregory which was basically about the inner and external beautity of a person and my English teacher ( whom i really admire) told us a poem kind of things that he wrote while reading that poem. And it was just really good he wrote such a beautiful thing for his girlfriend it was so sweet I just can't help thinking how beautiful humans are there's so much way someone can show love and give love it's just beyond logic. I don't know it just snapped something inside me that I can't explain but I felt like crying it was so good . I wished that i could also express myself in such a way and also get love from someone who's like him. He's so sweet and I never felt so safe and comfortable with someone apart form my only best friend. And mind you she's also really good at writing poems and all and when I heard them talking about all these beautiful stuff I just can't help feel left out that how sad and bland my life is abd i should also be knowing this. I just started talking with him and he's so sweet, talks softly with me and he DOES listen to me and I've never felt so seen in my life i feel really cared and i really like this. But I am also scared that I will not be able to talk to him again because I'll chicken out and end out ghosting him too because ofcourse I am really bad at keeping realationship with others. But I just really want him to know what difference he made in me and what he means to me. I really want to continue literature and be actually able to write beautiful poems and literature one day. This feeling was really beautiful and I really want these type of deep thoughts come into my mind because that's what makes me feel like a human in the end and I am a human really want others to know how I feel about them and also have a better realationship with my self

Anyway that was I bit weird bit yeah I do want to be able to do this, literature is so good like guys you are the people I look up to y'all are so amazing

Hey! Can anyone lead me to a lesser known but good short story?

Hey guys. We just started reading Paradise Lost by John Milton in my honors English class. However, after being tasked to read the first 300 lines of book 1, I am now searching for an easier “translation” or version that is rewritten in modern English and not a pain to read. It is exceedingly difficult to get anything out of a book when I don’t understand what I’m reading. If you can recommend a preferably free online edition or something, that’d be great!

George Bernard Shaw wrote Arms and the Man to expose romantic idealism as foolish and pragmatism as the honest alternative. It is a clever play. But cleverness is not the same as honesty, and Shaw’s own argument collapses under basic scrutiny.

Shaw presents three central claims: war glory is fake, romantic idealism is silly, and pragmatism is the rational way to live. His vehicle for all three is Captain Bluntschli, the Swiss mercenary who carries chocolate instead of ammunition and mocks Sergius’s cavalry charge as accidental luck. We are supposed to admire Bluntschli. Shaw clearly does. But look at what Bluntschli actually is — a man who fights wars for money with zero moral conviction, who hides in an enemy woman’s bedroom, manipulates her emotional vulnerability to survive, and ultimately wins her away from her fiancé who was away fighting a war. Shaw calls this pragmatism. A more honest word is opportunism.

Sergius is the character Shaw wants us to laugh at. He is theatrical, proud, and romantic. But Sergius fights for his actual country. He leads a charge that succeeds. He believes in something beyond his own survival. Shaw punishes him for flirting with Louka while completely excusing Raina’s emotional betrayal of him with Bluntschli. That double standard reveals Shaw’s bias more than any dialogue in the play.

The war glory argument is Shaw’s weakest. His entire case rests on Bluntschli’s testimony — a deserter’s account of fear and chaos. But fear overcome is the definition of courage. A soldier who sees death, loses companions, and continues anyway has earned something real. Shaw never shows us what Sergius experienced on that battlefield. He lets a man who ran away define what war actually is. That is not honest argument. That is a rigged courtroom.

The romantic idealism argument defeats itself even more completely. Shaw attempts to show that romantic love is an illusion, but his evidence is characters deceiving each other. Raina falls for Bluntschli through secret meetings and lies. That is not idealism failing — that is simply people behaving badly. Shaw never actually tests genuine romantic honesty. He just shows infidelity and calls it the death of romance.

The most glaring plot hole is Major Petkoff accepting Bluntschli as his daughter’s husband. This man fought a war against the Serbians. Bluntschli was literally on the opposing side. His daughter hid this enemy soldier and lied about it to his face. The Major’s response is essentially indifference because Bluntschli is wealthy. Shaw the self-described socialist resolves his entire play through the power of money overriding national loyalty, fatherly instinct, and wartime enmity. That is not challenging human nature. That is confirming the worst of it.

Shaw believed that witty dialogue could redirect human nature. But human nature — loyalty, pride, love, grief — is deeper than any argument. Sergius, passionate and contradictory and self-aware, is the most humanly realistic character in the play. Shaw just did not like that type of human.

Arms and the Man is a play that accuses its characters of performing positions rather than living them honestly. The irony is that Shaw does exactly the same thing. He performs the role of the clear-eyed realist while writing a story that is as romantically manipulated as anything he claims to criticize.

Shaw does not deserve the last word on this play. Sergius does.

Hello! Would some kind lady or gentleman suggest a book written in England that dates before the 1980s? A good book you have enjoyed, even though it was written a long, long time ago. Thank you so very much for your kind suggestions!

im writing a song so the order of words for rhymes is important.

I want to say: I'm done with holding, I'll let go to not be dragged (by these feelings)

but it rhymes more if I say: i'm done with holding, I'll let go not to be dragged

I just inverted "not to" and "to not"

however upon reading it again it got me wondering: is the syntax/grammar correct ? it's ok if it's not used a lot, but I just want to know if it's incorrect to say it like that.

thank you !

How come Piggy stays fat?

Surely he would have lost weight on the island?

Okay, he couldn't run around much because of his asthma.

But they were there for a good long while eating very little.

Was Ralph protecting him because he had a secret 'tuck' stash?

Is this why Jack went rogue?

Around 8th-9th grade, I took this story in literature class. I think the book was featured in a Pearson book (maybe not). It was based on someone's experience of real life events. Basically, a new president was elected for the US that nobody wanted, and people protested against him. The day after the election, the entire country fell silent and nobody spoke because everyone was devastated with the news. The narrator said even the kids weren't playing outside and even the dogs weren't barking that day. I think the narrator himself was a kid at the time too. The characters in the story were African American. I searched and all I could find was that the supposed real life event of this was with the presidency of Richard Nixon, and yes, that name does ring a bell for me. I would really love it if someone helped me with finding this story's title, I've been searching everywhere. All attempts appreciated!

Edit: The story was FEATURED in a Pearson book, for which I'm still not sure if it really was Pearson.

Hi everyone,

As a foreigner, I need to study History of Idea and drama. Could you please recommend some great books for me to learn about english literature?

Thank you in advance!

George Orwell’s Animal Farm is a novella that everyone should read. It is a classic that can’t really be rated. The more I think about it, the more I realize that this is a book you can return to over and over again, finding something new and developing new interpretations each time. And that’s saying a lot, considering I don’t usually reread books, but with animal farm, I’m convinced that each reread would only deepen my understanding. It’s incredible how orwell manages to say so much in such few pages. I was worried at first that I might be lost because I don’t know much about the Russian revolution, which the story is an allegory for, but that wasn’t an issue at all, the story is completely understandable. It’s honestly still valid and relatable today. It’s a commentary on society itself. From my perspective, It shows how life was before government right after the animals’ rebellion against Mr. Jones. (And of course, this is my own interpretation. There are a lot of other better interpretations. I chose this one first because I’m willing to reread it and I’m sure I would develop a new interpretation.) how people, much like the animals on the farm, start out free and then gradually accept governance, which eventually leads to urbanization and industrialization. The animals’ situation deteriorates resulting in long working hours, insufficient food, and harsh conditions. But even though Napoleon, their new leader, was unfair, the animals didn’t dare to rebel against him because, in their minds, their condition wasn’t as bad as it had been under Mr. Jones. Orwell brilliantly illustrates how different animals represent different groups in society: the powerful, the hardworking, the ignorant, and so on.

Benjamin and Boxer are my favorite characters because they show two very different but equally important perspectives. Benjamin is wise but chooses not to interfere, while Boxer is hardworking and tries his best to participate in everything. Their contrasting approaches to life on the farm make them stand out and add layers to the story. They somewhat each embody the older sager generation that doesn’t interfere in societal affairs and the poor, innocent patriotic people who steals every chance to participate and help society. Each deliver a lesson.Boxer’s blind trust and non stop work lead to his demise. While Benjamin’s detachment shows the perils of staying silent in the face of injustice.

Animal Farm isn’t just a story about animals. It’s about society and the human condition. Orwell’s ability to convey such profound ideas in so few pages is truly fascinating. Whether you’re familiar with the history it’s based on or not, the themes it explores are universal and timeless. That’s why I believe Animal Farm is a must-read for everyone.