“America the Beautiful” isn’t the United States’s national anthem (that honor goes to “The Star-Spangled Banner”), but it’s arguably just as well loved. The song promotes the idea of a bountiful country with spacious skies, amber waves of grain, purple mountains majesty, and a fruited plain. But do you know which scenic lands inspired author Katharine Lee Bates to write the immediately popular lyrics? Or, …
What comes to your mind when you see or hear the word Dracula? Probably vampires, right? But what about ruthless Romanian royalty … or dragons? It’s time for the story of Dracula—the word. Where does the character Dracula come from? We dress up as vampires on Halloween and watch dramas like True Blood thanks in large part to Irish author Bram Stoker, whose 1897 Gothic …
In 2012, as Halloween quickly approached, a Frankenstorm was sneaking up on the East Coast. Forecasters were calling the hurricane headed for New York, New Jersey, and as far inland as Ohio, “Frankenstorm” because (like the monster in Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus) this storm was stitched together from three different weather systems, Hurricane Sandy from the Caribbean, a western early winter …
Sometimes it’s hard not to hum that song that’s stuck in your head. It’s also incredibly satisfying when you’re able to hum it all the way through. What you may not realize, however, is that sometimes as you hum your favorite earworm, you might be humming about a piece of literature, motifs and all. Take a look at the rock songs below, and see which …
When we think of Lewis Carroll, we think of whimsical worlds … and words. The man who penned Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass, “Jabberwocky,“ and countless other timeless poems and works of literature has taken our imaginations to the furthest limits for decades. His stories—published during the mid- to late-1800s—are full of life, adventure, humor, and some of the most fantastical words. You see, …
Many stories have one thing in common: a brave main character who ends up saving the day. But does slaying the dragon or defusing the bomb make this person a hero or a protagonist? And can the two words be used interchangeably? The correct answer to both is yes, with the caveat that the words are not always synonymous. Both nouns have multiple definitions and …
[ tur-uh-vee ]
Dec 5, 2020