Margaret Laurence: Life and Works, Including ‘A Bird in the House’
Margaret Laurence
Margaret Laurence was born in Neepawa, Manitoba, in 1926. She graduated from Winnipeg’s United College in 1947. From 1950 until 1957, she lived in Africa, where she met her husband. During this time, she translated Somali poetry and prose and began her career as a fiction writer with stories set in Africa.
Upon her return to Canada in 1957, she settled in Vancouver, where she devoted herself to fiction with a Ghanaian setting: her first novel, This Side Jordan, and her first collection
Read MoreSpider vs. Bee: A Garden Battle & Legal, Friendship, Communication, and Literary Insights
Spider vs. Bee: A Garden Battle
In a sun-drenched garden, a cunning spider and a busy bee engaged in a fierce battle. The spider, with its lightning-fast reflexes and stealthy approach, sought to snare the bee in its intricate web. The bee, with its agility and potent stinger, aimed to outmaneuver the spider and escape unscathed.
The Spider’s Strategy
- Web of Deceit: The spider spun a complex web, carefully crafted to ensnare the unsuspecting bee.
- Stealthy Approach: The spider patiently waited for the
Challenges Faced by Young Families: Social Support
Family Composition and Initial Challenges
The configuration of this family presents multiple problems and is inherently unstable. The family consists of a young couple who partnered early in life and their minor child. Their youth has hindered their ability to secure sufficient funding to establish or sustain a family, let alone maintain decent housing.
Alterations in Parenting and Marital Disharmony
This family is clearly characterized by an alteration in parenting and marital disharmony. There is
Read MoreMiguel de Unamuno, Pío Baroja, and Azorín: Spanish Literature
Miguel de Unamuno (1864 – 1936)
Born in Bilbao, Miguel de Unamuno studied philosophy and literature in Madrid. He was exiled due to disagreements with the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera and later served as a representative for the Republic. He died in Salamanca and is regarded as one of the most brilliant and profound intellectuals in Spanish culture.
Key Works
Unamuno’s work is an essential reference not only for the Generation of ’98 but for all of Spanish literature. The Basque writer cultivated
Read MoreRealism in Literature: Social Impact and Narrative Techniques
Realism in Literature
Major Impact of Social Changes and Scientific Developments
Realism had a major impact on social changes and scientific developments in the field of art and literature. The bourgeoisie abandoned the ideology of romanticism, which was too exalted, and replaced it with a realistic mindset more appropriate to a period no longer looking for radical changes. Social reality is described as it is and not as it should be. It seeks, above all, objectivity. The writer applies the experimental
Read MoreShakespearean Vocabulary and Phrases: A Comprehensive List
Shakespearean Vocabulary
Vocabulary 1
- Collar: A hangman’s noose
- Marry: A short form of “by the Virgin Mary” and so a mild exclamation
- Drawn: With your sword out
- Pernicious: Destructive
- Adversary: Enemy
- Ere: Before
- Fray: Fight
- Drave: Drove
- Rootheth: Grows
- Made: Moved
- Covert: Hiding place
- Portentous: An indication of evil to come
- Importuned: Asked in an urgent way
- Shrift: Confession
- Cousin: Any relative or close friend
- Vexed: Troubled
- Gall: Something causing bitterness; hate
- Soft: Wait a minute
- Sadness: Seriousness
- Bound: