Search
Literary Analysis
Classic literature reveals how resilience can be both a source of strength in troubled times — and a dangerous ideal.
Anne Lamott and Neal Allen join us to discuss why embracing constraints can be the best way to find freedom in the craft.
In this excerpt from Think Like a Mathematician, Junaid Mubeen explains how tiny actions can shape complex systems, revealing the limits of prediction and control in our lives.
These short books offer insights and meditations on timeless themes, without the time commitment.
Kathryn Harkup, chemist and author of V Is for Venom, joins Big Think to discuss why Christie isn’t just a brilliant writer but a unique science communicator.
In the tears and laughter of a single life, you find the grief and joy of humanity.
According to Tolkien, fantasy requires a deep imagination known as "sub-creation." And the genre reflects a fundamental truth of being human.
The fellowship's journey through Middle-earth mirrors the modernization of the English countryside.
Joseph Campbell argued that nearly every myth can be boiled down to a hero’s journey. Was he right?
The Trojan War was fought in Finland and Ulysses sailed home to Denmark, says one controversial theory.
These hard-to-finish books are still worth the effort.
The answer may lie in the power to see far, far beyond yourself.
Want to write a time-travel story? Do so at your own risk.
Six authors, six monumental legacies, and a unique thread connecting them: a solitary novel that shines brightly.
Great writing can unveil the criminal psyche better than any other artistic medium.
Ignoring the legacy of William Shakespeare is difficult for any writer, let alone one as quintessentially English as "Lord of the Rings" author J.R.R. Tolkien.
Take a closer look before judging a book by its title.
An insect? A vermin? An unwanted animal? What in the world is Franz Kafka talking about?
A philosophy of birth can offset the prevailing narrative around extinction and mortality.
You can learn a lot about life through literature's most unrespectable and heinous characters.
"The Man in the High Castle" may be the most beloved alternate history book, but it is not the most historically accurate.
His greatest speeches were loaded with empathy.
Some authors never saw their books score widespread acclaim—or even get published at all.
"Painfully forced" is how one contemporary critic described Fitzgerald's writing style.
Would you want to live in any of these places?
Because Dylan “samples and digests” songs from the past, he has been accused of plagiarism. But imitatio isn't the same.
The Arabic word fatwa can mean “explanation” or “clarification.”
The answer to this question depends on how you define "freedom."
The author of classics like "A Farewell to Arms" and "The Sun Also Rises" is known and loved for his simple yet effective writing style. Here’s how to imitate it.
Although equal parts Hollywood blockbuster and Putinist propaganda, "Trotsky" still manages to capture the good, the bad, and the ugly of Russia’s revolutionary past.