Poetry > T Poetry > E

Advantages: It is a very interesting look at the bleakness of 20th century life.
Disadvantages: It often uses allusion which may be overlooked by less well read individuals.

T S Eliot was one of the poems I was required to study as part of my A Level course. Initially I met this with typical distain as many students undoubtedly would when faced with poetry. However, upon studying our first poem, which was Prufrock, I saw that this was the work of a poet which I could really relate to. Here was not some work of a distant artist, whose life would have revolved around very different parameters but instead it described the ... Read review

Advantages: The book that the musical 'Cats' was based upon.
Disadvantages: None.

...with illustrations by Nicolas Bentley. Old Possums 'Book Of Practical Cats' is one of my favourite books of T.S.Eliot and it is this book and its cat characters that the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical 'Cats' was based upon. Cats have characters all of their own and they are each unique and individual. My two cats are brother and sister and they are entirely different in character. I have a blue cat which is the male and he is massive, a huge Tomcat, ...
...ever meet. Whereas his sister, who is a tortoiseshell, is dainty and like a princess and she demands special treatment at every turn, much to the dismay of my BlueBoy. They are both entirely different characters, but from the same litter; Much like children, cats need names to suit the type of personality and look that they possess. To call the amazing, beautiful, mysterious, magical, secretive and naughty housecat 'Kitty', is demeaning the many ... Read review

Advantages: Excellent to study, brilliant to read
Disadvantages: Snobbery, too many allusions?

...perplexing and charming. The Waste Land is a bit of a mammoth of a poem, but takes you on a journey through despondency, hope and suffering, and is a must-read, taking up the Holy Grail Legend in a new light. His characters throughout are often depressed souls, whose lives have little purpose, and he tries to show you how spirituality can be your salvation from average, routine, mundane life. At times, however, Eliot loses us with his allusions to ... Read review

Advantages: Powerful and gripping storyline, Great contributions of all characters
Disadvantages: None that I have found

Written by Arthur Miller in the early 1950s during the time of the McCarthyism when the government blacklisted accused communists. Miller was also summoned in court and he wrote this play as a parable and links the Salem witch-hunt and the McCarthy trials which took place nearly 250 years apart. A very powerful play and an excellent one to study for GCSE English Literature for its revoloutionary work in the theatre and its portrayal of the human ...
...man's struggle to find and do what is right by him. With just 4 Acts and 5 important characters, this truly is a masterpiece. Proctor, a hard-working family man finds in the middle of lying and confessing to witchcraft, both of which go against his newly developed religious beliefs. ... Read review

Advantages: Interesting concept behind the plot
Disadvantages: Slow paced

Author: George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright born in 1856, and who died in 1950. Although he write music as well, he most enjoying writng plays, with the prupose of putting across a social message, and making it more memorable with the use of comedy, whilst doing so. Some of his plays addressed the issue of education, religion and government, however one topic he often considered was the exploitation of the working class. As a socialist, ...
...a British socialist movement, writing brochures and leaflets for them. He even married a fellow member of the Society, called Charlotte Payne-Townshend. He was an eloquent orator, and gave speeches on equal rights in politics for men and women, how to live healthy lifestyles, and condemning the attitudes of the rich towards the poor. This socialist attitude of Bernard Shaw influenced many of his writings, including Pygmalion, which has become a classic. ... Read review