The Monkeys Paw - Short Story Summary GradeSaver 2025-08-20 | The Whites were once a content, happy family until the monkey’s paw disrupted their lives. Reminiscent of the biblical story of Adam and Eve and drawing parallels to the cautionary tales of Arabian Nights, W. W. Jacob’s short story, "The Monkey’s Paw," serves as a profound warning: be careful what you wish for, and the dangers of tempting fate. The story revolves around a mysterious cursed talisman—a monkey’s paw that symbolizes greed—granting the owner everything they could possibly wish for.The story unfolds on a cold, windy night at the Whites’ residence. Mr. White and his son, Herbert, are playing chess when Sergeant-Major Morris, an old friend who spent twenty-one years in India, visits the White family. Over glasses of whiskey and amidst tales of far-off lands, Morris shows them a dried monkey's paw, explaining that it was enchanted by a fakir to grant three wishes to three different men. He warns that those who interfere with fate do so to their sorrow. Morris shares that he has already used his three wishes, with the previous owner's final wish being for death itself.He attempts to throw the paw into the fire, but Mr. White retrieves it, dismissing the ominous warnings as nothing but superstition. Morris warns Mr. White that he already has everything he needs, but, alas, he gives Mr. White the paw, urging him to “wish for something sensible.” After Morris departs, Herbert jokingly suggests his father wish for £200 to pay off their house. Mr. White makes the wish, and the paw "twisted in [his] hand like a snake." The family laughs it off and retires for the night. However, Mr. White sits alone in the dark, "gazing at the dying fire, and seeing faces in it."The next morning, the Whites continue to joke about the magical paw and the fact that no money has arrived. Herbert heads to work. While Mrs. White still doesn’t believe in the paw, Mr. White is confident that the paw moved in his hand, and recalls that Morris said that the magic of the monkey’s paw "happens so naturally that you might, if you so wish, attribute it to coincidence."At dinner, Mrs. White notices a mysterious man outside, who appears to be trying to make up his mind to enter. Mrs. White guides the man out of the cold wind and into the house. He introduces himself as a representative of Maw and Meggins, the factory where Herbert works. He explains that Herbert was caught in the machinery, implying that he died gruesomely. The company would disclaim all responsibility, but in consideration of Herbert’s services, they present the Whites with compensation: two hundred pounds. The Whites bury Herbert at a large cemetery two miles away.Ten days after Herbert’s death, the Whites struggle to cope with their loss. One night, Mrs. White awakes suddenly and screams, “The paw! The Monkey’s Paw! I want it.” Realizing that they still have two wishes left, she forces her husband to retrieve the paw and wish for Herbert to be alive again. Mr. White, horrified, imagines what Herbert looked like when he died—mangled beyond recognition and only identifiable by his clothing. He objects, calling her mad and insisting that the whole thing is a coincidence. But Mrs. White persists, screaming at him to make the wish. In fear of his wife, Mr. White obeys, retrieving the monkey's paw and raising his hand, saying, "I wish my son alive again."Mrs. White peers through the window, searching for Herbert, and when nothing happens, Mr. White is relieved, and the two crawl back into bed. They lay in silence, listening to the ticking of the clock. After some time, Mr. White goes downstairs for a candle, but at the foot of the stairs, his match goes out. When he pauses to strike another, a quiet knock sounds from the front door. Mr. White runs back to the bedroom, but the knock grows louder. Mrs. White, hearing the knock, runs toward the door. She struggles to unlock the bolted door, calling for Mr. White’s help. But instead, Mr. White is on the floor, frantically searching for the paw. When Mrs. White manages to unlock the bolt, Mr. White finds the paw and "frantically breathes his third and last wish." The knocking ceases suddenly, and when the door opens, there is nothing but a cold wind and a quiet, deserted road.Read the full summary and analysis at gradesaver.com/the-monkeys-paw
The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy - Book Summary GradeSaver 2025-07-30 | The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is a comedic science-fiction novel written by Douglas Adams and published in 1979. Based on a radio series by the same name, it is the first installment in what is comically referred to as Adams’ five-book “trilogy” and became a bestseller shortly after its publication. The novel, which explores the unknowability of our universe, follows the galactic adventures of Arthur Dent, a man rescued by an alien minutes before Earth’s destruction.The story opens on Arthur Dent, a nervous yet otherwise unremarkable Englishman whose home is about to be demolished to make way for a bypass. Soon, his friend, Ford Prefect, arrives and convinces Prosser, the unreasonable bureaucrat set on destroying Arthur’s home, to hold off on knocking it down while the friends go to the pub. Once there, Ford conveys urgent news: that the end of the world is mere minutes away. Sure enough, a fleet of large yellow ships descends on them.The grotesque Vogons controlling these ships announce that the earth will be destroyed in order to make space for a hyperspatial express route, and that they are sorry for the inconvenience. Ford and Arthur hitchhike onto one of the ships, where Ford tells his friend that he is not actually human, but rather an alien from Betelgeuse who was stranded on Earth fifteen years ago while researching the famed Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, a massive electronic compendium of almost everything.Meanwhile, in outer space, Zaphod Beeblebrox, the charming yet clueless president of the galaxy, steals a ship called the Heart of Gold with his beautiful, human friend Trillian. The Heart of Gold contains an improbability drive, which allows it to travel intergalactic distances instantaneously and causes spontaneous coincidences.Back on the Vogon ship, Arthur is given a small device—“the Babel fish”—that allows him to understand the Vogons’ language. But when he and Ford are discovered, they are forced to listen to terrible Vogon poetry and are eventually kicked off the ship. Just as they are about to die, the Heart of Gold starship picks them up.Zaphod and Trillian send their pessimistic robot servant, Marvin, to check up on the newcomers. Marvin explains to them that he is the result of a failed experiment designed to give robots human-like characteristics, but which left Marvin eternally gloomy. Marvin takes Arthur and Ford to see Zaphod and Trillian, whom they recognize from Earth. In the control room, the foursome realizes that they are near Magrathea, the wealthiest planet in the universe.As the ship nears the planet, they are greeted by a five-million-year-old recording that tells them about two missiles bound for their ship in less than 30 seconds. They panic, but when Arthur turns on the improbability drive, the missiles suddenly turn into a sperm whale and a bowl of petunias. Grateful for their survival, Ford, Zaphod, and Trillian explore Magrathea’s cold and bleak interior while Arthur stays with miserable Marvin on the surface.It isn’t long before Arthur and Marvin encounter an innovative old man named Slartibartfast, who tells Arthur that Arthur's arrival on Magrathea is the third-most improbable event in the history of the universe. He shows Arthur a factory in which countless new planets are being created, explaining to Arthur that Earth was actually built for a scientific purpose. Next, Slartibartfast shows Arthur a supercomputer called Deep Thought, which has the power to answer many of life’s questions. Millions of years ago, two scientists asked Deep Thought for the answer to the universe. After seven and a half million years, it announced the answer: 42. Sensing the disappointment caused by this answer, it created an organic supercomputer, “Earth”, to answer the question. Slartibartfast goes on to tell Arthur that Earth was destroyed only five minutes before answering the original question, and that Magrathea is now in the midst of creating a second Earth, commissioned by the same hyper-intelligent species, “mice”, that created the original.Reuniting with Trillian, Zaphod, and Ford, Arthur is stunned to encounter two mice named Benjy and Frankie, who inform Slartibartfast that he will no longer need to create a new Earth because Arthur’s brain may contain the answer to the universe. When Arthur refuses to sell his brain to them, the mice become hostile. As an alarm sounds, two armed Blagulon Kappa policemen arrive to arrest Zaphod and recover the stolen Heart of Gold.Suddenly, the policemen’s life-support systems explode, killing them and saving Zaphod and his companions. Fleeing Magrathea, Arthur, Ford, Zaphod and Trillian ride Slartibartfast’s air car back to the Heart of Gold, where Marvin tells them that he plugged himself into the computer controlling the policemen’s life-support system, sharing his morose view of the universe with it.Read the full summary at gradesaver.com/the-hitchhikers-guide-to-the-galaxy
The Thursday Murder Club - Book Summary GradeSaver 2025-07-02 | The Thursday Murder Club is a 2020 murder mystery novel by Richard Osman, a notable British television presenter. The book is Osman’s debut novel and the inaugural installment in his Thursday Murder Club series. It quickly became a Sunday Times bestseller. The story follows a group of seniors living at a retirement home who investigate a series of murders on its grounds.Each Thursday, the titular Thursday Murder Club—a group of pensioners living at the Coopers Chase retirement village—assembles to put their amateur investigative skills to the test by revisiting cold cases. The group includes founding members Elizabeth, Ron, Ibraham, and its newest member, Joyce, who was brought in to help after Elizabeth’s co-founder, a former detective named Penny, developed dementia and was moved to the facility’s nursing home. While Coopers Chase used to be a convent for the Sisters of the Holy Church, it is now owned by the greedy developer Ian Ventham, who’s angling to expand into the neighboring property.One day, Ian announces that he intends to build a new complex called “the Woodlands” atop a graveyard on the property where the Sisters of the Holy Church are buried. His announcement is met with outrage, particularly from Ron, a former union leader, and Father Matthew Mackie, the resident priest. Ian fires his lead builder, Tony Curran, and replaces him with contractor Bogdan Jankowski. Later that day, Tony is found murdered.Predictably, the Thursday Murder Club launches its own investigation. First, the group discovers that Ian profited from Tony’s murder, inheriting his shares of Coopers Chase. They plot to enlist Police Constable Donna De Freitas, a low-level officer who delivers home security lessons at the retirement home yet dreams of investigating serious crimes.Little do they know, Donna is already investigating a photograph left beside Tony’s corpse, picturing him beside drug dealer Bobby Tanner and Ron’s son, Jason Ritchie—Tony’s partners in the drug trade. Soon, the police learn that Tony got three untraceable calls on the day of his murder. Donna recognizes the number as Jason’s and calls him in for questioning.Soon, we learn that Jason was mailed a copy of the photograph mere days before Tony was killed, triggering memories of their gang’s dissolution after they all witnessed Tony murdering a drug dealer. Now, Jason is worried his life might be in danger and reaches out to the Thursday Murder Club in the hopes of tracking Bobby down. Finding him, Elizabeth rules Bobby out as a suspect, turning instead to the gang’s elusive fourth member, Turkish Gianni—a thug Bobby believes Tony snitched on years ago.Meanwhile, it isn't long before Ian returns to Coopers Chase to break ground on the Woodlands, but a group of retirees block his and Bogdan’s trucks from entering. Irked, Ian calls Constable Donna and the rest of the police to break up the crowd. But before they can, Ian starts physically fighting Father Mackie. Shortly after, Ian collapses and dies on the way to his car. Meanwhile, Bogdan begins digging up the cemetery by hand but discovers an unmarked set of bones.Bogdan informs Elizabeth of the bones he discovered, and she asks a friend of hers to analyze them. It turns out that the remains belonged to a man killed back in the 1970s. The Thursday Murder Club encounters several red herrings as they try to identify the remains, uncovering several secrets along the way. Ultimately, they theorize that the murders might be an attempt to block the discovery of the skeleton by halting the new development.Soon, the group discovers that Coopers Chase has been sold, as has the neighboring land, owned by Gordon Playfair. While Gordon had long resisted selling, his daughter, Karen, knew that his hesitation had to do with Ian, and she was keen to get him out of the way. But when Jason accuses Karen of murdering Ian, her pure-hearted reaction convinces Jason of her innocence. Karen suggests he speak to John, Penny’s husband and Karen’s former vet, who lived nearby in the 70s. Elizabeth visits John, whose suspicious stories jog her memory about a case that Penny had worked on yet avoided bringing to the Murder Club: the stabbing of a young woman named Annie Madeley, likely perpetrated by her boyfriend, Peter Mercer. When Elizabeth presses him on it, John admits that Penny killed Peter years ago, after she realized he would likely get away with Annie’s murder. Then, when John realized the development might uncover Penny’s crime, he killed Ian in order to cover it up.Shocked, Elizabeth warns John that she’ll have to turn him and Penny into the police the following morning. That night, John takes—and administers to Penny—a drug that kills them both. Meanwhile, Bogdan confesses to Elizabeth’s forgetful husband that he killed Tony, as well as Gianni, after they had his friend—the sole witness to Tony’s crime—killed.Read the full study guide at gradesaver.com/the-thursday-murder-club
Little Women - Book Summary GradeSaver 2025-06-04 | Little Women is a novel written by Louisa May Alcott and published in two parts between 1868 and 1869. Heavily influenced by Alcott’s own life, the novel follows the everyday lives of the four March sisters—Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy—and their moral development over a period of fifteen years. Set in Concord, Massachusetts, Alcott’s in-depth exploration of female characters was unique for its time and an implicit case for women’s equality. Published to widespread popularity, the novel explores the enduring importance of family, the happiness derived from being selfless, and the benefits of hard work.Part One of the book opens in 1861, as the March sisters—along with their mother, Marmee—face their first Christmas without their father, who is away serving as a chaplain for the Union Army. On Christmas Eve, they receive a letter from him reminding them to be dutiful, loving, and kind so that when he returns he “may be…prouder than ever of [his] little women.” Inspired by a morality tale called The Pilgrim’s Progress, Meg, the oldest and perhaps the most beautiful, sets out to be less materialistic. Jo, the second oldest and a temper-prone tomboy that many readers identify as the protagonist, vows to be more womanly and less wild. Beth, the sweet-tempered third oldest, wants to stop envying girls who have pianos, and Amy, the somewhat entitled youngest, hopes to be less selfish. The girls feel dismayed at their relative poverty but use what meager funds they have to buy gifts for Marmee. Before they can deliver them on Christmas morning, however, Marmee asks the girls if they will forfeit their Christmas breakfast to the Hummels, a nearby family of immigrants. Despite their hunger, the girls agree. The Hummels are deeply grateful, and the girls are happy to have “loved [their] neighbor better than [themselves].” When they return home, they are surprised to see their table full; their wealthy next-door neighbor, Mr. Laurence, heard about their good deed and sent a Christmas feast in reward.Soon, Meg and Jo are invited to a lavish New Year’s Eve dance at the Gardiner house. But boyish Jo is ill-suited for such a party; her dress is burnt from standing too close to the fire, and she accidentally burns off a part of Meg’s hair while trying to curl it. At the party, Meg sprains her ankle dancing, and she and Jo take refuge in the company of Mr. Laurence’s nephew, Laurie, who is the same age as Jo and appreciates her boyish pluck. Meg and Jo accept Laurie’s offer to ride home in his carriage.One day, Jo throws a snowball at Laurie’s window, intent on getting to know him. Bored and recovering from a cold, Laurie invites Jo over, confessing to her that, in his loneliness, he often watches her family’s spirited activities next door. Jo invites him to come visit, and soon, Laurie begins spending more time at the Marches’ home. The girls, too, spend time at Laurie’s home—all except for Beth, who is too afraid of the gruff Mr. Laurence to join them. Learning of this, Mr. Laurence requests that Beth come play his piano. Reminded of his late granddaughter, Mr. Laurence gifts Beth the deceased girl’s piano.Winter turns to spring, and the girls get wrapped up in various adventures. Jo shuns Amy after she burns Jo’s writing, then feels sorry when Amy falls into the ice while skating. When Meg lends Amy a quarter to buy her friends pickled limes, Amy’s teacher physically reprimands her, causing Marmee to withdraw her from school. Meg goes to stay with her wealthy friend, Annie Moffat, but feels out of place amongst her comparatively moneyed guests. While Meg is courted by the fashionable Ned Moffat, Marmee assures Meg that she would rather her girls be happy than marry rich. Soon, Meg receives a glove and a translated poem in the mail from Laurie’s tutor, Mr. Brooke; Jo worries about losing Meg to marriage.The following November, the Marches receive a telegram informing them that their father is ill, and Mr. Brooke volunteers to escort Marmee to his side in Washington. Jo cuts her hair to raise money for her father’s care. Left with their maid, Hannah, the girls throw themselves into work; Jo assists their Aunt March, a rich widow, while Meg continues working as a governess. When Beth comes down with scarlet fever after caring for one of the Hummels’ babies, Jo cares for her dutifully, while Amy quarantines with Aunt March. While Hannah warns against alarming Marmee, Jo is relieved to find that Laurie has secretly sent for her.Christmas approaches, and both Beth and Mr. March recover. On Christmas day, Laurie arrives with a surprise present: Mr. March. Reunited, the March family reflects on the year, with Mr. March expressing pride in his “little women.” Jo has tamed some, though not all of her wildness, while Beth has overcome much of her shyness. Amy has thrown herself into her art, whereas Meg has replaced her vanity with dedication to housework.Read the full summary at gradesaver.com/little-women
La lettera scarlatta - Riassunto del Libro GradeSaver 2025-05-14 | English: youtu.be/qNmVd-jgz1gLa lettera scarlatta è un romanzo storico scritto da Nathaniel Hawthorne nel 1850. Ambientato nel Massachusetts puritano del Diciassettesimo secolo, il romanzo è incentrato sulla storia di Hester Prynne, che dà alla luce una figlia, Pearl, dopo una relazione adulterina. Sebbene Hawthorne avesse rischiato la sua carriera incentrando il suo romanzo su un argomento di tale natura, il romanzo si concentra più sugli effetti della relazione che sulla relazione stessa, utilizzando la pubblica vergogna di Hester come trampolino di lancio per esplorare i persistenti tabù della Nuova Inghilterra puritana nella società contemporanea. Considerata l'opera più famosa di Hawthorne, La lettera scarlatta è anche il primo romanzo americano per stile e tematiche, nonché uno dei primi libri americani pubblicati in massa.Il romanzo si apre con Hester Prynne, una neomamma, che viene condotta al patibolo, dove deve essere pubblicamente umiliata dalla sua comunità puritana per tre ore come punizione per aver commesso adulterio. Inoltre, Hester è costretta a portare sempre la lettera "A" sul vestito. Con un tocco di eleganza, ha cucito una grande "A" scarlatta sul suo vestito con del filo d'oro. Hester porta la figlia Pearl sul patibolo e in seguito le viene chiesto di rivelare il nome del padre di Pearl. Rifiuta, ma si sente inquieta nel vedere suo marito, Roger Chillingworth, tra la folla, nonostante pensasse che fosse disperso in mare.Hester viene riportata nella prigione dove è stata rinchiusa in seguito al suo crimine. Travestito da medico, Chillingworth fa visita a Hester, dicendole che si è stabilito a Boston e che intende scoprire chi è il padre di Pearl leggendo la verità sul cuore dell'uomo. La costringe a promettere di non rivelare mai la sua vera identità di marito cornuto, minacciando di vendicare il suo tradimento rovinando il padre di Pearl se lo farà.Passano alcuni anni ed Hester e Pearl si trasferiscono in un cottage che confina con i boschi fuori Boston, dove vivono in relativa solitudine. Hester si guadagna da vivere facendo lavori di cucito per i signori del luogo, ma passa il suo tempo libero ad aiutare i poveri e i malati. Nel frattempo, Pearl cresce selvaggia e disobbediente. È anche ossessionata dalla A scarlatta che Hester indossa. Mentre i funzionari della chiesa tentano di allontanare Pearl dalla casa di Hester a causa della sua vena maliziosa, Arthur Dimmesdale, un giovane e rispettato ministro, riesce a convincere il governatore a lasciare che Pearl resti con Hester.Col tempo, Chillingworth si guadagna la reputazione di medico di talento e sfrutta la sua posizione per farsi trasferire nella stessa casa di Dimmesdale, che soffre di una malattia sconosciuta. Prendendosi cura di Dimmesdale, Chillingworth si convince che la condizione di Dimmesdale sia un sintomo del suo cuore colpevole. Un pomeriggio, mentre Dimmesdale dorme, Chillingworth scopre un segno di vergogna sul suo petto e deduce che Dimmesdale è davvero il padre di Pearl.Da quel momento in poi, Chillingworth tormenta il ministro con il pretesto di curarlo e riportarlo in salute. Una notte, Dimmesdale è talmente sopraffatto dalla vergogna per il suo segreto che si reca al patibolo dove Hester è stata umiliata pubblicamente e immagina che l'intera città lo guardi.Mentre tornano a casa dopo aver assistito un infermo, Hester e Pearl si imbattono in Dimmesdale e lo raggiungono in cima al patibolo. Quando Pearl chiede a Dimmesdale di riconoscerla pubblicamente come sua figlia il giorno seguente, Dimmesdale rifiuta. Proprio in quel momento, una meteora a forma di "A" passa, illuminando Chillingworth, che li osserva da lontano. Hester capisce che Chillingworth sta uccidendo lentamente Dimmesdale.Settimane dopo, Hester incontra Chillingworth mentre raccoglie erbe nel bosco e minaccia di rivelare a Dimmesdale la sua identità di marito. Egli le dice che la Provvidenza è responsabile dei loro destini e che lei può fare ciò che ritiene opportuno. Più tardi, Hester organizza un incontro con Dimmesdale nel bosco insieme a Pearl, raccontandogli la vera identità di Chillingworth. Decidono di fuggire insieme quattro giorni dopo.Il giorno prima della partenza, Dimmesdale pronuncia il suo sermone di elezione, ricevendo un'enorme quantità di elogi per la sua predicazione. Nel frattempo, Hester scopre che Chillingworth ha scoperto il piano di fuga suo e di Dimmesdale e si è assicurato un posto sulla stessa nave.Uscendo dalla chiesa, Dimmesdale nota Hester e Pearl in piedi nelle vicinanze e sconvolge la folla salendo sul patibolo con loro. Dimmesdale confessa di essere il padre di Pearl e rivela la A scarlatta impressa sul suo petto, ammettendo che avrebbe dovuto prendere il posto che gli spettava al fianco di Hester sette anni prima, quando lei salì per la prima volta sul patibolo. Dopo questa ammissione, Dimmesdale muore improvvisamente sul patibolo.gradesaver.com/the-scarlet-letter
The Importance of Being Earnest - Play Summary GradeSaver 2025-04-23 | The Importance of Being Earnest is a play written by Oscar Wilde and first staged in 1895. Hailed as one of the greatest stage comedies of all time, it is the last of Wilde’s four drawing-room plays and centers on two young men who go by the name Earnest to escape social obligations. Notable for its witty epigrams, the play is endlessly quotable and read by many as a commentary on class, marriage, and Victorian manners—not to mention homosexuality. While the play's original audience howled at the inside references to London's gay subculture, this subtext also gave rise to Wilde's infamous trial for homosexual acts.The play opens on Algernon Moncrieff as his butler, Lane, announces the arrival of "Ernest Worthing," who has just returned from the country. The name “Ernest” confuses Algernon, who knows his friend as Jack. But Jack explains that he uses the name “Ernest” in town so as to have an excuse to escape the country, where his adoptive father’s granddaughter, Cecily, lives. In order to preserve 17 year-old Cecily’s spotless opinion of her “Uncle Jack,” Jack has invented a ne'er-do-well younger brother named Ernest whose problems frequently require his intervention.Stunningly, Algernon reveals that he’s guilty of the same deception: in order to escape the city for the country, he has invented a friend, Bunbury, who is an invalid and lives in the country frequently requiring Algernon’s support. The rakish Algernon is delighted by his straight-laced friend Jack’s subterfuge, saying that he has always suspected Jack was a "Bunburyist”—and now he has proof.Changing the subject, Jack reveals that he has come to London to propose to Algernon’s cousin, Gwendolen, who is due to arrive at Algernon’s flat any moment with her mother, Lady Bracknell. And while Jack insists that he is through with the name "Ernest," Algernon—a notorious bachelor—maintains that Jack will need “his friend Ernest” more than ever if he marries, ridiculing matrimony as a ridiculous custom.Finally, Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen arrive. Algernon detains his snobbish aunt with news that he must miss a dinner she’s throwing in order to care for his friend, Bunbury. Meanwhile, Jack privately confesses his feelings to Gwendolen, who admits that she likes Jack, too, especially since she is dead set on marrying a man named Ernest. He proposes to her, and she accepts.Lady Bracknell enters, and Gwendolen informs her of their engagement. But Lady Bracknell objects, sending Gwendolen to wait in the carriage while she quizzes Jack about his breeding. Jack confesses that he was an orphan, found in a handbag at the Victoria train station. Aghast, Lady Bracknell says she will not allow her daughter to marry a man with no family.In the play’s second act, we move to Jack’s country house, where the beautiful Cecily and her governess, Miss Prism, discuss the stress Jack is under due to his reckless brother, Ernest. When Miss Prism leaves Cecily alone to go for a walk with Dr. Chasuble, the local clergyman, Algernon arrives, introducing himself to Cecily as Ernest. Cecily is delighted to meet the infamous “Ernest” and returns Algernon’s brazen flirtations.Soon, Jack arrives, asking Chasuble to christen him, but Chasuble and Prism are confused to see Jack dressed in black mourning attire. Jack explains that his brother, Ernest, died last night. Just then, Cecily emerges from the house, telling Jack that his brother is in the dining room; stupefied, Jack answers that he doesn’t have a brother. When Cecily retrieves Algernon, Jack is angry and privately orders Algernon to leave.But Algernon is taken with Cecily and disobeys Jack, proposing to her. Cecily jokes that they’ve been engaged for three months; "ever since [she] heard of Jack's wicked brother Ernest" she has loved him. Like Gwendolyn, Cecily is deeply taken with the name Ernest and doubts she would be able to love a man by any other name. So, just like Jack, Algernon asks Chasuble to christen him that afternoon.Shortly, Gwendolyn arrives asking for Jack. Instead, she meets Cecily, taking an instant liking to her. But when Cecily explains that she is going to marry Ernest, Gwendolyn grows indignant, believing her beloved Jack to be Ernest too. The girls compare diary entries to see who has prior claim over “Ernest,” arguing and insulting one another.Jack returns, explaining to Gwendolyn that Cecily is his ward, not his fiancée. Then, Algernon returns, explaining to Cecily that he is not engaged to Gwendolyn, who identifies him as her cousin, Alergnon. Cecily is shocked, and she and Gwendolen reconcile, turning on the men. Jack confesses he has no brother Ernest, nor any brother at all, and the women storm off to the house.Read the full summary at gradesaver.com/the-importance-of-being-earnest
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man - Book Summary GradeSaver 2025-04-02 | A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel written by James Joyce. First published in serial form between 1914 and 1915, the book is profoundly autobiographical. It chronicles the life of Joyce’s fictional persona, Stephen Dedalus, from early childhood, culminating in his decision to leave Ireland and pursue writing. The novel shows how Stephen's artistic sensibility develops alongside his intellectual and spiritual growth, from his early fascination with words and sounds to his mature theories about art and beauty. Like Joyce’s later work, Portrait of the Artist helped pioneer the “stream of consciousness” style, relying on sensual imagery and even baby talk to represent the fluid nature of human thought from one character’s point of view. The book opens on three-year-old Stephen Dedalus, the youngest of ten children in turn-of-the-century Ireland. Stephen lives with his mother, Mary, a devout Catholic; his governess, Dante, who is fanatically religious as well; his lively Uncle Charles; and his father, Simon, whose financial ineptitude forces the family from one dilapidated home to another. Stephen is a sensitive and imaginative boy, deeply influenced by the tides of political and religious thought that surround him.Soon, we leap forward in time as young Stephen begins boarding school at Clongowes. At six years old, Stephen is terribly homesick, un-athletic, and socially awkward—and therefore, an easy target for bullies. One day, a larger boy named Wells pushes him into a cesspool, and Stephen becomes ill from the filthy water. While he fantasizes about how sorry everyone will be when he dies, he decides not to tell on the boy, earning him respect from his peers.That Christmas, Stephen is eating at the adults’ table for the first time when a terrible argument breaks out. On one side, Stephen's father—along with his friend, John Casey—argue on behalf of Charles Parnell, an Irish nationalist who was denounced by the church for seeking a divorce. Dante, on the other hand, argues on behalf of the church; as a devout Catholic, she is unsympathetic to divorcés. The fight is vicious, ending in tears and leaving young Stephen confused about his place in the world, as he struggles to understand the complex conflict between loyalty to family, religious authority, and nationalist ideals.In his preteens, Stephen is forced to withdraw from Clongowes when his family's poverty forces a move to Blackrock. There, Stephen enjoys long walks with his Uncle Charles. While Stephen continues to feel different from those around him, he loves adventure books like The Count of Monte Cristo and joins neighbor boys on imaginary quests. Around age 14, Stephen and his family move to Dublin, where Simon manages to enroll Stephen at Belvedere College, a private school run by Jesuits. Stephen comes into his own at Belvedere, becoming a reluctant leader, acting in school plays, and winning essay contests, though he continues to feel isolated and misunderstood.Around this time, Stephen meets a girl named Emma Clere; while she comes to embody Stephen’s feminine ideal, she is less a flesh-and-blood person to him than a muse. Around this time, Stephen grows increasingly obsessed with sex, engrossed by lurid fantasies. One day, squandering a cash prize he won as part of an essay contest, Stephen goes with a prostitute. It is his first sexual experience.Soon, going with prostitutes becomes a habit for Stephen, and he enters a period of deep confusion and spiritual paralysis. While he considers his actions sinful, he also feels strangely numb towards his own hypocrisy. These feelings come to a head during Belvedere’s annual, three-day spiritual retreat, where Stephen hears three sermons on the torments of hell. Terrified of eternal damnation, he repents of his old behavior, becoming almost fanatically religious.Nevertheless, as time goes by, Stephen grows frustrated by Catholic doctrine. When a rector suggests that he consider becoming a priest, Stephen realizes that the religious life is not for him. One day, while walking on the beach, he sees a girl whose beauty strikes him with the force of spiritual revelation. To his own surprise, he no longer feels ashamed for admiring the body and decides to live life to the fullest.Years pass, and Stephen attends university in Dublin. Although surrounded by friends, Stephen continues to feel isolated and bored, his mind wandering to theories on beauty and aesthetics during lectures. Soon, Stephen comes to regard Ireland, religion, and his family as a trap from which he must escape. In his diary, he declares his artistic mission: 'to forge in the smithy of my soul the uncreated conscience of my race.’ The book ends as Stephen decides to leave Ireland to pursue writing; like the mythical Dedalus, he will escape on wings of his own making. Read the full analysis at gradesaver.com/portrait-of-the-artist-as-a-young-man
A Rose for Emily - Story Summary GradeSaver 2025-03-12 | "A Rose for Emily" is a short story written by William Faulkner and published in 1930—the first of Faulkner’s stories to be published in a national magazine. The story was adapted into a film, directed and produced by Lyndon Chubbuck, in 1983. The meaning of “a rose for Emily” is open to interpretation, since the story itself makes no mention of a rose.The story’s narrator begins by recounting when local citizen Miss Emily Grierson, widely regarded as a spinster and recluse, died. While the women of the town attend Miss Emily’s funeral to see the inside of her decrepit house, the men go out of a “respectful affection for a fallen monument.” From here, the story unfolds in a series of anecdotes that explain Miss Emily’s reputation as a local legend. The first of these anecdotes revolves around Miss Emily’s taxes. In 1894, the mayor, Colonel Sartoris, remits Miss Emily’s taxes, lying that her recently deceased father loaned money to the town. But when the next generation of aldermen is elected, they visit Miss Emily’s home to inform her that she must start paying taxes again. Emily simply repeats that Colonel Sartoris told her she has no taxes in Jefferson, and the aldermen have no choice but to give up.The narrator then skips back in time thirty years—two years since the death of Emily's father and shortly after the disappearance of her sweetheart, Homer Barron. When the neighbors complain to the mayor, Judge Stevens, that Miss Emily’s house smells terribly, the four aldermen sneak over to her house and sprinkle lime. But as they leave, a light comes on, and they see Miss Emily in the window. While the townspeople begin to pity Miss Emily, the narrator notes that they originally resented her family, the Griersons, for being snooty; when Miss Emily turned thirty and was still unmarried, they felt "not pleased exactly, but vindicated." Still, the narrator speculates that Miss Emily refused to accept her father’s passing because she had to "cling to that which had robbed her" of a married life—he drove away her suitors.The narrator resumes telling the story chronologically now, starting with the arrival of a construction company to pave the town’s sidewalks. Soon after, the townspeople see Homer Barron, the construction company’s gregarious foreman, driving with Miss Emily on Sundays and infer that they are an item.Soon after, Miss Emily goes to the druggist to request "some poison." Despite the druggist’s attempts to inquire, Emily does not go into detail about how she intends to use the poison. And while the druggist sells her the poison, he implies that it should only be used to kill vermin, inscribing it with "for rats.”Meanwhile, the women of the town begin to judge Miss Emily for spending time with Homer Barron, with no intention of marriage, calling it a "disgrace to the town and a bad example to the young people." Summoned by the local minister’s wife, Miss Emily’s "kinsfolk" pay her a visit from Alabama despite a family falling-out. But the narrator describes Miss Emily’s two female cousins as “even more Grierson than Miss Emily,” and soon the town becomes Miss Emily’s allies in getting the kinfolk to leave.Around the time that Miss Emily’s family arrives, Homer Barron disappears. Some of the townspeople figure that he’s preparing a home for them elsewhere, but after the cousins from Alabama leave, a neighbor reports seeing Homer Barron return to the house. According to the narrator, this was the last time he was ever seen.After Homer Barron disappears, Miss Emily doesn’t leave the house for six months. At forty years old, she starts giving china-painting lessons to the town’s young girls, but the students eventually stop coming. Years pass, and Miss Emily "passes from generation to generation—dear, inescapable, impervious, tranquil, and perverse." When Miss Emily dies, the narrator notes, the town does not even know she was sick, since Tobe, her “Negro” manservant, does not talk to anyone; after greeting the mourners, Tobe actually disappears out the back door. As soon as Emily is buried, the townspeople force their way into a bedroom and find the rotting body of Homer Barron, his toiletries, a carefully folded suit, and—on the pillow beside his—one of Miss Emily’s “iron-gray” hairs.Read the full study guide and analysis at gradesaver.com/short-stories-of-william-faulkner
Jane Eyre - Riassunto del Libro GradeSaver 2025-02-19 | English: youtu.be/FVSfWUkTynMSpanish: youtu.be/t5LojxXVw9sJane Eyre, di Charlotte Brontë, fu pubblicato nel 1847 durante l'epoca vittoriana. Ambientato nell'Inghilterra settentrionale, questo romanzo di formazione racconta la storia della vivace e precoce Jane, che supera la sua infanzia traumatica e si innamora del ricco signor Rochester. Pubblicato originariamente con lo pseudonimo di genere neutro "Currer Bell", il romanzo, molto popolare, fruttò alla Brontë il riconoscimento di una delle più grandi scrittrici del suo tempo.Il libro inizia con Jane, bambina di 10 anni, che descrive la sua infanzia tormentata a Gateshead Hall, la casa dell'agiata famiglia Reed. Lo zio materno di Jane, il defunto signor Reed, l'ha adottata quando è rimasta orfana in tenera età, ma la signora Reed e suo figlio, John, trattano Jane come una serva. L'unica fonte di gentilezza nella vita di Jane è la cameriera della signora Reed, Bessie, che riconosce in Jane una bambina sveglia con un forte senso del bene e del male.Un giorno, quando Jane si difende dagli abusi di John, la signora Reed la fa rinchiudere nella stanza dove è morto il signor Reed. Scambiando un raggio di luce per il fantasma del signor Reed, Jane sviene. Il signor Lloyd, uno speziale chiamato a curare Jane, vede il suo potenziale e incoraggia la signora Reed a mandarla a scuola. Quando il signor Lloyd chiede se Jane ha altri parenti, lei risponde di aver sentito parlare di alcuni suoi parenti poveri, ma ammette di preferire la crudeltà della signora Reed alla povertà.Jane viene presto mandata al severo istituto femminile di Lowood, gestito dal signor Brocklehurst, un austero ecclesiastico. Un pomeriggio, il signor Brocklehurst umilia Jane dandole della bugiarda davanti a tutta la scuola e lei teme che i suoi compagni la eviteranno. Invece, fa amicizia con Helen Burns, una ragazza pia che sfida la visione del mondo di Jane predicando il perdono invece della punizione. Helen soffre di tisi, cioè di tubercolosi, e alla fine muore proprio dopo che Jane è andata a salutarla.Jane inizia a eccellere a Lowood e, all'età di diciotto anni, si assicura un posto come istitutrice in una tenuta chiamata Thornfield Hall, dove fa capo alla signora Fairfax, governante del signor Rochester, l'assente padrone di casa. Jane è toccata dalla gentilezza della sua allieva, Adele, che è la pupilla del signor Rochester, e si ambienta facilmente a Thornfield. Tuttavia, è disturbata dalle risate folli che provengono dalla soffitta, dove risiede Grace Poole, una sarta impiegata nella casa. Jane si incuriosisce inoltre riguardo alle misteriose assenze del signor Rochester.Un giorno, mentre è a cavallo, Jane si imbatte in un uomo caduto da cavallo. All'inizio rifiuta il suo aiuto, ma quando viene a sapere che lavora a Thornfield, inizia a interrogarla sul suo padrone, il signor Rochester. Quando torna a Thornfield quella sera, Jane vede il cane dell'uomo in casa e capisce che l'uomo che ha incontrato è proprio il signor Rochester.Inizialmente il signor Rochester è freddo con Jane, che a sua volta è sospettosa delle sue frequenti assenze. Col tempo, però, il loro rapporto si fa più profondo e Jane comincia a innamorarsi di lui. Una notte Jane salva il signor Rochester da un incendio, giusto in tempo per evitare che si faccia male. Lui dà la colpa dell'incendio a Grace Poole, ma Jane è confusa nel vedere che Grace continua a lavorare a Thornfield.Presto il signor Rochester si reca in una tenuta vicina per far visita a una signora a lui cara di nome Blanche Ingram. Jane è delusa e si sente sciocca per aver creduto che lui potesse innamorarsi di lei. Quando il signor Rochester torna a Thornfield con la spocchiosa Blanche, Jane vede che è interessato alla giovane donna solo per il loro comune status sociale.Con grande sorpresa di Jane, il marito di Bessie si presenta a Thornfield per informare Jane che la signora Reed è prossima alla morte e ha chiesto di lei. Jane si reca sul letto di morte dell'anziana donna, in cui la signora Reed confessa di aver invidiato il favoritismo del defunto marito nei confronti di Jane e si scusa per il modo in cui l'ha trattata. Inoltre, consegna a Jane una lettera dello zio, John Eyre, che si era informato sull'adozione di Jane quando era bambina. La signora Reed ammette di avergli detto che Jane era morta per dispetto.La signora Reed muore e Jane torna a Thornfield per scoprire che il signor Rochester sta per sposare Blanche. Tuttavia, il signor Rochester confessa in seguito di sentirsi molto legato a Jane, che con coraggio ammette di essere innamorata anche di lui. Presto i due si fidanzano. Settimane dopo, Jane si sveglia da un incubo e vede una strana donna nella sua stanza intenta a strappare a metà il suo velo da sposa. Ancora una volta, il signor Rochester dà la colpa a Grace.gradesaver.com/jane-eyre/study-guide/video-jane-eyre
Annabel Lee - Poem Summary GradeSaver 2025-01-29 | "Annabel Lee" is Edgar Allen Poe’s final poem, written a few months before his death and published posthumously in 1849. Although the poem may refer to a number of women in Poe's life, most acknowledge it as a tribute to Virginia Clemm, Poe's wife, who married him at the age of thirteen and died in 1847, just before she turned twenty-five.The poem is an example of the gothic imagery that came to define Poe’s writing, and of his frequent fixation with a beautiful woman who has died too suddenly in the flush of youth and beauty. Like many of Poe's male protagonists who mourn the premature death of beloved women, the narrator’s affection for Annabel Lee goes beyond simple adoration to a more bizarre, exalted attachment.While each of the poem’s six stanzas contains six lines, they follow slightly different rhyme schemes. The poem begins: “It was many and many a year ago / In a kingdom by the sea / That a maiden there lived whom you may know / By the name of Annabel Lee / And this maiden she lived with no other thought / Than to love and be loved by me.” In every stanza, no matter the rhyme scheme, the repetition of the “Lee” and “sea” sound gives the poem a sing-song quality, evoking the innocence of the narrator and his beloved Annabel Lee.“I was a child and she was a child,” the narrator continues, “But we loved with a love that was more than love / I and my Annabel Lee.” In emphasizing the youth of the two main characters, the poem plays to a point of view consistent with Romantic-era values, which viewed adulthood as a corruption of childhood’s purer instincts. Accordingly, Poe treats the narrator's love for Annabel Lee as fuller and more eternal than that of most adults.In fact, the narrator believes that “the angels, not half so happy in Heaven,” came to envy his love for Annabel and punished them by sending the cold wind that killed her. “Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know, / In this kingdom by the sea) / That the wind came out of the cloud by night / Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.” As in “The Raven,” Poe relies on internal rhymes here to reinforce cause and effect, emphasizing the narrator’s bitterness toward the heavens for “chilling and killing” his beloved.This connection between envious gods and blissful mortals recalls myth or parable, as does Poe’s unspecified setting of the story in “a kingdom by the sea.” At the same time, the nostalgic tone and Gothic scenery pinpoint the image to a time and place—and to a singular love that outlasts all obstacles, from the jealousy of the angels to death.In closing, the narrator reinforces the idea that he will eternally mourn his lost love, lying down by the side of her tomb in life and death. “For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams / Of the beautiful Annabel Lee / And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes / Of the beautiful Annabel Lee.” In relying on Shakespearean-like metaphor, which compares Annabel Lee to the moon and stars, the narrator invokes one of Poe’s favorite ironies: that death freezes and captures such beauty forever.Read our full summary and analysis at gradesaver.com/poes-poetry/study-guide/summary-annabel-lee
Amleto - Riassunto del Libro GradeSaver 2025-01-08 | English: youtu.be/IaTaaNinolUSpanish: youtu.be/jZ255SMeu7QAmleto è una tragedia scritta da William Shakespeare a cavallo del Sedicesimo secolo. La storia dell'opera, che può essere ricondotta a un testo latino del Dodicesimo secolo, parla di un principe danese di nome Amleto che cerca di vendicare l'omicidio del padre per mano dello zio Claudio. L'opera non è solo la più lunga di Shakespeare, ma anche una delle sue più iconiche.All'inizio dell'opera, il re della Danimarca è morto e suo fratello Claudio è salito al trono dopo aver sposato la moglie del fratello defunto, la regina Gertrude. Consumato dal dolore per l'improvvisa morte del padre, il principe Amleto è sconvolto dal matrimonio della madre con Claudio, il cui temperamento è, a suo avviso, inferiore a quello del padre defunto.Amleto non sa che la notte precedente il fantasma del suo defunto padre è apparso al suo scettico amico Orazio e a due sentinelle del castello. Quando Orazio racconta ad Amleto di questo avvistamento, Amleto decide di cercare lui stesso il fantasma quella sera. Ben presto il fantasma appare. Rivolgendosi solo ad Amleto, il fantasma dice di essere venuto dal Purgatorio per chiedere vendetta contro suo fratello Claudio, che lo ha ucciso versandogli un veleno nell'orecchio. Amleto è sconvolto e giura di vendicare l'omicidio del padre uccidendo Claudio.Nel frattempo, il consigliere principale di Claudio, Polonio, è preoccupato per la figlia Ofelia, che è innamorata di Amleto ma è confusa dall'umore cupo che ha assunto negli ultimi tempi. In un primo momento, Polonio ordina alla figlia di stare lontana da lui, ma in seguito si convince che la mancanza di affetto di Ofelia sia la causa della malinconia di Amleto. Polonio decide di osservare la coppia in segreto, nascondendosi dietro un arazzo con Claudio. Ma quando Ofelia cerca di flirtare con Amleto, quest'ultimo pensa all'omicidio del padre e respinge le sue avances, dimostrando che Polonio si sbaglia.Successivamente, Claudio recluta gli amici di scuola di Amleto, Rosencrantz e Guildenstern, per scoprire il motivo del suo malumore, ma Amleto capisce subito che i suoi amici stanno agendo contro di lui in qualità di spie. Sfuggendo alle sue domande, Rosencrantz e Guildenstern raccontano ad Amleto di essersi imbattuti in una compagnia di attori mentre si recavano al castello e di averli invitati a recitare per la corte. Amleto decide di far recitare a questi attori un dramma basato sull'assassinio di suo padre per vedere la reazione di Claudio. Se sembrerà scosso dalla rappresentazione, allora avrà la prova della sua colpevolezza.Nel frattempo, Claudio viene a sapere che Fortebraccio, il principe della nemica Norvegia, ha espresso interesse a muovere guerra alla Danimarca, a causa del recente cambiamento di leadership del Paese. Claudio si tranquillizza, tuttavia, quando apprende che il re della Norvegia ha proibito a Fortebraccio di invadere la Danimarca e che l'esercito norvegese intende invece invadere una piccola area della Polonia. Per farlo, hanno bisogno del permesso di Claudio di marciare attraverso la Danimarca, che egli concede.Quella sera Claudio sembra effettivamente turbato dalla rappresentazione del dramma di Amleto e se ne va infuriato, convincendo Amleto della sua colpevolezza. Amleto decide di dirlo alla madre, ma mentre si reca nella sua camera, sente Claudio confessare a Dio i suoi peccati, compreso l'omicidio. Amleto sta per uccidere Claudio, ma si ferma, perché si rende conto che se uccidesse lo zio mentre sta pregando, egli andrebbe dritto in paradiso.Amleto si reca nella camera di Gertrude e cerca di convincere la madre della malvagità di Claudio. Nel frattempo, Polonio spia ancora una volta la loro conversazione da dietro una tenda. A un certo punto, Gertrude fraintende le parole di Amleto, pensando che voglia ucciderla. Grida aiuto, facendo gridare anche Polonio. Pensando che dietro la tenda ci sia Claudio, Amleto pugnala il drappo, uccidendo Polonio.Dopo la morte di Polonio, gli amici di Amleto, Rosencrantz e Guildenstern, accompagnano Amleto in una missione diplomatica in Inghilterra su richiesta di Claudio. Tuttavia, Amleto non sa che Claudio ha consegnato loro una lettera per il re inglese con l'ordine di far uccidere Amleto al suo arrivo. Ben presto, Amleto scopre questa lettera in possesso di Rosencrantz e Guildenstern e la sostituisce segretamente con una che chiede di uccidere i suoi amici al posto suo.Nel frattempo, Laerte, figlio di Polonio, sconvolto dall'omicidio del padre, affronta Claudio e minaccia di impadronirsi del trono con l'aiuto di una folla inferocita. Claudio gli assicura che il responsabile è Amleto e insieme decidono di organizzare un duello amichevole tra Amleto e Laerte, che è un abile spadaccino. In segreto, progettano di avvelenare la spada di Laerte, in modo che anche una piccola ferita uccida Amleto.gradesaver.com/hamlet
As You Like it - Play Summary GradeSaver 2024-12-25 | As You Like It is a comedy by William Shakespeare. Written between 1598 and 1600, the play is inspired by the pastoral tradition in which natural landscapes provide refuge from the chaos of city dwelling. As such, the play is primarily set in a forest just outside the court of sixteenth-century France. It features two central plots: the mounting conflict between Orlando and his older brother, Oliver, as well as the usurpation of the ducal throne by Duke Frederick from his brother, Duke Senior.The characters include:Duke Frederick, who, at the opening of the play, has taken the ducal throne from his brother, Duke Senior and banished him to the Forest of Arden. The court also includes a fool, Touchstone, and a court wrestler, Charles.Duke Senior, the former duke, banished by his brother, who is already in the pastoral setting when the play opens. Rosalind, who is Duke Senior's daughter, but is still at the court. She is also cousin and friend to Celia. For much of the play, she is disguised as the male Ganymede. She will eventually marry Orlando.Celia who is the daughter of Duke Fredrick, the current ruling Duke. She is a dear friend to her cousin, Rosalind. When Duke Frederick orders Rosalind banished to the Forest of Arden, Celia agrees to go with her. For much of the play, Celia is disguised as Ganymede’s sister, Aliena. Celia will eventually marry Orlando’s brother, Oliver.Orlando, a frustrated younger brother to Oliver. Both brothers are still at the court when the play begins, where Orlando defeats the court wrestler, Charles. Orlando is unhappy with how Oliver is raising him. Orlando has a servant, Adam. Oliver, the oldest of the brothers. He has inherited his father’s land and is charged with caring for Orlando and their younger brother.Other minor characters include Jacques, a melancholy man who is one of Duke Senior’s nobles in the Forest of Arden. Other denizens of the forest include two lovers, Silvius and Phoebe. Hymen is the god of marriage. We begin at the French court, where Orlando is complaining to his servant, Adam. Having inherited their father’s estate, Oliver, the eldest, is now in charge of raising his two younger brothers. Orlando is upset that Oliver has refused to educate him and raise him to be a proper gentleman. Oliver enters, and the two brothers fight. Orlando wins by choking his brother, and soon departs. Oliver meets with the court wrestler, Charles, who promises to exact revenge by gravely injuring Orlando in a wrestling contest the next day.At court, the former duke’s daughter, Rosalind, complains to her cousin, Celia, that her father has been banished to the nearby Forest of Arden. His dukedom was usurped by Frederick, Duke Senior’s brother and Celia’s father. Duke Frederick arrives, attempting to dissuade Orlando from fighting the court wrestler, Charles. Orlando refuses and Charles enters. The two men fight, and Orlando manages to throw Charles and win the match. Rosalind is taken with Orlando and bestows a necklace upon him in celebration. After the fight, Adam tells Orlando that he must flee because Oliver has vowed to kill him. Orlando and Adam pack their things and depart for the Forest of Arden.Meanwhile, Duke Frederick becomes suspicious of Rosalind’s influence over Celia and decides to banish Rosalind as well. Celia vows to accompany Rosalind in her banishment and both choose a disguise to avoid detection. Rosalind dresses as a boy named Ganymede and Celia dresses as his sister, Aliena. They convince the court fool, Touchstone, to join them and they depart for the Forest of Arden.Orlando and Adam arrive in the forest in a state of exhaustion and Orlando goes off to search for food. He encounters Duke Senior and his group of nobles, one of whom is a melancholy man named Jacques who spends his time contemplating how awful his life is. When Duke Senior sees Orlando, he politely asks him to join their group and Orlando agrees. Jacques mentions that he saw the fool, Touchstone, wandering in the forest.Back at court, Duke Frederick has learned about the escape of Rosalind and Celia. Assuming Rosalind fled with Orlando, he calls in Oliver to ask about the whereabouts of his brother. Oliver cannot answer the Duke, so Ferdinand seizes all of Oliver’s property. Oliver begrudgingly agrees to go to the Forest of Arden to find his brother.Having joined Duke Senior and his men, Orlando now spends all of his time writing poetry to Rosalind and hanging it on tree branches in the forest. Rosalind happens upon his poetry one day and reads some. She asks Celia who is writing to her and Celia tells her that it is Orlando. Jacques and Orlando enter, and Rosalind and Celia hide. Jacques tells Orlando to stop writing poetry, but Orlando will not listen. Rosalind emerges, dressed as Ganymede, and tells Orlando that she can cure him of his love. Read the full summary at gradesaver.com/as-you-like-it
The Taming of the Shrew - Play Summary GradeSaver 2024-12-18 | The Taming of the Shrew is a comedy written by William Shakespeare. The play as we know it today first appeared in the 1623 folio of Shakespeare’s work, but many speculate that it was written as early as 1594. Set in the northern Italian city of Padua during the Renaissance, the primary storyline follows the courtship and marriage between Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, and Katharina, an ill-tempered and contentious woman known as the play’s titular “shrew.” As other romantic relationships develop around them, Petruchio and Katharina engage in a battle of the sexes that puts the misogyny of their society on full display. The Taming of the Shrew is actually a play within a play. It opens with a Lord playing a prank on a drunkard named Sly who has stumbled out of an inn and fallen asleep. The Lord dresses Sly up in his own clothing and, when Sly awakes, the Lord convinces Sly that he is in fact the nobleman. When a troupe of actors arrives to perform a play in the Lord’s honor, Sly decides that he must be the Lord and encourages the actors to proceed. The play proper begins in the university town of Padua, where a student named Lucentio has recently arrived to pursue his education. His plans are quickly derailed, however, when he sees and falls in love with Bianca, the daughter of a wealthy man named Baptista. Bianca already has two suitors vying for her attention: the young man Hortensio and an old fool named Gremio. Baptista, Bianca’s father, announces that he refuses to give his daughter away until her elder sister, Katharina, also marries. Katharina is ill-tempered and quarrelsome, known by many men as a “shrew.” When Petruchio, a gentleman of Verona, arrives on the scene, Bianca’s suitors inform him of Baptista’s wealth and he immediately announces his intentions to wed Katharina. Meanwhile, Lucentio decides to dress up as a Latin teacher in order to get closer to Bianca. His servant, Tranio, dresses up as Lucentio himself, in order to woo Bianca on Lucentio's behalf. They are joined in the Baptista household by Hortensio--disguised as a music teacher--and Gremio, Bianca's two other suitors. Petruchio, in the meantime, awaits the arrival of Katharina.Katharina appears, and she and Petruchio engage in a heated battle of wits. Petruchio announces that they will be married despite Katharina’s protestations. Baptista then turns to Bianca’s suitors and asks which one can provide the largest dowry. While Baptista is distracted by the financial competition between Gremio and the disguised Tranio, Lucentio expresses his passion for Bianca. At Petruchio and Katharina’s wedding, Petruchio behaves like a tyrant and refuses to let Katharina stay for the wedding feast. He takes her back to his home in the country, where he continues to behave maliciously. He does not help Katharina when she falls from her horse and he denies her food and sleep. He reveals his plan to starve Katharina into submission under the guise of love. Back at Baptista’s, Tranio convinces Hortensio to call off his pursuit of Bianca. Hortensio declares he will marry a wealthy widow. As Lucentio and Bianca get closer, the disguised Tranio must contend with Baptista’s request for assurance of Bianca’s dowry. Tranio knows Baptista must have assurance of the dowry from Lucentio’s wealthy father, Vincentio. He devises a plan to present Baptista with someone disguised as Vincentio. Tranio finds a traveling pedant from Mantua and convinces him that all Mantuans will be put to death in Padua. He tells him that in order to save himself, he must dress up as the wealthy Pisan Vincentio. The pedant agrees and plays the part. Tranio and the pedant, disguised as Vincentio, arrive at Baptista’s estate. They convince Baptista that Bianca’s dowry is secure. Baptista is satisfied and allows a wedding between Lucentio and Bianca to proceed. Meanwhile, back at Petruchio’s home, Katharina emerges as a gracious and well-mannered woman. Petruchio brings her back to Padua, where they encounter the real Vincentio. He is shocked to hear about his son’s marriage and has come to Padua to understand what happened.In Padua, Vincentio encounters the pedant who is impersonating him and confronts him for his deceit. Lucentio returns from the church and pleads for his father’s forgiveness. Vincentio angrily agrees to pay Bianca’s dowry and allows the marriage to proceed. After the wedding, everyone gathers at Lucentio’s house. The men devise a game in which they will each summon their wives in order to see which is the most obedient. Hortensio, Lucentio, and Petruchio all agree to participate. Hortensio and Lucentio summon the widow and Bianca, respectively, but are snubbed when their wives do not come. When Petruchio summons Katharina, she immediately appears, solidifying her transformation into an obedient wife.Read our full study guide at gradesaver.com/the-taming-of-the-shrew
Macbeth - Riassunto del Libro GradeSaver 2024-12-11 | English version: youtu.be/gnIzSFvfRlASpanish version: youtu.be/Y8CdLMGFLOAMacbeth è una tragedia scritta da Shakespeare nel 1605 o 1606 per il re Giacomo I e suo cognato, il re Cristiano di Danimarca. L'opera racconta la storia di Macbeth, un generale scozzese assetato di potere che, spinto dall'ambiziosa moglie, farà di tutto per diventare re. Macbeth è tuttora una delle opere più lette e adattate di Shakespeare ed è ampiamente riconosciuta come una delle grandi tragedie del canone letterario inglese.All'inizio dell'opera, il re di Scozia Duncan incontra un capitano di ritorno dalla guerra con la Norvegia. Il capitano informa Duncan del coraggio dimostrato da due generali scozzesi, Macbeth e Banquo. Duncan è favorevolmente colpito e decide di conferire a Macbeth un titolo più nobile: Signore di Cawdor. Nello stesso momento, tre streghe, chiamate Sorelle Fatali, appaiono a Macbeth e Banquo mentre tornano a casa dalla battaglia. Esse acclamano Macbeth come "sire di Glamis" (il suo titolo attuale), "sire di Cawdor" e "re". Turbato dalle loro profezie, Macbeth chiede alle streghe di dire di più, ma esse scompaiono. Poco dopo, due nobili arrivano con la notizia della decisione del re di nominare Macbeth sire di Cawdor, proprio come avevano predetto le streghe. Questa notizia spaventa Macbeth, che sente subito il desiderio di uccidere Duncan e di impadronirsi della corona reale, compiendo la profezia delle streghe.Nel frattempo, Lady Macbeth, moglie di Macbeth, riceve una lettera dal marito che descrive questi eventi e viene a sapere che il re ha intenzione di andare a trovarli nella loro casa. La donna escogita immediatamente un piano per uccidere il re in modo che Macbeth possa salire al trono, ma teme che lui non abbia il coraggio di commettere davvero l'omicidio. Macbeth arriva poco dopo, seguito dal re Duncan, e Lady Macbeth dice al marito esattamente come uccideranno il re quella notte. Macbeth è stupito dalla sua crudeltà, ma si rassegna a seguire il suo piano.La sera stessa, Macbeth deruba le guardie del re, si insinua nella sua camera e pugnala Duncan. Prima e dopo l'omicidio, Macbeth ha delle allucinazioni e sente delle voci che dicono: "Macbeth non dormirà più". Lady Macbeth rimane sconvolta quando apprende che il marito era troppo spaventato per portare a termine il loro piano di incastrare le guardie del re, così torna nella camera di Duncan per farlo lei stessa. Mentre Macbeth è tormentato dal senso di colpa per le sue azioni, la moglie afferma di non provare alcuna vergogna, lavandosene letteralmente le mani.Al mattino, un altro nobile di nome Macduff arriva con i figli di Duncan, Malcolm e Donalbain, e trova il re morto. Macbeth e Lady Macbeth fingono sgomento e Macbeth uccide le guardie del corpo del re, incolpandole dell'accaduto. Temendo per le loro vite, Malcolm e Donalbain fuggono dalla Scozia per l'Inghilterra e l'Irlanda, aprendo la strada a Macbeth per salire al trono.Macbeth viene nominato re, ma il suo amico Banquo teme che Macbeth possa aver ucciso Duncan per impossessarsi del trono. Macbeth, a sua volta, teme che Banquo possa cercare di appropriarsi del trono a sua volta o per suo figlio, Fleance. Macbeth decide di assoldare dei mercenari per ucciderli entrambi. Ma quella sera, durante un banchetto, i mercenari lo informano che mentre sono riusciti a uccidere Banquo, Fleance è riuscito a scappare. Più tardi, Macbeth si allarma vedendo il fantasma di Banquo seduto al posto di Macbeth al tavolo del banchetto. Poiché Macbeth è l'unico che può vedere il fantasma del suo ex amico, teme di impazzire e giura di tornare dalle Sorelle Fatali.Macbeth chiede alle sorelle cosa accadrà in futuro. Le streghe gli rispondono evocando tre apparizioni: una che avverte Macbeth di guardarsi da Macduff, un'altra che gli dice che "nessun nato di donna potrà nuocere a Macbeth" e un'altra che dice che Macbeth non sarà sconfitto finché la foresta intorno al suo castello non si solleverà contro di lui. Macbeth è sollevato, poiché ritiene che nulla possa smuovere una foresta. Sollevato, cioè, fino a quando non chiede alle streghe se i figli di Banquo regneranno mai sulla Scozia, e queste gli mostrano un corteo di re che comprende effettivamente i discendenti di Banquo. Turbato dalla prima previsione delle streghe, Macbeth decide di uccidere Macduff e la sua famiglia perché potrebbero rappresentare una minaccia.Nel frattempo, una dama di compagnia chiama un medico per visitare Lady Macbeth, che ha iniziato a sonnecchiare e ad avere allucinazioni. Apparentemente impazzita per il suo ruolo nell'omicidio di Duncan, immagina una macchia di sangue sulla mano che non viene via per quanto la strofini.Macduff viene a sapere che la sua famiglia è stata uccisa da Macbeth e, insieme a Malcolm e all'esercito inglese, progetta di impadronirsi del trono. Travestiti, Macduff, Malcolm e il suo esercito caricano il castello.gradesaver.com/macbeth
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever - Book Summary GradeSaver 2024-11-27 | Meet the Herdmans: “Six skinny, stringy-haired kids all alike except for being different sizes and having different black-and-blue places where they had clonked each other,” is how the narrator describes them. The oldest is Ralph, then Imogene, Leroy, Claude, Ollie, and the meanest Herdman of them all, the youngest, Gladys. The Herdmans are the stars of Barbara Robinson’s book, The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, which begins, “The Herdmans were absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world. They lied and stole and smoked cigars (even the girls) and talked dirty and hit little kids and cussed their teachers and took the name of the Lord in vain and set fire to Fred Shoemaker’s old broken-down toolhouse.”This band of misfits turn a small town church and its annual Christmas pageant upside down when they are cast in the leading roles. The pageant has become commonplace and static, but the Herdman kids, who have never walked into a church, hear the Christmas story for the first time and offer their own interpretation, which the town will never forget.As the story opens, the Herdmans have set fire to an old toolhouse with a chemistry set they stole from the hardware store. The firefighters arrive, along with doughnuts, but the Herdman’s take all the doughnuts for themselves, stuffing them in their shirts and pockets: the lesson they learned was that “wherever there’s a fire there will be free doughnuts sooner or later.”The Herdmans live above a garage and have a front yard of rocks and poison ivy. Their cat is so mean the mailman is convinced it’s a bobcat. Their father left when the youngest, Gladys was two, and their mother is hardly home, so the Herdmans raise themselves. They spend their time trying to smash each other underneath the garage door. One day, Claude Herdman brings that cat to first grade and it wreaks havoc, attacking the children, slurping up the goldfish, and eating another student’s pet mice. Imogene spends her time at school terrorizing the other kids by finding out their weights, and then blackmailing the heaviest ones until they give her what she wants.The setting of the story is a small town during the holiday season. Mrs. Armstrong, a true church lady whose duties include running the Christmas pageant, breaks her leg and is in the hospital. The narrator, an unnamed school-aged girl, explains that her mother gets stuck with the job of running the Christmas pageant. Ultimately, the narrator tells us, it was her brother Charlie who was to blame for the Herdman’s getting involved in the pageant. Charlie is tired of Leroy Herdman stealing his dessert from his lunch at school and tells him, it doesn’t matter because he gets all the dessert he wants at Sunday School. Sure enough, all six Herdman’s show up at church the next Sunday, looking for snacks. When they hear about the Christmas pageant, they are all the more interested.At the first pageant meeting, the narrator’s mother assigns the main roles, but no one volunteers except for the Herdmans. Imogene and Ralph would be Mary and Joseph; Leroy, Claude and Ollie would be the wisemen; and the youngest Herdman, Gladys, would be the Angel of the Lord. But the Herdmans haven’t ever heard the Christmas story. Now, hearing it for the first time, they are both incredulous and outraged.For example, they can’t believe there was no room for Mary and Joseph in the inn, for instance, and that Child Welfare wasn’t there to to check on the baby; when they hear of the swaddling clothes in the manger, they imagined the baby Jesus “tied up” and “put in a feedbox.” They think the wise men’s gifts of frankincense and myrrh are ridiculous. And when they learn that King Herod who wanted to have baby Jesus killed, they are mad that he won’t be in the Christmas pageant because they wanted a chance to beat him up.Much of the church community wishes the Herdmans will be kicked out of the pageant, including Alice Wendeken, the narrator’s best friend, who has played Mary in the past. Alice, prim and proper, writes down all the horrible things the Herdmans say in her notebook. She tells the narrator that if she were Mary, they could have a live baby play baby Jesus, but no one wants to offer up their baby given that Imogene has the part. Actually, Imogene is very protective in her role as Mary: she smacks anybody who comes close to the baby Jesus.On the night of the dress rehearsal, several ladies are at the church are preparing for a potluck supper. The rehearsal is chaotic anyway, but one of the church ladies sees smoke in the bathroom–most likely from the Herdmans smoking cigars– and calls the fire department.Read our full book summary guide at gradesaver.com/the-best-christmas-pageant-ever
Antony and Cleopatra - Play Summary GradeSaver 2024-11-20 | Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. Written in 1607, the play is often grouped among Shakespeare’s Roman plays including Julius Caesar and Coriolanus. Antony and Cleopatra is set in two primary locations: Rome, Italy, and Alexandria, Egypt during the first century BC. It depicts the rising tension among members of the Roman triumvirate that formed in the wake of Julius Caesar’s murder. At the same time, the play focuses on the romantic relationship between Marc Antony – a member of the triumvirate – and Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt. The play is famously chaotic, toggling rapidly between Rome and Egypt to showcase the stark differences between the two civilizations.The play begins at Cleopatra’s palace in Alexandria, where the titular lovers revel in the pleasures of the East with food, drink, and merriment. Antony’s soldiers look disapprovingly on as they scorn Antony’s transformation from a formidable general to a weakened lover. The indulgences do not last long, however, as Antony soon receives word about the status of the Roman Empire. His brother has waged war on his fellow triumvir, Octavius, and Antony’s wife, Fulvia, has died. These developments force Antony to return to Rome and part from Cleopatra, who dramatically expresses her anger and distrust. Back in Rome, Octavius Caesar and Lepidus, the two other members of the triumvirate, express their distaste for Antony’s lifestyle in Egypt. They discuss the advancing threat of Pompey, a dangerous adversary who controls the seas surrounding Italy. When Antony finally arrives back in Rome, tension mounts between him and Octavius. To solidify their commitment to the triumvirate, Antony marries Octavius’s sister, Octavia. Shortly thereafter, a soothsayer warns Antony that in a contest with Octavius Caesar, Antony will lose. The triumvirate, now reconciled, meets with Pompey, who submits in the presence of Antony. That night, while Pompey hosts the triumvirs, his subordinate Menas offers to slay the three men and make Pompey the unequivocal ruler of the Roman world. Out of honor, Pompey declines the offer, but questions whether it was the right decision. Shortly after, Antony takes his new wife, Octavia, to Athens. Back in Egypt, Cleopatra is beside herself with grief when she hears of Antony’s marriage to Octavia. She beats her messenger and threatens him with a knife, asking for only good news from this point on. She commits to winning Antony back despite his new marriage and recommitment to Rome. Some time passes as Antony and Octavia reside in Athens. Antony receives word that Octavius has moved against Pompey, slandered Antony’s name, and now prepares for war against Antony himself. Antony sends Octavia back to Rome to attempt peace talks with her brother, but the situation only deteriorates: Octavius kills Pompey and imprisons Lepidus. Antony returns to Egypt to reconcile with Cleopatra.Antony and Cleopatra team up in the war against Octavius, but Antony makes a number of strategic blunders. He attacks Octavius by sea when a land victory would have been more probable. In the Battle of Actium, Cleopatra panics and flees the battle with 60 of her ships, and Antony follows her, abandoning his men. This angers his soldiers, and most of them desert Antony in his crusade. In Alexandria, Antony is grief-stricken over his decision to follow Cleopatra and abandon his men. Only his close friend and confidant, Enobarbus, remains loyal. Antony expresses anger with himself andCleopatra before eventually resigning himself to defeat. He decides to take in all the pleasures of Egypt and its queen, knowing that he cannot defeat Octavius. Antony continues to live chaotically in Egypt, acting out and shifting between extreme emotions of anger, grief, and nostalgia. Eventually, Enobarbus defects to Octavius’s camp, but is so overcome with remorse that he dies. The fleet deserts Antony, and he becomes convinced that Cleopatra has betrayed him. Fearing Antony’s retaliation, Cleopatra locks herself in her monument and has a messenger send word to Antony that she is dead. Antony decides to end his life in order to reunite with Cleopatra. His servant, Eros, refuses to kill Antony, killing himself instead. Antony falls on his own sword. He is brought to Cleopatra and her ladies, who hoist him up into the monument before he dies in Cleopatra’s arms. When Octavius hears about Antony’s death, he is moved to tears. Octavius intends to keep Cleopatra alive so that he can parade her through the streets of Rome. He sends a man to Cleopatra in her monument to tell her she has nothing to fear from Octavius, but a messenger, Dolabella, secretly informs Cleopatra of Octavius’s true intent. Read the FREE summary at: gradesaver.com/antony-and-cleopatra/study-guide/video-antony-and-cleopatra
The Secret Life of Walter Mitty - Short Story Summary GradeSaver 2024-11-13 | Read the study guide at gradesaver.com/the-secret-life-of-walter-mittyJames Thurber’s 1939 short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” follows the day of a married man as he accompanies his wife to Waterbury, Connecticut. While she gets her hair done, he goes about town running different errands she has tasked him with, but all the while he lives another life in his imagination, inhabiting such colorful characters as a dauntless hydroplane commander, a deft surgeon, an infamous crack shot, and a WWI captain. Thurber’s story has had long lasting appeal, as Mitty’s imagination seems to represent a power that allows ordinary people to escape their lives of quiet desperation. As the story begins, the commander of a Navy hydroplane is flying through a perilous storm. The commander's crew, including a certain Lieutenant Berg, clearly express their dismay and lack of hope, while their leader, whom they reverently call "The Old Man," stands as a pillar of strength and urges them on through the maelstrom.Suddenly, the dialogue transitions abruptly. Walter Mitty—alias Commander—has in fact been daydreaming while driving a car, and has let his speed rise just a bit too high for Mrs. Mitty, who berates him to slow down. As Mr. Mitty snaps out of his reveries and drops his wife off at the hairdresser’s, she reminds him to buy overshoes, admonishing him of the necessity, as a grown man, to keep up proper appearances; in the same way, she also inquires as to whether he has his gloves on him, which he dutifully produces from a pocket.As he resumes his drive, he slips into a second daydream about being a famous British surgeon coming to operate on a wealthy banker called Wellington McMillan. In the operating room the surgeons greet each other, and Dr. Mitty receives significant praise from his colleagues for his past work. As the other surgeons set about work, a complicated machine crucial to the operation begins to malfunction; Dr. Mitty calmly calls for a fountain pen and deftly uses it to fix the machine.This fantasy is brought to an end by the voice of a parking-lot attendant. In reality, Mitty has been trying to make his way in a parking lot and in doing so has nearly crashed into another car. Walter seeks out the nearest shoe store and buys those overshoes his wife reminded him about.As he exits the store, a newsie strides by shouting the latest updates on an infamous trial that has everyone’s attention. And like that, Walter Mitty is in a courtroom, on the witness stand, a fearless sharpshooter standing up to the blistering cross-examination of the District Attorney. The DA hands Mitty an automatic gun, which Mitty admits is his own, examining it expertly, and avowing his own expertise as a shooter.He goes into a store to buy puppy biscuits, which his wife has also asked him to buy, and then sits in the hotel lobby to wait for his wife to finish at the hairdresser's. There, he picks up a copy of Liberty magazine and reads the title of an article: "Can Germany Conquer the World Through the Air?"This prompts a fantasy of himself as British Captain Mitty in the midst of World War I, on the front lines fighting the Germans. Speaking with a sergeant who is rattled by the constant artillery shelling around them, Mitty fearlessly downs some brandy and volunteers to pilot a plane to bomb an enemy ammunition dump. He leaves the dugout and heads out into danger.As Captain Mitty sets out from the dugout, we hear that "Something struck his shoulder." It isn't shrapnel from an enemy shell; it is Mrs. Mitty, who has returned from her hair appointment. She asks him whether he has gotten the puppy biscuits and the overshoes. Seeing that he is carrying the latter in a box, she berates him for not having put them on in the store."I was thinking … Does it ever occur to you that I am sometimes thinking?" he replies, for once standing up to her, but this prompts a similarly uninterested response from her. On their way back to the car, Mrs. Mitty goes into a drugstore. Outside, Mitty lights up a cigarette. He leans up against the drugstore wall as it starts to rain and sleet.At this moment, he shifts his posture, standing up straight. He imagines himself before a firing squad about to meet his end, which he does with heroic pride and disdain. He flicks away his cigarette and awaits his fate; the narrative finishes by describing him as “Walter Mitty, the Undefeated, inscrutable to the last.”
Romeo e Giulietta - Riassunto del Libro GradeSaver 2024-11-06 | English version: youtu.be/AwoaE9-0fhgSpanish version: youtu.be/38AucUcn-wUConsiderata la più famosa tragedia di Shakespeare, Romeo e Giulietta si basa su una fiaba popolare italiana originariamente tradotta dal poeta inglese Arthur Brooke. Scritta nel 1597, l’opera racconta la storia di Romeo e Giulietta, due adolescenti che si innamorano perdutamente nel corso di pochi giorni nonostante la lunga faida tra le loro famiglie, i Capuleti e i Montecchi. Ambientata a Verona, in Italia, la commedia inizia con una lite in strada tra i servitori delle famiglie Capuleti e Montecchi, che sono nemici giurati. La lotta si inasprisce quando Benvolio, un Montecchi, e Tebaldo, un Capuleti, sfoderano le loro spade.Ma proprio quando arrivano i patriarchi delle due famiglie e iniziano a duellare, entra il Principe Escalus di Verona, che li rimprovera per aver disturbato la quiete. Li avverte che ulteriori violenze saranno punite con la morte. Quando la lotta si interrompe, i Montecchi chiedono a Benvolio dove sia stato suo cugino Romeo. Benvolio non ne è sicuro e dice che Romeo è di umore strano ultimamente.Quando Romeo finalmente appare, dice a Benvolio che il motivo del suo strano umore è che si strugge per una ragazza di nome Rosalina, che intende rimanere casta per il resto della sua vita. Durante questa discussione, Romeo e Benvolio incontrano Pietro, un servo analfabeta dei Capuleti. Pietro chiede il loro aiuto per leggere la lista degli invitati a un ballo in maschera organizzato dalla famiglia Capuleti quella sera. Quando Romeo vede il nome di Rosalina sulla lista, lui e Benvolio decidono di andare al ballo mascherati.Romeo è preoccupato di partecipare al ballo, ma le sue inquietudini svaniscono quando vede la bella Giulietta. Romeo non sa che suo padre intende far sposare Giulietta con un conte di nome Paride, che gli ha chiesto la mano di sua figlia. Quando Romeo chiede a un servo chi sia Giulietta, scopre con dispiacere che è una Capuleti. Il focoso cugino di Giulietta, Tebaldo, sente Romeo e riconosce la sua voce, ma ricorda l’avvertimento del principe di non fare più violenza. Alla fine del ballo, Giulietta è innamorata di Romeo, ma è altrettanto combattuta quando scopre che è un Montecchi.Incapace di negare i suoi sentimenti per lei, Romeo si reca al balcone di Giulietta la notte successiva. Insieme, rinnegano i loro nomi di famiglia e si giurano amore l’uno all’altra, anche se entrambi sanno che la loro unione potrebbe significare un ulteriore spargimento di sangue. Innamorati senza speranza, decidono di sposarsi.Nonostante riceva un messaggio minatorio da parte di Tebaldo, Romeo chiede a un ecclesiastico, Frate Lorenzo, di sposarlo con Giulietta. Durante una cerimonia segreta, alla quale partecipano solo la nutrice di Giulietta e il frate, i due si sposano.Nel frattempo, Tebaldo è ancora arrabbiato perché Romeo ha osato partecipare al ballo dei Capuleti e lo cerca per strada. Ma quando Romeo si presenta è ancora in preda all’euforia per il suo recente matrimonio e ribadisce di non nutrire alcun rancore nei confronti dei Capuleti. Tebaldo è incerto sul da farsi, finché l’amico di Romeo, Mercuzio, non sfida Tebaldo a duello. Mercuzio viene ferito a morte nel combattimento, spingendo Romeo a uccidere Tebaldo per vendicarsi e a fuggire dalla scena. Arriva di nuovo il principe Escalus, questa volta dichiarando che Romeo è bandito da Verona e minaccia di condannarlo a morte se dovesse tornare.Giulietta è turbata dalla notizia dell’tesilio di Romeo, ma il padre interpreta il suo stato d’animo erroneamente come dolore per l’omicidio del cugino Tebaldo e cerca di rincuorarla, annunciandole che sposerà Paride. Sconvolta, Giulietta si reca da Frate Lorenzo per chiedere consiglio. Il frate propone un piano complicato: darà a Giulietta una potente pozione soporifera che la stordirà per due giorni, facendo credere alla sua famiglia che sia morta. Porteranno il suo corpo per seppellirlo nella tomba dei Capuleti, ma quando lei si sveglierà, Romeo sarà lì per condurla fuori da Verona, avendo ricevuto la notizia del piano dal frate. Giulietta accetta di prendere la pozione quella notte.Tuttavia, prima che la lettera contenente il piano arrivi a Romeo, un servo lo informa che Giulietta si è suicidata. Sconvolto, Romeo si reca da uno speziale per comprare del veleno, in modo da potersi togliere la vita anche lui.Romeo si precipita sulla tomba di Giulietta, dove trova Paride, che continua a incolpare Romeo per la morte di Tebaldo. I due litigano e la lotta degenera in un duello in cui Romeo uccide Paride per poi irrompere nella tomba di Giulietta. Trovandola morta, prende il veleno, deciso a stare con Giulietta anche nella morte. Ma Giulietta si risveglia presto e trova Romeo morto al suo fianco. Tormentata, si trafigge con il pugnale di Romeo.gradesaver.com/romeo-and-juliet
The Characters of Richard III - Deep Analysis Video GradeSaver 2024-10-30 | Richard III was believed to be written around 1591, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, and about a century after the historical King Richard III’s death. The play depicts the concluding events of the War of the Roses, a series of civil wars fought in England during the fifteenth century. For decades, two rival factions of the House of Plantagenet, known as the Lancasters and the Yorks, vied for control of the English throne. At the start of the play, the Lancastrians have been defeated by the Yorkists and the country has enjoyed relative peace under the reign of Yorkist king Edward IV. Richard III features an extensive cast of characters. While understanding the varied relationships among characters might pose a challenge, they can generally be divided into three categories: Richard’s allies, Richard’s enemies, and the women at court.Part One: Richard’s AlliesThe Duke of Gloucester, who will become King Richard III, is the central character of the play. He is manipulative and conniving, physically deformed, rhetorically skilled, and murderous in his pursuit of the throne. Many contend that, along with Iago from Othello, Richard III is one of Shakespeare’s greatest dramatic villains.When Richard’s brother, King Edward IV, dies, Richard desires to seize the throne for himself. As he is not the rightful inheritor of the crown, he enlists the help of the Duke of Buckingham to help him achieve his goal. Together, Richard and Buckingham manipulate the court and hire various hitmen to eliminate other threats to the crown. These casualties include Richard’s older brother, the Duke of Clarence, and Richard’s nephews, who are referred to as the “young princes” throughout the play.Part Two: Richard’s EnemiesRichard’s enemies are often extinguished before they have a chance to challenge him. However, one crucial enemy develops over the course of the play. Henry Tudor, the Earl of Richmond, is a member of the rival Lancastrian house. He raises a rebel army and eventually defeats Richard at the end of the play. Richmond, as he is mostly called, is portrayed as kind, just, and fair, standing in stark contrast to Richard and his many self-serving schemes. One reason for Richmond’s sterling portrait is that he is an ancestor of Queen Elizabeth I, who sat on the English throne at the time the play was written.Part Three: The Women at CourtRichard also maintains enemies in the various women at court, though their status as women affords them little power against him. Queen Elizabeth is the widow of King Edward IV and the mother of the young princes. She is strong-willed and vocal in her opposition to Richard, but can do little but rely on her kinsmen – Dorset, Rivers, and Gray – to combat Richard’s schemes.Margaret of Anjou is the widow of the former Lancastrian King Henry VI. She is often compared to a witch, as she frequently hurls curses at Richard and calls for his demise.Lady Anne is Margaret’s daughter-in-law and is the widow of the former Prince Edward of the Lancastrian line. Anne reluctantly agrees to marry Richard after he explains to her that she has no allies left at court.The Duchess of York is Richard’s mother who is ashamed of his behavior. She scorns her youngest son and is fiercely protective of her daughter-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, as well as her grandchildren.Finally, Elizabeth of York – the only daughter of Edward IV and the sister of the young princes – becomes a political pawn over the course of the play. She is eventually betrothed to Richmond, a marriage that unites the Lancastrian and Yorkist claims to the throne, ending the War of the Roses.Despite the fact that Richard III depicts historical events instigated by men, many argue that the women serve an even more important role in the play. Virtually every female character is a widow, and while they are powerless to act, the women – especially Margaret, Lady Anne, and Queen Elizabeth – serve as consistent harbingers of the past and what has been lost. In fact, many suggest that while the events of the play represent English history, the female characters might represent an antithetical notion of English memory.Read our full study guide on Richard III at gradesaver.com/richard-iiiDownload the Family Tree: gradesaver.com/richard-iii/study-guide/family-tree
The Masque of the Red Death - Short Story Summary GradeSaver 2024-10-16 | “The ‘Red Death’ had long devastated the country. No pestilence or horror had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avator and its seal– the redness and the horror of blood.” So begins Edgar Allen Poe’s 1850 short story, “The Masque of the Red Death,” which tells the story of a ruler who tries to conquer death by inviting a thousand of his healthy friends to join him in his abbey, locked away from the outside world.Prince Prospero’s abbey is described as an “extensive and magnificent structure” with strong walls and gates of iron. The courtiers bring “furnaces” and “hammers” and, upon entering, “weld the bolts” such that no one can enter or exit. The prince provides food and pleasure inside: “All these and security were within. Without was the ‘Red Death.’”After five or six months, Prospero holds a grand masked ball in the seven rooms of an imperial suite, which are segregated by sharp turns. Gothic stained glass windows on each side of the room look out into the surrounding corridor. Each room features a different color, which matches the color of the window: the first room is blue (birth), the second purple (youth), the third green (adolescence), the fourth orange (adulthood), the fifth white (old age), and the sixth violet (imminent death). Opposite each window, in the corridor outside the room, was a brazier of fire, whose light shines through the stained glass windows.In the seventh room, however, while the dominant color is black (death), the windows are a scarlet red. Here, the light from the fire creates such a ghastly effect that most of the guests avoid the room altogether. Moreover, a giant ebony clock’s pendulum swings ominously at the revelers, causing everyone to pause in fright. When the hourly chimes cease, the musicians and masqueraders return to their celebration, with laughter and renewed ease.When the clock strikes midnight, the revelers, in their pause, notice a figure among them, “tall and gaunt, and shrouded from head to foot in the habiliments of the grave. The mask appeared like the face of of a corpse, but most frighteningly of all, the figure’s clothing was dabbled in blood and his face sprinkled with scarlet: he had taken on the appearance of the Red Death. Prospero, in the Blue Room, is enraged by this presence, screaming to his courtiers, “who dares insult us with this blasphemous mockery?” and demands that he be seized and unmasked so they can hang him in the morning.The figure stalks slowly and steadily through the apartments, and no one attempts to apprehend him. Suddenly, Prospero rushes through all six rooms, approaching the figure with a dagger held high. The dagger falls to the carpet, however, in the black room, and Prospero falls to the ground, dead.Suddenly, the masqueraders rush the figure of the Red Death, but find no form beneath his exterior. They now understand the figure is the Red Death itself. One by one, each reveler dies. The clock goes out and the fires all extinguish.Read our full guide and analysis at gradesaver.com/poes-short-stories/study-guide/summary-the-masque-of-the-red-death
Frankenstein - Riassunto del Libro GradeSaver 2024-10-02 | English version: youtu.be/JQaY3c7pusIFrankenstein è un romanzo gotico scritto nel 1818 da Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. Secondo la leggenda, Mary Shelley compose Frankenstein durante una vacanza in Svizzera in compagnia di suo marito, Percy B. Shelley, e Lord Byron; due importanti celebrità letterarie dell’epoca. Si dice che durante un’orribile tempesta, il gruppo decise di passare il tempo scrivendo storie di fantasmi: così Mary Shelley arrivò a una prima bozza di Frankenstein, che avrebbe poi lanciato la sua carriera di autrice in un tempo in cui sarebbe stato praticamente impossibile per una donna.Al momento della pubblicazione, Frankenstein, la storia di un ambizioso dottore che riuscì a infondere la vita in un cadavere umano, fu considerata non soltanto una storia dell’orrore ma anche un romanzo di idee. Oggi, il suo romanzo epistolare, è entrato a far parte non soltanto del canone letterario ma anche dell’immaginario popolare.Il romanzo si apre con Robert Walton, un avventuriero inglese in spedizione verso il Polo Nord, il sogno della sua vita. Durante il viaggio, Walton e il suo equipaggio trovano un uomo esausto che viaggia a bordo di una slitta trainata da cani e decidono di accoglierlo a bordo della loro nave. Dopo aver recuperato le forze, Walton chiede a Victor Frankenstein perché stia viaggiando da solo nell’Artico. Dopo aver preso confidenza con Walton, Victor decide di raccontare la sua storia.Assumendo il ruolo di narratore del romanzo, Victor racconta a Walton della sua infanzia idilliaca, in quanto figlio di una famiglia svizzera ricca e altruista. Suo padre, Alphonse, adotta la giovane Carolyn, figlia orfana di un suo caro amico. In seguito, i due si innamorano e si sposano, dando alla luce Victor e altri due figli. Seguendo l’altruismo del marito, Caroline accoglie in seguito Elizabeth, una ragazzina in affidamento, stimolando il rapporto tra lei e Victor.Victor trascorre un’infanzia felice, fatta eccezione per la tragica morte della madre. Ben presto se ne va di casa per frequentare l’università di Ingolstadt, dove la sua passione per la scienza prospera sotto la tutela di Waldeman, un professore di chimica. A Ingolstadt c’è anche Henry Clerval, un amico d’infanzia di Victor che indaga sui temi della moralità e della virtù. Indifferente a questi argomenti, Victor trascorre giorno e notte in laboratorio, sviluppando un interesse logorante per la forza che conferisce la vita a un essere umano. Alla fine, l’interesse di Victor si trasforma in ossessione e decide di condurre un esperimento pericoloso: creare un essere umano con pezzi di morti.Frequentando cimiteri e ossari, Victor non parla a nessuno della sua idea e passano anni senza che torni a casa. Finalmente il suo lavoro è completo. Gli occhi gialli della creatura si aprono, l’esperimento è riuscito. Ma quando Victor vede la grottesca creatura, inorridisce e fugge dal laboratorio. Quando torna, la creatura è scomparsa.Abbandonando lo studio della scienza che un tempo lo affascinava, Victor si unisce a Henry nello studio delle lingue e della poesia. Ogni volta che pensa al mostro che ha creato si sente male, ma spera che sia scomparso per sempre. Tuttavia, ben presto riceve da casa la notizia che suo fratello minore, William, è stato assassinato nella campagna vicino alla tenuta dei Frankenstein.In viaggio verso Ginevra, Victor viene colto da una paura indicibile. Arrivato a casa, barcolla per la campagna nel bel mezzo di una tempesta di fulmini, straziato dal dolore. All’improvviso, vede una figura illuminata da un lampo: la riconosce immediatamente come la sua grottesca creazione. In quel momento, capisce che il mostro è l’assassino di suo fratello. Raggiunta la famiglia alla tenuta, Victor scopre con orrore che la cameriera dei Frankenstein, Justine, è stata accusata ingiustamente dell’omicidio dopo che il medaglione di William è stato trovato in suo possesso. Convinto che nessuno crederà alla sua storia sul mostro, Victor rimane in silenzio e Justine viene giustiziata per il crimine.Mesi dopo, durante un’escursione solitaria in montagna, Victor si ritrova faccia a faccia con la creatura. Con grande sorpresa di Victor, il mostro inizia a raccontare ciò che ha vissuto da quando è fuggito dal suo laboratorio. Straziato dalla fame, ha vagato a lungo e alla fine si è rifugiato vicino al cottage di una famiglia francese. Osservandoli, ha imparato a usare il linguaggio e a conoscere i modi di fare dell’uomo. Nonostante abbia fatto amicizia con il patriarca cieco della famiglia, attratto dalla raffinatezza del mostro, alla fine è stato scacciato dai parenti del vecchio.gradesaver.com/frankenstein
The Odyssey (Part 2) - Poem Summary GradeSaver 2024-09-18 | Read our full study guide on The Odyssey at gradesaver.com/the-odysseyWatch the video for Part 1: youtu.be/YbvMH2LedWQWhen Odysseus finishes the story of his adventures, the Phaeacians ply him with gifts before ferrying him back to Ithaca. Once there, Odysseus is visited by Athena, who disguises him as a beggar and warns him not to tell anyone of his return. Athena also instructs Odysseus to seek out his old swineherd, Eumaeus, who tells the disguised Odysseus of the suitors’ plan to ambush Telemachus upon his return to Ithaca. Odysseus is touched by Eumaeus’ loyalty as the swineherd recounts the story of his service under Laertes, Odysseus’ father.Meanwhile, Athena urges Telemachus to return, warning him of the ambush and instructing him to seek out Eumaeus. Telemachus obeys, visiting Eumaeus’ hut. The swineherd embraces him and introduces him to his “beggar” companion, Odysseus. Telemachus asks Eumaeus to inform Penelope and Laertes of his safe return but warns him to keep it from the suitors. When Eumaeus leaves, Athena instructs Odysseus to reveal his identity to his son, who cries and embraces his long lost father.Reunited, father and son hatch a plan to defeat the suitors: tomorrow, Telemachus will return to the palace, and Eumaeus will follow with Odysseus, again disguised as a beggar. Odysseus will endure the suitor’s abuses, distracting them while Telemachus hides the suitors’ weapons. Odysseus instructs Telemachus to keep their plan a secret from Eumaeus and Penelope as a test of loyalty. Eumaeus informs Penelope of her son’s return, baffling the suitors, who aren’t sure how the boy evaded their notice. They double down on their pledge to kill Telemachus but consider consulting the gods first. The next day, Telemachus reunites with Penelope, lying that Odysseus is still captive on Calypso’s island. However, Theoklymenos, a prophet from Telemachus’ ship, insists that Odysseus is on the island somewhere. Penelope does not believe him.Meanwhile, Eumaeus heads to the palace with the disguised Odysseus, whose old dog recognizes his master, then passes away. Odysseus begs the suitors for bread, and while most oblige, a cruel suitor named Antinous rebukes him, hitting Odysseus with a stool. Separately, Odysseus and Penelope call on the gods to punish Antinous, and Odysseus warns the suitors that the master of the house is bound to return soon.Penelope comes down from her room, confiding in Telemachus that she misses Odysseus terribly. Although she recalls the instructions her husband gave her before he departed for Troy—to remarry once Telemachus has grown up—she finds the suitors despicable. Odysseus is glad to hear this, but so is Antinous, who insists the suitors will not leave until Penelope marries one of them. Once the suitors are asleep, Odysseus and Telemachus stow the suitors’ weapons, as planned.At Penelope’s request, Odysseus visits her room, still disguised as a beggar. He evades her questions about his origins, supplying only enough details to evoke her beloved Odysseus’ memory. Penelope cries, confiding in the “beggar” that she believes her husband to be dead, but he swears to her that Odysseus is alive. When Eurykleia, one of Penelope’s maids, recognizes Odysseus’ scar while washing his feet, Odysseus swears the old woman to secrecy. The next day, Penelope devises a contest: she will marry the suitor who can use Odysseus’ bow to shoot an arrow through twelve axe heads. After a feast at which the suitors continue to abuse Odysseus and threaten Telemachus, the men take turns attempting the feat—and fail. Outside, Odysseus reveals his identity to Eumaeus and Philoitios his old cowherd, instructing them to lock the door when the time comes. Odysseus asks for the bow, and Penelope insists the beggar be allowed to compete, promising him gifts if he succeeds. Telemachus sends Penelope to her room, while Philoitios locks the palace’s gates. To the suitors’ shock, Odysseus strings the bow and smoothly shoots the arrow through all twelve axe heads. Stunned, the suitors scramble to defend themselves from Odysseus, who kills Antinous before revealing his identity. Odysseus challenges the suitors to fight back, despite their pleas to spare them. With the help of Eumaeus, Philoitios, and Telemachus, Odysseus slaughters the suitors while Athena keeps watch. He then forces twelve of Penelope’s maids who were loyal to the suitors to clean the hall of their blood, before ultimately having them hanged. Finally, Eurykleia informs Penelope of Odysseus’ victory over the suitors. But Penelope is sure that a god, not Odysseus, has killed the suitors and decides to test him. When Odysseus reveals intimate knowledge of his own bed, Penelope embraces him, and the couple spends the night recounting their adventures while apart.Read the full transcript at gradesaver.com/the-odyssey
The Odyssey (Part 1) - Poem Summary GradeSaver 2024-09-11 | View the free study guide for this novel at gradesaver.com/the-odysseyLikely composed between 750 and 650 BC, The Odyssey is an epic poem about the adventures of the Greek hero Odysseus following his victory in the Trojan War. A sequel to The Iliad, The Odyssey remains one of the most influential works in Western literature, as its primary theme—the desire for home—has influenced countless modern narratives. Scholars have debated the story’s authorship for years, though it is often attributed to a blind bard named Homer. Regardless, scholars generally agree that the poem was originally shared orally.Ten years after the fall of Troy, the Greek hero Odysseus has still not returned to his native Ithaca. Believing Odysseus to be dead, a band of rowdy suitors has overrun his palace, courting his faithful wife, Penelope, despite her attempts to ward them off. Antinous, the suitors’ manipulative leader, gives Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, a choice: either evict his mother, or force her to marry one of them. Telemachus rejects his offer, begging for aid from Zeus.With Zeus’ blessing, the goddess Athena, Odysseus' greatest immortal ally, appears to Telemachus in disguise, urging the boy to seek news of his father at Pylos and Sparta. Telemachus sets sail, seeking out Odysseus’ old comrades-in-arms for clues to his father’s whereabouts. While he’s away from Ithaca, the suitors conspire to ambush Telemachus upon his return.Little do they know, Odysseus is alive and well, trapped on the island of the beautiful goddess Calypso, who has kept him as her prisoner—and lover—for the last eight years. Athena arranges for Odysseus’ release from Calypso’s island, sending Hermes to deliver the message. Odysseus embarks alone, on a raft, but the sea god Poseidon, whose wrath Odysseus incurred earlier in his adventures, conjures up a storm that nearly drowns him. Odysseus manages to swim to shore, landing in the kingdom of the Phaeacians. Their princess, Nausicaa, is sympathetic to the handsome warrior and invites him to her palace. Alcinous, the Phaeacian king, takes pity on the stranger and vows to help him return home. Odysseus withholds his identity for as long as he can, before finally sharing the story of his adventures.Odysseus begins the story with his departure from Troy. First, Odysseus and his crew reach the island of the Lotus Eaters, a peaceful community that survives primarily on a native plant, the Lotus. But the Lotus, while sweet and sleep-inducing, causes those who eat it to forget their homes and lose all desire to leave the island. Three of Odysseus' men eat the Lotus and wish to stay, but Odysseus forces them back to the ship and sails off.Next, they next reach the land of the Cyclopes, a race of lawless, one-eyed giants. While feasting on the plentiful goats there, Odysseus’ men spot the cyclops Polyphemus in a nearby field and hide in his cave. When Polyphemus notices them, Odysseus lies that their ship was wrecked. To their surprise, Polyphemus grabs two of Odysseus' men, beats them dead, and eats them. When Polyphemus asks for his name, Odysseus tells him he’s called "Nobody.” Polyphemus expresses a desire to eat Odysseus next. Over the coming days, Polyphemus continues eating Odysseus’ men, and Odysseus hatches a plan to defeat Polyphemus, fashioning a spike out of the cyclops’ club. Odysseus plies Polyphemus with wine until he falls asleep, giving himself a chance to ram his spike into Polyphemus’ eye, blinding him. Odysseus escapes with what’s left of his crew, taunting the wounded Polyphemus that “nobody” blinded him as he sails away. Polyphemus prays to his father, Poseidon, to punish Odysseus.Next, Odysseus and his crew reach the island of the wind god, Aiolos, who hosts them for a month before giving Odysseus a bag containing winds to help them reach home. After sailing for ten days, Odysseus and his men spot Ithaca on the horizon. But Odysseus’ crew opens the bag while he sleeps, allowing the winds to rush out, and the ship is blown back to Aiolos’ island. Aiolos expresses his belief that Odysseus' journey is cursed by the gods and refuses to help him further. Odysseus and his crew sail on, narrowly escaping the giant Laistrygonians, who eat one of Odysseus' envoys. They reach the island of the goddess Circe. Odysseus sends half of his crew to greet Circe, who fixes them a feast, and all but Eurylokhos drink her potion, which turns the men into pigs. Eurylokhos returns to alert Odysseus, who elects to investigate on his own. On the way, Hermes gives Odysseus a plant that will protect him from Circe’s spell and instructs him to sleep with Circe, breaking her spell over the crew.Odysseus obeys, and Circe turns his crew back into men. Circe’s maids bathe and feed the men, who end up staying for a whole year before reminding Odysseus of his mission. Read the full summary at: gradesaver.com/the-odysseyWatch Part 2: youtu.be/Cc9PPO9gahA
The Necklace - Story Summary GradeSaver 2024-09-04 | Visit us at gradesaver.com/the-necklace-and-other-stories to read the full video transcript and our study guide for this classic short story, which includes a full list of characters, themes, and much more.“The Necklace” is a short story written by French writer Guy de Maupassant. The titular story in Maupassant’s 1888 collection, the story was extremely popular at the time of its publishing, heralded for its signature twist ending. “The Necklace” tells the story of Mathilde Loisel, a young woman who, dissatisfied with her ordinary life, goes to great pains to attend an extravagant ball.The story opens on Mathilde, a young woman from modest circumstances who believes she was destined for an upper-class life. With no money for a dowry, she marries Monsieur Loisel, a clerk from the Board of Education. Mathilde—now Madame Loisel—detests her and her husband’s humble dwelling, food, and clothing, and daydreams about a life of sophistication.One evening, her husband returns home from work with an invitation for him and Madame Loisel to attend a lavish ball at the Minister of Education’s residence. But to Monsieur Loisel’s surprise, his wife throws down the invitation, weeping. Dismayed, she informs him that she has nothing to wear to such an event and therefore cannot attend. Monsieur Loisel asks his wife how much she would need to buy a suitable dress. She answers that she would need 400 francs. Unbeknownst to her, this is the exact amount that her husband has been saving to go hunting with his friends. Instead, he gives it to his wife to buy a dress for the ball. Madame Loisel buys a dress, but as the party approaches, she again grows restless and gloomy. When her husband asks her what’s wrong, she replies that she is too embarrassed to attend the ball without any jewels. Her husband suggests that she asks her affluent friend, Madame Forestier, if she might borrow some jewels.Amazed that she hadn’t thought of this, Madame Loisel takes her husband’s advice and pays a visit to Madame Forestier, browsing through her assorted jewelry. Finally, she discovers a beautiful diamond necklace in a black satin box. Heart racing, she tries it on, hesitating to ask Madame Forestier if she can borrow it. To Madame Loisel’s great relief, her friend agrees to lend it to her.The day of the ball arrives, and Madame Loisel is a triumph. Not only is she more beautiful and elegant than the other women present, she floats on a “cloud of happiness.” Many of the men in attendance, including every cabinet member, stare at her and ask her to waltz. Even the minister takes notice. It is not until 4 o’clock in the morning that the Loisels leave the ball, taking a cab home. Once inside, Madame Loisel undresses somberly, disappointed that the night is over. Monsieur Loisel is oblivious, distracted by the fact that he must work that morning. Suddenly, Madame Loisel lets out a cry. The necklace is no longer around her neck.Convinced that she dropped it in the cab on the way home, Monsieur Loisel spends the wee hours retracing their path home, searching high and low for the necklace. Unable to find it, he goes to the police, reports the lost item to the cab companies, and even advertises a reward for the necklace’s return. Monsieur Loisel returns that evening, empty-handed. He instructs his wife to write to Madame Forestier, telling her that the clasp is being repaired. That way, they’ll buy some time to keep looking.A week passes, and Monsieur Loisel decides that they must consider how to replace the necklace. Going from one jeweler to another, the couple finally settles on a necklace that closely resembles the original, bargaining the jeweler who owns it down to 36,000 francs. Monsieur Loisel decides to use his savings of 18,000 francs, an inheritance from his father, and to borrow the other half at a high interest rate. Hoping her friend will not notice the difference, Madame Loisel returns the satin box with the new necklace inside.For ten years, the couple toils to repay their loans, dismissing their maid and moving into a ramshackle dwelling to save money. One day, after the couple finally pays off their debts, Madame Loisel runs into Madame Forestier and decides to tell her the whole story. At first, Madame Forestier does not recognize her friend, since the years of poverty have worn on Madame Loisel’s beauty. In a burst of emotion, Madame Loisel reveals the story of the necklace, detailing how she and her husband have worked to repay the cost of its replacement ever since. To her horror, Madame Forestier exclaims that the original necklace was made of imitation diamonds and cost no more than 500 francs.
Otello - Riassunto del Libro GradeSaver 2024-08-28 | English version: youtu.be/p6CNSPmZ8u4Spanish version: youtu.be/SoKjasWBaZMOtello è una tragedia scritta da Shakespeare nel 1603. Ambientata a Venezia, è l’adattamento di una storia dell’autore italiano Giraldo Cinthio che racconta la vicenda di Otello e Desdemona, il cui amore viene sabotato dal nefasto Iago.Nella versione di Shakespeare Otello è un “moro”, termine utilizzato per indicare un musulmano dalla pelle scura proveniente dal nord dell’Africa, dalla Spagna o dal Medioriente. La provenienza di Otello è stata molto dibattuta nel corso degli anni e gli studiosi lo considerano una figura tragica di assimilazione in quanto l’opera è sostanzialmente una cronaca dei suoi tentativi di inserirsi tra i bianchi veneziani.L’opera inizia con Iago, un portabandiera dell’esercito veneziano, che parla con Roderigo, un altro veneziano. Roderigo ha il cuore spezzato, perché la sua amata Desdemona, la figlia benestante di un rinomato senatore, è da poco fuggita con Otello, un generale moro. Si dà il caso che anche Iago nutra risentimento nei confronti di Otello, che ha da poco promosso a luogotenente un soldato dalla lingua lunga di nome Cassio al posto suo. Il doppiogiochista Iago decide di sabotare Otello e Desdemona usando come pedina l’innamorato Roderigo.Per farlo, incoraggia l'innamorato Roderigo a informare il padre di Desdemona, Brabanzio, del matrimonio segreto della ragazza con Otello. Brabantio è indignato dalla notizia del matrimonio della figlia e affronta Otello, accusando il generale di aver stregato la figlia. Otello, tuttavia, giura che lui e Desdemona hanno legato grazie alle storie della sua difficile vita. Otello dice che lei lo amava per i pericoli che aveva vissuto e lui, a sua volta, l’amava perché lei provava pietà. Mentre Otello cerca di persuadere un pubblico di senatori, insieme al Duca di Venezia, che Desdemona lo ama veramente, Brabantio avverte Otello che anche sua figlia potrebbe essere in grado di ingannarlo.Si diffonde la notizia di un imminente attacco a Cipro da parte dei nemici turchi e Otello viene chiamato a difendere l’isola. Accompagnati da Emilia, moglie di Iago e assistente di Desdemona, Cassio, Iago e Desdemona seguono l’esercito a Cipro. Tuttavia, una volta giunti sull’isola, il gruppo scopre che una tempesta ha annientato la flotta turca. Otello organizza un festeggiamento, che poi lascia per consumare il suo matrimonio con Desdemona.Mentre Otello è assente, Iago fa ubriacare Cassio, poi convince Roderigo ad attirare Cassio in una rissa. La rissa sveglia Otello, che incolpa Cassio della rissa e lo priva del suo rango. Cassio si lamenta della sua reputazione infangata con Iago, che lo manipola ancora una volta e lo spinge ad appellarsi a Desdemona, dicendo che lei può convincere Otello a restituire il titolo a Cassio.Cassio segue il consiglio di Iago e va a trovare Desdemona, che accetta di aiutarlo. Ma mentre esce dalla sua casa, Cassio si imbatte in Otello. Più tardi, Iago coglie l’occasione per convincere il Otello del fatto che sua moglie ha una relazione con il luogotenente caduto in disgrazia; Otello comincia a dubitare della fedeltà della moglie.Mentre si trova nei suoi giardini, Desdemona fa cadere il fazzoletto che Otello le aveva regalato durante la loro luna di miele. Emilia lo trova e Iago la convince a permettergli di restituire il fazzoletto a Desdemona. Tuttavia, Iago lo mette nella stanza di Cassio e mente a Otello dicendo che Desdemona ha dato il fazzoletto a Cassio come pegno del suo amore.All'inizio Otello dubita dell’accusa di Iago. Questo fino a quando non assiste con i suoi occhi alla consegna del fazzoletto a Bianca da parte di Cassio. Infuriato, giura di vendicarsi sia della moglie che di Cassio.Tuttavia, Otello è riluttante ad agire contro Desdemona. Nel tentativo di convincere Otello della sua infedeltà, Iago inscena una conversazione con Cassio, incaricando Otello di origliare. Durante questo scambio, Iago convince Cassio a parlare della sua relazione con Bianca, facendo credere a Otello che stia parlando di Desdemona. Convinto, Otello decide di uccidere Desdemona e ordina a Iago, che promuove luogotenente, di uccidere Cassio.Quando incontra Iago, Roderigo esprime la sua frustrazione per la mancanza di progressi nel corteggiamento di Desdemona. Ancora una volta, Iago lo manipola, convincendo Roderigo che se ucciderà Cassio, costringerà Otello, e per estensione Desdemona, a rimanere a Cipro. A malincuore, Roderigo si scontra con Cassio e viene ferito gravemente, ma non mortalmente. Per impedirgli di rivelare i suoi piani, Iago uccide Roderigo di nascosto.Sebbene Emilia giuri a Otello che Desdemona gli è stata fedele, i dubbi sono ben radicati nella mente del generale. Quando Desdemona fa il nome di Cassio davanti a un nobile, Ludovico, Otello la schiaffeggia pubblicamente.gradesaver.com/othello
The Bell Jar - Book Summary GradeSaver 2024-08-21 | View the free study guide for this novel at gradesaver.com/the-bell-jarThe Bell Jar is the sole novel written by American writer and poet Sylvia Plath. The story is semi-autobiographical, with protagonist Esther Greenwood serving as a fictional counterpart to the author herself. The book is regarded as a roman à clef, since Esther’s descent into mental illness closely parallels Plath’s own mental health struggles. The work is also a quintessential example of “confessional literature,” which is defined as works that focus on personal trauma and previously taboo matters such as mental illness and suicide. Plath herself questioned the literary value of the novel, which prompted her to publish it under the pseudonym “Victoria Lucas.” Plath committed suicide in February 1963, one month after the book’s first publication in the United Kingdom. The Bell Jar was not published under Plath’s own name until 1967, and it was not published in the United States until 1971. The story begins in New York during the summer of 1953. Esther Greenwood, a nineteen-year-old student at an elite women’s college in Massachusetts, has been awarded a prestigious summer internship at the fictional Ladies’ Day magazine in Manhattan. Although Esther wants to be excited for the opportunities she has been granted, she finds herself disinterested and skeptical of the fast-paced, hierarchical New York literary scene. Throughout the duration of her internship, Esther stays at an all-women hotel called The Amazon with eleven other students working at Ladies’ Day. While there, she feels ostracized by her peers for her middle-class background and unconventional thinking style. Esther describes a series of dramatic and humorous incidents that occur at the beginning of her internship. She befriends Doreen, another internship recipient who comes from a society school in the South. Together, the two meet a Disc Jockey named Lenny and spend a night with him, though Esther becomes overwhelmed with a sense of despair and leaves early. In another vignette, Esther talks with Jay Cee, her editor at Ladies’ Day. Once again, Esther enters into a spiral of self-loathing when Jay Cee asks her about her future goals and career ambitions. In another vignette, all of the Ladies’ Day interns contract food poisoning from the magazine’s banquet. Read the full summary at gradesaver.com/emmaOne morning, a man named Constantin, who works as an interpreter at the United Nations, calls Esther to ask her on a date. His advance prompts Esther to reminisce about her former boyfriend, Buddy Willard. Before Buddy contracted tuberculosis and was sent away to a recovery facility in the Adirondacks, he studied science at Yale. Esther remembers how he wooed her by giving her a tour of the hospital he was apprenticing at. The narration flashes back to the present day, where Esther is on a date with Constantin. She enjoys his company, and although she hopes for him to seduce her, their night ends rather platonically.Just a few days before their internship ends, Doreen arranges a date for Esther with a Peruvian man named Marco. When the two meet to go to the country club, Marco gives Esther a large diamond and makes a cryptic remark about her “earning it.” As the night progresses, Marco admits to Esther that he is involved in a forbidden love affair with his first cousin. After Esther tells Marco that he will fall in love again someday, he forcefully pushes her on the ground and assaults her. Esther fights Marco off while he aggressively demands that she return his diamond. After she escapes and returns to the hotel later that night, Esther impulsively throws her new, gifted clothing off of the roof of The Amazon. With the internship coming to an end, Esther returns to Massachusetts to live with her mother. Upon her arrival at home, she is notified that she has not been accepted to a writing course that she was hoping to attend. Upset at the derailment of her plans, Esther meditates upon the importance of her academic performance and fears life after graduation. Esther’s depression intensifies, and her mother instructs her to see a psychiatrist. Dr. Gordon advises Esther to begin “shock therapy” treatments, but they are ineffective. After not being able to sleep for nearly three weeks, Esther half-heartedly attempts suicide on more than one occasion.Esther’s torment compounds, and she makes a more thought-through plan to commit suicide. In a note she leaves for her mother, Esther declares that she is “going for a walk.” However, she takes the bottle of pills that have been prescribed for her insomnia and takes a copious amount while hiding in a hole in her home’s cellar. When Esther regains consciousness, she learns that her case has been covered by various news outlets.Read the full summary at gradesaver.com/the-bell-jar
I viaggi di Gulliver - Riassunto del Libro GradeSaver 2024-08-14 | English version: youtu.be/SLE8F1TG7YcSpanish version: youtu.be/RInyuanzhskI viaggi di Gulliver è un racconto di viaggio di fantasia scritto da Jonathan Swift nel Diciottesimo secolo. La storia è una satira della cultura e della politica britanniche, in quanto il capitano inglese Lemuel Gulliver racconta le sue straordinarie esperienze di viaggio in terre straniere. Nel corso di quattro viaggi distinti, Gulliver acquisisce nuove prospettive confrontando le culture che incontra con la sua.La storia inizia con un resoconto della vita pregressa di Gulliver, compreso il suo matrimonio con la signora Mary Burton e il suo lavoro di medico. Quando la sua attività comincia a fallire, Gulliver intraprende una serie di viaggi in mare.Durante il primo viaggio, le sfide di Gulliver iniziano quando una violenta tempesta fa affondare la sua nave. Unico sopravvissuto, raggiunge a nuoto un’isola chiamata Lilliput dove sviene per la stanchezza. Al suo risveglio si ritrova con le braccia e le gambe legate al suolo da piccole creature chiamate Lillipuziani, alte solo 15 centimetri. Quando cerca di liberarsi, iniziano ad attaccarlo con archi e frecce.Quando Gulliver promette di non fare del male ai Lillipuziani, questi gli portano cibo e bevande e lo conducono nella loro capitale. Lì, l’imperatore si consulta con i suoi uomini più saggi sul loro gigantesco prigioniero. Temono che Gulliver possa fuggire o causare una carestia per via della quantità di cibo necessaria a sfamarlo. Dopo aver accettato di assisterli nei compiti civili e negli sforzi bellici, lo liberano e gli danno da mangiare in abbondanza.Poi, Reldresal, un amico e funzionario del governo, racconta a Gulliver della minaccia di invasione da parte degli abitanti dell’Isola di Blefuscu. Anni prima, i Lillipuziani discussero con loro per decidere quale estremità di un uovo dovesse essere rotta; la disputa portò a sei ribellioni e a migliaia di morti.Quando i Lillipuziani e i Blefuschiani entrano di nuovo in guerra, Gulliver si dimostra molto utile: trascina l’intera flotta di navi dei Blefuschiani sulla costa di Lilliput. L’imperatore concede a Gulliver il titolo di “Nardac”, la massima onorificenza. Gulliver rifiuta l’insistenza dell’imperatore nel voler distruggere i Blefuschiani e trasformare Blefuscu in una provincia di Lilliput. Al contrario, Gulliver accoglie un’ambasciata di Blefuscu che offre la pace, che l’imperatore non può che accettare.Qualche giorno dopo, quando un incendio divampa nella camera dell’imperatrice del palazzo, Gulliver spegne le fiamme urinandoci sopra. Pur avendo salvato il palazzo, viene accusato di tradimento per una serie di reati: aver urinato sul palazzo reale, essersi rifiutato di ridurre Blefuscu a una provincia, aver aiutato gli ambasciatori di Blefuscu quando sono venuti a chiedere la pace e aver progettato di visitare Blefuscu.Sebbene Gulliver rispetti le leggi dei lillipuziani, che puniscono severamente la disonestà, ben presto vede il piccolo popolo per le creature ridicole e meschine che sono. Fugge a Blefuscu per evitare di farsi cavare gli occhi. Lì salpa e viene caricato su una nave mercantile. Al suo ritorno a casa, Gulliver esibisce il bestiame di dimensioni lillipuziane che ha introdotto di nascosto in patria tenendolo in tasca e ne ricava un buon profitto.Durante il suo secondo pericoloso viaggio, una tempesta porta la nave di Gulliver fuori rotta ed egli approda su una strana isola chiamata Brobdingnag, piena di giganti. L'equipaggio di Gulliver lo abbandona per paura dopo che si è allontanato in cerca di acqua.Un contadino porta Gulliver a casa sua dopo averlo quasi calpestato. Gulliver si addormenta, ma viene spaventato da due grossi topi. Li combatte con la sua daga, una spada corta, uccidendone uno e spaventando l'altro.Il contadino porta quindi Gulliver al mercato affinché si esibisca per gli avventori. La sua reputazione colpisce la regina che introduce Gulliver alla vita di corte. Qui trova un nemico in un nano, che sembra essere geloso di tutte le attenzioni che riceve. Il re discute di politica con Gulliver, criticando il governo e il passato violento dell'Inghilterra, e poi lo umilia concludendo che gli inglesi sono inferiori ai Brobdingnagi.Gulliver sperimenta una serie di pericoli dovuti alla sua piccola taglia. Le dame di corte lo trattano come un giocattolo, vestendolo e svestendolo. Gulliver riflette su quanto i lillipuziani si siano sentiti sopraffatti e respinti dalla sua enorme presenza. Dopo due anni a Brobdingnag, Gulliver viene catturato da un'aquila gigante che lo fa cadere in mare, dove viene salvato da una nave di passaggio.Una volta tornato in Inghilterra, Gulliver trova difficile riadattarsi alle proporzioni della sua vecchia vita dopo aver trascorso così tanto tempo tra i brobdingnagiani. Più di due mesi dopo, salpa per il suo terzo pericoloso viaggio in qualità di chirurgo.gradesaver.com/gullivers-travels
Alice nel paese delle meraviglie - Riassunto del Libro GradeSaver 2024-08-07 | English version: youtu.be/CeAe7MJgDCcAlice nel paese delle meraviglie è un romanzo scritto da Lewis Carroll nel 1865, durante l’epoca Vittoriana. La giovane eroina, Alice, si avventura in un mondo fantastico pieno di pozioni magiche, torte, funghi, ostacoli bizzarri e creature straordinarie. Carroll utilizza gli abitanti del Paese delle meraviglie per deridere la rigorosità e le costrizioni morali dell’epoca Vittoriana. La lotta di Alice per adattarsi al mondo fantastico rappresenta inoltre un’iniziazione alle strane regole e ai comportamenti dell’età adulta.L’opera inizia con Alice intenta a spiare il Bianconiglio, che parla da solo. Affascinata, lo segue in una tana e durante la sua lenta caduta, teme di potersi ritrovare dall’altra parte della Terra.Quando finalmente raggiunge il fondo della tana, incolume, continua a seguire il Bianconiglio in un lungo corridoio pieno di porte chiuse. Su un tavolo lì vicino c’è una chiave d’oro, ma è troppo piccola per le serrature. Dietro una tenda trova una piccola porta e riesce ad aprirla, ma non può entrarvi a causa delle sue dimensioni. Oltre la porta riesce a scorgere un minuscolo passaggio che porta a un bel giardino che vorrebbe visitare.Alice torna al tavolo e nota che è comparsa una boccetta: ne beve il contenuto, che sa di frutta, e il suo corpo rimpicciolisce abbastanza da poter passare attraverso la porta. Tuttavia, presto Alice si accorge di aver lasciato la chiave d’oro sul tavolo, ma ormai è troppo piccola per riuscire a prenderla. Piange per il suo stupido errore, ma poco dopo ritrova le speranze grazie a una fetta di torta.Quando la torta fa effetto, Alice inizia a crescere: stavolta continua a crescere fino a raggiungere le dimensioni di un gigante: sarà di nuovo impossibile oltrepassare la porta, quindi ricomincia a piangere. Torna il Bianconiglio, correndo lungo il corridoio. Alice prova a parlargli, ma lui scappa, terrorizzato, abbandonando il ventaglio e i guanti bianchi.Alice raccoglie il ventaglio e ricomincia a rimpicciolirsi, quindi lo getta a terra per evitare di sparire del tutto. Ora ha le dimensioni giuste per poter oltrepassare la porta che conduce al giardino, ma ha di nuovo lasciato la chiave sul tavolo.In poco tempo, Alice scivola e cade in un mare di acqua salata formato dalle lacrime che aveva versato quando era un gigante. Vede un topo nuotare, ma involontariamente lo offende e spaventa parlando del suo gatto. Nuota insieme al topo e altri animali fino a uscire dall’acqua e subito questi l’abbandonano.Rimasta sola, Alice attraversa la foresta dove incontra di nuovo il Bianconiglio. Lui la scambia per la sua domestica e la manda a prendere alcune cose a casa sua. Mentre è lì, beve un’altra pozione e diventa troppo grande per poter uscire dalla porta. Alla fine trova dei pasticcini che la fanno tornare piccola.Alice esce di corsa dalla casa e si ritrova in una fitta foresta in cui cerca qualcosa che possa farla tornare alle sue dimensioni normali. Improvvisamente si trova faccia a faccia con un cucciolo giocherellone: inizia a giocarci, ma presto capisce che, date le sue dimensioni, quel cucciolo rappresenta una minaccia per lei. Riesce a malapena a non farsi calpestare.Mentre vaga, sola, tra fiori giganti e fili d’erba, Alice incontra il Brucaliffo, che fuma un narghilé mentre sta seduto su un fungo. Lui le dà alcuni saggi consigli e uno strumento prezioso: Alice può diventare grande o piccola a suo piacimento mangiando i due lati del fungo.La prima volta che mangia il fungo, Alice diventa enorme. La sua testa sbuca dai rami di un albero e lì incontra un enorme Piccione, che le vola addosso e le colpisce il viso con le ali. Il Piccione pensa che sia un serpente. Incapace di convincerlo del contrario, dice ad Alice di andarsene.Mangia l’altro pezzo di fungo per tornare alle sue dimensioni normali, e prova a trovare il giardino ma scova invece una bella miniatura della casa. Alice mordicchia di nuovo il fungo finché non raggiunge le dimensioni giuste per poter entrare.La casa appartiene alla Duchessa che discute ferocemente con la Cuoca. Le due sembrano noncuranti dell’incolumità del bambino che la Duchessa sta allattando. Alice soccorre il bambino e scopre che si tratta in realtà di un maiale e non di un umano. Lo libera, lasciandolo trotterellare nel bosco.Poi Alice vede lo Stregatto, a cui chiede indicazioni. Lui le indica la strada per la casa del Cappellaio e della Lepre Marzolina, ma l’avverte: sono entrambi matti. Il gatto accusa anche altri abitanti del posto, Alice e sé stesso di follia, per poi sparire dalla coda al sorriso.Alice usa il fungo per aumentare la sua altezza e si unisce per il tè a casa della Lepre Marzolina. Le tre creature presenti (la Lepre Marzolina, il Cappellaio e il Ghiro) contraddicono e correggono Alice con argomentazioni sconclusionate e una strana logica. Gran parte della conversazione riguarda il tempo.gradesaver.com/alice-in-wonderland
Beowulf - Riassunto del Libro GradeSaver 2024-07-17 | Beowulf now available in Italian! For English, visit: youtu.be/pkOi7c13yYMBeowulf è la prima narrazione epica giunta fino a noi in lingua inglese, sebbene il suo autore rimanga misterioso. Le circostanze della stesura del poema sono molto dibattute dagli studiosi. Molti ritengono inoltre che la storia sia stata trasmessa oralmente prima di diventare un manoscritto, poiché l’unica copia esistente risale alla fine del Decimo secolo.Composta originariamente in inglese antico, l’opera si rifà alle prime leggende germaniche ed è ambientata nella Scandinavia pagana. Racconta la saga di Beowulf, un guerriero geato che difende il regno danese, e poi il proprio, da vari mostri assetati di sangue.Il poema si apre con Hrothgar, il re dei danesi, che intende celebrare il suo regno costruendo una grande sala chiamata Heorot. Quando la sala è terminata, Hrothgar organizza un grande banchetto che attira l’attenzione di Grendel, un mostro che discende dal biblico Caino. Grendel attacca durante la notte, lasciando che Hrothgar e i suoi feudatari scoprano lo spargimento di sangue il mattino seguente. Questo segna l’inizio del regno del terrore di Grendel.Passano dodici anni e la notizia della campagna di Grendel contro i danesi si diffonde in un’altra tribù, i Geati. Beowulf, un signore dei geati, decide di aiutare i danesi, salpando per la Danimarca con i suoi migliori guerrieri. Il re Hrothgar accetta di buon grado l’aiuto di Beowulf.Per onorare l’arrivo di Beowulf, Hrothgar organizza un altro banchetto a Heorot. Durante i festeggiamenti, un feudatario di nome Unferth coinvolge Beowulf in una gara di sbruffoneria, accusandolo di aver perso una gara di nuoto. Beowulf lo corregge raccontando la sua eroica vittoria nella gara, spingendo la regina danese Wealhtheow ad assegnargli la coppa d’idromele cerimoniale. Beowulf dice alla regina che o ucciderà Grendel o sarà ucciso. Hrothgar si commuove e promette a Beowulf tutto il suo oro se Beowulf avrà sconfitto il mostro.Beowulf e i suoi guerrieri trascorrono la notte a Heorot. Grendel arriva e inghiotte uno degli uomini di Beowulf. Quest’ultimo combatte contro Grendel disarmato, riuscendo a prendere il braccio del mostro in una morsa mortale. Contorcendosi per il dolore, il mostro si divincola, lasciando il braccio nella presa di Beowulf. Infine, Grendel si ritira nella sua tana, dove muore.Al settimo cielo per la sconfitta di Grendel, i danesi inchiodano il braccio della creatura alle pareti di Heorot come trofeo, inondando Beowulf e i suoi uomini di ricchezze. Organizzano un’altra festa per Beowulf, dove il menestrello di Hrothgar compone canzoni che lo celebrano come il più grande eroe della storia danese. Tuttavia, una volta che i festeggiati si sono addormentati, arriva la madre di Grendel, in cerca di vendetta. Riesce a rapire uno dei consiglieri di Hrothgar e si ritira nella sua tana.Hrothgar indica a Beowulf la direzione della tana dei mostri e questi convince il re ad accompagnarlo. Una volta arrivato, Beowulf prende una spada da Unferth e si tuffa in un lago profondo. Quando raggiunge il fondo, Beowulf trova la madre di Grendel, pronta ad attaccare. Utilizza la spada di Unferth, ma la trova inutile contro la creatura e lotta con il mostro finché non trova un’altra spada, che usa per tagliarle la testa. Prima di andarsene, nota il cadavere di Grendel e taglia la testa anche a lui.Nel frattempo, i danesi hanno perso ogni speranza sul ritorno di Beowulf. Ma, con loro grande sorpresa, Beowulf si presenta con la testa di Grendel e l’elsa della sua spada, che si è sciolta al calore del sangue di Grendel. Gli uomini riportano Beowulf a Heorot, dove si svolge un’altra celebrazione. Prima di tornare a casa nel Götaland, Beowulf promette un’alleanza eterna con Hrothgar, che il re ricambia con gratitudine.Beowulf e i suoi uomini tornano a casa, intrattenendo il re e la regina dei geati, Hygelac e Hygd, con i racconti della loro vittoria. Colpito dal coraggio di Beowulf, Hygelac gli dona metà del regno. Quando Hygelac viene ucciso in battaglia, Beowulf diventa re dei geati.Nel cinquantesimo anno di regno di Beowulf, un nuovo mostro inizia a terrorizzare i suoi possedimenti: un drago sputafuoco che cerca di vendicarsi di un servo dei geati che ha rubato una coppa d’oro dalla sua tana, che ospita un antico tesoro. Trovando la coppa mancante, il drago si scatena nella sua furia infuocata, distruggendo la grande sala di Beowulf.gradesaver.com/beowulf/study-guide/video-beowulf
Hamlet and the Revenge Tragedy (Part II) GradeSaver 2024-06-26 | This video takes up where we left off in “Hamlet and the Revenge Tragedy: Part One.” In that video, we revisited the initial call for revenge: the ghost’s request that Hamlet avenge his father’s death. We noted that Hamlet’s indecision and internal struggles impede his action in the first part of the play. (Watch Part I here: youtu.be/FUzT0TriDQ4)This video will explore how the second half of Hamlet as a play continues to defy the expectations of a revenge tragedy.Hamlet has been, from the very first moments of Act I, reluctant to carry out the absurd and generic task that is his as a character in a revenge tragedy – “The time is out of joint,” he says. “Oh cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right!” Hamlet’s self reflection reveals that he is not a hero who will act quickly, or in accordance with the timing of retribution. It is not until Hamlet’s famous soliloquy in Act IV, Scene 4, that Hamlet describes his decisive course of action: How all occasions do inform against me, And spur my dull revenge! What is a man, If his chief good and market of his time Be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more.(Act 4, Scene 4) While Hamlet does seem to make up his mind in this speech, Act IV also presents us with an alternate version of revenge. After Hamlet mistakenly kills Polonius in a fit of rage in Act III, Laertes (Polonius’s son) is driven by a desire for retribution. Laertes’s goal only intensifies when his sister, Ophelia, dies by drowning. Laertes’ vengeance serves as a contrast to Hamlet’s own hesitating, over-thinking character. This is a true avenger. When he bursts into court demanding satisfaction, he says, That drop of blood that’s calm proclaims me bastard, Cries cuckold to my father, brands the harlot Even here between the chaste unsmirched browOf my true mother.In other words, Laertes proclaims that he has a blood-bound duty to avenge his father’s death impetuously and bloodily, or else he proves himself not his father’s son. In contrast, Hamlet has been calm, reflective, passive, playful, morbid, and impotent in his own long-delayed quest for revenge – a quest which has led rather to an attempt to find motivation for revenge, to reflect on the nature of revenge, the nature of man, and the nature of himself. By Act IV, Hamlet has thought and thought but not acted. Laertes, in contrast, acts without thinking.CONCLUSIONAs we’ve seen, the play begins rather straightforwardly, if ironically, as a revenge tragedy – the king’s ghost spurs his son to revenge. In Act Five, like the Act Fives of all major revenge tragedies, the protagonist does kill the initial perpetrator: Hamlet kills Claudius. But he does so in such a roundabout, half-cocked, off-hand way, we wonder whether this really counts as revenge. The death of Claudius certainly lacks the poetic justice that vengeance seems to require. In some ways, Shakespeare seems to have miscast his hero: he has given us a character whose accomplishments are intellectual and verbal, not violent and physical. By the final Act, it seems as though the playwright has finally given up trying to tie his hero down to conventions. Hamlet the character has forced Hamlet–the play– to diverge from the predictability of its genre. Hamlet as a character resolves little, but constantly turns over the questions. The play has turned from a simple and predictable genre play to one that is somewhat inscrutable, one that seems to value introspection over action. Read the full study guide at gradesaver.com/hamletWatch the full summary video at youtu.be/IaTaaNinolU
Hamlet and the Revenge Tragedy (Part I) GradeSaver 2024-06-12 | Is Hamlet a traditional revenge play? What other forces are at work in Hamlet's psyche?As a play, Hamlet is sometimes considered a revenge tragedy––a literary genre principally defined by--you guessed it--its protagonist’s quest for revenge. Revenge is traditionally the cold-blooded pursuit to make up for one hurt with a strike against its perpetrator. Revenge is usually violent. Hamlet is hardly a traditional play of revenge, because the main character is so uncertain and ambivalent about both the original strike–the murder of his father– and what he should do about it. Melancholy and uncertainty play just as large a role in Hamlet's character as the desire for revenge.In both parts of this video, we’ll look at Act One and Act Four to see how Shakespeare’s play operates as an example of a revenge tragedy, but also complicates how this revenge quest might unfold.The play opens with Hamlet pondering the drastic changes that have recently occurred in his life. He questions the peculiar circumstances of his father’s death, his mother’s swift remarriage to his Uncle Claudius, and Claudius’s succession to the throne. Amidst his confusion, Hamlet is approached by the ghost of his own deceased father, the previous king. The ghost provides answers to Hamlet’s doubts, explaining that Hamlet’s mother and Claudius were involved in an affair and together conspired to murder him. The ghost proceeds to tell Hamlet that he seeks “revenge [for] his foul and most unnatural murder” (Act 1, Scene 5). Following this encounter, it is expected that Hamlet will undergo a kind of transformation–from a grieving, aimless son to a heroic avenger. However, this is not exactly the case. Although Hamlet shares a literal roof with Claudius (and thus has many opportunities to harm his enemy) he spends much of the time in the play in self-examination, unable to act upon his late father’s wishes. Hamlet’s plans are repeatedly thwarted by his own internal struggles. In Act One, revenge is initially presented as an impetus that sets the play’s actions into motion. However, Hamlet’s failure to progress in his quest calls into question the terms of the traditional revenge tragedy–especially the spur to timely action: the certain and quick “cold-blooded pursuit” of the initial perpetrator.**Please listen to Hamlet and the Revenge Tragedy: Part II to continue this analysis.**Read the full study guide at gradesaver.com/hamletWatch the full summary video at youtu.be/IaTaaNinolU
Hamlets Play-Within-A-Play - An Analysis of Meta-Theater GradeSaver 2024-05-29 | Act Three of Hamlet features an example of meta-theater, or a performance that comments on its own theatricality. After learning from the ghost that it was Claudius who killed his father, Hamlet devises a plan to confirm whether Claudius is truly guilty. He arranges for a troupe of actors to perform a play called “The Death of Gonzago.” The play is also referred to as “The Mousetrap,” which is the title Hamlet provides to Claudius when he inquires about the performance they are about to watch.The play-within-a-play follows a simple and familiar plot: Gonzago, the Duke of Vienna, is murdered by his nephew, Lucianus, when Lucianus pours poison into the Duke’s ear while the Duke is asleep. After the king dies, Lucianus marries the duke’s widow, Baptista. Of course, this plot mirrors that of Hamlet itself, as Claudius murders King Hamlet and then marries his widow, Hamlet’s mother Gertrude. Before the play-within-a-play begins, Hamlet confides in Horatio and enlists his help in executing his plan. He explains that the purpose of the play is to “catch the conscience of the king.” In other words, Hamlet hopes that by putting Claudius’s crime on display under the guise of theatrical performance, Claudius will have a visual reaction that will reveal his guilt. Horatio agrees to watch Claudius closely throughout the performance.As the actors are depicting the murder of Gonzago onstage, Claudius suddenly rises and demands more light before fleeing the performance altogether. Horatio and Hamlet interpret Claudius’s response as a certain indication of his guilt, and this realization sends Hamlet into a frantic state. He is faced with more uncertainty about how to proceed now that he knows the truth.However, the play-within-a-play scene is not such a clear-cut truth-telling device as Hamlet makes it seem. Indeed, Hamlet’s own behavior before and during the performance suggests certain truths about the character of Hamlet himself in relation to some of the broader play’s central themes.For instance, Hamlet is remarkably clear-headed as he confides in Horatio before the performance. He lays out his plan and even praises Horatio for his self-control and strong grip on reality. As soon as Claudius and Gertrude enter, however, Hamlet becomes erratic and unpredictable, giving nonsensical answers to questions and speaking crude sexual innuendos to Ophelia throughout the performance. Hamlet’s strange behavior is thus as much on display in this scene as Claudius’s alleged guilt. That Hamlet undergoes such a noticeable shift against the backdrop of the play-within-the-play ultimately suggests the play’s broader interest in performance, artifice, and pretending. While some may maintain that Hamlet is simply mad or driven mad by indecision, this scene opens up another possibility: that Hamlet, too, is merely playing a part.Read our full study guide on Hamlet at gradesaver.com/hamletHamlet Summary Video: youtu.be/IaTaaNinolUAnalysis of "To Be, Or Not To Be": youtu.be/JC7ja0wsxqYAnalysis of Yorick's Skull: youtu.be/5bOEW4iEtiw
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Book Summary GradeSaver 2024-04-24 | Read our free study guide at gradesaver.com/the-picture-of-dorian-grayThe Picture of Dorian Gray is the first and only novel written by Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde. The story can be described as “Faustian,” as it follows a man who trades the purity of his soul for undying youth. In the novel, Dorian becomes obsessed with his image after posing for a portrait painting. Overwhelmed by the fear that the youth and beauty captured in the portrait will fade, Dorian passionately wishes for the picture to age and for him to remain as he is captured. Dorian’s wish comes true, but he soon finds that the portrait records each of the sins he commits over time. Ultimately, Dorian is driven to madness as he tries to reconcile the bodily decay recorded in his portrait. The story begins on a beautiful summer day in 19th century Victorian London. Basil Hallward, a respected and reclusive painter, entertains his aristocratic friend, Lord Henry Wotton, at his home. The two admire a portrait that Basil is working on, and their discussion turns towards the sitter, a handsome and charming young man named Dorian Gray. Lord Henry insists on meeting Basil’s muse, but he refuses, hoping to shield the innocent boy from Lord Henry’s cynicism. Much to the painter’s chagrin, Basil’s butler announces that Dorian has arrived unexpectedly. Upon their introduction, Lord Henry is immediately enraptured by Dorian’s charm and good looks. Lord Henry, who is particularly opinionated and persuasive, begins talking to Dorian about the ephemerality of beauty. Dorian is horrified by the idea that someday his beauty will fade. When Basil shows Dorian his completed portrait, Dorian is overcome with horror by his realization that he will not look like he appears in the portrait forever. Influenced by his discussion with Lord Henry, Dorian exclaims that he would “give his soul” in order for himself to remain young while his picture grows old. Shocked by the young man’s reaction, Basil grabs a knife and moves to destroy the painting. Dorian stops him, declaring such an act would be murder. Basil then vows to give Dorian the painting as a gift. A month later, Dorian visits Lord Henry in order to tell him some news. Dorian has fallen in love with an outstanding actress named Sibyl Vane, who performs in Shakespearean plays that are put on by a lower class theater troupe. Dorian proposes to an enthusiastic Sibyl, the bride’s family has their reservations––Sibyl’s mother is hesitant to allow her daughter to wed an upper class man because the family is plagued by their own financial issues. Meanwhile, Sibyl’s younger brother, James, is suspicious of Dorian’s intentions and vows to murder anyone who puts his sister in harm’s way.Dorian invites Lord Henry and Basil to watch Sibyl perform in Romeo and Juliet. Lord Henry is swiftly judgmental, and he mocks the “low class” behavior of the theater goers. To everyone’s surprise, Sibyl performs terribly. The performance is unbearable to sit through, and Lord Henry and Basil leave an embarrassed Dorian alone in the theater. Following the performance, Dorian confronts Sibyl and expresses his disgust. She tells him that she was unable to perform “being in love” when she feels so strongly enamored with Dorian. Dorian reacts to Sybil’s compliment rather callously, leaving the theater in a huff. When he returns home, he finds that Basil’s portrait of him now bears a “touch of cruelty in the mouth.”The following day, Lord Henry arrives at Dorian’s residence unannounced. Dorian tells his friend about his intention to reconcile with his fiancée, but Lord Henry informs Dorian that he is too late––Sibyl has killed herself with poison following their fight. Lord Henry advises Dorian to maintain a low profile so that he is not a suspect in Sibyl’s death. Basil then visits Dorian and is aghast to learn that Dorian appears unmoved by Sibyl’s suicide. Basil notices that the portrait he has painted of Dorian is now covered. Basil inquires a bit about the portrait, but Dorian finds the questions invasive. Dorian decides to lock the covered painting in the attic for the foreseeable future. Read the full summary at gradesaver.com/the-picture-of-dorian-gray
Moby Dick (Part 2) - Book Summary GradeSaver 2024-04-03 | View the free study guide for this novel at gradesaver.com/moby-dickWatch Moby Dick Part 1: youtu.be/PLJ9IuUQyaMIshmael continues to recount his adventures aboard the Pequod, where Captain Ahab’s search for Moby Dick has escalated to a maniacal obsession.Following the Pequod’s successful attack on a right whale, the ship meets the Jungfrau (or Virgin), a German ship in desperate need of oil. The ships compete for a large whale, which the Pequod successfully defeats. However, the whale carcass begins to sink as the crew attempts to secure it, forcing the Pequod to abandon it. Soon after, the Pequod encounters a large group of sperm whales. Although the crew injures several of them, they only capture one.Soon, Stubb concocts a plan to swindle the next ship that they meet for its ambergris, a valuable substance derived from sperm whales and used in perfume. When the Pequod encounters a French ship called the Bouton-de-Rose (or Rosebud), Stubb convinces its crew that the whales the Rosebud is towing are useless and could damage their ship. But when the Rosebud leaves the whales behind, the Pequod seizes one of them for its ambergris.Days after encountering the Rosebud, Pippin, a young black man on the ship, becomes frightened while pursuing a whale and jumps from the boat, entangling himself in the line. This forces the men to cut the whale loose, and Stubb chastises Pippin, also called Pip, for his cowardice, warning him that he will be left at sea if he jumps again. When Pip does so, Stubb stays true to his word. A nearby boat saves Pip, but the boy is driven mad by the ordeal.Next, Ishmael embarks on a description of how whale blubber is harvested and preserved by squeezing it into liquid. All morning, Ishmael squeezes the blubber with his mates, losing himself in the process as he gropes not only the blubber but the other mens’ hands. At the same time, Ahab threatens Starbuck with violence, warning him that there is but one god on Earth—and one captain of the Pequod.Later, the Pequod encounters an English ship called the Samuel Enderby. Ahab meets Boomer, its Captain, who lost his arm to an encounter with Moby Dick. Boomer feels fortunate to have survived the battle and joins the chorus of voices warning Ahab against pursuing the beast. Meanwhile, Queequeg falls ill and seems close to death, prompting the ship’s carpenter to build him a coffin. But Queequeg recovers, and the coffin is repurposed as a life saver.Soon, Ahab asks Perth, the ship’s blacksmith, to forge a harpoon that he can use to kill Moby Dick. Ahab, howling at the devil, baptizes the harpoon in the blood of his pagan harpooners. After a gam with the Bachelor, a ship whose captain denies the existence of Moby Dick, the crew kills four more whales. Meanwhile, Fedallah prophecizes that Ahab will meet his end after seeing two hearses, one of which will be built from American wood, and that Ahab will be killed by hemp rope. Ahab interprets this as evidence that he cannot die at sea, where there are neither hearses nor hangings. Lastly, Fedallah predicts that he will die just before Ahab.Eventually, the ship must decide between an easy route and a difficult one that may lead it to Moby Dick. Ahab opts for the latter, encountering a typhoon that interferes with the ship’s compass. Aggravated, Starbuck considers shooting Ahab in his sleep but cannot bring himself to do so. Soon after the storm subsides, one of the Pequod’s sailors falls overboard.Ahab offers his cabin to the raving Pip, who becomes the captain’s unlikely companion. Later, the Pequod encounters a ship called the Rachel. Its captain, Gardiner, knows Ahab and requests his help with the search for Gardiner’s son, who is lost at sea. But Ahab refuses, excited by the news that Moby Dick is nearby. Ahab soon comes upon the Delight, whose recent battle with Moby Dick has nearly destroyed it—and which Ahab sees as a kind of hearse.Possessed by his search for the white whale, Ahab laments his decision to spend his life on the high seas. At last, Ahab comes upon the elusive Moby Dick, who destroys Ahab’s harpoon boat. The next day, Moby Dick attacks again, despite a successful harpooning. During this second encounter, Moby Dick breaks Ahab’s ivory leg. Fedallah becomes tangled in the harpoon line and drowns. Starbuck scolds Ahab for pursuing the whale, but Ahab maintains that it is “immutably decreed.”On the third day, Ahab manages to stab Moby Dick with his harpoon, but the whale tips over Ahab’s small boat again. In the struggle, the whale also rams the Pequod, causing it to start sinking. In a seemingly suicidal act, Ahab throws his harpoon at Moby Dick but entangles himself in the rope and goes down with his enemy. Only Ishmael survives this final attack, as he is rescued by the Rachel, whose captain continues the search for his missing son, only to find a different orphan.Read the full transcript at gradesaver.com/moby-dick
This intense opening scene from the Three-Body Problem was everything. #netflix #3bodyproblem GradeSaver 2024-03-25 | Watch the full book summary of The Three-Body Problem at youtu.be/7d4sQ8S4usg
Moby Dick (Part 1) - Book Summary GradeSaver 2024-03-13 | View the free study guide for this novel at gradesaver.com/moby-dickWatch Moby Dick Part 2: youtu.be/gBiAQmXUjvkPublished in 1851, Moby Dick is Herman Melville’s sixth and most famous novel. Set aboard a Massachusetts whaling ship, the novel centers on Captain Ahab’s relentless search for Moby Dick, the violent sperm whale that took his leg. At the time of its publication, the book was poorly received by critics and readers, who expected the romantic, high seas adventure typical of Melville’s earlier novels. It was only after Melville’s death in 1891 that the novel rose to its current status as a hallmark of American literature.“Call me Ishmael.” So goes the famous opening of the novel, which begins in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where its narrator, an experienced sailor named Ishmael, intends to sign up for a Nantucket whaling voyage. Upon arrival, Ishmael finds that the whaler’s inn where he plans to stay is so full that he must share a bed with Queequeg, a harpooner and former cannibal from New Zealand. At first, Ishmael worries that the heavily tattooed—and armed—Queequeg is dangerous, but he wakes to find Queequeg’s arm affectionately thrown around him. Later, Ishmael attends a church service, where the preacher delivers a sermon about Jonah and the whale. Along with Queequeg, Ishmael boards a schooner to Nantucket, where they choose between three ships taking a year-long journey. They choose the Pequod, whose original captain, Peleg, has recently retired and now co-owns the boat with another Quaker, Bildad. Peleg tells Ishmael of the Pequod’s new captain, Ahab, a peculiar and ungodly man who lost his leg to a sperm whale. Before leaving for their voyage, Ishmael and Queequeg encounter a stranger named Elijah who predicts disaster on their journey.Ishmael and Queequeg set sail on Christmas Day, joining a rag-tag team of men including Starbuck, the practical first mate, and Stubb, the easygoing second mate. At first, the mysterious Captain Ahab remains secluded in his cabin, which disturbs Ishmael in light of Elijah’s omen. When Ahab emerges several days into the voyage, Ishmael sees that he uses a false leg made from a sperm whale’s jaw. Stubb observes that Ahab seems to sleep only three hours a night, suffering from vivid nightmares.Soon, Ahab orders the crew to look out for Moby Dick, the legendary white whale that took his leg. Moreover, Ahab promises a doubloon to the first man to sight the beast and nails the coin to the mast. Starbuck tells Ahab that his obsession with Moby Dick is madness, and that the men joined the crew not for revenge, but for profit. But Ahab is possessed with hatred for the white whale and remains hellbent on destroying it.In the following chapters, Melville moves from one sailor’s point of view on the journey to another. This includes Ahab, who expresses resignation at his encroaching madness, increasingly aware that it could expose him to mutiny. During this section of the novel, Melville also writes from his own perspective, exploring Moby Dick’s whiteness, which he likens to an absence of meaning.Meanwhile, much of the crew—including Ishmael—feels a sense of anticipation and even hysteria at the impending encounter with Moby Dick. One day, Tashtego, Stubb’s indigenous harpooner, spots a nearby whale. Ahab summons his personal crew, five men who appear out of nowhere like “phantoms.” Among them is Fedallah, Ahab’s sinister harpooner. While Queequeg manages to strike the whale, the blow is insufficient to kill it.As the Pequod approaches the Cape of Good Hope, it encounters the Goney (or Albatross), another whaling ship. Although Ahab asks the Albatross’ captain if he has seen Moby Dick, Ahab cannot hear his answer. Ishmael notes that Ahab’s urgent search for Moby Dick prevents him from engaging in the customary “gam,” or a meeting of two ships to exchange information. During the Pequod’s next encounter with a ship, The Town-Ho, Ahab opts for a gam. Manned almost wholly by Polynesians, the Town-Ho tells the Pequod’s crew of its encounter with Moby Dick. During a mutiny between a sailor from Lake Eerie named Steelkilt and a mate named Radney, Moby Dick attacked the boat, crushing Radney between its jaws. Soon after their encounter with the Town-Ho, the Pequod’s crew spots a sperm whale, which Stubb and Tashtego are able to kill. Stubb decides to eat a steak from the carcass, which the crew has lashed to the side of the ship. But Stubb is not the only one with a taste for whale meat, as several sharks begin to feed on the carcass. While Queequeg nearly loses a hand while attempting to fend them off, Captain Ahab converses with the whale’s head, asking what it has seen.Read the full transcript at gradesaver.com/moby-dick
Ricardo III - Resumen del Libro GradeSaver 2024-02-28 | La obra de William Shakespeare Ricardo III fue escrita y representada hacia 1592. Si bien el retrato de Shakespeare se basó vagamente en el verdadero rey Ricardo III, el antihéroe de esta obra es casi enteramente ficticio. Aun así, los ornamentos de Shakespeare se combinan para formar uno de los villanos más memorables de todos los tiempos: un rey deforme que utiliza tácticas maquiavélicas para reclamar el trono.La obra transcurre durante el reinado de Eduardo IV, quien ascendió al poder tras una larga y sangrienta guerra civil en la que sus parientes, los York, derrotaron a los Lancaster. Sin embargo, el hermano de Eduardo, Ricardo III, se muestra celoso del poder de Eduardo y resentido por sus propias deformidades físicas, incluida su joroba. Ricardo decide arrebatarle el trono a su hermano, haciendo lo que sea necesario para ascender al poder.Dado que su hermano, Clarence, se presenta ante Ricardo como heredero a la corona, la primera estratagema del jorobado es hacer que lo arresten. Previo al comienzo de la obra, Ricardo le contó al enfermo rey Eduardo una profecía según la cual alguien con un nombre que empieza con "G" haría que su familia perdiera el trono. Al oír esto, el rey pensó en Clarence (cuyo nombre completo es George, duque de Clarence) y ordenó su encarcelamiento en la Torre de Londres. Ricardo -cuyo nombre completo es Ricardo de Gloucester- culpa a la reina Isabel y promete ayudar a su hermano preso.Más tarde, Ricardo se encuentra con lady Ana, que llora a su marido, el príncipe Eduardo de Lancaster, y a su padre, el rey Enrique VI, ambos asesinados por Ricardo. Aunque lady Ana maldice a Ricardo por su participación en los asesinatos, este sostiene que mató a su marido en un intento por ganarse su afecto, e invita a lady Ana a matarlo a él en retribución. Ella se niega y Ricardo le propone matrimonio, logrando finalmente convencer a lady Ana de que lleve su anillo. En privado, Ricardo se muestra sorprendido porque a lady Ana parece haberle gustado su aspecto.Mientras tanto, la reina Isabel se preocupa por su futuro, ya que no cuenta con el apoyo de Ricardo, quien se convertiría en el protector de sus hijos en caso de que su marido, el enfermo rey Eduardo, muriera. Efectivamente, Ricardo culpa del encarcelamiento de Clarence al hermano de la reina, lord Rivers. La reina Isabel expresa su indignación ante la acusación y amenaza con contárselo al rey.Pronto, la reina Margarita, viuda de Enrique VI de Lancaster, se une a ellos, y lanza una maldición contra Ricardo por haber asesinado a su marido y a su hijo. Ricardo se defiende, alegando su férrea lealtad al rey Eduardo. Pero Margarita predice que los York -incluidos lord Rivers, los hijos de la reina Isabel e incluso Ricardo- pagarán con sus vidas lo que han hecho. Más tarde, Ricardo ordena la muerte de Clarence. Clarence les ruega a los sicarios que consulten a Ricardo, quien, según cree Clarence, los recompensará por perdonarle la vida. Pero los hombres le informan a Clarence que fue Ricardo quien los envió, y luego lo apuñalan mortalmente. El enfermo rey Eduardo no está al tanto de la muerte de Clarence cuando reúne a su corte y anima a las distintas facciones a hacer las paces entre sí. Cuando Ricardo se une a ellos, Eduardo le ordena que perdone a la reina y traiga a Clarence de vuelta a la corte. Fingiendo confusión, Ricardo le dice a Eduardo que su hermano está muerto, poniendo fin al proceso de pacificación. El rey Eduardo se siente culpable por su rol en la muerte de Clarence, y pronto fallece también, dejando a Ricardo al mando hasta que el hijo mayor del rey, el príncipe Eduardo, alcance la mayoría de edad. Ricardo aprovecha su nuevo poder para encarcelar a lord Rivers y a otros miembros de la familia de la reina. Isabel se da cuenta de que esta oleada de arrestos augura un desastre para su familia y, con la ayuda del lord Cardenal, huye con su hijo menor y busca asilo en una iglesia.Mientras tanto, el príncipe Eduardo regresa a Londres. Ricardo dispone que permanezca en la Torre de Londres hasta que tenga edad suficiente para ocupar el trono. El leal primo de Ricardo, el duque de Buckingham, le ordena a lord Cardenal infringir la protección de Isabel y llevar también al príncipe más joven a la torre. Junto con Buckingham, Ricardo comienza también a difundir el rumor de que los príncipes son ilegítimos, posicionándose a sí mismo como el rey legítimo.Visítenos en gradesaver.com/ricardo-iii para leer la transcripción completa del video y nuestra guía de estudio para esta poema clásica, que incluye una lista completa de personajes, temas y mucho más.
Emma - Book Summary GradeSaver 2024-02-14 | View the free study guide for this novel at gradesaver.com/emmaEmma is a novel of manners written by Jane Austen. Published anonymously in 1815, it was the last of Austen’s novels to be issued before her death. While her other novels center around their female protagonists’ quests for financial security in the form of appropriate husbands, Emma focuses on a wealthy and beautiful heroine with no financial incentive to marry. Instead, the novel focuses on Emma’s meddling, taking on a lighter, more comedic tone than much of Austen’s other work.At the center of the novel is Emma Woodhouse, a 20 year-old heiress who lives with her widowed father at their estate, Hartfield. Unlike many of the young women around her, she has no particular need to marry, as she does not need a husband to supply her fortune. Emma’s beauty and cleverness is wasted on the small village of Highbury, but she takes pride in her matchmaking skills. Her latest matchmaking coup is the recent marriage of Emma's governess, Miss Taylor, to Mr. Weston, the wealthy owner of Randalls, a nearby estate. Without Miss Taylor, Emma feels lonely and decides to adopt the orphaned Harriet Smith as her new protégé. Although Harriet knows nothing of her parents, Emma supposes that Harriet's father must have been a gentleman and advises the innocent Harriet to avoid the lowly Martins, a family of farmers whose son, Robert, has paid Harriet much attention. Instead, Emma plans to play matchmaker for Harriet and Mr. Elton, the vicar of the church in Highbury.The friendship between Emma and Harriet does little good for either of them, a fact of which Mr. Knightley, the Woodhouses’ neighbor and old friend, takes notice. Emma fills Harriet with grand pretensions that do not match her low situation in society. Harriet indulges Emma's meddling, such that when Robert Martin proposes to her, she rejects him as too common based on Emma's advice. Although Mr. Knightley scolds Emma for interfering, Emma maintains that Mr. Elton is a more suitable prospect.At first, Emma’s attempts to bring Harriet and Mr. Elton together seem successful. But when Harriet is unable to attend the Westons' party on Christmas Eve, Mr. Elton professes his love for Emma on the carriage ride home. Emma rejects Mr. Elton, who is in turn offended by the suggestion of a match with Harriet and leaves Highbury for a stay in Bath. Emma is shocked by her poor judgment, and Harriet is broken-hearted.Meanwhile, the village of Highbury eagerly anticipates the visit of Frank Churchill, Mr. Weston’s son. Frank is thought to be an ideal match for Emma, but as she spends more time with him, she notices that he is prone to superficial indulgences, like traveling to London solely for a haircut. Mr. Knightley expresses suspicion towards Frank’s motives, while Emma in turn suspects that Mr. Knightley might be in love with Jane Fairfax, a middle-class girl visiting Highbury who is otherwise Emma’s equal.Soon, Frank learns that his aunt, an insufferable woman who exercises great authority over him, is unwell and leaves to care for her. Although Emma has convinced herself that she is in love with Frank, she is as happy when he is absent as she was when he was present. When Mr. Elton brings his new wife back to Highbury, Emma realizes that Mrs. Elton is a vapid name-dropper and takes an instant dislike to her. In return, Mrs. Elton takes an instant dislike to Emma, too.When Frank Churchill returns, he and Emma sponsor a ball at the Crown Inn. While it is generally assumed that Frank and Emma are romantically attached, Emma has already begun to distance herself from him, and to think of Frank as a potential suitor for Harriet. When Mr. Elton takes the opportunity to humiliate Harriet by snubbing her in front of the other guests, Mr. Knightley dances with her instead, earning Emma’s approval.Harriet is attacked by a group of gypsy beggars during her walk home the next day, and Frank saves her. His gallant rescue becomes the talk of Highbury, confirming Emma’s belief that he and Harriet are suitably matched. While Harriet admits to Emma that she has feelings for the man of higher social standing who saved her, she does not explicitly name Frank. Soon, Mr. Knightley begins to suspect that Frank has a secret relationship with Jane Fairfax. Emma laughs off the idea and continues to flirt with him, but on an outing at Box Hill, Emma’s jealousy towards Jane comes to a head. When Emma openly insults Jane’s spinster aunt, Miss Bates, Mr. Knightley chastises Emma for her behavior, upsetting Emma deeply.Read the full summary at gradesaver.com/emma
This could easily become a reality! GradeSaver 2024-02-07 | What do you think? How close are we to making "1984" a reality?View the full analysis of "1984" at gradesaver.com/1984#1984 #classicliterature #study #students
Don Quijote de la Mancha (Primera parte) - Resumen del Libro GradeSaver 2024-01-31 | La segunda parte del libro Don Quijote de la Mancha, escrito por Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, lleva el título El ingenioso caballero don Quijote de la Mancha, y es publicada en 1615, diez años después de la primera parte. Cervantes cambia la palabra “hidalgo” del título de la primera parte, por la de “caballero”, acaso para diferenciar su libro del Don Quijote apócrifo, firmado por Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda y publicado en 1614.Aquí se retoma la historia del hidalgo, convertido en caballero andante, quien al regreso de su segunda salida permaneció en su casa al cuidado de su sobrina y del ama.Un mes después del regreso de don Quijote, el cura y el barbero dialogan con él a fin de descubrir si recuperó la cordura. Al comienzo consideran que está cuerdo, pero cuando el religioso hace referencia a un supuesto inminente ataque de los turcos, don Quijote da muestras de que su delirio caballeresco no se ha modificado.Más tarde, Sancho Panza se presenta en la casa del hidalgo y conversa con él a solas. Don Quijote le pregunta por la opinión que las personas tienen de él, y Sancho le explica que muchos lo consideran loco. Además, le cuenta que el bachiller Sansón Carrasco comenta que circula un libro en el que se narra su historia, llamado El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha. Luego, Sancho Panza regresa a la casa del hidalgo junto con Sansón Carrasco, y este habla de la popularidad que ha alcanzado aquel libro. En ese momento, don Quijote les comunica su decisión de realizar una tercera salida.Pocos días más tarde, don Quijote y su escudero parten hacia el Toboso. Don Quijote envía a Sancho a presentarse ante Dulcinea y este, consciente de lo imposible de la tarea, decide convencer al hidalgo de que una mujer humilde es Dulcinea, encantada bajo la forma de una labradora. Don Quijote cree el engaño y culpa a sus enemigos encantadores por el maleficio. Luego, el caballero y el escudero se marchan rumbo a Zaragoza.Unos días después, don Quijote se encuentra con un caballero llamado el “Caballero del Bosque" o “de los Espejos”, quien afirma haber vencido a numerosos caballeros andantes, incluido al famoso Don Quijote de la Mancha, haciéndoles declarar que su amada, Casildea de Vandalia, es la mujer más hermosa del mundo. Don Quijote niega la declaración del caballero y, revelando su identidad, lo desafía a un duelo. El hidalgo consigue la victoria y, cuando al Caballero de los Espejos le quitan el yelmo, se descubre que tiene la misma apariencia que el bachiller Sansón Carrasco. Don Quijote atribuye esta percepción a un nuevo encantamiento. Sin embargo, poco después, se nos revela que el bachiller había planeado esta treta, junto al cura y al barbero, para conducir al hidalgo de regreso a su aldea.Don Quijote y Sancho prosiguen su viaje hacia Zaragoza y, en el camino, conocen a don Diego de Miranda, también llamado el “Caballero del Verde Gabán”. Juntos, avanzan un trecho, hasta que se cruzan con una carreta en la que se transportan dos leones. Don Quijote intenta probar su valentía exigiéndole al carretero que abra las jaulas para que él pueda pelear con las bestias. El hombre abre una de las jaulas contra su voluntad, pero el león bosteza y le da la espalda al caballero andante. Así, don Quijote se autoproclama vencedor y toma el apelativo “Caballero de los Leones”.Luego, don Quijote y Sancho aceptan la invitación de Miranda a ir a su casa y permanecen allí cuatro días. Cuando retoman el camino, el caballero andante y su escudero se cruzan con dos estudiantes que los invitan a la boda de Camacho y Quiteria. Además, uno de los estudiantes cuenta la historia Basilio, enamorado de Quiteria.Basilio aparece en el momento de la boda y finge herirse de muerte. Agonizando, le pide a Quiteria que se case con él, como una forma de consuelo antes de morir, y ella accede. Finalmente, se descubre que la herida mortal es falsa. Los recién casados se retiran a festejar, y don Quijote, Sancho y otros invitados los acompañan.Después de tres días, don Quijote decide ir a la cueva de Montesinos. Desciende allí solo y pasa apenas media hora dentro de la cueva, pero él cree que transcurren tres días. Cuando regresa, Sancho no logra creerle todas aquellas cosas que dice haber vivido en la cueva: entre otras, don Quijote ve, en un suntuoso palacio, a Montesinos y al amigo de este, Durandarte, sin vida, encantado por Merlín.Poco después, don Quijote y Sancho se encuentran con una bella cazadora que resulta ser una duquesa. Ella y su esposo, lectores del primer libro de Don Quijote, invitan al caballero y a su escudero a quedarse en su castillo. Allí montan diferentes situaciones ficticias para divertirse con los delirios de caballería de sus huéspedes.Visítenos en gradesaver.com/don-quijote-de-la-mancha-segunda-parte para leer la transcripción completa del video y nuestra guía de estudio para esta poema clásica, que incluye una lista completa de personajes, temas y mucho más.
Analysis of Hamlet - Yoricks Skull and Hamlets Thoughts on Mortality GradeSaver 2024-01-31 | While Shakespeare uses mortality as motivation in Act Three, these motivations are called into question in Act Five. In what is commonly referred to as the “gravedigger scene,” Hamlet encounters the skull of Yorick, a court jester from his childhood. Hamlet remembers Yorick fondly, and he is overcome with a sense of unease as he stares at the grim remains of his former friend. Alas, poorYorick! I knew him, Horatio—a fellow of infinitejest, of most excellent fancy. He hath bore me on hisback a thousand times, and now how abhorred inmy imagination it is! My gorge rises at it. Here hungthose lips that I have kissed I know not how oft.Where be your gibes now? your gambols? yoursongs? your flashes of merriment that were wont toset the table on a roar?Hamlet begins to think about the unavoidable decay of the human body and the hollowness of life. He turns to his friend Horatio and asks if history’s most important figures, such as Alexander the Great, now resemble Yorick; skulls, buried in the earth. Horatio’s response?No matter who you are or what you have accomplished in life, your body will rot away… just like everyone else’s. Yorick’s skull, like the ghost in Act Three, is a symbol of mortality. And Hamlet’s encounter with this skull sets the stage (quite literally) for the play’s concluding scene. In the final moments of the tragedy, Gertrude is accidentally poisoned, Claudius is murdered by the protagonist, and Laertes and Hamlet meet the same unfortunate fate when they are both stabbed by a poison-bearing sword. As the audience is left to ponder this bloodbath, we are reminded of Hamlet’s struggle with mortality throughout the plot. What did Hamlet fight for (and what does it matter?) if himself, Claudius, and everyone around them met the same fate? The story’s ruinous conclusion is up to interpretation, but perhaps it can demonstrate that death is life’s true equalizer and vengeance can be frivolous.
Noche de Reyes - Resumen del Libro GradeSaver 2024-01-17 | Noche de Reyes es una comedia escrita por William Shakespeare hacia 1601, poco después de que el bardo terminara Hamlet. La obra presenta un triángulo amoroso centrado en Viola, que se enamora del apuesto duque Orsino mientras está disfrazada de hombre. Orsino, por su parte, está enamorado de la bella condesa Olivia, que a su vez se enamora de Viola disfrazada. De hecho, Viola permanecerá disfrazada de un hombre llamado Cesario durante casi toda la obra.La obra comienza con el conde Orsino, soberano de Iliria, que suspira por la condesa Olivia, de quien está perdidamente enamorado. Orsino se decepciona cuando su criado, Valentín, regresa de casa de Olivia con un mensaje de la condesa: que no verá a Orsino ni atenderá sus propuestas de matrimonio, pues aún está de luto por la muerte de su hermano.Mientras tanto, Viola, una joven aristócrata, desembarca en Iliria tras un terrible naufragio en el que fue separada de su hermano gemelo, Sebastián. El capitán del barco, que resulta ser de Iliria, le habla del duque Orsino y de su amor por la condesa Olivia. Convencida del buen carácter de Orsino, Viola decide disfrazarse de hombre para poder trabajar para el conde Orsino.Viola, disfrazada de criado llamado Cesario, se hace muy amiga de Orsino, quien le habla de su amor por Olivia y le pide que argumente a favor suyo ante la condesa. Viola acepta, pero admite al público, en un aparte, que se está enamorando de Orsino, y que preferiría ser su esposa antes que ayudarle a encontrar una.Todavía disfrazada de Cesario, Viola llega a casa de Olivia e inmediatamente es interrogada por Malvolio, el malhumorado mayordomo de Olivia. Presentada a Olivia como Cesario, Viola se sorprende al oír a la condesa declarar su desinterés por Orsino. En cambio, Olivia parece seducida por Cesario. Luego de que Viola se ha marchado, Olivia le ordena a Malvolio que la siga con un anillo y una invitación para volver al día siguiente.Más tarde, Malvolio regresa a casa de Olivia y encuentra a Sir Tomás, el tío borracho de Olivia, bebiendo con Sir Andrés, un hombre tonto que Tomás ha identificado como posible pretendiente de Olivia. María, la criada de Olivia, y Feste, su bufón, también participan. Malvolio regaña a los cuatro por ser tan ruidoso, y estos se vengan urdiendo un plan para avergonzar a Malvolio, escribiéndole cartas de amor firmadas por Olivia.Malvolio le entrega el anillo a Viola, quien se da cuenta del equivocado afecto que Olivia siente por ella. Conflictuada, Viola vuelve con Orsino, que la presiona para conocer la respuesta de Olivia. Viola intenta consolar a Orsino diciéndole que, aunque Olivia no lo ame, es posible que otra persona sí lo haga. Sin embargo, Orsino no entiende lo que Viola quiere decir y le ordena que vuelva a intentarlo con Olivia.De nuevo, Viola obedece. Esta vez, Olivia confiesa abiertamente su amor por Cesario, rogando saber si él siente lo mismo. Viola la rechaza, advirtiendo a Olivia: "No soy lo que soy". Entretanto, Sir Andrés, pretendiente de Olivia, se entera del afecto de esta por Cesario y lo reta a duelo. Al mismo tiempo, Malvolio se embarca en una serie de desacertados intentos de seducir a Olivia, que lo considera loco.Llega el duelo, y tanto Viola disfrazada como el borracho Sir Andrés se muestran reacios a participar. Por suerte, Antonio, un capitán de buque buscado por Orsino, se topa con el duelo y es arrestado, distrayendo a ambas partes. Pero cuando Antonio confunde a Viola con Sebastián, afirmando haberlo rescatado de un naufragio, Viola se da cuenta de que su hermano podría estar vivo después de todo.Del mismo modo, Feste se encuentra con Sebastián y lo confunde con Cesario. Sir Andrés se une a ellos y no llega a batirse en duelo con el confundido Sebastián. Justo a tiempo, Olivia les ordena que se detengan, intentando convencer de su amor a Sebastián, a quien confunde con Cesario. Sebastián, impresionado por la belleza de Olivia, decide seguirle la corriente y se fuga con ella para contraer matrimonio.Finalmente, en una larga escena colectiva, Viola y Orsino se encuentran con Olivia, que confiesa su afecto por Cesario. Sorprendido, Orsino acusa a Viola de traicionarlo, admitiendo por primera vez que le importa profundamente la persona que cree que es Cesario. Viola, a su vez, todavía disfrazada de Cesario, declara su amor por Orsino. Como era de esperar, esto enfurece a Olivia, que divulga que se casó secretamente con Cesario la noche anterior.En ese momento entra Sebastián, que se dirige a Olivia como su esposa y reconoce a Viola, que se alegra enormemente de ver a su hermano vivo. Quitándose el disfraz, Viola revela su verdadera identidad y Orsino promete casarse con ella. La obra termina con la huida de Malvolio, enloquecido por las bromas de Sir Tomás y María, la criada de Olivia. Feste interpreta una canción para recordarle al grupo que ni siquiera el amor está a salvo de las tormentas de la vida.
The Three-Body Problem - Book Summary GradeSaver 2024-01-10 | View the free study guide for this novel at gradesaver.com/the-three-body-problemPublished in 2008, Liu Cixin’s The Three Body Problem is a science fiction novel and the first in the author’s popular Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy. The book spans from the Chinese Cultural Revolution to the present day and alternates chiefly between the perspectives of its two main characters: Ye Wenjie an astrophysicist who attempts to bring about Earth’s destruction at the hands of an extraterrestrial race, the Trisolarans; and Wang Miao the nanomaterials scientist determined to stop her.Cixin’s novel opens in 1960s Beijing, where Wenjie, one of the novel’s central characters, watches her father get beaten to death during a struggle session at Tsinghua University. This event, combined with her treatment as a political outsider over the next few years, radicalizes Wenjie, who grows to believe that it’s impossible for humanity to save itself—and that an outside force must redeem it. After her father’s death, Wenjie is labeled a traitor and taken to the mysterious Red Coast Base, a labor camp in Inner Mongolia. When she is accused of colluding with a journalist on the base, Wenjie is punished and loses consciousness. She wakes up on a helicopter and is told she is being taken to Radar Peak, a nearby base where she will consult on a weapons research project that will require her expertise in astrophysics.Eventually, Wenjie learns the Red Coast Base’s true mission: to seek out alien life. She uses the base’s radio waves to contact an alien race. To her surprise, she receives a message back from an extraterrestrial race called the Trisolarans and encourages them to conquer Earth. Wenjie kills her husband and boss, the military physicists that brought her to Radar Peak, to keep her contact with the Trisolarans a secret. She gives birth to a daughter, Yang Dong, who eventually becomes a theoretical physicist.Wenjie leaves the Red Coast Base for her old teaching job at Tsinghua University but never fully restores her faith in humanity. Some time later, Wenjie meets Mike Evans, an extremely wealthy Westerner who has also lost faith in humankind. Wenjie shares her knowledge of the upcoming alien invasion, and she and Evans form the Earth-Trisolaris Organization (or ETO) to prepare for further Trisolaran contact. This brings the novel up to the present, where Wang Miao, a nanomaterials researcher and the novel’s main protagonist, faces a series of mysterious incidents. First, he is contacted by the enigmatic Battle Command Center, where he’s badgered by Shi Qiang, a rude but effective police captain. Shi Qiang informs Wang Miao that many scientists—including Ye Wenjie’s daughter, Yang Dong—have taken their own lives, convinced that physics is a lie. Soon, Wang Miao begins seeing a mysterious countdown, first in his photographs, and then in his vision—it only stops when he pauses his scientific research. He discovers that these incidents are connected to the Frontiers of Science, a group of scientists, academics, and theorists. Wang Miao decides to join the Frontiers of Science as a spy for the Battle Command Center, determined to solve the mystery of these events with Shi Qiang.Through the Frontiers of Science, Wang Miao begins playing the video game Three Body, an immersive virtual reality game designed by the ETO to recruit people to understand the Trisolaran plight. In the game, Wang Miao learns that the Trisolaran’s planet is in a system with three suns, which will soon destroy their planet and species. As a result, the Trisolarans are looking for a new home—and they believe that Earth is a perfect fit.Wang Miao only grasps the reality of the countdown, and the Trisolarans’ power more broadly, when the entire universe flickers before his eyes. He interprets this as proof of Trisolaris’s influence and suffers from a breakdown, but he’s comforted by Shi Qiang, who encourages Wang Miao to recommit himself and try to save humanity.Decades after its foundation, the ETO has fractured into three factions—Adventists, Redemptionists, and Survivors—with Ye Wenjie as its commander-in-chief, or spiritual leader. When the Battle Command Center arrests and questions Wenjie, she reveals that Mike Evans has been in secret communication with Trisolaris. The records of these communications are kept on his ship, Judgment Day, and even Wenjie doesn’t know their contents.Using Wang Miao’s nanomaterials, the Battle Command Center destroys the Judgment Day and retrieves its files, which reveal many things. First, Trisolaran culture is harsh and not as morally advanced as Wenjie believes. Second, the Trisolaran fleet designed to invade Earth has already left but will not arrive for 450 years. Read the full summary at gradesaver.com/the-three-body-problem
Don Quixote (Part 2) - Book Summary GradeSaver 2024-01-03 | Read the full summary at: gradesaver.com/don-quixote-book-iiWatch the first part at: youtu.be/WXIqvydHM7gThe second part of Don Quixote of La Mancha, written by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, is subtitled The Ingenious Knight, and was published in 1615, ten years after the first part. Cervantes changed the word “hidalgo” in the title of the first part to “knight,” perhaps to differentiate his book from a spurious Part Two that was published under the name Alonso Fernández de Avellaneda in 1614.The book continues the story of the hidalgo turned knight-errant, who, after returning from his second outing, has stayed at home under the care of his niece and housekeeper.A month after Don Quixote’s return, the priest and the barber speak to him to see if he’s regained his sanity. At first they believe he’s sane, but when the priest mentions a supposedly imminent attack by the Turks, Don Quixote gives signs that he’s still in the throes of his chivalric delirium.Later, Sancho Panza visits the hidalgo’s house and they have a conversation alone. Don Quixote asks Sancho what people think of him, and Sancho explains that many people think he’s crazy. Sancho also tells him that a young student, Sampson Carrasco, mentioned that there’s a book circulating that recounts his story called The Ingenious Hidalgo, Don Quixote of La Mancha. Later, Sancho Panza returns to the hidalgo’s house with Sampson Carrasco, who talks about how popular the book is. At that moment, Don Quixote tells them that he’s decided to go on a third sally.A few days later, Don Quixote and his squire leave for El Toboso. Don Quixote sends Sancho to present himself to Dulcinea, but Sancho, aware that this is an impossible task, decides to convince the hidalgo that Dulcinea has been turned into a peasant woman as the result of a spell. Don Quixote falls for Sancho’s deception and blames his enemies for the spell. Later, Don Quixote and Sancho set off for Zaragoza.A few days later, Don Quixote encounters a knight called “The Knight of the Forest” or “The Knight of the Mirrors,” who says that he’s defeated numerous knight-errants, including the famous Don Quixote of La Mancha. The Knight of the Forest demands that Don Quixote declare his mistress, Casildea de Vandalia, the most beautiful woman in the world. Don Quixote refuses and, revealing his identity, challenges him to a duel. Don Quixote wins, and when the Knight of the Mirrors takes off his helmet, he discovers that he looks exactly like Sampson Carrasco. Don Quixote attributes this observation to a new spell. Nevertheless, a little while later, it’s revealed that the student had planned this trick along with the priest and the barber in order to lead the hidalgo back to his village.Don Quixote and Sancho continue their journey towards Zaragoza and, on the way, meet Diego de Miranda, also known as “The Green Knight.” They travel together for a stretch until they cross paths with a wagon carrying two lions. Don Quixote tries to prove his courage by demanding that the wagon driver open the cages so he can fight the lions. Against his will, the wagon driver opens one of the cages, but the lion yawns and turns his back to the knight-errant. As a result, Don Quixote declares himself the victor and gives himself the name “The Knight of the Lions.”Later, Don Quixote and Sancho accept Miranda’s invitation to go to his house and they stay there for four days. When they head out again, the knight-errant and his squire cross paths with two students who invite them to the wedding of Camacho and Quiteria. In addition, one of the students tells the story of Basilio, who was in love with Quiteria.Basilio shows up during the wedding and pretends to be mortally wounded. In agony, he asks Quiteria to marry him as a form of consolation before dying, and she agrees. Finally, it’s discovered that the mortal wound is fake. The newlyweds leave to celebrate, and Don Quixote, Sancho, and the other guests accompany them.Three days later, Don Quixote decides to visit Montesinos’s cave. He goes in alone and spends barely half an hour inside the cave, but he thinks three days have passed. When he returns, Sancho doesn’t believe all the things he says happened inside the cave: among other things, Don Quixote says he saw Montesinos in a sumptuous palace with his friend Durandarte. Don Quixote says Durandarte had died from a spell cast by Merlin.Shortly afterwards, Don Quixote and Sancho meet a beautiful hunter that turns out to be a duchess. She and her husband, who have read the first book about Don Quixote, invite the knight and his squire to stay at their castle. There they create different made-up situations to amuse themselves with their guests’ delusions of chivalry.Read the full transcript at: gradesaver.com/don-quixote-book-ii
Richard III - Play Summary GradeSaver 2023-12-27 | Read our free study guide at: gradesaver.com/richard-iiiWilliam Shakespeare’s play, Richard III, was written and performed around 1592. While Shakespeare’s portrayal was loosely based on the real King Richard III, the play’s antihero is almost entirely fictionalized. Still, Shakespeare’s embellishments combine to form one of the bard’s most memorable villains of all time: a deformed king who uses Machiavellian tactics to claim the throne.The play takes place during the reign of King Edward IV, who rose to power after a long and bloody civil war in which his family, the Yorks, defeated the Lancasters. However, Edward’s brother, Richard III, becomes jealous of Edward’s power and resentful of his own physical deformities, including his hunchback. Richard decides to seize the throne from his brother, doing whatever it takes to ascend to power.Since their brother, Clarence, comes before Richard as an heir to the crown, the hunchback’s first ploy is to have Clarence arrested. Prior to the play’s opening, Richard told the ailing King Edward of a prophecy that someone with a name beginning with “G” would cause their family to lose the throne. Hearing this, the king thought of Clarence (whose full name is George, Duke of Clarence) and ordered him imprisoned in the Tower of London. Richard—whose full name is Richard of Gloucester—blames Queen Elizabeth and promises to help his shackled brother.Later, Richard encounters Lady Anne, who is mourning her husband, Prince Edward of Lancaster, along with his father, King Henry VI—both of whom were killed by Richard. Although Lady Anne curses Richard for his role in their murders, Richard contends that he killed her husband in an attempt to win her affection, inviting Lady Anne to kill him in retribution. She refuses, and Richard proposes marriage to her, eventually convincing Lady Anne to wear his ring. Privately, Richard expresses surprise that Lady Anne seemed to like his looks.Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth worries about her future, since she is unpopular with Richard, who would become protector to her sons should her husband, the ailing King Edward, die. Sure enough, Richard blames Clarence’s imprisonment on the queen’s brother, Lord Rivers. Queen Elizabeth expresses outrage at the accusation, threatening to tell the king.Soon, Queen Margaret, widow to Henry VI of Lancaster, joins them, putting a curse on Richard for murdering her husband and son. Richard defends himself, citing his fierce loyalty to King Edward. But Margaret predicts that the Yorks—including Lord Rivers, Queen Elizabeth’s sons, and even Richard—will pay with their lives for what they’ve done. Later, Richard gives the order for Clarence’s death. Clarence begs for the hired murderers to consult Richard, who Clarence believes will reward them for sparing his life. But the men inform Clarence that Richard sent them, then fatally stab him.The ailing King Edward is unaware of Clarence’s death when he gathers his court, encouraging the various factions to make peace with each other. When Richard joins them, Edward orders him to forgive the Queen and bring Clarence back to court. Feigning confusion, Richard tells Edward that their brother is dead, bringing the peacemaking to a halt. King Edward is guilt-ridden over his part in Clarence’s death and soon dies as well, leaving Richard in charge until the king’s eldest son, Prince Edward, comes of age. Richard takes advantage of his newfound power by imprisoning Lord Rivers and various other members of the queen’s family. Elizabeth realizes that this spate of arrests spells disaster for her family and, with the help of the Lord Cardinal, flees with her youngest son, claiming sanctuary.Meanwhile, Prince Edward returns to London, where Richard arranges for him to stay in the Tower of London until he is old enough to take the throne. Richard’s loyal cousin, the Duke of Buckingham, orders the Lord Cardinal to violate Elizabeth’s sanctuary and bring the younger prince to the tower as well. Together with Buckingham, Richard also begins to spread a rumor that the princes are illegitimate, positioning himself as the rightful king.As king, Richard orders the execution of various noblemen who oppose him, including Lord Hastings, a vocal opponent of his, and other members of Elizabeth’s family. Finally, King Richard orders Buckingham to execute the two young princes. But Buckingham objects, turning on Richard and allying with the exiled Henry, Earl of Richmond, a relative of the Lancasters rallying an army in France to defeat the tyrannical Richard. Nevertheless, Richard manages to bribe Sir James Tyrrell to murder the young princes.Read the full summary at: gradesaver.com/richard-iii
El cuervo - Resumen del Libro GradeSaver 2023-12-20 | "El cuervo" es un poema escrito por Edgar Allan Poe hacia 1845. Sello distintivo de la literatura gótica, el poema tuvo un éxito inmediato, y el propio Poe afirmó haber escrito la obra en un intento de atraer tanto a los críticos como a los lectores comunes. Escrito en octámetro trocaico, "El cuervo" describe el extraño encuentro de un amante en duelo con un cuervo parlante, y se basa en la repetición de la expresión "nunca más" (“nevermore”) para crear su característico tono inquietante.En una lúgubre noche de diciembre, el narrador anónimo del poema hojea un viejo libro, intentando distraerse de la reciente pérdida de su amor, Leonora. Casi dormido, oye unos golpecitos en la puerta de su habitación, pero se dice a sí mismo que no es más que un visitante. Duda en contestar, pero cuando por fin consigue abrir la puerta, no hay nadie. Susurra "Leonora" en la oscuridad y siente un escalofrío al oír el eco de ese nombre.Cuando está regresando a su habitación, el narrador vuelve a oír los golpecitos y decide que proceden de su ventana. De nuevo se consuela, asegurando que debe de ser el viento. Pero, al abrir la ventana, un cuervo entra en la habitación, sobresaltándolo.El cuervo se posa sobre un busto de Palas, o Atenea (la diosa griega de la sabiduría), sobre la puerta del narrador. Al principio, el grave aspecto del ave divierte al narrador, que le pregunta por su nombre. El cuervo lo sorprende respondiendo con la expresión: "Nunca más".Nuevamente, el narrador intenta consolarse, esta vez prediciendo que el cuervo está destinado a marcharse al día siguiente, tal como lo han hecho "otros amigos", y también sus "esperanzas". El cuervo responde con la misma, solitaria expresión: "Nunca más". El narrador piensa que el cuervo debe haber aprendido esta palabra de un amo anterior. Al tomar asiento, el narrador cae en la cuenta de que Leonora nunca volverá a ocupar esa silla, y empieza entonces a reflexionar sobre el significado de "nunca más".De repente, el narrador tiene la sensación de que los ángeles se han acercado y se enoja con el pájaro, llamándolo vil profeta. Temiendo por su vida, el narrador pregunta si hay "bálsamo en Galaad", y si verá a Leonora en el cielo. A ambas preguntas, el cuervo responde: "Nunca más". Furioso, el narrador le exige al cuervo que lo deje solo. Pero el cuervo permanece en el busto de Palas, pronunciando únicamente la expresión maldita, y el narrador teme que su alma no pueda liberarse de la sombra del cuervo "nunca más".Visítenos en gradesaver.com/cuentos-de-edgar-allan-poe para leer nuestra guía de estudio, que incluye una lista completa de personajes, temas y mucho más.
El cuento de la Comadre de Bath - Resumen del Libro GradeSaver 2023-12-13 | "El cuento de la Comadre de Bath" es uno de los relatos más emblemáticos de los Cuentos de Canterbury de Geoffrey Chaucer. Escritos entre 1387 y 1400, los Cuentos de Canterbury constan de 24 relatos narrados como parte de un concurso de cuentos entre un grupo de peregrinos que viajan de Londres a Canterbury para visitar el santuario de Tomás Becket."El cuento de la Comadre de Bath" es ampliamente reconocido como una obra protofeminista, ya que el relato explora la doble moral aplicada a las mujeres en la época de Chaucer. En la Inglaterra medieval, las mujeres tenían una capacidad de acción limitada, con restricciones en sus roles e identidades de género. Todo el escaso poder que los hombres les permitían poseer era atribuido a su rango social y estado civil. La Comadre de Bath es uno de los personajes más desarrollados y francos de Chaucer, y su prólogo, descriptivo y poco convencional, es el doble de largo que el de sus compañeros peregrinos. La Comadre de Bath comienza el prólogo a su relato defendiendo la importancia de la experiencia vital para las mujeres. Habiéndose casado cinco veces, sostiene que la Biblia no les prohíbe a las mujeres casarse más de una vez, como hicieron Abraham y Salomón. Por el contrario, dice, la Biblia ordena a la gente "crecer y multiplicarse", lo que ella interpreta como una licencia para usar su cuerpo como quiera.Pronto, el Bulero, un desvergonzado vendedor de indultos católicos por pecados cometidos, interrumpe. Afirma que estaba a punto de tomar esposa, pero que la Comadre de Bath lo ha disuadido de la idea. La Comadre de Bath le aconseja que escuche atentamente su historia antes de formarse una opinión sobre el asunto.La Comadre de Bath pasa a describir a sus cinco maridos, a tres de los cuales califica de "buenos". Sin embargo, define a los "buenos" como ricos, viejos y sumisos, y detalla las diversas formas en que manipuló a estos hombres por dinero. Sus tácticas incluían negarles intimidad, regañarlos y acusarlos de infidelidad. Esta última táctica es especialmente hipócrita, ya que ella misma admite haber sido adúltera.En contraste, la Comadre de Bath describe a los dos siguientes maridos como "malos". Su cuarto esposo era un borracho que mantenía una amante, mientras que su quinto marido, Jankin, era bueno en la cama, pero la golpeaba brutalmente. Jankin tenía la mitad de la edad de la Comadre, pero a menudo le leía un libro sobre "esposas malvadas", un volumen de literatura antifeminista que ella le obligó a quemar tras una pelea especialmente violenta. Una vez que él se vio sometido a ella de este modo, Jankin y la Comadre de Bath disfrutaron de un matrimonio perfectamente feliz.En este punto, el Fraile, un clérigo corrupto, se burla de la Comadre de Bath por su palabrería. Pero el Alguacil, otra figura religiosa hipócrita, le dice al Fraile que se siente, remarcando que los frailes son famosos por sus largas historias. El Fraile replica que, cuando llegue su turno, se vengará contando una farsa sobre un alguacil.Finalmente, la Comadre de Bath llega a su relato, ambientado en la época del rey Arturo. Mientras cabalga de vuelta a casa después de una expedición, uno de los caballeros del rey se encuentra con una doncella que camina sola y la viola, lo que constituye un crimen castigado con la muerte en aquella época. Pero cuando se presenta ante el rey, la reina interviene y promete perdonarle la vida si responde a una pregunta: "¿qué es lo que más desean las mujeres?".Disponiendo de un año para responder a esta pregunta, el caballero viaja por todas partes y le formula la pregunta a todas las personas con las que se cruza, pero no hay dos personas que den la misma respuesta. Mientras que unos dicen riqueza, otros dicen estatus, libertad o buenos amantes. Pasa un año y el caballero regresa de su viaje para presentarse ante la reina. Pero, en su camino, se encuentra con un grupo de 24 doncellas bailando en el bosque.El hombre se acerca a las mujeres, pero ellas desaparecen de repente, y solo queda una anciana fea. Ella accede a darle la respuesta correcta a la pregunta de la reina, pero con la condición de que él haga todo lo que ella le pida. Él acepta, y ella le susurra la respuesta al oído.Cuando llegan a la corte, el caballero le transmite a la reina la respuesta de la anciana: que las mujeres desean, sobre todo, la soberanía sobre sus maridos. La reina está de acuerdo y lo perdona, pero el caballero se resiste a cumplir su promesa cuando la anciana le anuncia que ahora debe tomarla como esposa. Sin poder escapar a su promesa, el caballero se casa con la vieja bruja.Visítenos en gradesaver.com/los-cuentos-de-canterbury/guia-de-estudio/summary-pr%C3%B3logo-a-la-comadre-de-bath-la-disputa-entre-el-fraile-y-el-alguacil-el-cuento-de-la-comadre-de-bath para leer la transcripción completa del video y nuestra guía de estudio para esta poema clásica, que incluye una lista completa de personajes, temas y mucho más.
Flowers for Algernon - Book Summary GradeSaver 2023-12-06 | Read the free study guide at: gradesaver.com/flowers-for-algernonFlowers for Algernon, written by Daniel Keyes, follows a man, Charlie, and a mouse, Algernon whose IQs have been artificially increased. Originally published as a short story, Flowers for Algernon was inspired by several events in Keyes’ life, including his experience teaching English to developmentally disabled students.In a series of progress reports, Charlie Gordon, an ambitious, developmentally disabled 32-year-old, chronicles his candidacy for an experimental operation, led by Dr. Strauss and Professor Nemur, that would allegedly “make him smart.” Burt, a graduate student working on the experiment, introduces Charlie to another participant: a white mouse named Algernon who completes a maze in record time. Charlie races against Algernon, completing the same maze on a piece of paper, and Algernon wins. Charlie is selected for the experiment and his operation goes smoothly, but he’s frustrated when he's not immediately brilliant.After some time off for his operation, Charlie returns to the bakery where he works as a janitor. With the help of a TV-like machine that Nemur and Strauss tell him to turn on while he sleeps, Charlie begins to learn and remember things from his childhood, and he finally beats Algernon in a maze race. Charlie’s bakery co-workers, Frank and Joe, try to play a trick on him, but it backfires, and Charlie gets promoted instead. Charlie begins to understand that his so-called friends at the bakery are making fun of him.Charlie initially learned about the experiment through Alice Kinnian, who teaches a class at Beekman for developmentally disabled adults that Charlie used to attend. Charlie now invites Alice to a movie and dinner and confesses his feelings for her, but she rebuffs him, saying it wouldn’t be appropriate for them to be together… for now. After realizing a bakery co-worker is stealing, Charlie approaches Alice again, asking for her advice and this time saying that he loves her. She agrees to go on a date with Charlie and he tries to kiss her, but he pulls back when he thinks he sees a boy watching them. Charlie gets fired from the bakery because his sudden intelligence has spooked his co-workers, and he feels alone. The research team presents their findings at a convention, revealing that at the peak of Algernon’s intelligence, his behavior became erratic. Charlie, now more intelligent than the scientists, realizes that they missed something, and he may not have as much time as he thought. He also finds the conference demeaning, especially Nemur’s continued implication that he did not think of Charlie as a human being before the operation. Charlie releases Algernon from his cage and, after a conference-wide search for the mouse, stows Algernon away in his pocket and heads back to New York in secret. Charlie visits his father, Matt, at the barbershop where he works. Charlie looks forward to reconnecting, but when he arrives at the barbershop, his father, who hadn’t seen him since he was a child, doesn’t recognize him. Charlie decides not to reveal his identity, afraid his father will resent his newfound intelligence, like others have. Charlie rents a new apartment so the research team can’t find him and gets close with Fay, his across-the-hall neighbor. Fay brings over a female mouse companion for Algernon and a bottle of gin for Charlie, and she and Charlie get drunk together. The next morning, Fay explains that, when he was drunk, Charlie put on what she calls “a moron act,” and Charlie realizes his pre-surgery self is still with him. After a night out alone in the town where he sees a developmentally disabled boy get mocked, Charlie vows to worry less about himself and focus more on helping others. Charlie visits Alice at her apartment and she’s thrilled to see him. He tries to make love to her, this time imagining that she’s Fay, but the old Charlie – the same boy he hallucinated the last time he tried to kiss Alice – won’t let him. Charlie buys some gin, goes home, and successfully sleeps with Fay. After seeing signs that Algernon is deteriorating, Charlie returns to the lab and gives Algernon back to Nemur, Strauss, and Burt. The funders of the experiment, The Welberg Foundation, have authorized Charlie to conduct his own research and Nemur reluctantly shares the lab’s resources. Charlie notices the incinerator used to dispose of failed lab subjects and makes Burt promise that if the worst should happen to Algernon, they’ll give him to Charlie to keep, rather than disposing of him in this way. Charlie wonders about contingency plans for himself, should he regress. Nemur explains that the Foundation has arranged to send him to the Warren State Home, an institution dedicated to caring for developmentally disabled people, if it comes to that. Continue the summary at: gradesaver.com/flowers-for-algernon
Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening - Poem Summary GradeSaver 2023-11-29 | Read the full guide at: gradesaver.com/the-poetry-of-robert-frost/study-guide/summary-stopping-by-woods-on-a-snowy-evening-1923Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening,” was published in 1922 as part of Frost’s New Hampshire collection. The poem consists of four stanzas written in iambic tetrameter. Like much of Frost’s work, “Stopping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” takes the natural world as its subject, ascribing metaphysical meaning to seemingly banal pastoral scenes. Despite his feeling that critics had a tendency to press the poem “for more than it should be pressed for,” Frost called the work his “best bid for remembrance.” “Whose woods these are I think I know,” the poem begins. “His house is in the village though; / He will not see me stopping here / To watch his woods fill up with snow.” In this stanza, Frost’s speaker stops his sleigh to watch the snow falling in the woods on a dark winter evening. While he initially worries that the owner of the property will be upset by his presence, he soon remembers that the owner lives in town. He is free to enjoy the beauty of the falling snow. “My little horse must think it queer,” the speaker goes on, “To stop without a farmhouse near / Between the woods and frozen lake / The darkest evening of the year.” Here, the speaker notes his sleigh horse’s confusion at his master’s decision to stop in such an isolated setting. In fact, the horse “gives his harness bells a shake / To ask if there is some mistake.” But the speaker enjoys the isolation, along with the peaceful atmosphere of the snow-covered woods.Throughout the poem, Frost relies on a remarkably simple structure of four stanzas that each contain four lines. His rhyme scheme, however, is surprisingly complex; while the first, second, and fourth lines of each stanza rhyme, the third line always rhymes with the first, second, and fourth lines of the following stanza. This continues until the final stanza, which contains four rhyming lines: “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, / But I have promises to keep, / And miles to go before I sleep, / And miles to go before I sleep.” Frost’s decision to repeat the final line could be read in several ways. On one hand, it reiterates the idea that the speaker has responsibilities that he is reluctant to fulfill. In this sense, the speaker’s “promises to keep” can be read as a reference to the traditional duties of a New England farmer. In a time and a place where hard work is valued above all things, watching snow fall in the woods may be viewed as a trivial indulgence. Even a work animal, the speaker allows, would “think it queer.”On the other hand, the repetition of the final line could be a signal that the narrator is slowly falling asleep. Within this interpretation, one could argue that the poem actually ends with the death of the speaker, lulled into a deep sleep by the cadence of the softly falling snow.
Don Quijote de la Mancha (Primera parte) - Resumen del Libro GradeSaver 2023-11-22 | Don Quijote de la Mancha es una novela escrita por Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. Es uno de los libros más célebres de la literatura universal, y es considerada la primera novela moderna. La obra parodia a los libros de caballería a través del relato de un hidalgo que enloquece y decide salir al mundo convertido en un caballero andante.La novela está narrada en tercera persona, y su primera parte, publicada a comienzos de 1605, lleva el título El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha.Al comienzo del libro, el hidalgo acondiciona una antigua armadura y se rebautiza con el nombre “don Quijote de la Mancha”. Además, elige un nombre para su caballo, “Rocinante”, y una dama de quien enamorarse, Aldonza Lorenzo, una labradora a quien le da el nombre de “Dulcinea del Toboso”.Una mañana, sin que nadie lo vea, don Quijote emprende su viaje. Poco después, le pide al dueño de una venta, a quien don Quijote confunde con un noble, que lo nombre caballero. Así, el hombre y otras mujeres que trabajan allí celebran una falsa ceremonia para tener algo de qué reírse. Después, don Quijote parte a buscar aventuras. En el camino, intenta ayudar a un criado azotado por un labrador, y se marcha satisfecho con el resultado de su primera obra, sin saber que su intervención empeoró la situación. Más tarde, el hidalgo se interpone ante un grupo de mercaderes, a quienes desafía obligándolos a confesar que Dulcinea es la doncella más hermosa. Como resultado, don Quijote es brutalmente apaleado.Afortunadamente, un vecino de Don Quijote lo encuentra y lo lleva de regreso a su casa. Allí están la sobrina del hidalgo, un ama, un cura y un barbero, quienes se muestran preocupados y culpan a los libros de caballerías por la locura de don Quijote. Por eso, al día siguiente, el cura manda a arrojar al fuego muchos de esos libros, y se decide tapiar su biblioteca.Pocos días después, don Quijote le pide a un labrador pobre, Sancho Panza, que sea su escudero. A cambio, le promete que, si gana una isla, lo hará gobernador de ella. El labrador acepta y ambos parten sin que nadie los vea.En el camino, don Quijote confunde unos molinos de viento con gigantes y se lanza a atacarlos, sin prestar atención a las advertencias de su escudero. Entonces, el hidalgo cae y se rompe su lanza. Más tarde, don Quijote se enfrenta a dos frailes y a los escuderos que acompañan a una mujer vizcaína, creyendo que llevan a la mujer prisionera. La historia se detiene en el momento en que el hidalgo arremete contra uno de los escuderos de la dama.Poco después, el narrador encuentra la continuación de la historia de don Quijote en un libro escrito por el historiador árabe Cide Hamete Benengeli. Allí se cuenta que, en el enfrentamiento, el escudero le corta al hidalgo parte de su oreja y le rompe su celada, por lo que don Quijote procura conseguir una nueva.Más tarde, don Quijote y Sancho Panza se encuentran con unos cabreros, y uno de ellos les cuenta la historia de Grisóstomo, un pastor que murió de amor por una mujer llamada Marcela.Don Quijote queda cautivado con la historia de Marcela, a quien muchos pastores han declarado su amor. Entonces, imitando la actitud de los enamorados, el hidalgo se duerme pensando en Dulcinea.Al día siguiente, don Quijote y Sancho acompañan a los cabreros al entierro de Grisóstomo. Marcela, quien también asiste al entierro, se defiende de las acusaciones que la señalan como responsable de la muerte de su enamorado. Ella explica que no está obligada a amar a quien la ama, y que nunca le dio a Grisóstomo esperanzas de corresponder a su amor. También afirma que nació libre, y que eligió vivir en soledad.Luego, el hidalgo y su escudero reanudan el viaje y, poco después, se detienen a descansar junto a un arroyo. Allí, Rocinante, el caballo de don Quijote, intenta aparearse con unas yeguas, y los arrieros que las cuidan comienzan a golpearlo. A causa de esto, don Quijote y Sancho se ven involucrados en un enfrentamiento con los arrieros y resultan heridos.A continuación, el hidalgo y su escudero llegan a la venta de Juan Palomeque. Allí comparten una habitación con un arriero, quien espera tener un encuentro íntimo con Maritornes, una mujer que trabaja en el establecimiento. Por una confusión del hidalgo, se desata una gran pelea que involucra a la mujer y a todos los que comparten la habitación. Al día siguiente, el hidalgo se marcha de allí negándose a pagar el precio de la estadía, puesto que lo considera impropio de la caballería andante. Sancho Panza intenta imitarlo, pero lo retienen algunos hombres y lo mantean para burlarse de él. Además, el dueño de la posada se queda con las alforjas de su asno como forma de pago por la estadía.Visítenos en gradesaver.com/don-quijote-de-la-mancha para leer la transcripción completa del video y nuestra guía de estudio para esta poema clásica, que incluye una lista completa de personajes, temas y mucho más.
