Tag: Literature
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The Simple History: #Cottagecore, Pastoral Arcadia and Marie Antoinette
Written by Melissa Kane. The current cultural fascination with #Cottagecore, encompassed by a rural idyll shared on social media websites, is rooted in a long history of romanticised escapism. But where did this start? And how does Marie Antoinette play a role in Cottagecore?
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The Song of Achilles, 10 Years On
Written by Justin Biggi. The Song of Achilles has been praised for it’s treatment of the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus, one which has historically been controversial for academics. But does Miller’s retelling stand the test of time?
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Spilling Over: Ovid’s Heroides and the Mythological Female Voice
Written by Hazel Atkinson. Ovid’s Heroides is one of his most understudied texts. It consists of fifteen “letter” poems written from the perspective of various female characters of Greek myth. How might the text alter our perceptions of Greek myth and writings about it?
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The Illusive Window: Insights into an Irish Tale
Written by Deana Davis. The extent to which written sources can be relied upon has constantly plagued historians in their attempt to recreate and “see” the past. In Ireland’s case, its unique plethora of cycles, or tales, contain pseudo-historical stories that have been fertile ground for such recreation. One such collection of tales, the Ulster […]
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Wicked Women: The Stepmother as a Figure of Evil in the Grimms’ Fairy Tales
Written by Anahit Behrooz. The recent scholarly resurgence of fairy tales and folklore, and the litany of rewrites, spin offs and adaptations, prompts a reexamination of many of the genre’s characteristics and tropes. The character of the wicked stepmother has gained notoriety as one of the most evil villains to be found in fairy tales, frequently […]
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From Oral to Written Folklore: The Evolution and Reception of the Icelandic Saga
The Icelandic Sagas are more than stories about a heroic age of kings, of trolls and witches, and magical phenomenon unseen by our modern eyes. They offer a complex resource of what early settlers of the island deemed important to their heritage. Since the thirteenth century, scholars have attempted to understand the departure from the […]
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Theatre Review: Waiting for Godot
The Edinburgh Royal Lyceum Theatre’s production of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot is a triumph, and a fitting celebration of two anniversaries: 60 years since the play’s original production, and 50 years since the Lyceum’s own debut. Beckett’s existentialist tragicomedy, set against the evening backdrop of only a country road and a tree, follows Estragon […]
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Book Review: All Quite on the Western Front
The centenary of the First World War hangs over the next few years. This anniversary is prompting new academic writing, literature, television and radio, which reflect on the war and the impact it has on us today. Whilst all these mediums shed light on the events of those dreadful four years and their aftermath, it […]
Retrospect Journal 