Contemporary Knopf paperback cover In Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1988), a novel about the haunting effects of slavery, grief takes many forms. For Sethe, the female protagonist who killed her oldest daughter, Beloved, in order to protect her from slavery, grief becomes physical. The arrival of an older Beloved at Sethe’s home, presumably a reincarnation of... Continue Reading →
Apollo Editions cover, later reused by HarperPerennial In Amiri Baraka’s Dutchman (1964), a white woman named Lula mocks, seduces, and ultimately murders a young black man named Clay as they ride together on a New York City subway train. During their journey, they discuss matters of Black identity, racial politics, and the potential for interracial... Continue Reading →
In her debut novel The Street (1946), African American author Ann Petry examines the ways in which the Black community of 1940s Harlem—including the protagonist, a single mother named Lutie Johnson—suffers constant exposure to white racism, even when the presence of that racism remains hidden from direct observation. While this theme is most obviously personified... Continue Reading →
Unlike many of Shakespeare’s plays, Macbeth centers around men of the king’s court rather than the royal family itself. Although King Duncan of Scotland, murdered by his once-valiant thane Macbeth, plays a sacrificial role in the play, his death allows Shakespeare to explore philosophical and psychological questions of power, murder, ambition, and nature. Specifically in... Continue Reading →
In the expository sonnet of his 1595 autobiographical sonnet sequence, Amoretti, English poet Edmund Spenser writes from the point-of-view of a young poet who wishes to use his poetry to sway a young woman, who is later named Elizabeth, into sharing his adoration. To do so, the speaker (whose actions are referred to here in... Continue Reading →
Valperga Literature Review 