Important Question-Answers (100 Objective Type)
1):- David Copperfield → Charles Dickens
2):- Hamlet → William Shakespeare
3):- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner → Samuel Taylor Coleridge
4):- Das Capital → Karl Marx
5):- Animal Farm → George Orwell
6):- Dialogues → Plato
7):- Tempest → William Shakespeare
8):- Mein Kampf → Adolph Hitler
9):- Mother → Maxim Gorky
10):- As You Like it → William Shakespeare
11):- Paradise Lost → John Milton
12):- The Tale of Two Cities → Charles Dickens
13):- The Merchant of Venice → William Shakespeare
14):- Pride and Prejudice → Jane Austen
15):- All’s Well that Ends Well → William Shakespeare
16):- Anna Karenina → Leo Tolstoy
17):- Origin of Species → Charles Darwin
18):- Discovery of India → Johor Lal Nehru
19):- Asian Drama → Gunner Myrdal
20):- The Old Man and The Sea → Earnest Hemingway
21):- Julius Caesar → William Shakespeare
22):- Man and Superman → George Bernard Shaw
23):- War and Peace → Leo Tolstoy
24):- Gulliver’s Travels → Jonathan Swift
25):- Heaven and Earth → Lord Byron
26):- Blue Bird → Lord Alfred Tennyson
27):- Othello → William Shakespeare
28):- India Wins Freedom → Abul Kalam Azad
29):- Marriage and Moral → Bertrand Russell
30):- God of the Small Things → Arundhati Roy
31):- Caesar and Cleopatra → George Bernard Shaw
32):- Romeo and Juliet → William Shakespeare
33):- Jungle Book → Rudyard Kipling
34):- Lycidas → John Milton
35):- Emma → Jane Austen
36):- A pair of Blue Eyes → Thomas Hardy
37):- Odyssey → Homer
38):- Memories of the Second World War →
Winston Churchill
39):- For Whom the Bell Tolls → Earnest
Hemingway
40):- Wealth of Nations → Adam Smith
41):- Waste Land → T.S Eliot
42):- Vanity Fair → W.M Thackeray
43):- Prince → Machiavelli
44):- Republic → Plato
45):- Freedom → Bertrand Russell
46):- A Long Walk to Freedom → Nelson Mandela
47):- Robinson Crusoe → Daniel Defoe
48):- Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow → D.H Lawrence
49):- Ulysses → Lord Alfred Tennyson
50):- Sense and Sensibility → Jane Austen
51):- Roots → Alex Haley
52):- To Skylark → P. B Shelly
53):- Time Machine → H. W Wells
54):- Try and Try Again → W.E Hick son
55):- Seven Seas → Rudyard Kipling
56):- Around the World in Eighty Days→ Jules Verne
57):- Waiting For Goddot → Samuel Becket
58):- Things Fall Apart → Chinua Achebe
59):- Silent Women → Ben Johnson
60):- Wuthering Heights → Emile Bronte
61):- The Way of the World → William Congreve
62):- Voyage of Lilliput → Jonathon Swift
63):- Top Secret → Henry Fielding
64):- Twelfth Night → William Shakespeare
65):- Utopia → Sir Thomas Moore
66):- Tom Jones → Henry Fielding
67):- The Return of the Native → Thomas Hardy
68):- The Alchemist → Ben Jonson
69):- Tess of D’Urbervilles → Thomas Hardy
70):- Scholar Gipsy → Matthew Arnold
71):- The Rape of the Lock → Alexander Pope
72):- Prelude → William Wordsworth
73):- Ode to the West Wind → P.B Shelly
74):- Great Expectations → Charles Dickens
75):- King Lear → William Shakespeare
76):- Kubla Khan → Samuel Taylor Coleridge
77):- Isabella → John Keats
78):- Measure and Measure → William
Shakespeare
79):-In Memoriam → Lord Alfred Tennyson
80):- Pilgrim’s Progress → John Bunyan
81):- Oliver Twist → Charles Dickens
82):- Paradise Regained → John Milton
83):- Iliad → Homer
84):- Divine Comedy → Dante
85):- Crime and Punishment → Dostoevsky
86):- A Brief History Of Time → Stephen
Hawkings
87):- A Farewell to Arms → Earnest Hemingway
88):- A Midsummer Nights Dream → William
Shakespeare
89):- Adonis → P. B Shelley
90):- Akbar Nama → Abul Fazal
91):- Canterbury Tales → Geoffrey Chaucer
92):- Comedy of Errors → William Shakespeare
93):- Don Juan → Lord Byron
94):- Dr. Faustus → Christopher Marlowe
95):- Politics → Aristotle
96):- Volpone → Ben Jonson
97):- Dictionary → Samuel Johnson
98):- A Passage to India → E. M. Forster
99):- Macbeth → William Shakespeare
100):- Samson Agonists → John Milton
1):- David Copperfield → Charles Dickens
2):- Hamlet → William Shakespeare
3):- The Rime of the Ancient Mariner → Samuel Taylor Coleridge
4):- Das Capital → Karl Marx
5):- Animal Farm → George Orwell
6):- Dialogues → Plato
7):- Tempest → William Shakespeare
8):- Mein Kampf → Adolph Hitler
9):- Mother → Maxim Gorky
10):- As You Like it → William Shakespeare
11):- Paradise Lost → John Milton
12):- The Tale of Two Cities → Charles Dickens
13):- The Merchant of Venice → William Shakespeare
14):- Pride and Prejudice → Jane Austen
15):- All’s Well that Ends Well → William Shakespeare
16):- Anna Karenina → Leo Tolstoy
17):- Origin of Species → Charles Darwin
18):- Discovery of India → Johor Lal Nehru
19):- Asian Drama → Gunner Myrdal
20):- The Old Man and The Sea → Earnest Hemingway
21):- Julius Caesar → William Shakespeare
22):- Man and Superman → George Bernard Shaw
23):- War and Peace → Leo Tolstoy
24):- Gulliver’s Travels → Jonathan Swift
25):- Heaven and Earth → Lord Byron
26):- Blue Bird → Lord Alfred Tennyson
27):- Othello → William Shakespeare
28):- India Wins Freedom → Abul Kalam Azad
29):- Marriage and Moral → Bertrand Russell
30):- God of the Small Things → Arundhati Roy
31):- Caesar and Cleopatra → George Bernard Shaw
32):- Romeo and Juliet → William Shakespeare
33):- Jungle Book → Rudyard Kipling
34):- Lycidas → John Milton
35):- Emma → Jane Austen
36):- A pair of Blue Eyes → Thomas Hardy
37):- Odyssey → Homer
38):- Memories of the Second World War →
Winston Churchill
39):- For Whom the Bell Tolls → Earnest
Hemingway
40):- Wealth of Nations → Adam Smith
41):- Waste Land → T.S Eliot
42):- Vanity Fair → W.M Thackeray
43):- Prince → Machiavelli
44):- Republic → Plato
45):- Freedom → Bertrand Russell
46):- A Long Walk to Freedom → Nelson Mandela
47):- Robinson Crusoe → Daniel Defoe
48):- Sons and Lovers, The Rainbow → D.H Lawrence
49):- Ulysses → Lord Alfred Tennyson
50):- Sense and Sensibility → Jane Austen
51):- Roots → Alex Haley
52):- To Skylark → P. B Shelly
53):- Time Machine → H. W Wells
54):- Try and Try Again → W.E Hick son
55):- Seven Seas → Rudyard Kipling
56):- Around the World in Eighty Days→ Jules Verne
57):- Waiting For Goddot → Samuel Becket
58):- Things Fall Apart → Chinua Achebe
59):- Silent Women → Ben Johnson
60):- Wuthering Heights → Emile Bronte
61):- The Way of the World → William Congreve
62):- Voyage of Lilliput → Jonathon Swift
63):- Top Secret → Henry Fielding
64):- Twelfth Night → William Shakespeare
65):- Utopia → Sir Thomas Moore
66):- Tom Jones → Henry Fielding
67):- The Return of the Native → Thomas Hardy
68):- The Alchemist → Ben Jonson
69):- Tess of D’Urbervilles → Thomas Hardy
70):- Scholar Gipsy → Matthew Arnold
71):- The Rape of the Lock → Alexander Pope
72):- Prelude → William Wordsworth
73):- Ode to the West Wind → P.B Shelly
74):- Great Expectations → Charles Dickens
75):- King Lear → William Shakespeare
76):- Kubla Khan → Samuel Taylor Coleridge
77):- Isabella → John Keats
78):- Measure and Measure → William
Shakespeare
79):-In Memoriam → Lord Alfred Tennyson
80):- Pilgrim’s Progress → John Bunyan
81):- Oliver Twist → Charles Dickens
82):- Paradise Regained → John Milton
83):- Iliad → Homer
84):- Divine Comedy → Dante
85):- Crime and Punishment → Dostoevsky
86):- A Brief History Of Time → Stephen
Hawkings
87):- A Farewell to Arms → Earnest Hemingway
88):- A Midsummer Nights Dream → William
Shakespeare
89):- Adonis → P. B Shelley
90):- Akbar Nama → Abul Fazal
91):- Canterbury Tales → Geoffrey Chaucer
92):- Comedy of Errors → William Shakespeare
93):- Don Juan → Lord Byron
94):- Dr. Faustus → Christopher Marlowe
95):- Politics → Aristotle
96):- Volpone → Ben Jonson
97):- Dictionary → Samuel Johnson
98):- A Passage to India → E. M. Forster
99):- Macbeth → William Shakespeare
100):- Samson Agonists → John Milton
*Education Policy 2020 is announced*
1. 10+2 board structure is dropped
2. New school structure will be 5+3+3+4
3. Upto 5 pre school, 6 to 8 Mid School, 8 to 11 High School , 12 onwards Graduation
4. Any Degree will be 4 years
5. 6th std onwards vocational courses available
6. From 8th to 11 students can choose subjects
7. All graduation course will have major and minor
Example - Science student can have Physics as Major and Music as minor also. Any combination he can choose
8. All higher education will be governed by only one authority.
9. UGC AICTE will be merged.
10. All Universities like government, private, Open, Deemed, Vocational etc will have same grading and other rules.
11. New Teacher Training board will be setup for all kinds of teachers in country, no state can change.
12. Same level of Accreditation to any college , based on its rating college will get autonomous rights and funds.
13. New Basic learning programme will be created by government for parents to teach children upto 3 years in home and for pre school 3 to 6
14. Multiple entry and exit from any course
15. Credit system for graduation for each year student will get some credits which he can utilize if he takes break in course and come back again to complete course
16. All schools exams will be semester wise twice a year
17. The syllabus will be reduced to core knowledge of any subject only
18. More focus on student practical and application knowledge
19. For any graduation course if a student completes only one year he will get a basic certificate, if he completes two years then he will get Diploma certificate and if he completes full course then he will get degree certificate. So no year of any student will've vested if he breaks the course in between.
20.All the graduation course feed of all Universities will be govern by single authority with capping on each course.
Now we can hope our education system will be at par with other advanced countries and future of our children will be bright.
1. 10+2 board structure is dropped
2. New school structure will be 5+3+3+4
3. Upto 5 pre school, 6 to 8 Mid School, 8 to 11 High School , 12 onwards Graduation
4. Any Degree will be 4 years
5. 6th std onwards vocational courses available
6. From 8th to 11 students can choose subjects
7. All graduation course will have major and minor
Example - Science student can have Physics as Major and Music as minor also. Any combination he can choose
8. All higher education will be governed by only one authority.
9. UGC AICTE will be merged.
10. All Universities like government, private, Open, Deemed, Vocational etc will have same grading and other rules.
11. New Teacher Training board will be setup for all kinds of teachers in country, no state can change.
12. Same level of Accreditation to any college , based on its rating college will get autonomous rights and funds.
13. New Basic learning programme will be created by government for parents to teach children upto 3 years in home and for pre school 3 to 6
14. Multiple entry and exit from any course
15. Credit system for graduation for each year student will get some credits which he can utilize if he takes break in course and come back again to complete course
16. All schools exams will be semester wise twice a year
17. The syllabus will be reduced to core knowledge of any subject only
18. More focus on student practical and application knowledge
19. For any graduation course if a student completes only one year he will get a basic certificate, if he completes two years then he will get Diploma certificate and if he completes full course then he will get degree certificate. So no year of any student will've vested if he breaks the course in between.
20.All the graduation course feed of all Universities will be govern by single authority with capping on each course.
Now we can hope our education system will be at par with other advanced countries and future of our children will be bright.
100 Novels
for those who have Literature in their blood and Language in their brains.
1. The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (1678)
A story of a man in search of truth told with the simple clarity and beauty of Bunyan’s prose make this the ultimate English classic.
2. Robinson Crusoeby Daniel Defoe (1719)
By the end of the 19th century, no book in English literary history had enjoyed more editions, spin-offs and translations. Crusoe’s world-famous novel is a complex literary work and it’s irresistible.
3. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726)
A satirical masterpiece that’s never been out of print, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels comes third in our list of the best novels written in English
4. Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (1748)
Clarissa is a tragic heroine, pressured by her unscrupulous nouveau-riche family to marry a wealthy man she detests, in the book that Samuel Johnson described as “the first book in the world for the knowledge it displays of the human heart.”
5. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (1749)
Tom Jones is a classic English novel that captures the spirit of its age and whose famous characters have come to represent Augustan society in all its loquacious, turbulent, comic variety.
6. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentlemanby Laurence Sterne (1759)
Laurence Sterne’s vivid novel caused delight and consternation when it first appeared and has lost little of its original bite.
7. Emma by Jane Austen (1816)
Jane Austen’s Emma is her masterpiece, mixing the sparkle of her early books with a deep sensibility.
8. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
Mary Shelley’s first novel has been hailed as a masterpiece of horror and the macabre.
9. Nightmare Abbeyby Thomas Love Peacock (1818)
The great pleasure of Nightmare Abbey, which was inspired by Thomas Love Peacock’s friendship with Shelley, lies in the delight the author takes in poking fun at the romantic movement.
10. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe (1838)
Edgar Allan Poe’s only novel – a classic adventure story with supernatural elements – has fascinated and influenced generations of writers.
11. Sybil by Benjamin Disraeli (1845)
The future prime minister displayed flashes of brilliance that equalled the greatest Victorian novelists.
A whirlwind success … Jane Eyre.
12. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847)
Charlotte Brontë’s erotic, gothic masterpiece became the sensation of Victorian England. Its great breakthrough was its intimate dialogue with the reader.
13. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)
Emily Brontë’s windswept masterpiece is notable not just for its wild beauty but for its daring reinvention of the novel form itself.
14. Vanity Fair by William Thackeray (1848)
William Thackeray’s masterpiece, set in Regency England, is a bravura performance by a writer at the top of his game.
15. David Copperfieldby Charles Dickens (1850)
David Copperfield marked the point at which Dickens became the great entertainer and also laid the foundations for his later, darker masterpieces.
16. The Scarlet Letterby Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s astounding book is full of intense symbolism and as haunting as anything by Edgar Allan Poe.
17. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
Wise, funny and gripping, Melville’s epic work continues to cast a long shadow over American literature.
18. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
Lewis Carroll’s brilliant nonsense tale is one of the most influential and best loved in the English canon.
19. The Moonstoneby Wilkie Collins (1868)
Wilkie Collins’s masterpiece, hailed by many as the greatest English detective novel, is a brilliant marriage of the sensational and the realistic.
20. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868-9)
Louisa May Alcott’s highly original tale aimed at a young female market has iconic status in America and never been out of print.
21. Middlemarch by George Eliot (1871-2)
This cathedral of words stands today as perhaps the greatest of the great Victorian fictions.
22. The Way We Liv
for those who have Literature in their blood and Language in their brains.
1. The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (1678)
A story of a man in search of truth told with the simple clarity and beauty of Bunyan’s prose make this the ultimate English classic.
2. Robinson Crusoeby Daniel Defoe (1719)
By the end of the 19th century, no book in English literary history had enjoyed more editions, spin-offs and translations. Crusoe’s world-famous novel is a complex literary work and it’s irresistible.
3. Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift (1726)
A satirical masterpiece that’s never been out of print, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels comes third in our list of the best novels written in English
4. Clarissa by Samuel Richardson (1748)
Clarissa is a tragic heroine, pressured by her unscrupulous nouveau-riche family to marry a wealthy man she detests, in the book that Samuel Johnson described as “the first book in the world for the knowledge it displays of the human heart.”
5. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding (1749)
Tom Jones is a classic English novel that captures the spirit of its age and whose famous characters have come to represent Augustan society in all its loquacious, turbulent, comic variety.
6. The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentlemanby Laurence Sterne (1759)
Laurence Sterne’s vivid novel caused delight and consternation when it first appeared and has lost little of its original bite.
7. Emma by Jane Austen (1816)
Jane Austen’s Emma is her masterpiece, mixing the sparkle of her early books with a deep sensibility.
8. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)
Mary Shelley’s first novel has been hailed as a masterpiece of horror and the macabre.
9. Nightmare Abbeyby Thomas Love Peacock (1818)
The great pleasure of Nightmare Abbey, which was inspired by Thomas Love Peacock’s friendship with Shelley, lies in the delight the author takes in poking fun at the romantic movement.
10. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket by Edgar Allan Poe (1838)
Edgar Allan Poe’s only novel – a classic adventure story with supernatural elements – has fascinated and influenced generations of writers.
11. Sybil by Benjamin Disraeli (1845)
The future prime minister displayed flashes of brilliance that equalled the greatest Victorian novelists.
A whirlwind success … Jane Eyre.
12. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847)
Charlotte Brontë’s erotic, gothic masterpiece became the sensation of Victorian England. Its great breakthrough was its intimate dialogue with the reader.
13. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)
Emily Brontë’s windswept masterpiece is notable not just for its wild beauty but for its daring reinvention of the novel form itself.
14. Vanity Fair by William Thackeray (1848)
William Thackeray’s masterpiece, set in Regency England, is a bravura performance by a writer at the top of his game.
15. David Copperfieldby Charles Dickens (1850)
David Copperfield marked the point at which Dickens became the great entertainer and also laid the foundations for his later, darker masterpieces.
16. The Scarlet Letterby Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s astounding book is full of intense symbolism and as haunting as anything by Edgar Allan Poe.
17. Moby-Dick by Herman Melville (1851)
Wise, funny and gripping, Melville’s epic work continues to cast a long shadow over American literature.
18. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1865)
Lewis Carroll’s brilliant nonsense tale is one of the most influential and best loved in the English canon.
19. The Moonstoneby Wilkie Collins (1868)
Wilkie Collins’s masterpiece, hailed by many as the greatest English detective novel, is a brilliant marriage of the sensational and the realistic.
20. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (1868-9)
Louisa May Alcott’s highly original tale aimed at a young female market has iconic status in America and never been out of print.
21. Middlemarch by George Eliot (1871-2)
This cathedral of words stands today as perhaps the greatest of the great Victorian fictions.
22. The Way We Liv
e Now by Anthony Trollope (1875)
Inspired by the author’s fury at the corrupt state of England, and dismissed by critics at the time, The Way We Live Now is recognised as Trollope’s masterpiece.
23. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finnby Mark Twain (1884/5)
Mark Twain’s tale of a rebel boy and a runaway slave seeking liberation upon the waters of the Mississippi remains a defining classic of American literature.
24. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)
A thrilling adventure story, gripping history and fascinating study of the Scottish character, Kidnapped has lost none of its power.
25. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome (1889)
Jerome K Jerome’s accidental classic about messing about on the Thames remains a comic gem.
26. The Sign of Fourby Arthur Conan Doyle (1890)
Sherlock Holmes’s second outing sees Conan Doyle’s brilliant sleuth – and his bluff sidekick Watson – come into their own.
Helmut Berger and Richard Todd in the 1970 adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.
27. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1891)
Wilde’s brilliantly allusive moral tale of youth, beauty and corruption was greeted with howls of protest on publication.
28. New Grub Streetby George Gissing (1891)
George Gissing’s portrayal of the hard facts of a literary life remains as relevant today as it was in the late 19th century.
29. Jude the Obscureby Thomas Hardy (1895)
Hardy exposed his deepest feelings in this bleak, angry novel and, stung by the hostile response, he never wrote another.
30. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (1895)
Stephen Crane’s account of a young man’s passage to manhood through soldiery is a blueprint for the great American war novel.
31. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)
Bram Stoker’s classic vampire story was very much of its time but still resonates more than a century later.
32. Heart of Darknessby Joseph Conrad (1899)
Joseph Conrad’s masterpiece about a life-changing journey in search of Mr Kurtz has the simplicity of great myth.
33. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (1900)
Theodore Dreiser was no stylist, but there’s a terrific momentum to his unflinching novel about a country girl’s American dream.
34. Kim by Rudyard Kipling (1901)
In Kipling’s classic boy’s own spy story, an orphan in British India must make a choice between east and west.
35. The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)
Jack London’s vivid adventures of a pet dog that goes back to nature reveal an extraordinary style and consummate storytelling.
36. The Golden Bowlby Henry James (1904)
American literature contains nothing else quite like Henry James’s amazing, labyrinthine and claustrophobic novel.
37. Hadrian the Seventh by Frederick Rolfe (1904)
This entertaining if contrived story of a hack writer and priest who becomes pope sheds vivid light on its eccentric author – described by DH Lawrence as a “man-demon”.
38. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908)
The evergreen tale from the riverbank and a powerful contribution to the mythology of Edwardian England.
39. The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells (1910)
The choice is great, but Wells’s ironic portrait of a man very like himself is the novel that stands out.
40. Zuleika Dobsonby Max Beerbohm (1911)
The passage of time has conferred a dark power upon Beerbohm’s ostensibly light and witty Edwardian satire.
41. The Good Soldierby Ford Madox Ford (1915)
Ford’s masterpiece is a searing study of moral dissolution behind the facade of an English gentleman – and its stylistic influence lingers to this day.
42. The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (1915)
John Buchan’s espionage thriller, with its sparse, contemporary prose, is hard to put down.
43. The Rainbow by DH Lawrence (1915)
The Rainbow is perhaps DH Lawrence’s finest work, showing him for the radical, protean, thoroughly modern writer he was.
44. Of Human Bondage by W Somerset Maugham (1915)
Somerset Maugham’s semi-autobiographical novel shows the author’s savage honesty and gift for storytelling at their best.
45. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920)
The story of a
Inspired by the author’s fury at the corrupt state of England, and dismissed by critics at the time, The Way We Live Now is recognised as Trollope’s masterpiece.
23. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finnby Mark Twain (1884/5)
Mark Twain’s tale of a rebel boy and a runaway slave seeking liberation upon the waters of the Mississippi remains a defining classic of American literature.
24. Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)
A thrilling adventure story, gripping history and fascinating study of the Scottish character, Kidnapped has lost none of its power.
25. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K Jerome (1889)
Jerome K Jerome’s accidental classic about messing about on the Thames remains a comic gem.
26. The Sign of Fourby Arthur Conan Doyle (1890)
Sherlock Holmes’s second outing sees Conan Doyle’s brilliant sleuth – and his bluff sidekick Watson – come into their own.
Helmut Berger and Richard Todd in the 1970 adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray.
27. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1891)
Wilde’s brilliantly allusive moral tale of youth, beauty and corruption was greeted with howls of protest on publication.
28. New Grub Streetby George Gissing (1891)
George Gissing’s portrayal of the hard facts of a literary life remains as relevant today as it was in the late 19th century.
29. Jude the Obscureby Thomas Hardy (1895)
Hardy exposed his deepest feelings in this bleak, angry novel and, stung by the hostile response, he never wrote another.
30. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (1895)
Stephen Crane’s account of a young man’s passage to manhood through soldiery is a blueprint for the great American war novel.
31. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)
Bram Stoker’s classic vampire story was very much of its time but still resonates more than a century later.
32. Heart of Darknessby Joseph Conrad (1899)
Joseph Conrad’s masterpiece about a life-changing journey in search of Mr Kurtz has the simplicity of great myth.
33. Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser (1900)
Theodore Dreiser was no stylist, but there’s a terrific momentum to his unflinching novel about a country girl’s American dream.
34. Kim by Rudyard Kipling (1901)
In Kipling’s classic boy’s own spy story, an orphan in British India must make a choice between east and west.
35. The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)
Jack London’s vivid adventures of a pet dog that goes back to nature reveal an extraordinary style and consummate storytelling.
36. The Golden Bowlby Henry James (1904)
American literature contains nothing else quite like Henry James’s amazing, labyrinthine and claustrophobic novel.
37. Hadrian the Seventh by Frederick Rolfe (1904)
This entertaining if contrived story of a hack writer and priest who becomes pope sheds vivid light on its eccentric author – described by DH Lawrence as a “man-demon”.
38. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908)
The evergreen tale from the riverbank and a powerful contribution to the mythology of Edwardian England.
39. The History of Mr Polly by HG Wells (1910)
The choice is great, but Wells’s ironic portrait of a man very like himself is the novel that stands out.
40. Zuleika Dobsonby Max Beerbohm (1911)
The passage of time has conferred a dark power upon Beerbohm’s ostensibly light and witty Edwardian satire.
41. The Good Soldierby Ford Madox Ford (1915)
Ford’s masterpiece is a searing study of moral dissolution behind the facade of an English gentleman – and its stylistic influence lingers to this day.
42. The Thirty-Nine Steps by John Buchan (1915)
John Buchan’s espionage thriller, with its sparse, contemporary prose, is hard to put down.
43. The Rainbow by DH Lawrence (1915)
The Rainbow is perhaps DH Lawrence’s finest work, showing him for the radical, protean, thoroughly modern writer he was.
44. Of Human Bondage by W Somerset Maugham (1915)
Somerset Maugham’s semi-autobiographical novel shows the author’s savage honesty and gift for storytelling at their best.
45. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (1920)
The story of a
in the River by VS Naipaul (1979)
VS Naipaul’s hellish vision of an African nation’s path to independence saw him accused of racism, but remains his masterpiece.
91. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (1981)
The personal and the historical merge in Salman Rushdie’s dazzling, game-changing Indian English novel of a young man born at the very moment of Indian independence.
92. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (1981)
Marilynne Robinson’s tale of orphaned sisters and their oddball aunt in a remote Idaho town is admired by everyone from Barack Obama to Bret Easton Ellis.
Nick Frost as John Self Martin Amis’s Money.
93. Money: A Suicide Note by Martin Amis (1984)
Martin Amis’s era-defining ode to excess unleashed one of literature’s greatest modern monsters in self-destructive antihero John Self.
94. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (1986)
Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about a retired artist in postwar Japan, reflecting on his career during the country’s dark years, is a tour de force of unreliable narration.
95. The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald (1988)
Fitzgerald’s story, set in Russia just before the Bolshevik revolution, is her masterpiece: a brilliant miniature whose peculiar magic almost defies analysis.
96. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (1988)
Anne Tyler’s portrayal of a middle-aged, mid-American marriage displays her narrative clarity, comic timing and ear for American speech to perfection.
97. Amongst Womenby John McGahern (1990)
This modern Irish masterpiece is both a study of the fault of Irish patriarchy and an elegy for a lost world.
98. Underworld by Don DeLillo (1997)
A writer of “frightening perception”, Don DeLillo guides the reader in an epic journey through America’s history and popular culture.
99. Disgrace by JM Coetzee (1999)
In his Booker-winning masterpiece, Coetzee’s intensely human vision infuses a fictional world that both invites and confounds political interpretation.
100. True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (2000)
VS Naipaul’s hellish vision of an African nation’s path to independence saw him accused of racism, but remains his masterpiece.
91. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie (1981)
The personal and the historical merge in Salman Rushdie’s dazzling, game-changing Indian English novel of a young man born at the very moment of Indian independence.
92. Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson (1981)
Marilynne Robinson’s tale of orphaned sisters and their oddball aunt in a remote Idaho town is admired by everyone from Barack Obama to Bret Easton Ellis.
Nick Frost as John Self Martin Amis’s Money.
93. Money: A Suicide Note by Martin Amis (1984)
Martin Amis’s era-defining ode to excess unleashed one of literature’s greatest modern monsters in self-destructive antihero John Self.
94. An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro (1986)
Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel about a retired artist in postwar Japan, reflecting on his career during the country’s dark years, is a tour de force of unreliable narration.
95. The Beginning of Spring by Penelope Fitzgerald (1988)
Fitzgerald’s story, set in Russia just before the Bolshevik revolution, is her masterpiece: a brilliant miniature whose peculiar magic almost defies analysis.
96. Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler (1988)
Anne Tyler’s portrayal of a middle-aged, mid-American marriage displays her narrative clarity, comic timing and ear for American speech to perfection.
97. Amongst Womenby John McGahern (1990)
This modern Irish masterpiece is both a study of the fault of Irish patriarchy and an elegy for a lost world.
98. Underworld by Don DeLillo (1997)
A writer of “frightening perception”, Don DeLillo guides the reader in an epic journey through America’s history and popular culture.
99. Disgrace by JM Coetzee (1999)
In his Booker-winning masterpiece, Coetzee’s intensely human vision infuses a fictional world that both invites and confounds political interpretation.
100. True History of the Kelly Gang by Peter Carey (2000)
eth Bowen (1948)
Elizabeth Bowen’s 1948 novel perfectly captures the atmosphere of London during the blitz while providing brilliant insights into the human heart.
Richard Burton and John Hurt in Nineteen Eighty-four.
70. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)
George Orwell’s dystopian classic cost its author dear but is arguably the best-known novel in English of the 20th century.
71. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (1951)
Graham Greene’s moving tale of adultery and its aftermath ties together several vital strands in his work.
72. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger (1951)
JD Salinger’s study of teenage rebellion remains one of the most controversial and best-loved American novels of the 20th century.
73. The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (1953)
In the long-running hunt to identify thegreat American novel, Saul Bellow’s picaresque third book frequently hits the mark.
74. Lord of the Fliesby William Golding (1954)
Dismissed at first as “rubbish & dull”, Golding’s brilliantly observed dystopian desert island tale has since become a classic.
75. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)
Nabokov’s tragicomic tour de force crosses the boundaries of good taste with glee.
76. On the Road by Jack Kerouac (1957)
The creative history of Kerouac’s beat-generation classic, fuelled by pea soup and benzedrine, has become as famous as the novel itself.
77. Voss by Patrick White (1957)
A love story set against the disappearance of an explorer in the outback, Voss paved the way for a generation of Australian writers to shrug off the colonial past.
78. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)
Her second novel finally arrived this summer, but Harper Lee’s first did enough alone to secure her lasting fame, and remains a truly popular classic.
79. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (1960)
Short and bittersweet, Muriel Spark’s tale of the downfall of a Scottish schoolmistress is a masterpiece of narrative fiction.
80. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
This acerbic anti-war novel was slow to fire the public imagination, but is rightly regarded as a groundbreaking critique of military madness.
81. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (1962)
Hailed as one of the key texts of the women’s movement of the 1960s, this study of a divorced single mother’s search for personal and political identity remains a defiant, ambitious tour de force.
Malcolm Macdowell in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange film.
82. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962)
Anthony Burgess’s dystopian classic still continues to startle and provoke, refusing to be outshone by Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant film adaptation.
83. A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (1964)
Christopher Isherwood’s story of a gay Englishman struggling with bereavement in LA is a work of compressed brilliance.
84. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (1966)
Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel, a true story of bloody murder in rural Kansas, opens a window on the dark underbelly of postwar America.
85. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1966)
Sylvia Plath’s painfully graphic roman à clef, in which a woman struggles with her identity in the face of social pressure, is a key text of Anglo-American feminism.
86. Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth (1969)
This wickedly funny novel about a young Jewish American’s obsession with masturbation caused outrage on publication, but remains his most dazzling work.
87. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor (1971)
Elizabeth Taylor’s exquisitely drawn character study of eccentricity in old age is a sharp and witty portrait of genteel postwar English life facing the changes taking shape in the 60s.
88. Rabbit Redux by John Updike (1971)
Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, Updike’s lovably mediocre alter ego, is one of America’s great literary protoganists, up there with Huck Finn and Jay Gatsby.
89. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (1977)
The novel with which the Nobel prize-winning author established her name is a kaleidoscopic evocation of the African-American experience in the 20th century.
90. A Bend
Elizabeth Bowen’s 1948 novel perfectly captures the atmosphere of London during the blitz while providing brilliant insights into the human heart.
Richard Burton and John Hurt in Nineteen Eighty-four.
70. Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (1949)
George Orwell’s dystopian classic cost its author dear but is arguably the best-known novel in English of the 20th century.
71. The End of the Affair by Graham Greene (1951)
Graham Greene’s moving tale of adultery and its aftermath ties together several vital strands in his work.
72. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger (1951)
JD Salinger’s study of teenage rebellion remains one of the most controversial and best-loved American novels of the 20th century.
73. The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow (1953)
In the long-running hunt to identify thegreat American novel, Saul Bellow’s picaresque third book frequently hits the mark.
74. Lord of the Fliesby William Golding (1954)
Dismissed at first as “rubbish & dull”, Golding’s brilliantly observed dystopian desert island tale has since become a classic.
75. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (1955)
Nabokov’s tragicomic tour de force crosses the boundaries of good taste with glee.
76. On the Road by Jack Kerouac (1957)
The creative history of Kerouac’s beat-generation classic, fuelled by pea soup and benzedrine, has become as famous as the novel itself.
77. Voss by Patrick White (1957)
A love story set against the disappearance of an explorer in the outback, Voss paved the way for a generation of Australian writers to shrug off the colonial past.
78. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (1960)
Her second novel finally arrived this summer, but Harper Lee’s first did enough alone to secure her lasting fame, and remains a truly popular classic.
79. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark (1960)
Short and bittersweet, Muriel Spark’s tale of the downfall of a Scottish schoolmistress is a masterpiece of narrative fiction.
80. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller (1961)
This acerbic anti-war novel was slow to fire the public imagination, but is rightly regarded as a groundbreaking critique of military madness.
81. The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing (1962)
Hailed as one of the key texts of the women’s movement of the 1960s, this study of a divorced single mother’s search for personal and political identity remains a defiant, ambitious tour de force.
Malcolm Macdowell in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange film.
82. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (1962)
Anthony Burgess’s dystopian classic still continues to startle and provoke, refusing to be outshone by Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant film adaptation.
83. A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood (1964)
Christopher Isherwood’s story of a gay Englishman struggling with bereavement in LA is a work of compressed brilliance.
84. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (1966)
Truman Capote’s non-fiction novel, a true story of bloody murder in rural Kansas, opens a window on the dark underbelly of postwar America.
85. The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath (1966)
Sylvia Plath’s painfully graphic roman à clef, in which a woman struggles with her identity in the face of social pressure, is a key text of Anglo-American feminism.
86. Portnoy’s Complaint by Philip Roth (1969)
This wickedly funny novel about a young Jewish American’s obsession with masturbation caused outrage on publication, but remains his most dazzling work.
87. Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor (1971)
Elizabeth Taylor’s exquisitely drawn character study of eccentricity in old age is a sharp and witty portrait of genteel postwar English life facing the changes taking shape in the 60s.
88. Rabbit Redux by John Updike (1971)
Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, Updike’s lovably mediocre alter ego, is one of America’s great literary protoganists, up there with Huck Finn and Jay Gatsby.
89. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison (1977)
The novel with which the Nobel prize-winning author established her name is a kaleidoscopic evocation of the African-American experience in the 20th century.
90. A Bend
blighted New York marriage stands as a fierce indictment of a society estranged from culture.
46. Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)
This portrait of a day in the lives of three Dubliners remains a towering work, in its word play surpassing even Shakespeare.
47. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis (1922)
What it lacks in structure and guile, this enthralling take on 20s America makes up for in vivid satire and characterisation.
48. A Passage to Indiaby EM Forster (1924)
EM Forster’s most successful work is eerily prescient on the subject of empire.
49. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos (1925)
A guilty pleasure it may be, but it is impossible to overlook the enduring influence of a tale that helped to define the jazz age.
50. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925)
Woolf’s great novel makes a day of party preparations the canvas for themes of lost love, life choices and mental illness.
Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby’s film adaptation by Baz Luhrmann.
51. The Great Gatsbyby F Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
Fitzgerald’s jazz age masterpiece has become a tantalising metaphor for the eternal mystery of art.
52. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner (1926)
A young woman escapes convention by becoming a witch in this original satire about England after the first world war.
53. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (1926)
Hemingway’s first and best novel makes an escape to 1920s Spain to explore courage, cowardice and manly authenticity.
54. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1929)
Dashiell Hammett’s crime thriller and its hard-boiled hero Sam Spade influenced everyone from Chandler to Le Carré.
55. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (1930)
The influence of William Faulkner’s immersive tale of raw Mississippi rural life can be felt to this day.
56. Brave New Worldby Aldous Huxley (1932)
Aldous Huxley’s vision of a future human race controlled by global capitalism is every bit as prescient as Orwell’s more famous dystopia.
57. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (1932)
The book for which Gibbons is best remembered was a satire of late-Victorian pastoral fiction but went on to influence many subsequent generations.
58. Nineteen Nineteen by John Dos Passos (1932)
The middle volume of John Dos Passos’s USA trilogy is revolutionary in its intent, techniques and lasting impact.
59. Tropic of Cancerby Henry Miller (1934)
The US novelist’s debut revelled in a Paris underworld of seedy sex and changed the course of the novel – though not without a fight with the censors.
60. Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (1938)
Evelyn Waugh’s Fleet Street satire remains sharp, pertinent and memorable.
61. Murphy by Samuel Beckett (1938)
Samuel Beckett’s first published novel is an absurdist masterpiece, a showcase for his uniquely comic voice.
Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep.
62. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (1939)
Raymond Chandler’s hardboiled debut brings to life the seedy LA underworld – and Philip Marlowe, the archetypal fictional detective.
63. Party Going by Henry Green (1939)
Set on the eve of war, this neglected modernist masterpiece centres on a group of bright young revellers delayed by fog.
64. At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien (1939)
Labyrinthine and multilayered, Flann O’Brien’s humorous debut is both a reflection on, and an exemplar of, the Irish novel.
65. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)
One of the greatest of great American novels, this study of a family torn apart by poverty and desperation in the Great Depression shocked US society.
66. Joy in the Morning by PG Wodehouse (1946)
PG Wodehouse’s elegiac Jeeves novel, written during his disastrous years in wartime Germany, remains his masterpiece.
67. All the King’s Menby Robert Penn Warren (1946)
A compelling story of personal and political corruption, set in the 1930s in the American south.
68. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry (1947)
Malcolm Lowry’s masterpiece about the last hours of an alcoholic ex-diplomat in Mexico is set to the drumbeat of coming conflict.
69. The Heat of the Day by Elizab
46. Ulysses by James Joyce (1922)
This portrait of a day in the lives of three Dubliners remains a towering work, in its word play surpassing even Shakespeare.
47. Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis (1922)
What it lacks in structure and guile, this enthralling take on 20s America makes up for in vivid satire and characterisation.
48. A Passage to Indiaby EM Forster (1924)
EM Forster’s most successful work is eerily prescient on the subject of empire.
49. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos (1925)
A guilty pleasure it may be, but it is impossible to overlook the enduring influence of a tale that helped to define the jazz age.
50. Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf (1925)
Woolf’s great novel makes a day of party preparations the canvas for themes of lost love, life choices and mental illness.
Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio in The Great Gatsby’s film adaptation by Baz Luhrmann.
51. The Great Gatsbyby F Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
Fitzgerald’s jazz age masterpiece has become a tantalising metaphor for the eternal mystery of art.
52. Lolly Willowes by Sylvia Townsend Warner (1926)
A young woman escapes convention by becoming a witch in this original satire about England after the first world war.
53. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway (1926)
Hemingway’s first and best novel makes an escape to 1920s Spain to explore courage, cowardice and manly authenticity.
54. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett (1929)
Dashiell Hammett’s crime thriller and its hard-boiled hero Sam Spade influenced everyone from Chandler to Le Carré.
55. As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner (1930)
The influence of William Faulkner’s immersive tale of raw Mississippi rural life can be felt to this day.
56. Brave New Worldby Aldous Huxley (1932)
Aldous Huxley’s vision of a future human race controlled by global capitalism is every bit as prescient as Orwell’s more famous dystopia.
57. Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons (1932)
The book for which Gibbons is best remembered was a satire of late-Victorian pastoral fiction but went on to influence many subsequent generations.
58. Nineteen Nineteen by John Dos Passos (1932)
The middle volume of John Dos Passos’s USA trilogy is revolutionary in its intent, techniques and lasting impact.
59. Tropic of Cancerby Henry Miller (1934)
The US novelist’s debut revelled in a Paris underworld of seedy sex and changed the course of the novel – though not without a fight with the censors.
60. Scoop by Evelyn Waugh (1938)
Evelyn Waugh’s Fleet Street satire remains sharp, pertinent and memorable.
61. Murphy by Samuel Beckett (1938)
Samuel Beckett’s first published novel is an absurdist masterpiece, a showcase for his uniquely comic voice.
Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall in The Big Sleep.
62. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler (1939)
Raymond Chandler’s hardboiled debut brings to life the seedy LA underworld – and Philip Marlowe, the archetypal fictional detective.
63. Party Going by Henry Green (1939)
Set on the eve of war, this neglected modernist masterpiece centres on a group of bright young revellers delayed by fog.
64. At Swim-Two-Birds by Flann O’Brien (1939)
Labyrinthine and multilayered, Flann O’Brien’s humorous debut is both a reflection on, and an exemplar of, the Irish novel.
65. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)
One of the greatest of great American novels, this study of a family torn apart by poverty and desperation in the Great Depression shocked US society.
66. Joy in the Morning by PG Wodehouse (1946)
PG Wodehouse’s elegiac Jeeves novel, written during his disastrous years in wartime Germany, remains his masterpiece.
67. All the King’s Menby Robert Penn Warren (1946)
A compelling story of personal and political corruption, set in the 1930s in the American south.
68. Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry (1947)
Malcolm Lowry’s masterpiece about the last hours of an alcoholic ex-diplomat in Mexico is set to the drumbeat of coming conflict.
69. The Heat of the Day by Elizab
Renaissance Impact on Drama
The Renaissance exercised a great influence on the course of the English drama. It is under
its influence that the moralities underwent a kind of change and evolved into a form of drama
called Interlude. The regular English drama is the product of the Renaissance. In comedy the
principle influences of the dramas were of Plautus and Terence.
The most important comedy in English was Ralph Roister Doister (Nicholas Udall)
and Gammer Gurton’s Needle (anonymous). They were deeply influenced was the by
Plautus and Terence. They were divided into five acts.
In Tragedy the principal influence were the tragedies of Seneca.The first English
Tragedy 'Gorboduc' is modeled on Seneca. It is divided into five acts and each act ends
with a chorus, in imitation of the Senecan Tragedy.
The influence of the Renaissance is very clearly seen in the dramas of the University
Wits - Marlowe, Lyly, Robert Greene, Peele, Nash, Lodge and Kyd. The typicalRenaissance spirit is reflected in the plays of Marlowe – 'Tamburlaine', 'Jew of Malta',
'Edward IV' and 'Doctor Faustus'.
The Renaissance exercised a great influence on the course of the English drama. It is under
its influence that the moralities underwent a kind of change and evolved into a form of drama
called Interlude. The regular English drama is the product of the Renaissance. In comedy the
principle influences of the dramas were of Plautus and Terence.
The most important comedy in English was Ralph Roister Doister (Nicholas Udall)
and Gammer Gurton’s Needle (anonymous). They were deeply influenced was the by
Plautus and Terence. They were divided into five acts.
In Tragedy the principal influence were the tragedies of Seneca.The first English
Tragedy 'Gorboduc' is modeled on Seneca. It is divided into five acts and each act ends
with a chorus, in imitation of the Senecan Tragedy.
The influence of the Renaissance is very clearly seen in the dramas of the University
Wits - Marlowe, Lyly, Robert Greene, Peele, Nash, Lodge and Kyd. The typicalRenaissance spirit is reflected in the plays of Marlowe – 'Tamburlaine', 'Jew of Malta',
'Edward IV' and 'Doctor Faustus'.
*Robert Frost: Poems Summary and Analysis of "The Road Not Taken" (1916)*
The narrator comes upon a fork in the road while walking through a yellow wood. He considers both paths and concludes that each one is equally well-traveled and appealing. After choosing one of the roads, the narrator tells himself that he will come back to this fork one day in order to try the other road. However, he realizes that it is unlikely that he will ever have the opportunity to come back to this specific point in time because his choice of path will simply lead to other forks in the road (and other decisions). The narrator ends on a nostalgic note, wondering how different things would have been had he chosen the other path.
*Analysis*
This poem is made up of four stanzas of five lines, each with a rhyme scheme of ABAAB.
Along with “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” this poem is one of Frost’s most beloved works and is frequently studied in high school literature classes. Since its publication, many readers have analyzed the poem as a nostalgic commentary on life choices. The narrator decided to seize the day and express himself as an individual by choosing the road that was “less traveled by.” As a result of this decision, the narrator claims, his life was fundamentally different that it would have been had he chosen the more well-traveled path.
This reading of the poem is extremely popular because every reader can empathize with the narrator’s decision: having to choose between two paths without having any knowledge of where each road will lead. Moreover, the narrator’s decision to choose the “less traveled” path demonstrates his courage. Rather than taking the safe path that others have traveled, the narrator prefers to make his own way in the world.
However, when we look closer at the text of the poem, it becomes clear that such an idealistic analysis is largely inaccurate. The narrator only distinguishes the paths from one another after he has already selected one and traveled many years through life. When he first comes upon the fork in the road, the paths are described as being fundamentally identical. In terms of beauty, both paths are equally “fair,” and the overall “…passing there / Had worn them really about the same.”
It is only as an old man that the narrator looks back on his life and decides to place such importance on this particular decision in his life. During the first three stanzas, the narrator shows no sense of remorse for his decision nor any acknowledgement that such a decision might be important to his life. Yet, as an old man, the narrator attempts to give a sense of order to his past and perhaps explain why certain things happened to him. Of course, the excuse that he took the road “less traveled by” is false, but the narrator still clings to this decision as a defining moment of his life, not only because of the path that he chose but because he had to make a choice
The narrator comes upon a fork in the road while walking through a yellow wood. He considers both paths and concludes that each one is equally well-traveled and appealing. After choosing one of the roads, the narrator tells himself that he will come back to this fork one day in order to try the other road. However, he realizes that it is unlikely that he will ever have the opportunity to come back to this specific point in time because his choice of path will simply lead to other forks in the road (and other decisions). The narrator ends on a nostalgic note, wondering how different things would have been had he chosen the other path.
*Analysis*
This poem is made up of four stanzas of five lines, each with a rhyme scheme of ABAAB.
Along with “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening,” this poem is one of Frost’s most beloved works and is frequently studied in high school literature classes. Since its publication, many readers have analyzed the poem as a nostalgic commentary on life choices. The narrator decided to seize the day and express himself as an individual by choosing the road that was “less traveled by.” As a result of this decision, the narrator claims, his life was fundamentally different that it would have been had he chosen the more well-traveled path.
This reading of the poem is extremely popular because every reader can empathize with the narrator’s decision: having to choose between two paths without having any knowledge of where each road will lead. Moreover, the narrator’s decision to choose the “less traveled” path demonstrates his courage. Rather than taking the safe path that others have traveled, the narrator prefers to make his own way in the world.
However, when we look closer at the text of the poem, it becomes clear that such an idealistic analysis is largely inaccurate. The narrator only distinguishes the paths from one another after he has already selected one and traveled many years through life. When he first comes upon the fork in the road, the paths are described as being fundamentally identical. In terms of beauty, both paths are equally “fair,” and the overall “…passing there / Had worn them really about the same.”
It is only as an old man that the narrator looks back on his life and decides to place such importance on this particular decision in his life. During the first three stanzas, the narrator shows no sense of remorse for his decision nor any acknowledgement that such a decision might be important to his life. Yet, as an old man, the narrator attempts to give a sense of order to his past and perhaps explain why certain things happened to him. Of course, the excuse that he took the road “less traveled by” is false, but the narrator still clings to this decision as a defining moment of his life, not only because of the path that he chose but because he had to make a choice