Dark versus Light – Night versus Day – Themes in Literature

“It was the possibility of darkness that made the day seem so bright.” ― Stephen King, Wolves of the Calla Night as a symbol is a huge driving force in literature, music, philosophy, and art: “Nighttime sharpens, heightens each sensation Darkness stirs and wakes imagination Silently the senses abandon the defenses Slowly, gently, night unfurls…

Nature as a Theme in Literature

Map of the 100 Acre Wood in Winnie the Pooh Nature is often called The Wood in British literature “Beyond the Wild Wood comes the Wild World,” said the Rat. “And that’s something that doesn’t matter, either to you or to me. I’ve never been there, and I’m never going, nor you either, if you’ve…

Seasons of the Year as Symbols and Themes in Literature

Many authors allude to the seasons in their writing: Spring is when the world is awakening from the darkness of winter. “It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations…

Part of the Movie Tuck Everlasting Was Filmed in the Ozark Mountains

Hawk’s Bill Crag in the Ozark Mountains – A spot in the Ozark Mountains that is 38 miles from my house. Hawk’s Bill Crag is at Whitaker Point, and Whitaker Point is one of the most beautiful spots along the Buffalo River—America’s first national river. In fact, it has been called One of the Most…

Journeys in Literature

Tolkien may have been the greatest of the writers about journeys: In The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins and 13 Dwarves venture forward “on a quest to reclaim the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. Lord of the Rings – “The Quest of the Ring, also known as the Quest for Mount Doom, was the quest taken by…

If Fences Make Good Neighbors, What Is the Purpose of a Gate?

) Jacki Kellum Garden Gate “When the hornet hangs in the holly hock, And the brown bee drones i’ the rose, And the west is a red-streaked four-o’clock, And summer is near its close It’s Oh, for the gate, and the locust lane; And dusk, and dew, and home again!” – Madison Cawein Jacki Kellum…

A Fence by Carl Sandburg

A Fence Carl Sandburg Now the stone house on the lake front is finished and the workmen are beginning the fence. The palings are made of iron bars with steel points that can stab the life out of any man who falls on them. As a fence, it is a masterpiece, and will shut off…

The Mending Wall by Robert Frost

Mending Wall BY ROBERT FROST Something there is that doesn’t love a wall That sends the frozen-ground-swell under it, And spills the upper boulders in the sun; And makes gaps even two can pass abreast. The work of hunters is another thing: I have come after them and made repair Where they have left not…

The Circle Game by Joni Mitchel – Songs as Literature

The Circle Game Joni Mitchell Yesterday a child came out to wander Caught a dragonfly inside a jar Fearful when the sky was full of thunder And tearful at the falling of a star And the seasons, they go round and round And the painted ponies go up and down We’re captive on the carousel…