Literature

There are more and more books featuring LGBTQIA character, however, they almost always focus on this which perpetuates the "strangeness" of being LGBTQIA. What are some good books featuring these characters with a different focus for the story? A romance between two females that isn't shocked by their lesbianism? An adventure story featuring against the backdrop of the gender spectrum? Etc.

Teens these days seem to be extremely addicted to fantasy novels. Whether it involves a boy who discovers his magical powers, or a girl who has to choose between a wearwolf or a vampire, these novels tend to be best sellers. Is it because the reader wants to escape their reality for an hour? Or because they want to imagine that this type of world could exist?

So many of our "modern" fairytales are retellings of the old (Hans Christian Anderson, the Brothers Grimm), but why is that? Can movies like Frozen be considered modern fairytales?

For years after the success of the Harry Potter series, many new fantasy novels followed that proclaimed to be "the next Harry Potter." From Percy Jackson and the Olympians to the Inheritance series, many reviewers have compared these books to J.K. Rowling's masterpiece but yet sales and following movie adaptions have fallen short. What elements does a book series need to catapult it to the same level of fame and can it ever be replicated?

I've read a number of Isak Dinesen/Karen Blixen's works, and I am always struck by some of the feminist aspects/themes in her writing. It seems to me that she was ahead of her time. I would love to read an analysis of this. What are some feminist views she takes? How does this compare to society or the writings of other authors during the same time period? It could also be interesting to touch on her use of a male pseudonym and how this affects the perception of her works.

Shakespeare’s stage clowns stand apart from his other characters by the way they break down barriers, provide comic relief, and guide the audience through the many layers of complexity that are characteristic of all of his plays. Shakespeare’s progress towards self-discovery by way of disguise and foolery is achieved through the invention of these comic characters. The creation of these fools symbolizes one of Shakespeare’s many contributions to literary tradition. More importantly, these Fools are the critics inside his plays and without their truthful presence Shakespeare’s works would be transformed for the worse. With his famous founding fools, Shakespeare reveals faults in judgment and values and never fails to shed light on the socio-cultural Renaissance atmosphere. So, the question up for discussion is what would Shakespeare's works be without his famous founding fools?

See how the typical depiction of women in fantasy novels is different from G.R.R Martin's perspective. Is his inclusion of rape and violence a necessary evil or is it something excessive meant to be demeaning?

I have taken a number of courses in Restoration and Eighteenth Century lit, but remember a feeling of dread when I had to take my first one because it sounded so painfully boring. Imagine my surprise when I read the sex heavy plays, poems with many an innuendo (did you know that "to die" does not necessarily mean losing one's life), and stories with a little bit of everything. It's time to open people's eyes to the fact that just because it's not a modern story does not mean seventeenth and eighteenth century literature is boring!

There are many approaches to this topic. One can look into the genre of premature ejaculation poems, or into the plays and stories like The Country Wife by William Wycherley, The Lucky Chance by Aprha Behn, and Fantomina by Eliza Haywood.