Filming the Phallus
A Lacanian analysis of David Cronenberg’s" M. Butterfly" and Nagisa Oshima’s "In the Realm of the Senses."
Student Work: Criticism
The Power of a Woman’s Words
While audiences and scholars may be tempted to view the women of "Richard III" as secondary characters taking passive roles, a challenging point of view is that they are in fact outspoken and active in doing as much as they can within their given circumstances.
Ancient and Modern Understandings of Justice
How can we imagine the notion of justice both in the historical context of Euripides's "Medea" and in modern society?
Ad Astra: When There’s Life on Mars
There was a time when our relationship with our world felt more harmonious. Our parents flourished in those days.
The Rational and Intuitive Man Underground
How do humans confront their own suffering? Nietzsche's "On Truth and Lie in A Nonmoral Sense" and Dostoevsky’s "Notes from Underground" provide two models.
The Tragedy of Iago
A villain, or at the very least an antagonist, is integral to most narratives. In Othello, Iago drives the struggle toward catharsis.
Becoming Jane and Dorothea: Secrets of the Self
In "Jane Eyre" and "Middlemarch," secrets are kept from the female protagonists in order to diminish them into the Victorian ideal of femininity.
Another Cinderella Story
Interpretability allows stories to transcend the barriers of space, time, and context.
Beauty and Darkness in Battle
William Shakespeare’s "Romeo and Juliet" is a tragedy rife with contrasting pairs.
Poetry as a Universal Mouth
“In Memory of W.B. Yeats,” W.H. Auden constructs a multifaceted modern elegy, switching between different poetic forms to examine his subject from different angles.
“Humanity” as a Tool for Moral Exclusion
The term and label of “human” is used to discern what receives moral consideration and what can be seen as simply a resource.