Study guides: books, letter m

Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Yet another Shakespeare’s masterpiece, “Macbeth” is one of the most famous works of the writer. It is easy to understand and is also one of the shortest books he has written, also known to be one with the most bloody events put into it. Its complexity lies in the emotional tensions that hold the reader tight until the very end of the story. The play is a tragedy written during...

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

Gustave Flaubert spent a lot of time writing his first novel entitled “Madame Bovary”. It is a story about a woman trying to escape the dullness of the provincial life and unimaginative surrounding. When the text first saw the world, it was accused of obscenity. But it was because of the trial process that followed, that the story became famous and is still well known nowadays. &ldquo...

Main Street by Sinclair Lewis

Main Street is a satirical novel by Sinclair Lewis that shows us the futility of the idealism and progressive ideas about equality and cultural growth when the environment and society aren’t ready to accept it. But the other side of the satire is not the indifference of the people of the town of Gopher Prairie. It is the excessive idealism of the protagonist of the story, Carol Milford...

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

“Mansfield Park” is an educational novel by Jane Austen, where she with a touch of irony reveals the vices of high society. The events take place at the beginning of the 16th century in England. In the estate of Mansfield Park, where Fanny Price is being raised, there is widespread disagreement and misunderstanding. Selfishness motivates the actions of people here. Relatives do not...

Marmion by Walter Scott

A poem or historical romance in verse “Marmion” by Walter Scott is the largest in volume poem among poetic works. “Marmion” brought the author to the top of his poetic glory. Scott undoubtedly considered himself to be the successor of the creative traditions of the ancient Scottish bards, as he speaks in the epistles to the six songs of the poem “Marmion.&rdquo...

Measure for Measure by William Shakespeare

Measure for Measure is an interesting play by William Shakespeare, where the principles of his comedies and tragedies mix together. Like in a classic tragedy, there is a hero - a strict judge Angelo - whose desire to obey the law becomes his fatal flaw and almost leads to his downfall. But, as in the comedies, everything ends good and no one suffers too much. The interesting plot turn is...

Medea by Euripides

“Medea” belongs to the authorship of a great Ancient writer Euripides. It is based on a story of a woman whose husband leaves her for another princess. In despair, she kills his new wife and her own children. There are cultures that consider ungratefulness to be the worst sin. In such cultures, Medea would have been acquitted of crime and understood very well. However, in the modern...

Miss Lonelyhearts by Nathanael West

Miss Lonelyhearts is a story about burnout, the tragedy of a human who sees the darkest sides of life for too long. Miss Lonelyhearts is a pseudonym of a male columnist who answers the letters of the lonely and broken people, giving them some advice and emotional support. This job is considered shameful in the newspaper and Miss Lonelyhearts (whose real name we never learn) is constantly mocked...

Moby-Dick or The Whale by Herman Melville

Herman Melville was born into a wealthy importer family. But all of the sudden the business failed and his life changed drastically. Trying to make a living, he signed up for his first sea journey when he was nineteen. His experience as a part of a whaling expedition and then living on an exotic island among the tribe of cannibals gave the author an immense material for writing topics. His most...

Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe

Until now there are doubts if Daniel Defoe is a real author of Moll Flanders. It was attributed to him by the first editor and bookseller, as a fiction novel, though the story’s narrator is Moll herself and she states that it is a sincere autobiography. It is hard to believe that a person could have such an intense life, but, if it is so, Moll is one of the most extraordinary con artists...

Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf is known as a great writer in part because of her novel “Mrs. Dalloway”. It is included in different lists of the best English-language novels of all times. It talks about the generation that lived during a post-war time and the generation that will follow, making the same mistakes. The timeframe of the book is one day. It talks about the life of a well-respected woman...

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Even great literature lovers don’t start their Shakespeare experience with “Much Ado About Nothing”. His other plays, such as “Romeo and Juliette” or “ Othello” are much more typical for the first encounter with the greatest poet of all times. But sooner or later readers come to experience “Much Ado About Nothing” and it instantly becomes...

My Ántonia by Willa Cather

“My Antonia” is a prominent novel by American writer Willa Cather. It is the last and the best work of her Prairie Trilogy, which begins with “O Pioneers!”, and is followed by “The Song of the Lark.” This novel is a real story about the fate of immigrant settlers who mastered the lands of the American West at the turn of the century. The turn of the 19th and...

My Brother Sam Is Dead by James Lincoln Collier

The brilliant piece of historical fiction, this is the story about the Revolutionary War and the rite of passage for the young Tim. The families are torn apart by the conflict of political interests and his own one isn’t spared. Tim’s older brother, who is only sixteen years old, joins the resistance to fight the British government, while his father stays loyal to the crown. Tim has...