Elena at Learn English Through Literature

Lesson #259: ‘All are not taken’: Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poem ‘Consolation’

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📜 ‘Consolation’ ALL are not taken; there are left behind    Living Beloveds, tender looks to bring    And make the daylight still a happy thing,And tender voices, to make soft the wind:But if it were not so—if I could find    No love in all this world for comforting,    Nor any path but hollowly did ringWhere ‘dust to dust’ the love […]

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Lesson #258: ‘Late Autumn’: Appreciating a colourful poem by English-Canadian poet Joseph Horatio Chant

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As we draw close to the first anniversary of these regular Learn English through Literature Lessons, I thought it would be a nice celebration to read and reflect on inspiring English language poetry this week. 📚 As you will see, some of the poets we are considering are less well-known, so all the more reason

Lesson #258: ‘Late Autumn’: Appreciating a colourful poem by English-Canadian poet Joseph Horatio Chant Read More »

Lesson #257 (Part 2): ‘Oh, I do see …’ Analysing the many ways Henry James used ‘do’ in English (and how you can too)

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📗 “… The right time is any time that one is still so lucky as to have. You’ve plenty; that’s the great thing; you’re, as I say, damn you, so happily and hatefully young. Don’t at any rate miss things out of stupidity. Of course I don’t take you for a fool, or I shouldn’t

Lesson #257 (Part 2): ‘Oh, I do see …’ Analysing the many ways Henry James used ‘do’ in English (and how you can too) Read More »

Lesson #257 (Part 1): ‘Oh I do see …’ Analysing the many ways Henry James used ‘do’ in English (and how you can too)

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📗 “Live all you can; it’s a mistake not to. It doesn’t so much matter what you do in particular so long as you have your life. If you haven’t had that what have you had? I’m too old— too old at any rate for what I see. What one loses one loses; make no

Lesson #257 (Part 1): ‘Oh I do see …’ Analysing the many ways Henry James used ‘do’ in English (and how you can too) Read More »

Lesson #256: ‘They Were All Wild To See Lyme’ (Austen’s ‘Persuasion’): Using ‘All’, ‘Both’, ‘Either’, ‘None’ Correctly

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📘 ‘The young people were all wild to see Lyme … and to Lyme they were to go – Charles, Mary, Anne, Henrietta, Louisa, and Captain Wentworth.’ – Jane Austen, Persuasion (1818) … I was re-listening to the audiobook version of one of my favourite Austen novels – Persuasion – when this sentence inspired me

Lesson #256: ‘They Were All Wild To See Lyme’ (Austen’s ‘Persuasion’): Using ‘All’, ‘Both’, ‘Either’, ‘None’ Correctly Read More »

Lesson #255 (Part 2): A Look At Scott’s ‘Waverley’ (And How He Uses An Array of Sensory Words to Describe An Unforgettable Experience)

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In our passage from Sir Walter Scott’s great historical novel Waverley (which we looked at in Part 1 of this Lesson), we see how Edward Waverley meets with Flora MacIvor and her companion Cathleen in a remote spot in the Scottish Highlands, where Flora plays on the harp and sings enchanting (fascinating) songs. Waverley is

Lesson #255 (Part 2): A Look At Scott’s ‘Waverley’ (And How He Uses An Array of Sensory Words to Describe An Unforgettable Experience) Read More »

Lesson #255 (Part 1): A Look At Scott’s ‘Waverley’ (And How He Uses An Array of Sensory Words to Describe An Unforgettable Experience)

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We are so used to having a wide range of historical fiction titles at our fingertips (accessible to us) that we sometimes forget there was once a writer who began to research and write such works. Many scholars agree that Sir Walter Scott, a Scottish novelist and poet, was such a writer. His 1814 classic

Lesson #255 (Part 1): A Look At Scott’s ‘Waverley’ (And How He Uses An Array of Sensory Words to Describe An Unforgettable Experience) Read More »

Lesson #254: ‘I’ve learned a new and valuable lesson today’ – 7 Study Insights from ‘Anne Of Green Gables’

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📗 “Marilla, isn’t it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?” “I’ll warrant you’ll make plenty in it,” said Marilla. “I never saw your beat for making mistakes, Anne.” “Yes, and well I know it,” admitted Anne mournfully. “But have you ever noticed one encouraging thing about

Lesson #254: ‘I’ve learned a new and valuable lesson today’ – 7 Study Insights from ‘Anne Of Green Gables’ Read More »

Lesson #253: A line-by-line reading comprehension exercise with analysis (Woolf’s ‘To the Lighthouse’)

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A few days ago, I mentioned how I enjoy painting whenever I have the opportunity. 🎨 To be honest, there was a time when I thought I would pursue this interest more professionally. But for now, I just enjoy it as a pastime – that said, the urge to perfect paintings or drawings is still

Lesson #253: A line-by-line reading comprehension exercise with analysis (Woolf’s ‘To the Lighthouse’) Read More »

Lesson #252: ‘The best master in the world’: Considering different learning & teaching methods through Dickens’ ‘Martin Chuzzlewit’

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📙 … For Mark had some practical knowledge of such matters, and Martin learned of him; whereas the other settlers who remained upon the putrid swamp (a mere handful, and those withered by disease), appeared to have wandered there with the idea that husbandry was the natural gift of all mankind. They helped each other

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Lesson #251: September 2021 – A season to remember? (and 3 tips on how to improve your English in one semester)

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It has been a busy summer here in the west of Ireland! I spent several weeks editing my Learn English Through Literature book (I promise to keep everyone updated on its progress!) while also preparing study materials, workbooks, etc. for my English language coaching students this season. 📚 🎨 And as you can see from

Lesson #251: September 2021 – A season to remember? (and 3 tips on how to improve your English in one semester) Read More »