C.S. Lewis part 2 of11: The video is a collection of different scenes and quotes, showcasing the inspiration and legacy of CS Lewis, particularly in the creation of Narnia. It also highlights the recent opening of CS Lewis Square in...

A spoiler free look at one of my all time favorite short stories, Ray Bradbury's "Usher II" pays homage many of Edgar Allen Poe's most famous tales including: “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Pit in the Pendulum,” “The Premature Burial,” “The...

In this video, take an over-the-shoulder look at how to craft your own Mystery Challenge question. Follow along as Jess uses the Canvas Chrome app to make a rough plan for the question she's going to pose to her classmates.

Sanaz Fotouhi was born in Iran soon after the revolution, during the Iran-Iraq war. Her father’s job as a banker took her and her family to many countries before she landed in Australia.She holds a PhD in Literature from the University...

The Romantic poet John Keats wrote "Ode on a Grecian Urn" less than two years before his death from tuberculous. Though an ekphrasis (a piece of art about a piece of art), the poem's final message goes beyond the titular urn to explore...

Steven Kent Mirassou received his BA in American Literature from the George Washington University and his MA in Literature from NYU. He was born in the Salinas Valley and grew up in San Jose and Los Gatos before going east to college....

Welcome to a reading, summary, and analysis of "Introduction to Poetry" by two time US Poet Laurette, Billy Collins. In this poem, Collins examines the beautiful world of poetry, and how it all too often turns nightmarish in the...

Poetry explications are one of the ultimate tests for any literature student. How do you conceive and defend an argument about a poem using nothing but the poem itself? This video shows you how to interpret, listen to, question, and...

In this video, the teacher explains the use of figurative language in writing, focusing on five key tools: metaphor, simile, allusion, personification, and hyperbole. Through examples and explanations, the teacher helps students...

We discuss the who, what, where, when, why & HOW, for National Poetry Month #NaPoMo. Plus, WHO hates this month and why? As well as a mention to the international community.

Learn more about the Harlem Renaissance.

The Elements of Drama - The wonderful world of drama comes alive in The Elements of Drama, as the young host and hostess take viewers on a journey through the works of such famous playwrights as William Shakespeare. Colorful graphics and...

This video will give you a sentence by sentence look at the introductory paragraph. In it you'll learn how to create an interesting title| an attention grabbing hook| a properly introduced subject| and a specific thesis statement. We'll...

The Elements of Fiction - Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, Robert Louis Stevenson . These are just three of the renowned authors whose work is cited in The Elements of Fiction, which explores: Plot elements, character, conflict, flashback,...

This film is an introduction to the world of Commedia dell'Arte. Learn about all of the stock characters in Commedia, the masked and the unmasked, their status, their physical shapes and their characters. This film was made from a two...

In this video we'll perform a reading, summary, and analysis of Edwin Arlington Robinson's poem, "Richard Cory." Written partly as a response to the Panic of 1893, "Richard Cory" challenges the typical notions of success and happiness.

The Enlightenment may not have left physical evidence behind like the pyramids of Egypt or the Colosseum of Rome, but it has left us an intellectual heritage which is unquestionable in its importance. This video looks at the context...

Ancient Greek theatre is often problematic because of its use of language, director Polly Findlay talks about her approach to this in the 2012 production of Antigone. This video includes interviews with Christopher Eccleston, Michael...

In this video we'll look at how to create an annotated bibliography in MLA format. We'll also discuss some quick tips and tricks for writing a better research paper, faster.

In This Episode, Tyler Teaches Us About "Cross the Ocean" with Christopher Columbus

Which is better, the book or the movie? From The Golden Compass to The Great Gatsby, from The Hobbit to Harry Potter and The Giver, we find ourselves wondering why adaptations of beloved stories tend not to live up to the source...

Welcome to Scene by Scene, the series where we discuss and analyze plays in minute detail. While doing so we bring our experience as actors, teachers, and directors to the discussion. For this video we'll be looking at Act 1 Scene 3. In...

This video explores the emotional and intellectual structure of the English language through an analysis of Shakespeare's "To be or not to be" soliloquy. The teacher guides the viewer through a whispering exercise, highlighting the...

Hamlet, Considered by many authorities as Shakespeare’s greatest play, Hamlet may also be the most representative character in all-dramatic literature. It’s a classic tragedy of a young prince torn by indecision. The scene is set, the...