Poets
Mirza Ghalib: The Delhi Poet Who Never Fit In
Mirza Ghalib, the great Urdu poet of Delhi: his troubled life, his ghazals and his letters, with tips on where to start.
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Poetry
‘Ozymandias’ by Shelley: A Close Reading
Fourteen lines, a shattered statue and a boast that outlived a kingdom. We read Shelley's 'Ozymandias' slowly and ask why it still unsettles.
Quotes
Eight Life Quotes From Great Writers, With Context
Eight lines from Keats, Tennyson, Thoreau, Wilde and others, set back in the work and the life they came from.
Stories
The Necklace: Maupassant’s Famous Short Story Explained
A clear guide to Maupassant's 1884 story of a borrowed diamond necklace, ten years of debt, and one of fiction's best-known twists.
Poets
Langston Hughes: The Poet of Harlem and Rivers
Langston Hughes, from the train-ride poem about rivers to the blues of Harlem, and why his plain style still lasts.
Writing Tips
How to Start a Writing Journal and Keep It Going
A writing journal works best when it is low stakes. Learn what to write, how small to start, and how to mine your notebook for poems…
Poetry
Keats’s ‘To Autumn’: A Stanza-by-Stanza Analysis
Apples, gourds, cider and swallows: Keats packs a whole season into three stanzas. We walk through 'To Autumn' one stanza at a time.
Writing Tips
How to Overcome Writers Block: Practical Ways to Keep Writing
Writers block comes in different types. Diagnose yours, then try small practical fixes for perfectionism, stuck drafts and the fear of a hard subject.
Stories
How a Short Story Works: Structure, Compression and Endings
From Poe's single effect to Chekhov's open endings: how a short story works, what it leaves out, and how to read for structure.
Writing Tips
How to Write a Poem: A Practical 7-Step Guide
You don't need a Great Idea to start a poem, just a method. Here are seven practical steps that take a beginner from blank page to…
Writing Tips
How to Edit a Poem: A Practical Revision Guide
Learn how to edit a poem in layers, from structure and endings to line breaks and word choice, with a worked example and cuts worth trying.
Literature
Hamlet: Why Shakespeare’s Play Still Won’t Let Go
Why does Hamlet wait? A look at the sources, the soliloquies, the play within the play and why Shakespeare's prince remains unsettled.