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English Literature & Authors
Though small in size, Ireland has produced one of the world's greatest collections of literature
Home to acclaimed authors, including four Nobel Prize laureates, Ireland has given the world a rich body of literature. Great Irish Authors, hosted by William Ambrose, focuses on the great Irish tradition of storytelling, including the plays of Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw, and Samuel Beckett; the satire of Jonathan Swift; the poetry of William Butler Yeats and Seamus Heaney; and the novels of James Joyce, Bram Stoker and Frank McCourt. These Irish authors and others have changed the course of world literature. Shot in HD in Ireland, this series presents a clear and penetrating historical analysis of Ireland's greatest authors and their impact on world literature.
Program 1: The Classics
Program 2: Early 20th Century Authors
Program 3: The New Wave
DVD (Closed Captioned) / 2013 / (Grades 7 - Adult) / 90 minutes
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As English spreads across the globe, becoming the language of the Internet, understanding the extraordinary body of British literature has become ever more vital in the 21st century. This eight part series, hosted by Jonathan Cake, addresses this need by bringing the audience from the dawn of England's literary tradition through Chaucer to Shakespeare to William Wordsworth to Jane Austen to Charles Dickens to T. S. Eliot to J. K. Rowling. The series focuses on over 60 major authors, their insights, themes and impact on history.
Program 1: Beowulf to Shakespeare
Program 2: The Renaissance Writers
Program 3: Augustan and Romantic Poets
Program 4: Early Novelists
Program 5: Children's Literature
Program 6: The Genre Innovators
Program 7: 20th Century Poets and Playwrights
Program 8: 20th Century Novelists
4 DVDs (Closed Captioned) / 2013 / 232 minutes
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The Hawthorne Legacy offers students, teachers and interested readers an overview into the life and writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne, a pre-eminent 19th century American novelist. Divided into five chapters each program is intended for class discussion and individual learning.
Experienced scholars will explore themes, ideas and writing style in several short stories and The Scarlet Letter. This program will examine and explore why his historical and moral concerns then, are still appropriate for discussion today.
TEACHER STUDENT BENEFITS:
All filming shot at historical places bringing time, place and person to life- Salem, Concord, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
Appropriate tie-ins to moral and social questions for today's society.
Concise Chapter content offers time for adequate teacher/student discussion.
Stimulating content for writing papers, classroom discussion & extended research.
DVD / 2010 / (Grades 9-12) / 30 minutes
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The Melville Legacy offers students, teachers and interested readers a complete overview of the life, times and writing of Herman Melville, focusing on Moby Dick. Divided into five chapters each program is intended for class and group discussion. Experienced scholars will explore themes, ideas and language in Moby Dick and analyze Melville's distinctive writing style. The program materials will demonstrate why Melville is considered a major figure in world literature.
TEACHER STUDENT BENEFITS:
Filmed on location at 'Arrowhead' Pittsfield, New Bedford and Lennox, Massachusetts.
Explores moral and social issues appropriate to today's culture.
Chapter video segments reveal whaling on the high seas.
Concise Chapter content designed to focus and inspire teacher & student discussions.
Stimulating topics for paper writing, projects, classroom discussion & extended research.
DVD / 2010 / (Grades 9-12) / 30 minutes
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The Twain Legacy offers students and teachers an insight into the life and writings of Mark Twain, a significant 19th century American literary icon. 'The Twain Legacy' is divided into five chapters intended for class and individual learning and discussion. Knowledgeable scholars explore themes, ideas and narrative style in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. By examining and exploring why his historical and moral concerns were important, the presenters weave Twain's themes of slavery, prejudice and class into a coherent awareness.
TEACHER STUDENT BENEFITS:
All filming shot at historical places bringing time, place and person to life.
Appropriate tie-ins to moral and social questions for today's society.
Chapter length segments at 9 minutes or less for classroom teaching.
Concise Chapter content provides space for adequate teacher/student discussion.
Stimulating content for writing papers, classroom discussion and extended research.
DVD / 2010 / (Grades 9-12) / 30 minutes
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Presented by Jane Kaczmarek, Great American Authors: 1650 to Present presents the rich, literary tradition of American storytelling...No country has produced a more impressive group of writers in a shorter period of time than America. It has been an incredible journey of finding the nation's voice, beginning with the first colonists in the 17th century to a small cadre of brilliant, 19th century, New England writers who defined the unique American experience and soul, to the whole country speaking out in the 20th Century against war, poverty, racism and alienation.
Featuring such greats as Poe...Dickenson...Twain...Alcott...Hemingway..Wolfe...Steinbeck...Vonnegut and Morrison, this eight part series presents the lives and literary output of over 60 of America's most read authors.
Designed for literary enthusiasts and history buffs alike,Great American Authors: Since 1650 is a must for every 21st century library and classroom. Authors are presented in concise, stand-alone clips, in chronological order.
Program 1: 1650 - 1845
The awe-inspiring saga of America's greatest authors comes alive in Great American Authors since 1650. As the American colonies moved toward becoming an independent nation, a unique and distinctive voice poured forth from the pens of its authors. Once the nation was founded, America's first literary giants - Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, Ralph Waldo Emerson and Edgar Allan Poe - told stories and wrote poems that could have only come from the heart and soul of this fledgling country.
Program 2: 1846 - 1855
Between the War of 1812 and the Mexican American War that ended in 1848, America experienced an exuberant economic period of growth. And, it was during this time that American authors produced the nation's first great wave of classic literature. In this program, such literary giants as Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow make their mark on the American psyche.
Program 3: 1856 - 1906
After the Civil War the modern American novel took shape ... It was led by Louisa May Alcott, Mark Twain and Henry James. It was also the time that the American literary voice came from everyone and from everywhere.
Program 4: 1907 - 1925
During this time frame America lost its innocence. Its writers now began to struggle with the problems that accompanied modernization and industrialization. It was also the beginning of the lost generation of American authors.
Program 5: 1926 - 1939
This was the most turbulent period in American history. It encompassed the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression. It gave rise to America's greatest writers, known collectively as the lost generation.
Program 6: 1940 - 1949
America entered the technological age through the darkness of WWII and its aftermath. American authors were now becoming legends in their own time through mass media and popular culture. Their response was as diverse as the nation's response to living in the nuclear age.
Program 7: 1950 - 1957
If the lost generation authors were searching for identity and meaning, the group of authors in this program rejected everything about mainstream America. Ultimately they would speak to the baby boomer generation.
Program 8: 1958 to Present
This generation of writer witnessed and participated in WWII ... Korea ... The Cold War ... The Civil Rights movement ... And Vietnam. These experiences shaped the intellectually, spiritually and emotionally in ways that were translated into their writing.
Review
"A useful, well-organized introduction to American literature to introduce or recap important literary periods and authors." - Booklist
4 DVDs (Closed Captioned, With Spanish Subtitles) / 2007 / (Grades 7 - Adult) / 240 minutes
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This program compares Shakespearean themes with similar themes from modern works, enabling students to penetrate complex Elizabethan vocabulary and experience insight into character's feelings, motives and actions. Film clips from screen adaptations of 'Wuthering Heights', 'Lord of the Flies', 'Mutiny on the Bounty', 'Animal Farm', 'The Lives of Dorian Gray' and others help illustrate themes like alienations, evil and ambition.
DVD / 1990 / 47 minutes
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Give students background information about Mark Twain and his work in this interview with noted scholar Lee chlesinger, Associate Professor of Literature at the State University of New York at Purchase. The program focuses on the deeper implications of Huckleberry Finn and makes an ideal introduction to the book.
DVD / 1987 / 25 minutes
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Introduce your students to one of the most important novels of the century. The program features an expert who provides backgrounds for both the novel and movie; covers social concerns suggested by the novel; the relationship of the novel to the movie and to documentaries and photography of the period.
DVD / 1987 / 26 minutes
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A complete discussion of the Homeric legend as the first significant record of Greek mythology. The program emphasizes Homer's relevance to modern literature, psychology, scholarship and popular culture. It analyzes the characters in the Iliad and The Odyssey and summarizes their myths and legends.
DVD / 1977 / 46 minutes
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Through dramatizations and discussions of his work, this program examines Poe's personality and his view of the intellectual as a superior but isolated being. It also investigates the invention of the detective story, his understanding of horror, violence and paranoia, and his use of poetry to reveal melancholy and romantic love.
DVD / 1970 / 30 minutes
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Give students the opportunity to appreciate the relationship between Olympian gods and legends and contemporary music, poetry, science and cultural images-from science fiction and space probes to Peter Pan and rock festivals. The program explores the archetypal images of human-kind and society through classic tales of Zeus, Demeter, Pluto, Artemis, Apollo and others.
DVD / 1970 / 25 minutes
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Extensive readings from Jack London's works- combined with his own photographs, illustrations from his books, historical documents and on-location photographs-help students comprehend the life experiences that shaped his writing. His themes of discipline, social justice, adaptability and individual survival are explored.
DVD / 1969 / 24 minutes
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With William Hickey
An adaptation of the off-Broadway production of Gogol's work, "Diary of a Madman", performed by William Hickey, about a clerk's disintegration into madness.
DVD / 1964
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Richard Burton recites Dylan Thomas' poem "A Child's Christmas in Wales" while walking in lower New York City, sitting in the kind of bar Thomas favored, looking at the Hudson river. Black and white film, moody, effectively handled by the young Burton, who introduces the reading by pointing out that like Thomas, he, too, is a Welchman.
DVD / 1961
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A dramatization of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" performed by Michael Kane.
DVD / 1958
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The works of Goldini and Gozzi are among the great international classical plays. For an understanding of The Servant of Two Masters or The Love of Three Oranges, knowledge of commedia dell' arte style is a prerequisite. This film presents stock commedia characters, focusing on the "Maschere," the mask characters. A world master of commedia style, Giovanni Poli, demonstrates the authentic voice quality and characteristic gestures of the characters Truffaldino and Pantalone. The climax of this rare footage is a scene from Poli's production of Gozzi's The Green Bird.
DVD / 14 minutes
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The Jacobean Age was fraught with anxiety: man's doubts about the world, the after-world, and his place in them. The drama of the period is revealed in this film through scenes from Shakespeare's All's Well That Ends Well and Webster's The Duchess of Malfi.
DVD / 33 minutes
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The film holds, "as t'were, the mirror" up to the Middle Ages, for the medieval image of the world survived into the Elizabethan Age. The king-father symbolizing the authority of the past, primogeniture, astrology, and the dowry are all representative of the medieval culture as reflected in Shakespeare's King Lear.
DVD / 31 minutes
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