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Aren't midsummer night dreams the worst? You wake up all sweaty and gross, and for a minute there, you can't even remember where you are. And also,...
This video summarizes the play A Raisin in the Sun. It discusses the Youngers, members of an African-American family trying to better themselves wh...
Three scantily clad young girls enter a store. No, this isn’t your grandfather about to tell an inappropriate joke. And no, you’re not watching...
We're not sure if good ol' Shakespeare would endorse The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but that's not going to stop us from hosting themed viewing...
Historical fiction novels like The Help can whisk you back to a place and time that you may have only read about in history books. Or... a place an...
What is Dracula really about? Just Count Dracula? Or is there more to it than vampires? This video addresses some major ideas in Bram Stoker’s cl...
Meet Emma Woodhouse of Jane Austen's Emma. She’s a rich young woman with a good social life living in 18th-century England. We bet she has an aw...
The Grapes of Wrath is one of the longest—ahem, most important books in American literary history. But what's with the title?
Gulliver's Travels is a classic tale of adventure with a dash of what-the-heck-is-happening thrown in for good measure.
In the world of Shakespeare, pretty much everyone either dies or gets married. Hamlet and co. got the short end of that stick.
Do we need creative arts to survive, or is logic enough? And how can The House on Mango Street help us decide? Check out this video to find out.
How's Julius Caesar doing after that whole "assassination" thing? Well, he's taking it one day at a time.
This video summarizes the Shakespearean play Macbeth. Two major forces are at play in the story: witches’ prophecies and Macbeth’s demanding wi...
Their eyes may have been watching God, but we think we know who won that staring contest.
We bet you didn't realize Shakespeare was such a rebel. Seriously. If he were around today, he'd be riding a motorcycle, TIVOing Sons of Anarchy, a...
The Great Gatsby is set in and around New York City and Long Island. On the big L.I., there are two areas known as "West Egg" and "East Egg." East...
A word to the wise: secret marriages don't work out well in Shakespeare plays. Just ask Othello and Desdemona.
Boy and girl meet, fall in love, and commit suicide in a tomb. You know, your average love story.
This video summarizes F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby. Jay Gatsby goes from a rich party guy in love with a married woman to dead. What happens in between? Well, decadence, bootlegging, a lot of girl drama for a start. But hey, that’s the Roaring Twenties.
Why was Jay Gatsby so great? Was it his ability to get away with bootlegging, his enduring love for Daisy, or his ability to throw epic parties that attracted hundreds of people? Or, was it something else—something deeper?
If you're still eating pie on a regular basis, you probably haven't read this book or seen the movie. If you have and it hasn't swayed you...well, kudos. You have a stomach of steel, and we are very impressed.
We'd all like to think our families would accept us if we turned into giant bugs, but for Gregor Samsa, that was not quite the case.
Oscar Wilde was a beast when it came to wordplay. Oh, maybe that's why Shmoop loves him so much—we're pretty wilde, too.
We know that snacking on some dry raisins in the beating hot sun doesn't sound like the most appetizing thing in the world. But stick with us and you'll see just how juicy and appetizing this story really is.
All Okonkwo was asking for was a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Granted, swinging your machete around may not be the nicest way to ask, but still. The guy deserved better.
They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we want? Not so much.
Minny pulls quite a stunt in this story. Just try not to make a scene when Grandma Mimi won't tell you what her chocolate cream pie's "secret ingredient" is next Christmas Eve.
Love potions are tricky business (not that we've ever tried using one, of course). They can make you fall in love with the wrong person…or, in the case of the lovestruck queen in this story, not even a person at all. Was it a cat? A dog, perhaps? Guess you'll have to watch the video to find out.
We totally understand loving your country, but don't murder your best friend over it. That's a bit over the top. Stick to flying flags and singing national anthems, please.
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s 1603 soap opera of unfortunate circumstances. Hamlet’s ghost dad tells him that he was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who is now Hamlet’s step dad. That’s family for you. Hamlet then vows to kill Claudius. Time to bring on the drama. Hamlet can’t just kill his uncle/step-dad. Nope. First he has to pretend to be insane, set up a dummy play, kill his girlfriend's dad, drive said girlfriend crazy, have a duel, be poisoned, then take his revenge. Yup, lots to do, and only five acts to do it.
The adventures of Lemuel (yes, that is actually his name) will put your childhood "quests" to shame. But at least your sleepovers in the tree house didn't lead you to insanity. Or so we hope...
So... if grapes of wrath sat out too long, would they become raisins of wrath? If so, this could seriously affect the entire mood of our bran flake cereal. Hmmm... maybe it means something else? We can only hope.
A great marriage begins with a blooming pear tree and ends with a hurricane, rabies, and a murder trial…or something like that.