English Literature->Prose & Novel->By Period->18th Century
General Resources->Cultural and Historical Contexts

This website was created by Lee Jaffe and focuses mainly on Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. The subcategories are listed on the left side:

1. Gulliver’s Travels: The electronic version of the text.
2. Dictionary: Provides annotations for the material in the text.
3. Bibliography: Very detailed listing of various print sources.
4. Links: Additional online sources are provided as links.
5. Timeline: A chronology of events in the text, Swift’s life, and his times.
6. Quotations: Selection of quotes from the book, from letters of Swift, from Swift’s own mouth, and from the mouth of others commenting on Swift.
7. Firsts: Terms and concepts Swift invented which have come to be commonly used today.
8. Images: Visual illustrations from various editions of the book, and other related pictures.
9. Info: Details concerning this Internet project, FAQs, how to navigate the website, and future plans, etc.

The award-winning site was cited by various well-known webpages, such as BBC Education Web Guide and Voice of the Shuttle. Its extensive and comprehensive information helps anyone who is interested in Swift’s novel to understand and enjoy the text more deeply. It is well designed and meticulously organized, and its continuous updates make it a website that should be bookmarked and visited on a regular basis.

URL : http://www.jaffebros.com/lee/gulliver/

Keyword(s) : Jonathan Swift , Gullivers Travels , 18c British novel , satire

English Literature->Literary History
General Resources->Cultural and Historical Contexts
General Resources->Course Syllabi

This is the digitized version of a lecture delivered in 1998 by Professor Ian Johnston, a Research Associate at Vancouver Island University. It first introduces the historical context in which the style of satire was able to develop in Part A. Then, in Part B, it defines what satire really is and its literary significance. In Part C, Johnston explains some key terms that come up often when explaining the stylistic techniques of satire. The range of tones that satire can take is explored in Part D, which is followed by the examining of some basic techniques and strategies that are implemented when writing satire in Part E. Finally, in Part F, the issue of whether or not satire works, whether it is effective in influencing the audience to react in a certain way, is discussed.

This electronic document is an easy-to-read introduction to the genre of satire, and will surely be helpful to those studying literature who are specifically interested in how satiric irony was used in British writing during the 18th century. Furthermore, the straightforward and concise writing style, along with the clean and simple format makes the content accessible to any user, even if he/she has no background knowledge of English literature.

URL : http://records.viu.ca/~Johnstoi/Eng200/satire3.htm

Keyword(s) : satire , genre of satire , 18c British writing

English Literature->Drama->By period->17th century/Restoration
English Literature->Drama->By period->18th century
English Literature->Drama->Theater&Film
General Resources->Cultural and Historical Contexts
English Literature->Theory & Studies->Theatre Studies
General Resources->Cultural and Historical Contexts

This website attempts to approach plays as not simply a printed text, but a dramatic performance that is seen and heard, as well as read—a “world” that exists in several dimensions. Various aspects of this “world” are looked into, and the division of sub-categories is as follows:

1. Timeline: A chronological timeline that shows the history (and development) of the London Theater, from Pre-1660 to 1800 and after.
2. Places: A map shows the streets of London in the year 1762, and various places, and their significance, are introduced in detail.
3. WWW: Electronic links to additional internet resources are given.
4. Bibliography: A bibliography of helpful written resources.
5. London Life: Quotes from texts which depict the contemporary life in London in the years 1660-1800, from topics such as the situation of women to the use of wigs.
6. People: An alphabetical list of people who influenced the London theater, either as actors/actresses, playwrights, producers, and critics, etc. Pictures are shown for visual aid.
7. Pictures: Pictures of people, costumes, theaters, advertisements, etc. Quality of pictures is not great.
8. Plays: A brief introduction of some Restoration and 18th-century plays, with links to critical discussions for some.
9. Casts: The year in which the respective plays were opened and the venue in which they were performed, along with the original cast is shown here.
10. Comments: Some comments on Wilmot, Earl of Rochester are provided.
11. Production Arts: Technical aspects, such as lighting and scenic design, that were used in the British theaters in the 18th-century are discussed here.
12. Reviews(Modern Productions): Reviews of contemporary productions and revivals can be read.

The website is generally very helpful and provides some very interesting facts and details. The user interface, however, is not exquisite, and much improvement could be made in the font, the layout, the quality of images, etc. Leaving such shortcomings aside, the website will prove to be useful for those studying the history of the British theater.

URL : http://www.nwe.ufl.edu/~pcraddoc/lonmen1.html

Keyword(s) : Theatre and drama , London theater , British Plays , London life

General Resources->Cultural and Historical Contexts

This highly useful and entertaining web site is an ideal example of "learn while you play." It tells the users about the lives of medieval women from courtly ladies to peasants, maidens and nuns, through flash animation, pop-up text, and many games. By clicking on different buildings on the main page, users can learn how lives were like in nunneries, castles, and villages. Another thing that I liked very much about this website is that it's not just fun and games. In describing the lives of women in different settings, the web site also provides annotations of the works of key medieval authors such as Christine de Pizan, Margery Kempe, Saints Bernard and Margaret, and so forth. The only drawback is that due to the immense amount of images and texts, the loading time is sometimes too long.

URL : http://mw.mcmaster.ca/home.html

Keyword(s) : Medieval Women, life in the Middle Ages, Monasticism and religious orders for women, Married women, Christian women saints, Women, History, Middle Ages, 500-1500

General Resources->Libraries
General Resources->Art Galleries/Museums
General Resources->Cultural and Historical Contexts
General Resources->Digital Repositories
English Literature->Biographical Literature
English Literature->Manuscripts
English Literature->Prose & Novel->
English Literature->Theory & Studies->Gender Studies
English Literature->Prose & Novel->Ethnics->African American Literature

This site contains a digital collection of 52 works by 19th-century black women writers. There are also biographies of black women writers. Additionally, a part of this website- the New York digital library functioning as an online exhibition-shows African American migration experiences vividly.

URL : http://digital.nypl.org/schomburg/writers_aa19/

Keyword(s) : African American arts, African American authors, African American women, African Americans in literature, African diaspora, Biography