User Matt Thrower

63 votes

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Why is there so much technical detail of whaling included in Moby-Dick?

answered Feb 7, 2017 at 17:27

46 votes

Why must "she" perform impossible tasks in order to be "a true love of mine" in "Scarborough Fair"?

answered Jan 29 at 10:55

44 votes

How did Shakespeare get away with staging witchcraft in his plays such as Othello, Macbeth, or The Tempest?

answered May 13, 2020 at 11:01

36 votes

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How could Thorin and co. journey all the way to Erebor without discussing how to deal with Smaug?

answered Jun 20, 2020 at 10:24

36 votes

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If Tolkien disliked allegory, why are there so many allegorical readings of The Lord of the Rings?

answered Jan 26, 2017 at 10:37

30 votes

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How did Leo Tolstoy approve Maude's English translation of War and Peace? Did he speak good English already?

answered Feb 24, 2023 at 9:50

28 votes

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Why are all the schoolchildren referred to as guns in Clint Smith's "The Gun"?

answered Mar 30, 2023 at 2:26

27 votes

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"Miss" as a form of address to a married teacher in Bethan Roberts' "My Policeman"

answered Mar 17, 2023 at 9:11

24 votes

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Why Pallas in "The Raven"?

answered Jul 10, 2023 at 21:24

23 votes

What does living "in a very small way" mean?

answered Feb 15, 2023 at 21:35

22 votes

Why is Gravity’s Rainbow considered postmodern, yet Finnegans Wake is not?

answered Feb 7, 2023 at 9:24

21 votes

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Why did T.S. Eliot compare “waiting for death” with “a feather on the back of the hand"?

answered Sep 15, 2022 at 10:39

21 votes

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The meaning of "The rest is silence" in "Hamlet"

answered Jul 19, 2017 at 15:14

20 votes

What's the significance of "Oranges and Lemons" in 1984?

answered Jan 26, 2017 at 12:20

20 votes

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Is Doctor Adams a self-insertion in Watership Down?

answered Jun 19, 2017 at 10:35

18 votes

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How might Shakespeare have become familiar with Dante's work?

answered Apr 29, 2020 at 12:53

17 votes

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Does "Animal Farm" explicitly state anywhere in the text that it is in fact a political allegory?

answered Sep 27, 2017 at 11:16

17 votes

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Is Macbeth or Lady Macbeth the real villain in Shakespeare's play?

answered Dec 7, 2017 at 10:12

16 votes

Definition of "Victorian vandal"

answered Jun 6, 2023 at 19:49

16 votes

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What does this excerpt from "To Kill a Mockingbird" about Atticus shooting the dog mean?

answered Mar 13, 2023 at 21:14

15 votes

Did Dante plagiarize the Divine Comedy from Kitab al-Miraj?

answered Feb 23, 2018 at 14:22

15 votes

Accepted

What was the irony of the end of Lord of The Flies?

answered Jan 31, 2017 at 17:05

14 votes

Why does Ray Bradbury use "flounder" for an action with a positive outcome?

answered Nov 12, 2020 at 11:51

14 votes

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What kind of letters is "many an unexpected letter that WOL had written to himself"?

answered May 2, 2023 at 9:08

13 votes

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Could Shelob have kept the ring for herself?

answered Jan 11, 2019 at 10:35

13 votes

What rough beast slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

answered Nov 30, 2017 at 14:50

12 votes

Why did Dickens write A Christmas Carol

answered Apr 10, 2018 at 15:23

12 votes

Accepted

Is the name Crowley in Good Omens a reference to the famous occultist?

answered Sep 25, 2017 at 13:03

12 votes

Why is Christopher Marlowe considered an atheist?

answered Apr 28, 2020 at 9:13

12 votes

Accepted

What is the meaning of Benjamin the donkey's cryptic answer?

answered Sep 30, 2020 at 9:05

Stack Exchange Network

184 Answers

Why is there so much technical detail of whaling included in Moby-Dick?

Why must "she" perform impossible tasks in order to be "a true love of mine" in "Scarborough Fair"?

How did Shakespeare get away with staging witchcraft in his plays such as Othello, Macbeth, or The Tempest?

How could Thorin and co. journey all the way to Erebor without discussing how to deal with Smaug?

If Tolkien disliked allegory, why are there so many allegorical readings of The Lord of the Rings?

How did Leo Tolstoy approve Maude's English translation of War and Peace? Did he speak good English already?

Why are all the schoolchildren referred to as guns in Clint Smith's "The Gun"?

"Miss" as a form of address to a married teacher in Bethan Roberts' "My Policeman"

Why Pallas in "The Raven"?

What does living "in a very small way" mean?

Why is Gravity’s Rainbow considered postmodern, yet Finnegans Wake is not?

Why did T.S. Eliot compare “waiting for death” with “a feather on the back of the hand"?

The meaning of "The rest is silence" in "Hamlet"

What's the significance of "Oranges and Lemons" in 1984?

Is Doctor Adams a self-insertion in Watership Down?

How might Shakespeare have become familiar with Dante's work?

Does "Animal Farm" explicitly state anywhere in the text that it is in fact a political allegory?

Is Macbeth or Lady Macbeth the real villain in Shakespeare's play?

Definition of "Victorian vandal"

What does this excerpt from "To Kill a Mockingbird" about Atticus shooting the dog mean?

Did Dante plagiarize the Divine Comedy from Kitab al-Miraj?

What was the irony of the end of Lord of The Flies?

Why does Ray Bradbury use "flounder" for an action with a positive outcome?

What kind of letters is "many an unexpected letter that WOL had written to himself"?

Could Shelob have kept the ring for herself?

What rough beast slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

Why did Dickens write A Christmas Carol

Is the name Crowley in Good Omens a reference to the famous occultist?

Why is Christopher Marlowe considered an atheist?

What is the meaning of Benjamin the donkey's cryptic answer?