Aphra Behn’s Oroonoko, or, the Royal Slave (1688) gave me a serious case of the Intentional Fallacy this week, folx. While the fantastical and hideous work of sort-of fiction had no trouble captivating me, I kept noticing descriptions and literary devices that rung bells from English courses past. The story is jam-packed with style benchmarks that … Continue reading Deja Vu All Over Again (Oroonoko Blog Post)
Aphra Behn
Imoinda and Ophelia
Something that really interested me about Oroonoko was something that Marc was talking about last class. He mentioned that Imoinda was essentially just bouncing back and forth, falling under the “possession” of various male characters, with hardly any agency of her own. This was a little perplexing – most of the time, we expect woman writers to … Continue reading Imoinda and Ophelia
Transnational Similarities and the Slipperiness of (Non)Fiction
Similar to what Carmen wrote in her post, I was really struck by the similarities between Oroonoko and so many of the other texts we read for Early American Literature. Last semester Abby had us read this non-canonized text called “The Female American; or, The Adventures of Unca Eliza Winkfield,” which was written under the … Continue reading Transnational Similarities and the Slipperiness of (Non)Fiction
Rethinking Modern British Literature 