Know Your English Literature Part. V

Paradise Lost: Epic poem written by John Milton, between about 1658 and 1663, and consisting of 12 books containing more than 10000 lines. The poem deals with the temptation and disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the Fall of Man which follows. It also describes the rebellion and punishment of Satan and his cohorts, and foretells the coming of the Messiah, who will redeem mankind.

The Owl and the Pussy-Cat: Children’s nonsense poem written by Edward Lear in 1867 for the daughter of a friend. I t begins with the lines:

The Owl and the Pussy- Cat went to sea

In a beautiful pea-green boat,

They took some honey, and plenty of money,

Wrapped up in a five pound note.

Ring a Ring o ‘Roses: Nursery rhyme sung in a children’s game. The children hold hand and dance around in a ring until reaching the last line, when they pretend to sneeze and fall down. The words are believed by many to date from the Great Plague, with the’ roses’ being the red spots and ‘pocketful of posies’ the herbs which were supposed to ward off the illness. ‘A tishoo! a tishoo! Is said to imitate the cold symptoms which came before ‘we all fall down’ and die. However, there is no evidence to confirm this, and the earliest printed version dates only from 1800s.

Harold Robbins (1916): Best selling American novelist known for books such as Never Love a stranger and The Carpet-baggers, the latter of which sold more than 6 million copies.