On Tuesday, we summarised ‘The Monkey’s Paw’, W. W. Jacobs’ popular and widely anthologised short horror story about a mummified paw which has the power to grant three wishes to three men. Now, it’s time to offer some words of analysis and commentary on this intriguing and brilliantly constructed tale.
Short story
‘The Monkey’s Paw’: A Short Summary of W. W. Jacobs’ Short Story
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘The Monkey’s Paw’ by W. W. Jacobs (1863-1943) is a miniature classic of the horror genre. In just ten pages, Jacobs provides suspense, a building sense of menace, and real drama, as well as bringing in such themes as family tragedy and the problems with imperialism. Mainly, though, it’s a classic tale of three wishes, which has been parodied and retold many times since (including in The Simpsons).
A Short Analysis of James Joyce’s ‘After the Race’
We remarked at the end of our summary of ‘After the Race’ – a short story from James Joyce’s 1914 collection Dubliners – that there isn’t exactly much ‘plot’ to summarise. So how might we gesture towards a literary-critical analysis of this challenging story? Many of the stories in James Joyce’s Dubliners focus not on an event itself but on what happens just afterwards.
A Summary and Analysis of D. H. Lawrence’s ‘The Rocking-Horse Winner’
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘The Rocking-Horse Winner’ is a short story by D. H. Lawrence, which was first published in 1926. It’s a story about luck, money, and success, and the dangers of chasing after these and investing too much in them. But how we should analyse and interpret the story remains unclear. In this post we’re going to offer some notes towards an analysis of this classic D. H. Lawrence story. You can read ‘The Rocking-Horse Winner’ here.
Edgar Allan Poe: Poet and Prophet
There is a story that, while serving as a young cadet, Edgar Allan Poe was expelled for reporting to a military march wearing nothing but a pair of white gloves. It appears that this is an urban legend, but there are many aspects of Poe’s life and work which are true, and often surprising. He … Read more