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Literature Videos


The Importance of Being Earnest Summary

They say that honesty is the best policy, but Jack lies about his identity and still gets the girl. Does that mean we should all lie to get what we want? Not so much.


17th-Century Literature Videos 1 videos

A Midsummer Night's Dream Summary
67431 Views

Love potions are tricky business (not that we've ever tried using one, of course). They can make you fall in love with the wrong person…or, in th...

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18th-Century Literature Videos 9 videos

All About The Constitution
5737 Views

The Constitution of the United States is the highest law in the land: it's a written statement of the core principles of the American government. I...

Why Does the Constitution Still Work for Us?
5721 Views

Ever heard of a "living document"? They eat and breathe just like the rest of us! They even walk around on their own two legs. Okay, fine—maybe t...

Constitutional Convention
6084 Views

In this video, you'll learn about the original Constitutional Convention and why our Founding Fathers felt it was necessary. Who would you invite t...

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19th-Century Literature Videos 51 videos

A Christmas Carol
33103 Views

How did Scrooge go from being naughty to nice so quickly, and why? (Hint: contrary to popular belief, it has nothing to do with the ghost of Santa...

The Tell-tale Heart
936 Views

What would YOU do if the heart of the person you buried under the floorboards started making noise? Only one way to find out... (Note: Shmoop does...

Lady of Shalott
440 Views

Meet the Lady of Shalott. Not to be confused with the Lady of Shallot, who is frequently in a pickle.

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20th-Century Literature Videos 7 videos

Rules of the Game
3077 Views

When you think about it, chess could be a metaphor for just about anything, really.

All Quiet on the Western Front
1525 Views

Brace yourselves, this one's going to get sad fast. Not all war stories are tales of heroism and saving privates named Ryan. 

Invisible Man (Ellison)
1818 Views

Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man is an American classic. Hope you're not expecting any exciting shower scenes though. It's not that kind of book.

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21st-Century Literature Videos 16 videos

Life of Pi Summary
38819 Views

Sorry, guys: this novel doesn't follow the dramatic life events of pumpkin pie, nor does it explore what it truly means to be the mathematical cons...

Catching Fire (Part 1)
2682 Views

We volunteer you as tribute to watch this video analysis of Katniss in the second book of the Hunger Games series. After the berry suicide attempt...

Catching Fire (Part 2)
6719 Views

“Happy Hunger Games!” Or not. Katniss’s Hunger Games experiences left a not-so-happy effect on her. This video will prompt you to ponder if...

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American Literature Videos 215 videos

Catching Fire (Part 2)
6719 Views

“Happy Hunger Games!” Or not. Katniss’s Hunger Games experiences left a not-so-happy effect on her. This video will prompt you to ponder if...

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
47686 Views

Who's really the crazy one in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

Edgar Allan Poe: The Twilight Connection
3321 Views

Sure, Edgar Allan Poe was dark and moody and filled with teenage angst, but what else does he have in common with the Twilight series?

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Beowulf Videos 9 videos

All About Beowulf as a Translated Piece of Literature
6738 Views

Old English is just English, right? Can’t be more difficult than reading Shakespeare, right? Hah. Yeah...no. Click on the video to find why tra...

All About Beowulf's Historical Context
17043 Views

Who is it about? Who told it? Who wrote it? Who are we? What’s the meaning of life? Do you know the Muffin Man? All these answers and more can be...

Beowulf and Material Goods
12449 Views

The characters in Beowulf knew the importance of bling. Watch the video to learn more about the place of material goods in the wonderful world of B...

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Bestsellers Videos 11 videos

Bestsellers 8 The Shining
73 Views

"Come out, come out, wherever you are..." and watch this video about Stephen King's The Shining. After it's over, we may or may not axe you some qu...

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British Literature Videos 176 videos

A Tale of Two Cities Summary
75855 Views

Meet Charles Darnay, the nobleman who spends more time on trial and in prison than attending balls and drinking expensive wine. Don't feel too bad...

Beowulf
113086 Views

Written in Anglo-Saxon, or Old English, sometime between the 8th and 11th centuries, Beowulf is an epic poem that reflects the early medieval warri...

Brave New World
79220 Views

Brave New World is supposed be an exciting book about a negative utopia and the corrupt powers of authority. So where’s the big car chase? What's...

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Charles Dickens Videos 20 videos

Charles Dickens 21 The marriage plot
46 Views

Was the marriage plot a bunch of folks who schemed and conned their way into marriage? Hit play to find out.

Charles Dickens 20 What Was His Comedy Like
36 Views

How did Americans and Brits feel about Dickens' comedy? Eh...let's just say it was the best of comedy, it was the worst of comedy. 

Charles Dickens 18 How Has Dickens Impacted Culture Today
82 Views

How has Dickens impacted culture today? We don't know about you, but we watch A Muppet's Christmas Carol every year, so...that's probably the answe...

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Common Core Videos 2 videos

Common Core 8th Grade 1.3 Reading Literary Texts
390 Views

Common Core 8th Grade 1.3 Reading Literary Texts. Which evidence from the text best supports the inference that Gorgons are dangerous?

Common Core 4.6 Reading Literary Text
395 Views

Whale, whale, whale...what have we got here? Looks like a question about what Kipling was trying to achieve in "How the Whale Got His Throat." Fun...

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Dracula Videos 16 videos

Dracula Part 2: Vlad the Impaler
5351 Views

Vlad the Impaler was an appropriately named guy, until he went on tropical vacations. Then, he went by Vlad the Imtanner. For some facts that are a...

Dracula Part 1: Course Introduction
29631 Views

Readers may be already be familiar with Dracula, but what about the mathematician and author, Bram Stoker? And yes, he graduated with a degree in m...

Dracula Part 3: The Legend
1495 Views

Looks, wealth, and a super cool castle to live in… Well...maybe not live in, if you happened to be Dracula. But for the most part, this guy had...

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Dystopian Literature Videos 33 videos

1984
135136 Views

Well, if this book doesn't make you want to tape over your laptop camera, we don't know what will.

1984 and V for Vendetta
17148 Views

Imagine a world in which all literature was dystopian. Okay, so we may be getting to that point, 1984 and V for Vendetta helped start it all.

1984 Summary
136164 Views

By the end of this video, you will be brainwashed. There's nothing you can do about it; we just wanted to let you know. We like to think we're bigg...

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Early 20th-Century Literature Videos 47 videos

A Farewell to Arms
20536 Views

You might be hearing a chorus of farewells if you recommend A Farewell to Arms as the next read for your Fabulously Feisty Feminist Book Club.

9 Views

A Rose for Emily
20514 Views

What? She gets a rose and we don’t? Who is this Emily person anyway? What’s she done to deserve such a delightful, aromatic gift?

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Frankenstein Videos 17 videos

Frankenstein: Getting to Know Victor
17656 Views

Is Victor Frankenstein a: Romantic Hero? b: Byronic Hero? c: Satanic Hero? d: Guitar Hero? All of the above (but maybe not D…) We don...

Frankenstein: Gothic Tones
8808 Views

What is Gothic Romanticism? It's when two goths fall in love. Duh. Wait, that’s not what it is? Oh. We should probably watch the video and figure...

Frankenstein: Getting to Know Mary Shelley
2595 Views

We’ll preface this video about Frankenstein’s preface by saying that Mary Shelley is an awesome woman, and she wants everybody to be aware. Che...

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Hero's Journey Videos 14 videos

Hero's Journey 1 Joseph Campbell
583 Views

Join us for part one of the Hero's Journey: Joseph Campbell. We'll find out who he is, what he's responsible for, and if he has anything to do with...

Hero's Journey 2 The Three Stages
424 Views

Join us for part two of the Hero's Journey: The Three Stages. It'll be way less fun than watching the Three Stooges. 

Hero's Journey 3 Archetypes
307 Views

Join us for part three of the Hero's Journey: Archetypes. Then, feel free to send us a letter about your favorite archetype, which we may or may no...

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Literary Topics Videos 221 videos

Who's Seuss?
951 Views

Dr. Seuss was a failure to start, but he soon learned to follow his heart. He wrote books about things that he knew, and soon enough, his book sale...

Edgar Allan Poe: The Twilight Connection
3321 Views

Sure, Edgar Allan Poe was dark and moody and filled with teenage angst, but what else does he have in common with the Twilight series?

Dr. Seuss: Changing the Way We Read
920 Views

You'd have to be a Grinch not to acknowledge what a huge effect Dr. Seuss had on all of us. Horton may have heard a Who, but hey... we heard it, t...

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Literature en Español Videos 3 videos

Huck Finn (Spanish)
261 Views

Si alguna vez te encuentras en una balsa flotando en el río Mississippi, usted va a querer hacer algo. Lectura clásico de Mark Twain, Las aventur...

Moby-Dick (Spanish)
255 Views

Moby-Dick - una ballena extraña. Nuestro amigo capitán Ahab la había perseguido para años, pero no es el mejor lider en el mundo. Piensas que p...

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Moby-Dick Videos 9 videos

Moby-Dick - Ahab
8919 Views

Ahab is God, man, nature, and cyborg warrior. ...Is he not a cyborg? Huh. Imagine that. Click on this video to find out what Ahab is actually all...

Moby-Dick - The Preface and the First Line
2153 Views

Whoa, fifty different ways to say the word “whale” just in the Preface? Something tell us we’re in for a whale of a time. Yeah, we know, th...

Moby-Dick - Religion
307 Views

The combination of religious and seafaring imagery in Moby-Dick is just like the peanut butter and the chocolate in a Reese's Cup––you can’t...

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Oedipus Videos 6 videos

Oedipus 6
677 Views

Oedipus 5
60 Views

Oedipus 4
460 Views

A distraught and helpless Oedipus questions fate and free will when he discovers that he's killed his father and married his mother. 

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Post-1945 Literature Videos 13 videos

1984
135136 Views

Well, if this book doesn't make you want to tape over your laptop camera, we don't know what will.

1984 Summary
136164 Views

By the end of this video, you will be brainwashed. There's nothing you can do about it; we just wanted to let you know. We like to think we're bigg...

A Raisin in the Sun
18501 Views

This video summarizes the play A Raisin in the Sun. It discusses the Youngers, members of an African-American family trying to better themselves wh...

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Shakespeare Videos 53 videos

A Midsummer Night's Dream
32883 Views

Aren't midsummer night dreams the worst? You wake up all sweaty and gross, and for a minute there, you can't even remember where you are. And also,...

A Midsummer Night's Dream Summary
67431 Views

Love potions are tricky business (not that we've ever tried using one, of course). They can make you fall in love with the wrong person…or, in th...

As You Like It
10348 Views

We're not sure if good ol' Shakespeare would endorse The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, but that's not going to stop us from hosting themed viewing...

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Short Stories Videos 7 videos

The Tell-tale Heart
936 Views

What would YOU do if the heart of the person you buried under the floorboards started making noise? Only one way to find out... (Note: Shmoop does...

Power in Literature Short Stories: Part 1
1196 Views

This video defines symbolism and analyzes the use of symbolism in stories like The Great Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird. What effect do symbols h...

Power in Literature Short Stories: Part 2
513 Views

The micro setting: Enterprise. The macro setting: “Space, the Final Frontier!”

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Southern Gothic, Kafka, and Moby-Dick Videos 10 videos

Southern Gothic, Kafka, and Moby-Dick: Moby-Dick
2422 Views

Call me Shmoop...er, we mean, Ishmael. It’s time to catch a whale. ...Just kidding, we’ll read about it instead. The WWF told us we can’t d...

Southern Gothic, Kafka, and Moby-Dick: What is Southern Gothic?
13884 Views

Ready for a horror story that isn’t about a bad hair day? Pick up a Southern Gothic novel like Moby-Dick or As I Lay Dying instead. Though now th...

Southern Gothic, Kafka, and Moby-Dick: Writer's Inspiration
1097 Views

Add half a cup of post-Civil War, a pinch of Reconstruction, a cup full of race issues, toss it in a Crock Pot called “The South,” and you’ve...

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Test Prep Videos 223 videos

AP English Literature and Composition 1.7 Passage Drill 5
239 Views

AP English Literature and Composition 1.7 Passage Drill 5. Which line indicates the turn or shift in this poem?

AP English Language and Composition 3.7 Passage Drill
541 Views

Which answer best describes the theme of the following passage? And if you say "fission chips," we'll give you half credit. The AP test graders mig...

AP English Language and Composition 4.6 Passage Drill
230 Views

Take a look at this shmoopy question and see if you can figure out which device the speaker employs the most.

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The Great Gatsby Videos 16 videos

The Great Gatsby Part 1: Course Introduction
30238 Views

It's the roaring 20s. A time of wealth, partying, and a huge inequality gap. Fun, fun, and, uh...not-so-fun. Hit play to discover more about the se...

The Great Gatsby Part 2: Glittering Eggs
43679 Views

East Egg: East coast, old money, and ponies. Maybe unicorns. Those snotty East Eggers won’t tell us anything. West Egg: West coast, new money, an...

The Great Gatsby Part 6: Eternal Graceless Circles
58414 Views

Gatsby’s a man who throws huge parties and still has zero friends. Maybe they’re all like...Tupperware parties or something. Check out the vide...

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The Narrative of Frederick Douglass Videos 15 videos

The Narrative of Frederick Douglass: The Public Speaker
45 Views

Frederick Douglass was an impassioned public speaker. So are we: we're impassioned about never speaking in public.

The Narrative of Frederick Douglass: Why Did He Write the Book
69 Views

Why did Douglass write the book? Easy. Because TV wasn't a viable medium yet. 

The Narrative of Frederick Douglass: Why is he the the only main character
34 Views

When we see it at the movies, our eyes roll. But are we guilty of the same? Shmoop!: The Movie, a Shmoop production, written by Shmoop, starring Sh...

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The Road Videos 11 videos

The Road Part 1: The Introduction
9364 Views

Well, the world has ended, which is a total bummer. We didn’t even get a chance to sell our super valuable Beanie Baby collection. We hope you’...

The Road Part 2: The Setting
12205 Views

The Road is full of emptiness and nobody knows where they’re going. So make a note to self, Shmoopers: when the apocalypse hits, grab a GPS.

The Road Part 3: Words
8884 Views

Always read The Road with a dictionary at hand, because you’re going to need it. Seriously. We’re not known to be perfidious (though we do have...

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Their Eyes Were Watching God Videos 10 videos

Their Eyes Were Watching God Part 10: The Title
15084 Views

Free will vs. Predestination. One of the many interpretations for the title Their Eyes Were Watching God. We personally like, “Stop Staring at Me...

Their Eyes Were Watching God Part 1: Preface
14390 Views

Their eyes might’ve been watching God, but our eyes are watching Zora Neal Hurston. Hit play to learn more about Hurston and the Harlem Renaissance.

Their Eyes Were Watching God Part 2: Narrative Structure
6829 Views

Their Eyes Were Watching God is about Janie’s coming of age story towards the path of self-discovery, just like Luke from Star Wars. Seriously, J...

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World Literature Videos 44 videos

Arabian Nights
11044 Views

Folk tales are all about conveying a deeper meaning—no banjos required. Arabian Nights is one of the most famous collections, so get ready to lea...

The Book Thief
79470 Views

In Markus Zusak's The Book Thief, Death narrates the story of one girl who lived during the Holocaust. Not surprisingly, it's kind of a downer—bu...

Crime and Punishment
30970 Views

Crime and Punishment is all about a boy killing for money, literally, and then spending the rest of the book trying to hide it. Although the book c...

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