Joyce Carol Oates summary

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Joyce Carol Oates, (born June 16, 1938, Lockport, N.Y., U.S.), U.S. writer. Oates taught at the University of Windsor (1967–78) and Princeton University (from 1978). Beginning with the story collection By the North Gate (1963) and the novel With Shuddering Fall (1964), she wrote prolifically, often portraying people whose intensely experienced lives end in bloodshed and self-destruction owing to forces beyond their control. Her major novels include them (1969), Do with Me What You Will (1973), Foxfire (1993), and Beasts (2002). Also significant is a parodic gothic series including Bellefleur (1980), A Bloodsmoor Romance (1982), and Mysteries of Winterthurn (1984).

essay Summary

Essay, an analytic, interpretative, or critical literary composition usually much shorter and less systematic and formal than a dissertation or thesis and usually dealing with its subject from a limited and often personal point of view. Some early treatises—such as those of Cicero on the

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autobiography Summary

Autobiography, the biography of oneself narrated by oneself. Autobiographical works can take many forms, from the intimate writings made during life that were not necessarily intended for publication (including letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and reminiscences) to a formal book-length

literary criticism Summary

Literary criticism, the reasoned consideration of literary works and issues. It applies, as a term, to any argumentation about literature, whether or not specific works are analyzed. Plato’s cautions against the risky consequences of poetic inspiration in general in his Republic are thus often

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short story Summary

Short story, brief fictional prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and that usually deals with only a few characters. The short story is usually concerned with a single effect conveyed in only one or a few significant episodes or scenes. The form encourages economy of setting, concise