Essays Literary, Critical and Historical

This collection brings together five essays that explore the crossroads of literature, history, and education. Drawing on research conducted in North America and Europe, the author writes with a clear, conversational tone that invites listeners to rethink familiar works. The opening piece offers a fresh reading of Tennyson’s long poem “The Princess,” presenting it as an early call for a balanced partnership between the sexes in the pursuit of truth and beauty.

Subsequent essays examine how poetry and history can be distorted to serve partisan narratives, urging fidelity to Catholic truth while respecting artistic nuance. A central essay discusses the principles of literary study, combining university and high‑school teaching experience to propose a method that values both analysis and appreciation. Another essay confronts the erosion of scholarly standards, arguing that honest criticism outweighs empty praise.

The final essay turns to the Italian Renaissance, reflecting on the cultural flowering under the Avignon popes and the rich archival material the author encountered in Belgium and France. Listeners will appreciate how this historical insight illuminates the ongoing influence of the past on thought.