Living Apart and Alone: Donne and McDonagh

Living Apart and Alone: Donne and McDonagh

I, like many others, was introduced to John Donne’s famed statement “No man is an island” as part of the philosophical musings of the 2002 film About a Boy. In...
Choice in Retrospect, Agency as Alternative in 'Moonlight' and 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost

Choice in Retrospect, Agency as Alternative in 'Moonlight' and 'The Road Not Taken' by Robert Frost

The choices we make can be enough to sink or strengthen us. They help shape our futures, mapping out new terrain or returning us to earlier situations or horizons. Whilst...
Grief As Ritual, Tradition As an Altar in 'Hamnet' and 'Leaving the Old Gods'

Grief As Ritual, Tradition As an Altar in 'Hamnet' and 'Leaving the Old Gods'

‘Grief porn’ is, without question, one of the most bizarre phrases that has populated the 2020s. In recent months, the phrase has found itself regurgitated on social media when referring...
The Edited Self in 'A Single Man' and 'Saraband'

The Edited Self in 'A Single Man' and 'Saraband'

In both ‘Saraband’ and A Single Man, survival is framed not as triumph but as negotiation. McCullers’ imperative to “select,” “edit,” and “adjust” finds visual embodiment in George’s careful self-curation,...
Inherited Absence in 'Home After Three Months Away' and 'Sentimental Value'

Inherited Absence in 'Home After Three Months Away' and 'Sentimental Value'

Sadly enough, when the word ‘parent’ finds itself propped up in my mind, the words of the miser poet, Philip Larkin, fountain into existence from the furthest regions of my...
Desire, longing and dreams in 'Queer' and 'Love and Sleep'

Desire, longing and dreams in 'Queer' and 'Love and Sleep'

Algernon Charles Swinburne’s poem, 'Love and Sleep', and Luca Guadagnino’s 2024 film, Queer, both explore longing as something that thrives in fantasy rather than reality. In each work, desire retreats...

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Photography by Seele An @xgseele