ShmoopTube
Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.
Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos
Themes Videos
Picking a theme for a party is pretty easy—always go karate party, because they come with nunchuck egg rolls. Themes in writing are a little different. They’re about sending messages, not chucking egg rolls at unsuspecting bystanders. We're not saying one is better than the other, though. We suggest you chuck a few egg rolls and draw your own conclusion.
Compassion and Forgiveness Videos 2 videos
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...
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?
Family Videos 53 videos
It may be the best of times for Chuck Darnay, but it's pretty much constantly the worst of times for Sydney. Poor guy.
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...
Should you ever find yourself on a raft, floating down the Mississippi River, you're going to want something to do. Reading Mark Twain's classic, T...
Fate and Free Will Videos 28 videos
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...
A cheap shot at a bestseller or a deeper book with connections relevant to the human race? In The Call of the Wild, the protagonist is a dog named...
Why did the editor give Chapter 21 of A Clockwork Orange the axe? Was it because he wanted to leave the reader hanging? Or did he realize Americans...
Friendship Videos 4 videos
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 cheap shot at a bestseller or a deeper book with connections relevant to the human race? In The Call of the Wild, the protagonist is a dog named...
River raft. A good friend. Adventures. Tricks. Lots and lots of surprise feelings. Basically, our boy Huck has 'em all.
Irony Videos 1 videos
And you thought a nymph was a naturally lovely woodland creature. To be fair, so did we. But boy did Jonathan Swift prove us wrong.
Isolation Videos 22 videos
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...
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...
This video summarizes the plot of Brave New World from the point of view of John (you know, the “savage”). It covers the escapism, social casts...
Love Videos 57 videos
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,...
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...
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...
Power Videos 18 videos
Well, if this book doesn't make you want to tape over your laptop camera, we don't know what will.
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.
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...
Race Videos 4 videos
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...
Should you ever find yourself on a raft, floating down the Mississippi River, you're going to want something to do. Reading Mark Twain's classic, T...
In The Color Purple, Celie is abused by her father and husband. She leaves her father by marrying Mr. ________, and then leaves Mr. ______, too. Bu...
Warfare Videos 5 videos
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.
Yes, there are kites. Yes, there are runners. No, despite how much we love running and flying kites, this isn't a happy story by any stretch of the...
Gee whiz! Running after kites sounds like so much fun! That's totally what this book is about, right? Nope. Hosseini's novel actually touches on su...