In a popular song Drink To Me Only with Thine Eyes first published in 1616 did the phrase drink to someone mean the same thing as nowadays, ie. to say cheers for someone? Thanks in advance.

I may be mistaken, but allegedly, Tolkien really took great offense to the first (and only, during his entire lifetime and decades beyond) Swedish translation of The Lord of the Rings. He called the person responsible for it "conceited" and basically seemed to strongly dislike, if not hate, him. ...

Nick Joaquin's short story "May Day Eve" begins and ends with two extremely long sentences: The old people had ordered that the dancing should stop at ten o’clock but it was almost midnight before the carriages came filing up the departing guests, while the girls who were staying were promptly h...

What does 'vaulting' mean over here? Even though Macbeth states this as a reason to justify his evil deed of killing Duncan, can we say that ambition could be used in a positive way as well? Or is vaulting ambition a negative trait overall? Can we say that Macbeth willingly contributed to creatin...

Chapter XI of My Boyhood Days (1940; ছেলেবেলা / Chhelebela in Bengali) contains the following passage: The old indigo factory was still standing, with the river Padma in the distance. The zemindari office was on the ground floor, and our living quarters on the upper floor. (...) Today, the blust...

In chapter 10 of The Just Men of Cordova (1917) by Edgar Wallace, the author was describing an employer, Jakobs, who usually stole unconsidered stamps and such loose coinage as might be found in the office of his manager, Black, who was notoriously careless in the matter of small change. He had ...

In May Sinclair’s Song-offerings of Rabindranath Tagore it written for St. Catherine of Genoa that She would at times, when in the garden, seize hold of the thorn-covered twigs of the rose-bushes with both her hands; and would not feel any pain while thus doing it in a transport of mind. She wou...

I need some help!:) Do you have an idea what makes this story realistic and not realistic! Thank you