👀 I like to Shmoop It, Shmoop It
#124 | Literature for Dummies
I was the sort of student who wanted to ace my exams but didn’t care to read the books in the syllabus. I also wanted to be entertained during my last-minute study sessions. (I’m very demanding, I know).
Enter Shmoop, a big part of my life between 2014 and 2019.
I found Shmoop through a random google search. My search string was something along the lines of “Macbeth summary full” or “Ulysses Tennyson analysis”.
These searches usually resulted in websites with study guides: short versions of these literary texts coupled with important extracts, background, explanations and so on.
Shmoop was just that, except that the writing style was casual, hilarious and jampacked with contemporary pop culture references.
If you’re unsure of what I mean, take a look at how they describe Shakespeare’s Romeo or summarise Tolstoy’s War and Peace.
Shmoop is perfect “edutainment” – they tell you exactly what you need to know about the novel/poem/play/short story of your choice and make you grin (and occasionally burst into laughter) the whole time you’re studying.
You don’t have to be a student to enjoy Shmoop’s offerings. Just head on over, pick a text, and get giggling.