The Sound and the Fury is a novel by William Faulkner that chronicles the downfall of the Compson family, former Southern aristocrats, through four different narrative perspectives. The novel is set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, and spans several decades. It is narrated by the three Compson brothers—Benjamin 'Benjy' Compson, an intellectually disabled man; Quentin Compson, a Harvard student who commits suicide; and Jason Compson, a bitter and cynical younger brother—and concludes with a third-person omniscient narrative focusing on Dilsey, the family's devoted Black servant. The novel explores themes of time, death, and the disintegration of traditional Southern values, using a stream-of-consciousness style that includes frequent chronological leaps and non-linear storytelling[1][3][5].
The Divine Comedy is an Italian narrative poem begun around 1308 and completed around 1321. It is divided into three parts: Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The poem discusses the state of the soul after death and presents an image of divine justice, describing Dante's travels through Hell, Purgatory, and Heaven. It is an allegory representing the soul's journey towards God, drawing on medieval Catholic theology and philosophy, especially Thomistic philosophy. The work is considered one of the greatest in Italian literature and Western literature, and it helped establish the Tuscan language as the standardized Italian language.
The Lord of the Rings, written by J.R.R. Tolkien, is an epic high fantasy novel set in Middle-earth. The story follows Frodo Baggins, a hobbit who inherits the One Ring from his uncle Bilbo. The Ring, forged by Sauron, holds the power to control all other Rings of Power and must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom to prevent Sauron's return. Frodo is joined by a fellowship of other characters, including Gandalf the Grey, Samwise Gamgee, Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, and Boromir, as they embark on a dangerous quest across Middle-earth. The novel explores themes of good vs. evil, the corrupting influence of power, and the struggle between fate and free will[3][4][5].
Four Quartets is a cycle of four poems by T.S. Eliot, each titled with a place name: 'Burnt Norton,' 'East Coker,' 'The Dry Salvages,' and 'Little Gidding.' The poems are meditations on time, redemption, and eternity, blending Eliot's Anglo-Catholicism with mystical, philosophical, and poetic elements from various traditions. Each quartet has five sections and explores themes such as the conflict between individual mortality and the endless span of human existence, the nature of spirituality, and the relationship between the present and the past. The work is considered Eliot's masterpiece and his clearest exposition of his Christian beliefs[2][4][5].
Turning to the Mystics with James Finley 
