ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -O. Henry was the pen name of William Sydney Porter, an American short story writer who is known for his tales about the life of ordinary people, especially in New York. His stories generally expressed the effect of coincidence on character through humour, grim or irony.

Detailed explanation-2: -’The Gift of the Magi’. This is surely O. Henry’s best-known story of all. Published in 1906, it’s about a husband and wife, Jim and Della, buying Christmas presents for each other, without much money to spend on them.

Detailed explanation-3: -American writer O. Henry is famous for his short stories. His tales romanticized the commonplace-in particular, the life of ordinary people in New York City. His stories often had surprise endings, a device that became identified with his name and cost him critical favour when its vogue had passed.

Detailed explanation-4: -Edgar Allan Poe, American short-story writer, poet, critic, and editor who is famous for his cultivation of mystery and the macabre.

Detailed explanation-5: -His writing is vivid and he is good at using irony, paronomasia, metaphor, metonymy and exaggeration to make the story full of fun. He is a master of surprising endings, and he usually design story plots dramatically, and makes some unexpected changes at the end, which is quite out of readers’ expectations.