Week 12 Reading Guides

2.21 Reading Guide to Paradise Lost, Book 9
Due before class on November 1. Five points.

1. In lines 1-13, what does Milton say will be his subjects in Book 9?
2. What is Satan looking for in lines 74-91?
3. What does Satan say on page 1976 is the only thing that can ease his thoughts?
4. On page 1978, what does Eve suggest that she and Adam do to increase their efficiency at their work?
5. What objections to Eve's plan does Adam offer on pages 1978-80?
6. What causes Satan to momentarily become "Stupidly good" on page 1983?
7. How does the Serpent explain to Eve his ability to talk?
8. Briefly summarize Eve's logic in deciding, on page 1989, to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
9. What fears lead Eve to decide that Adam must also eat of the fruit, on pages 1990-91? What arguments does Adam use to convince himself that it's o.k. for him to eat (pp. 1992-93)?
10. What are the initial effects on Adam and Eve of eating of this fruit (pages 1994-95)? How are they changed after their nap (pp. 1995-98)?

Week 11 Reading Guides

2.19 Reading Guide to Paradise Lost, Book 1 (pp. 1831-50)

Due before class on October 25. Five points.
1. In "The Verse" (p. 1831), Milton states his opinion of long, rhymed poems. What objection does he have to rhyme?

2. The first sentence in Paradise Lost is 16 lines long. What is the main subject and verb?

3. What does Milton hope to do in Paradise Lost, as stated in the second sentence? That is, what is his stated purpose for writing the poem?

4. Look at the first speech of Satan, on pages 1834-35 (lines 84-124). What is the setting of this part of the poem? What has just happened to Satan? What admirable character traits does Satan possess?

5. Who is Beelzebub? What question does he ask Satan in lines 143-55?

6. What advantage does Satan claim for Hell on pages 1837-38?

7. Satan is described on pages 1838-39, and again on pages 1845-46. Briefly summarize what he looks like at this point in the poem (ll. 283-98 and 584-99).

8. Milton has a catalog of Satan's follower's on pages 1840-43, listed by the names they will receive later in human history (lines 364-69). What do the names of all these spirits (Moloch, Chemos, Astoreth, etc.) have in common?

9. On pages 1846-47, Satan addresses his troops. On what (and whom) does he blame his defeat in battle?

10. Since they have been defeated militarily, what does Satan suggest as a strategy for the future?

2.20 Reading Guide to Paradise Lost, Book 4
Due before class on October 27. Five points.
(Please note that line numbers start over in each new book.)
1. Satan arrives on earth at the beginning of Book 4. Look closely at his opening soliloquy, lines 32-113. He is thoughtful at first, as he remembers his old life in Heaven. On page 1888, what two things in his own character does he admit to as the cause for his fall? What does he say that God didn't deserve?
2. Compare Satan's description of Hell in Book 4, lines 20-23 and 68-78 to what he says about Hell in Book 1, lines 254-63. What has changed?

3. Give two reasons why Satan says, on pages 1889-90, that he will not repent and submit to God.

4. What four abstractions does Satan say goodbye to in lines 105-110?

5. Adam and Eve are described on pages 1893-94 (lines 288-324). Besides their physical appearance, how do Adam and Eve differ?

6. What important fact does Satan learn from Adam's conversation with Eve on pages 1896-97?

7. On page 1899, Uriel reports to Gabriel. Of what does he inform him?

8. What sort of work do Adam and Eve do in the Garden of Eden, as indicated by Adam's speech on page 1900?

9. Where do the angels Ithuriel and Zephon find Satan? What animal form has he taken? What is Satan doing to Eve when he is discovered?

10. When he is discovered, Satan is surprised to see that the other angels don't recognize him. Why don't the angels recognize Satan?

Optional Extra Credit for those who attended The Bourgeois Gentleman:

11. For 10 points, why does Monsieur Jourdain refuse to allow his daughter Lucile to marry Cleonte, the man she loves?

Week 10

No Reading Guides this week. Instead, we are doing worksheets in class on Donne, Milton, etc. Please remember that Paper 2 is due on Friday, October 22. This paper should include your triple-spaced, annotated poem plus a two page poetic analysis. The full assignment and a sample poetic analysis can be found on elearning.

Week 9 Reading Guides

2. 18 Reading Guide to John Donne Lyrics
Due before class on October 11. Five points.

1. Donne's love poetry often uses words and images taken from religion. Find three words in stanza 2 of "The Flea" (p. 1263) which refer to religion.

2. What is the rhyme scheme of each stanza of "The Flea"?

3. Whom is the male speaker of "The Good-Morrow" (pp. 1263-64) addressing in the poem?

4. Why is morning an appropriate time for this poem? In what sense are the speaker and the person addressed "waking" (line 8)?

5. List the verbs in stanza 1 of "Song" (p. 1264). What is the word for the grammatical form of these present tense verbs? (They are c o __ __ a __ __ s, in the imperative voice.)

6.. What do all the proposed activities listed in stanza 1 of "Song" have in common?

7. The word "fair" in line 18 means "beautiful." If the person addressed in the poem should find a woman who is both "true" and "fair," what does the speaker say will happen between (a) the time he writes the news and (b) the speaker arrives to meet her.

8. The second poem entitled "Song" is on page 1269, and concerns a male speaker saying goodbye to his wife or lover before going on a necessary journey. In what sense are journeys "feigned deaths"?

9. How does the speaker compare his journey to that of the sun, in order to comfort his wife?

10. In "The Bait" (p. 1274), what person is compared to a fish? Who or what is the bait?

Volpone

We completed two worksheets on Volpone in class this week. There were no reading guides on Volpone.

Week 8 Reading Guides

2.16 Reading Guide to King Lear, Act I (pp. 1143-64)
Due before class on October 4. Five points. (Extra credit for Screwtape at end.)
Identify the following quotations from Act I, answering the following questions:
A. Who says the lines?
B. To whom or about whom are they said?
C. In one sentence, what is the meaning or significance of the lines?

1. Now, our joy.
Although our last and least.

2. Nothing will come of nothing.

3. Come not between the dragon and his wrath.

4. I want that glib and oily art,
To speak and purpose not.

5. Time shall unfold what pleated cunning hides.

6. . . . he hath ever but slenderly known himself.

7. This is the excellent foppery of the world, that, when we are sick in fortune, often the surfeit of our own behavior, we make guilty of our disasters the sun, the moon and the stars; as if we were villains by necessity.

8. Have more than thou showest,
Speak less than thou knowest,
Lend less than thou owest.

9. How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is
To have a thankless child!

10. If thou wert my fool, nuncle, I'd have thee beaten for being old before thy time.

Optional extra credit for those who attended Screwtape:

11. For five extra credit points, in the performance of Screwtape at the University of Alabama Allen Bales Theater, what common household material do the fiends pass through to indicate that they are exiting the scene and going "down under"?

2.17 Reading Guide to King Lear, Acts 2-5
Double reading guide due before class on Friday, October 8. Ten points.

Are you having trouble understanding King Lear? For a side by side original/modern text, go to: http://nfs.sparknotes.com/lear/page_2.html. Be sure to read the original Renaissance text, but if you get stuck, there's help on the right hand side of each page. (Note: The modern text is a loose translation, not an exact one.)

For 1-5, identify the following quotations from Acts II and III, answering the following questions:
A. Who says the lines?
B. To whom or about whom are they said?
C. In one sentence, what is the meaning or significance of the lines?

1. Fortune, good night; smile once more; turn thy wheel!
2. I will do such things--
What they are, yet I know not; but they shall be
The terrors of the earth!

3. Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow!

4. 'tis a naughty night to swim in.

5. The prince of darkness is a gentleman.

6. Act IV, Scene ii shows an argument between Albany and Goneril. Why is each upset with the other?

7. What well-meaning trick does Edgar play on Gloucester in 4.6?

8. What does Goneril's letter ask Edmund to do?

9. What growing rivalry between Regan and Goneril becomes evident in 5.1? What is Edmund's position concerning this rivalry?

10. We see the last of Goneril and Regan in 5.3. How does each die?