Sunday, October 24, 2010

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?

Monday, October 18, 2010

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.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

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.

Saturday, October 2, 2010

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?

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Week 7 Reading Guides


2.15 Reading Guide to Doctor Faustus (pp. 1025-55)
Due before class on September 27. 10 points.
Please note: No reading guide is due for Friday, September 24, although your assignment is to read pages 1023-41 of Doctor Faustus by then. This is a double reading guide on the entire play, and is due on Monday.

1. Faustus opens Scene 1 of the play on pages 1025-26 by rejecting, in turn, four major fields of study. What are these four, as represented by Aristotle, Galen, Justinian and Jerome?

2. What is the danger of studying magic, according to the Good Angel? What, according to the Evil Angel, is the reward?

3. On page 1031, Faustus suggests a deal with Lucifer. What does he ask the devil to give him? What does he promise in return?

4. What question does Faustus ask that Mephastophilis refuses to answer? Why won't he answer?

5. Here's the big question: Why would anyone make a deal with the devil? Specifically, why do you think Faustus made a deal with the devil? Support your answer by referring to anything you noticed in the Prologue or scenes 1-5.

6. In what European city does Scene 7 take place? What spell does Faustus ask Mephistophilis to put on him? Name two tricks Faustus plays on the Pope.

7. Look back over scenes 7, 9 and 11. In general, how does Faustus use his powers in these passages? How do his actions in these scenes compare to his comment in the opening speech (page 1026) that "A sound magician is a mighty god."

8. What famous beauty does Faustus conjure up in Scene 12? By what name is she more commonly known? One of the most famous lines in British literature occurs in Scene 12. Locate this line and fill in the blanks below:

"Was this the __________ that launched a thousand __________,
And burnt the topless _______________ of _______________?"

9. The three scholars appear in Scene 13. What is their dramatic purpose? (In other words, what action do they urge?) Looking back over the play and the list of characters on pages 1023-24, what other characters have urged the same action?

10. The final speech of Faustus on pages 1054-55 is an example of a soliloquy. Why do you think Faustus waits until his last moment on earth to say, "I'll burn my books"? What does the Chorus warn the audience against in the Epilogue on page 1055?

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Week 6 Reading Guides


2.13 Reading Guide to Astrophil and Stella
Sonnets 1, 15, 16, 20, 37, 41, 47, 71, and 91 (pp. 975-76, 978-79, 982-83, 986, 989-90)

Due before class on September 20. Five points.

1. (Sonnet 1) The key to these sonnets is realizing that each is concerned with the love of "Astrophil" (the male speaker of the poem) for Stella (a woman). One way to look at Sonnet 1 (pp. 975-76) is to say that it is about writer's block. This poem has a clear octave and sestet. How many sentences are in the octave? In the sestet? Why does the speaker say he wants to write? What sorts of things does he do, unsuccessfully, to assist him in his writing?

2. (Sonnet 15) This poem could be interpreted as advice to a rival poet. What resources does the rival poet use to improve his writing? What advice does the speaker of this poem give him?

3. (Sonnet 16) What two things did the speaker think he knew before he met Stella? To what does he compare being in love in the final lines of the poem?

4. (Sonnet 20) Here we have a tiny dramatic scene. Why does the speaker advise his friends to "Fly, fly" (that is, run) in the first line? Who is the "murth'ring boy" and how does he wound the speaker? What object in the poem is black in color?

5. (Sonnet 37) What pun and riddle are contained in the last line, "[She] Hath no misfortune, but that Rich she is." (But sure to read the note at the bottom of the page.)

6. (Sonnet 41) In this poem, the speaker tells of his success in a tournament. What do other people say was the cause of his success? What was the real cause, according to the speaker?

7. (Sonnet 47) In one sentence, what does the speaker of this poem vow to do? What prevents him from keeping his vow?

8. (Sonnet 71) Of what is Stella a perfect example? What new abstraction appears in the last line? What is your interpretation of line 14?

9. (Sonnet 91) Complete the following comparison: Stella is to other women as the skies are to a ______________.

10. This is a freebie so long as you answer at least one of the following questions. How are things going for you in English 205 so far? Which activities and materials are helping you? Which aren't? What would you like to more of in class? What, if anything, are you having trouble understanding?
2.14 Reading Guide to The Faerie Queene
(Book I, Cantos 1 and 2, pp. 719-42)
Due before class on September 22. Five points.

1. In the short introduction to his poem (pp. 719-20), Spenser asks for help. From whom is he asking help? For what does he need help? What does he say, in stanzas 1-4, will be the subject matter of his poem?

2. What is the name of the "Gentle Knight" mentioned in the first line of Canto 1? How is he dressed?

3. Name two companions who ride with the knight (p. 721).

4. Why do the travelers go into the forest? Why don't they return to their original path?

5. On pages 723-26, the knight fights his first battle. What is the allegorical name of the monster he defeats? To the disgust of the knight, what do her offspring do when the monster is killed?

6. After the battle, an old man appears and invites the knight and his companions to his home. What sort of person does the "aged Sire" appear to be on pages 726-27? What does the reader learn about him after everyone else is asleep? What is his name (p. 729)?

7. What is a Spright (p. 728)? Why does the first spright visit Morpheus, the god of sleep?

8. Name two tricks that the wicked magician plays on the knight, the first on pages 731-32 and the second on pp. 733-34. What does the knight do because of the deception?

9. Pages 735-37 tell of the knight's encounter with a Sarazin and his lady. What is written on the Sarazin's shield? What name does the Sarazin's lady use (p. 738)? What is her real name
(p. 742)?

10. On pages 739-42, we meet Fradubio. Into what has he been transformed? Where and in what form is his lady love? What is the name of the "false sorceresse" who tricked Fradubio and where is she while he tells his story?

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Some Helpful Websites

Some helpful web sites for English 205:

1. Selections from Beowulf read in Old English
http://faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/Beowulf.Readings/Beowulf.Readings.html
Google: Beowulf audio Old English

2. Selections from Beowulf read in modern English by translator, Seamus Heaney
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/noa/audio.htm
Google: Beowulf in Modern English

3. Interlinear translation of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales (Middle English + Modern English)
http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/teachslf/tr-index.htm
Google: Canterbury Tales interlinear translation

4. Selections from The Canterbury Tales read in Middle English
http://www.vmi.edu/fswebs.aspx?tid=34099&id=34249
Google: Canterbury Tales metapage audio files

5. Biographies, works, and critical essays for all EN 205 writers
http://www.luminaria.com
Google: luminaria literature

6. Study guides from California Polytechnic on Beowulf, Chaucer, etc.
http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl330/330home.html#guides
Google: Study guides Chaucer

7. Modern adaptation of The Second Shepherd's Play
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/engl/215/ssp.htm
Google: The Second Shepherd's Play translation

8. Notes on Medieval Drama (For additional help with Second Shepherd's Play)
http://www.montreat.edu/dking/MiddleEnglishLit/NotesonMedievalDrama.htm
Google: Notes on Medieval Drama Second Shepherd's Play

9. Overview of Sir Thomas Wyatt and Surrey
http://faculty.goucher.edu/eng211/thomas_wyatt_and_henry_howard.htm
Google: Wyatt and Surrey Goucher

10. Sir Phillip Sidney, Astrophil and Stella (individual sonnets with commentary)
http://garts.latech.edu/bmagee/201/sidney/stella_&_notes.html
Google: Astrophil and Stella LA Tech

11. About the sonnet (A brief introduction)
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/sonnet.htm
Google: About the sonnet
12. Shakespeare's sonnets (click on picture next to sonnet for commentary)
www.shakespeares-sonnets.com

13. Text of each Shakespearean sonnet beside modern translation www.nosweatshakespeare.com/sonnets