Week 2
Early and Medieval English Literature
Reference Questions:
1. Who were the earliest settlers of Britton/England? What do you know about them (home, language, belief, life style)?
2. What are the 3 conquests? What effects they had upon the nation?
3. Ideologically what is the most significant change in people's spiritual life?
4. How was the nation developed politically or what changes were there in the form of the social structure?
5. In terms of literature, what influence had the French upon England?
6. How many languages were spoken during the French reign? How do you understand modern English as a language?
7. What was the essence of Christian doctrine preached at the time? Was there any ignoble reason behind it?
8. Why was the Middle Ages known as the Dark Ages?
9. What was the form of literature at the time? What features does it have? 10. What are the 3 periods/stages of Chaucer's literary career?
11. In what way do we call Chaucer's Canterbury Tales the first work of English literature?
Text study Chaucer ,s The Canterbury Tales / The Prioress
Pre-reading
You are going to read Chaucer's description of a prioress, a nun who is the head of a religious order or a religious house (e.g. an abbey). Before reading Chaucer's description, we could try to create a picture of a nun from our knowledge or imagination. 1. Imagine the facial expression of a nun, what words would you use to describe it? 2. A nun, especially a prioress, is usually remarkable for the following characteristics (tick the words/expressions of your choice): a solemnity, charm, kindness
b serious/ pleasant/ easy-going/ sombre manners c full of sense / sensibility
3. If she carries a motto, which do you think is more likely to be her choice?
a All that glisters is not gold. b Glory belongs to the King.
c God helps those who help themselves.
d Love conquers all.
Discussion
1. What is image of the nun?
2. Is she favorably and admirably or satirically portrayed? How? 3. What figures of speech are used?
Language and Style
1. Select a detail which contains humour or irony. What makes it comic or ironic? 2. What do you notice about the rhyme at the end of the lines
Week 3 Renaissance (1)
Reference questions
1. What is Renaissance? How and why did it come about?
2. What is the development of drama? What were the original forms and content and practice of drama?
3. Why did drama flourish in Elizabethan age? Who are the major playwrights of the time? 4. Who is Marlowe? What contributions did he make to English drama?
5. Who is Shakespeare? What famous and great plays (history, comedy, tragedy)? What features?
6. What did Ben Jonson write about? What representative work?
7. Prepare the excerpt from Hamlet (31-32). What is it mainly about? What humanist idea can you find in the soliloquy?
8. What was the most important translation of the time?
Week 4 Renaissance (2)
Reference questions on Shakespeare and Hamlet
1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Why is Shakespeare an eternal subject of study? Where lies his greatness? What are the themes of Hamlet?
What is the significance of Hamlet as a character? What is blank verse? What is soliloquy?
Text study 1 Hamlefs soliloquy “To be or not to be”
1. What is the main idea of Hamlet's soliloquy? Summarize in one or two sentences the main idea of the soliloquy? 2. How does the soliloquy reflect the spirit of the time or the idea of humanism? 3. How do you analyze Hamlet's argument in terms of structure?
Text study 2 The Merchant of Venice / The Trial Scene
Pre-reading
The most interesting character in this play is Shylock. Some people think him as a creul miser, deserving his punishment while others consider him a victim of discrimination. From what you know of the play, what do you think of this character? To what extent does this character deserves our sympathy? Discuss with your classmates.
Discussion
1. After reading the “trial scene\r to the questions in Pre-reading, and try to defend your position with evidence from the text. 2. Portia gives an eloquent speech on mercy when she tries to persuade Shylock to give up his bond. Consider the punishment received by Shylock, do you think the Christians are being merciful to Shylock?
3. In Shakespeare's day, the playwrights did not give details of stage direction in their play text. In this play, for example, nothing is said about how Shylock leaves the stage. Is he content? Or is he sad? Does he show his anger? If you were the actor playing the role of Shylock, how would you perform his exit?
Week 5 Renaissance (3)
Questions for Renaissance poetry and prose
1. Who was thought to be the greatest English poet since Chaucer? What is his representative work? What are the features of this poem?
2. What new forms (rhyme—blank verse, stanza—sonnet) of poetry were introduced into England? By whom?
3. Who were the famous sonneteers of the time?
4. How do you tell an Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet from an English (a Shakespearean) one? 5. How many sonnets did Shakespeare write? What are the major subjects?
6. Who were the two major prose writers? What is Utopia? Where do you think More possibly got the idea or was it all his own invention? How do you interpret the title of the book?
7. What contribution did Bacon make to the English system of thinking and learning? 8. What's the purpose of his Essays?
9. Based on your reading of his work, give your personal impression of/comment on his Essays?
10. The English Renaissance period is known for its translations. What are the most important translations of this age?
Text study 1 Sonnet 18 by Shakespeare
Questions
1. What is the English sonnet form? Study the metrical and rhyme scheme as well as the structure?
2. What's the main idea? Is it really about love? What is peculiar of this love poem? 3. What figures of speech are used?
Text study 2 \"Of Studies” by F. Bacon
Pre-reading
Choose one of the headings below and write down a couple of sentences according to the heading:
1. Learning can be used to ...........
2. People's attitudes towards knowledge differ: 3. Not all books should be read in the same way:
Language and Style
1. Bacon's aphoristic style is characterized by the frequent use of parallelism. Find one
such example from the text and either translate or paraphrase the selected sentences. 2. Underline some of the metaphors or metaphorical descriptions in the essay. Select at
least two and explain what they illustrate. Writing
Write a commentary of about 250 words according to the following requirements: a) choose one of the headings in Pre-reading as the opening sentence of your
comment;
b) quote Bacon and explain his idea;
c) comment on Bacon's idea and express your personal opinion. Discussion
1. How do you define the style?
2. Study the essay by comparing the English version with the translation of Mr Wang. How do you like the Chinese version?
3. Paraphrase and comment on sentences 1-6, 10-12.
Week 6
Revolution and Restoration
Reference questions
1. What was the most important social event during the mid-17th century? 2. What were the two most popular forms of lyric?
3. Why is Milton the greatest poet of the period? What is the significance of Paradise Lost?
Text study Paradise Lost by John Milton
Language and Style
1. To whom or what do the following refer? Extract 1
“this arm^, (1. 9): “That” (1. 11):
“this empyreal substance,, (1. 13): Extract 2
“thy new possessor99 (1.11):
“this great event\" (1. 14):
“our grand Foe,,
“th' Almighty^, (1. 18):
Understanding and Interpretation
Re-write the following in prose form, using your own words whenever possible. Extract 1
“To bow and sue for grace...this downfall\" (11. 7-12) Extract 2
\"'farthest from his is best, ...Above his equals\" (11. 6-8)
Discussion
1. What is the historical background of the work?
2. As a transitional writer, how does Milton combine his humanistic ideas with his Puritan
ideas?
3. What is the image and the significance of Satan in the two extracts? 4. What philosophy can we get from the text?
Extension
Satan is undoubtedly an important character in Milton's poem. Waldo Clarke says of Satan, \"Pride is his ruling passion and next to it an indomitable courage and hope.\" Can you find evidence from the two extracts that you have read to support or refute Clarke's claim? How would you describe Satan?
Week 7 18th century Enlightenment(l)
Questions
1. What was the most important intellectual event of the time?
2. The 18th century is called an age of the bourgeoisie. Why? And what effect it had on literature of the century?
3. 4. 5. 6.
Why did English novel appear in this century? What are the major forms of literature?
What have neo-classicism and realism got to do with the Enlightenment Movement? Why did literature of Sentimentality and Gothicism come into being in the latter part of the century?
Text study 1 J. Swift's \"A Modest Proposal”
Understanding and Interpretation
1. Summarize in a couple of sentences the \"modest proposal\" put forward in this pamphlet.
2. Find out Swift's genuine proposals and paraphrase them using sentence form. Language and Style
Explain the irony in the following phrases in context: 1. \"'sacrificing the poor innocent babes,, (Extract 5) 2. “will not be liable to the least objection,, (Extract 7) 3. \"humbly propose^, \"humbly offer\" (Extract 7)
4. \"a very worthy person, a true lover of his country and whose virtue I highly esteem\" (Extract 8)
5. \"a little bordering upon cruelty\" (Extract 8)
6. “a country which would be glad to eat up our whole nation without it...\" (Extract 10)
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Discussion
1. How do you describe the narrator's tone?
2. What or who are the targets of Swift's mockery? 3. Is the proposal modest? Prove your point.
Week 8
18th century Enlightenment(2)
Text study 2 An Essay on Man by A. Pope
Questions
1. What is heroic couplet? 2. What is the poetic pattern?
3. What are the themes of the two extracts?
4. Paraphrase the texts or tell in brief your interpretation.
Text study 2 \"Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” by T. Gray
Questions
1. What do you know of the Graveyard poetry? 2. What is the poetic pattern?
3. What is the predominant mood? 4. What is the theme ?
5. Summarize each stanza in your own words.
Week 9 19th-century Romanticism (1)
Questions
1. How is the period defined in time?
2. What was the historical background, politically, economically and ideologically? 3. What was the predominant genre of literature? Who were the important writers of the time?
4. In what way was romanticist literature different from that of neoclassicism in the 18th century, such as in form, guiding principle, subject matter, purpose, style, etc.?
Text study 1 \"I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud” by Wordsworth
Understanding and Interpretation 1.
In groups of four, each student chooses one stanza for paraphrase (i.e. re-write the poem in prose form, preferably using your own words). Then work
together to write a short prose text based on the poem and be ready to present it to the class. 2. On the day that he saw the daffodils, Wordsworth's sister, Dorothy, was with him.
Below is what she wrote about the experience in her diary:
...When we were in the woods beyond Gowbarrow Park we saw a few daffodils close to the water-side. We fancied that the lake had floated the seeds ashore, and that the little colony had so sprung up. But as we went along there were more and more; and at last, under the boughs of the trees, we saw that there was a long belt of them along the shore, about the breadth of a country turnpike road. I never saw daffodils so beautiful. They grew among the mossy stones about and about them; some rested their heads upon these stones as on a pillow for weariness; and the rest tossed and reeled and danced, and seemed as if they verily laughed with the wind, that blew upon them over the lake; they looked so gay, ever glancing, ever changing. This wind blew directly over the lake to them. There was here and there a little knot, and a few stragglers a few yards higher up; but they were so few as not to disturb the simplicity, unity and life of that one busy highway.
Compare Wordsworth's poem with his sister's diary. What are the main differences between the poem and the diary? What, in particular, has Wordsworth changed and added? (The poem was written two years after the actual experience recorded in Dorothy Wordsworth's diary.)
Discussion
1. What is the theme?
2. What is the predominant image?
3. How does it reflect the poet's idea of romantic poetry?
4. What is the poetic pattern?
5. Paraphrase each stanza in one sentence.
Week io 19th-century Romanticism (2)
Text study 2 \"The World Is Too Much with Us” by Wordsworth
Questions
1. What is the theme, i.e. the meaning, of the first line? 2. What romantic ideas does it advocate? 3. What type of sonnet form it is?
4. What romantic spirit does it represent? 5. Paraphrase the poem in your own words.
Text study 3 \"Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats
Questions
1. What is the theme of the poem? 2. What is the rhyme scheme?
3. What romantic feature does the poem reflect? 4. Summarize each stanza in one or two sentences.
Week 11 Questions 1. 2. 3. 4.
Victorian Literature (1)
What is the historical background politically, economically and ideologically? What is the predominant form of literature during this period?
Who are the representative writers? And what was the literary tendency? What changes came about towards the end of the century?
Seminar /Essay Questions
Charles Dickens Great Expectations
1. Account for the very strange behaviour and life-style of Miss Havisham. For what
purposes or reasons does this wretched woman request Pip's company in the early chapters of the book? Why does Pip continue to visit her? 2. In the early chapters of the novel, what does Pip understand a “gentleman\" to be? How
has his definition changed by the end of the book?
3. Account for the influence of the escaped convict Magwitch, Joe Gargery and Miss
Havisham on Pip's life and character. Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre
1. A “bildungsroman\" is a kind of novel that follows the development of the hero or
heroine from childhood into adulthood, through a troubled quest for identity. Is Jane Eyre a bildungsroman? And, if so, why is Jane's \"quest\" a troubled one?
2. What does Jane find attractive about Mr. Rochester? What does Mr. Rochester find
attractive about Jane? Now answer these same questions with “Mr. Rochester\" replaced by “St. John\". Why does Jane refuse to marry St. John?
3. Identify three places in the novel where weather, atmosphere and/or landscape either
reflect or foreshadow Jane's feelings or state of mind.
4. Religion is a frequently recurring theme in Jane Eyre. The principal \"religious
characters\Christianity in particular. With this point in mind, compare and contrast the religious beliefs/attitudes of Helen Bums, Miss Temple, and Jane to those of Mr. Brocklehurst, Eliza Reed and St. John.
Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights
1. Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, each with its distinct features, represent two worlds in the novel. Analyze their differences.
2. Catherine says to her nurse, \"My greatest thought in living is Heathcliff. If all else
perished, and he remained, I shall still continue to be...\" If this is true of her feelings, why does she marry Edgar Linton?
3. Heathcliff is the character in the novel that affects the lives of all other characters and creates the atmosphere for the novel. Analyze Heathcliff's character: is he a hero or a fiend?
Thomas Hardy Tess of the D'Urbervilles
1. “To be an unusual human being was to invite tragedy,, (Gilbert Phelps). How \"unusual\" is Tess in her environment?
2. Hardy sub-titled his novel “A Pure Woman\". In view of the fact that Tess not only
bears an illegitimate child but eventually murders her seducer, how could you defend Tess as a \"pure woman\"?
3. Analyze Tess's relationship with Angel Clare, with emphasis on what happens the
night they were married. How do you explain Clare's feeling towards Tess and his desertion of her? Why does he come back to Tess? Thomas Hardy Jude the Obscure
1. Why does the possibility of studying at Christminster (Oxford University) mean so
much to Jude? Is Jude qualified for such study? What factors make his academic dreams impossible to realize? 2. Analyze Sue's relationship with Philloston. What makes her return to the man she
dislikes so much?
3. Why is the son of Jude and Arabella called \"Old Father Time\"? What factors lead to
his acts of murder and suicide in Chapter VI. ii? Do you believe this tragedy could have been avoided?
4. In terms of the novel's central themes 一 the restrictions of social class; sexual
inequality; tension between the Christian church and secular society 一 explain the significance of Hardy's epigraph, “The letter killeth\". E. M. Forster A Passage to India
1. At the beginning of Chapter Three, Adela Quested claims she wants to see “the real
India\". What does she mean by this remark? Do you think she succeeds in seeing the \"real\" (or \"true\") India? Does Mrs. Moore see it? What do you think E. M. Foster considers \"the real India,, to be?
2. Account for the remarkable change Mrs. Moore undergoes in the novel. What is this
change, and what causes it? In particular, consider Mrs. Moore's conversation with Aziz in Chapter 2 and her experience in the cave in Chapter 14.
3. Why does Adela Quested accuse Aziz of assaulting her? Why does she change her
mind later in the courtroom?
4. What forces and/or events make reconciliation between Aziz and Fielding possible?
Why do both men, though friends again, understand they can meet no more? (Chapters 36 & 37) D. H. Lawrence Sons and Lovers
1. One of the best “bildungsroman\" of the 20th century, Sons and Lovers recorded Paul's
difficult journey of growing up. Discuss the strong influence of his family, especially his mother, on his life and his relationship with other women.
2. While Paul is torn between his mother's hold on him and his love for other women,
Miriam is also torn by conflicting elements in her relationship with Paul. Analyze their relationship: why is it so hopeless?
Week 12-13 Victorian Literature (2)(3)
Suggested Topics for Workshop on Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
[be sure to support your argument with evidence from the text]
1. Creator vs. Creature
What is the relation between the creator and the creature?
[Prometheus and Zeus; Adam and Eve and God; Monster and Victor; Parents and Victor] 2. Growth and Corruption of the Monster
What kind of a creature is he at first? Why and how does he change? What does he become?
3. Psychoanalytical Study of Frankenstein
Why does he create the monster? In what way is the monster a reflection of himsel/his inner desire? Can you apply Freudian theory of id, ego, and superego or his theory of dreams to the study of the character of Victor? What dual structure is there within him? 4. The Novel and the Author
Why did Mary create the monster/the book? What's the revelation of the experience (love, hatred, fear, guilt), personality, and interest of the author as reflected in the novel? 5. Frankensteinthe First Science Fiction
What is scien-fiction? What scien-fictional features are there? What gothic elements? 6. The Modern Prometheus
How has the concept of creation (material, way, purpose & result)changed from that in the Bible? What message is left about modern science? 7. Women in Modern life
What role do women play in modern life as reflected in the novel? 8. The Relayed Narration/ On the Narrative Structure
How and by whom is the story told? Why three different narrators? How is the narration related to the theme development?
9. The Journey of Exploration and Discovery
What is the purpose of Walton's journey? What is his actual discovery? 10. The Style
What is the style of the novel? And what strength and weakness?
Text study 2 Browning: My Last Duchess
Understanding and Interpretation 1. Complete the following sentences:
a. Ferrara is the of the Duchess. b. He is showing to his guest.
c. The Duchess is now and Ferrara is going to
2. Read the following statements and decide whether they are true or false:
a. Ferrara appreciated what was said by the painter to the Duchess. T / F
b. The Duchess did not like the gift given by Ferrara. T / F c. The Duchess was kind and easy to please. T/ F d. Ferrara was amused by the way the Duchess behaved herself. T / F e. Ferrara never told the Duchess his opinion about her behaviour. T/F f. Ferrara was talking to the only guest in his house. T/F 3. What is implied in lines 45-46? What happened?
Language and Style
1. In this poem the Duchess is described in terms of her reaction to people and things
around her. List the words and phrases that describe her reaction.
2. Ferrara is constantly comparing the Duchess' reaction to him and to other people / thins.
Complete the table below to show the comparison, using your own words when possible.
Concerning Ferrara his presence his gifts Concerning others anyone's gift the Duchess smiled to him
Extension
1. With reference to Language and Style / 1, describe the character of the Duchess. 2. With reference to Language and Style / 2, find out the cause of Ferrara's disapproval
concerning the Duchess.
3. Study lines 34-43. What is revealed here about Ferrara's character? Discussion
Share you findings with your partner and discuss Ferrara's character. What did Ferrara expect from the Duchess?
Week 14 20th-century Literature (1)
Reference questions
1. What is the historical background of the period? 2. What is modernism? 3. What is postmodernism?
Week 15 20th-century Literature (2)
Text study 1
Extract from Mrs Dalloway by V. Woolf (handout) 1. What is stream-of-consciousness?
2. How is the heroine's character split into two or portrayed at two different levels?
Text study 2
Extract from Ulysses by James Joyce (handout) 1. How is random thought portrayed?
Text study 3 Owen: \"utility”
Language and Style
1. The first stanza begins and ends with reference to the \"sun\". What association do you
have with the sun? Consider whether this might change from once culture to another. 2. The verb \"wake\" appears many times in this poem. Two other verbs, \"awake\" and
“rouse\activity?
3. Line 3 contains the words \"whispering of fields unsown\". What does it tell us about the
soldier's identity? What metaphorical meaning can we infer from these words? 4. In line 7, the words \"kind\" and \"old\" are used to describe the sun. Do you find this
surprising? Notice how the sun is personified, that is described as if it were a person. What other words in stanza 1 are used which give the sun human qualities?
5. Though the sun is personified by the choice of words, Owen did not use \"his\" or “he\"
in lines 2 and 4. What are its implications? 6. The last line of the poem contains a word which contrasts with on main pattern of
words across the poem. This pattern is grouped around the repetition of the word “wake\". Find out the word and fill in the gaps in the table below with other semantic contrasts you can find in the poem. In doing so, you should concentrate on the associations carried by some of the words rather than exact wording.
sun warm wake cold young death hard clay ( )
clay (body) 7. In line 13, the sunbeams are described as \"fatuous\"? What does this word mean? What
is conveyed by using this word to describe the sun here? Compare the last line of
stanza 1, in which the sun is described as kind and old.
Writing
1. Write a short commentary about the poefs use of contrasts.
2. Write a short commentary with special emphasis on the employment of the imagery of
the \"sun\" in the poem.
Week 16 20th-century Literature (3)
Text study “Eveline” by James Joyce
Understanding and Interpretation
The story has ten sections. The first three sections are completed with summary notes. These are not grammatically complete and abbreviations are used. Use them as a model for your own notes and complete the other seven sections.
A. Eve. at window.
B. Memories: playing as children; mother dead; family grown up. C. E. contemplates familiar room (include. Priest's photo). D. E. F. G.
H. J.
Which of these 'events' happens in the 'present' and which in the past or Eveline's memory? Answer by referring to section letters. Language and Style
Letters in brackets refer to sections. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Comment on the choice of the verb invade. (A)
Was that wise? (D): Who asks (and answers) this question? What is the effect of using a question in the middle of a description?
Explain the meaning of had an edge on her (near end of D)
Then she would be married 一 she, Eveline. (E): Comment on the form of this sentence.
What does the writer mean when he says Eveline's father was fairly bad on Saturday night ? (middle of E)
he had fallen on his feet in Burnos Aires, he said, and ... (middle of F): Explain this. Why does the author use he said (it is not absolutely necessary)? her time was running out (H): Time for what was running out?
8. Explain the meaning of air (H).
9. What is the barrier (last paragraph)? What is its significance?
10. Through whose eyes do we see the story? What effect does this have?
Discussion
1. What is setting, historical and social? 2. How does Eveline feel towards: a. her father b. her mother
c. Frank - why is she attracted to Frank?
Give reasons for your answers by referring to (or quoting from) the story. 3. What actually prevents Eveline from leaving home?
4. What are the major themes of the story? What other books, plays, poems, films etc. do you know which deal with these themes? Compare them to this one.
5. How does the story contribute to the theme of the Dublinersas a whole? Week 17 Revision
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