Below are study questions for the works we'll be reading--many of them are taken from teamwork activities or my own notes.  I'll update this page weekly.  I strongly encourage you to use them to guide your reading and to write down answers--it will be especially helpful to you if you illustrate your answers with quotations from the works.

 

RESTORATION & 18TH-CENTURY

Pope

  1. Here's a link to questions on the first epistle of An Essay on Man that Professor Luebke at University of Wisconsin- River Falls has put together. Answering these questions might help you understand the poem better.

ROMANTICS

Blake

  1. In "Introduction" describe the progression of events--what is the speaker doing at first in the poem and what does the child ask him to do as the poem progresses?

  2. What poetic values does Blake seem to have? What would Pope think of them?

  3. How does the speaker of "The Chimney Sweeper" feel about his job?  What is the difference between the speaker's feelings and the poet's feelings?

  4. What lines of "The School-Boy" best summarize the speaker's attitude about school? Characterize Blake seems to suggest makes "good" education?

  5. Blake moved this poem from Songs of Innocence to Songs of Experience--why do you think he made the change?

  6. Several words in "London" have to do with rules, restriction, or constraint.  List them and explain how each one relates to an attitude about London.

  7. How would Pope react to Blake's "London"?

 

 

French Revolution

Answer the following questions for each of the essays on today's list.  Use specific quotations to support your answers

  1. What is the writer's position on the French Revolution and to what values does s/he appeal to make his/her case?

  2. How does the writer characterize the royals and aristocrats?  Why does s/he characterize them that way?

  3. Characterize the writer's language (i.e. type of rhetoric, level of vocabulary, etc) and explain why s/he uses the language s/he does to appeal to a particular audience.

  4. List and explain a couple of strengths and weaknesses with the writer's case.

Wordsworth

  1. Review Wordsworth's commentary on his aims for poetry in the "Preface"  and explain whether each of today's poems fits the criteria in terms of subject and style.

  2. In lines 65080 of "Simon Lee" the speaker self-consciously discusses the words he has used and questions whether a "tale has been related."  Who carries the burden for transforming these words into a "tale."  How does that fit with Wordsworth's discussion in "The Preface."

  3. What is the "theme" of this poem?  How does Wordsworth emphasize it?

  4. Some readers interpret "We Are Seven" as an allegory of the conflict between neoclassical/enlightenment values and romantic values.  Explain how the poem could support such an interpretation.

  5. Whose counting does the poet seem to support?  Why? What point is he making by supporting one side over the other?

  6. Describe the speaker's emotional transformation in  "Lines Written in Early Spring."  What enables the speaker to transform?

  7. What do lines 19-20 mean?  What is Wordsworth suggesting about the fact that the speaker  must "think, do all [he] can" to see pleasure?

  8. What is unusual about the boy's clothing in "Nutting" and what might his clothing have to do with what happens at the end of the poem?

  9. Characterize the scene where the speaker finds his hearts desire--the nuts.  What kind of diction does he use to characterize this place? Why is it significant in the context of the whole poem?

  10. How does the speaker's mood change in line 40 and after? How do you account for this change?  What does it sound like the speaker is doing?

  11. How does the speaker feel about his actions after the fact?

  12. Make an outline of the main principles of "The Preface."

  13. The speaker of "I wandered lonely as a cloud" repeatedly mentions that the daffodils "dance" in this poem.  How is that possible?  What point is WW trying to make with these references?

  14. What point is WW trying to make in the last stanza?  What is it that Nature does for him?

  15. Look at the diction of Francis Jeffrey's essay and explain what patterns of word choice you notice.  What institutions do many of the words allude to.  What does Jeffrey want to use this type of diction in his criticism?

  16. Make an outline of Jeffrey's essay highlighting his primary points of criticism.

  17. Pick one of Wordsworth's poems and use Jeffrey's principles to evaluate the poem.

  18. Characterize the relationship between Wordsworth (speaker) and the natural environment in "Tintern Abbey."  How does Nature act on him? How does he act on it?

  19. What does Wordsworth mean at the end of stanza two of "Tintern Abbey" [while with an eye. . .]?

  20. What happens at the beginning of stanza 4? How does his attitude change and what aspect of time does he consider?

  21. How has his relationship with nature changed over time?

  22. What presence is he talking about in line 96?

  23. What does he mean by "both what they half-create, / And what perceive? (107)

  24. Who enters the picture in stanza 5?  Why does Wordsworth bring her in?  What's her function in the poem?

 

Coleridge

  1. Here's a link to some good study questions on Rime of the Ancient Mariner put together by A.J. Drake.

  2. Here's a link to a more ambitious set of questions on Rime put together by Richard Matlak. 

  3. "The Eolian Harp": In this poem we see a conflict between pantheism (nature worship) and more conventional Christianity.  Explain how Coleridge uses different patterns of diction and/or imagery to establish the value of nature, then to give it a supernatural quality, then to elevate its power to be almost finally pantheistic, but ultimately to depict his retreat to a more conventionally Christian attitude.    As part of your answer make sure to explain what diction/images are crucial for developing this pattern. 

  4. "This Lime Tree Bower My Prison":  As in several other poems, Coleridge depicts a struggle with depression and feelings of isolation.  He represents this struggle in light of the actual present sensations of nature and the power of the imagination to take past sensations and re-configure them (see his comments on the primary and secondary imagination [1666]) in this poem.  Track Coleridge's use of different facets of his imagination and different images to overcome his depression and ultimately to achieve a strong feeling of sympathy with his friend Charles Lamb. 

  5. Explain the difference between the primary and secondary imagination as described in Biographia Literaria. 

  6. According to Biographia Literaria what different roles did Coleridge and Wordsworth have in writing Lyrical Ballads?  Use quotes to illustrate your answer.

 

Byron

  1. What makes Don Juan (the poem) so appealing/interesting?

  2. Why do you think the poem might have been so controversial?

  3. What are the poem's morals?

  4. How does this poem fit with the other work we've read (i.e. Coleridge and Wordsworth)?

  5. How would you characterize the overall style?

  6. What do you make of the dedication?  Why begin this way?

  7. What social issues does Byron address?

  8. What devices/rhetorical strategies are notable?

  9. Here's a link to Jon Smith's study questions on Canto I of Don Juan. 

 

Shelley

  1. Shelley's "To Wordsworth" is clearly a critique of the elder Wordsworth's turn from his early radical politics to a more conservative, establishment politics.  Explain how Shelley uses irony and appropriate figurative language (metaphors and similes) to criticize the poet that he once admired but now mourns.

  2. Shelley's "Mount Blanc" is a very difficult poem mostly because he's trying to make the ideas difficult to apprehend.  He does this so that the ideas he's discussing won't be oversimplified and to actively engage the reader in understanding the poem.  First have a brief discussion on what you think the poem is about.  After that, pay special attention to the way he complicates meaning (pay special attention to syntax and the way he uses words like ever, river, raves, ravine, Arve, cavern {why might stacking these words promote confusion}).  Ultimately explain how the way he uses language reinforces the ideas about nature and the human mind.

  3. Shelley is probably the most politically radical poet that we've read this semester—he stayed consistently radical throughout his short life (he died at age thirty).  How does Shelley use vivid imagery in "Ozymandias" to make a political comment in this poem?  Make sure to explain SPECIFICALLY why particular images are appropriate to develop a particular political viewpoint.

  4. "Ode to the West Wind" and Coleridge's "Aeolian Harp" both use a wind metaphor.  Compare and contrast how each poet uses wind to make a point in his poem.  In other words, what does wind represent for each poet, and how does he make the idea clear?

  5. Shelley's "Defence" and Wordsworth's "Preface" are both artistic manifestos.  Compare and contrast the essays in terms of what they say about the definition of poetry, language, and the process of making poetry/powers the poet must possess.  Use examples from the essays and very brief references to poems to illustrate your points. 

Keats

  1. Here are some questions on "The Eve of St. Agnes" that Jon Smith put together.

 Wollstonecraft check page numbers

  1. From the beginning of the essay, Wollstonecraft says that women appear to be inferior to men.  What are the causes of this appearance of inferiority?
  2. At one point Wollstonecraft talks about the "style" of her essay.  How does she characterize her style and does she, in practice, write the way she declares?  Compare her style to the style Wordsworth proposes for his poems in the discussion in "The Preface."
  3. In Chapter 1, Wollstonecraft appeals to a particular Enlightenment value to make her case.  Why is this value so important in making her argument?
  4. Why is Wollstonecraft so much against "professions" in chapter one? 
  5. What qualities are women told to foster "from their infancy" (1478)?  How does she use Milton and Moses to argue against these ideas?
  6.  On 1481 Wollstonecraft says that "the whole tendency of female education" has been focused "on one point:--to render them pleasing."  Why, according to Wollstonecraft, is this a bad thing for both men and women?
  7. At several points in the essay, Wollstonecraft compares all women to women in a harem or seraglio.  What are her rhetorical purposes for making this comparison?
  8. In chapter 3, Wollstonecraft argues against that idea that women's "weaker" state is natural.  How does she argue against this essentialist position (the notion that women are essentially/inherently weaker than men in every way)?
  9. In chapter 13, Wollstonecraft summarizes how a "revolution in female manners" will help society.  What are her main points?

Macaulay

  1. What does Macaulay mean by "innate ideas" and "innate affections"?  How can this essentialist idea be argued against according to Macaulay?

  2. Summarize how Macaulay outlines Rousseau's position on "sexual difference" and then refutes it.

  3. How does the eighteenth-century system of female education "corrupt and debilitate" women according to Macaulay?

  4. What is Macaulay's rhetorical purpose in concluding with the quote from Chesterfield?  How does she use it to support her position?

Polwhele

  1. According to Polwhele, what causes sexual difference?
  2. Why does Polwhele associate "unsex'd females" with the French? What is his rhetorical purpose?
  3. What if women possess "masculine" qualities?  What are they like and why is this bad?
  4. What qualities should women possess according to Polwhele (lines 39+)?
  5. What is the god of women who want to be like men? What is Polwhele's rhetorical purpose for making this claim?
  6. How does Polwhele characterize Wollstonecraft? (be specific)

More

  1. What kind of books does More attack in chapter 8? Why are these books so bad and what is one good that can result from them?
  2. Does her critique remind you a 21st century cultural critique? How could her critique apply to a 21st century mode of communication?
  3. What is so good about "dry tough reading" (like you had for today)?
  4. According to More, what is the purpose of female education?
  5. According to More, what will happen to society if women struggle for power?
  6. How/why does More defend the separate spheres?

Thompson & Wheeler

  1. How do Thompson and Wheeler want the world to be radically changed? (1505)
  2. According to the introduction, what are Thompson and Wheeler's attitudes towards "individual competition"?
  3. How does society raise daughters?
  4. Describe the injustice that Thompson and Wheeler see being done to wives.
  5. According to Thompson & Wheeler, what do women want?
  6. According to the last section of the essay, what do women need to do to become free?
  7. Characterize the rhetoric of this essay.

VICTORIAN PERIOD

Carlyle

  1. What does he seem to be saying about the times?

  2. What is the general condition of England?

  3. What does he mean by the word "enchantment"?

  4. Why does he use the Midas Myth in the first section?

  5. What point is he trying to make with the poisoning of children story? (1084)

  6. Is there a strain of racism in this story?

  7. How can England be rich and poor at the same time?

  8. What point is he trying to make with the Irish widow story?

  9. How can he be for "work" but against" "wealth"?

  10. Why is work inherently "good"?

  11. Why is a paternalistic, authoritarian medieval system better than a democratic one?

  12. Why are "captains of industry" so important to the future of England? What must they do that they aren't doing now?

Industrial Revolution Readings

 

Gaskell

  1. What does this story have to do with the Industrial Revolution?  How can we read it as a reaction to the IR?

  2. How is this story more generally about a conflict between different generations?

    • A conflict between regions?

    • A conflict between sexes?

    • A conflict between literary tastes?

    • A conflict between classes?

  3. Are the women at Cranford sterile or do they change?

  4. How does this story present a different solution to Carlyle's Captains of industry solution?