Goldsmith

I bet you will agree that Oliver Goldsmith's The Vicar of Wakefield is quite a departure from the other literature of the 18th Century that we have been studying. What then, is the main difference for the audience between fiction, poetry, drama and satire? How effective a genre is fiction for proposing ideas and themes?

Sorry for the late post. Did you notice?

Is Gulliver a Yahoo?

This is my favorite question about Gulliver's Travels. I hope I'm not messing you up by asking a question about the upcoming reading rather than what we did last week, but I really want this as a blog question, and looking ahead, we will need to have at least one question on the Goldsmith book. So that is simply it: Is Gulliver a Yahoo?

I would like you also to consider what you think Swift's intentions were with Book III, as the voyage to Laputa and Lagodo and environs is so different from the formula of the other three books.

Research Project Forum

Use this discussion thread to share your working thesis with the class (or topic if you aren't as far as a thesis) and ask for help and advice.

I think "forum" sounds important, don't you??

Gulliver as Social Commentary

Great discussion last week--I only wish more were participating--but they lose!

This week we will shift our focus to Gulliver. Thinking about Books I and II, what do you think is the most important result of the contrast between big and small? What about the Lilliputians and Brobdingnagians most impresses and influences Gulliver? What about humanity generally (and British or European people, specifically) do you think Swift, via Gulliver, is commenting on? (You might want to think about how Gulliver sees the Lilliputians and how the Brobdingnagians see Gulliver interms of how human each is.)

The Dramatists

We have finished with the dramatists for this semester's reading. Looking back on Marlowe, Jonson, Behn, Congreve and Gay, think about the themes the plays explore and speculate on why drama is or was the best medium for those themes--if indeed you find drama an effective way to present them.

The Way of the World??

Both Fainall and Mirabell use the phrase "the way of the world" near the end of the play. Do both use it with the same purpose and effect? What does this comment from these two characters tell you about the significance of the title of the play?

Oroonoko the Noble Savage

How much of the idea of the noble savage is suggested and challenged by the narrator's description of the prince and the events in Oroonoko? We will have finished the book by the time your second posts are due, so you will have a complete picture of him.

That Satan

As we discussed in class, Milton initially conceived of Paradise Lost as a tragedy. As a character, Satan is certainly intriguing. Although we have touched on this in class, what makes him so interesting? How do you feel about Milton's Satan--not about any other Satan you might be thinking about? Also, what dramatic elements are there in the poem?

Selling Out

We have read this week of several characters who have sold their souls for personal gain. There seems to be material differences between the way Marlowe presents the idea and the way Jonson does. What differences do you see in the characters in Faust and the characters in Volpone? How does Faustus's deal, for example, differ from Volpone's?

Is Utopia really a utopia?

More says that during Raphael's narrative he thought of "various objections," although he doesn't voice them. He goes on to say that he found some of the laws and customs "perfectly ridiculous." Which, if any, did you find "perfectly ridiculous?" Why? Likewise, if you didn't find them ridiculous, explain that as well.

Youth and Age and Chaucer

The topics of the tales in The Canterbury Tales we have read in this class are various--marriage, chivalry, the church, to name a few. Let's think, however, for this week about Chaucer's depiction of youth and age. Using several tales to support your response, explain whether or not you think Chaucer presents a reverent view of age (or the elderly). What about youth? What could you say is the dominant attitude toward youth and age in these select tales?

Prologue to Tale: The Wife of Bath

This is actually two questions. How do you understand the purpose(s) of the prologues we have read so far? With that in mind, answer this: What relationship do you see between the Wife of Bath's Prologue and her Tale?

Chaucer as "Everyman"

We apparantly got the "okay" from Blogspot. We have been taken off the Spam blog list, so keep it clean!

Geoffrey Chaucer was one of the first writers in English to write for a popular audience. His is the pop culture lit of his time. Although he was a patron of the court, it is clear from The Canterbury Tales that he was not only writing for the elite.

Decide whether or not you agree with that assessment and then show what evidence in the "Prologue" and in "The Knights Tale" you would point to to support your opinion.