British Literature (Teacher) [Teacher ed.] 089051674X, 9780890516744

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First printing: November 2012 Copyright © 2012 by James P. Stobaugh. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles and reviews. For information write: Master Books®, P.O. Box 726, Green Forest, AR 72638 Master Books® is a division of the New Leaf Publishing Group, Inc.

ISBN: 978-0-89051-674-4 ISBN: 978-1-61458-269-4 (ebook) Cover design by Diana Bogardus. Interior design by Terry White. Unless otherwise noted, all images are from shutterstock.com, Library of Congress (LOC-image), and Wikimedia Commons. All images used under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license (CC-BY-SA-3.0) are noted; license details available at creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/3.0/. Other photos are public domain (PD-US) and (PD-Art). Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission of Zondervan, All rights reserved worldwide. Permission is granted for copies of reproducible pages from this text to be made for use within your own homeschooling family activities or for small classrooms of 10 or less students. Material may not be posted online, distributed digitally, or made available as a download. Permission for any other use of the material needs to be made prior to use by email to the publisher at [email protected]. Please consider requesting that a copy of this volume be purchased by your local library system. Printed in the United States of America Please visit our website for other great titles: www.masterbooks.net For information regarding author interviews, please contact the publicity department at (870) 438-5288 Dedication This Book is gratefully dedicated to Karen and our four children: Rachel, Jessica, Timothy, and Peter. He has given us a ministry of reconciliation . . . (2 Corinthians 5:18).

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Contents Using Your Teacher Guide............................................................................................................................6 Grading Record Options...............................................................................................................................7 Preface ..............................................................................................................................................................9



1. The Anglo-Saxon Age (Part 1).................................................................................................................. 10 “The Seafarer,” Author Unknown; Beowulf, Author Unknown 2. The Anglo-Saxon Age (Part 2).................................................................................................................. 19

The Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Venerable Bede; Worldviews

3. The Middle Ages (Part 1)........................................................................................................................... 27 (Scottish folk ballads), “Bonny Barbara Allan,” Author Unknown; “Get Up and Bar the Door,” Author Unknown; “The Prologue,” “The Pardoner’s Tale,” and “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale,” in The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer 4. The Middle Ages (Part 2)........................................................................................................................... 34  Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, Author Unknown 5. Elizabethan Age (Part 1)............................................................................................................................ 41 “On Monsieur’s Departure,” “The Doubt of Future Woes,” and “Speech to the Troops at Tilbury,” Queen Elizabeth; The Fairie Queene, “Sonnet 26,” and “Sonnet 75,” from Amoretti, Edmund Spenser; “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,” Christopher Marlowe; “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” Sir Walter Raleigh; “To Sleep,” Sir Philip Sidney; “Love’s Farewell,” by Michael Drayton; “To Sleep,” Samuel Daniel; “When to Her Lute Corinna Sings,” Thomas Campion; The admonition by the Author to all Young Gentlewomen: And to all other Maids being in Love,” Isabella Whitney; “Sonnet 116,” “Sonnet 18,” “Sonnet 29,” “Sonet 55,” and “Sonnet 73,” William Shakespeare 6. Elizabethan Age (Part 2)............................................................................................................................ 48 Macbeth, William Shakespeare 7. Elizabethan Age (Part 3)............................................................................................................................ 55  The Tragedy of Mariam The Faire Queen of Jewry, Elizabeth Cary; “On My First Son,” “The Noble Nature,” “To the Memory of My Beloved Master, William Shakespeare,” “A Farewell to the World,” Ben Jonson; Essays, Francis Bacon 8. Elizabethan Age (Part 4)............................................................................................................................ 63  Dr. Faustus, Christopher Marlowe; “To the Thrice-Sacred Queen Elizabeth,” Mary Sidney Herbert; “Psalm 65,” The English Bible 9. The Seventeenth Century (Part 1)............................................................................................................ 70 “An Excuse for So Much Writ upon My Verses,” Margaret Cavendish; “Go and Catch a Falling Star,” “Holy Sonnet X,” “Holy Sonnet XIV,” “Meditation XVII,” John Donne 10. The Seventeenth Century (Part 2)............................................................................................................ 77 “To My Excellent Lucasia, on our friendship. 7th July 65,” Katherine Philips; “To Lucasta, Going to the Wars,” Richard Lovelace; “The Collar,” George Herbert; “The Retreat,” “Silex,” Henry Vaughan; “To the Virgins to Make Much of Time,” Robert Herrick; “Bermudas,” “To His Coy Mistress,” Andrew Marvell 11. The Seventeenth Century (Part 3)............................................................................................................ 85 “O Nightingale,”* “How Soon Hath Time,” “To A Virtuous Young Lady,” “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent,” “L’Allegro,” “Il Penseroso,” John Milton 12. The Seventeenth Century (Part 4)............................................................................................................ 92 Paradise Lost, John Milton

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13. The Seventeenth Century (Part 5)............................................................................................................ 99 “Upon Being Contented with a Little,” Anne Killigrew; “An Essay of Dramatic Poesy,” “A Song for St. . Cecilia’s Day,” John Dryden 14. The Eighteenth Century (Part 1).............................................................................................................. 106 Evelina or Cecilia, Frances Burney d’Arblay, Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe 15. The Eighteenth Century (Part 2).............................................................................................................. 114 “London’s Summer Morning,”* Mary Darby Robinson, “The Rape of The Lock,”*Alexander Pope 16. The Eighteenth Century (Part 3).............................................................................................................. 121 Gulliver’s Travels, Abolishing Christianity, Jonathan Swift 17. The Eighteenth Century (Part 4).............................................................................................................. 128 The Vicar of Wakefield, Oliver Goldsmith 18. The Eighteenth Century (Part 5).............................................................................................................. 135 “Mr. Johnson’s Preface to his Edition of Shakespeare’s Plays,” “The Vanity of Human Wishes,” Samuel . Johnson 19. The Eighteenth Century (Part 6).............................................................................................................. 143 The Rivals, Richard Brinsley Sheridan 20. The Eighteenth Century (Part 7).............................................................................................................. 152  “A Man’s a Man for A’ that,”* “O, My Luve Is Like a Red, Red Rose,”* “Till a’ the seas gang dry,”* “To a Mouse.”* Robert Burns, “How Sweet I Roam’d From Field to Field,”* “And Did Those, Feet in Ancient Time,”* “The Clod and the Pebble,”* “The Lamb,”* “The Tyger.”* William Blake 21. The Nineteenth Century (Part 1)............................................................................................................. 159 “A Song,” Helen Maria Williams, “London, 1802,”* “A Slumber did my Spirit Seal,”* “To the Cuckoo,”* “To a Skylark,”* “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802,”*“Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known,”* “The Tables Turned,”* “Lines Written in Early Spring,” William Wordsworth 22. The Nineteenth Century (Part 2)............................................................................................................. 166  A Vindication of the Rights of Women, Mary Wollstonecraft, “Don Juan,”* “The Prisoner of Chillon,”* “She Walks in Beauty,” Lord Byron, “Kubla Khan,”* “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Ozymandias,*” “To a Skylark,” Percy Bysshe Shelley, “Bright Star,”* “Ode on a Grecian Urn,”* “Ode to a Nightingale,” “Posthuma,” John Keats 23. The Nineteenth Century (Part 3)............................................................................................................. 173 Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley 24. The Nineteenth Century (Part 4)............................................................................................................. 180 A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens 25. The Nineteenth Century (Part 5)............................................................................................................. 187 Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen 26. The Nineteenth Century (Part 6)............................................................................................................. 194 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson 27. The Nineteenth Century (Part 7)............................................................................................................. 201 “The Witch,” Mary Elizabeth Coleridge, “The Idea of a University,” John Henry Newman, “Break, Break, Break,”* The Charge of the Light Brigade,” “Ulysses,”* “Crossing the Bar,” Alfred Lord Tennyson, “Prospice,”* “The Lost Leader,”* “My Last Duchess Ferrara,” Robert Browning, “Sonnet XIV,”* “Sonnet I,”* “Sonnet XLIII,” Elizabeth Barrett Browning 28. The Nineteenth Century (Part 8)............................................................................................................. 208 The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy

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29. The Twentieth Century (Part 1)............................................................................................................... 215 Lord Jim, Joseph Conrad 30. The Twentieth Century (Part 2)............................................................................................................... 223 “Not Waving but Drowning,” Stevie Smith (Florence Margaret Smith), “Miss Brill,” Katherine Mansfield, “Araby,” James Joyce, “The Selfish Giant,” Oscar Wilde, “The Bag,” Saki (H.H. Munro), “Without Benefit of Clergy,” Rudyard Kipling, “The Rocking-Horse Winner,” D. H. Lawrence 31. The Twentieth Century (Part 3)............................................................................................................... 230  Are Women Human?, The Human-Not-Quite Human, Dorothy Sayers, “Terence, This is Stupid Stuff,” “Loveliest of Trees,” “Be Still my Soul,” A.E. Housman, “Greater Love,” Wilfred Owen, “The Fish,” Rupert Brooke, “In Flanders Fields” John McCrae, “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death,” “When You are Old,” “The Second Coming,” “The White Swans at Coole,” “Byzantium,” William Butler Yeats 32. The Twentieth Century (Part 4)............................................................................................................... 237 Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis. 33. The Twentieth Century (Part 5)............................................................................................................... 244 The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien 34. The Twentieth Century (Part 6)............................................................................................................... 252 Murder in the Cathedral, T.S. Eliot

Essay Options............................................................................................................................................... 259. Chapter Tests................................................................................................................................................ 270

READING LIST: The following is a list of additional books and texts not included within the study that are needed for this course. It is strongly suggested that students read most, if not all these titles during the summer before taking this course. Most will be available at local libraries or as free downloads at The Online Books Page (onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/lists.html), Project Gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org/wiki/ Main_Page), or Bartleby (www.bartleby.com/). Beowulf (Author Unknown) The Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Venerable Bede “The Pardoner’s Tale” and “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” from Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (Author Unknown) The Fairie Queene by Edmund Spenser “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare “Dr. Faustus” by Christopher Marlowe “Holy Sonnet XIV” by John Donne “Silex” by Henry Vaughan Paradise Lost by John Milton “An Essay of Dramatic Poesy” by John Dryden Eveline or Cecilia by Frances Burney d’Arblay Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith “The Rivals” by Richard Brimsley Sheridan “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

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Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë Frankenstein by Mary Shelley A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson “The Witch” by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad “Are Women Human?” and “The Human-NotQuite” by Dorothy Sayers “Terence, This is Stupid Stuff,” “Loveliest of Trees,” and “Be Still my Soul,” by A.E. Housman “An Irish Airman Foresees His Death,” “When You are Old,” “The Second Coming,” “The White Swans at Coole,” and “Bazantium” by William Butler Yeats Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien “Murder in the Cathedral” by T.S. Eliot

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Using Your Teacher Guide How this course has been developed: 1. Chapters: This course has 34 chapters (representing 34 weeks of study) to earn two full credits; writing and literature. 2. Lessons: Each chapter has five lessons, taking approximately 45 to 60 minutes each. 3. Student responsibility: Responsibility to complete this course is on the student. Students must read ahead in order to stay on schedule with the readings. Independence is strongly encouraged in this course, which was designed for the student to practice independent learning. 4. Grading: Depending on the grading option chosen, the parent/educator will grade the daily concept builders, and the weekly tests and essays. (See pages 7 and 8.) 5. Additional books and texts: A list of outside reading is provided after the table of contents. Students should try and read ahead whenever possible. Most readings are available free online or at a local library.

Throughout this book you will find the following: 1. Chapter Learning Objectives: Always read the “First Thoughts” and “Chapter Learning Objectives” in order to comprehend the scope of the material to be covered in a particular week. 2. Daily warm-ups: You should write or give oral responses for the daily warm-ups to your educator/ parent. These are not necessarily meant to be evaluated, but should stimulate discussion. 3. Concept builders: You should complete a daily concept builder. These activities take 15 minutes or less and emphasize a particular concept that is vital to that particular chapter topic. These will relate to a subject covered in the chapter, though not necessarily in that days lesson. 4. Assigned readings: Remember to read ahead on the required literary material for this course. Students should plan to read some of the required literature the summer before the course. 5. Weekly essays: You will be writing at least one essay per week, depending on the level of accomplishment you and your parent/educator decide upon. These are available in the teacher guide and online. 6. Weekly tests: These are available in the teacher guide and online.

Earn a bonus credit! Easily integrate related history curriculum for an additional credit, a combination study done in less than two hours daily! History Connections are shown on the chapter introduction page in order to help a student study these texts consecutively, exploring literature and history in unison. (The American, British, and World History curriculum is also written by James Stobaugh and published by Master Books®.)

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What the student will need each day: 1. Notepad/computer: for writing assignments. 2. Pen/pencil: for taking notes and for essays. 3. A prayer journal. As often as you can — hopefully daily — keep a prayer journal. 4. Daily concept builders, weekly essay options, and weekly tests are available in the teacher guide and as free downloads at: nlpg.com/BritishLitAids

Increasing your vocabulary: Part of the reason for reading so many challenging literary works is for one to increase his or her functional vocabulary. The best means of increasing vocabulary is through reading a vast amount of classical, well-written literary works. While reading these works, one should harvest as many unknown words as possible, and try to use five new words in each essay written. Create 3x5 Vocabulary Cards

Front

Adversity

Back Harmful, Evil Adversity is a Noun The adverse effects of smoking are great.

When one meets a strange word for the first time: •

Do your best to figure out the word in context,

•

Check your guess by looking in the dictionary,

•

Write a sentence with the word in it.

Use the illustration above to formulate vocabulary cards of new words.

Grading Record Options This course has been developed to allow three grading options for a parent/educator. This allows one the flexibility to adjust the usage of the course content to individual situations and varying requirements. For ease of grading, Option A (essays/exams) and Option B (essays/exams/concept builders [CB]) both provide a total weekly score of 100 points for a course total of 3,400 possible points. Dividing the total score at the end of the course by 34 will provide a percentage grade for the student. You may use the standard system (90-100 = A, 80-89 = B, 70-79 = C, 60-69 = D, below 60 = F), or you may use your own personal grading system. The third grading option simply allows for additional work (warm-ups [WU], additional essays, etc.) to be counted toward each week’s final grade. This can be done at the educator’s discretion and be added into the overall score of Option A or Option B.

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week

Option a

Option B

Essays = 50/Exams = 50

Essays = 40/Exams = 40/CB = 20

Essay

Exam

Essay

Exam

Option C Add Additional 10/20

CB

WU

Additional Essay

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33

total

34

Total Essays and Exams: Divide by 34 for grade

Final Grade _______

Total Essays, Exams and CBs: Divide by 34 for grade

Total WU and Additional Essays Add in score to Option A or B

Final Grade _______

* See Grading Record Options on the prior page for record-keeping guidance.

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Preface British Literature is a rhetoric-level course. Two things are distinctive about rhetoric-level courses: they are content-driven and they presume higher-level thinking. In most cases, a student is going to have to read in excess of 200 pages per chapter. Therefore, it is highly advisable that he or she begin reading the material during the summer prior to beginning this course. In any event, a student must read the whole book/literary work before the lesson begins. Sometimes this is no big deal (e.g., reading Phillis Wheatley’s poetry). In other cases it will take more than a week to read the assigned text (e.g., The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne). By now one should already know how to do elementary literary criticism. If you are worried, don’t be. Students will review how to do literary analysis as the course progresses. Literary analysis questions are the most often asked questions and they fall under the three main types of questions in the text: critical thinking, biblical application, and enrichment. Literature is defined in Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary (10th ed., 1993) as “writings in prose or verse: especially having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.” The person who examines, interprets, and analyzes literature is a critic. That is the student’s job. A critic is a guide to the reader, not a prophet or a therapist. While it is the critic’s right to express his or her preferences, and even a privilege to influence others, it is not his or her job to tell the reader what to like or not like. However, the critic is a helper, a guide helping the reader to better understand the author’s intention and art. In fact, the critic is concerned about the structure, sound, and meaning of the literary piece. These structures are described as genres: narrative prose, essays, poetry, and drama. God is raising a mighty generation! Students of today will be the culture-creators of the next century. They are a special generation, a special people. My prayer for each student who reads this course is: I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge — that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen (Eph. 3:14–21).

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Chapter 1

The Anglo Saxon Age (Part 1) First Thoughts It was in A.D. 449 that the Jutes, from Denmark, invaded land previously conquered by the Romans and earlier by the Britons, Celts, and Druids. Following the Jutes came the Anglos and Saxons. The origins of the Anglo-Saxon peoples are obscure. Scholars believe that they inhabited southern Sweden, the Danish peninsula, and northern Germany (between the Ems River on the west, the Oder River on the east, and the Harz Mountains on the south). The AngloSaxons created an English civilization that lasted until A.D. 1066, when William the Conqueror, from Normandy, France, conquered England at the Battle of Hastings. Who were the Anglo-Saxons? They were a Germanic people who loved epic legends and stories about the sea. They loved a good fight but also had a highly developed feeling for beauty. The Anglo-Saxons loved to describe rippling brooks and stunning sunsets. They dominated England’s culture for almost a century.

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Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Identify the speakers in “The Seafarers.” 2. Compare and contrast the hero Beowulf with Jesus Christ. In your essay, give frequent references to the text and to Scripture. 3. Discuss how alliteration affects the author’s meaning. 4. Define the word “kenning.” Find several examples of this literary technique in “The Seafarer.” 5. Compare Beowulf to narrative epics in the Old Testament.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Students should review An Ecclesiological History of the English People by Venerable Bede. History connections: British History chapter 1, “Early England: Part One.”

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LESSON 1

Anglo-Saxon Literature

Assignments •

Warm-up: Anglo-Saxons love meter and rhythm. What are the meter and rhythm of this narrative poem? Meter is the pattern of accented syllables in writing. For instance, notice how this phrase is accented: This is΄ the day΄ that God΄ has made.΄

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 1-A.

•

Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-A

Read “The Seafarer” (author unknown) and respond to the following:

1

Predict how will this poem end. Answers will vary — the tone and mood is hopeful.

2

Who is the narrator (i.e., speaker)? An elderly sailor who is reflecting on his time at sea.

3

Does he work in a city? Probably not. He is a sailor.

4

Is he a Christian believer?  Absolutely. The references to Christianity are obvious and numerous. “On the curve of a wave. Thus the joys of God Are fervent with life, where life itself Fades quickly into the earth.”

5

Personification is “A person or thing typifying a certain quality or idea.” In what way is this line personification? “The only sound was the roaring sea?” Seas do not roar; lions and people roar.

6

Note one more example of personification from the poem.  The soul stripped of its flesh knows nothing Of sweetness or sour, feels no pain, Bends neither its hand nor its brain.

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How does the narrator handle bad things in his life?  He trusts in the Lord. “Our thoughts should turn to where our home is, Consider the ways of coming there, Then strive for sure permission for us To rise to that eternal joy That life born in the love of God And the hope of Heaven. Praise the Holy Grace of Him who honored us, Eternal, unchanging creator of earth. Amen.”

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What is one theme in this poem (i.e., the central meaning)? The theme of mutability or growing old What do these lines mean?

9

“Death leaps at the fools who forget their God. He who lives humbly has angels from Heaven To carry him courage and strength and belief.” Fools forget who is in control of their lives. They “forget their God” and do not live “humbly.”

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LESSON 2

Beowulf Author unknown Assignments •

Warm-up: Brave, dependable, loyal, and strong, Beowulf is the quintessential hero. Find evidence from the text to support this description. Given the above description, compare Beowulf to a modern media hero/heroine.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 1-B.

•

Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

•

Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

A motif is a recurring literary theme. It assumes a central part of the literary piece. Show how the journey motif is developed in the Anglo-Saxon poem “The Seafarer.”

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-B

Images

Motif

A sailor is contemplating his future while on a journey.

Journey Motif

Narrative Technique First Person

Metaphors The narrator uses several metaphors to exhibit the stages of life.

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LESSON 3

The Epic Poem

Assignments •

Warm-up: Beowulf takes a serious look at the problem of evil. Evaluate the veracity of this early view of evil in light of the Word of God.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 1-C

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

A foil is a character used by the author to reveal important characteristics about the protagonist (main character) and to further the action. In what ways are the following characters foils?

Foils

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-C

Hrothgar

Queen Welthow To the Anglo-Saxon author, Queen Welthow was simply a dutiful wife. This in itself shows the need for order in Beowulf’s world.

The old, wise king is contrasted with the  brash, young warrior. Hrothgar represents a mirror image, or model, of what Beowulf’s own future might be.

Protagonist

Unferth Umferth is an antagonist and the author reveals Beowulf’s strength of character, his generosity, and his capacity for forgiveness.

Beowulf Wiglaf Wiglaf plays the role of Beowulf’s son in much the same way  Hrothgar performed the role of Beowulf’s father. This loyal apostle shows Beowulf’s generosity.

Higlac Beowulf’s uncle Higlac allows Beowulf to reveal his modesty and poise in the face of a great challenge.

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LESSON 4

Language

Assignments •

Warm-up: Psychoanalysis (a way of treating emotional disorders by encouraging conscious discussions of traumatic problems with another person) is the therapy of choice for many Americans. While there are some very good things in psychoanalysis, as Dr. Karl Menninger argues, psychoanalysis invites its participants to ignore evil and sin — they are counted merely as emotional disorders. What happens to a culture that minimizes the importance of evil? Can a person really be healed if he is living in sin?

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 1-D.

•

Student will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

The Epic Christian Hero

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-D

An epic poem is a long poem that honors a particular hero. Beowulf is clearly a Christian hero. Using the following categories, compare the life of Beowulf to the life of Christ. Beowulf Narrative Beowulf

Jesus Christ

Faith

Beowulf exhibits the highest moral behavior.

Jesus Christ is without sin.

Character

Beowulf is brave, loyal, and courageous.

Jesus Christ was loyal and self-sacrificing.

Love

Beowulf lived before the Age of Chivalry where public love was extolled. However, clearly he loved his friends because he put himself in harm’s way.

Jesus Christ is the very manifestation of love — indeed, Jesus is love.

Strength

Beowulf was stronger physically than any human or creature.

Jesus’ strength is mental, spiritual, and physical. His ability to obey His Father is indeed remarkable.

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LESSON 5

What the Critics Say Assignments •

Warm-up: Some scholars think that this poem’s oral tradition is much older than its present written form. In fact, they argue that the Christian additions to the poem are later redactions. Write a one-page essay describing how the poem sounded before its Christian influences.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 1-E

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 1 test.

Grendel and his mother are the perfect antagonists. Compare these villains with other antagonists.

Antagonist

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-E

Character

Behavior

Grendel and his mother

Grendel and his mother are completely evil. The reader has no doubt that these are the bad guys!

Darth Vader

Darth Vader looks mean with his Nazi helmet and black hood. He does the emperor’s bidding and is malevolent with everyone. He has no friends.

Cinderella’s stepmother

This villain is more complicated. She has moments of compassion, or seemingly so, but only toward her biological daughters.

Scar (in The Lion King)

Scar, like a Greek hero, dies of his own pride. Along the way he literally kills his only brother. He is one of the most malevolent villains in cinematic history.

Captain Hook (in Peter Pan)

Captain Hook is more of a bungling idiot than a real villain. Tick tock! This author, however, in his youth had nightmares with Hook as the protagonist.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Compare and contrast the hero Beowulf with Jesus Christ. In your essay, give frequent references to the text and to Scripture.” SUMMARY: Answers will vary. Certainly Beowulf would not talk about himself as so many modern heroes do! He also would not manifest the immoral behavior that we so readily tolerate in popular heroes today. Beowulf is sacrificial in his dedication to duty; however, our Lord never boasted of himself as Beowulf does in parts VII–IX. In part VI, Beowulf pledges to put his life on the line for the nation and later carries out his promise, besting Grendel in part XII. Then Hrothgar’s hall is purged, cleansed by the hero. Beowulf also pursues and kills Grendel’s mother and cuts off Grendel’s head. In old age, Beowulf fights a dragon and gives his life for his people. God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian bondage, and Christ gave His life for our redemption and forgiveness of sins; Beowulf ’s heroic deeds redeem His community in Denmark and Geatland, delivering it from evil monsters. B. Moses, led by the Holy Spirit, wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. No doubt, though, Moses records stories that he heard through oral stories and traditions. Obviously, for instance, Moses was not present when God created the world. Realizing that the Word of God is inerrant and inspired, identify several narrative stories that exist in the Old Testament. Tell who the main characters are, what the conflict in the story is, and when the climax occurs. Imagine these stories being told around the campfires (much as they are in Joshua 4). SUMMARY: The Noah and Joseph narratives are two examples. The main characters (or protagonists) in the Noah narrative include Noah and his family. The conflict is internal: Noah must have struggled inside his mind about whether or not to build a boat on dry land when it had never rained. (A “mist” watered the garden, according to Genesis 2:6; KJV). There are great examples of external conflict, such as between Noah and his neighbors. There are multiple climaxes, but I would identify the chief climax as the time when Noah is waiting for the water to subside. The Joseph narrative also portrays internal and external conflict: Should Joseph tell Potiphar about his unfaithful wife? There also is external conflict between Joseph and his brothers. The climax is obviously at the end of the story, when the expatriate Hebrew Joseph, living as an Egyptian, confronts his brothers with their sin. C. Because there are three major battle scenes in the poem, some scholars believe that Beowulf was composed by three different authors. Others claim that the sections that take place in Denmark and the sections that occur after Beowulf returns to Geatland were the work of different authors. However, the majority of scholars agree that because of the unified structure of the poem, with its combination of historical information in the flow of the main narrative, it was most likely composed by one person. What do you think? Analyze Beowulf and decide if you think one, two, three, or more authors wrote this poem. Defend your answer in a two-page essay. SUMMARY: Clear references to God in what must have originally been a pagan poem imply that there were one or two redactors of Beowulf. At the same time, stylistic similarities — word usage and imagery — indicate that one person originally composed the written version of this oral poem.

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CHAPTER 1 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Discuss the structure of Beowulf. ANSWER: Beowulf is divided into three parts, each of which centers around Beowulf ’s fight with a particular monster: first Grendel, then Grendel’s mother, then the dragon. Each monster presents a specific moral challenge against which the Anglo-Saxon heroic code can be tested. There is more. The critic R.W. Chambers argues, “Certain peculiarities in the structure of Beowulf can hardly fail to strike the reader. (1) The poem is not a biography of Beowulf, nor yet an episode in his life — it is 2 distinct episodes: The Grendel business and the dragon business, joined by a narrow bridge. (2) Both these stories are broken in upon by digressions: some of these concern Beowulf himself, so that we get a fairly complete idea of the life of our hero. (3) Even apart from these digressions, the narrative is often hampered: the poet begins his story, diverges and returns. (4) The traces of Christian thought and knowledge which meet us from time to time seem to belong to a different world from that of the Germanic life in which our poem has its roots.”

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Chapter 2

The Anglo Saxon Age (Part 2) First Thoughts In the winter of 1976, I was sitting in a drafty Harvard Yard building listening to Dr. George Williams lecture on a miracle described by the Venerable Bede. Williams was notorious for his criticism of miracles — supernatural hocus-pocus, he called it. But Professor Williams was sick and needed a miracle. He knew it, too. As he lectured on Venerable Bede, he reached a point in his lecture where he paused and looked out the window at Widener Library. We all sat and waited. “You know,” he finally said, still looking out the frosted window, “I used to laugh at people who believed in miracles.” In good nature, we all laughed with him. “But now, it is not funny. I need a miracle. I have cancer. And now, laugh at me, too, because now I believe in miracles, too.” Funny, isn’t it? We find it easier to believe in a miracle when things are bad. For most of us, the greatest miracle was the day Christ came into our hearts. The Venerable Bede thought that miracles were a natural part of history. Bede was not afraid to admit that he, himself, needed a miracle. Are you willing to admit to Him that you need a miracle?

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Compare poetry to prose 2. Explore whether the supernatural really exists 3. Analyze Caedmon’s Song

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Students should review “Bonny Barbara Allan,” author unknown, “Get Up and Bar the Door,” author unknown (Scottish folk ballads); “The Prologue,” “The Pardoner’s Tale,” and “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale,” in The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer.

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History connections: British History chapter 2, “Early England: Part Two.”

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LESSON 1

The Venerable Bede

Assignments •

Warm-up: Write a ballad/poem about your father (or significant adult). Then, rewrite the same piece in prose. Which do you like better? Why?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 2-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered T with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 2.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-A

Read Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Venerable Bede and respond to the following:

1

Why does Bede begin his history this way?  He is both a theologian and a historian. He wishes to tie the history of his nation to Rome because Christianity was introduced to England during Roman times.

2

Why doesn’t Ireland have any snakes? Do you believe that this is true?  No reptiles are found there, and no snake can live there; for, though often carried thither out of Britain, as soon as the ship comes near the shore, and the scent of the air reaches them, they die.

3

In what language was this history written? Latin

4

According to Bede, why did the Picts invade Britain? The Scots suggested that they should do so.

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LESSON 2

Autobiographical History Herbert Thurston Assignments •

Warm-up: Describe one event that changed your life.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 2-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

The First English Poem

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-B

CAEDMON’S SONG Now let me praise the keeper of Heaven’s kingdom, the might of the Creator, and his thought, the work of the Father of glory, how each of wonders the Eternal Lord established in the beginning. He first created for the sons of men Heaven as a roof, the holy Creator, then Middle-earth the keeper of mankind, the Eternal Lord, afterwards made, the earth for men, the Almighty Lord. Rewrite this poem in prose: I will praise God, the mighty Creator. His thoughts are above me; His works are glorious. God has been here from the beginning. He created Heaven for man, and then, earth. He has remained the great Provider for His children. Indeed, the God without beginning or end, created this beautiful earth for mankind alone. How beautiful and mighty is the Lord! Which form do you like better? Why? This reader prefers the poetry version. Poetry captures the beauty of this passage with greater depth and feeling.

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LESSON 3

The Arrival in Kent of the Missionaries Sent by Gregory the Great (597) Assignments •

Warm-up: Describe a miracle you need in your life.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 2-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Poetry vs. Prose

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-C

Write a prose description of a laughing baby. The cherubic baby first smiled, chuckled, and then burst out in benevolent, raucous laughter. The whole world quietly stopped to enjoy this child. Next, write a poetry description of a laughing baby. A baby laughed. A spring dawn chasing away the chill of night. A fair wind dissipating the still of a sailing ship doldrum. An old man remembering his wedding day 60 years ago. A baby laughed. Which is most effective? Both are effective, but, the author prefers poetry.

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LESSON 4

Benedictine Monk Assignments •

Warm-up: Describe your prayer life.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 2-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

The First English History

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-D

The Bede had at his command all the learning of his time. His library at WearmouthJarrow held between 300–500 books, making it one of the largest in England. He knew Greek and a little Hebrew. His Latin is clear and without affectation, and he is a skillful storyteller. What sort of history did Bede create? Discuss its form.

Narrative (story)

Supported by scholarly sources

Bede’s Ecclesiastical History

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LESSON 5

Worldview Formation

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: Caedmon was “a certain brother, particularly remarkable for the grace of God.” Bede presents an image of a Christian brother all of us could emulate. Compare and contrast Caedmon to Jesus Christ, to King David (another poet), or to Paul.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 2-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 2 test.

Read Ecclesiastical History of the English People by Venerable Bede, Chapter XVIII, and respond to the following:

1

Reading this historical event as a story, what is the crisis? A child is sick and needs healing.

2

Who are the characters? The mother, father, child, and Germanus

3

Do you believe that this event really happened? Why or why Not?  Since I believe God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow, and He does as He pleases, I most certainly think that Bede’s story is possible.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. As a literary genre, prose originates with men like the Venerable Bede. What advantages and disadvantages does it offer as compared to poetry? In what ways would a poem “The Poet Caedmon” differ from the prose “The Poet Caedmon?” SUMMARY: Some think prose is more difficult to write than poetry; many take the opposing view. Tied to grammatical rules, prose is more limiting in creativity. On the other hand, prose allowed Bede to formalize his language as well as his history. B. Bede was a devoted Christian. To him, the supernatural was common and everyday. To many people in the 21st century, however, the supernatural does not exist. What do you think? SUMMARY: Most of the cosmological discussions today revolve around the reality of the supernatural. To most Americans, if one cannot physically measure, feel, or experience something, it does not exist. To Bede, reality was defined by the Word of God. Since the philosopher David Hume wrote his controversial book on miracles, most Western thinkers have rejected the miraculous. Hume tried to describe how the mind works in acquiring what is called knowledge. He concluded that no theory of reality is possible; there can be no knowledge of anything beyond experience. Liberal theology that my professor embraced, in particular, espoused a worldview based primarily on experience (called existentialism). This is not the worldview that the Venerable Bede knew and loved. C. Read Philippians 3:1–13. When is loss gain? When we surrender our control and our search for security in tangible things, we discover that trusting in God and God’s design is ultimately more satisfying. As a historian, Bede understood and firmly believed that human history was always reconstructed from evidence. Bede understood, and modern historians understand, that history cannot be re-created — only reinterpreted. But Paul is telling us, and Bede understood, that salvation is out of history. That it is really something new. Something is created that was not here. A new birth. And that is worth more than all the knowledge, money, or prestige in the whole world. What do you want more than anything else in the whole world? To win the World Cup? To be rich? Handsome? To receive a full academic scholarship to Harvard University? What does Paul and the poet Caedmon tell you is of inestimable worth? Write a two-page essay that answers these questions. SUMMARY: Answers will vary.

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CHAPTER 2 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Outline your personal worldview, including an introductory paragraph, three brief paragraphs regarding your beliefs and why you believe, and a summery paragraph. ANSWER: Answers will vary.

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Chapter 3

The Middle Ages (Part 1) First Thoughts Marchette Chute

in Geoffrey Chaucer of England (1958) states, “To realize the exact extent of Chaucer’s achievement in the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, it is necessary to remember that the Middle Ages were not a time of portraits. It was a time of patterns, of allegories, of reducing the specific to the general and then drawing a moral from it. . . . What Chaucer was doing was entirely different. . . . He did not even set out to be entertaining. He merely set out to be accurate.” Even a cursory reading of Chaucer evidences two unavoidable facts. First, Chaucer tried to present life in a realistic, unbiased way. Secondly, he did not do it to entertain or to influence. How refreshing! What a contrast to what popular, modern media has become.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . .

2. Compare this selection from “The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales” with the Anglo-Saxon Old English of Beowulf. 3. Memorize this portion of “The Prologue” and then translate it into modern English (see above). 4. Describe how Chaucer’s descriptions of the outside appearance, such as the dress and physical attributes of the pilgrims, reveal their inner nature. 5. Analyze Chaucer’s characters. 6. Discuss what a perfect short story is. 7. Compare early English/Scottish folk ballads with the biblical story of Samson. 8. Discuss the journey motif in Chaucer’s short stories. 9. Discuss how Chaucer uses irony. 10. Compare the themes of “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” to the themes of Beowulf.

1. Agree or disagree with this observation: ballads were normally written in dramatic fashion with only slight attention paid to characterization, theme, or setting. Evidence your arguments with passages from the text.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Students should review Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (author unknown). History connections: British History chapter 3, “Anglo-Saxon Invasions.”

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LESSON 1

Middle English Literature Assignments •

Warm-up: Write Chaucer a letter.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 3-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 3.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-A

Read “Bonny Barbara Allan” (author unknown) and respond to the following:

1

What is the purpose of repetition? To bring emphasis. Also, ballads originally were memorized and repetition makes that easier.

2

Why is the young man dying? Barbara Allan does not love him because he slighted her.

3

This is a very effective use of imagery. How?  When she heard the dead-bell ringing, And every jow that the dead-bell gied, It cry’d, Woe to Barbara Allan!

4

What will happen to Barbara Allan? Since my love died for me to-day, I’ll die for him to-morrow.”

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LESSON 2

Early Ballads Assignments •

Warm-up: Create a ballad of your own, based on a tragic incident that has occurred within the last few years. Use the same rhyme (iambic) as the old ballads.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 3-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-B

Read “Get Up and Bar the Door” (author unknown) and respond to the following:

1

What ordinary scene begins the ballad? A wife and husband are in the kitchen.

2

This stanza foreshadows (gives warning) that something is coming. What is it?  The wife warns her husband to “Gae out and bar the door” because someone might come and harm them.

3

What rascally plans do the uninvited visitors have?  Then said the one unto the other, “Here, man, tak ye my knife; Do ye tak aff the auld man’s beard, And I’ll kiss the goodwife.”

4

What does the goodwife say to her husband? I told you so!

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LESSON 3

The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer Assignments •

Warm-up: Which of the pilgrims does Chaucer admire most? Why?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 3-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Narrative

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-C

A ballad is a narrative poem, a poem which tells a story. As a poem form, the ballad belongs to the oral tradition in Western literature. More often sung than spoken, always memorized, traditional ballads were passed from listener to listener, culture to culture. Give examples from “Bonnie Barbara Allan” and “Get Up and Bar the Door.”

Simple English Style Tragedy

The language is very simple

Both ballads have unhappy endings

The characters are ordinary people

Clearly meant to be memorized

Narrative (story)

Both poems are also narratives

Ordinary Characters

Ballad

The repeated words make this possible

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LESSON 4

Beast Fable

Assignments •

Warm-up: A beast fable is a short story using animals to illustrate a truth. What is the central truth of the “Nun’s Priest’s Tale” and how does Chaucer create it?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 3-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-D

Read “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale” by William Chaucer, and respond to the following:

1

What sort of person is the nun’s priest? A very humble, hard working, godly woman.

2

What was her business? A small dairy business.

3

Describe the rooster. A very smart, if henpecked bird.

4

Why was Chanticleer disturbed? He had a dream that he was killed by something “red.”

5

Why is Pertelote disappointed with her husband Chaunticleer? She thinks her husband is a coward.

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LESSON 5

Medieval Christianity

A Picture Summary

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: Infer from the text the state of English religion during Chaucer’s day. As a guide, analyze the way he described the Monk, the Parson, the Summoner, and the friar in his prologue.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 3-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 3 test.

A famous publisher has retained you to illustrate a new comic book version of “The Pardoner’s Tale.” You must begin by drawing the most important five scenes in the short story. Which scenes would you choose? Why?

Answers will vary.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. How do Chaucer’s descriptions of the outside appearance, such as the dress and physical attributes of the pilgrims, reveal their inner nature? SUMMARY: The parson is thin and worn; clearly, he has sacrificed for his flock. Contrast him with the monk and friar, who were overweight, slovenly, and lazy; clearly, they were selfish, self-seeking church people. Likewise, compare the prioress and the Good Wife. In fact, all the pilgrims’ personalities are represented by their physical characteristics. B. “The Pardoner’s Tale” is an almost perfect short story. What makes a great short story? Compare this short story to another short story you have read. SUMMARY: A great short story is more than a “short” story: every word is well considered. The plot develops quickly but never overshadows the theme. A short story, in fact, may not have much plot at all. The time frame may be merely one day. Many short stories by Graham Greene, for instance, occur in one town in one day. “The Pardoner” is a great short story because it has these elements. C. The journey is a powerful motif in Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and in the Bible. The call of Abraham to Palestine, the wilderness wanderings, and the road to Emmaus are only a few instances of journeys in the Bible. Can you think of others? What advantages does this setting offer an author? SUMMARY: Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem; Paul’s missionary journeys, etc. The “journey” keeps the action moving and allows the author to introduce many different characters, settings, and multiple plots.

CHAPTER 3 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) “The Pardoner’s Tale” is a tale inserted into a sermon, the most frequent form of rhetoric experienced by medieval people. In this story, the moral is “Selfishness and greed is the root of all evil.” Write a five-page story illustrating a common aphorism such as “A fool and his money are soon parted.” Look through the Bible or Poor Richard’s Almanack for more examples. Here are a few you will find: “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail” (Franklin). “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34). ANSWER: Answers will vary.

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Chapter 4

The Middle Ages (Part 2) First Thoughts Theodore Silverstein, in his essay “The Art of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” wrote: “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is incomparably the greatest romance of its time. Yet its author is unknown; it survives in but a single manuscript; and there is no evidence that, in its own day or in the years which followed, it had any impact on readers or on literary history, beyond the limited circle of its particular audience — if it was very influential even there. All this is in contrast to the case of Geoffrey Chaucer, whose influence is detectable and clear, whose works descend to us in a multiplicity of manuscripts, who was widely published in his own time and enjoyed a subsequent renown almost unbroken through the centuries to our own over-scholarly age.” (Unpublished, 1965; www.chilit.org/).

Chapter Learning Objectives. As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the plot influences in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. 2. Evaluate the Judeo-Christian influences in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. 3. Describe the importance of the Green Knight has its origins in pagan English culture.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Students should review “Sonnet 26” and “Sonnet 75” from Amoretti and The Fairie Queen by Edmund Spenser; “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,” by Christopher Marlowe; “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” by Sir Walter Raleigh; “Sonnet 18,” “Sonnet 29,” “Sonnet 55,” “Sonnet 73,” and “Sonnet 116,” by William Shakespeare. History connections: British History chapter 4, “The Norman Conquest.”

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LESSON 1

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Author Unknown

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite legend?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 4-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 4.

Read the excerpt of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and respond to the following:

1

Describe King Arthur and his loyal knights of the Round Table. They were a youthful bunch, full of vigor and optimism.

2

Describe Guinevere. A regal, beautiful woman who understood and willingly assumed her role in the gathering.

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LESSON 2

The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights Sir John Knowles Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite version of the King Arthur legend?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 4-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays. A central theme of Sir Gawain is the notion of chivalry, a combination of qualities expected of the ideal medieval knight, especially courage, honor, loyalty, and consideration for others, especially women. Chivalry, practically speaking, was a way for a violent warrior respectfully to develop his more empathic side. Give three (there are more) instances of chivalry that Sir Gawain exhibits:

Chivalry

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-B

Sir Gawain was the only knight to accept the challenge of the Green Knight

Chivalry

Sir Gawain refused to participate in any inappropriate behavior with Lady Bertilak

Sir Gawain was courteous to all women and respectful to his king

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LESSON 3

The Green Knight Assignments •

Warm-up: What stereotype does the Green Knight typify?

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Student should complete Concept Builder 4-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Three Tests

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-C

Sir Gawain faces three severe tests, which create the character he becomes. What are the three tests? Test 1:

Test 2:

The challenge of the Green Knight

Test 3: The final fight with the Green Knight and imminent death

The seduction scene.

Three Tests

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LESSON 4

Sir Gawain: A New Kind of Hero Assignments •

Warm-up: What stereotype does Sir Gawain typify?

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Student should complete Concept Builder 4-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Identify and discuss how the author presents these three women.

Lady Bertiak:

Women Characters

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-D

She is both a temptress and a supporter of traditional morality

Women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Morgan le Fay:

Guinevere:

A pagan who can be good or very bad

An inspiring queen who can also be a temptress

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LESSON 5

Spin-off Sequels Assignments •

Warm-up: What television show or book spawned a spin-off sequel?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 4-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 4 test. An important metaphor in Sir Gawain, especially in Part IV, is the hunt. Show how the author advances his story through three hunts: the deer hunt, the fox hunt, and the boar hunt.

The Deer:

Metaphor: Hunting

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-E

The deer is a noble animal, like honor, and its pursuit is a task for all chivalrous knights

+ The Fox: The fox is a deceptive animal who must be handled wisely — like temptation — or he will allude the pursuer

The Hunt

+ The Boar: The boar is a fierce creature especially when cornered — like sin

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Sir Gawain combines two universally popular and immutable (i.e., unchangeable) plots: a martial arts contest and a temptation scene with a beautiful woman. Identify both of these plots in the text and discuss their development. Give copious references from the text. SUMMARY: In an episodic fashion, with the temptation scene and martial arts scenes setting the perimeter, the author moves the reader toward his inevitable moral conclusion. B. The poem is both a satire of manners and at the same time a reverent and profoundly Christian celebration of Judeo-Christian characteristics. Find evidence from the text to support these two arguments. SUMMARY: In his own way, the author of Sir Gawain was making fun of his society just as Chaucer did his society. This author, though, does not have Chaucer’s powerful pen and quick wit. C. The decapitation of the Green Knight has its origins in pagan English culture. Explain. SUMMARY: Biblical references to decapitation also exist: Goliath, Saul, Ahab’s 70 sons, Ishbosheth, Sheba, John the Baptist. Decapitation was common when Sir Gawain was written.

CHAPTER 4 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) ESSAY (100 POINTS) The American theologian H. Richard Niebuhr offers four categories for understanding the relationship of Christianity and culture: Christ against culture, Christ and culture, Christ of culture, and Christ the transformer of culture. Within each character of the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, tension arises as each character struggles to manifest Christian behavior when pagan behavior is more natural. Within King Arthur’s court there also is a struggle between Christianity and paganism. In American culture today we find a similar struggle. What evidence in modern American culture do you find to support the above statement? Consider television shows, court cases, and governmental laws. What are the abiding qualities of biblical Christianity that transcend time, place, and culture, and in what ways does Sir Gawain evidence these qualities? ANSWER: Loyalty, courage, and the single-minded purpose to do good characterize Sir Gawain. At the same time, the scene with the princess is reminiscent of Joseph’s temptation with Potiphar’s wife.

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Chapter 5

Elizabethan Age (Part 1) First Thoughts Elizabethan poetry exploded out of the contained, disciplined medieval era and rebirthed classical themes. Elizabethan poetry was rich in metaphorical images of life. It speaks candidly, if metaphorically, about the most intimate aspects of life. Love, passion, time all emerge in the literary genres of this age. In that sense, Elizabethan poetry eased the world closer to the modern age.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss several themes in Edmund Spenser’s poems. 2. Compare and contrast Elizabethan love sonnets with modern love songs. 3. Analyze several Elizabethan poets. 4. Read the Song of Solomon and compare those love lyrics with examples written by English poets. 5. Research English paintings of Anthony van Dyck and compare his themes to the themes we see represented in Elizabethan literature. 6. Analyze several sonnets by William Shakespeare.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Students should review “Macbeth” by William Shakespeare.

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History connections: British History chapter 5, “Henry VIII and the English Reformation.”

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LESSON 1

Elizabethan Age

Poetic Devices

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Evaluate the personal touch, both for a monarch and a 16th-century poet, of Queen Elizabeth’s poetry.

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Student should complete Concept Builder 5-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 5.

Match the poetic device with the following poetic lines.

1

E

2

C

3

D

4

B

5

A

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LESSON 2

Edmund Spenser

Mood/Tone

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: In what sense is The Fairie Queen an allegory?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 5-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

The tone or mood of a literary work is the attitude a writer conveys in his work. What is the tone of Isabella Whitney’s “The Admonition by the Author to all Young Gentlewomen: And to all other Maids being in Love.” How does Whitney create her tone/mood? Metaphors: Viewpoint: An Elizabethan woman

Diction: Why have ye such deceit in store? Have you such crafty wile?

Using the metaphor of a fish and fisherman, Whitney warns her “gentlewomen” to “beware of fair and painted talk, beware of flattering tongues”

Tone: Whimsical

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LESSON 3

Isabella Whitney Assignments •

 arm-up: Discover the metaphors and viewpoint in Whitney’s poem. What warnings or W advice does she offer?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 5-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts. Elizabethan themes include honor, glory, elegance, military ardor, chivalry, and nobility. Which theme do these paintings by Anthony Van Dyck exhibit?

Elizabethan Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-C

Military Ardor, Glory, Honor, Chivalry, Nobility

Elizabethian Themes

Eleance and Nobility

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LESSON 4

Shepherd Poetry Assignments •

Warm-up: Compare and contrast “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,” by Christopher Marlowe, and “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” a copycat version by Sir Walter Raleigh.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 5-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Elizabethan Women

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-D

Elizabethan women were celebrated and adored, but not as equals. They were more or less around to develop men. Find poetic verses that describe Elizabethan women. And I will make thee beds of roses And a thousand fragrant posies, A cap of flowers, and a kirtle Embroider’d all with leaves of myrtle.

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate.

Not marble, nor the gilded monuments Of princes, shall outlive this powerful rhyme; But you shall shine more bright in these contents Than unswept stone, besmear’d with sluttish time.

Elizabethan Women

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LESSON 5

Sir Philip Sidney

Assignments •

Warm-up: Read several poems by Sir Philip Sidney. Compare poems by Sidney and Spenser. Consider each poet’s theme, metaphors, tone, and biblical application.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 5-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 5 test.

The sonnet, a 14-line poem, has two main types: English (or Shakespearean) and Italian (or Petrarchan). The following is a modern sonnet.

A Modern Sonnet

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-E

“Lost in the Darkness” / “Living without the Light” by Kriselda Bautista I recall the days that I was younger So foolish and naïve is how I felt. Sat upon the couch, waiting in hunger A situation waiting to be dealt. I stood and walked into the other room Adorned with food and all edible goods. As I walked to the fridge my eyes saw doom A sight that put me in a real bad mood. Right there in front of me I saw no light. The food within had spoiled to a rot. I shut the door to rid me of the sight, But still a stomach with food it had not. I turned to the pantry, looked in the back Reached in and grabbed myself an Easy-Mac.

Answers will vary.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. What is the theme of Edmund Spenser’s “Sonnet 26”? How does he develop his theme? SUMMARY: Spenser reflects on the idea that life is made sweeter by some obstacle or conflict. “So every sweet with sour is tempered still, / That maketh it be coveted the more” (lines 11–12). B. Spenser’s “Sonnet 75” has a Christian theme. Explain. SUMMARY: Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven (Matt. 6:19–20) C. What does Elizabeth’s speech to the troops at Tilbury accomplish? SUMMARY: Queen Elizabeth is acutely aware that some of her subjects may think she is not as strong and as capable a queen monarch as a king monarch might be. She responds, “We shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people.” She is assuring her subjects that even though she has “the body but of a weak and feeble woman;” she has “the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm.” Her speech is most inspiring and a wondrous morale booster.

CHAPTER 5 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) The poet of “Sonnet 18” discusses the whole notion of immortality. How, in Shakespeare’s estimation, is immortality attained? How, according to the Word of God, is eternal life attained? What is the difference between eternal life and immortality? ANSWER: “So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, / So long lives this [sonnet], and gives life to thee” (lines 13–14). Eternal life is a Christian concept: the believer’s body actually dies, but if he is a believer, he lives eternally with the Father in heaven. Immortality is an Eastern religious concept: the believer never physically dies. Many modern hedonists think that they are immortal! But, while we all shall die and we all have an eternal destiny, only Jesus Christ is the Way, and the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through the Son (John 14:6).

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Chapter 6

Elizabethan Age (Part 2) First Thoughts Macbeth was first performed in 1606, three years after James I succeeded Elizabeth I on the English throne. By that time, William Shakespeare was the most popular playwright in England, and his company, which had been called the Chamberlain’s Men under Queen Elizabeth, was renamed the King’s Men. Shakespeare was very wealthy and probably the most famous man in England. Perhaps no play in Western Literature explores the dark side of human nature quite so thoroughly as this play. “Darkness, we may even say blackness, broods over this tragedy. It is remarkable that almost all the scenes which at once recur to memory take place either at night or in some dark spot. The vision of the dagger, the murder of Duncan, the sleep-walking of Lady Macbeth, all come in night-scenes. The Witches dance in the thick air of a storm, or ‘black and midnight hags’ receive Macbeth in a cavern. The blackness of night is to the hero a thing of fear, even of horror; and that which he feels becomes the spirit of the play.” (A.C. Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy, World Publishing Company, 1964.)

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the characters in this play. 2. Discuss the concept of fate in the context of this play. 3. Describe the setting and its impact on this play. 4. Analyze the “dagger soliloquy” in Act II, Scene 1, lines 33–64. 5. Parse the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. 6. Identify points of rising action, the climax, and the denouement of this play. 7. Compare Lady Macbeth to Jezebel. 8. Discuss the role of Banquo. 9. Evaluate why a director would omit Act III, Scene 5 from a modern version of this play.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Students should review “To the Memory of My Beloved Master William Shakespeare,” “The Noble Nature,” and “Farewell to the World,” by Ben Jonson; Essays, by Francis Bacon.

History connections: British History chapter 6, “Elizabethan Age: Part One.”

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LESSON 1

William Shakespeare

Assignments •

Warm-up: Macbeth and his wife weave their evil plots as if there is no judgment for their actions. Do you ever live your life as if there are no consequences? Explain.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 6-A.

•

Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 6.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-A

Read “Macbeth,” Act I, Scene III by William Shakespeare, and respond to the following:

1

The reader meets the witches in Act I, Scene I. In these powerful ten lines the reader knows that something evil is amiss. In this scene we finally meet Macbeth. Why does Shakespeare have Macbeth meet the witches? Macbeth encounters the witches, who tempt him with the idea of becoming king.

2

Summarize these first few lines.  We learn more about the nature of the witches. They talk among themselves about the nasty things they have been doing. One has been killing swine; another has been plotting revenge on a sailor’s wife who refused to give her a chestnut. Readers get the impression that a lot of bad things can happen because of witches.

3

What do we learn about Macbeth and Banquo and the different ways that they react to the witches?  Banquo asks Macbeth, “Why do you start, and seem to fear Things that do sound so fair?” (lines 51–52). Why indeed? Has he already been plotting to become king? Whatever, Macbeth’s reaction is that of a guilty man. Banquo, on the other hand, makes fun of the witches.

4

Predict what the ending of this play will be. Answers will vary.

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LESSON 2

“Macbeth,” Act I

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is the literary purpose of the witches in Scene 1? Why begin the play in this way?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 6-B.

•

Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

•

Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Already in Act I, Scenes I–III, we have glimpses into the character and heart of Lady Macbeth. Circle the words that describe Lady Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth is a choleric.

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LESSON 3

Themes

Soliloquy

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-C

Assignments •

 arm-up: The problem of evil in Western thought is a real one. The problem of evil arises (1) W from the loss of a sense of God’s presence in the face of evil or suffering and (2) from an apparent conflict between the language used to describe God (e.g., all-powerful, all-good, and all-wise) and that used to describe the world as being characterized by evil and suffering. The solution proffered by the Book of Job is that of evoking such a sense of awe around the created universe that, discovering in this way a renewed sense of God’s omniscience and omnipotence, one accepts both evil and good and contents himself verbally by acknowledging a final incomprehensibility. The issue is God’s omnipotence vs. God’s impotence, God’s sovereignty vs. God’s indifference. Do Job’s conclusions satisfy you? Why or why not?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 6-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

How does Shakespeare use Macbeth’s “dagger soliloquy” in Act II, Scene I, lines 33–64, to build suspense? As soon as Macbeth is alone he has a vision. He sees a dagger floating in the air in front of him. It melts through his fingers then he tries to grab it but it will not go away. Then suddenly, the dagger appears to be covered with blood. Has Macbeth lost his mind? Readers are not sure but neither is Macbeth. “Mine eyes are made the fools o’ the’ other senses, Or else worth all the rest” (lines 44–45). At line 47, Macbeth’s rational will takes over. “There’s no such thing,” he says about the dagger, and he never mentions it again. This is the turning point in the plot and in the character of Macbeth. There is no turning back. The imagery in the rest of this soliloquy shows that Macbeth knows what he is doing.

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LESSON 4

Foils Assignments •

Warm-up: Compare Macbeth to King Saul.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 6-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Trace Macbeth’s demise by discussing the external conflicts that Macbeth encounters.

External Conflict

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-D

Plot Event

Character Change

Macbeth and Banquo stop and listen to the witches

Clearly Macbeth is ambitious and struggling with his decision to assassinate the king.

He murders his king, who is also a relative

Macbeth descends further into his treachery. The crime he commits is doubly heinous because the victim was a guest in his home.

He hires men to kill his best friend, Banquo. He wants the men to kill Banquo’s young son, Fleance, too, but Fleance escapes.

He now must kill his best friend because he is afraid his friend will tell others about the witches.

He sends men to kill Macduff’s wife and children.

He murders innocent participants whose deaths gain him nothing.

Macbeth rules by terror, since he does not deserve — or have — anybody’s loyalty. Describing Scotland under Macbeth’s rule, Macduff says, “Each new morn / New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows / Strike heaven on the face . . .” (Act IV, Scene III, lines 4–6).

More crimes are referred to but not specified.

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LESSON 5

Dramatic Irony Assignments •

Warm-up: One of the unanswered questions of this play is the appearance of the third murderer in scene 3. Some scholars insist that he is a messenger from Macbeth. Others argue he is Macbeth, and others claim that he is a friend who helps Fleance escape. What do you think? Defend your answer from the text.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 6-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 6 test.

Explore Macbeth’s internal conflicts of by relating incidences that precipitate his conscience changes.

Internal Conflict

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-E

Event

Internal Change

Macbeth reluctantly murders Duncan.

Before the murder, he tries to tell Lady Macbeth that he will not go through with it. She must convince him to kill the king. After committing the murder, Macbeth is disoriented. He says that “. . . all great Neptune’s ocean [will not] wash this blood/ Clean from my hand” (Act II, Scene II, line 60)

Macbeth still hesitates to murder Banquo but he is fearful of him.

He is afraid of Banquo; Banquo knows about the witches and because the witches told him that his descendents would be kings. Banquo’s death, he says, will put his mind at rest.

Macbeth grows more fearful and paranoid.

The spies Macbeth plants show how desperate and paranoid he is. Macbeth sees enemies — real or imagined — everywhere.

The brave hero in Act I, who at least seemed honorable, is completely corrupted now, a total reprobate.

The other unspecified acts of violence serve no purpose, beyond terrifying his subjects so much they will obey him. Macbeth is striking out at random, and all sense of morality has entirely disappeared.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. What is the setting in this play? How important is the setting to the development of the plot? Would the play be as interesting and effective if it were staged in the South Bronx, circa 1960? Why or why not? SUMMARY: The themes in this play are timeless and universally applicable. B. Many modern theologians have tried to make Judas Iscariot a victim rather than a perpetrator of evil (e.g., the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar). Is he the victim or the perpetrator of one of the greatest crimes? Is Macbeth a murderer or the weak instrument of his wife? Defend your answer from the text and from Scripture. SUMMARY: Answers will vary. One opinion is that Macbeth is manipulated by Lady Macbeth; however, if this is true, it in no way mitigates his culpability for his bad choices. Another opinion is that Macbeth is the perpetrator who draws his wife into his actions. C. Every character in “Macbeth” has flaws. Analyze the flaws in each character and explain why or why not in your judgment each character received his just punishment/reward. SUMMARY: Answers will vary.

CHAPTER 6 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) One criticism of Christianity is that Christians are not clear enough on what they believe. As a result, men like Macbeth find themselves floundering in pragmatism. As the English historian Philip Johnson writes: We have here [in the 20th century] the very opposite of historical determinism — the apotheosis of the single autocrat. Thus it is, when the moral restraints of religion and tradition, hierarchy and precedent, are removed, the power to suspend or unleash catastrophic events does not devolve on the impersonal benevolence of the masses but falls into the hands of men who are isolated by the very totality of their evil natures. In a two-page essay, first explain what Johnson means, and then agree or disagree with what he says. Be sure to use the Scriptures and passages from the play to defend your answer. ANSWER: Lady Macbeth and her husband are modernists, in a way, driven by situational ethics. They are following what is right in their own eyes. The wages of their sin is death.

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Chapter 7

Elizabethan Age (Part 3) First Thoughts T.S. Eliot, in his essay on Ben Jonson, wrote, “The reputation of Jonson has been of the most deadly kind that can be compelled upon the memory of a great poet. To be universally accepted; to be damned by the praise that quenches all desire to read the book; to be afflicted by the imputation of the virtues which excite the least pleasure; and to be read only by historians and antiquaries — this is the most perfect conspiracy of approval. For some generations the reputation of Jonson has been carried rather as a liability than as an asset in the balance-sheet of English literature. No critic has succeeded in making him appear pleasurable or even interesting.” Thus, I invite you to revisit old Ben Jonson, and other Elizabethans. But do not allow the “genius” of their ethos to distract you for the pathos of their rhetoric.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Understand the concept “essay.” 2. Analyze the tone of “On My First Son.” 3. Elaborate on and evaluate the tragedy that Miriam experiences in this play. 4. Compare Bacon’s views with Scripture. 5. Analyze Bacon’s worldview.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review “Dr. Faustus” by Christopher Marlowe; King James Bible.

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History connections: British History chapter 7, “Elizabethan Age: Part Two.”

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LESSON 1

Ben Jonson

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Do you prefer to read/watch comedy or tragedy? Why?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 7-A.

•

Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 7.

Read the following from “The Tragedy of Mariam,” ACT I, SCENE I by Elizabeth Cary, and respond to the following:

1

What are the ambivalent thoughts that Mariam feels toward her husband Herod? He is the only man she has loved, and, even with his faults, she loves him still.

2

Scene I is a soliloquy, the act of speaking while alone, which allows a character’s thoughts and ideas to be conveyed to the audience. Normally soliloquies are reliable narration — the character is speaking to himself/herself. What is the background to this soliloquy?  Act I, Scene I starts as news comes of Herod’s death, causing (during three acts) a sense of relief, liberation, and new beginnings under the joint rule of Mariam and her mother, Alexandra.

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LESSON 2

“To the Memory of My Beloved Master, Mr. William Shakespeare, and What He Hath Left Us”

Foils

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: Based on Jonson’s characterization of William Shakespeare, outline the reasons why Jonson admires Shakespeare so much.

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 7-B.

•

Student should review reading(s) from next chapter.

•

Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

In this play Mariam is positioned against several foils. Identify and match these foils.

1

C

2

A

3

B

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LESSON 3

More Jonson Poems

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-C

Assignments •

 arm-up: The poems “The Noble Nature” and “Farewell to the World” both concern the W theme of mutability. Explain what mutability is and find evidence from all three poems.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 7-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Read “On My First Son” by Ben Jonson, and respond to the following:

1

To whom is Jonson speaking? To his deceased son, to himself

2

What does this line mean? “For why/Will man lament the state he should envy.”  Why should a person lament the fact that his son is in Heaven? Still, the author does lament this fact.

3

To what metaphor does Jonson compare his son? His best piece of poetry

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LESSON 4

The Tragedy of Mariam, the Faire Queene of Jewry Assignments •

Warm-up: What is the real tragedy that Mariam experiences?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 7-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Tone

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-D

Tone is the mood of a literary piece. It is created by several literary components; including theme, plot, setting, and diction. Identify these elements and show how they create the maudlin tone of “On My First Son.”

Diction:

Theme:

Words like “fate,” “lament,” and “lose,” all betray a maudlin tone.

Despair at losing a child

Setting: A child has died

Tone: Maudlin

Plot: Jonson is reflecting on the death of his 7-year-old son

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LESSON 5

Essays Francis Bacon

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: Bacon wrote in Latin more than he did in English. This caused his English style to be an almost unnatural, informal style. Can you find evidence of this in “Of Wisdom for a Man’s Self,” found in Essays?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 7-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 7 test.

Read the following excerpt “Of Atheism” by Francis Bacon, and respond to the following:

1

What does Bacon mean, “Nay, even that school which is most accused of atheism doth most demonstrate religion?” Atheism requires more faith than religion.

2

To Bacon, who are the fools? Atheists

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Bacon’s writing “Of Wisdom for a Man’s Self ” is an essay. Many consider Francis Bacon to be the “father of the English essay.” An essay is a piece of prose that expresses a personal point of view. The formal essay is usually pedantic and impersonal in tone. The informal essay is relaxed and conversational in tone and can even be whimsical. As you read Bacon’s Essays (1597), identify examples of both essay styles. SUMMARY: “Of Wisdom for a Man’s Self,” in Essays, is particularly whimsical. Other offerings are more formal in style. B. Most of us today are quite comfortable in talking about ourselves. Indeed, having “an identity crisis” is rather common. But in Francis Bacon’s day, it was unusual to talk about oneself so much, yet Bacon does so with reckless abandon. Using Essays as a guide, write a two-page essay outlining several conclusions about the human self that Bacon advances. Do they line up with Scripture? SUMMARY: “And whereas they have all their times sacrificed to themselves, they become in the end themselves sacrifices to the inconstancy of fortune, whose wings they sought by their selfwisdom to have pinioned. . . .” Bacon seems somewhat free with his interpretation of Scripture. C. Francis Bacon, in a famous treason trial, testified against his friend the Earl of Essex, who subsequently was convicted. Many of his friends condemned Bacon as being a poor friend. Yet, if one reads Essays carefully, one finds evidence that Bacon’s testimony was quite consistent with his worldview. Agree or disagree with this statement and find evidence from Essays to support your answer. SUMMARY: Bacon, who advanced a notion of absolute truth, would argue that his personal feelings had nothing to do with his testimony. He was honor bound to state the truth no matter what the consequences. On the other hand, Bacon owed the earl a great deal. To some, Bacon appears ungrateful — an ingrate, albeit a brilliant one! He is proof that one can be very smart and very immoral at the same time.

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CHAPTER 7 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Answer the following essay in a one-page essay. All contemporary worldview discussions can be traced one way or another to Plato and Aristotle. Plato was the Pharisee of his day, the conservative, the one who believed that the gods were intimately involved with human beings. His Republic was a perfect society based on the notion that mankind was creating a city based on the word of the gods. Cosmology, or the presence of supernatural being(s), in other words, was very important to Plato. Likewise, to the Pharisee, who believed strongly in the Resurrection, the supernatural was very involved in human life. To Plato, the gods defined reality. Aristotle, on the other hand, in his important essay Poetics argued that the world was governed by impersonal laws. Aristotle argued that mankind defined who the gods were. While the gods are alive and well, they do not much concern themselves with the world. Therefore, mankind should be concerned about finding out about his world without worrying about the gods. Aristotle called his disciples to a “golden mean” where truth was at neither extreme but was in the middle. This view was evident again in the Sadducees — who rejected the supernatural — and later philosophers like David Hume. I am not discussing Hellenistic philosophy for any other reason than to point out that the struggle in which you will participate is over 3,000 years old. It is the struggle that Elijah joined when he fought King Ahab. King Ahab was a good Jew; the problem was he did not live his life as if God was actually alive. So is God intentionally involved in the affairs of mankind or not? The answer to this question is more or less the battle that is raging on college campuses today. Paul, a student of Greek philosophy, was deeply affected by Plato. The Holy Spirit led Paul to write: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). How do Francis Bacon and Ben Jonson enter this debate? ANSWER: Both Bacon and Jonson were theists and would be very comfortable with this discussion. For one thing, they agreed that God is intimately involved in the affairs of man and would probably embrace Plato’s view. On the other hand, they also would agree that the answer to Plato’s question — whether God will be perceived as important in human affairs — is a critical one whose answer determined the course of Western civilization.

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Chapter 8

Elizabethan Age (Part 4) First Thoughts “Dr. Faustus,” by Christopher Marlowe, is one of the most fascinating plays in the English language. It was a revolutionary play written by a bohemian iconoclast, Christopher Marlowe, who was killed in a knife fight when he was 29. In a play that is full of rich, unorthodox characters, perhaps the most remarkable and controversial is Mephistophilis. Critic Harry Levin writes, “Faustus has in Mephistophilis an alter ego who is both a demon and a Damon. The man has an extraordinary affection for the spirit, the spirit a mysterious attraction to the man. Mephistophilis should not be confused with Goethe’s sardonic nay-sayer; neither is he an operatic villain nor a Satanic tempter. He proffers no tempting speeches and dangles no enticements; Faustus tempts himself and succumbs to temptations which he alone has conjured up. What Mephistophilis really approximates, with his subtle insight and his profound sympathy, is the characterization of Porfiry, the examining magistrate in Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. The dialogues between Faustus and Mephistophilis resemble those cat-and-mouse interrogations in which Porfiry teaches the would-be criminal, Raskolnikov, to accuse and convict himself.” — Harry Levin, The Overreacher (Beacon Press, 1964).

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the plot of “Dr. Faustus.” In your answer, identify the rising action, climax, and falling action. 2. Discuss Marlowe’s malevolent antagonist Mephistophilis. 3. Find examples of types of literature in the Bible. 4. Contrast the ending of “Dr. Faustus” by Christopher Marlowe with Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (who died in 1832). 5. Compare the chorus in this play with the chorus in “Oedipus Rex,” by Sophocles.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review “Go and Catch a Falling Star,” “Holy Sonnet IX,” “Holy Sonnet XIV,” and “Meditation XVII,” by John Donne.

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History connections: British History chapter 8, “The Golden Age.”

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LESSON 1

Marlowe’s Mighty Line

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Find another example of hyperbole in “Dr. Faustus.”

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Students should complete Concept Builder 8-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 8.

Read Doctor Faustus, Act I, Scene I, by Christopher Marlowe, and respond to the following:

1

Who is this Faustus? What kind of choice is he about to make? He is about to make a very bad choice that will condemn him to hell.

2

What does Marlowe say about Providence? Regardless of earthly fame or fortune, God alone determines human futures.

3

What does this line mean, “Here, Faustus, tire thy brains to gain a deity?” Knowledge will not lead to God.

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LESSON 2

The Tragic Hero

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is the single event that precipitates the downward spiral for this tragic hero?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 8-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Internal Conflict

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-B

Doctor Faustus is one of the most complicated protagonists in Western literature. Identify three (there are more) internal conflicts in this character.

Desires of the flesh vs. desires of the spirit Struggles to be true to science and faithful to his faith

Tension to live in limits: Faustus is not “God.” He has to live in limits.

Doctor Faustus

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LESSON 3

Mary Sidney Herbert

Assignments •

Warm-up: Until recently, many scholars refused to take 17th century female poets seriously. They believed that women only wrote letters, and the occasional private devotional meditation. Discuss how Lady Pembroke breaks that stereotype.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 8-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-C

List three (there are more) themes that are in “Doctor Faustus” and show how the plot supports these themes. Theme

Plot Support

Ambition

“Doctor Faustus” is a study in ambition. Either the play glorifies ambition or the play criticizes ambition. Though Faustus is finally undone, his dreams emerge larger than the forces that defeat him. Faustus falls to great depths from soaring heights.

Determinism

A sense of doom hangs over Doctor Faustus, a sense that Faustus’ damnation is inevitable and has been decided in advance. Faustus struggles to repent, but he is browbeaten by devils and barred from salvation by all the forces of hell. Nonetheless, it is of his own volition that Faustus takes the first step toward evil.

Christian Moral Tale

Faustus commits a mortal sin and goes to hell for it. He denies God and is therefore denied God’s mercy. Faustus is a scoffer who gets a scoffer’s reward.

Wages of Sin is Death

There are three different concepts of hell in this play. Faustus claims there is no hell. Mephistophilis defines hell as the absence of God. The church says that hell is a pit of fire, and that’s where Faustus goes in the end.

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LESSON 4

Psalm 58 Mary Sidney Herbert

Meditative Psalm

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: Discuss the purpose of Lady Pembroke’s poem “Psalm 58.” What are the purposes of meditative psalms?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 8-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Read “Psalm 58” by Mary Sidney Herbert, and respond to the following:

1

2

What complaints does this paraphrase of Psalm 58 have toward unjust leaders? “Just to yourselves, indifferent else to none.” Rulers are only concerned about themselves. Herbert uses several vitriolic metaphors to invite God’s judgment on despicable rulers. Give two.  The adder’s image scarcely can suffice; Nay, scarce the aspic may with them contend, On

whom the charmer all in vain applies His skillful’st spells, aye missing of his end, While she, self-deaf and unaffected, lies. Lord, crack their teeth! Lord, crush these lions’ jaws!

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LESSON 5

The English Bible King James Version

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Warm-up: What is your favorite Bible verse?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 8-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 8 test.

The King James Bible

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-E

Assignments

Match the following types of literature in the Bible.

1

D

2

B

3

A

4

C

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Analyze the plot of “Dr. Faustus.” In your answer, identify the rising action, climax, and falling action. How effective is Marlowe in building suspense? SUMMARY: Dr. Faustus negotiates with the devil (rising action), makes the pact with the devil (climax), and is taken to hell (falling action). B. Find examples of the following types of literature in the Bible: lyric poetry, the song, the ballad, the ode, the elegy, meditation poetry, monodies, dramatic lyrics, ritual lyrics, lyric idyll, rhetoric, epistolary literature, wisdom literature, the riddle, the proverb, prophetic literature, symbolic prophecy, dramatic prophecy, the doom song, and the rhapsody. Consult the dictionary if you do not know these terms. SUMMARY: The song: Psalm 40. The ode: Deborah’s Song in Judges 5:3–31. The elegy: captives weeping by the rivers of Babylon in Psalms 137. Meditative poetry: Psalm 1. Monodies: Psalm 4. Dramatic lyrics: Psalm 27. Ritual lyrics: Psalm 67. Lyric idyll: Song of Solomon. Rhetoric: 1 Corinthians 13. Epistolary literature: Romans 12. Wisdom literature: Ecclesiastes. The riddle: Judges 14:1–20. The Proverb: Proverbs and Matthew 5. Prophetic literature: the Book of Jeremiah. Symbolic prophecy: the Book of Ezekiel. Dramatic prophecy: Micah 6. The doom song: Ezekiel 26–28. The rhapsody: the Book of Habakkuk. C. Contrast the ending of “Dr. Faustus,” by Christopher Marlowe, with Faust, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (who died in 1832). SUMMARY: In Marlowe’s play, Faustus goes to hell; in Goethe’s book, Faust receives a reprieve. This difference in worldview is indicative of the two historical periods.

CHAPTER 8 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) What purpose does the chorus serve in “Dr. Faustus,” by Christopher Marlowe? Next, compare the chorus in this play with the chorus in “Oedipus Rex,” by Sophocles. ANSWER: Answers will vary, though the chorus in “Dr. Faustus” and “Oedipus Rex” serves as the conscience.

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Chapter 9

The Seventeenth Century (Part 1) First Thoughts In the 17th century, English history took a rather maverick direction and produced some of the greatest literary, philosophical, and theological movements in human history. This century belongs to three great Johns: John Donne, John Milton, and John Dryden. What a dynamic trio! At the same time and in its quiet way, England experienced the equivalent of the French Revolution — without the bloodshed and chaos. In the middle of this century, the English rebelled against their king Charles I (1625–1649) and executed him. During this period, too, England saw the triumph of one of the truly great cultural worldviews in human history: Puritanism. Enjoy this great literature!

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Chapter Learning Objectives In chapter 9 we focus on John Donne and Margaret Cavendish. Both poets stretch poetry convention in their era.

As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss themes in “Meditation XVII.” 2. Analyze personification in “Sonnet X.” 3. Compare and contrast the theme of death in “Sonnet X” and in the Book of Job. 4. Compare and contrast “Holy Sonnet XIV” with the Book of Jeremiah.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

History connections: British History chapter 9, “The Early Stuarts.”

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LESSON 1

Margaret Lucas Cavendish Duchess of Newcastle

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: State the information Lady Cavendish offers for “so much writ upon my verses.”

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Students should complete Concept Builder 9-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 9.

Read “An Excuse for So Much Writ upon My Verses” from Poems and Fancies (1653) by Margaret Lucas Cavendish, and respond to the following:

1

To what is Cavendish comparing her book? Baby Birds

2

What literary device is this? Personification

3

What is her great fear? That she will fall out of the nest and no one will rescue her.

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LESSON 2

John Donne

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: Donne wrote refreshingly new poetry. His literary style is peculiarly his own, especially in the songs and sonnets. Almost every poem has a unique stanza pattern — never used before and never repeated. These stanzas are often nicely adjusted to the rhetoric of the units they form. Moreover, the rhythm of the lines has little of the clichés so abundantly exemplified by English poetry during Donne’s youth and maturity. The exceptionally easygoing movement of “Go and Catch a Falling Star” serves to underscore its simplicity and honesty. Compare and contrast John Donne’s style to earlier Elizabethan writers like William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, and Edmund Spenser. Discuss theme, tone, rhyme, meter, and subject matter.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 9-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Read “Go and Catch a Falling Star” by John Donne, and respond to the following:

1

“Go and catch a falling star” implies what? That something — “to keep off envy’s stinging” — is difficult to acquire.

2

What is more difficult to find than a falling star? A “true and fair” woman

3

What will inevitably happen to this woman “true and fair?” “Yet she Will be False.”

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LESSON 3

Holy Sonnet X

Assignments •

 arm-up: Love is an emotion almost as old as humanity itself, and its pursuit has been W defined in many ways throughout the ages. Perhaps the most vivid of these feelings is documented in love poetry, through which each era of a society can be analyzed according to its principles and values, and subsequently, relationships between men and women. The writings of 17th-century poet John Donne reveal the integrity of his love as a force of nature and as a passion for his God. Compare and contrast views of love in our culture with those in the 17th century.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 9-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Christian Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-C

Identify two Christian themes in John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet X.” “One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.” This is a clear reference to the eternal life that all believing Christians enjoy

Christians really suffer and really die. But, “Death be not proud!” because every knee will  bow to, and every tongue will give praise to God. See 1 Corinthians 15.

Holy Sonnet X

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LESSON 4

Meditation XVII

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: “Meditation XVII” is one of a number of short essays that Donne wrote while recovering from a serious illness. Identify the Christian themes in it.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 9-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Donne’s beloved wife of 20 years died when she was 37. Donne was heartbroken and wrote one of the most emotive (emotional) poems of the English language. Read “Holy Sonnet 17” and respond to the following:

1

What is Donne’s reaction to his wife’s death? And her soul early into heaven ravishèd, Wholly on heavenly things my mind is set.

2

What respectful complaint does Donne have against God? But in thy tender jealousy dost doubt Lest the world, flesh, yea, devil put thee out.

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LESSON 5

Donne Across the Ages Assignments •

Warm-up: Pretend that you work for a major publisher. Your boss asks you, “Should John Donne’s works be republished? Is his work relevant to the 20th century? Why, or why not?”

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Students should complete Concept Builder 9-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 9 test.

Paradox

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-E

“Meditation XVII” contains a paradox, a statement, proposition, or situation that seems to be absurd or contradictory, but in fact is or may be true. What is the paradox?

Another man may be sick, too, and sick to death, and this affliction may lie in his bowels as gold in a mine and be of no use to him.

But his bell that tells me of his affliction digs out and applies that gold to me, if by this consideration of another’s danger I take mine own into contemplation, and so secure myself by making my recourse to my God, who is our only security.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. How does Donne use personification to enhance the effect of “Sonnet X” poem? SUMMARY: “Death” is compared to a person who is “not proud.” People go with “death” as if they are merely strolling along together. B. Compare and contrast the theme of death in “Sonnet X” and in the Book of Job. SUMMARY: Job is stoically facing the exigencies of life and death, much as Donne does. My sense is that they both come to a similar conclusion: God is definitely in control of life and death and everything in between. C. Read Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. Does Hemingway employ a similar theme to Donne’s? SUMMARY: At the end of Hemingway’s novel, the protagonist dies and proclaims to his lover that she goes on for him. To Hemingway, there is something transcendent in that moment of death. Hemingway found in John Donne a kindred spirit. Actually, Hemingway was wrong. There are many differences between the Christian theistic Donne and the cynical naturalist Hemingway. The “reality beyond death” to Donne was a Christian heaven; the Hemingway understanding of “reality beyond death” was a sort of naturalistic nirvana — where the heroic person lived in the memories of those who knew him.

CHAPTER 9 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) “Holy Sonnet IX” is full of paradox. Paradox is a statement that seems self-contradictory but holds more truth than is at first apparent. Find examples of paradox in the poem below and discuss how this literary technique enhances the effectiveness of Donne’s poem.

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Chapter 10

The Seventeenth Century (Part 2) First Thoughts James Wardell, Ph. D., insists that George Herbert is not merely a poet, he is a theologian. He does not merely write poetry; he writes devotions. Wardell writes: Of all the creatures both in sea and land Only to Man thou hast made known thy ways, And put the pen alone into his hand, And made him Secretary of thy praise. (“Providence” 5–8) Nothing measures the depth and beauty of life in Christ like devotional poetry. As an augment to, not a replacement for, the use of scripture and the other spiritual disciples, devotional poetry helps us find and feel the truth, meditate upon it, and put it into action. In this way, seventeenth-century, English cleric and poet George Herbert’s words profoundly penetrate the marrow of a life lived in commitment to God. . . . Inasmuch as the centrality of the Bible and a personal relationship to God through Christ are hallmarks of contemporary Christian faith, Herbert seems one with us (James Wardell, Houghton College, Stonework, issue 1; stonework01.blogspot.com).

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss the use of the metaphysical conceit in “The Collar.” 2. Identify the theme of “the struggle” in “The Collar.” 3. Identify metaphysical conceits in “The Retreat.” 4. Discuss the main theme of “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time.” 5. Compare Andrew Marvell’s “Coy Mistress” with Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love.” 6. Contrast the themes presented in “The Collar” with those presented in the biblical Book of Job. 7. Identify two or three common themes exhibited by George Herrick’s poetry and discuss the different ways that he presents his themes.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review “O Nightingale, How Soon Hath Time,” “To a Virtuous Young Lady,” “ When I Consider How My Light Is Spent,” “L’Allegro,” and “Il Penseroso,” by John Milton.

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History connections: British History chapter 10, “The English Civil War.”

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LESSON 1

Katherine Philips

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Analyze the primary metaphor that Katherine Philips explores in this poem and how this metaphor enhances the poem.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 10-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 10.

Read “To My Excellent Lucasia, on Our Friendship” by Katherine Philips and respond to the following:

1

What does Philips mean, “I am not Thine, but Thee?” Philips is so connected to her friend that they become almost one person.

2

This friendship is greater than what other relationships? My Joy, my Life, my rest. No Bridegroomes nor crown’d conqu’rour’s mirth

3

Other friends “have but pieces of this Earth” but she has “all the World in thee.” What does she mean?  Her friend makes her whole (as contrasted to causing her to be isolated from other people).

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LESSON 2

Richard Lovelace

Personification

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: Lovelace often uses a metaphor called personification in his poetry. Identify its usage in “Lucasta” and discuss how it enhances the poem.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 10-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Lovelace often uses a metaphor called personification in his poetry. Identify its usage in “To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars.”

Personification To go to war is the poet’s mistress, and necessary, if he is to retain his honor.

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LESSON 3

George Herbert

Assignments •

Warm-up: Why is the title “The Collar” appropriate?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 10-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Metaphysical Conceit

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-C

In the metaphysical conceit, metaphors have a much more purely conceptual, and thus tenuous, relationship between the things being compared. An example of the latter would be George Herbert’s “Praise (3),” in which the generosity of God is compared to a bottle which (“As we have boxes for the poor”) will take in an infinite amount of the speaker’s tears. Find three metaphysical conceits in “The Collar.”

This leads to a powerful, metaphysical moment, a salvation experience: “Me thoughts I heard one calling, ‘Child’; And I replied, ‘My Lord.’”

Life is a “cage” and “rope of sands” controlled by time. Herbert thankfully has escaped the hold of this death sentence.

“While thou didst wink and wouldst not see.” Herbert is comparing his life to a drinking spree that has gone awry.

Metaphysical Conceits

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LESSON 4

Henry Vaughan

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: Read the poem “The Retreat.” Why do you think Vaughan calls his poem “The Retreat”?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 10-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

On a separate piece of paper, create a shaped poem about an object or concept that is important to you. Star Star, If you are A love compassionate, You will walk with us this year. We face a glacial distance, who are here Huddld At your feet. By William Buford

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LESSON 5

Robert Herrick Assignments •

Warm-up: Describe the structure of “Bermudas.” How is it divided? Why? Defend your answers from the poem.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 10-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 10 test. Andrew Marvell’s “Bermuda” celebrates several characteristics of God. What are four?

Where he the huge sea-monsters wracks, That lift the deep upon their backs,

Theme

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-E

He lands us on a grassy stage,

Like golden lamps in a green night; Like golden lamps in a green night; And sends the fowls to us in care,

What should we do but sing his praise That led us through the wat’ry maze Unto an isle so long unknown, And yet far kinder than our own?

Safe from the storm’s and prelates’ rage. He gave us this eternal spring

And sends the fowls to us in care, On daily visits through the air.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. “The Collar” illustrates the main features of Herbert’s poetry: symbolic writing and the use of the metaphysical conceit. Give several examples of this literary device in “The Collar.” Explain how this literary technique enhances Herbert’s poem. SUMMARY: Life is a “cage” and “rope of sands” controlled by time. Herbert, though, thankfully has escaped the hold of this death sentence. Herbert, in my opinion, is describing his salvation experience. He is comparing his life to a drinking spree that has gone awry. This leads to a powerful, metaphysical moment: “Me thoughts I heard one calling, ‘Child’; / And I replied, ‘My Lord.’” B. Compare Andrew Marvell’s “Coy Mistress” with Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love.” SUMMARY: In “Coy Mistress,” Marvell tries to reconcile sinful physical acts with the spiritual aspects of a couple’s relationship — as if the two go together. Every Christian knows that outside of marriage they do not reinforce each other, and his pursuit is futile. In this view, his high-flown speech (especially in the first section) expresses the extremeness of his commitment to his mistress. From this perspective, the speaker’s final proposal about the lovers taking control of their own fate (taking that control away from time) could be meant sincerely. Clearly, though, the Christian reader knows that sinful behavior brings bondage, not freedom. We do not break God’s laws; they break us. This is more evident to Marlowe, whose passionate shepherd chooses the high ground and does not put physical love into his affectionate agenda. Within Marvell’s worldview, by the way, is an inherent disrespect for women. They are objects of gratification, trophies to be won, objects of scorn. This is the opposite of Marlowe, who extols the virtues of women for themselves and not for ulterior purposes. C. A born-again Christian friend of mine relates a story that has a shocking application to contemporary American youth. Once, while involved in a discussion at his college, this 20-year-old friend of mine shared quite by accident that he was a virgin, that he had intentionally avoided premarital sexual activity. This was a rarity in this secular university. He was the laughingstock of his class. My friend remained silent. Finally, after everyone had had his laugh, my friend quietly retorted, “I could be like any of you by this time tomorrow. You can never be like me as long as you live.” What does the Bible say about premarital sex? What would you, as a believer, say to Herrick’s “virgin”? Would you advise her “to make much of time”? If you do, what would be your reasons? SUMMARY: The wages of sin is death, and the momentary pleasures of this life are fleeting! Living eternally with God offers more appeal to me (Romans 6:23). I am willing to forego pleasures of this life to enjoy a future one.

CHAPTER 10 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Answer the following question in a one-page essay. The poetry of George Herbert reveals beginnings of the sentiments that were to lead to the ascendance of Puritanism in England within a decade of his death — sentiments such as the emphasis on personal

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salvation, the importance of prayer to the Christian life, and the need to seek personal forgiveness for sins from God. Yet for all Herbert’s longing for personal spiritual reconciliation with God, his diversion into recording and possibly inventing proverbs betrays his vocational imperative as an Anglican priest to provide lessons to his congregation in which common sense and orthodox Christian teachings are presented. Herbert’s Outlandish Proverbs is a fine example of these personal testimonies. Outlandish Proverbs at its most basic level is Herbert’s attempt to bring the gospel alive to his parish community. Yet, even during his age, some criticized his attempt to make stuffy Anglican liturgy more palatable to common men. Marva J. Dawn (a pseudonym, Reaching Out without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for the Turn-of-the-Century Culture, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), argues that contemporary attempts to do what George Herbert did largely harm the church. Dawn uses the expression “dumbing down” to describe the status of most contemporary worship services — both informal and formal, low and high, charismatic and traditional. Dawn draws many of her views about dumbing down from Jane Healey’s book Endangered Minds (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990, p. 7), which argues persuasively that many cultural forces are at work to sabotage people’s abilities to think. This has had an impact on all parts of American society, including worship. Dawn is not concerned with those statuses. What concerns Dawn is whether a worship service is “dumbing down” or challenging its worshipers to be all they can be for the Lord, all that God wants them to be. Analyze the worship experience you presently enjoy. Is it a “dumbing down” experience for you? Do you feel that it is okay for modern versions to translate Scripture into modern vernacular? Why or why not? ANSWER: What concerns Dawn is whether a worship service is “dumbing down” or challenging its worshipers to be all they can be for the Lord, all that God wants them to be. As much as any English poet, George Herbert represents the enigma of Anglican England. His quest and hunger for God presages the coming Puritan Revolution that would begin within a decade after his death. His writings evidence sentiments that were to lead to the ascendance of Puritanism in England. These include the emphasis on personal salvation (“The Pilgrimage”), the importance of prayer to the Christian life (“Prayer” and “Denial”), and the need to seek forgiveness for sins from God (“Love [III]”). Yet for all Herbert’s longing for a personal relationship with God, his diversion into recording and possibly inventing proverbs betrays his vocational imperative as an Anglican priest to provide lessons to his congregation in which common sense, natural imagery, and “conventional” Christian teachings are presented. These proverbs are not “outlandish,” as the title of the collection suggests. Most of the proverbs are examples of folk wisdom. Notwithstanding the pun contained in the title, their relevance to early 17th-century traditional European societies transcends time and nationality. Many of these proverbs use references to nature as a means of making them more relevant to a predominately rural audience: 16. The Wolfe knowes, what the ill beast thinkes. 23. Looke not for muske in a dogges kennell. 73. Flies are busiest about leane horses. The poverty and destitution that a large portion of the English population endured during Herbert’s period also gave rise to proverbs (recorded in this collection) that emphasized the need for frugality: 93. Sleepe without supping, and wake without owing. 436. He that hath little is the lesse durtie. 1003. He that goes to bed thirsty riseth healthy. Herbert wrote, as it were, a folksy prayer guide and layman’s theological handbook. He wrote the “Cotton Patch Gospel” of his day!

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Chapter 1 1

The Seventeenth Century (Part 3) First Thoughts Samuel Johnson

spoke of Milton in his book Lives of the Poets (1779): “He was naturally a thinker for himself, confident of his own abilities, and disdainful of help or hindrance: he did not refuse admission to the thought or images of his predecessors, but he did not seek them. . . . His great works were performed under discountenance, and in blindness, but difficulties vanished at his touch; he was born for whatever is arduous; and his work is not the greatest of heroick poems, only because it is not the first.”

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the style Milton used in his sonnet. 2. Compare and contrast “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso.” 3. Compare and contrast “How Soon Hath Time” and “To a Virtuous Young Woman” with Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress.” Which poems advance a biblical view? Defend your answer from the text and Scripture. 4. Evaluate Milton as a transitional poet in English literature. 5. Analyze Milton’s stylistic tendencies as manifested in the poems you have read thus far and consider why he chose a certain style. 6. Compare John Milton’s poems with John Donne’s poems (especially “Sonnet IX”).

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review Paradise Lost by John Milton.

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History connections: British History chapter 11, “The Commonwealth.”

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LESSON 1

John Milton

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Milton’s poems are full of biblical references and motifs. Find examples of these references in this lesson’s poems and other poems by Milton.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 11-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 11.

Read “On His Blindness” by John Milton, and respond to the following:

1

2

What is the basis of Milton’s frustration?  Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, And that one talent which is death to hide Lodg’d with me useless, though my soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present. What is Milton’s response?  That murmur, soon replies: “God doth not need Either man’s work or his own gifts: who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed And post o’er land and ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and wait.”

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LESSON 2

O Nightingale

Figurative Language

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: Paraphrase “O Nightingale” in your own words.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 11-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Match each example from the text with its figurative language type.

1

A

2

D

3

C

4

B

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216 3

Blindness

Those Who Wait

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-C

Assignments •

 arm-up: “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent” and “On His Blindness” are reflective W poems in which Milton conceptualizes the tragedy that his blindness has brought to him. Yet, in his final analysis, there is reason for hope. What is this hope?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 11-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

From your own life, or from your studies, describe two other people who exemplified these last two lines of “On His Blindness.” “And post o’er land and ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and wait.” Example 1: Answers will vary.

Example 2: Answers will vary.

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LESSON 4

L’Allegro

Christian Motifs

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: The first ten lines of “L’Allegro” evidence a popular metaphorical technique called personification. Give evidence of this from “L’Allegro” and show how Milton uses this technique to make his point.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 11-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Milton’s poems are full of biblical references and motifs. Find TWO examples of these references in poems by Milton. Poem

Biblical Reference

To a Virtuous Young Lady

Matthew 25:1–13 Ten Virgins

On His Blindness

Matthew 25: 14–30 Parable of the Talents

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LESSON 5

Il Penseroso

Assignments •

Warm-up: What kind of music do you like best and why do you enjoy it?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 11-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 11 test.

Tone & Mood

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-E

Listen on CD or on line to Handel’s composition “L’Allegro, il Pensoroso, ed il Moerto” and compare Handel’s music to the poems. Does Handel use musical instruments to capture the tone and mood of these two poems?

The start of the year 1740 was a bad time for Handel. The Italian opera was in crisis, a situation exacerbated by the closure of London’s theaters due to the most severe winter in the capital’s recorded history. To make matters worse he had recently suffered the first of a series of strokes. It is remarkable that it was during this time that Handel produced one of his freshest, most appealing scores, one of the few of his works to retain undiminished popularity for the remainder of the century. Like Alexander’s Feast, composed four years earlier, L’Allegro, il Pensoroso, ed il Moderato is one of Handel’s English works that falls into no distinctive musical category. Described as a “pastoral ode,” the text is based on John Milton’s pair of allegorical poems, L’Allegro and Il Pensoroso (ca. 1632), the titles of which refer to the humors of cheerfulness and thoughtfulness, the extrovert and introvert sides of man’s character respectively. Handel’s librettist Charles Jennens (who later provided him with the text of Messiah) juxtaposed Milton’s two poems in order to provide alternating contrasted passages, adding for good measure in a typically Enlightenment gesture a third section extolling the merits of moderation over extremes of temperament. This third part of the work is noticeably weaker than those involving Milton’s poetry, and for a time, was often dropped. However, to do so is to lose the soprano/tenor duet “As steals the morn.” The alternation of cheerful and reflective moods set for soloists and chorus (solo and choral numbers are often combined in the manner familiar from Purcell’s vocal works) gave Handel the opportunity to produce a wonderfully varied score that echoes both the joys and peace of the English countryside and the bustle of urban life. Richly orchestrated for trumpets, timpani, horn, flute, oboes, bassoons, and strings, Handel evokes a range of the color that runs a gamut between the somber bassoon-darkened texture of the opening recitative to the joyous pealing of a carillon in “Or let the merry bells.” —Brian Robins, All Music Guide web.me.com/andrewfosterwilliams/Andrew/reviews.html

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Milton stayed closer to Italian models for the sonnet than did his predecessors Spenser and Shakespeare. “O Nightingale” rhymes abba, abba, cdcdcd. Milton scholars remind us that he does not encourage us to pause but moves through the poem in a prose-like fashion. His sonnets roll to conclusions that seem irresistible. Agree or disagree with this description of “O Nightingale” and use copious examples from the text to support your answer. SUMMARY: Like most brilliant writers, Milton uses relatively simple language and what was to his audience “common” metaphors. This keeps the poem moving along. B. Compare and contrast “How Soon Hath Time” and “To a Virtuous Young Woman” with Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress.” Which poem(s) advances a biblical view? Defend your answer from the text and Scripture. SUMMARY: Clearly, forcefully, and often, Milton advances a theistic view of life. Milton is not trying to make the most of time. He is looking “Toward which Time leads me, and the will of Heav’n / All is, if I have grace to use it so / As ever in my great Task-Master’s eye.” The virgin is invited to remain pure because a higher authority calls her to do so. “And hope that reaps not shame. Therefore be sure / Thou, when the Bridegroom with his feastful friends / Passes to bliss at the mid-hour of night, / Hast gained thy entrance, Virgin wise and pure.” And, finally, some of the most wonderful words written in English literature appear in “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent”: “That murmur, soon replies: ‘God doth not need / Either man’s work or his own gifts: who best / Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state / Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed / And post over land and ocean without repose: / They also serve who only stand and wait.’ ” C. Compare John Milton’s poems with John Donne’s poems (especially “Sonnet IX”). SUMMARY: Both Milton and Donne (by the end of his life) were men of faith. They both introduced this faith into 17th-century literature. The Elizabethans had separated art from religion. While the religion of the preceding era had been an infallible, unifying presence, religion had ceased to be an integral part of human identity by the 16th century. Instead, religion was a separate entity, a movement in which humans could choose to participate. This new perspective on religion influenced many of the primary characteristics of the literature in the period, which include the questioning of accepted traditions, the importance of human reason, the value of human choice, and Christian realities, such as Christ, Satan, heaven, and hell. Two works from the era that demonstrate these qualities are Milton’s Paradise Lost and Donne’s “Holy Sonnet IX.”

CHAPTER 11 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Write three poems on the subject of mutability. The first poem should be an Elizabethan poem. The second should be a metaphysical poem (as Donne wrote). The final should be a poem in the Puritan style (as Milton wrote). ANSWER: Elizabethan poetry was concerned about symbolic time. By the time Donne and the metaphysics wrote, time was a reality, and they meant to make the most of it. Better than both groups, Milton understood that time had meaning, but only if it was handled in the proper context, with the Holy Spirit helping people toward right relationships.

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Chapter 1 2

The Seventeenth Century (Part 4) First Thoughts Paradise Lost is

an epic poem in blank verse by John Milton. It was originally published in 1667 in 10 books. A second edition followed in 1674, changed into 12 books with minor revisions throughout and a note on the versification. The poem concerns the story of the Fall of man and the expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Milton’s purpose, stated in Book I, is to “justify the ways of God to men.” Paradise Lost is without a doubt one of my favorite literary works.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the relationship between Adam and Eve. 2. Discuss who the protagonist is. 3. Find parallels with the Book of Genesis in the Bible. 4. Using a good concordance and commentary research what the Bible says about Satan. 5. Discuss Milton’s view of freedom. 6. Evaluate the ending. 7. Read Paradise Regained and compare it to Paradise Lost.

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Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review “Upon Being Contented with a Little” by Anne Killigrew; “An Essay of Dramatic Poesy” and “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day” by John Dryden. History connections: British History chapter 12, “The Restoration.”

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LESSON 1

Narrative Structure

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite quote from Paradise Lost?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 12-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 12.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-A

Read Paradise Lost by John Milton, and respond to the following:

1

Who is this “great” man? Jesus Christ

2

For what is Milton asking? Aid from God to write this great epic poem.

3

Who defied God? Satan

4

What happened to him? He was cast out of heaven.

5

What torments the Devil? “lost happiness and lasting pain”

6

The “light” of the flames (sin) gives no real light. Explain. The darkness of sin permeates everything.

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LESSON 2

Characters

Assignments •

Warm-up: Who is the protagonist of Paradise Lost? Satan or Adam?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 12-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-B

Eve, a most important foil to her husband Adam, is easily deceived by the serpent (lines 494–790). How?

Foil

Vanity

Eve

Weakness in logic

Desire for power

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LESSON 3

The Anguish of Milton’s Blindness Assignments •

Warm-up: Is there something you would change in your life if you could, but you can’t?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 12-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

The Son of God

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-C

Discuss the way Milton develops the Son of God. Draw parallels to the life of Satan (as an opposite force for good).

In Book III, Jesus willingly takes on the job of dying for mankind: Behold me then, me for him, life for life, I offer, on me let thine anger fall; Account me man; I for his sake will leave Thy bosom ...(III, 236–239). Satan too has willingly taken on a courageous task, but he did it to destroy mankind, to complete his revenge on God.

The Son always obeys God immediately, with a grace that shows His perfect freedom. He is the executive branch and God the legislative branch of the heavenly government. He can use the power of God, for example when He rides out in His chariot and pushes the rebel angels out of heaven, but He doesn’t abuse it.

From the moment that he accepts His position as the future Redeemer, He represents man’s interests before God. When He judges Adam and Eve after the Fall, He does so as “both judge and Savior sent,” and immediately after pronouncing judgment He begins to look after them. He gives them clothes made of the skins of beasts and shields them from God’s sight.

In the flash-forward in Book XII, we see the culmination of the Son’s devotion to man, when He is born, lives, and dies for man. To Him, God gives the privilege of wiping out hell on the Day of Judgment, when a new heaven and a new earth are created.

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LESSON 4

Critics Corner Assignments •

Warm-up: Persuade your friends to read Paradise Lost.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 12-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Epic Similes

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-D

An epic simile is an extended simile elaborated in such detail or at such length as to overshadow temporarily the plot of a narrative work. Usually it compares one complex action (rather than a simple quality or thing) with another. For example, “Uncle Harry has more socks than Carter has pills.” Give examples of epic similes from lines 192–375.

He is as big as the Titans and Giants who rebelled against Jove (Zeus)

Satan is so big that his trunk covers many acres

Epic Similes

A whale

An island

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LESSON 5

The Ending Assignments •

Warm-up: The last few lines express simply that frightening sense of intense aloneness one feels when beginning a new part of one’s life. Even though you know that eventually everything will turn out well, it is scary to begin something new. Can you remember a time like that?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 12-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 12 test.

Give three themes in Paradise Lost.

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-E

Individual Responsibility and Choices

Themes

Providence

God’s Omnipotence, Omniscience

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. The clue to Adam’s character is his relationship to Eve. It ought to be his relationship to God, but it isn’t — and that fact causes Adam’s fall. Discuss the way Milton develops Adam as one of the main characters in his epic poem. SUMMARY: Adam is a warm, if naïve, man whose sole passion is God. This is mitigated by his curiosity and propensity to selfishness, which ultimately causes him to sin. B. Using a good concordance and commentary, research what the Bible says about Satan. SUMMARY: Paradise Lost focuses on the relationship between God and Satan, and climaxes with Adam and Eve’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Book 1 of Milton’s Paradise Lost describes the episode in which Satan, after suffering a bloody defeat, again raises his army to fight the forces of God. From near the beginning of the story, Satan’s character is given desirable attributes, both as a leader in battle and as a person in general. Book 1 begins with Satan addressing a fellow fallen angel, after suffering their first defeat to the armies of God. Describing this encounter, Satan says, “From what height fallen, so much the stronger proved / He with his thunder: and till then who knew / The force of those dire arms?” (Book 1, lines 92–94). C. In spite of the loss of paradise, this epic poem ends in tremendous optimism. How? SUMMARY: Not only do man and woman find themselves in relationship with God, but also someday Jesus Christ shall come to bring the triumph over the devil.

CHAPTER 12 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Create a contemporary story based on themes in Paradise Lost. Your story should be at least five pages long. ANSWER: Answers will vary. The story could start with rebellious family members or members of a class. These recalcitrant members could run away and set a kingdom up for themselves. Then, in the remaining passages the rebellious individuals could entice others into rebellion. This is the story line of C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.

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Chapter 1 3

The Seventeenth Century (Part 5) First Thoughts John Dryden

(1631–1700), the great representative figure in the literature of the latter part of the 17th century, exemplifies in his work most of the main tendencies of the time. He came into notice with a poem on the death of Cromwell in 1658, and two years later was composing couplets expressing his loyalty to the returned king. He married Lady Elizabeth Howard, the daughter of a royalist house, and for practically all the rest of his life remained an adherent of the Tory Party. Dryden, if he was anything, could adapt to the age in which he lived! (Introductory note, www.gutenberg.org/).

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Contrast the tone and theme of Killigrew’s poem with other 17thcentury poems. 2. Discuss the concept of an ode. 3. Reflect on the decline of Dryden’s society and compare it to today. 4. Using “An Essay of Dramatic Poesy,” recapitulate Dryden’s opinions of the writings of Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Evelina or Cecilia by Frances Burney d’Arblay; Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. History connections: British History chapter 13, “The Glorious Revolution.”

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LESSON 1

Anne Killigrew

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Why was Anne Killigrew so popular among her peers?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 13-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 13.

Read “On Death” by Anne Killigrew and respond to the following:

1

How does Killigrew characterize death? The safest end of all our woes

2

What distinct advantages does death offer?  No subtile Serpents in the Grave betray, Worms on the Body there, not Soul do prey; No Vice there Tempts, no Terrors there afright, No Coz’ning Sin affords a false delight: No vain Contentions do that Peace annoy, No feirce Alarms break the lasting Joy.

3

What sort of metaphor is “Come when thou wilt, in they afrightingst Dress? Personification

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LESSON 2

John Dryden Assignments •

Warm-up: “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day” was as iconoclastic a song for Dryden’s generation as Bob Dylan’s “Blowing in the Wind.” What iconoclastic, trendsetting songs have emerged in your generation?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 13-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-B

Read “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day” by John Dryden and respond to the following:

Stanza #

Question

1

Humanity, nature, the world, is “underneath a heap/Of jarring atoms lay.” What does music do to this world? It brings new life — a sort of resurrection.

2

What lies within the “corded shell?”  Less than a god they thought there could not dwell Within the hollow of that shell.

3

Dryden is evoking a warlike image. Explain.  Worship is warlike in that the participant is battling the spirits of duplicity, inconsonance, and boredom.

6

What special addition does the violin bring?  Notes inspiring holy love, Notes that wing their Heav’nly ways To mend the choirs above.

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LESSON 3

Neoclassicism

Neoclassicism

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-C

Assignments •

Warm-up: By the end of the 17th century, English society had already moved a long way from the godly principles of Puritanism. Ahead was the nihilism of the 18th century. Meditate on Daniel 5 as an example of a declining society.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 13-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

John Dryden wrote in the early days of Neoclassicism. Dryden saw man as an imperfect being, inherently sinful, whose potential was limited. He replaced the Renaissance emphasis on the imagination, on invention and experimentation, and on mysticism with an emphasis on order and reason, on restraint, on common sense, and on religious, political, economic, and philosophical conservatism. Dryden maintained that man himself was the most appropriate subject of art, and saw art itself as essentially pragmatic — as valuable because it was somehow useful — and as something which was properly intellectual rather than emotional. Give examples of Neoclassicism in Dryden’s poetry. Neoclassicism

Example

Man was an imperfect being.

Orpheus could lead the savage race; And trees unrooted left their place.

Religious conservatism.

Dryden evokes several orthodox religious symbols. Orthodoxy to Dryden, would be the high liturgical Church of England.

Man is part of nature.

But bright Cecilia rais’d the wonder high’r; When to her organ, vocal breath was giv’n, An angel heard, and straight appear’d Mistaking earth for Heav’n.

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LESSON 4

Antithesis Assignments •

Warm-up: In Stanza 5 of “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day,” Dryden uses a literary technique called antithesis: the juxtaposition of two contrasting words, thoughts, and phrases. Find other examples of antithesis in this poem.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 13-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Antithesis

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-D

In Stanza 5 of “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day,” Dryden uses a literary technique called antithesis: the juxtaposition of two contrasting words, thoughts, and phrases. Find other examples of antithesis in this poem.

Arise ye more than dead. Then cold, and hot, and moist, and dry, In order to their stations leap

Within the hollow of that shell That spoke so sweetly and so well. What passion cannot music raise and quell!

So when the last and dreadful hour This crumbling pageant shall devour, The trumpet shall be heard on high, The dead shall live, the living die, And music shall untune the sky.

Antithesis

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LESSON 5

Grand Chorus

•

Warm-up: What is the rhyme scheme of this poem?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 13-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 13 test.

Read “A Grand Chorus” (from “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day”) by John Dryden and respond to the following:

Verse

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-E

Assignments

This short poetic verse is an image of what? A grand chorus of angels and saints in the end times.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Contrast the tone and theme of Killigrew’s poem with other 17th-century poems. SUMMARY: Certainly the notion of “being contented with a little” is in stark contrast to poems about “Virgins Making the Most of Time” or other thematic poems of this era that invite readers to “make the most of time” rather than be satisfied with what they have. B. “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day” is an ode. What is an ode and why is this poem an ode? SUMMARY: The feast day of St. Cecilia (Nov. 22) commemorated the legend that she invented the organ, and thus she became the patron saint of music, celebrated by the performance of formal odes set to music. During the Restoration and 18th century, these odes enlisted the services of the best musicians and poets, as well as lesser ones. Dryden’s “Alexander’s Feast” (1697) is another ode for St. Cecilia’s Day. The theme conventionally combines a tribute to the power of music and a final tribute to the saint, with reference to the legend here given in stanza 7. For the reference to Jubal in stanza 2, see Genesis 4:21. C. Dryden’s community, it seemed to him, was experiencing a decline into maudlin nostalgia and superficiality. In what ways does contemporary American society mirror a similar decline? SUMMARY: Major revealing features of modern consciousness are an unrestrained, individual freedom, the goal of which is to liberate one from all restrictions, constraints, traditions, and all social patterning — all of which are self-evidently presumed to be dehumanizing. Modernity has contempt for other viewpoints. Modernity is reductionistic naturalism.

CHAPTER 13 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) John Dryden wrote in the Augustan Age style of English writing. In Roman literature, the Augustan Age was the reign of the emperor Augustus (27 B.C.–A.D. 14), during which Ovid and Horace wrote. The name has come to designate any eminent period in the literary life of a nation. In English literature, the Augustan Age was the period from the restoration of the monarchy (1660) to the death of Alexander Pope (1744). The major writers of the age were Alexander Pope and John Dryden in poetry, and Jonathan Swift and Joseph Addison in prose. The literature of the age is distinguished by its striving for clarity and order (in verse, the tight heroic couplet is the predominant form), its public tone, and its imitation of Roman models, especially Cicero and Horace. Dryden was a master of English prose. Compare his style with any contemporary writer you choose. ANSWER: Bob Dylan has created new styles and themes in music for almost half a century. Dylan, of course, does not have the talent of a Dryden. Other 20th-century choices might be C.S. Lewis’ writings and J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings. Both were unique in their age in that they advanced a theistic agenda in apologetic styles.

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Chapter 1 4

The Eighteenth Century (Part 1) First Thoughts The complete title of Defoe’s novel really is The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an uninhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver’d by Pyrates. But that is not all. He also wrote The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1719) and Serious Reflections during the Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe (1720). Today these would be considered sequels. The sequels never really worked very well. Can you find examples in contemporary American art or literature where the sequels were not equal to the original work?

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Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Read Cecilia or Evelina and compare it/ them to novels by Daniel Defoe. 2. Analyze Friday’s conversion experience. 3. Discuss some of the consequences of disobedience.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review “London’s Summer Morning” by Mary Darby Robinson, and “The Rape of The Lock” by Alexander Pope. History connections: British History chapter 14, “The Oranges, Stuarts, & Hanovers.”

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LESSON 1

Frances Burney d’Arblay

Assignments •

Warm-up: Why was it so difficult for 18th-century women to be published?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 14-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 14.

1

With what literary form does Burney begin her book? What advantage does this offer her?  A personal letter. This allows Burney to reveal the personality of her narrator without the use of dialogue.

2

Based on this passage, what may the reader infer Madame Duvall is saying about Rev. Mr. Villars?  The novel opens with a distressed letter from Lady Howard to her long-time acquaintance, the Reverend Arthur Villars. In the letter, Lady Howard reports that Mme. Duval, the grandmother of Villars’ ward, Evelina Anville, intends to visit England to renew her acquaintance with her granddaughter Evelina. Eighteen years earlier, Mme. Duval had broken off her relationship with her daughter Caroline, Evelina’s mother, and has never acknowledged Evelina. Reverend Villars fears Mme. Duval’s influence could lead Evelina to an untimely and shameful death similar to that of her mother Caroline.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-A

Read “Evelina,” chapter I, by Fanny Burney, and respond to the following:

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LESSON 2

Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: What type of adventure story interests you and why?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 14-B.

•

Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Students should outline essays due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Read Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, chapter I, and respond to the following:

1

What narrative strategy does Defoe employ? First person

2

What may have been the cause of the misfortunes that fall on Crusoe? He disobeyed his father.

3

Crusoe, the narrator, speaks at length about his father. Why? He respects and loves his father, even though he disobeyed him.

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LESSON 3

Daniel Defoe

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your best attribute?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 14-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Description

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-C

In one or two sentences, describe the following image taken from Robinson Crusoe (by A.F. Lydon, plate 7, 1865, PD-Art).

Robinson Crusoe frightened by a goat in a cave.

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LESSON 4

Worldview Battles

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Warm-up: Who is your least favorite philosopher, songwriter, or politician. Why? How does his/her worldview conflict with yours?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 14-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Pretend that you are marooned on a deserted tropical island for 28 years. Circle ten of the following items you would most want to have with you.

Shipwrecked

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-D

Assignments

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 5

Friday

Assignments •

Warm-up: Using the following passage, discuss why Defoe is such a gifted writer. Use criteria such as descriptive language, variety of sentence length, and subtlety of message.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 14-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 14 test.

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-E

A Symbol of the Christian Life

Some critics see Defoe’s novel as a symbol of the Christian life. In other words, Crusoe matures as a Christian as the novel progresses. Trace that development.

He grows as he prays and reads the Bible, the only book he has.

Finally he is at peace with God and rests in His providential care.

He becomes a pilgrim, a saint with a purpose. Crusoe is the disobedient son, wandering with no direction.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Read Cecilia or Evelina and compare it/them to novels by Daniel Defoe. SUMMARY: Answers will vary B. Eventually Friday has a conversion experience that separates him from servitude with his master. Do you think that the conversion experience is genuine? Why or why not? “Conversion” to Defoe would be differently understood than we do. For instance, the altar call came into existence during the Finney Revivals of 1820s. What did Defoe mean when he stated that Friday was converted to Christianity? SUMMARY: Friday exhibits religious autonomy coupled with sincere humanity that seems to indicate that he truly has been converted. C. Defoe chose to disobey his godly parents and become a writer instead of a pastor. Some feel that, while he was a talented writer, his rebellious spirit haunted him all his life. Study Defoe’s life and argue pro or con this statement. SUMMARY: Clearly, Defoe’s difficulties in his early life were caused by his rebellion. Robinson Crusoe’s life mirrors Defoe’s life. As he languishes on the island, he matures into a stronger person. Presumably, this happened to Defoe, too.

CHAPTER 14 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) ESSAY (100 POINTS) Robinson Crusoe has a strong moral vision. Crusoe is warned by his father not to go sailing, but just like his two elder brothers — the eldest died as a soldier near Dunkirk and the second was never heard of again after he left the house of his parents — Crusoe is too much attracted by the adventures promised by the sea. I would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea; and my inclination to this led me so strongly against the will, nay, the commands, of my father, and against all the entreaties and persuasions of my mother and other friends, that there seemed to be something fatal in that propension of nature tending directly to the life of misery which was to befall me. This character flaw ultimately dooms Robinson Crusoe to learn his lessons the hard way. Find other examples in the book to support this observation. ANSWER: On 1 September 1651 Crusoe is invited by a friend in Hull to embark on a ship that is bound for London. They are caught in a storm and Crusoe promises himself that “if he reaches the coast, he will obey his parents.” However, he doesn’t, not even after a second admonition, this time from the ship’s captain. On the contrary, he now makes a long trade voyage to Guinea. The voyage is successful, but on his second voyage he is taken as prisoner by Moorish pirates and sold as a slave. After two years he manages to escape. He returns home. In Brazil, Crusoe takes care of his overseas possessions by letter and sets up a plantation. After four years, he undertakes a new voyage to Guinea to buy slaves. In short, I took all possible caution to preserve my effects and keep up my plantation. Had I used half as much prudence to have looked into my own interest, and have made a judgment of what I

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ought to have done and not to have done, I had certainly never gone away from so prosperous an undertaking, leaving all the probable views of a thriving circumstance, and gone upon a voyage to sea, attended with all its common hazards, to say nothing of the reasons I had to expect particular misfortunes to myself. Beyond the equator, the ship is seized by a hurricane and driven out of its course. Just before the Caribbean islands it hits a sandbank and is stranded. After another violent storm, Crusoe is cast ashore on a desert island, as the only survivor of the shipwreck. It would have made a stoic smile, to have seen me and my little family sit down to dinner. There was my majesty, the prince and lord of the whole island; I had the lives of all my subjects at my absolute command. I could hang, draw, give liberty, and take it away; and no rebels among all my subjects. After 12 years on the island, he is rescued. Crusoe discovers that his parents have died. In Lisbon he receives the proceeds of his plantation in Brazil. Because he has become afraid of the risks of a sea voyage, he travels back to his native country over land. However, this is not without danger either: during the passage of the Pyrenees, the company is attacked by wild animals. Clearly, Defoe is making a point: whatever one sows, so shall he reap.

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Chapter 1 5

The Eighteenth Century (Part 2) First Thoughts ”The Rape of

the Lock” is a mock-heroic narrative poem written by Alexander Pope, first published anonymously, but then revised, expanded, and reissued under Pope’s name on March 2, 1714, in a much-enlarged version. The final form was available in 1717 with the addition of Clarissa’s speech on good humor. The poem pokes fun and satirizes a silly squabble by comparing it to the epic of world proportions. It was based on an incident recounted by Pope’s friend, John Caryll. Arabella Fermor and her suitor, Lord Petre, were both from aristocratic recusant Catholic families at a period in England when under such laws as the Test Act, all denominations except Anglicanism suffered legal restrictions and penalties (for example Petre could not take up his place in the House of Lords as a Catholic). Petre, lusting after Arabella, had cut off a lock of her hair without permission, and the consequent argument had created a breach between the two families. Pope, also a Roman Catholic, wrote the poem to satirize this bizarre world. He utilized the character Belinda to represent Arabella and introduced an entire system of “sylphs,” or guardian spirits of virgins, a parodized version of the gods and goddesses of conventional epic.

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Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze ”London’s Summer Morning.” 2. Compare Pope’s satire with Chaucer’s satire. 3. Evaluate Pope’s worldview.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review Gulliver’s Travels and Abolishing Christianity by Jonathan Swift. History connections: British History chapter 15, “Whigs and Tories.”

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LESSON 1

Mary Darby Robinson

Assignments Warm-up: In what way is “London’s Summer Morning” autobiographical?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 15-A.

•

Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 15.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-A

•

Read “The Rape of the Lock” Canto I from chapter 15 by Alexander Pope, and respond to the following:

1

From this opening stanza, what may the reader infer about Belinda, the protagonist? She is a spoiled, superficial, aristocrat.

2

What terrible nightmare has disturbed Belinda’s sleep? Someone will cut off her lock!

3

She has been dreaming, and we learn that the dream has been sent by “her guardian Sylph,” Ariel. What sort of guardian angel is this? A rather ludicrous, inept guardian angel!

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LESSON 2

Alexander Pope

•

Warm-up: Why were Roman Catholics forbidden from getting a university education?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 15-B.

•

Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

•

Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays. This long poem is the best example in the English language of the of mock-epic. The strategy of Pope’s mock-epic is not to mock the form itself, but to mock his society in its very failure to rise to epic standards, exposing its pettiness by casting it against the grandeur of the traditional epic subjects and the bravery and fortitude of epic heroes: Pope’s mock-heroic treatment in “The Rape of the Lock” underscores the ridiculousness of a society in which values have lost all proportion, and the trivial is handled with the gravity and solemnity that ought to be accorded to truly important issues. Discuss how Pope mocks normally very solemn subjects.

Mock Epic

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-B

Assignments

The Church: Worship of God has been replaced by a worship of self; the Church has been replaced by a dressing room and an altar of love. These are now the sacred things.

Epic Hero(oine): Belinda is a shallow, selfish, self-serving person who cares for no one but herself.

Society: While society extols virtue and honor, in fact, it rewards duplicity and amorality.

Mock Epic

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LESSON 3

“The Rape of the Lock”

Assignments •

Warm-up: Read the first canto of “The Rape of the Lock” and paraphrase each stanza.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 15-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Pope’s Worldview

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-C

Pope exhibited a sort of deism, which was the rage in England and the American colonies. Deism is a worldview that argues that, while there is most certainly a God, He is, by His own design, absent from the affairs of mankind. Mankind, therefore, should commit to working out his or her own salvation. Find evidence of deism in this section of Pope’s “Essay on Man.”

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan, The proper study of Mankind is Man. Plac’d on this isthmus of a middle state, A being darkly wise, and rudely great: With too much knowledge for the Sceptic side, With too much weakness for the Stoic’s pride, He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest, In doubt to deem himself a God, or Beast; In doubt his Mind or Body to prefer; Born but to die, and reas’ning but to err; Alike in ignorance, his reason such, Whether he thinks too little, or too much: Chaos of Thought and Passion, all confus’d; Still by himself abus’d, or disabus’d; Created half to rise, and half to fall; Great lord of all things, yet a prey to all; Sole judge of Truth, in endless Error hurl’d: The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!

To know oneself, one should “presume not God to scan.”

Mankind is not sure whether to “deem himself a God, or Beast.”

“Chaos of Thought and Passion, all confus’d; created half to rise, and half to fall.”

www.walden3.org/KnowSelf.htm.

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LESSON 4

Allegory

•

Warm-up: What animal best symbolizes your character?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 15-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

“The Rape of the Lock” is full of symbolism, or allegory. The “rape of the lock” itself is representative of the facileness of 18th-century English aristocratic society. What are two other symbols? There are many!

Allegory

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-D

Assignments

China = Belinda is as fragile as china.

Rape of the lock = satire on the facileness of 18th-century English aristocracy.

Sun = Belinda is as radiant as the sun! This is making fun of Belinda.

Allegory (symbols)

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LESSON 5

Satire Assignments Warm-up: Is Pope humorous or disrespectful?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 15-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 15 test.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-E

•

Read Mary Darby Robinson’s “London’s Summer Morning,” and respond to the following:

1

What ordinary details does the poet share with the reader? Sooty chimney-boy, with dingy face; sleepy housemaid; tinkling bell

2

Give two examples of imagery (descriptions). 1. The ruddy housemaid twirls the busy mop 2. The sun darts burning splendor

3

Who wakes into this noisy world? The poet

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. ”London’s Summer Morning” is prophetically modern in tone and substance. Explain. SUMMARY: The images are all ordinary and powerfully presented. There is no rhyme scheme. The poem ends with “the poor poet” waking from busy dreams, to paint the summer morning — painting the morning through the use of words filled with rich imagery. B. Compare Pope’s satire with Chaucer’s satire. SUMMARY: The tone of the two authors is quite similar. They are both making fun of their societies in order both to extol and to chastise. They are not being disrespectful, only sarcastic. In later years, Jonathan Swift copies this form of humor. C. At the height of his career, Pope addressed questions of metaphysics and ethics and wrote the didactic poem for which he was best known in his time, “An Essay on Man,” expressing 18th-century perceptions of the universe and humanity’s place in God’s scheme. The work surveys the nature and condition of man and declares him a living paradox, a being caught somewhere between order and chaos, “in doubt to deem himself a God, or Beast.” Weigh this perception of man against the biblical witness and write a three-page essay contrasting Pope’s views with the Bible. SUMMARY: Pope’s views are rather orthodox. The Bible is clear that man is created in the image of God and wonderfully, and fearfully made (Gen. 1:27; Ps. 139).

CHAPTER 15 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Write your own satirical poem about 20th-century American life. ANSWER: Answers will vary.

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Chapter 16

The Eighteenth Century (Part 3) First Thoughts Gulliver’s Travels was really a dare. Along with Alexander Pope and other fledgling authors, Swift was a member of the Martinus Scriblerus Club. The purpose of this club was to satirize the foolishness of modern man. Each member was given a topic; Swift’s was to satirize the travel literature. Pope was to satirize the British upper class.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the character Gulliver. 2. Describe the Yahoos. 3. Compare Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” and Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. 4. Examine in great detail the way in which Swift attacks his opponents. 5. Evaluate Swift’s satire of attacks on Christianity.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith.

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History connections: British History chapter 16, “European Wars.”

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LESSON 1

Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Does Swift go beyond good taste into vulgarity?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 16-A.

•

Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 16.

Read Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (chapter 1) and respond to the following:

1

What is the narrative (point of view) technique? First person

2

What kind of person can you infer Gulliver to be? An inquisitive, courageous, thoughtful young man

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LESSON 2

William Hogarth Paintings

Assignments •

Warm-up: Draw a picture of a Yahoo.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 16-B.

•

Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

•

Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Describe salient features of each voyage.

Plot

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-B

Part I Lilliputians Part II Land of Brobdingnan Part III Flying Island of Laputa Part IV The Land of the Houyhnhnms

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LESSON 3

Travelogue

•

Warm-up: Write a humorous satire/parody of a vacation you enjoyed.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 16-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Circle the words that describe Gulliver.

Character Profile

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-C

Assignments

Sanguine

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LESSON 4

Critic Corner Assignments •

Warm-up: Hollywood loves Gulliver’s Travels and has made many movies about the book. Why?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 16-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Describe the Yahoos.

Description

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-D

Gluttonous and filthy, lascivious, thieving, violent brutes

Yahoos

Live like animals in kennels

Degenerate humans

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LESSON 5

Satire

Style

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: How effective is satire?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 16-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 16 test.

Style is the way an author writes a literary piece. Find examples of the style components of this novel.

Irony

Allegory

Satire

It is ironic that the Brobdingnagians appear gross, but are filled with beauty.

Swift is writing a parody — symbolic satire — of British society.

Swift uses Gulliver to satirize the Lilliputians and then Swift satirizes the reader by creating a great tension between what is and what appears to be.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Gulliver is the most important character in this novel. He’s also one of the most disconcerting characters in English literature. Discuss in great detail why Gulliver is such a difficult character for readers to enjoy. SUMMARY: Gulliver frustrates his readers for several reasons: (1) He is an unpredictable character. He changes in relation to the places he visits. (2) He is an unreliable narrator. This means that we have to be on guard. (3) It’s impossible to feel relaxed with Gulliver as we can with a traditional omniscient narrator. (4) Gulliver can be self-centered and full of recrimination. B. Examine in great detail the way in which Swift attacks his opponents. SUMMARY: Swift’s style is composed chiefly of satire, allegory, and irony. Satire consists of a mocking attack against stupidities and follies, with an aim to improve. Allegory is one of Swift’s most important satirical tools. Allegory is a device in which characters, situations, and places have a significance that goes beyond simply what they are in themselves. Allegory, like satire, is used to teach. The Lilliputians, for example, are allegorical Whigs. Irony is evident when the intended meaning of a statement or an action is opposite to that which is presented. A fine example of Swiftian irony is when Gulliver says he saw no mercy in the Lilliputian decision to blind him. Gulliver was actually looking for the mercy here, and, of course, there was none to be found. C. Evaluate Swift’s essay “An Argument to Prove That the Abolishing of Christianity in England, May as Things Now Stand, Be Attended with Some Inconveniencies, and Perhaps Not Produce Those Many Good Effects Proposed Thereby.” The 18th-century spelling, syntax, and grammar rules have been maintained throughout the passage. Compare it to the style, tone, and theme of Gulliver’s Travels. SUMMARY: Answers will vary but must be based on true observations.

CHAPTER 16 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Write an imaginary satire in which a modern Gulliver tries to initiate the King of Brobingnag into modern society. ANSWER: Answers will vary.

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Chapter 17

The Eighteenth Century (Part 4) First Thoughts Oliver Goldsmith wrote in the preface to his book: “There are an hundred faults in this Thing, and an hundred things might be said to prove them beauties. But it is needless. A book may be amusing with numerous errors, or it may be very dull without a single absurdity. The hero of this piece unites in himself the three greatest characters upon earth; he is a priest, an husbandman, and the father of a family. He is drawn as ready to teach, and ready to obey, as simple in affluence, and majestic in adversity. In this age of opulence and refinement whom can such a character please? Such as are fond of high life, will turn with disdain from the simplicity of his country fire-side. Such as mistake ribaldry for humour, will find no wit in his harmless conversation; and such as have been taught to deride religion, will laugh at one whose chief stores of comfort are drawn from futurity.”.

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Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Evaluate the ending of The Vicar of Wakefield. 2. Discuss Goldsmith’s writing style. 3. Analyze the protagonist beliefs. 4. Discuss if you think this book is well written.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review “Mr. Johnson’s Preface to His Edition of Shakespeare’s Plays” by Samuel Johnson. History connections: British History chapter 17, “British Empire.”

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LESSON 1

The Vicar of Wakefield Oliver Goldsmith Assignments •

Warm-up: Did you enjoy reading The Vicar of Wakefield? Why or why not?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 17-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 17.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-A

Read Oliver Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield (chapter 1) and respond to the following:

1

How does the narrator describe his wife?  I began to think seriously of matrimony, and chose my wife as she did her wedding gown, not for a fine glossy surface but such qualities as would wear well. To do her justice, she was a good-natured notable woman; and as for breeding, there were few country ladies who could shew more. She could read any English book without much spelling, but for pickling, preserving, and cookery, none could excel her. She prided herself also upon being an excellent contriver in house-keeping; tho’ I could never find that we grew richer with all her contrivances. However, we loved each other tenderly, and our fondness encreased as we grew old.

2

What does this statement mean? “Thus we lived several years in a state of much happiness, not but that we sometimes had those little rubs which Providence sends to enhance the value of its favours.”  We had some happiness, but some hardships, too, but God used these to His glory.

3

What kind of man is the narrator? Answers will vary.

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LESSON 2

A Review

Assignments •

Warm-up: Do you think this story would attract a movie audience?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 17-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-B

List two themes or motifs (core meanings) of The Vicar of Wakefield.

The Journey Home/ Longing for Home

Struggle with Poverty Most of Goldsmith’s characters are poor, or on the brink of poverty.

Left his native island when he was three-and-twenty, and never returned to it.

Again, this reflects his own life.

Most of his works have this theme.

Themes

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LESSON 3

Ending

Assignments Warm-up: What is a better ending to this book?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 17-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Ending

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-C

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Create a better ending for this book using this chart to form an outline.

Answers will vary. This reader liked the ending the way it was! Many readers felt that the ending was somewhat contrived.

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LESSON 4

The Ambitions of the Vicar’s Family

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Warm-up: Henry Cabot Lodge and Francis Halsey in their book The Best of the World’s Classics (New York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1909, p. 177–182), considers this one of the best prose passages in western literature. Why?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 17-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Circle the words that describe the Vicar. Does he change in the novel?

Character Profile

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-D

Assignments

The vicar learns and grows as a person, but he remains a sanguine man.

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LESSON 5

Washington Irving Biography of Oliver Goldsmith

Assignments •

Warm-up: This is the preface of a biography written by American author, Washington Irving. Do you agree with his assessment of Goldsmith?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 17-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 17 test.

Plot Sequencing

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-E

Place the plot events in the order in which they occurred.

A

5

B

6

C

4

D

2

E

7

F

1

G

3

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. At the end of Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield, instead of a triumph over the evils of wealth and licentiousness, the consummation of the various relationships and the restoration of the vicar to his prior standing is a conclusion grounded in the fact that the vicar has had to accept that these vices are real and have power in the real world. Thus, Goldsmith creates a satire by putting Dr. Primrose through all of these trials to show the true Vicar of Wakefield — a man who is ostensibly pious and moral, but perhaps unconsciously holds convictions which he seemingly hates — and to punish him for his brand of hypocrisy. Agree or disagree with the above statement and support your answer with copious examples from the text. SUMMARY: This reader believes that Dr. Primrose went through the hard times so that he could change and grow into the man of God that he becomes at the end of the novel. B. Discuss Goldsmith’s writing style. SUMMARY: In the Vicar of Wakefield, Goldsmith looks at his subjects with objectivity in the hope that he can persuade his readers to do the same. The characters in this novel are real, struggling people. He avoids much of the verbosity of late 18th-century writing and seeks to have his characters unfold before the reader. Goldsmith had developed his stylistic trick of a rather formal balance and antithesis, a device of style as evident in his prose as in the verse of Pope. It is notable that even when he later writes dramatic dialogue, most of the characters (as in “She Stoops to Conquer”) speak in this manner. There is a parallelism of syntax: that is, adjectivenoun construction for adjective-noun, prepositional phrase balanced against phrase, and so on, but with an opposition of meaning. C. Describe what you believe are the themes or focus of The Vicar of Wakefield. How did these impact you as the reader? SUMMARY: Answers will vary

CHAPTER 17 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) ESSAY (100 POINTS) Dr. Charles Primrose, the pastor presented in Vicar, is a complicated character. He clearly exhibits Christian tendencies. Whether or not he was a committed Christian is debatable. What do you think? Defend your answer from the text. ANSWER: Primrose rejects legalism as a legitimate form of Christianity. He constantly calls his family and church to be real before themselves and God. He was a flawed, but good, father. After his daughter elopes, he appears vengeful, but he softens and forgives. He is very willing to let God change him. His greatest treasure is his family.

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Chapter 1 8

The Eighteenth Century (Part 5) First Thoughts James Boswell, in his biography of Samuel Johnson, says, His funeral was attended by a respectable number of his friends, particularly such of the members of the LITERARY CLUB as were then in town; and was also honoured with the presence of several of the Reverend Chapter of Westminster. Mr. Burke, Sir Joseph Banks, Mr. Windham, Mr. Langton, Sir Charles Bunbury, and Mr. Colman, bore his pall. His school-fellow, Dr. Taylor, performed the mournful office of reading the burial service. I trust, I shall not be accused of affectation, when I declare, that I find myself unable to express all that I felt upon the loss of such a “Guide, Philosopher, and Friend.” I shall, therefore, not say one word of my own, but adopt those of an eminent friend, which he uttered with an abrupt felicity, superior to all studied compositions: “He has made a chasm, which not only nothing can fill up, but which nothing has a tendency to fill up. Johnson is dead. Let us go to the next best — there is nobody; no man can be said to put you in mind of Johnson.”

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze Johnson’s views on Shakespeare. 2. Know what Johnson means when he refers to Shakespeare as “the poet of nature.” 3. Understand what Johnson means when he says that Shakespeare has no heroes. 4. Discuss “The Vanity of Human Wishes” and what it tells us about human nature; compare this view to the biblical witness (especially the Book of Ecclesiastes). 5. Compare John Dryden’s An Essay on Dramatic Poesy with Johnson’s “Preface.”

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Review “The Rivals” by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. History connections: British History chapter 18, “Response to the French Revolution.”

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LESSON 1

Samuel Johnson

Assignments •

Warm-up: Why does Samuel Johnson admire Shakespeare so much?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 18-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 18.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-A

Read Samuel Johnson’s preface to his edition of Shakespeare’s plays and respond to the following:

1

When are authors most respected and admired?  When they are deceased. While an author is yet living we estimate his powers by his worst performance, and when he is dead we rate them by his best.

2

What point is Johnson making concerning great literature?  The reverence due to writings that have long subsisted arises therefore not from any credulous confidence in the superior wisdom of past ages, or gloomy persuasion of the degeneracy of mankind, but is the consequence of acknowledged and indubitable positions, that what has been longest known has been most considered, and what is most considered is best understood.

3

Why, in Johnson’s opinion is Shakespeare so great?  “As among the works of nature no man can properly call a river deep or a mountain high, without the knowledge of many mountains and many rivers; so in the productions of genius, nothing can be stiled excellent till it has been compared with other works of the same kind.” Johnson reminds his readers that Shakespeare is great even among his peers (e.g., Spenser, Marlowe).

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LESSON 2

The Vanity of Human Wishes Assignments •

Warm-up: What is the vanity of human wishes? Where then shall Hope and Fear their objects find? Must dull Suspence corrupt the stagnant mind?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 18-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

My Favorite Author

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-B

Who is your favorite author and why?

Reason 2: Reason 1:

His style is rich, characters are memorable.

His plots are intricate.

My Favorite Author William Faulkner

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LESSON 3

The Life of Samuel Johnson James Boswell Assignments •

Warm-up: Effective writing manifests ethos, or credibility. Does Boswell seem like a credible biographer of Johnson?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 18-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts. The faults of Shakespeare as elaborated by Johnson are: • There is a lack of propriety as the jests are gross and the pleasantries licentious. • Shakespeare sacrifices virtue to convenience. He makes no just distribution of good and evil.

Shakespeare’s Faults

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-C

• T he tragi-comedies (neither comedies nor tragedies) are not in accordance with the rules. Moreover, some plots are loosely constructed and have improbable endings. • T hen there is lack of poetic justice especially in tragedies. The major figures suffer more that they deserve – the punishment inflicted on them is disproportionate to their sins. • There are instances of Shakespeare’s violation of chronology (called anachronisms). •A  s regards the faults in tragedies, Johnson was of the opinion that the display of passion which urgency forces out are for the most part striking and energetic but when he tries his own inventions the result is humour, meanness and obscurity. • T he fault in comedies is that Shakespeare is commonly gross in his jests. Neither his gentleman nor ladies possess any delicacy. They are not sufficiently distinguished from Shakespeare’s clowns by the possession of refined manners. •D  r. Johnson is of the opinion, “In narration he affects disproportionate pomp of diction and a wearisome train of circumlocution, and tells the incident imperfectly in many words, which might have been more plainly delivered in few.” • S hakespeare has also been blamed by Johnson for not following the unities of time and place. At this point, Johnson also presents his defense of Shakespeare for failing to observe the unities. “The unities of time and place are always to be sacrificed to the nobler beauties of variety and instruction”, says Johnson, becomes a liberal critic in this regard. He justifies this by saying that the audience knows that it is only a stage and the players are mere actors and not for a moment do they believe what they are seeing is literally true. Even if they do for a moment they can easily imagine a little more – they can imagine the stage as different places. (Barrons Booknotes) Also, Johnson on Shakespeare, Walter Raleigh, http://books.google.com/ books?id=PhMWAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_ summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

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LESSON 4

Preface to a Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite word in the English language?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 18-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-D

Comparison and Contrast Essay

A comparison essay is an essay in which you emphasize the similarities, and a contrast essay is an essay in which you emphasize the differences. Compare and contrast the view of human nature in “The Vanity of Human Wishes” by Samuel Johnson with the Book of Ecclesiastes.

What is noticeably absent from Johnson’s poem is a Christian vision. This presages later excursions into romanticism and other nonChristian worldviews. In the last stanza of the poem, Johnson defines “love,” “good,” and “faith” in existential ways, ways that support the human spirit (as defined by Johnson). He is reaching for some meaning in his life. His answers lack the credibility of a John Milton.

Solomon honestly expressed his doubts, but ultimately he ended with a powerful message of hope: “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil” Ecclesiastes 12:13–14.

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LESSON 5

Legacy Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite Samuel Johnson quote? Why?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 18-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 18 test.

Sentimentality

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-E

Sentimentality is both a literary device used to induce a heightened emotional response disproportionate to the situation at hand, and thus to substitute generally uncritical feeling for normal ethical and intellectual judgments. In other words, sentimentality is a dishonest feeling. Johnson says that Shakespeare avoids all semblance of sentimentality. What does Johnson mean? His characters are real. “Shakespeare has no heroes; his scenes are occupied only by men, who act and speak as the reader thinks that he should himself have spoken or acted on the same occasion: Even where the agency is supernatural the dialogue is level with life. Other writers disguise the most natural passions and most frequent incidents; so that he who contemplates them in the book will not know them in the world: Shakespeare approximates the remote, and familiarizes the wonderful; the event which he represents will not happen, but if it were possible, its effects would be probably such as he has assigned; and it may be said, that he has not only shewn human nature as it acts in real exigences, but as it would be found in trials, to which it cannot be exposed. This therefore is the praise of Shakespeare, that his drama is the mirrour of life; that he who has mazed his imagination, in following the phantoms which other writers raise up before him, may here be cured of his delirious extasies, by reading human sentiments in human language; by scenes from which a hermit may estimate the transactions of the world, and a confessor predict the progress of the passions. As among the works of nature, no man can properly call a river deep or a mountain high, without the knowledge of many mountains and many rivers; so in the productions of genius, nothing can be stiled [sic] excellent till it has been compared with other works of the same kind” and of life (www.bartleby.com/39/30.html).

Why is this picture sentimental? The young soldier is in harm’s way, a “long, long way from home.” The creator of this picture is playing on the viewer’s sentimental feelings about home, girl friends/mothers, and the dangers of war.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. What does Johnson mean when he refers to Shakespeare as “the poet of nature”? SUMMARY: Johnson argues that Shakespeare’s works “support no opinion with arguments, nor supply any faction with invectives; they can neither indulge vanity nor gratify malignity, but are read without any other reason than the desire of pleasure, and are therefore praised only as pleasure is obtained; yet, thus unassisted by interest of passion, they have past through variations of taste and changes of manners, and, as they devolved from one generation to another, have received new honours at every transmission. But because human judgment, though it be gradually gaining upon certainty, never becomes infallible; and approbation, though long continued, may yet be only the approbation of prejudice or fashion; it is proper to inquire, by what peculiarities of excellence Shakespeare has gained and kept the favour of his countrymen. Nothing can please many, and please long, but just representations of general nature. Particular manners can be known to few, and therefore few only can judge how nearly they are copied. The irregular combinations of fanciful invention may delight a-while, by that novelty of which the common satiety of life sends us all in quest; but the pleasures of sudden wonder are soon exhausted, and the mind can only repose on the stability of truth. Shakespeare is above all writers, at least above all modern writers, the poet of nature; the poet that holds up to his readers a faithful mirrour of manners and of life. His characters are not modified by the customs of particular places, unpracticed by the rest of the world; by the peculiarities of studies or professions, which can operate but upon small numbers; or by the accidents of transient fashions or temporary opinions: they are the genuine progeny of common humanity, such as the world will always supply, and observation will always find. His persons act and speak by the influence of those general passions and principles by which all minds are agitated, and whole system of life is continued in motion. In the writings of other poets a character is too often an individual; in those of Shakespeare it is commonly a species.” In other words, Shakespeare’s characters are immutable and “modern” in that they appeal to all persons in all places at all times. Remember that Johnson is not a romantic. He does not define nature in a ubiquitous fashion. Nature refers to the quintessential character of man that Shakespeare so eloquently captures. B. Read Samuel Johnson’s poem “The Vanity of Human Wishes.” What does he tell us about human nature? Compare this view to the biblical witness (especially the Book of Ecclesiastes). SUMMARY: What is noticeably absent from Johnson’s poem is a Christian vision. This presages later excursions into romanticism and other non-Christian worldviews. In the last stanza of the poem, Johnson defines “love,” “good,” and “faith” in existential ways, ways that support the human spirit (as defined by Johnson). I like Johnson. He is reaching for some meaning in his life. I find that his answers lack the credibility of a John Milton. Solomon honestly expressed his doubts, but ultimately he ended with a powerful message of hope: “Now all has been heard; / here is the conclusion of the matter: / Fear God and keep his commandments, / for this is the whole duty of man. / For God will bring every deed into judgment, / including every hidden thing, / whether it is good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13–14).

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C. Compare John Dryden’s An Essay on Dramatic Poesy with Johnson’s “Preface.” SUMMARY: There are many similarities between Johnson and Dryden. Both were gifted literary critics and masters of prose writing. Dryden, in fact, was the father of modern English prose. He created what we call “literary criticism,” adopted by men like Samuel Johnson. He launched the career of Shakespeare; Johnson sent it into orbit! Both authors appreciated Shakespeare’s powerful and realistic (a 19th-century word) characterizations. Dryden, on the other hand, puts more emphasis on Shakespeare’s gifted writing style than does Johnson. Johnson focuses more on Shakespeare’s literary qualities, not his stylistic tendencies. Suffice it to say that both critics adored Shakespeare’s writings!

CHAPTER 18 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) A critic observed, Johnson cultivated a literary style of sonorous distinction. He became a master of the personified generality: his sentences give life to terms like envy, hope, and malice. This style confers upon his moral writings an air of exceptional authority. His conversation . . . was distinguished by a similar power and also by such epigrammatic brilliance that many of his recorded sayings have achieved the status of proverbs. In a one-page essay, explain what this literary critic means and offer evidence from the “Preface” to support this statement. ANSWER: Johnson wrote with purpose, clarity, and inspiration. His criticisms were literary masterpieces in themselves. “Upon every other stage the universal agent is love, by whose power all good and evil is distributed, and every action quickened or retarded. To bring a lover, a lady and a rival into the fable; to entangle them in contradictory obligations, perplex them with oppositions of interest, and harass them with violence of desires inconsistent with each other; to make them meet in rapture and part in agony; to fill their mouths with hyperbolical joy and outrageous sorrow; to distress them as nothing human ever was distressed; to deliver them as nothing human ever was delivered, is the business of the modern dramati[st]. For this probability is violated, life is misrepresented, and language is depraved. But love is only one of many passions, and as it has no great influence upon the sum of life, it has little operation in the dramas of a poet, who caught his ideas from the living world, and exhibited only what he saw before him. He knew, that any other passion, as it was regular or exorbitant, was a cause of happiness or calamity.”

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Chapter 1 9

The Eighteenth Century (Part 6) First Thoughts Joel G. Fink, in

his director notes for a production of “The Rivals” by Richard Sheridan, writes:

The psychological reality which underlies Faulkland’s obsessive preoccupation with Julia is actually selfishness. Like Lydia, Faulkland is preoccupied with the idea of being loved rather than with the act of loving Julia for herself. What unleashes his relentless apprehension is fear; fear that Julia has accepted him out of a sense of obligation because Faulkland saved her life. This fear compels him to establish innumerable tests of Julia’s love, which she bears patiently. Even when he claims to have killed a man in a duel and must flee the country, Julia offers to live in poverty with him. When Faulkland confesses that the story was simply another test of her love, Julia breaks off their relationship with apparent finality. As a result of this confrontation, Faulkland is stunned into the acceptance of his folly and acknowledges it as a kind of madness. The possibility of a comic resolution to this second plot rests solely with Julia, and she provides it in the end by forgiving Faulkland and taking him back.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Identify the play’s main plot and the various subplots as they have evolved by act II. 2. Compare and contrast the love affair of Julia and Faulkland to the love affair of Lydia and Absolute. 3. Discuss the role of Bob Acres.

(www.coloradoshakes.org/index.php? option=com_ content&view =article&id=114).

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review “A Man’s a Man for A’ That” by Robert Burns; “How Sweet I Roam’d from Field to Field,” “And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time,” “The Clod and the Pebble,” “The Lamb,” and “The Tyger,” by William Blake.

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History connections: British History chapter 19, “Philosophers and World Views.”

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LESSON 1

The Rivals Richard Brinsley Sheridan

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: In “The Rivals,” Sheridan gives names for his characters that are similar to the names Bunyan gives his characters in Pilgrim’s Progress. One character is called Absolute. One lives in Blunderbuss Hall. What is an advantage of using this device? Disadvantages? Why is it not used today?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 19-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 19.

Read Richard Sheridan’s “The Rivals,” preface and respond to the following:

The preface itself is humorous. Explain. Sheridan’s verbosity and contradictions evoke a laugh from his viewers/readers.

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LESSON 2

Plot Summary Assignments Warm-up: Does the ending seem credible to you? Do you like the ending?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 19-B.

•

Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-B

•

Summarize Act I, Scene I of Richard Sheridan’s “The Rivals.”

“The Rivals” opens with two old friends happening upon each other in Bath. Fag, servant to Captain Jack Absolute (who is masquerading as Ensign Beverley for the sake of a love affair) catches up with David, coachman to Sir Anthony Absolute, Jack’s father, thus introducing some of the characters to come.

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LESSON 3

Irony Assignments •

Warm-up: Identify the examples of irony and how they advance the comical nature of Sheridan’s play.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 19-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts. Summarize Acts 2 through 5 of Richard Sheridan’s The Rivals.

Summary

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-C

Act 2 In parallel to Lydia and Julia, now Jack Absolute and Faulkland discuss their love affairs. Jack accuses Faulkland of being a “teasing, captious, incorrigible lover” for constantly doubting Julia’s loyalty and love. Bob Acres, spurned suitor to Lydia, enters and pitches Faulkland into yet another fit of jealous despair by relating how Julia has entertained the Bath social circle with her singing of “My heart’s my own, my will is free” and with her carefree country dancing. Acres, a provincial country bumpkin, brags to Jack and Faulkland that he shall win Lydia back from Ensign Beverley with his improved dress and hairstyle. He also takes pride in a “genteel” style of “sentimental swearing” that marks him as an oaf. Servant Fag announces the arrival of Jack’s preemptory father, Sir Anthony, who informs Jack that he intends to confer a sizeable estate upon him, conditional to accepting an arranged marriage. Jack demurs politely, saying that his “heart is engaged to an angel.” Sir Anthony leaves fuming. In a brief scene, Lucy delivers a love letter to Sir Lucius O’Trigger. She does not inform him that its real author is Mrs. Malaprop, not her niece Lydia. Before going, Sir Lucius makes a pass at Lucy. Moments later, she tells Fag of Sir Anthony’s choice of a wife for Jack: Lydia Languish. Fag goes off gleefully to inform his master of the good news.

Act 3 Now that Jack knows he is being forced to marry the girl he loves, he plays repentance and wins his father’s shocked approval. Faulkland confronts Julia with his paranoid fears and after several attempts at reassurance, she exits in tears. Too late, Faulkland recognizes his folly. Captain Absolute presents himself to Mrs. Malaprop, who does not guess his dual identity with Ensign Beverley. In a comic scene, she shows him his own letter to Lydia, and he feigns disgust at Beverley’s rude remarks about the vigilant aunt. When she then spies on his supposed first meeting with Lydia, she fails to recognize Lydia’s delight at seeing her lover in the “disguise” of his true identity. Lydia infuriates her aunt by continuing to profess her love for Beverley, in plain hearing of Jack Absolute, who calmly pretends not to be jealous of his other self. In another scene, Sir Lucius interrupts Acres capering about in new clothes, practicing his dance lessons. Sir Lucius manages to convince Acres to challenge, but Absolute to a duel, to defend his honor and vaguely, to “prevent any misunderstanding.” Sir Lucius has to help Acres write the challenge, but claims to have another duel to fight and so cannot attend Acres’s battle.

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Act 4 Bob’s servant David tries to deflate his master’s enthusiasm for the fight with a healthy dose of reality, but Acres remains steadfast. Absolute offers his support but pleads out of acting as Bob’s second, which, of course, would be impossible since he is also Bob’s opponent, Beverley. Jack promises to warn Beverley that “Fighting Bob” is in a “devouring rage.” In another short scene, Lydia assures Mrs. Malaprop that she will give no encouragement to Captain Absolute, hoping to prolong the charade of Beverley’s “true” identity. Now the recognition scene takes place, as suddenly, Sir Anthony arrives with Jack Absolute in tow. His arrival is a volatile situation since Lydia still does not know that Absolute is Beverley. Jack approaches Lydia, who luckily sits with her face averted in an attempt to rebuff him. At first he cannot speak, then he modifies his voice to an awkward croak, which infuriates his father. Finally, he reveals himself to a shocked Lydia. At first, Mrs. Malaprop and Sir Anthony consider Lydia mad for insisting that this is Beverley, then in a hilarious moment, Sir Anthony accuses Jack of not being his son. Lydia sulks in realization that the two are one man, and that means — no elopement; her romantic bubble has burst. Jack’s bubble has burst as well, since Mrs. Malaprop realizes that it was Jack who called her an “old weather-beaten she dragon” and Sir Anthony marvels at his son’s roguish ingenuity. He sings and dances in delight, promoting forgiveness. Jack realizes that Lydia has not joined in the general celebration, still brooding over the death of her romantic dream. When she lashes out at him for his role in the ruse, he praises her spirit, and she begins to sob. Mrs. Malaprop thinks the couple is “billing and cooing” and Sir Anthony mistakes Lydia’s tears as evidence of his son’s impatient blood, a trait, he proudly says, runs in his family. Sir Lucius provokes a quarrel with Jack and they arrange to duel at the same location that Acres plans to meet with Jack. Faulkland receives a letter from Julia asking to meet right away, and Jack upbraids his friend for failing to understand he’s been given a second chance. Jack is correct: Faulkland decides to test her sincerity yet again, using the duel as a ruse.

Act 5 In the first scene of the final act, Julia is confronted by Faulkland claiming the necessity to leave the country for his life. True to her nature, Julia commits to accompany him, not even knowing the nature of the threat. Overwhelmed by her response, Faulkland forgets to depart, admits the ruse, and enrages Julia for trifling with her sincerity. She now sees that he will never be capable of confidence in love, so she leaves him, professing never to love again. Now, Faulkland truly understands the error of his constant doubts, and he sinks in remorse. In the meantime, Lydia’s heart has softened, and when Julia tells her sad story, Lydia seems ready to accept the new, less romantic, terms of her love affair with Absolute. Suddenly, Mrs. Malaprop and the two servants David and Fag arrive, hoping to interrupt the duel in time, although Mrs. Malaprop’s circuitous style of speaking delays their message being understood by the two young ladies. Eventually, all is clear, and they exit to find the field of battle. In the meantime, Jack bumps into Sir Anthony, the last person he wants to see when he is on his way to a duel. His nervousness nearly gives him away, but when his sword falls from under his coat, Jack manages to convince his father that he intends to scare Lydia with a romantic threat of suicide if she will not accept him. Jack escapes, just as the others arrive and tell his father his real objective with the sword. Everyone is now on the way to King’s Mead-Fields. After a comic scene between Acres and Sir Lucius about the best shooting distances and stance, Faulkland and Absolute arrive, and Sir Lucius assumes that Faulkland is Beverley, since, of course, he already knows Jack as Absolute. Acres, in great relief, promises to bear [his] “disappointment like a Christian,” while Sir Lucius and Absolute nearly come to blows before the group of concerned ladies and parents appear. The mystery of Beverley’s true identity now disclosed, the couples all patch up their differences: Jack with Lydia, Faulkland with Julia, and Sir Lucius with Mrs. Malaprop.

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LESSON 4

Malapropisms Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite malapropism?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 19-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

A comparison essay is an essay in which you emphasize the similarities, and a contrast essay is an essay in which you emphasize the differences. Compare and contrast “The Rivals” with the opera “The Duenna.”

Sentimentality

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-D

Compare

Femininity (protagonists are both young ladies)

Social Relationships (wealthy, shallow, pampered young ladies)

Both protagonists are complaining, whiny females

Both are shallow, immature females.

Compare

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LESSON 5

Student Essay: Why Does Bob Acres Make a Poor Gentleman? Assignments Warm-up: What is the most humorous book you have read? What makes it humorous?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 19-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 19 test.

Characterization

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-E

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Circle words that describe the static (unchanging) character of Bob Acres.

Sanguine

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Option A / 40 points, Option B) A.`”The Rivals” is a play about the mischievous, unexpected, and ubiquitous power of love. The two plots that form the structure of the play mirror each other and thereby amplify this thematic idea. In other words, Sheridan skillfully tells two stories at once. Where and when these two stories meet creates humor. In general, each plot has the following structure: a potential suitor fabricates a false ideal of the nature of love (in one plot it is Lydia, in the other, Faulkland). This false ideal grows like a cancer until it threatens to destroy the love relationship by means of a betrayal of trust in one case (Faulkland) and the actual threat of death in the other (Lydia). Of course, the reader is never worried! Using this theme as a guide, identify the play’s main plot and the various subplots as they have evolved by act II. SUMMARY: A key line comes from Mr. Fag in Act I: “Love . . . had been a masquerader ever since the days of Jupiter.” In Act I, Scene 1, Sheridan skillfully introduces the principles in his play, foreshadows conflicts, and generally sets the scene for “The Rivals.” Also, Sheridan gives the reader information that will not be revealed to the main characters until the end of the play. The reader is satisfied that the action is moving along well. Act I, Scene 1, introduces the primary female actresses in the ensuing comedy. Scene 1 is really a parody of late 18th-century English gentry. But as always, Sheridan is gentle. This is not the harsh satire of a Jonathan Swift! Act I, Scene 2, introduces one of the memorial characters of English literature: Mrs. Malaprop. Early in Act II, Absolute declares that though he is convinced Lydia would elope with him as Ensign Beverley, “Yet am I by no means certain she would take me with the impediment of our friends’ consent, a regular humdrum wedding, and the reversion of a good fortune on my side.” Thus, by the end of Act II several plots and subplots are evident: the love aspirations of Absolute; Lydia’s need to mature as a young woman; the Absolute alias Beverley possibility; the introduction of Bob Acres — the well-intentioned, good-natured, unpretentious, but very wealthy, suitor of Lydia; the indefatigable Mrs. Malaprop. B. Compare and contrast the love affair of Julia and Faulkland to the love affair of Lydia and Absolute. SUMMARY: Julia and Faulkland present the orthodox, boring, hit-and-miss possibility of love. Absolute and Lydia share intrigue and passion — though Sheridan ably shows the danger of such passion. C. Why does Bob Acres make a poor gentlemen? SUMMARY: Acres is one of the brilliant creations of Sheridan. Nice to a fault, Acres is without any passion — the unforgivable sin to Sheridan. Acres’ greatest fault, though, is his lack of any sense of humor. Poor Acres constantly wants to be “genteel.” In other words, he wants to be Absolute. He cannot be, and even if he could, Lydia would still be uninterested.

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CHAPTER 19 TEST ANSWERS (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) Essay (100 Points) In a three-page essay, analyze the following excerpt from the opera “The Duenna” and highlight stylistic tendencies that Sheridan manifests: If a daughter you have, She’s the plague of your Life [excerpt from “The Duenna”] If a daughter you have, she’s the plague of your life, No peace shall you know, tho’ you’ve buried your wife, At twenty she mocks at the duty you taught her, O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter. Sighing and whining, Dying and pining, O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter. When scarce in their teens, they have wit to perplex us, With letters and lovers for ever they vex us, While each still rejects the fair suitor you’ve brought her, O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter. Jangling and jangling, Flouting and pouting, O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter. ANSWER: Sheridan writes in the same simple, straightforward prose style in both literary works. His subject matter is the same too (that is, human relationships, especially as they relate to malefemale relationships). Only Jane Austen has more insights into 18th- and 19th-century human relationships.

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Chapter 20

The Eighteenth Century (Part 7) First Thoughts In his writings and paintings, William Blake, a visionary English poet and artist, anticipated English romanticism (a literary movement that emphasized the extraordinary and extolled nature). He was born on November 28, 1757. A homeschooler, Blake at age ten was sent to an art school. Later he was apprenticed to an artist. He exhibited his first artwork in 1780, but his real gifts lay in writing poetry. He married Catherine Boucher in 1782 and published his first poems, Poetical Sketches, in 1783.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Compare Burns’ poems with other 18th-century poems. 2. Compare the symbolism used in “The Lamb” and “The Tyger.” 3. Discuss Blake’s faith. 4. Compare several of Blake’s poems presented in this lesson, focusing on tone, symbolism, and rhythm.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Review “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal,” “To the Cuckoo,” “London 1802,” “My Heart Leaps Up When I Behold,” “To a Skylark,” “Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known,” “The Tables Turned,” “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802,” and “Lines Written in Early Spring,” by William Wordsworth. History connections: British History chapter 20, “The Age of Napoleon.”

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LESSON 1

Robert Burns

Assignments •

Warm-up: “A Man’s a Man” was written in response to the French Revolution. What sort of political ideas does Burns challenge?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 20-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 20.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-A

Read Robert Burns’ “A Man’s a Man for A’ That” and respond to the following:

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The poem begins with a rhetorical question, a question whose answer is obvious. What question does Burns ask? Can’t poor people be honest and good?

2

A straw man argument is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent’s position. To “attack a straw man” is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by substituting a superficially similar yet weaker proposition (the “straw man”), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position. In what way does this entire poem suffer from a straw man fallacy? The assumption that rich people are all pretentious and evil is a false assumption.

3

What is his final prayer? Rich and poor shall yet be brothers.

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LESSON 2

More poems by Robert Burns

Assignments •

Warm-up: I think Burns was not good enough to be a William Blake or William Wordsworth so he became a colloquial, local color poet. Do you agree?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 20-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Contemporary Language

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-B

Rewrite the following portion of “To a Mouse” in your own words.

Contemporary Language Tiny, sleek, cowering, fearful mouse, O, what a panic is in your breast! You need not start away so hasty, With pattering noises! I would be loath to run and chase you, With my murdering spade!

I doubt not that at times you may steal; What then? Poor little animal, you must live! An occasional ear of corn out of 24 sheaves Is a small request; I’ll be blest with the rest of the corn, And never miss the ear you took!

I’m truly sorry that my world, Has broken into your world, And justifies your ill opinion of men, Which makes you startle At me, you poor, earth-born companion, And fellow mortal!

Your tiny house, too, in ruin! Its fragile walls the winds are strewing! And nothing, now, to build a new one, Out of densely growing grass! And bleak December’s winds are following, Both harsh and keen!

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LESSON 3

William Blake

Assignments Warm-up: Blake was an early romantic. What evidence can you find of this in his poetry?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 20-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-C

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Read William Blake’s “The Tyger” and respond to the following:

1

Answer the question posed in the first stanza. Agnostic Blake is not sure. God? Nature? Who is this metaphysical creature?

2

What images does Blake use to describe a tiger? What distant deeps burn the fire of the tiger’s eyes?

3

Why would Blake spell a “tiger” “tyger?” No one knows — perhaps to emphasize the metaphysical aspect of the creature.

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LESSON 4

Christian Symbolism Assignments •

Warm-up: Blake loved to use Christian mythology and biblical motifs to advance his worldview. Does this damage the Christian faith or enhance it?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 20-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Poetry Analysis

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-D

Identify some of Blake’s views about human responsibility and about good and evil in his poems.

Human Responsibility

Good and Evil

Text: “Love seeketh not itself to please, Nor for itself hath any care, But for another gives its ease,

Text: “Love seeketh only self to please, To bind another to its delight,

Interpretation: Love is unselfish.

Interpretation: Love demands nothing from others.

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LESSON 5

Spiritual Warfare Assignments Warm-up: Describe an incident that required you to participate in spiritual warfare.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 20-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 20 test.

Theme and Worldview

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-E

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Discuss the theme and worldview of the poem “The Divine Image” by Helen Maria Williams.

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Theme:  God is manifested in human relationships as humans show compassion to one another.

2

Worldview: Theism

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Compare the symbolism used in “The Lamb” and “The Tyger.” SUMMARY: The lamb is an innocent creature representing a child. The tiger is more ominous and dangerous, but nonetheless beautiful creature. He represents experience that can both succor and damage. B. Blake created little unique mythology. He employed Christian narratives and metaphors without really understanding or believing it. As a result, we have the confused worldview of William Blake. Identify this worldview in his poetry. Discover the real William Blake! What is his faith, anyhow? SUMMARY: Blake is a romanticist who believes in abstract realities that in his mind are immutable and omnipotent. These realities are most evident in “nature,” which to him has a ubiquitous presence in human society. He therefore values freedom and democracy without the shackles of tradition and orthodoxy. He has no problem with the presence of a God — but this God is ipso facto a weak deity. C. Write a comparison/contrast essay of Blake’s poems presented in this lesson, focusing on tone, symbolism, and rhythm. SUMMARY: Although Blake’s lamb and tiger can be considered real animals, their function as innocence and experience point out that they are primarily symbols. Blake uses rhyme and rhythm to move his audience forward. He does not use free verse, but he does come close to it.

CHAPTER 20 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Write a critical analysis of the following poem by William Blake from Songs of Innocence:

The Divine Image To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,

And Love, the human form divine:

All pray in their distress,

And Peace the human dress.

And to these virtues of delight

Then every man, of every clime,

Return their thankfulness.

That prays in his distress,

For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,

Prays to the human form divine:

Is God our Father dear;

Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.

And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,

And all must love the human form,

Is man, His child and care.

In heathen, Turk, or Jew.

For Mercy has a human heart;

Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell,

Pity, a human face;

There God is dwelling too.

ANSWER: “The divine image” implies biblical terms “mercy, pity, peace, and love.” However, biblical language is corrupted by romantic tendencies. “The divine image” is more than God in man; it is man himself. There is a universality of this phenomenon: “Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace. / And all must love the human form, / In heathen, Turk, or Jew.”

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Chapter 21

The Nineteenth Century (Part 1) First Thoughts Born at Cockermouth, Cumberland, April 7, 1770, William Wordsworth, perhaps the greatest of English romantic poets, died April 23, 1850. He did much to restore simple language to English poetry and to establish romanticism as the era’s dominant literary movement. Romanticism was an intellectual movement that flourished in Europe between the mid-18th and mid-19th centuries. It celebrated the nationalistic movements that put the last nails into the coffins of European feudalism. The Enlightenment was urban-based, stressing the normative role of reason in the conduct of social life and universal standards for excellence in the arts. Romanticism, a rural, country movement, may be considered as a counter-Enlightenment movement. The Enlightenment was grounded in difference rather than uniformity. Enlightenment scholars assumed that mankind is essentially similar across all ages and geographic origins.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discover modernity in Williams’ sonnets. 2. Explain why Dorothy Wordsworth’s journals are very personal but are much more. 3. Examine Wordsworth’s views of nature. 4. Explore Wordsworth’s positive emotions. 5. Analyze “The Tables Turned.” 6. Analyze “Composed upon Westminster Bridge.” 7. Explore Wordsworth’s change of heart toward romanticism’s political positions.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review “Don Juan” and “The Prisoner of Chillon,” by Lord Byron; “Kubla Khan” and “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge; “Ozymandias” and “To a Skylark,” by Percy Bysshe Shelley; “Bright Star,” “Ode to a Nightingale,” “Posthuma,” and “Ode on a Grecian Urn,” by John Keats.

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History connections: British History chapter 21, “The Industrial Revolution.”

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LESSON 1

The Nineteenth Century

A Political Statement

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Define these concepts: romanticism, Victorian novel, naturalism.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 21-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 21.

The English poet Helen Williams loved to make political statements with her poetry. Tell what those statements were.

How does Williams use a Christmas cake to make political statements? The Christmas cake exhibits lost glory, which was Williams’ view of England.

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LESSON 2

Helen Maria Williams

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is the central metaphor that Williams employs in this sonnet?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 21-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Romanticism

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-B

Give three elements of romanticism in this poem by William Wordsworth.

Nature is reverenced: Lift me, guide me high and high

Based on the unusual: I have walked through wilderness dreary

Subjective: And to-day my heart is weary

To thy banqueting-place in the sky.

Romanticism

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LESSON 3

William Wordsworth

Romanticism Art

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-C

Assignments •

 arm-up: “A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal” is the last of the so-called “Lucy poems,” which W center upon an imaginary girl in the English countryside. The poem is about death, but the last two lines redefine death altogether. How so?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 21-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

In what way does this painting (Gerricault’s Mounted Officer, PD-Art) reflect romanticism?

This painting celebrates nobility, honor, and grace. The rider is a lone hero. The horse is his companion and friend. Together they are embracing the future with optimism and certainty.

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LESSON 4

More Wordsworth Poems Assignments •

Warm-up: How can poetry express statements that speak to a deeper place in the heart and mind?

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Student should complete Concept Builder 21-D.

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Student will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Feelings

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-D

In “Lines Written in Early Spring,” Wordsworth experiences several feelings. From the text give several examples of feelings.

I heard a thousand blended notes

The birds around me hopped and played

Feelings

Bringing sad thoughts to the mind

The budding twigs spread out their fan

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LESSON 5

Dorothy Wordsworth

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Warm-up: Who was a better poet? Dorothy Wordsworth or her brother?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 21-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 21 test.

Discuss the juxtaposition of nature and the city in the poem “Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802.”

Juxtaposition

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-E

Assignments

Nature is beautiful

+

The city is silhouetted against the sun.

=

City and nature are together beautiful.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Find evidence in “A Song” that intimates the insights that would eventually bring Williams’ works recognition in the political arena. Explain the modernity of this sonnet. SUMMARY: In the vein of an Emily Dickinson poem, Williams openly expresses her emotions and expectations and the lack of awareness in her lover. The language is simple, the action minimal, the reflection uncomplicated but strong. Her intensity of emotion, depth of feeling, and heightened consciousness that goes unrecognized by the friend intimates a level of insight that would one day serve her well in deeper views about French history. B. Journals are highly personal, often sentimental recordings of ordinary events. However, Wordsworth’s journal entries are different. What makes them different? SUMMARY: Wordsworth’s diaries are compelling, whimsical, extraordinarily meticulous narratives, never merely sentimental. Wordsworth makes ordinary events into extraordinary happenings! She takes the most routine events and makes them come alive. “If only William would turn his gills to something similar, we could both perhaps find pleasure. But no, he will not listen. He has ears only for his Muse. Oft-times I despair of men.” C. “London, 1802” was a moment of great disillusionment and distress for Wordsworth. His romantic hero, Napoléon Bonaparte, had turned his back on libertarian values and proclaimed himself emperor. In his time of despair, why would Wordsworth turn to Milton? SUMMARY: Again, like Blake, Wordsworth did not fully grasp Milton’s worldview. To the romantics, Milton represented a more innocent, pristine era than they presently enjoyed. If I did not know Wordsworth better, I would think he was calling for a Puritan revival!

CHAPTER 21 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) In prose or poetry describe a place in nature that is very important to you. ANSWER: Back Corner had 4081 residents when my mother was born in 1931. It began at the railroad stock yard north of Bubba Dempsey’s Pepsi Plant and ended at the railroad round house south of Tip Pugh’s Rice Dryer. When the railroads stopped depositing customers and picking up cotton bales, Back Corner weakened and never really recovered. The illness was not fatal, however, and as I sat this last early December enjoying my mother’s last few weeks, Back Corner was still about 5002. By now, though, the tired town had deteriorated to a critical mass of old people too tired to move and young children too young to move. However, when my mother was growing up, Back Corner boasted of two hotels, the Back Corner Hotel and the Graystone Hotel. If strangers stopped in Back Corner, they were stranded between more comfortable chain motels in Greenville, Mississippi, and Pine Bluff, Arkansas. Most gladly traded the ebullience of the Sam Peck Hotel in Little Rock for the pecan pies of the Greystone Cafe. Both the Graystone and Back Corner were approximately of the same species, but the Back Corner Hotel had bragging rights — every Friday night the Back Corner Owls, our high school football team, ordered steaks, fries, and milk shakes before the big game. In addition to our two motels, there was one drugstore that gave credit and dispensed viscous chocolate sundaes to waiting patrons. There were two department stores: Wolchanskies and Martins.

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Chapter 22

The Nineteenth Century (Part 2) First Thoughts “It would be an endless task to trace the variety of meannesses, cares, and sorrows, into which women are plunged by the prevailing opinion, that they were created rather to feel than reason, and that all the power they obtain, must be obtained by their charms and weakness,” Mary Wollstonecraft writes in A Vindication of the Rights of Women. This quote exemplifies the chaotic 19th century. Everything was questioned. But, at the same time, Byron and his peers were at once social critics and objects of criticism, brooding misanthropes and icons of high fashion. Byron’s life and writings are a metaphor for a decade that generated so many contradictions.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Describe several things to which Shelley compares his skylark 2. Describe the basic paradox in “Chillon.” 3. Describe the means Coleridge uses in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” to induce what he calls a “willing suspension of disbelief.” 4. Analyze the frame story in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” 5. Evaluate the faith of several romantics. 6. Compare Wordsworth’s “To a Skylark” with Shelley’s “To a Skylark.”

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Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

History connections: British History chapter 22, “19th-Century Wars.”

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LESSON 1

A Vindication of the Rights of Women

Mary Wollstonecraft Assignments •

Warm-up: Wollstonecraft feels women are treated unfairly.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 22-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 22.

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-A

After reading A Vindication of the Rights of Women, discuss the reasons Wollstonecraft feels women are treated unfairly.

Text Comprehension

No education

Reasons women are treated unfairly

Emotional abuse

Utilitarianism

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LESSON 2

George Gordon, Lord Byron

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: In “She Walks in Beauty,” how thoroughly is the woman described? Identify different types of metaphors that Byron uses.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 22-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Read Lord Byron’s “The Prison of Chillon” (excerpt) and respond to the following:

1

In what way has the narrator aged? Disappointment, cruelty, boredom

2

Why is this man imprisoned? For a crime his father committed

3

What is the tone of this poem? Sad, hopeless. “Three were in a dungeon cast, Of whom this wreck is left the last.”

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LESSON 3

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Assignments •

Warm-up: “Kubla Khan” is based upon a drug-induced dream. How does Coleridge create this effect?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 22-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts. In “She Walks in Beauty,” how thoroughly is the woman described? Identify different types of metaphors that Byron uses.

Personification:

Figurative Language

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-C

“tell of days in goodness spent.”

“She Walks in Beauty”

Metaphor:

Personification:

“the tints that glow”

“the smiles that win”

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LESSON 4

Percy Bysshe Shelley Assignments •

Warm-up: Explain what is ironic about “Ozymandias”?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 22-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow. Describe several things to which Shelley compares his skylark. What makes the skylark so appealing? What characteristics/qualities does the skylark manifest that a human being can never have?

Comparison

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-D

Ethereal

Skylark

Beautiful

Immortal

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LESSON 5

John Keats Assignments •

Warm-up: What is the theme of the poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn”?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 22-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 22 test.

What are the themes of the poem “Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats? There are multiple correct answers.

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-E

Immutability

Themes

Fragility of life

Transcendence of art

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. “Don Juan” changes mood and theme regularly. Give two examples. SUMMARY: This comic masterpiece is one of the great long poems in English. The main character is a legendary figure whose only occupation was to woo beautiful women. This poem wanders from serious political statements to comic observations on social follies. In this poem, one of Byron’s most frequent targets is a trio of romantic poets of a previous generation: Wordsworth, Coleridge, and Southey. Byron intensely disliked these men because he saw them as political renegades, men who turned away from the republicanism of their youth to embrace the conservative cause. B. Write an essay in which you describe the means Coleridge uses in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” to induce what he calls a “willing suspension of disbelief.” SUMMARY: Coleridge invites us to suspend time and location to become part of a human epic. He uses the setting — the mysterious fog and sea — to have us wander with him. The reader, like a sailor lost at sea, is lost in the bigness of the poem and forced to look at the tasks at hand. “Water, water, everywhere!” C. Unlike most romantics, Byron admired Alexander Pope. Why didn’t romantics like Pope? Compare Byron’s poetry with Pope’s poetry. SUMMARY: Both Byron and Pope wrote with powerful poetic license to satirize British society. Byron, though, was not an Alexander Pope. Satire, the most difficult type of writing, was too difficult for Byron (in this reader’s opinion) and for other romantics, too. Generally, given the sobriety of romantic writing, romanticism avoided more jocular and light-hearted satire. Romantics did not tell jokes and couldn’t take them very well either.

CHAPTER 22 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Lord Byron lived a life in direct contradiction of Judeo-Christian values. He made no bones about his moral decisions: he did not subject them to the authority of Scripture. Many Hollywood actresses and actors are living lives that are not Christian. In some cases their personal lifestyles are reflected in their movies: Madonna, for instance, regularly plays promiscuous women. Yet Christians can avoid the movie theater! In other cases, it is not so simple. For instance, in the wonderful family movie Chariots of Fire, away from the movie house, one of the main characters openly promotes a lifestyle contrary to the Word of God. Should Christians participate in artists’ experiences that support morally and/or financially immoral lifestyles and individuals living those lifestyles? Defend your answer in a one-page, well-organized, persuasive essay. ANSWER: Answers will vary, but the student should struggle with how to “be in the world but not of it.

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Chapter 23

The Nineteenth Century (Part 3) First Thoughts It is ironic that a Christian, shy young lady, Charlotte Brontë, creates one of the most developed, forthright, and liberated women in Western literature, Jane Eyre, and one of the most openly immoral, aggressively feminine women in Western literature, Mary Shelley, creates one of the dullest, undeveloped women characters in world literature. Go figure!

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss themes in Jane Eyre. 2. Analyze what Shelley is saying about culture. 3. Compare and contrast the monster Frankenstein with the human Frankenstein. 4. Compare the demise of Saul’s family with the demise of Frankenstein’s family. 5. Compare Dr. Frankenstein with Aylmer in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s short story “The Birthmark.” 6. Evaluate the way Shelley creates her women characters.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

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History connections: British History chapter 23, “Victorian Age.”

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LESSON 1

Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Did you find Jane Eyre to be a credible narrator?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 23-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 23.

Read Jane Eyre, chapter 1, by Charlotte Bronte and respond to the following:

1

What is the narrative point of view? First person

2

From the text, what sort of person may the reader infer the narrator is? She is a shy, intelligent person.

3

What is the narrator telling the reader by quoting this book? Eyre, herself, is like a “solitary rock.”

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LESSON 2

Jane Eyre Critics Corner Assignments •

Warm-up: Do you agree with Ms. Rigby?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 23-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

An Unusual Protagonist

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-B

Jane Eyre is one of the most unusual protagonists (i.e., main character) in English literary history. What makes her so unique?

Plain looking

Intelligent

Proactive and strong

Unusual Protagonist

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LESSON 3

Frankenstein Mary Shelley Assignments •

Warm-up: What comes to mind when you hear the name “Frankenstein”?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 23-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

1

What is the narrative point of view? First person

2

What sort of person is the narrator’s father?  He is a very demanding, but compassionate man, especially as he relates to the narrator’s mother.

3

Discuss the relationship between the narrator’s parents.  There was a considerable difference between the ages of my parents, but this circumstance seemed to unite them only closer in bonds of devoted affection. There was a sense of justice in my father’s upright mind which rendered it necessary that he should approve highly to love strongly. Perhaps during former years he had suffered from the late-discovered unworthiness of one beloved and so was disposed to set a greater value on tried worth. There was a show of gratitude and worship in his attachment to my mother, differing wholly from the doting fondness of age, for it was inspired by reverence for her virtues and a desire to be the means of, in some degree, recompensing her for the sorrows she had endured, but which gave inexpressible grace to his behaviour to her. Everything was made to yield to her wishes and her convenience. He strove to shelter her, as a fair exotic is sheltered by the gardener, from every rougher wind and to surround her with all that could tend to excite pleasurable emotion in her soft and benevolent mind. Her health, and even the tranquillity of her hitherto constant spirit, had been shaken by what she had gone through. During the two years that had elapsed previous to their marriage, my father had gradually relinquished all his public functions; and immediately after their union they sought the pleasant climate of Italy, and the change of scene and interest attendant on a tour through that land of wonders, as a restorative for her weakened frame.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-C

Read Frankenstein, chapter 1, by Mary Shelley and respond to the following:

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LESSON 4

Critics Corner Assignments Warm-up: In Which critic do you find most persuasive?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 23-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Characterization

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-D

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Circle words that describe Victor Frankenstein.

Melancholic

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LESSON 5

The Development of Dr. Frankenstein and His Monster

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Warm-up: What is Miss Atwood’s primary argument?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 23-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 23 test.

Circle words that describe the creature in Frankenstein.

Characterization

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-E

Assignments

Melancholic

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Shelley uses Dr. Frankenstein as a vehicle to make a statement about Western culture. What is that statement? SUMMARY: Shelley is concerned that Western society is basing its existence on science, which, at best, falls far short of providing what mankind really needs: a changed heart. Shelley’s romantic alternative, however, is equally flawed. B. Dr. Frankenstein is a developing character. So is his monster. How do their developmental paths converge and diverge? SUMMARY: Both come to regret their own existence; both play the role of “god,” with disastrous results. C. The women in Frankenstein are paradigms of social consciousness and moral guidance. They are passive creatures, not quick to criticize. In general, they are innocent victims of male shenanigans. It is interesting that Mary Shelley, herself a strong, opinionated woman, creates so many weak women in her novel. Elizabeth’s mother dies in childbirth. Elizabeth herself suffers loneliness and eventually death indirectly through the hands of her fiancé Dr. Frankenstein. Caroline Frankenstein is powerless in the face of poverty and tragedy. Later she dies nursing the scarlet-fever-stricken Elizabeth back to health. Justine was viciously and unjustly executed for the death of her murdered charge William Frankenstein. Finally, the gruesome Woman Creature Frankenstein, a dismembered potential partner of the Monster Frankenstein, is murdered by her creator, Dr. Frankenstein. Why would Shelley present women in this way? SUMMARY: Shelley typically presents Victorian women — women like one would find in a novel by George Eliot or the Brontë sisters. Shelley is a philosopher-author; she is not a feminist in the modern sense of the word.

CHAPTER 23 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) What are several themes in Jane Eyre? How are they developed? ANSWER: Answers will vary, but should include the following. Jane Eyre begins her life as a poor orphan, and generally all readers find her developing story one of a search for love. The themes involved regard loving and being loved, finding one worthy of this love as well as acceptance by God, elements of the romantic fantasy involving the mystery and horror in the story, and finding one’s way as an outcast with no family and no secure situation in society.

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Chapter 24

The Nineteenth Century (Part 4) First Thoughts Charles Dickens

was the J.K. Rowling of his age. His works were international best sellers. His admiring public could not wait for his next great adventure to appear. Dickens, too, was a celebrity. He excelled as a speaker, an actor-director of amateur theatricals, and a dramatic reader of his own fiction. He loved the attention and sought accolades whenever and wherever they were available. He was a prolific writer. He wrote novels in monthly, even weekly installments, publishing them as newspaper serials. His goal was to satisfy the tastes and expectations of a mass audience. As a result, his characters often have a ring of being archetypical, stock characters — some would say, stale characters!

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss the setting of A Tale of Two Cities. 2. Analyze the antagonist Madame Defarge. 3. Evaluate the use of coincidence. 4. Discuss the impact of evil on society. 5. Identify the characters Dickens likes and explain why. 6. Compare and contrast the American and French Revolutions.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Review Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

History connections: British History chapter 24, “Victorian Life.”

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LESSON 1

A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens Assignments •

Warm-up: To what extent do you agree that he chose the best possible name for his novel A Tale of Two Cities? Can you think of other names for this novel?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 24-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 24.

1

Speculate upon why the author begins his book this way.  Dickens is trying to draw parallels between the events in London, England, and Paris, France. Hence, the book title is A Tale of Two Cities.

2

What metaphor does the author use to discuss events in Paris?  The author uses a tree that is waiting to be cut and to be fashioned into a guillotine. “It is likely enough that, rooted in the woods of France and Norway, there were growing trees, when that sufferer was put to death, already marked by the Woodman, Fate, to come down and be sawn into boards, to make a certain movable framework with a sack and a knife in it, terrible in history. It is likely enough that in the rough outhouses of some tillers of the heavy lands adjacent to Paris, there were sheltered from the weather that very day, rude carts, bespattered with rustic mire, snuffed about by pigs, and roosted in by poultry, which the Farmer, Death, had already set apart to be his tumbrils of the Revolution.”

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-A

Read Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities (chapter 1 – The Period) and respond to the following:

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LESSON 2

A Weekly Sitcom

Assignments •

Warm-up: Could A Tale of Two Cities be adapted for television?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 24-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Plot Analysis

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-B

True or False.

1

False, in London, England

2

True

3

True

4

False, in a French prison

5

False, Lucie Darnay

6

True

7

True

8

True

9

False, St. Evremonde is murdered

10

True

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LESSON 3

Condensed Books

Assignments  arm-up: The condensed version allowed readers to find out the ending without persevering W through the whole text. What effect does this have on the overall affect of the novel itself?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 24-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Coincidence

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-C

•

Coincidence plays a rather large role in A Tale of Two Cities. How does it affect the novel? Note: if it compromises the credibility of the novel it is undesirable. Is it necessary? Is it appropriate?

That is debatable. But, at the same time, the two men must look alike or the plot would not work! How else can Dickens do this?

Coincidence

Yes, and in the opinion of this reader, Dickens develops this scene very well.

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LESSON 4

Secondary Source

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: The Cambridge History of English and British Literature claims that A Tale of Two Cities “has been said to be more of a drama than of a novel.” Do you agree?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 24-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Sydney Carton, one of the most famous foils in English literary history, changes as the novel unfolds. Circle words that describe Sydney Carton at the beginning of the novel and check words that describe him at the end.

Carton changes from a melancholic to a sanguine person.

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LESSON 5

Movie Versions

Assignments Warm-up: What contemporary actor would you choose to play Sydney Carton?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 24-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 24 test.

Archetypes

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-E

•

An archetype is an original model of a person, ideal example, or a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated; a symbol universally recognized by all. Give examples of the following archetypes. Archetype

Person

The helpless but moral female

Lucie Darnay

The courageous male

Charles Darnay

The indigent, reluctant hero

Sydney Carton

The malevolent villain

Madame Defarge

The humorous bungler

Jerry Cruncher

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. At the beginning of Book II, chapter 21, Dickens refers to Lucie as “ever busily winding the golden thread which bound her husband and her father, and herself . . . in a life of quiet bliss.” Likewise, Madame Defarge is knitting a macabre shroud. What effect do these have on the novel? What was the golden thread? SUMMARY: Fate was the golden thread. Dickens wanted to bring all the characters together in some form or his plot would collapse like a house built of a deck of cards. B. Does the end justify the means? Is there any justification for the Reign of Terror in France (1793–1794)? What does the Bible say? SUMMARY: We are commanded in Scripture to overcome evil with good (Romans 12). C. Which characters does Dickens like? Dislike? What does this tell you about his values? How do his views measure against the Bible? SUMMARY: The characters he likes include Lorry, Darnay, Lucie, Dr. Manette, Carton, Miss Pross, and, however, subtly, Jerry Cruncher. Among those he dislikes are the marquis, the Defarges, Barsad, Cly, and Mr. Stryver. Dickens valued fair play and forgiveness. These are biblical concepts. Carton in particular gives his life in a Christ-like way for his friends. At the same time, none of the positive characters are motivated by anything that remotely resembles Christian motivation. There is no evidence of Christian disciplines like prayer, for instance.

CHAPTER 24 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Dickens has been criticized for his excessive use of undeveloped or archetype characters. They represent a “type” rather than an “individual.” Do you agree? ANSWER: Most characters, in fact, are predictable and represent in one form or another other heroic characters in British culture. This is much like American movie producers in one way or another produced a “John Wayne” hero in several other movies (e.g., Clint Eastwood movies). Most characters in this novel, therefore, are caricatures of “type” characters, and therefore the critics are right.

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Chapter 25

The Nineteenth Century (Part 5) First Thoughts Jane Austen was

one of the greatest novelists in British literature. Her insight into 19th-century English family life was unmatched. Many of her best works appeared before the beginning of the 19th century, but found fame later. Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Northanger Abbey had all been written and put aside before the 18th century ended. Sense and Sensibility appeared only in 1811; Pride and Prejudice and Mansfield Park were published in 1813 and 1814; and Emma, which many critics consider her most accomplished work, appeared in 1816. Persuasion, the last of her completed novels, was published posthumously in 1818. Jane Austen’s range of subjects was limited, but she made a virtue of her limitations. Her characters are immutable and relevant to all time and to all generations.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the middle class revealed in Pride and Prejudice. 2. Compare 19th-century marriages to contemporary marriages. 3. Identify the protagonist and give a characterization. 4. Analyze irony in Pride and Prejudice. 5. Compare Elizabeth Bennet to a biblical woman. 6. Research Austen’s life and discuss why Pride and Prejudice is autobiographical.

Pride and Prejudice has consistently been Jane Austen’s most popular novel. It portrayed life in the genteel rural society of the day, and told of the initial misunderstandings and later mutual enlightenment between Elizabeth Bennett (whose liveliness and quick wit have often attracted readers) and the haughty Darcy. The title Pride and Prejudice referred (among other things) to the ways in which Elizabeth and Darcy first viewed each other. The original version of the novel was written in 1796–1797 under the title First Impressions, and was probably in the form of an exchange of letters. Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson.

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History connections: British History chapter 25, “19th-Century England.”

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LESSON 1

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: One of my male friends refers to Pride and Prejudice as a “girlie” book. Do you agree? Is there a value in this book that transcends gender?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 25-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 25.

Read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (chapter 1) and respond to the following:

1

2

What narrative viewpoint does the author employ? Omniscient narration

How does the author use dialogue to develop her characters?  The reader learns that Elizabeth and Mr. Bennet are both very intelligent and, while they are not friends, they have mutual respect for one another.

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LESSON 2

Elizabeth and Darcy Assignments •

Warm-up: Compare the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy with another famous literary couple.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 25-B.

•

Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

•

Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays. What are two themes in this novel?

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-B

Individual vs. Society

Themes

Love and Marriage

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LESSON 3

Style

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Warm-up: Contrast Austen’s style with another novel you have read.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 25-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Circle the words that describe Elizabeth Bennet.

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-C

Assignments

Phlegmatic

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LESSON 4

Climax Assignments Warm-up: How does Austen portray the profound emotion in this passage?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 25-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-D

•

Circle the words that describe Mr. Darcy.

Melancholic

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LESSON 5

Critics Corner Assignments •

Warm-up: Do you agree with Cornish’s assessment?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 25-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 25 test.

Jane Austin’s Work

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-E

List five reasons Cornish gives to suggest that Jane Austen was not on par with her literary peers. Respond to each from your own perspective.

1

Answers will vary.

2

Answers will vary.

3

Answers will vary.

4

Answers will vary.

5

Answers will vary.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. The plot of Pride and Prejudice is based partly on a changing middle class, of which Jane Austen was a part. Discuss how this is evident in the novel. SUMMARY: The protagonist in this novel is just under 21. She is not as beautiful as her older sister, but pretty enough, with fine eyes and a light, graceful figure. She would be what others would call “plain.” By the way, this protagonist is much like other protagonists — plain, smart, and moral (e.g., Emma in Jane Austen’s novel Emma). The primary male character, Mr. Darcy, is attracted by her looks, but he especially likes what he calls her “impertinence” or what we would call “forthrightness.” She is quick to notice people’s hypocrisies, but she’s also deeply serious — almost to a fault — about some things, particularly about people’s power to make each other happy or unhappy. This is the main source of her dislike for Darcy, and also — when she learns more about him — the source of her love for him. Unlike Jane, she is quick to express her feelings; she is quick to express her anger at Darcy for what she believes he has done to make Jane unhappy and to ruin Wickham’s prospects. She also tries to persuade her father that he must be firm with Lydia, but she fails to budge him. She is too loyal to criticize her father openly, but she admits to herself that he is wrong in his treatment of both Lydia and his wife. As the novel progresses, however, Elizabeth matures. In summary, Jane Austen gives us several strong female characters — unusual for a 19th-century writer. B. Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice is full of irony. Explain. SUMMARY: One example occurs in chapter 50. Mr. Bennet worries about the money put out for a worthless match. At the same time, he worries about how he can ever repay Edward Gardiner — for the bad investment. He always expected to have a son who would inherit his estate and keep it in the family. C. Do research on Austen’s life and discuss why Pride and Prejudice is autobiographical. SUMMARY: During Jane Austen’s life, people lived within a geographical area and traveled very little. Thus, their world was more an internal world, a world of small gatherings in neighbors’ parlors. Relationships — especially marriage relationships — were virtually never happenstance. The most insignificant relationships among young people were often choreographed by older adults. Young people were chaperoned by mothers and aunts, and only the most correct behavior was tolerated. This was true in Jane’s life as it was in the lives of all her female characters.

CHAPTER 25 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Compare and contrast the female characters in Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein, and A Tale of Two Cities. ANSWER: All women in these novels are more or less creations of the Victorian Age. Certainly the women in Pride and Prejudice are more developed than those in Frankenstein and A Tale of Two Cities.

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Chapter 26

The Nineteenth Century (Part 6) First Thoughts The Scottish novelist, travel writer, poet, and essayist Robert Louis Stevenson, born at Edinburgh on November 13, 1850, was the author of the enduringly popular romantic adventure stories Treasure Island and Kidnapped (1886) and the alarming psychological allegory Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These have become classics of juvenile literature, but his writings are actually quite profound and have multiple layers of meaning. Although Stevenson struggled with agnosticism all his life, his vision is theistic.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the nature of sin. 2. Discuss the way Stevenson uses the setting in this novel. 3. Compare the plot of this book to the story of Samson. 4. Compare and contrast the theme of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Stevenson.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Review “The Witch,” by Mary Elizabeth Coleridge; The Idea of a University by John Henry Newman; “The Charge of the Light Brigade,” “Ulysses,” and “Crossing the Bar,” by Alfred Lord Tennyson; “Prospice,” “The Lost Leader,” and “My Last Duchess Ferrara,” by Robert Browning; “Sonnet I,” “Sonnet XIV,” and “Sonnet XLIII,” by Elizabeth Barrett. History connections: British History chapter 26, “British Colonialism in Africa.”

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LESSON 1

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson Assignments •

Warm-up: What does this statement mean “Stevenson was essentially an artist in words?”

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Students should complete Concept Builder 26-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 26.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-A

Read Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (chapter 1: Story of the Door) and respond to the following:

1

Why does Stevenson choose Mr. Utterson as his narrator?  Mr. Utterson is a congenial, intelligent, but neutral observer. The reader should note, however, that the story is told in limited omniscient point of view (vs. first person). This adds to the credibility that Stevenson must have if his readers will enjoy this story.

2

What effect does Mr. Enfield’s story have on the reader? It creates curiosity and mystery. Both are central to Stevenson’s purposes.

3

Predict the ending to this book. Answers will vary but Stevenson certainly is hinting that no happy ending is in the reader’s future!

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LESSON 2

Social Darwinism

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Warm-up: What comes to mind when you see the word Darwinism?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 26-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Circle words that describe Dr. Jekyll and check the words that describe Mr. Hyde.

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-B

Assignments

Jekyll is phlegmatic; Hyde is choleric.

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LESSON 3

Villains The Transformation of Evil Assignments •

Warm-up: Which of the following villains is most nefarious?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 26-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Urban setting is impersonal and dangerous

Setting

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-C

How did Stevenson use setting to enhance the effect of his novel?

Setting

Night and foggy: Mr. Hyde emerges at night when it is foggy

Tenement: the action occurs in close-fitting, dirty housing

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LESSON 4

Student Essay The Importance of the Setting Assignments •

Warm-up: How important is the setting? Could this story have occurred anywhere?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 26-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Naturalism vs. Theism

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-D

Dr. Jekyll, the theist, is struggling against Mr. Hyde, the naturalist. Give elements of both worldviews.

Theism:

Naturalism:

Dr. Jekyl is moral, basically good, and controlled

Mr. Hyde is amoral, out of control, and malevolent

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LESSON 5

Obituary

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is the thing for which you most want to be remembered?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 26-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 26 test.

Mr. Hyde

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-E

What picture do you have in your mind of Edward Hyde’s appearance? For what reasons might Stevenson have deliberately avoided describing him fully?

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. How did Stevenson use the setting to enhance the effect of his novel? SUMMARY: The contrast of the dreary weather of England with the obvious technological advances of this most sophisticated civilization clearly invites the reader to reflect upon the consequences of sin. Stevenson, who is neither a romantic nor a naturalist, sees the problem in the human heart — not in anything outside Jekyll. B. Why did Stevenson have Dr. Jekyll turn more and more frequently into Mr. Hyde without benefit of his chemical potion? Compare the plot of this book to the story of Samson. SUMMARY: Like Victor Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll learns that there is a price to be paid if one flirts with omnipotence. Only God is the creator. No one else is. “God-playing” is a hazardous occupation. Stevenson warns his reader that there is a price to be paid by those who go where they should not go. In this case, Jekyll ultimately loses control and turns into the monster. He knows that that is the case and has to allow his life to be ended. Likewise, God-gifted Samson squanders his great abilities and potential by disobeying God’s law. It ultimately destroyed him. C. Compare and contrast the theme of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Stevenson. SUMMARY: The themes are very similar. However, Shelley promotes a romantic vision and questions the excesses of reductionist, naturalistic science. Stevenson explores the shortcomings of a naturalistic vision and celebrates theism. All of Stevenson’s novels advance a moral position, while Shelley is unconcerned about ethics.

CHAPTER 26 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Contemporary Americans prefer to read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as well as Frankenstein, as Gothic horror stories when, in fact, they were written to be vividly real novels full of sociological and psychological commentary. Why is this so? Answer in a one-page essay. ANSWER: Besides the existential need of Americans to sensationalize everything, we are ill-equipped to grasp metaphor of any type. The deep thinking that Stevenson and Shelley are requiring of their readers is foreign to most Americans. We generally prefer to caricature both books as horror events

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Chapter 27

The Nineteenth Century (Part 7) First Thoughts In the article

“Tennyson” in the 11th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, Edmond Gosse writes: We still look to the earlier masters for supreme excellence in particular directions: to Wordsworth for sublime philosophy, to Coleridge for ethereal magic, to Byron for passion, to Shelley for lyric intensity, to Keats for richness. Tennyson does not excel each of these in his own special field, but he is often nearer to the particular man in his particular mastery than anyone else can be said to be, and he has in addition his own special field of supremacy. What this is cannot be easily defined; it consists, perhaps, in the beauty of the atmosphere which Tennyson contrives to cast around his work, molding it in the blue mystery of twilight, in the opaline haze of sunset: this atmosphere, suffused over his poetry with inestimable skill and with a tact rarely at fault, produces an almost unfailing illusion or mirage of loveliness.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Contrast the storyline with the deep feeling in Mary Coleridge’s “The Witch.” 2. Analyze Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s poetry. 3. Discuss Tennyson’s metaphor. 4. Analyze “My Last Duchess Ferrara” 5. Contrast the education that Newman proposes with the education that occurs in most places today and with the education that Daniel received in the Bible. 6. Explain how Robert Browning pictures the Renaissance. 7. Contrast “Prospice” with “Crossing the Bar.” Contrast “My Last Duchess” with “Ulysses.”

Tennyson, Mary Coleridge, Newman, and the two Brownings — all are examined this week.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.

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History connections: British History chapter 27, “The New Century.”

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LESSON 1

Mary Elizabeth Coleridge

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: What evidence of naturalism do you see in this poem?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 27-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 27.

Read Mary Elizabeth Coleridge’s “The Witch” and respond to the following:

1

Describe the speaker in the first stanza. The speaker is tired, cold, and discouraged.

2

What is the purpose of the second refrain? To emphasize the desperation of the narrator

3

Who “sank and died in the fire/at the door” in the last stanza?  Literally, the narrator, but, by implication, the author and all those who read this poem!

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LESSON 2

John Henry Newman

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is meant by liberal knowledge? Evaluate Newman’s essay and present your conclusion. Defend your answer. Evaluate Newman’s “Definition of a Gentleman” in The Idea of a University and defend your position.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 27-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

A Frame Story

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-B

Contrast the story line with the deep feeling in this poem.

The External Setting: The cutting wind is a cruel foe. I dare not stand in the blast.

The Internal Person: There is a deep yearning and cry from the speaker in this poem. She is asking for help to reach beyond herself to the next level.

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LESSON 3

Alfred Lord Tennyson Assignments •

 arm-up: Discuss Tennyson’s use of personification in “The Charge of the Light Brigade.” It W was common for poets to commemorate historical events by writing a poem. Research the charge of this light brigade. Did the poem accurately portray the historical event? In “Ulysses,” Tennyson draws on Homer’s epic to describe Ulysses many years after the fateful epic. What is the theme of this poem? What is the theme of “Crossing the Bar”? Is “Crossing the Bar” a religious poem? A Christian poem? Every image in “Crossing the Bar” has a double meaning. Explain.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 27-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Style

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-C

What stylistic strategies does Newman employ in the first section of The Idea of a University?

figurative language

lengthy sentences

Style

abundant modifiers

strength in content

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LESSON 4

Robert Browning Assignments Warm-up: Browning was endlessly resourceful in the invention of new stanza patterns and metrical combinations. He used harsh, rough images. Offer evidence from his poetry to support this statement. In the first three lines, how do the images of fog, mist, and snow prepare the reader for the “fiend-voices” in line 23 of “Prospice”? Most scholars believe that “The Lost Leader” was written about Wordsworth. Why was Browning so critical of Wordsworth? How does he show his displeasure? Explore two ways that “The Lost Leader” can be read.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 27-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Personification

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-D

•

Note two examples of personification in Tennyson’s “Charge of the Light Brigade.”

1

Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell Rode the six hundred.

2

All the world wonder’d. Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred!

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LESSON 5

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Assignments •

Warm-up: : What evidence do you have in these poems that Barrett Browning is very ill?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 27-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 27 test.

Metaphors

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-E

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s beautiful Sonnet XLIII is full of metaphors.

1

How does one love someone “to the depth and breadth and height/My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight/For the ends of Being and ideal Grace?”  No doubt with profound sincerity, passion, and emotion, which is what Browning wishes to evoke from her reader

2

Explain this line: “ I love thee to the level of everyday’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.”  I love you with both reckless abandon, and measured emotion, defined by the need of each moment. Candlelight, for instance, is not needed as much when the sun is out. But it is sorely needed when it is dark. This love rises to the occasion of both needs.

3

How does someone love someone “better after death?” Presumably the poet is referring to heaven.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Elizabeth Barrett Browning is emotional but never sentimental. How does she walk the narrow line between these two places? SUMMARY: This reader agrees. What could be better than this: “How do I love thee? / Let me count the ways. / I love thee to the depth and breadth and height / My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight / For the ends of Being and ideal Grace. / I love thee to the level of everyday’s / Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.” B. Tennyson’s poems are deceptively simple. Their images are straightforward and ordinary. Describe several of the images that Tennyson offers in this poem, and compare these images with a romantic poem that William Wordsworth might write. SUMMARY: Tennyson is the great English poet of nostalgia, a poet longing for something long ago, far away, or unobtainable. The images that Tennyson offers are equally as powerful and moving as one will find in Wordsworth; however, Wordsworth’s images are not as nostalgic. This is the main point that students must make in their essays. There are other differences that can be addressed: there is a hint of realism in Tennyson (see “The Charge of the Light Brigade”: “Cannon to right of them, / Cannon to left of them, / Cannon in front of them / Volley’d and thunder’d; / Storm’d at with shot and shell, / Boldly they rode and well). C. Contrast the education that Newman proposes with the education that occurs in most places today and with the education that Daniel received in the Bible. SUMMARY: Daniel unapologetically applied himself to the task in front of himself with courage and excellence. Willing to serve the king of a foreign land with loyalty and acumen, however, did not mean that Daniel would disobey his God. He most assuredly would not! That is the first mark of Daniel’s education. Next, Daniel was committed to being excellent in everything. He was not afraid of standing up and proclaiming that he was in favor of going to college, of doing well in college, of being a leader in the academic area. He and his colleagues were a great asset to whatever society of which they were a part! Contrast that with education today, where mediocrity has replaced meritocracy.

CHAPTER 27 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) In Moral Fiction in Milton and Spenser, John M. Steadman examines how Milton and Spenser — and Renaissance poets in general — applied their art toward the depiction of moral and historical “truth.” Steadman centers his study on the various poetic techniques of illusion that these poets employed in their effort to bridge the gap between truth and imaginative fiction. Steadman suggests that these poets, along with most other Renaissance poets, did not actually regard themselves as divinely inspired but, rather, resorted to a common fiction to create the appearance of having special insight into the truth. He also argued that these poets wrote with a moral purpose; for the first time poets in the 19th century spoke of themselves with no moral purpose. Agree or disagree with Dr. Steadman and offer evidence from poetry to support your answer. ANSWER: A political agenda enters poetry in the 19th century that did not earlier exist. In romanticism, a form of self-centered subjectivity, 19th-century poets crossed the line as they went from theism. It is a short step from there into the naturalism and realism of the 20th century.

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Chapter 28

The Nineteenth Century (Part 8) First Thoughts It is hard to believe that quiet Thomas Hardy could spark so much controversy: in his lifetime, two of his books were banned! Today these books would not turn a head. But in Victorian England they were a real scandal. I have chosen one of his best books — that was not banned! — The Mayor of Casterbridge, because it has such a powerful vision of goodness and forgiveness.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss the theme of societal changes from agrarian to urban in British society. 2. Divide The Mayor of Casterbridge into five distinct sections. Defend your answer. 3. Explore Hardy’s moral vision. 4. Discuss in great detail the way that Hardy develops his characters.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Review Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad.

History connections: British History chapter 28, “Modernism.”

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LESSON 1

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy Assignments Warm-up: Describe, generally, the way Hardy treats women in this novel.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 28-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 28.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-A

•

Read Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor of Casterbridge (chapter 1) and respond to the following:

1

What is the narrative point of view and why does the author choose this approach?  Third person objective — the author desires the reader to keep an open mind about his protagonist

2

What is the relationship between the man and the woman?  They are married, but this is not obvious by the impersonal way the man is treating this woman.

3

The author’s penchant for naturalism is obvious. Explain. The setting is bleak; human relationships are sterile; both are elements of naturalism.

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LESSON 2

The Wife Sale

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: Why would anyone treat a loved one like Henchard from The Mayor of Casterbridge did?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 28-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Circle words that describe Michael Henchard at the beginning of the novel and check the words that describe Henchard at the end of the novel.

Henchard changes from a choleric to a phlegmatic man.

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LESSON 3

Point of View Assignments •

Warm-up: Is omniscient narration the best approach? Would first person be better?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 28-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Foils are characters whose sole purpose is to develop the main character. Discuss the role of the following foils.

Susan Henchard

Foils

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-C

is much different from her husband. While he is active; she is passive. He is certain and enthusiastic; she is confused and bitter.

Henchard

While Michael Henchard represents energy in the novel, Donald Farfrae represents reason. He thinks more than he feels. He has a sharp business mind and writes every transaction in ledger books.

Elizabeth-Jane develops all the other main characters in the novel. First, as a child, then friend, and later, wife. She serves as a sounding-board for Henchard.

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LESSON 4

Critics Corner Assignments •

Warm-up: Do you agree with critic John Hollaway: “Henchard still stands above the others in psychic virtue. In the conventional sense, he is both less moral than them and more so. He is violent and a liar and in one sense intensely selfish, but his generosity is true magnanimity.”

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Students should complete Concept Builder 28-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Divide The Mayor of Casterbridge into five distinct sections and label each section.

Structure

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-D

1.

Chapters 1–2: The auction and oath

5.

Chapters 41–45: Newson’s appearance until Henchard’s death

4.

2.

Chapters 3–19: Susan’s return until her death

3.

Chapters 31–40:

Chapters 20–30:

Henchard’s bankruptcy until Lucetta’s death

Lucetta’s entrance until her marriage to Farfrae

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LESSON 5

Student Essay: Plot Assignments •

Warm-up: Most modern readers are surprised by how contemporary Hardy’s themes and characters seem. What do you think?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 28-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 28 test.

Compare/Contrast

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-E

Compare the interaction between Henchard and Farfrae to the biblical story of Saul and David.

Henchard and Farfrae

David and Saul

Henchard is the bad-tempered man vs. Farfrae the even-tempered man

Saul the bad-tempered man vs. David the even-tempered man

Farfrae replaces Henchard

Saul is the old order and he is replaced by the new order led by David

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Hardy observed the transformation of British society from a predominately agrarian, small-town society into an industrial, urban society. Hardy did not like these changes. How are these concerns manifested in The Mayor of Casterbridge? SUMMARY: In the small English village, life unfolds for Casterbridge folks. Hardy’s father was a master mason, which meant that the Hardy family was middle class and lived in a small village. At age 16, Hardy was apprenticed to an architect whose specialty was the restoration of churches. During his apprenticeship, Hardy developed a greater respect for the simplicities of country life and its traditional institutions and architecture. This appreciation is obvious in the careful descriptions of architectural structures in The Mayor of Casterbridge. B. In this novel, Hardy retains a moral vision that was slowly disappearing from English novels. In a two-page essay, explore what this moral vision is. SUMMARY: Notice how the first sentence of the novel, beginning “One evening of late summer,” resembles the standard story opening “Once upon a time.” In this chapter, Hardy prepares readers for a moral message that will build as the book progresses. He appears to be saying that the way to endure in this world is to be moderate in your actions and desires. C. Discuss in great detail the way that Hardy develops his characters. SUMMARY: Nearly all of the main characters in The Mayor of Casterbridge are guilty of duplicity. Hardy’s women are especially interesting. Hardy is one of the few British novelists of this time who develop strong female characters (another example would be Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland). In his concentration on women in his novels, Hardy was an unusual writer for his times. His strong interest in women may have inspired later writers, particularly D.H. Lawrence and James Joyce. Contrast his women with Shelley’s Frankenstein. His male figures often represent a socio-economic arena but are not very well-developed.

CHAPTER 28 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Like many of the great tragic heroes in literature, Michael Henchard suffers from excessive pride. The Greeks called this sin hubris. Hubris involves a combination of excessive pride, ambition, and self-confidence. An example would be Oedipus Rex, by Sophocles. We see Oedipus’ vain father destroying two generations by his hubris. In a sense, a tragic hero creates his own sense of morality that may run counter to the basic moral rules of the society. The punishment for hubris is often a slow and painful death, in which the hero must first be stripped of personal possessions and public favor. Compare the sin of Saul in the Bible, who manifests this sin hubris, and discuss how his life slowly deteriorates. What are other ways in which this novel parallels the story of Saul and David? ANSWER: The interaction between Henchard and Farfrae strongly echoes the biblical story of Saul and David. Saul is the outsider who becomes king of Israel and whose major characteristics are pride and jealousy. Music soothes him over his moments of bad temper. He is a man of brawn who does not always think clearly before he acts. David, the musician, begins as Saul’s comforter and eventually replaces him as king. He is a man of creativity and reason. Notice how these characteristics compare to those of Henchard and Farfrae.

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Chapter 2 9

The Twentieth Century (Part 1) First Thoughts In British culture,

no sharp dividing line separates the 19th from the 20th century. Until the outbreak of World War I, fiction was still dominated by a group of novelists who had already achieved distinction during the Victorian Age — Thomas Hardy, the AngloAmerican Henry James, George Moore, Joseph Conrad, Rudyard Kipling, H.G. Wells, John Galsworthy, and Arnold Bennett. Except for Hardy, who had abandoned the novel in disgust after the critics’ unfriendly reception of Jude the Obscure, all remained extremely active writers.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the point of view of Lord Jim. 2. Discuss three or four characters in Lord Jim and how they are used to advance the plot. 3. Identify one theme of Lord Jim. 4. Analyze Heart of Darkness.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

215 History connections: British History chapter 29, “Causes of World War I.”

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LESSON 1

Tone

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Give another example of an author using the setting to set the tone of the novel, poem, or short story.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 29-A.

•

Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 29.

Read Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim (chapter 1) and respond to the following:

1

What sort of man is Lord Jim? Jim is a hard-working, good-natured, somewhat naïve young man.

2

Why was Jim trying to remain anonymous? His past and the one big, bad choice he made

3

At the beginning of his life Jim was a romantic. Explain.  Jim is a romantic because he believes in courage, valor, and, in fact, saw himself participating in such exploits. This made his demise all the more painful.

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LESSON 2

Theme

Assignments Warm-up: If you could spend an hour with Lord Jim, what would you tell him that might encourage him?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 29-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-B

•

Circle words that describe Lord Jim at the beginning of the novel and check the words that describe Lord Jim at the end of the novel.

Jim remains a phlegmatic man throughout the novel.

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LESSON 3

Point of View

Assignments •

Warm-up: What are the narrative points of view, and do you agree with Conrad’s choices?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 29-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Narration

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-C

Discuss the way Conrad uses Marlow as his narrator and how Conrad uses this to develop his protagonist, Lord Jim. Marlow has the ability to pry into a character’s thoughts, in this case, into the mind of Lord Jim. Conrad thus lets you get to know Jim quickly.

Marlow is a practiced observer — the very opposite of the egoistical Jim.

Lord Jim

With chapter 5, Marlow takes over the narrative; from that point on, the reader is allowed to know only as much about Jim as Marlow knows.

Marlow carefully unpacks the tragedy that occurs at the end of the novel.

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LESSON 4

Student Essay Character Development Assignments •

Warm-up: Does Conrad logically, credibly develop his character Lord Jim?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 29-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Delineate several themes that Conrad develops. There are many different answers.

Redemption & Forgiveness:

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-D

Can Lord Jim be forgiven for his bad choice?

Themes

Absolute morality: Are there fixed standards? Absolute right and absolute wrong things to do?

Friendship: Can friendship bring redemption?

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LESSON 5

Critics Corner Assignments •

Warm-up: : Which critic do you find most convincing?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 29-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 29 test.

Plot

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-E

Describe the plot in Lord Jim.

Resolution: Climax: Rising Action:

Rising Action:

Jim is finally at rest.

Jim allows himself to be killed in an altercation.

Repentant Jim moves to a South Seas village where he greatly improves the condition of the people.

Jim, a young sailor makes a bad choice

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Conrad’s work was crucial to the development of the modern novel. He used the limited point of view, presenting a tale through a single consciousness (in the case of Lord Jim, through Marlow). Discuss this stylistic technique as it relates to Lord Jim. SUMMARY: The first four chapters of Lord Jim are written in the voice of a limited omniscient narrator: a narrator who tells the story but also, in this case, has the ability to pry into a character’s thoughts, in this case, into the mind of Lord Jim. Conrad thus lets you get to know Jim quickly, and what soon becomes obvious is that Jim is a dreamer whose heroic fantasies are a long way from reality. With chapter 5, Marlow takes over the narrative; from that point on, the reader is allowed to know only as much about Jim as Marlow knows. B. Discuss three or four characters in Lord Jim and how they are used to advance the plot. SUMMARY: Jim is the protagonist of the novel. Marlow, the ship’s captain, tells most of Jim’s story. Although he plays only a small part in the action of Lord Jim, he’s as important to the novel as the title character. Almost everything that happens is filtered through Marlow’s consciousness via his narration. Mohammed Bonso is Stein’s princely ally in the regional power struggles, assassinated when peace was at hand. Stein married his sister, “the princess.” Both she and their small daughter, Emma, later died of an infectious fever. Cornelius, a Malayan-born Portuguese, lives in Patusan as Stein’s thoroughly incompetent trade representative before Jim is appointed to the post. He obtained the job only through Stein’s regard for his wife, who was pregnant by another man and needed a refuge. He is a natural antagonist to Jim. C. The Heart of Darkness, a challenging but wonderful book — perhaps Conrad’s best — is about human nature. What are the conclusions about human nature that Conrad posits? SUMMARY: Civilization is only the thin veneer covering a dark human heart that we all carry. If that veneer is removed, the man turns into an animal. Mankind, then, is not created in the image of God. Redemption is not possible — only a sort of détente with evil.

CHAPTER 29 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) The British historian Paul Johnson, in his book Modern Times, writes: Among the advanced races, the decline and ultimately the collapse of the religious impulse would leave a huge vacuum. The history of modern times is in great part the history of how that vacuum is filled. Nietzsche rightly perceived that the most likely candidate would be what he called the “Will to Power,” which offered a far more comprehensive and in the end more plausible explanation of human behavior than either Marx or Freud. In place of religious belief, there would be secular ideology. Those who once filled the ranks of the totalitarian clergy would become totalitarian politicians. And, above all, the Will to Power would produce a new kind of messiah, uninhibited by

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any religious sanctions whatever, and with an unappeasable appetite for controlling mankind. The end of the old order, with an unguided world adrift in a relativistic universe, was a summons to such gangster-statesmen to emerge. They were not slow to make their appearance (Paul Johnson, Modern Times, New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1992, p. 48). Would Conrad agree or disagree with this statement? Why? Why not? In a one-page essay, answer this question and analyze in depth Joseph Conrad’s worldview. ANSWER: Answers will vary, but this reader thinks Conrad would disagree. The “religious” impulse means nothing to Conrad. It is not an ameliorating agent. Its absence would not be missed. Conrad had a decidedly naturalistic worldview. That is not to say, though, that his characters are immoral. Surely Lord Jim is one of the most “moral characters” in British literature. The struggle for this reader, and perhaps others, is what motivates Lord Jim — remorse over a cowardly act, or the fear of what others think. Also, at the end of the novel, as Jim changes, does he become at peace with his bad choice — like the protagonist in The Mayor of Casterbridge — or does Lord Jim merely not care about anything — like the protagonist in The Red Badge of Courage.

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Chapter 3 0

The Twentieth Century (Part 2)

First Thoughts Google CEO Eric

Schmidt made the now infamous remark about Google’s practice of getting very close to the “creepy line” but not going over. With the decision to release an update to Google Goggles that will allow cell phone owners to identify human faces, Google has arguably crossed “the creepy line.” This is not the first time. In the beginning of the 20th century, British literature, with Mansfield, Joyce, and Lawrence, moved very close to if not beyond good taste. For the first time, readers are invited to read well-written literature that has slipped from its efficacious theological and worldview moorings. Has it crossed the “creepy line”?

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss the way Mansfield develops her protagonist. Include in your answer the narrative technique, the way that Mansfield uses foils, and the use of internal conflict. 2. Kipling is one of the best storytellers in history. Discuss Kipling’s storytelling techniques. Identify the rising action, climax, and resolution. 3. Discuss the theme in “The Selfish Giant.” 4. Analyze how Lawrence builds suspense in “The Rocking-Horse Winner.”

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review “Are Women Human?” and “The Human-Not-Quite-Human” by Dorothy Sayers; “Terence, This is Stupid Stuff,” “Loveliest of Trees,” and “Be Still my Soul, by A.E. Housman; World War I Poets: “Greater Love” by Wilfred Owen; “The Fish” by Rupert Brooke; “In Flanders Field” by George McCrae; “An Irish Airman Forsees His Death,” “When You are Old,” “The Second Coming,” “The White Swans at Coole,” and “Byzantium,” by William Butler Yeats.

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History connections: British History chapter 30, “World War I.”

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LESSON 1

Stevie Smith

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: Read and reflect on the following sample of Smith’s poetry. In a one- or two-page essay, compare and contrast it with other modern poetry.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 30-A.

•

Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 30.

Read Stevie Smith’s “Not Waving But Drowning” and respond to the following:

1

What is the first image the reader encounters? What effect does this have on the reader? A dead man. Certainly the reader expects the worst from the rest of the poem.

2

What moral lesson does the author connect with this disturbing image?  The poor man died from the cold, not from drowning. And he died all alone. Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life And not waving but drowning.

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LESSON 2

Short Stories Assignments •

Warm-up: Give at least one internal conflict that Miss Brill experiences and why it is so devastating a revelation.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 30-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

•

Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Narration: The reader is invited into the mind of the protagonist.

Protagonist

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-B

Discuss how Mansfield develops her protagonist in “Miss Brill.”

Protagonist Internal Conflict: Miss Brill’s own ambivalence and loneliness basically power this short story

Foil: Other characters, some are antagonists, develop poor Miss Brill

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LESSON 3

“The Selfish Giant” Oscar Wilde Assignments •

Warm-up: Is this a children’s story or an adult story?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 30-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Theme

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-C

What are some themes that Wilde develops in his short story “The Selfish Giant?”

Redemption and Forgiveness: Unselfishness:

The giant changes and is forgiven

The children give of themselves unselfishlessly

Mutability: Change occurs in the protagonist and in the garden itself

Themes

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LESSON 4

“Without Benefit of Clergy” Rudyard Kipling Assignments Warm-up: How does Kipling subtly develop a tragic theme in this short story?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 30-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Storytelling

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-D

•

Discuss Kipling’s storytelling techniques. Identify the rising action, climax, and resolution.

ANSWER: This tragic story begins with the announcement of the birth of a child, climaxes at that birth and further tragedy, and ends with ultimate tragedy. Yet there clearly is a sense in which life continues in the midst of tragedy.

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LESSON 5

“The Rocking-Horse Winner” D.H. Lawrence Assignments •

Warm-up: Some readers find this essay to be quite disconcerting. Why?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 30-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 30 test.

Suspense

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-E

How does Lawrence build suspense in the short story “The Rocking-Horse Winner”?

The precocious child’s vision of life

The incessant rocking of the horse

The obsession that finally destroys the child

Suspense

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Discuss the way Mansfield develops her protagonist. Include in your answer the narrative technique, the way that Mansfield uses foils, and the use of internal conflict. SUMMARY: Mansfield uses limited omniscient narration through the mind of Miss Brill. This is very effective because all narration is internal, in the mind of Miss Brill. Foils are again the creation of Miss Brill’s mind. B. What thematic points is Wilde making through “The Selfish Giant”? SUMMARY: Wilde uses a children’s story to make a profound point about forgiveness, sacrifice, and selflessness. Nonetheless, the worldview is clearly a sort of humanistic, be-nice-to-one-another approach. This in no way, however, mitigates the beauty of this story. C. How does Lawrence build suspense in “The Rocking-Horse Winner”? SUMMARY: This is a psychological drama. The incessant rocking of the horse, the precocious child’s vision of life, and the obsession that finally destroys the child — all conspire to build suspense.

CHAPTER 30 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Considering the condition of the protagonists and what happens to them, compare the short stories in Lesson 30. ANSWER: Miss Brill, Araby, and the Rocking-Horse Winner, protagonists in the short stories, are isolated from everyone else. Also, things — mostly bad things — happen to them all the time. They seem to have no control over their fate. All the characters in these short stories are in the same place, dealing with the same type of situation in life.

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Chapter 3 1

The Twentieth Century (Part 3) First Thoughts Never has a war

so devastated a generation as World War I cruelly injured England. Author Tim Cross compiled an anthology entitled The Lost Voices of World War I: An International Anthology of Writers, Poets and Playwrights (London: Bloomsbury, 1998). with works by more than 50 authors who died in the four years of fighting in World War I. To read the works of these authors is unsettling, because the reader is constantly aware of how much talent was lost when these men died so young. The appendix to Cross’s anthology is even more tragic in its implications, for it is a necrology (i.e., death list) of all the creative people who were killed from 1914 to 1918. As Cross says, “A complete list of all poets, playwrights, writers, artists, architects, and composers who died as a result of the First World War is an impossible task,” but even so, he has compiled a list of about 750 names.

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Cross’s list includes only people who had already accomplished something of note in their fields. We are left to ponder how many of the nine million young men lost in the war might have gone on to do great things in the arts, sciences, medicine, and politics. Given the official number of military personnel killed between the years 1914 and 1918 — over one million dead soldiers from the British Empire and the United States alone — a handful of artists might seem insignificant. A few survived — J.R.R. Tolkien, for instance.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the writings of D. Sayers. 2. Evaluate the following literary criticism: Housman is considered a minor poet, primarily because of his use of rhyme and meter and his frequent and effective use of imagery and symbolism. It is generally accepted that major 20th-century poetry must inevitably go beyond the strictures of late-19thcentury styles, so any poet using such styles can only be classed as minor. 3. Analyze the speaker in “Loveliest of Trees.” 4. Discuss pessimism in Housman’s poems. 5. Analyze the effect of unforgiveness on a culture. 6. Compare Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” with “Byzantium.”

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. History connections: British History chapter 31, “World War I and Afterwards.”

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LESSON 1

Dorothy Sayers Assignments Warm-up: Respond to this quote from Dorothy Sayers: “The people who hanged Christ never, to do them justice, accused Him of being a bore — on the contrary; they thought Him too dynamic to be safe. It has been left for later generations to muffle up that that shattering personality and surround Him with an atmosphere of tedium. We have very efficiently pared the claws of the Lion of Judah, certified Him ‘meek and mild,’ and recommended Him as a fitting household pet for pale curates and pious old ladies” (www.cbn.com/spirituallife/BibleStudyAnd Theology/perspectives/Sayers_Drama).

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 31-A.

•

Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 31.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-A

•

Read A.E. Housman’s “Loveliest of Trees” and respond to the following:

1

What is the central image of this poem? A cherry tree in the snow

2

Using this metaphor, what thematic point is the poet making? Mutability or growing old

3

Does the poem end with hope or despair? Why?  The narrator is satisfied that he is growing old and makes no lamentable conclusion. He is more or less stoic about the subject.

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LESSON 2

A.E. Housman

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-B

Assignments •

Warm-up: Housman was no spiritual giant. He seems to have had trouble reconciling conventional Christianity with his deep clinical depression. Given these passages and other poems that you have read by Housman, what is his worldview?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 31-B.

•

Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

•

Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

•

Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Read John McRae’s “In Flanders Field” and respond to the following:

1

Why did the poet choose a poppy to represent his fallen comrades? It is bloody red.

2

What is the theme of this passage? Mutability

3

What is the tone of this poem?  Somber. Wistful.

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LESSON 3

World War I Poets Assignments •

Warm-up: Would you charge an enemy position knowing that you probably will die?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 31-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-C

Read William Butler Yeats’ “The Second Coming” and respond to the following:

1

What are the first two images the poet is presenting? Why?  “ TURNING and turning in the widening gyre the falcon cannot hear the falconer.” Yeats offers two images: a whirling fire and a lost falcon — both project energy.

2

What does this line mean?  The Second Coming is imminent. Yeats is reflecting on an apocalyptic vision of world history.

3

What is the Second Coming?  The Second Coming of Jesus Christ in Revelation

4

The entire poem is full of religious imagery. Share a few examples and explain.  The Second Coming. The Birth of Jesus. Yeats is juxtaposing the image of Christ’s Second Coming with His First Coming.

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LESSON 4

William Butler Yeats

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-D

Assignments •

Warm-up: Discuss Yeats’ use of symbolism in his poetry.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 31-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Read William Butler Yeats’ “I KNOW that I shall meet my fate” and respond to the following: Death is a fate all must face. How do your views on life and death differ from those of Yeats?

Answers will vary.

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LESSON 5

Analysis of Are Women Human? Dorothy Sayers Assignments •

Warm-up: What is Sayers’ thesis of this essay?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 31-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 31 test.

Surrealism

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-E

Yeats wrote literature that was very much like surreal art. Surrealist works feature the element of surprise and unexpected juxtapositions.

Tell why this picture is surreal and why it has the same type message that Yeats develops in his poetry?  Yeats’ use of incongruent images (e.g., a “sloughing beast” and “the Second Coming”) reminds the reader of the same incongruent images (e.g., the watch hanging on a tree limb) that exist in the painting.

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. If not the most important, then one of the most important, of Sayers’ short non-fiction works is Are Women Human? Peruse her two essays “Are Women Human?” and “The Human-Not-Quite-Human” in this short volume, reflect on her views, and write a response essay to her thoughts. SUMMARY: Sayers argues that every human ought to be accepted first as a person in his/her own right, with gender considered only when relevant. What causes her to be distanced from contemporary feminism is that she does not say that gender is never relevant, but she does deny the assumption that when one is discussing a woman, gender is always relevant. B. No one will disagree that World War I was a horrible war. Yet some came out of the war without bitterness (e.g., J.R.R. Tolkien). Others were terribly bitter (e.g., Ernest Hemingway). How does one deal with bitterness and hardship that seems to surpass the ability to cope? SUMMARY: Some survivors — even Christian believers — were unable to overcome the profound bitterness and emotional scars of war. As Elie Wiesel, survivor of World War II, wrote: “I lost my faith in the fires of Auswitz.” Others, like J.R.R. Tolkien, wrote wonderful fantasy novels that exorcised these demons from himself. Tolkien and others who did not harbor hopelessness and bitterness found their strength in their strong faith. C. Compare Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” with “Byzantium.” SUMMARY: Many critics feel that Yeats resurrected romanticism in the 20th century. He sought to lead his native Ireland out of the world of harsh realism and into the more appealing world of imagination. In that sense, the tone and theme of these two poems are similar. They both discuss a land where time stands still and where one can find immortality. Both find this immortality in art.

CHAPTER 31 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) ESSAY (100 POINTS) Find poems and songs that were part of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era. What similarities do the songs have with the World War I poems? Answer this question in a one-page essay. ANSWER: Students will find that the songs (e.g., “Blowing in the Wind,” Dylan) reflect the same heartwrenching emotion with some sensitive social statements about the futility of warfare.

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Chapter 32

The Twentieth Century (Part 4) First Thoughts It is informative

that the greatest apologist of the 20th century was not a pastor or theologian. He was an English/ philosophy teacher! The English scholar and writer Clive Staples Lewis — born on November 29, 1898, and died on November 22, 1963 — is one of the most famous Christian apologists of the 20th century. By appealing to people of all ages, he has probably done more than any writer to bring people to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. He is truly a remarkable phenomenon, a great asset to 20th-century Christendom. Mere Christianity, Lewis’ most popular book, is really three books in one: (1) “Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe,” (2) “What Christians Believe,” and (3) “Christian Behavior” — all adapted from a series of radio lectures. The book’s title comes from Lewis’ attempt to strip Christianity of all that is nonessential, getting down to the “mere” basics of what it means to be a Christian.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss Lewis’ view of moral law. 2. Complete this sentence: According to Lewis, Christianity will not make sense to anyone until they realize . . . 3. Explain why God does not deal definitively with the devil (according to Lewis). 4. Discuss Lewis’ view of the proper role of sexuality, pleasure, and chastity for Christians. 5. Analyze the two criticisms of Lewis’ work.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter. Reading ahead: Review Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien.

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History connections: British History chapter 32, “Totalitarianism.”

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LESSON 1

C.S. Lewis

Overview

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite C.S. Lewis book?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 32-A.

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Students should review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

•

Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

•

 eachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with T shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 32.

Mere Christianity is C.S. Lewis’ most popular work. It was originally given as a series of broadcast talks during World War II. Of his own qualifications to speak on Christianity he said:

It’s not because I’m. . . . (See full text in student book.)

1

This book is a collection of radio broadcasts. What is Lewis’ purpose in presenting these radio broadcasts? To discuss Christianity and its importance to humankind

2

What is Lewis promising his readers?  One thing I can promise you. In spite of all the unfortunate differences between Christians, what they agree on is still something pretty big and pretty solid: big enough to blow any of us sky-high if it happens to be true.

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LESSON 2

Mere Christianity

Assignments •

Warm-up: Define “apologetics.”

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Students should complete Concept Builder 32-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Postmodernism

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-B

In our postmodern society, many argue that morality is relative to culture and upbringing. What would Lewis say to that?

Postmodernism

Moral law cannot be changed by time, space, or situations.

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LESSON 3

Thirty-Five Years in the Light: Reflections on My Conversion (by Chuck Colson, August 12, 2008)

Living in Enemy Territory

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-C

Assignments •

Warm-up: Write a brief narrative of your conversion.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 32-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Assuming that Lewis’ argument that Christians are living in “enemy territory” is correct, what are some of the challenges Christians face and how can they be overcome? Challenges

Solution

The allure of education

Knowledge, education, will not change the heart. Only God can do that.

The allure of fame and riches

One must allow the Holy Spirit to redefine one’s desires.

Overcome the Evil One

The devil is already conquered by the sacrifice of Christ on the Cross.

The temptation of physical desires

Physical desires curbed by moral laws is good.

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LESSON 4

The Misconception of God and a Moral Law Assignments •

Warm-up: What does C.S. Lewis mean by “moral law?”

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Students should complete Concept Builder 32-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow. According to Lewis, God’s rescue plan for humanity took the form of four things. What are they?

God’s Rescue Plan

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-D

Moral Law

Second Coming of Jesus Christ

God’s Plan

Good dreams of a dying god

The revelation given to the Jews

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LESSON 5

Student Essay: Foundations of a Worldview Assignments •

Warm-up: What are Lewis’ views of the devil?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 32-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 32 test.

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-E

What are two points that Lewis makes about salvation?

“Your real, new self (which is Christ’s and also yours, and yours just because it is His) will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him” (p. 226).

Salvation

“Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in” (p. 227).

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Lewis states that if God is like the moral law, he is not soft or sentimental. Why is this shocking? Apart from the moral law, what else points to the existence of God? Complete this sentence: According to Lewis, Christianity will not make sense to anyone until they realize . . . SUMMARY: . . . that “God is like the moral law; he is not maudlin,” according to part 1, chapter 5. The shock is twofold: (1) As man looks at the world, he discovers that the “god” behind it must have been creative/artistic due to its beauty; also this “god” must have been merciless to man since the world is hostile to man’s existence. (2) As man looks at the moral law, he discovers that this “god” is intensely interested in right and wrong, in fair play, and so on. Christianity will not make sense to anyone until they realize that there is a real moral law and a power behind it and that they have broken the moral law and offended/transgressed the power behind it. B. What does Lewis cite as the question of why God does not deal openly and decisively with the devil? SUMMARY: While God is not a dualistic God (that is, equal to but not greater than the devil), he chooses to allow the devil authority for a season. Lewis deals with the problem of evil and the devil in part 2. The answer to the question as to why God does not deal openly with the devil appears to be in Lewis’ understanding of “free will.” God as the ultimate authority has established law, yet He wants us to choose the good and reject the evil as an act of our own will. Lewis uses a metaphor of a parent who establishes the law that the child must clean up his room, and then leaves the child to pick up after himself when playing without being told. The happiness that God desires for His creatures comes when the creature voluntarily unites himself with the established law. C. Lewis says, “A cold self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to Hell than a prostitute.” What is Lewis’ view of the proper role of sexuality, pleasure, and chastity for Christians? SUMMARY: Like all believers, Lewis holds that sexual activity belongs in marriage alone.

CHAPTER 32 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) ESSAY (100 POINTS) Lewis states that three great civilizations have condemned the very thing North Americans have based theirs on. What were the three civilizations, and what is the thing they have condemned? ANSWER: These comments come from part 3, chapter 3, which deals with social morality. The three civilizations mentioned by Lewis were the ancient Greeks, the ancient Jews of the Old Testament, and Christians of the early period through the Middle Ages. These civilizations condemned lending money at interest, “and lending money at interest — what we call investment — is the basis of our whole system.”

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Chapter 33

The Twentieth Century (Part 5) First Thoughts Tolkien’s fertile mind inspired and blessed a generation of Englishmen. The horror of World War I affected him as it did other Englishmen. However, instead of turning inward and embracing existentialism, Tolkien reached outward to his faith and wrote some of the most powerful moral allegories of the 20th century.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Discuss the way Tolkien treats women in his Trilogy. 2. Analyze the way Tolkien uses songs in the Trilogy. 3. Discuss how the power of good and evil unfolds in these three fantasies. In what ways does this contradict orthodox Christianity? 4. Discuss the way the wasteland is used in Western literature.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

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Reading ahead: Review Murder in the Cathedral by C.S. Lewis.

History connections: British History chapter 33, “World War II and the Cold War.”

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LESSON 1

Book Review Assignments Warm-up: What was your favorite part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 33-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 33.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-A

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Read J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (chapter one) and respond to the following:

1

What sort of creatures are the Hobbits?  Internal conflict, external conflict — dialogue reveals this and other information. Questions asked, questions answered — they also reveal to the reader vital information.

2

How does the author use dialogue to advance the plot? They are simple, ordinary, hard-working, innocent creatures.

3

Why are the Hobbits the perfect heroes? It is important that these sort of creatures carry out the task of disposing of the ring.

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LESSON 2

Tolkien and World War I

Assignments •

Warm-up: Have you experienced death in your life? How did you handle it?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 33-B.

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Students should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Students should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

Setting: Middle Earth

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-B

The Lord of the Rings occurs in the imaginary world of Middle-earth, which is inhabited by elves, wizards, and dragons, who are still human in many ways. Draw a map of Middle-earth.

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LESSON 3

Barren Wastelands in The Lord of the Rings Assignments Warm-up: : Many of the characters in these three novels gain power through language. Give several examples.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 33-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-C

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Circle words that describe Frodo Baggins at the beginning of the novel and check the words that describe Frodo Baggins at the end of the novel.

Frodo is a static character — he does not change substantially — he is a sanguine.

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LESSON 4

Student Essay: Songs in Lord of the Rings Assignments •

Warm-up: Discuss Tolkien’s use of elves and fairies in his -novels.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 33-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

Frodo is a Christ-like figure. Explain.

Symbolism

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-D

Sacrificed his life for his friends

Misunderstood by friends and family

Christ-like figure

Journeys through life to destroy evil

Suffered terribly

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LESSON 5

Critics Corner

Gollum

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-E

Assignments •

Warm-up: Do you agree with Urang in this review?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 33-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 33 test.

Gollum, the miserable creature who owned the Ring before Bilbo, reveals the location of the Ring to Sauron, who sends the Black Riders to the Shire after Frodo. Much later in the trilogy, Gollum guides Frodo into Mordor and betrays him by leading him into the lair of Shelob the spider. Even so, neither Frodo nor Sam can bring himself to kill Gollum. Their mercy is rewarded, for Gollum brings about his own destruction as well as the destruction of the Ring. Gollum has several interpretations. Offer two.

He represents what Frodo will become if he does not destroy the Ring

He is Frodo’s alter-ego, the part of Frodo that lies hidden in his heart

Gollum

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Tolkien has been criticized for generally ignoring women in his novels. What do you think? SUMMARY: There is merit in this argument. In The Hobbit the only female character was Lobelia Sackville-Baggins, an unpleasant hobbit. In The Lord of the Rings, the reader meets only Lobelia, Goldberry, Arwen (Elrond’s daughter), and Galadriel. Galadriel is a figure of great power. She seems wiser than her husband, Celeborn, and wins over Gimli the dwarf with her kindness. She is the one who first called together the White Council that originally drove Sauron from Mirkwood. She’s also the possessor of one of the three elven rings. B. Discuss how the power of good and evil unfolds in these three fantasies. In what ways does this contradict orthodox Christianity? SUMMARY: Some critics see a tendency toward dualism in Tolkien: evil and good seem to be equally powerful. On one hand, when it seems that evil will win out, it is left to seemingly powerless individuals like Frodo to face the overwhelming force of evil. These individuals must struggle with no hope for assistance from anyone more powerful and with little hope for victory or even survival. Victory, when it is achieved, comes only at great cost to the forces of good. It seems to win only a breathing space — barely enough time to recover before evil again arises and threatens the freedom of Middle-earth. On the other hand, many readers see a strong vein of optimism in Tolkien’s works. They point to the fact that the inhabitants of Middle-earth are helped in their fight by a benevolent power. The workings of that power are seldom visible to the individuals in the midst of the action, but a larger perspective reveals a grand design. Even evil deeds are turned to good purpose. One example of this is when Merry and Pippin’s capture by the orcs serves to bring them to Fangorn in time to rouse the Ents against the evil wizard Saruman. This seems to imply that good is stronger and more lasting than evil. C. Wastelands are often used in literature as a symbol of spiritual barrenness. Two good examples of this occur in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) and T.S. Eliot’s famous poem “The Waste Land” (1922). In The Great Gatsby, Nick, the narrator, passes through a wasteland of ashes on his way into New York City. How does the wasteland as a symbol of inner barrenness relate to Tolkien’s concept of evil? SUMMARY: Theistic Tolkien seriously deals with evil. The following are only a few examples. In The Lord of the Rings, when Denethor falls into despair, he brings about the deaths of others as well as himself. If not for Denethor, Gandalf would have been in the battlefield and possibly could have prevented Theoden’s death and the wounding of Eowyn and Merry. Gandalf says that this is the working of Sauron. The ringwraiths also use despair as a weapon. Despair is overcome by remaining humble and relying on a higher power.

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CHAPTER 33 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) Essay (100 Points) Although The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit present no “God,” no “Christ,” and no “Christians,” they embody much of Tolkien’s “real religion” and form a profoundly Christian work. No “God” is required in this story. . . . Gandalf and Aragorn need not turn our thoughts to . . . Christ . . . but they persuade us that if we are to have hope in our lives and in our history, it must be hope for the kind of power and authority revealed in Aragorn the king and on the basis of the kind of power revealed in Gandalf ’s “miracles” and in his rising from the dead. What Frodo does and undergoes speaks to us of what a man’s responsibility, according to the Christian faith, must always be: to renounce the kind of power that would enslave others and ourselves, and to submit to that power which frees us all. (Gunnar Urang) Evaluate this interpretation. ANSWER: Answers will vary. Even though God is not mentioned, Tolkien clearly writes from a Christian theistic position. Even a book in the Bible does not mention God — Esther. The themes, the plot, the outcome of Tolkein’s Trilogy all reflect a theistic universe (as surely as one would see the Chronicles of Narnia as theistic).

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Chapter 3 4

The Twentieth Century (Part 6) First Thoughts “Murder in the Cathedral” is a verse drama by T.S. Eliot that portrays the assassination of Archbishop Thomas Becket in Canterbury Cathedral in 1170, first performed in 1935. Eliot drew heavily on the writing of Edward Grim, a clerk who was an eyewitness to the event. The play was written at the time of rising fascism in Germany and Italy, and was an inspiration to persecuted Christians in affected countries.

Chapter Learning Objectives As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Give the story line and historical background to “Murder in the Cathedral.” 2. Write a detailed analysis of the purpose of the choruses. 3. Show how Eliot uses metaphor and symbolism to convey his message. 4. Analyze Becket’s decision to die as a martyr.

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Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259; answer summaries available at the end of each chapter.

History connections: British History chapter 34, “The End of an Empire.”

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LESSON 1

Murder in the Cathedral T.S. Eliot Assignments Warm-up: What is your favorite Eliot quote?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 34-A.

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Students review the required reading(s) before the assigned chapter begins.

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Teachers may want to discuss assigned reading(s) with students.

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Teachers shall assign the required essay. The rest of the essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

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Students will review all readings for chapter 34.

Narration

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-A

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Generally the narration of Murder in the Cathedral is omniscient narration (the author tells the story from all perspectives). However, Becket and the knights address the audience directly. Why?

Becket makes sure that the audience understands why he has to die for his noble cause

The knights try to justify their actions to the audience, but, in the process, only add to their guilt

Narration

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LESSON 2

Thomas Becket

Assignments •

Warm-up: Why did Becket return from France when he knew he might be martyred?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 34-B.

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Student should review reading(s) from the next chapter.

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Student should outline essay due at the end of the week.

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Per teacher instructions, students may answer orally, in a group setting, some of the essays that are not assigned as formal essays.

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-B

Describe three temptations that Becket faces.

Figurative Language

Pleasures of the flesh

Becket

Pride

Earthly Power

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LESSON 3

Student Essay The Changed Life of T.S. Elliot Assignments •

Warm-up: Why does Eliot’s life give other Christians hope?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 34-C.

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Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

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The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Providence

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-C

Discuss Eliot’s view of the Providence of God.

Destiny lies in the hands of God, not in the hands of man

There are worse things than death — disobedience is one of them

Providence

Therefore, spiritual matters supersede physical concerns

Mankind may choose, or not choose, to conform to the will of God, but God is in control of everything

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LESSON 4

T.S. Eliot before Conversion

The Waste Land Assignments •

Warm-up: Give evidence of anger and despair in these verses.

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Students should complete Concept Builder 34-D.

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Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow.

How does the Chorus function in this play?

Chorus

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-D

Represents the common people

The Chorus offers temptation to Becket. He may listen to them, sympathize with them, but they do not determine his future

Chorus

Shows the variety of human experience from which Becket dare not draw

The Chorus tells the reader important historical information

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LESSON 5

T.S. Eliot after Conversion Assignments •

Warm-up: In what ways did your walk with the Lord change your life?

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Students should complete Concept Builder 34-E.

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Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 34 test.

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-E

Three Priests of the Cathedral

How does the playwright use the three priests (foils used to develop the protagonist)?

The three priests do not grasp the seriousness of the situation (Part I)

Finally, the priests betray Becket to save their own lives (Part II)

The three priests cannot use church ritual to escape the coming storm. It requires a supernatural response prompted by human action and obedience (Part II)

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ESSAY OPTIONS A, B & C WITH ANSWER SUMMARIES (50 points, Grading Option A / 40 points, Grading Option B - See pages 7 & 8) A. Give the story line and historical background to “Murder in the Cathedral.” SUMMARY: Eliot chose the martyrdom of St. Thomas à Becket to show the struggles of faith that we all must face. B. Show how Eliot uses metaphor and symbolism to convey his message. SUMMARY: From the Greek tragedy, Eliot drew on the concept of a noble character who gives his life for a cause. From the medieval morality play, Eliot drew the idea of using dramatic means to teach a moral lesson. Finally, Becket is clearly a Christ-like figure. C. What is Eliot’s universal concern, which transcends all his prose and poetry? SUMMARY: Answers will vary. One opinion: Eliot, once a sinner, now saved, offers hope for us all. The hope in this play is not in the audience, or in the king, or in the behavior of any character. The hope is in the Lord. The inescapable message of T.S. Eliot’s life is that people do change.

CHAPTER 34 TEST ANSWERS Divide score by 2 (Option A) / Divide score by 2.5 (Option B) ESSAY (100 POINTS) Scenario: You are asked to choose your school’s spring play production. In a short essay, argue for the performance of “Murder in the Cathedral” as the best choice. ANSWER: Besides communicating a timeless, life-changing message, this play is beautiful. The set would be ideal — it was written to be presented in a church with a minimum of props. There are parts for everyone — men and women. Whether one has a cast of 4 or 40, the play would work. The lead, Becket, is a powerful part and would affect both actors and audience.

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Essay Options

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Chapter 1: Essay Options A. Compare and contrast the hero Beowulf with Jesus Christ. In your essay, give frequent references to the text and to Scripture.” B. Moses, led by the Holy Spirit, wrote the first five books of the Old Testament. No doubt, though, Moses records stories that he heard through oral stories and traditions. Obviously, for instance, Moses was not present when God created the world. Realizing that the Word of God is inerrant and inspired, identify several narrative stories that exist in the Old Testament. Tell who the main characters are, what the conflict in the story is, and when the climax occurs. Imagine these stories being told around the campfires (much as they are in Joshua 4). C. Because there are three major battle scenes in the poem, some scholars believe that Beowulf was composed by three different authors. Others claim that the sections that take place in Denmark and the sections that occur after Beowulf returns to Geatland were the work of different authors. However, the majority of scholars agree that because of the unified structure of the poem, with its combination of historical information in the flow of the main narrative, it was most likely composed by one person. What do you think? Analyze Beowulf and decide if you think one, two, three, or more authors wrote this poem. Defend your answer in a two-page essay.

Chapter 2: Essay Options A. As a literary genre, prose originates with men like the Venerable Bede. What advantages and disadvantages does it offer as compared to poetry? In what ways would a poem “The Poet Caedmon” differ from the prose “The Poet Caedmon?” B. Bede was a devoted Christian. To him, the supernatural was common and everyday. To many people in the 21st century, however, the supernatural does not exist. What do you think? C. Read Philippians 3:1–13. When is loss gain? When we surrender our control and our search for security in tangible things, we discover that trusting in God and God’s design is ultimately more satisfying. As a historian, Bede understood and firmly believed that human history was always reconstructed from evidence. Bede understood, and modern historians understand, that history cannot be re-created — only reinterpreted. But Paul is telling us, and Bede understood, that salvation is out of history. That it is really something new. Something is created that was not here. A new birth. And that is worth more than all the knowledge, money, or prestige in the whole world. What do you want more than anything else in the whole world? To win the World Cup? To be rich? Handsome? To receive a full academic scholarship to Harvard University? What does Paul and the poet Caedmon tell you is of inestimable worth? Write a two-page essay that answers these questions.

Chapter 3: Essay Options A. How do Chaucer’s descriptions of the outside appearance, such as the dress and physical attributes of the pilgrims, reveal their inner nature? B. “The Pardoner’s Tale” is an almost perfect short story. What makes a great short story? Compare this short story to another short story you have read.

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C. The journey is a powerful motif in Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and in the Bible. The call of Abraham to Palestine, the wilderness wanderings, and the road to Emmaus are only a few instances of journeys in the Bible. Can you think of others? What advantages does this setting offer an author?

Chapter 4: Essay Options A. Sir Gawain combines two universally popular and immutable (i.e., unchangeable) plots: a martial arts contest and a temptation scene with a beautiful woman. Identify both of these plots in the text and discuss their development. Give copious references from the text. B. The poem is both a satire of manners and at the same time a reverent and profoundly Christian celebration of Judeo-Christian characteristics. Find evidence from the text to support these two arguments. C. The decapitation of the Green Knight has its origins in pagan English culture. Explain.

Chapter 5: Essay Options A. What is the theme of Edmund Spenser’s “Sonnet 26”? How does he develop his theme? B. Spenser’s “Sonnet 75” has a Christian theme. Explain. C. What does Elizabeth’s speech to the troops at Tilbury accomplish?

Chapter 6: Essay Options A. What is the setting in this play? How important is the setting to the development of the plot? Would the play be as interesting and effective if it were staged in the South Bronx, circa 1960? Why or why not? B. Many modern theologians have tried to make Judas Iscariot a victim rather than a perpetrator of evil (e.g., the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar”). Is he the victim or the perpetrator of one of the greatest crimes? Is Macbeth a murderer or the weak instrument of his wife? Defend your answer from the text and from Scripture. C. Every character in “Macbeth” has flaws. Analyze the flaws in each character and explain why or why not in your judgment each character received his just punishment/reward.

Chapter 7: Essay Options A. Bacon’s writing “Of Wisdom for a Man’s Self ” is an essay. Many consider Francis Bacon to be the “father of the English essay.” An essay is a piece of prose that expresses a personal point of view. The formal essay is usually pedantic and impersonal in tone. The informal essay is relaxed and conversational in tone and can even be whimsical. As you read Bacon’s Essays (1597), identify examples of both essay styles.

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B. Most of us today are quite comfortable in talking about ourselves. Indeed, having “an identity crisis” is rather common. But in Francis Bacon’s day, it was unusual to talk about oneself so much, yet Bacon does so with reckless abandon. Using Essays as a guide, write a two-page essay outlining several conclusions about the human self that Bacon advances. Do they line up with Scripture? C. Francis Bacon, in a famous treason trial, testified against his friend the Earl of Essex, who subsequently was convicted. Many of his friends condemned Bacon as being a poor friend. Yet, if one reads Essays carefully, one finds evidence that Bacon’s testimony was quite consistent with his worldview. Agree or disagree with this statement and find evidence from Essays to support your answer.

Chapter 8: Essay Options A. Analyze the plot of “Dr. Faustus.” In your answer, identify the rising action, climax, and falling action. How effective is Marlowe in building suspense? B. Find examples of the following types of literature in the Bible: lyric poetry, the song, the ballad, the ode, the elegy, meditation poetry, monodies, dramatic lyrics, ritual lyrics, lyric idyll, rhetoric, epistolary literature, wisdom literature, the riddle, the proverb, prophetic literature, symbolic prophecy, dramatic prophecy, the doom song, and the rhapsody. Consult the dictionary if you do not know these terms. C. Contrast the ending of “Dr. Faustus,” by Christopher Marlowe, with Faust, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (who died in 1832).

Chapter 9: Essay Options A. How does Donne use personification to enhance the effect of “Sonnet X” poem? B. Compare and contrast the theme of death in “Sonnet X” and in the Book of Job. C. Read Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. Does Hemingway employ a similar theme to Donne’s?

Chapter 10: Essay Options A. “The Collar” illustrates the main features of Herbert’s poetry: symbolic writing and the use of the metaphysical conceit. Give several examples of this literary device in “The Collar.” Explain how this literary technique enhances Herbert’s poem. B. Compare Andrew Marvell’s “Coy Mistress” with Marlowe’s “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love.”

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C. A born-again Christian friend of mine relates a story that has a shocking application to contemporary American youth. Once, while involved in a discussion at his college, this 20-year-old friend of mine shared quite by accident that he was a virgin, that he had intentionally avoided premarital sexual activity. This was a rarity in this secular university. He was the laughingstock of his class. My friend remained silent. Finally, after everyone had had his laugh, my friend quietly retorted, “I could be like any of you by this time tomorrow. You can never be like me as long as you live.” What does the Bible say about premarital sex? What would you, as a believer, say to Herrick’s “virgin”? Would you advise her “to make much of time”? If you do, what would be your reasons?

Chapter 11: Essay Options A. Milton stayed closer to Italian models for the sonnet than did his predecessors Spenser and Shakespeare. “O Nightingale” rhymes abba, abba, cdcdcd. Milton scholars remind us that he does not encourage us to pause but moves through the poem in a prose-like fashion. His sonnets roll to conclusions that seem irresistible. Agree or disagree with this description of “O Nightingale” and use copious examples from the text to support your answer. B. Compare and contrast “How Soon Hath Time” and “To a Virtuous Young Woman” with Marvell’s “To His Coy Mistress.” Which poem(s) advances a biblical view? Defend your answer from the text and Scripture. C. Compare John Milton’s poems with John Donne’s poem (especially “Sonnet IX”).

Chapter 12: Essay Options A. The clue to Adam’s character is his relationship to Eve. It ought to be his relationship to God, but it isn’t — and that fact causes Adam’s fall. Discuss the way Milton develops Adam as one of the main characters in his epic poem. B. Using a good concordance and commentary, research what the Bible says about Satan. C. In spite of the loss of paradise, this epic poem ends in tremendous optimism. How?

Chapter 13: Essay Options A. Contrast the tone and theme of Killigrew’s poem with other 17th-century poems. B. “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day” is an ode. What is an ode and why is this poem an ode? C. Dryden’s community, it seemed to him, was experiencing a decline into maudlin nostalgia and superficiality. In what ways does contemporary American society mirror a similar decline?

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Chapter 14: Essay Options A. Read Cecilia or Evelina and compare it/them to novels by Daniel Defoe. B. Eventually Friday has a conversion experience that separates him from servitude with his master. Do you think that the conversion experience is genuine? Why or why not? “Conversion” to Defoe would be differently understood than we do. For instance, the altar call came into existence during the Finney Revivals of 1820s. What did Defoe mean when he stated that Friday was converted to Christianity? C. Defoe chose to disobey his godly parents and become a writer instead of a pastor. Some feel that, while he was a talented writer, his rebellious spirit haunted him all his life. Study Defoe’s life and argue pro or con this statement.

Chapter 15: Essay Options A. ”London’s Summer Morning” is prophetically modern in tone and substance. Explain. B. Compare Pope’s satire with Chaucer’s satire. C. At the height of his career, Pope addressed questions of metaphysics and ethics and wrote the didactic poem for which he was best known in his time, “An Essay on Man,” expressing 18th-century perceptions of the universe and humanity’s place in God’s scheme. The work surveys the nature and condition of man and declares him a living paradox, a being caught somewhere between order and chaos, “in doubt to deem himself a God, or Beast.” Weigh this perception of man against the biblical witness and write a three-page essay contrasting Pope’s views with the Bible.

Chapter 16: Essay Options A. Gulliver is the most important character in this novel. He’s also one of the most disconcerting characters in English literature. Discuss in great detail why Gulliver is such a difficult character for readers to enjoy. B. Examine in great detail the way in which Swift attacks his opponents. C. Evaluate Swift’s essay “An Argument to Prove That the Abolishing of Christianity in England, May as Things Now Stand, Be Attended with Some Inconveniencies, and Perhaps Not Produce Those Many Good Effects Proposed Thereby.” The 18th-century spelling, syntax, and grammar rules have been maintained throughout the passage. Compare it to the style, tone, and theme of Gulliver’s Travels.

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Chapter 17: Essay Options A. At the end of Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield, instead of a triumph over the evils of wealth and licentiousness, the consummation of the various relationships and the restoration of the vicar to his prior standing is a conclusion grounded in the fact that the vicar has had to accept that these vices are real and have power in the real world. Thus, Goldsmith creates a satire by putting Dr. Primrose through all of these trials to show the true Vicar of Wakefield — a man who is ostensibly pious and moral, but perhaps unconsciously holds convictions which he seemingly hates — and to punish him for his brand of hypocrisy. Agree or disagree with the above statement and support your answer with copious examples from the text. B. Discuss Goldsmith’s writing style. C. Describe what you believe are the themes or focus of The Vicar of Wakefield. How did these impact you as the reader?

Chapter 18: Essay Options A. What does Johnson mean when he refers to Shakespeare as “the poet of nature”? B. Read Samuel Johnson’s poem “The Vanity of Human Wishes.” What does he tell us about human nature? Compare this view to the biblical witness (especially the Book of Ecclesiastes). C. Compare John Dryden’s “An Essay on Dramatic Poesy” with Johnson’s “Preface.”

Chapter 19: Essay Options A.`”The Rivals” is a play about the mischievous, unexpected, and ubiquitous power of love. The two plots that form the structure of the play mirror each other and thereby amplify this thematic idea. In other words, Sheridan skillfully tells two stories at once. Where and when these two stories meet creates humor. In general, each plot has the following structure: a potential suitor fabricates a false ideal of the nature of love (in one plot it is Lydia, in the other, Faulkland). This false ideal grows like a cancer until it threatens to destroy the love relationship by means of a betrayal of trust in one case (Faulkland) and the actual threat of death in the other (Lydia). Of course, the reader is never worried! Using this theme as a guide, identify the play’s main plot and the various subplots as they have evolved by act II. B. Compare and contrast the love affair of Julia and Faulkland to the love affair of Lydia and Absolute. C. Why does Bob Acres make a poor gentlemen?

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Chapter 20: Essay Options A. Compare the symbolism used in “The Lamb” and “The Tyger.” B. Blake created little unique mythology. He employed Christian narratives and metaphors without really understanding or believing it. As a result, we have the confused worldview of William Blake. Identify this worldview in his poetry. Discover the real William Blake! What is his faith, anyhow? C. Write a comparison/contrast essay of Blake’s poems presented in this lesson, focusing on tone, symbolism, and rhythm.

Chapter 21: Essay Options A. Find evidence in “A Song” that intimates the insights that would eventually bring Williams’ works recognition in the political arena. Explain the modernity of this sonnet. B. Journals are highly personal, often sentimental recordings of ordinary events. However, Wordsworth’s journal entries are different. What makes them different? C. “London, 1802” was a moment of great disillusionment and distress for Wordsworth. His romantic hero, Napoléon Bonaparte, had turned his back on libertarian values and proclaimed himself emperor. In his time of despair, why would Wordsworth turn to Milton?

Chapter 22: Essay Options A. “Don Juan” changes mood and theme regularly. Give two examples. B. Write an essay in which you describe the means Coleridge uses in “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” to induce what he calls a “willing suspension of disbelief.” C. Unlike most romantics, Byron admired Alexander Pope. Why didn’t romantics like Pope? Compare Byron’s poetry with Pope’s poetry.

Chapter 23: Essay Options A. Shelley uses Dr. Frankenstein as a vehicle to make a statement about Western culture. What is that statement? B. Dr. Frankenstein is a developing character. So is his monster. How do their developmental paths converge and diverge?

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C. The women in Frankenstein are paradigms of social consciousness and moral guidance. They are passive creatures, not quick to criticize. In general, they are innocent victims of male shenanigans. It is interesting that Mary Shelley, herself a strong, opinionated woman, creates so many weak women in her novel. Elizabeth’s mother dies in childbirth. Elizabeth herself suffers loneliness and eventually death indirectly through the hands of her fiancé Dr. Frankenstein. Caroline Frankenstein is powerless in the face of poverty and tragedy. Later she dies nursing the scarlet-fever-stricken Elizabeth back to health. Justine was viciously and unjustly executed for the death of her murdered charge William Frankenstein. Finally, the gruesome Woman Creature Frankenstein, a dismembered potential partner of the Monster Frankenstein, is murdered by her creator, Dr. Frankenstein. Why would Shelley present women in this way?

Chapter 24: Essay Options A. At the beginning of Book II, chapter 21, Dickens refers to Lucie as “ever busily winding the golden thread which bound her husband and her father, and herself . . . in a life of quiet bliss.” Likewise, Madame Defarge is knitting a macabre shroud. What effect do these have on the novel? What was the golden thread? B. Does the end justify the means? Is there any justification for the Reign of Terror in France (1793–1794)? What does the Bible say? C. Which characters does Dickens like? Dislike? What does this tell you about his values? How do his views measure against the Bible?

Chapter 25: Essay Options A. The plot of Pride and Prejudice is based partly on a changing middle class, of which Jane Austen was a part. Discuss how this is evident in the novel. B. Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice is full of irony. Explain. C. Do research on Austen’s life and discuss why Pride and Prejudice is autobiographical.

Chapter 26: Essay Options A. How did Stevenson use the setting to enhance the effect of his novel? B. Why did Stevenson have Dr. Jekyll turn more and more frequently into Mr. Hyde without benefit of his chemical potion? Compare the plot of this book to the story of Samson. C. Compare and contrast the theme of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Stevenson.

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Chapter 27: Essay Options A. Elizabeth Barrett Browning is emotional but never sentimental. How does she walk the narrow line between these two places? B. Tennyson’s poems are deceptively simple. Their images are straightforward and ordinary. Describe several of the images that Tennyson offers in this poem, and compare these images with a romantic poem that William Wordsworth might write. C. Contrast the education that Newman proposes with the education that occurs in most places today and with the education that Daniel received in the Bible.

Chapter 28: Essay Options A. Hardy observed the transformation of British society from a predominately agrarian, small-town society into an industrial, urban society. Hardy did not like these changes. How are these concerns manifested in The Mayor of Casterbridge? B. In this novel, Hardy retains a moral vision that was slowly disappearing from English novels. In a two-page essay, explore what this moral vision is. C. Discuss in great detail the way that Hardy develops his characters.

Chapter 29: Essay Options A. Conrad’s work was crucial to the development of the modern novel. He used the limited point of view, presenting a tale through a single consciousness (in the case of Lord Jim, through Marlow). Discuss this stylistic technique as it relates to Lord Jim. B. Discuss three or four characters in Lord Jim and how they are used to advance the plot. C. The Heart of Darkness, a challenging but wonderful book — perhaps Conrad’s best — is about human nature. What are the conclusions about human nature that Conrad posits?

Chapter 30: Essay Options A. Discuss the way Mansfield develops her protagonist. Include in your answer the narrative technique, the way that Mansfield uses foils, and the use of internal conflict. B. What thematic points is Wilde making through “The Selfish Giant”? C. How does Lawrence build suspense in “The Rocking-Horse Winner”?

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Chapter 31: Essay Options A. If not the most important, then one of the most important, of Sayers’ short non-fiction works is Are Women Human? Peruse her two essays “Are Women Human?” and “The Human-Not-Quite-Human” in this short volume, reflect on her views, and write a response essay to her thoughts. B. No one will disagree that World War I was a horrible war. Yet some came out of the war without bitterness (e.g., J.R.R. Tolkien). Others were terribly bitter (e.g., Ernest Hemingway). How does one deal with bitterness and hardship that seems to surpass the ability to cope? C. Compare Keats’ “Ode on a Grecian Urn” with “Byzantium.”

Chapter 32: Essay Options A. Lewis states that if God is like the moral law, he is not soft or sentimental. Why is this shocking? Apart from the moral law, what else points to the existence of God? Complete this sentence: According to Lewis, Christianity will not make sense to anyone until they realize . . . B. What does Lewis cite as the question of why God does not deal openly and decisively with the devil? C. Lewis says, “A cold self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to Hell than a prostitute.” What is Lewis’ view of the proper role of sexuality, pleasure, and chastity for Christians?

Chapter 33: Essay Options A. Tolkien has been criticized for generally ignoring women in his novels. What do you think? B. Discuss how the power of good and evil unfolds in these three fantasies. In what ways does this contradict orthodox Christianity? C. Wastelands are often used in literature as a symbol of spiritual barrenness. Two good examples of this occur in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (1925) and T.S. Eliot’s famous poem “The Waste Land” (1922). In The Great Gatsby, Nick, the narrator, passes through a wasteland of ashes on his way into New York City. How does the wasteland as a symbol of inner barrenness relate to Tolkien’s concept of evil?

Chapter 34: Essay Options A. Give the story line and historical background to “Murder in the Cathedral.” B. Show how Eliot uses metaphor and symbolism to convey his message. C. What is Eliot’s universal concern, which transcends all his prose and poetry?

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Chapter Tests

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Chapter 1: Test Essay (100 Points) Discuss the structure of Beowulf.

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Chapter 2: Test Essay (100 Points) Outline your personal worldview, including an introductory paragraph, three brief paragraphs regarding your beliefs and why you believe, and a summary paragraph.

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Chapter 3: Test Essay (100 Points) “The Pardoner’s Tale” is a tale inserted into a sermon, the most frequent form of rhetoric experienced by medieval people. In this story, the moral is “Selfishness and greed is the root of all evil.” Write a five-page story illustrating a common aphorism such as “A fool and his money are soon parted.” Look through the Bible or Poor Richard’s Almanac for more examples. Here are a few you will find: “Failure to prepare is preparing to fail” (Franklin). “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:34).

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Chapter 4: Test Essay (100 Points) The American theologian H. Richard Niebuhr offers four categories for understanding the relationship of Christianity and culture: Christ against culture, Christ and culture, Christ of culture, and Christ the transformer of culture. Within each character of the poem “Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,” tension arises as each character struggles to manifest Christian behavior when pagan behavior is more natural. Within King Arthur’s court there also is a struggle between Christianity and paganism. In American culture today we find a similar struggle. What evidence in modern American culture do you find to support the above statement? Consider television shows, court cases, and governmental laws. What are the abiding qualities of biblical Christianity that transcend time, place, and culture, and in what ways does Sir Gawain evidence these qualities?

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Chapter 5: Test Essay (100 Points) The poet of “Sonnet 18” discusses the whole notion of immortality. How, in Shakespeare’s estimation, is immortality attained? How, according to the Word of God, is eternal life attained? What is the difference between eternal life and immortality?

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Chapter 6: Test Essay (100 Points) One criticism of Christianity is that Christians are not clear enough on what they believe. As a result, men like Macbeth find themselves floundering in pragmatism. As the English historian Philip Johnson writes: We have here [in the 20th century] the very opposite of historical determinism — the apotheosis of the single autocrat. Thus it is, when the moral restraints of religion and tradition, hierarchy and precedent, are removed, the power to suspend or unleash catastrophic events does not devolve on the impersonal benevolence of the masses but falls into the hands of men who are isolated by the very totality of their evil natures. In a two-page essay, first explain what Johnson means, and then agree or disagree with what he says. Be sure to use the Scriptures and passages from the play to defend your answer.

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Chapter 7: Test Essay (100 Points) Answer the following essay in a one-page essay. All contemporary worldview discussions can be traced one way or another to Plato and Aristotle. Plato was the Pharisee of his day, the conservative, the one who believed that the gods were intimately involved with human beings. His Republic was a perfect society based on the notion that mankind was creating a city based on the word of the gods. Cosmology, or the presence of supernatural being(s), in other words, was very Is God intimately involved in the affairs of mankind or not? The important to Plato. Likewise, to the Pharisee, who answer to this question is more or less the battle that is raging believed strongly in the Resurrection, the supernatuon college campuses today. ral was very involved in human life. To Plato, the gods defined reality. Aristotle, on the other hand, in his important essay “Poetics” argued that the world was governed by impersonal laws. Aristotle argued that mankind defined who the gods were. While the gods are alive and well, they do not much concern themselves with the world. Therefore, mankind should be concerned about finding out about his world without worrying about the gods. Aristotle called his disciples to a “golden mean” where truth was at neither extreme but was in the middle. This view was evident again in the Sadducees — who rejected the supernatural — and later philosophers like David Hume. I am not discussing Hellenistic philosophy for any other reason than to point out that the struggle in which you will participate is over 3,000 years old. It is the struggle that Elijah joined when he fought King Ahab. King Ahab was a good Jew; the problem was he did not live his life as if God was actually alive. So is God intentionally involved in the affairs of mankind or not? The answer to this question is more or less the battle that is raging on college campuses today. Paul, a student of Greek philosophy, was deeply affected by Plato. The Holy Spirit led Paul to write: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Cor. 4:18). How do Francis Bacon and Ben Jonson enter this debate?

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Chapter 8: Test Essay (100 Points) What purpose does the chorus serve in “Dr. Faustus,” by Christopher Marlowe? Next, compare the chorus in this play with the chorus in “Oedipus Rex,” by Sophocles. ANSWER: Answers will vary, though the chorus in “Dr. Faustus” and “Oedipus Rex” serves as the conscience.

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Chapter 9: Test Essay (100 Points) “Holy Sonnet IX” is full of paradox. Paradox is a statement that seems self-contradictory but holds more truth than is at first apparent. Find examples of paradox in the poem below and discuss how this literary technique enhances the effectiveness of Donne’s poem.

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Chapter 10: Test Essay (100 Points) Answer the following question in a one-page essay. The poetry of George Herbert reveals beginnings of the sentiments that were to lead to the ascendance of Puritanism in England within a decade of his death — sentiments such as the emphasis on personal salvation, the importance of prayer to the Christian life, and the need to seek personal forgiveness for sins from God. Yet for all Herbert’s longing for personal spiritual reconciliation with God, his diversion into recording and possibly inventing proverbs betrays his vocational imperative as an Anglican priest to provide lessons to his congregation in which common sense and orthodox Christian teachings are presented. Herbert’s Outlandish Proverbs is a fine example of these personal testimonies. Outlandish Proverbs at its most basic level is Herbert’s attempt to bring the Gospel alive to his parish community. Yet, even during his age, some criticized his attempt to make stuffy Anglican liturgy more palatable to common men. Marva J. Dawn (a pseudonym, Reaching Out without Dumbing Down: A Theology of Worship for the Turn-of-the-Century Culture, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1995), argues that contemporary attempts to do what George Herbert did largely harm the church. Dawn uses the expression “dumbing down” to describe the status of most contemporary worship services — both informal and formal, low and high, charismatic and traditional. Dawn draws many of her views about dumbing down from Jane Healey’s book Endangered Minds (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1990, p. 7), which argues persuasively that many cultural forces are at work to sabotage people’s abilities to think. This has had an impact on all parts of American society, including worship. Dawn is not concerned with those statuses. What concerns Dawn is whether a worship service is “dumbing down” or challenging its worshipers to be all they can be for the Lord, all that God wants them to be. Analyze the worship experience you presently enjoy. Is it a “dumbing down” experience for you? Do you feel that it is okay for modern versions to translate Scripture into modern vernacular? Why or why not?

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Chapter 11: Test Essay (100 Points) Write three poems on the subject of mutability. The first poem should be an Elizabethan poem. The second should be a metaphysical poem (as Donne wrote). The final should be a poem in the Puritan style (as Milton wrote).

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Chapter 12: Test Essay (100 Points) Create a contemporary story based on themes in Paradise Lost. Your story should be at least five pages long.

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Chapter 13: Test Essay (100 Points) John Dryden wrote in the Augustan Age style of English writing. In Roman literature, the Augustan Age was the reign of the emperor Augustus (27 B.C.–A.D. 14), during which Ovid and Horace wrote. The name has come to designate any eminent period in the literary life of a nation. In English literature, the Augustan Age was the period from the restoration of the monarchy (1660) to the death of Alexander Pope (1744). The major writers of the age were Alexander Pope and John Dryden in poetry, and Jonathan Swift and Joseph Addison in prose. The literature of the age is distinguished by its striving for clarity and order (in verse, the tight heroic couplet is the predominant form), its public tone, and its imitation of Roman models, especially Cicero and Horace. Dryden was a master of English prose. Compare his style with any contemporary writer you choose.

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Chapter 14: Test Essay (100 Points) Robinson Crusoe has a strong moral vision. Crusoe is warned by his father not to go sailing, but just like his two elder brothers — the eldest died as a soldier near Dunkirk and the second was never heard of again after he left the house of his parents — Crusoe is too much attracted by the adventures promised by the sea. I would be satisfied with nothing but going to sea; and my inclination to this led me so strongly against the will, nay, the commands, of my father, and against all the entreaties and persuasions of my mother and other friends, that there seemed to be something fatal in that propension of nature tending directly to the life of misery which was to befall me. This character flaw ultimately dooms Robinson Crusoe to learn his lessons the hard way. Find other examples in the book to support this observation.

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Chapter 15: Test Essay (100 Points) Write your own satirical poem about 20th-century American life.

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Chapter 16: Test Essay (100 Points) Write an imaginary satire in which a modern Gulliver tries to initiate the King of Brobingnag into modern society.

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Chapter 17: Test Essay (100 Points) Dr. Charles Primrose, the pastor presented in Vicar, is a complicated character. He clearly exhibits Christian tendencies. Whether or not he was a committed Christian is debatable. What do you think? Defend your answer from the text.

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Chapter 18: Test Essay (100 Points) A critic observed, Johnson cultivated a literary style of sonorous distinction. He became a master of the personified generality: his sentences give life to terms like envy, hope, and malice. This style confers upon his moral writings an air of exceptional authority. His conversation . . . was distinguished by a similar power and also by such epigrammatic brilliance that many of his recorded sayings have achieved the status of proverbs. In a one-page essay, explain what this literary critic means and offer evidence from the “Preface” to support this statement.

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Chapter 19: Test Essay (100 Points) In a three-page essay, analyze the following excerpt from the opera “The Duenna” and highlight stylistic tendencies that Sheridan manifests: If a daughter you have, She’s the plague of your Life [excerpt from “The Duenna”] If a daughter you have, she’s the plague of your life, No peace shall you know, tho’ you’ve buried your wife, At twenty she mocks at the duty you taught her, O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter. Sighing and whining, Dying and pining, O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter. When scarce in their teens, they have wit to perplex us, With letters and lovers for ever they vex us, While each still rejects the fair suitor you’ve brought her, O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter. Jangling and jangling, Flouting and pouting, O, what a plague is an obstinate daughter.

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Chapter 20: Test Essay (100 Points) Write a critical analysis of the following poem by William Blake from Songs of Innocence:

The Divine Image To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,

And Love, the human form divine:

All pray in their distress,

And Peace the human dress.

And to these virtues of delight

Then every man, of every clime,

Return their thankfulness.

That prays in his distress,

For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,

Prays to the human form divine:

Is God our Father dear;

Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace.

And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love,

And all must love the human form,

Is man, His child and care.

In heathen, Turk, or Jew.

For Mercy has a human heart;

Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell,

Pity, a human face;

There God is dwelling too.

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Chapter 21: Test Essay (100 Points) In prose or poetry describe a place in nature that is very important to you.

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Chapter 22: Test Essay (100 Points) Lord Byron lived a life in direct contradiction of Judeo-Christian values. He made no bones about his moral decisions; he did not subject them to the authority of Scripture. Many Hollywood actresses and actors are living lives that are not Christian. In some cases their personal lifestyles are reflected in their movies: Madonna, for instance, regularly plays promiscuous women. Yet Christians can avoid the movie theater! In other cases, it is not so simple. For instance, in the wonderful family movie Chariots of Fire, away from the movie house, one of the main characters openly promotes a lifestyle contrary to the Word of God. Should Christians participate in artists’ experiences that support morally and/or financially immoral lifestyles and individuals living those lifestyles? Defend your answer in a one-page, well-organized, persuasive essay.

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Chapter 23: Test Essay (100 Points) What are several themes in Jane Eyre? How are they developed? ANSWER: Answers will vary, but should include the following. Jane Eyre begins her life as a poor orphan, and generally all readers find her developing story one of a search for love. The themes involved regard loving and being loved, finding one worthy of this love as well as acceptance by God, elements of the romantic fantasy involving the mystery and horror in the story, and finding one’s way as an outcast with no family and no secure situation in society.

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Chapter 24: Test Essay (100 Points) Dickens has been criticized for his excessive use of undeveloped or archetype characters. They represent a “type” rather than an “individual.” Do you agree?

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Chapter 25: Test Essay (100 Points) Compare and contrast the female characters in Pride and Prejudice, Frankenstein, and A Tale of Two Cities.

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Chapter 26: Test Essay (100 Points) Contemporary Americans prefer to read Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, as well as Frankenstein, as Gothic horror stories when, in fact, they were written to be vividly real novels full of sociological and psychological commentary. Why is this so? Answer in a one-page essay.

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Chapter 27: Test Essay (100 Points) In Moral Fiction in Milton and Spenser, John M. Steadman examines how Milton and Spenser — and Renaissance poets in general — applied their art toward the depiction of moral and historical “truth.” Steadman centers his study on the various poetic techniques of illusion that these poets employed in their effort to bridge the gap between truth and imaginative fiction. Steadman suggests that these poets, along with most other Renaissance poets, did not actually regard themselves as divinely inspired but, rather, resorted to a common fiction to create the appearance of having special insight into the truth. He also argued that these poets wrote with a moral purpose; for the first time poets in the 19th century spoke of themselves with no moral purpose. Agree or disagree with Dr. Steadman and offer evidence from poetry to support your answer.

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Chapter 28: Test Essay (100 Points) Like many of the great tragic heroes in literature, Michael Henchard suffers from excessive pride. The Greeks called this sin hubris. Hubris involves a combination of excessive pride, ambition, and self-confidence. An example would be “Oedipus Rex,” by Sophocles. We see Oedipus’ vain father destroying two generations by his hubris. In a sense, a tragic hero creates his own sense of morality that may run counter to the basic moral rules of the society. The punishment for hubris is often a slow and painful death, in which the hero must first be stripped of personal possessions and public favor. Compare the sin of Saul in the Bible, who manifests this sin hubris, and discuss how his life slowly deteriorates. What are other ways in which this novel parallels the story of Saul and David?

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Chapter 29: Test Essay (100 Points) The British historian Paul Johnson, in his book Modern Times, writes: Among the advanced races, the decline and ultimately the collapse of the religious impulse would leave a huge vacuum. The history of modern times is in great part the history of how that vacuum is filled. Nietzsche rightly perceived that the most likely candidate would be what he called the “Will to Power,” which offered a far more comprehensive and in the end more plausible explanation of human behavior than either Marx or Freud. In place of religious belief, there would be secular ideology. Those who once filled the ranks of the totalitarian clergy would become totalitarian politicians. And, above all, the Will to Power would produce a new kind of messiah, uninhibited by any religious sanctions whatever, and with an unappeasable appetite for controlling mankind. The end of the old order, with an unguided world adrift in a relativistic universe, was a summons to such gangster-statesmen to emerge. They were not slow to make their appearance (Paul Johnson, Modern Times, New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1992, p. 48). Would Conrad agree or disagree with this statement? Why? Why not? In a one-page essay, answer this question and analyze in depth Joseph Conrad’s worldview.

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Chapter 30: Test Essay (100 Points) Considering the condition of the protagonists and what happens to them, compare the short stories in Lesson 30.

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Chapter 31: Test Essay (100 Points) Find poems and songs that were part of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam era. What similarities do the songs have with the World War I poems? Answer this question in a one-page essay.

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Chapter 32: Test Essay (100 Points) Lewis states that three great civilizations have condemned the very thing North Americans have based theirs on. What were the three civilizations, and what is the thing they have condemned?

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Chapter 33: Test Essay (100 Points) Although The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit present no “God,” no “Christ,” and no “Christians,” they embody much of Tolkien’s “real religion” and form a profoundly Christian work. No “God” is required in this story. . . . Gandalf and Aragorn need not turn our thoughts to . . . Christ . . . but they persuade us that if we are to have hope in our lives and in our history, it must be hope for the kind of power and authority revealed in Aragorn the king and on the basis of the kind of power revealed in Gandalf ’s “miracles” and in his rising from the dead. What Frodo does and undergoes speaks to us of what a man’s responsibility, according to the Christian faith, must always be: to renounce the kind of power that would enslave others and ourselves, and to submit to that power which frees us all. (Gunnar Urang) Evaluate this interpretation.

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Chapter 34: Test Essay (100 Points) Scenario: You are asked to choose your school’s spring play production. In a short essay, argue for the performance of “Murder in the Cathedral” as the best choice.

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Integrate

3 Years of

High School Literature with History

2 Hours a Day Yields 9 Course Credits

Teacher | 978-0-89051-672-0 Student | 978-0-89051-671-3

Teacher | 978-0-89051-674-4 Student | 978-0-89051-673-7

Teacher | 978-0-89051-676-8 Student | 978-0-89051-675-1

Teacher | 978-0-89051-643-0 Student | 978-0-89051-644-7

Teacher | 978-0-89051-645-4 Student | 978-0-89051-646-1

Teacher | 978-0-89051-647-8 Student | 978-0-89051-648-5

Coursework designed by Dr. James Stobaugh: ordained pastor, certified secondary teacher, SAT coach, recognized homeschool leader and author.

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Daily lessons for a 34-week intensive study! The vital resource for grading all assignments from the British Literature course, including options to help personalize the coursework for the individual student to develop:

 Essay writing skills

 Solid worldviews



 Higher ACT/SAT scores

 Strong vocabulary

Students are immersed into some of the greatest British literature ever written in this well-crafted presentation of whole-book or whole-work selections from classic prose, poetry, and drama. Literary content and writers covered in this volume include: Beowulf, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Daniel Defoe, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, C.S. Lewis, as well as poetry by John Donne, William Blake, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and many more selections of the finest in British literature. Additional readings not included within this text can be found at local libraries or widely available as free online downloads.

5

Each weekly chapter has daily lessons with clear objectives, concept-building exercises, warm-up questions, and guided readings. These equip students to think critically about philosophy and trends in culture, while articulating their worldview through writing.



Approximately one hour per lesson, Monday through Friday

Dr. James P. Stobaugh is an ordained pastor, a

Includes answer keys for concept builders and test

was a Merrill Fellow at Harvard and holds degrees

Weekly essay choices and summary answers Daily concept-builders to build a deeper understanding of material Weekly tests to help assess student learning

certified secondary teacher, and a SAT coach. He from Vanderbilt and Rutgers universities, as well as Princeton and Gordon-Conwell seminaries. An experienced teacher, he is a recognized leader in homeschooling and has published numerous books for students and teachers. He and his wife, Karen, have four homeschooled adult children.

EARN AN ADDITIONAL CREDIT! Use the American, British, and World Literature series side-by-side with the American, British, and World History series for a powerfully integrated study for three course credits!

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ISBN-13: 978-0-89051-674-4

®

EAN

Also available: American Literature and World Literature

RELIGION/Christian Education/Children & Youth LITERARY CRITICISM/European/ General $19.99 U.S.

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