British Literature (Student) [Student ed.] 0890516731, 9780890516737

Citation preview

A complete year of high school British literature curriculum in a clear, concise format!

Students will be immersed into some of the greatest British literature ever written in this well-crafted, 34-week presentation of whole-book or whole-work selections from classic prose, poetry, and drama.

Each weekly chapter has five daily lessons with clear objectives, concept-building exercises, warm-up questions, and guided readings Equips students to think critically about philosophy and trends in culture, articulating their worldview through writing Easily combined with the British History course from Master Books to take students through historical settings and philosophy, as well as a critical analysis of literary thought across the centuries. Literary content covered in this volume includes works by: Geoffrey Chaucer, William Shakespeare, Daniel Defoe, Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, C.S. Lewis, John Donne, William Blake, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and many more selections of the finest in British literature. Additional readings not included within this text are available at local libraries or as free online downloads.

Enhance your study with the British Literature Teacher Guide. It contains essay choices, course exams, and answer keys for each, including those for the concept builders.

RELIGION/Christian Education/Children & Youth LITERARY CRITICISM/European/ General $34.99 U.S.

ISBN-13:

®

EAN

Also available American & World

978-0-89051-673-7

British Literature Student wCB.indb 1

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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: 978-0-89051-673-7 ISBN: 978-1-61458-268-7 (ebook) Library of Congress Catalog Number: 2012951016 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), (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. 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).

British Literature Student wCB.indb 2

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Contents

Using Your Student Textbook....................................................................................................................... 6



Preface ............................................................................................................................................................... 8

1. The Anglo-Saxon Age (Part 1)...................................................................................................................... 9 “The Seafarer,” Author Unknown; Beowulf, Author Unknown 2. The Anglo-Saxon Age (Part 2)....................................................................................................................22

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

3. The Middle Ages (Part 1).............................................................................................................................34 (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).............................................................................................................................44  Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, Author Unknown 5. Elizabethan Age (Part 1)..............................................................................................................................58 “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 Raliegh; “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)..............................................................................................................................72 Macbeth, William Shakespeare 7. Elizabethan Age (Part 3)..............................................................................................................................84  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)..............................................................................................................................97  Dr. Faustus, Christopher Marlowe; “To the Thrice-Sacred Queen Elizabeth,” Mary Sidney Herbert; “Psalm 65,” The English Bible 9. The Seventeenth Century (Part 1)............................................................................................................ 108 “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)............................................................................................................ 118 “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)............................................................................................................ 130 “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)............................................................................................................ 142 Paradise Lost, John Milton

British Literature Student wCB.indb 3

11/14/12 4:38 PM

13. The Seventeenth Century (Part 5)............................................................................................................ 154 “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).............................................................................................................. 165 Evelina or Cecilia, Frances Burney d’Arblay, Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe 15. The Eighteenth Century (Part 2).............................................................................................................. 176 “London’s Summer Morning,”* Mary Darby Robinson, “The Rape of The Lock,”*Alexander Pope 16. The Eighteenth Century (Part 3).............................................................................................................. 188 Gulliver’s Travels, Abolishing Christianity, Jonathan Swift 17. The Eighteenth Century (Part 4).............................................................................................................. 204 The Vicar of Wakefield, Oliver Goldsmith 18. The Eighteenth Century (Part 5).............................................................................................................. 215 “Mr. Johnson’s Preface to his Edition of Shakespeare’s Plays,” “The Vanity of Human Wishes,” Samuel . Johnson 19. The Eighteenth Century (Part 6).............................................................................................................. 231 The Rivals, Richard Brinsley Sheridan 20. The Eighteenth Century (Part 7).............................................................................................................. 240 “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)............................................................................................................. 254 “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)............................................................................................................. 267  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)............................................................................................................. 290 Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë, Frankenstein, Mary Shelley 24. The Nineteenth Century (Part 4)............................................................................................................. 304 A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens 25. The Nineteenth Century (Part 5)............................................................................................................. 314 Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen 26. The Nineteenth Century (Part 6)............................................................................................................. 327 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson 27. The Nineteenth Century (Part 7)............................................................................................................. 340 “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)............................................................................................................. 355 The Mayor of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy

British Literature Student wCB.indb 4

11/14/12 4:38 PM

29. The Twentieth Century (Part 1)............................................................................................................... 370 Lord Jim, Joseph Conrad 30. The Twentieth Century (Part 2)............................................................................................................... 383 “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)............................................................................................................... 420 “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)............................................................................................................... 434 Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis. 33. The Twentieth Century (Part 5)............................................................................................................... 445 The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien 34. The Twentieth Century (Part 6)............................................................................................................... 457 “Murder in the Cathedral,” T.S. Eliot

Glossary of Literary Terms........................................................................................................................ 469 Book List for Supplemental Reading....................................................................................................... 472

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

British Literature Student wCB.indb 5

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

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Using Your Student Textbook 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®.)

6

British Literature Student wCB.indb 6

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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/WorldLitAids

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

FRONT

Adversity

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

When you meet 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 your vocabulary cards of new words.

About the Author James P. Stobaugh and his wife, Karen, have four homeschooled adult children. They have a growing ministry, For Such a Time As This Ministries, committed to challenging this generation to change its world for Christ. Dr. Stobaugh is an ordained pastor, a certified secondary teacher, and a SAT coach. His academic credentials include: BA, cum laude Vanderbilt University; Teacher Certification, Peabody College for Teachers; MA, Rutgers University; MDiv, Princeton Theological Seminary; Merrill Fellow, Harvard University; DMin Gordon Conwell Seminary. Dr. Stobaugh has written articles for magazines: Leadership, Presbyterian Survey, Princeton Spire, Ministries Today, and Pulpit Digest. Dr. Stobaugh’s books include the SAT Preparation Course for the Christian Student, the ACT Preparation Course for the Christian Student, the Skills for Literary Analysis, the Christian Reading Companion for 50 Classics, as well as the American History, British History, and World History high school curriculum.

7

British Literature Student wCB.indb 7

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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, you are going to have to read in excess of 200 pages per lesson. Therefore, it is highly advisable that you read most of this material the summer before you begin this course. To create a canon of British literature was a most challenging task. The choice of topics, styles, genres, and authors is overwhelming. From early epics about heroes and warriors to the winsome Hobbit, British literature satisfies almost all literary palates. In a real sense, then, British literature, in its breadth and quality, belongs to the whole world. Literary analysis or criticism is a way to talk about literature. It is a way to understand literature better so that you can tell others about it. If one really wants to understand something, one needs to have a common language with everyone else. If one were talking about football, for instance, one would need to know about certain terminology and use it when describing the game. How lost one would be without knowing what a tackle is! Or how can a person enjoy watching a game without knowing what the referee means when he says, “First and Ten”? Literary analysis employs a common language to take apart and to discuss literary pieces. You will learn these terms, that language, as this course progresses over the year. A list of literary terms is found in the glossary at the end of this book. You also are going to be asked to do a lot of higher-level thinking and problem solving. Don’t say, “I don’t know” or “I can’t think” or “I don’t know how to do it.” Problem solved! Young people, it is my strong belief that you are the generation God has called for such a time as this to bring a Spirit-inspired revival. At the beginning of this century God is stirring the water again. He is offering a new beginning for a new nation. I believe you are the personification of that new beginning. To that end, this book is dedicated to the ambitious goal of preparing you to be 21st-century world changers for the Christ whom John Milton in Paradise Lost called “His countenance too severe to be beheld” (John Milton, Paradise Lost, Vol. 6, line 825). God is raising a mighty generation! You will be the culture-creators of the next century. You 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).

8

British Literature Student wCB.indb 8

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 AngloSaxons loved to describe rippling brooks and stunning sunsets. They dominated England’s culture for almost a century.

Chapter Learning Objectives In chapter 1 we will look

more closely at Anglo-Saxon poetry. We will be amazed at the depth of pathos that was so eloquently expressed by poets so long ago. We will examine the heroic epic genre and study its application to Beowulf. 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 of the Teacher Guide.

9 History connections: British History chapter 1, “Early England: Part One.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 9

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Anglo-Saxon Literature “True is the tale that I tell of my travels . . .” is the beginning of one of the oldest pieces of literature in the English language (although one would not recognize the language — it is closer to contemporary German). “The Seafarer,” however, written by an unknown Anglo-Saxon, is quite contemporary in its magnitude of feeling. It is an elegy. Elegies are common in Old English poems. They lament the loss of worldly goods, glory, or human companionship. A contemporary elegy, for instance, might be a story-song performed by the contemporary Christian musician Carmen. One Anglo-Saxon poem, “The Wanderer,” is narrated by a man, deprived of lord and kinsmen, whose

journeys lead him to the realization that there is stability and hope only in the afterlife. “The Seafarer” is similar, but its journey motif more explicitly symbolizes the speaker’s spiritual yearnings. In this sense it is Judeo-Christian: Moses and the Children of Israel wander in the wilderness, too. The journey motif is common in Western literature.

A motif is a recurring literary theme. It assumes a central part of the literary piece.

The Seafarer This tale is true, and mine. It tells

Hung with icicles. The hail storms flew.

How the sea took me, swept me back

The only sound was the roaring sea,

And forth in sorrow and fear and pain,

the freezing waves. The song of the swan

Showed me suffering in a hundred ships,

Might serve for pleasure, the cry of the sea-fowl,

In a thousand ports, and in me. It tells

The death-noise of birds instead of laughter,

Of smashing surf when I sweated in the cold

The mewing of gulls instead of mead.

Of an anxious watch, perched in the bow

Storms beat on the rocky cliffs and were echoed

As it dashed under cliffs. My feet were cast

By icy-feathered terns and the eagle’s screams;

In icy bands, bound with frost,

No kinsmen could offer comfort there,

With frozen chains, and hardship groaned

To a soul left drowning in desolation.

Around my heart. Hunger tore

And who could believe, knowing but

At my sea-weary soul. No man sheltered

The passion of cities, swelled proud with wine

On the quiet fairness of earth can feel

And no taste of misfortune, how often, how wearily

how wretched I was, drifting through winter

I put myself back on the paths of the sea.

On an ice-cold sea, whirled in sorrow,

Night would blacken; it would snow from the north.

Alone in a world blown clear of love,

Frost bound the earth and hail would fall,

10

British Literature Student wCB.indb 10

11/14/12 4:38 PM

The coldest seeds. And how my heart

No man has ever faced the dawn

Would begin to beat, knowing once more

Certain which of Fate’s three threats

The salt waves tossing and the towering sea!

Would fall: illness, or age, or an enemy’s

The time for journeys would come and my soul

Sword, snatching the life from his soul.

Called me eagerly out, sent me over

The praise the living pour on the dead

The horizon, seeking foreigner’s homes.

Flowers from reputation: plant

But there isn’t a man on earth so proud,

An earthly life of profit reaped

So born to greatness, so bold with his youth,

Even from hatred and rancor, of bravery

Grown so brave, or so graced by God,

Flung in the devil’s face, and death

That he feels no fear as the sails unfurl,

Can only bring you earthly praise

Wondering what Fate has willed and will do.

And a song to celebrate a place

No harps ring in his heart, no rewards,

with the angels, life eternally blessed

No passion for women, no worldly pleasures,

In the hosts of Heaven.

Nothing, only the ocean’s heave;

The days are gone

But longing wraps itself around him.

When the kingdoms of earth flourished in glory;

Orchards blossom, the towns bloom,

Now there are no rulers, no emperors,

Fields grow lovely as the world springs fresh,

No givers of gold, as once there were,

And all these admonish that willing mind

When wonderful things were worked among them

Leaping to journeys, always set

And they lived in lordly magnificence.

In thoughts traveling on a quickening tide.

Those powers have vanished, those pleasures are dead.

So summer’s sentinel, the cuckoo, sings In his murmuring voice, and our hearts mourn As he urges. Who could understand, In ignorant ease, what we others suffer As the paths of exile stretch endlessly on? And yet my heart wanders away, My soul roams with the sea, the whales’ Home, wandering to the widest corners Of the world, returning ravenous with desire, Flying solitary, screaming, exciting me To the open ocean, breaking oaths On the curve of a wave. Thus the joys of God Are fervent with life, where life itself Fades quickly into the earth. The wealth Of the world neither reaches to Heaven nor remains.

The weakest survives and the world continues, Kept spinning by toil. All glory is tarnished. The world’s honor ages and shrinks, Bent like the men who mold it. Their faces Blanch as time advances, their beards Wither and they mourn the memory of friends. The sons of princes, sown in the dust. The soul stripped of its flesh knows nothing Of sweetness or sour, feels no pain, Bends neither its hand nor its brain. A brother Opens his palms and pours down gold On his kinsmen’s grave, strewing his coffin With treasures intended for Heaven, but nothing Golden shakes the wrath of God For a soul overflowing with sin, and nothing

11

British Literature Student wCB.indb 11

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Hidden on earth rises to Heaven.

Or set the flames of a funeral pyre

We all fear God. He turns the earth,

Under his lord. Fate is stronger

He set it swinging firmly in space,

And God mightier than any man’s mind.

Gave life to the world and light to the sky.

Our thoughts should turn to where our home is,

Death leaps at the fools who forget their God.

Consider the ways of coming there,

He who lives humbly has angels from Heaven

Then strive for sure permission for us

To carry him courage and strength and belief.

To rise to that eternal joy,

A man must conquer pride, not kill it,

That life born in the love of God

Be firm with his fellows, chaste for himself,

And the hope of Heaven. Praise the Holy

Treat all the world as the world deserves,

Grace of Him who honored us,

With love or with hate but never with harm,

Eternal, unchanging creator of earth. Amen.

Though an enemy seek to scorch him in hell,

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.

12

British Literature Student wCB.indb 12

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-A

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

1

Predict how will this poem end.

2

Who is the narrator (i.e., speaker)?

3

Does he work in a city?

4

Is he a Christian believer?

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?”

6

Note one more example of personification from the poem.

7

How does the narrator handle bad things in his life?

8

What is one theme in this poem (i.e., the central meaning)?

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.”

13

British Literature Student wCB.indb 13

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Beowulf Author unknown Background

If few Anglo-Saxon poems can be dated accurately, still fewer can be attributed to particular poets. The most important author from whom a considerable body of work survives is Cynewulf, who wove his writings into the epilogues of four poems. Aside from his name, little is known of him; he probably lived in the ninth century in Mercia.

Beowulf, the oldest of the famous Old English long poems, was written over 12 centuries ago by a native of West Mercia, the West Midlands of England today. The long narrative poem was probably performed orally by the poet before a “live” audience — like the contemporary Tonight Show — and in that sense the story had to be embellished and full of action or the author would lose his audience fast. Most scholars, therefore, conclude that Beowulf was recited from memory by a “scop,” a traveling entertainer who went from court to court, singing songs and telling stories, until it was finally written down at the request of a king who wanted to hear it again.

Imagine that you are a scop. As you read the poem, try to imagine yourself in the banquet hall of a large castle, eating and drinking with your friends. You, the court entertainer — much like a stand-up comedian — begin telling your story. Your audience is full of food and mead, and they will demand a lively presentation. Your presence in the hall means that you’re probably a member of the aristocratic class. There is, of course, no extant, original copy of Beowulf. This first great English epic is known only from a single 11th-century manuscript, which was badly damaged by fire in 1731. Transcriptions made in the late 18th century show that many hundreds of words and letters then visible along the charred edges subsequently crumbled away. Beowulf, as you will see, gives us little information about the life of the average person in Anglo-Saxon society; instead, it concerns itself exclusively with life in the court and on the battlefield.

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.

14

British Literature Student wCB.indb 14

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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

Metaphors

15

British Literature Student wCB.indb 15

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

The Epic Poem Some of you read a prose version of Beowulf but really it is an epic poem, a long narrative poem about a central heroic figure. This tradition began with the poems of Homer — The Iliad and The Odyssey — and with Virgil’s Aeneid. Perhaps the author of Beowulf was familiar himself with these epics. An epic poem is not a biography, it makes no attempt to portray a whole life chronologically from beginning to end. The detail in the epic poem is quite realistic and to some readers shocking. An epic poem presents characters as they are, with all their foibles, but it also presents them as they ought to be. The redactor, or author of the epic, will even offer moral sidebars on how the hero should act. Epic poems are full of moral advice. Achilles in The Iliad is proud and haughty and that flaw ultimately undoes him. On the other hand, Achilles is very brave and his Greeks allies extol his virtues. Beowulf kills Grendel and is duly rewarded by the approbation of his community. The epic poet is concerned with human values and moral choices. The heroes are bigger than life. They are courageous and bold. As critic Lewis Walsh explains, “Some of you will feel that Beowulf is a mixture of both tragedy and comedy, and that its hero is ultimately a tragic figure. . . . The epic poet also functions as a historian, blending past, present, and future in a unique, all-encompassing way. His pace is leisurely, and allows him to include as many different stories as possible. Remember that the scop’s success as an entertainer depended on his ability to re-create these stories in a new way. In Beowulf, the poet is both telling a story and connecting it to events that have taken place in the past. Beowulf is not just a simple tale about a man who kills monsters and dragons, but a large-scale vision of human history.”

An illustration of Grendel by J.R. Skelton from Stories of Beowulf, 1908 (PD-Art).

Ultimately, the epic hero, is involved in an epic struggle. In most cases, the conflict between good and evil is the poem’s most important theme. But as Hrothgar points out to Beowulf, he must not be prideful about his fighting gifts. In this case, Beowulf is a Christ-like figure. Beowulf obviously is a theistic book. Beowulf is motivated by a code of ethics. The most valued part of this code of ethics is filial loyalty to one’s king. When Beowulf ’s warrior friends refuse to protect their king out of fear of Grendel, society is in jeopardy of collapsing. That tension is at the heart of this great epic.

16

British Literature Student wCB.indb 16

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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?

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. Queen Welthow

Unferth

Foils

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-C

Hrothgar

Protagonist Beowulf

Wiglaf

Higlac

17

British Literature Student wCB.indb 17

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Language Like “The Seafarer,” the English in this ancient narrative poem would have appeared much different from contemporary English. Because there were sounds in Old English (A.D. 600–1100) that were not thought to be represented by the Roman alphabet, Old English used runic characters for those sounds. The runes were “asc” (pronounced “ash”) (æ), “eth” (ð), “thorn” (þ), and “wen” (looks similar to a “p” but with a smaller curved bow). Here is the first line and a half from the first leaf of the manuscript of Beowulf, followed by a translation into modern English: HWÆT WE GARDE / na in geardagum þeodcyninga Lo! we [have heard] about the might of the Spear-Danes’ kings in the early days. The following are some more examples of Old English: Nu sculon herigean Now we must praise ece Drihten eternal Lord Scolde Grendel thonen Should Grendel thence Wiste the geornor Knew he more surely Can you recognize any Old English words? Read the Old English phrases aloud. Beowulf is the most famous and no doubt the greatest literary work that we have inherited from the Anglo-Saxons. This epic poem is a Christian poem — at least in the form we have it; however, there are clearly some pagan elements. Ergo, notice the Anglo-Saxon concept of Wyrd, or fate. It dominates the poem and in many cases seems to be a stronger influence for the individuals than God Himself. As you read this poem, find examples of how fate has a ubiquitous presence.

18

British Literature Student wCB.indb 18

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 1-D.

•

Students 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 Faith

Beowulf exhibits the highest moral behavior.

Jesus Christ Jesus Christ is without sin.

Character Love Strength

19

British Literature Student wCB.indb 19

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

What the Critics Say Beowulf is essentially a balance, an opposition of ends and beginnings. In its simplest terms it is a contrasted description of two moments in a great life, rising and setting; an elaboration of the ancient and intensely moving contrast between youth and age, first achievement and final death. — J.R.R. Tolkien (Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics, addressed to the British Academy in 1936). We have in Beowulf a story of giant-killing and dragon-slaying. Why should we construct a legend of the gods or a nature-myth to account for these tales? Why must Grendel or his mother represent the tempest, or the malaria, or the drear long winter nights? We know that tales of giant-killers and dragon-slayers have been current among the people of Europe for thousands of years. Is it not far more easy to regard the story of the fight between Beowulf and Grendel merely as a fairy tale, glorified into an epic? — R.W. Chambers (Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem, Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1959). The poet’s consistency of tone reveals his mastery of texture and structure, mostly in the handling of digressions of various length. A long one, such as the Finnsburg episode, can set the grim past of the Danes into an atmosphere of treachery in Hrothgar’s court. The over-whelming tension of that long Frisian winter with its resolution by slaughter is emblematic and prophetic of the impending horrors of Hrothulf ’s revolt and the Hathobard feud. — Donald K. Fry (“The Artistry of Beowulf,” Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1968). The Christian influence in Beowulf is a matter of transforming spirit rather than of reference to dogma or doctrine. And it is, in the main, an influence reflecting the Old Testament rather than the New. The poem contains specific references to Cain’s murder of Abel, and to the stories of the Creation, the giants and the Flood. But we find no such allusions to New Testament themes. . . . Indeed, considering the nature of the material with which the poet is working, we should hardly expect such references. — Charles W. Kennedy (Beowulf, The Oldest English Epic, Oxford University Press, 1964). In this work the poet was not much concerned with Christianity and paganism. Beowulf was a hero mainly because of his deeds. All his adventures come from pagan stories, and the pagan motives and actions persist. Hrothgar is made eminent by his speeches, which were not governed by pagan tradition. The Christian poet was free to mold them as he wished, and so to make belief in God a leading figure of the character. He was likely to make the most of it, since Hrothgar is not just the pathetic figure of a king incapable through old age of protecting his people: he is a famous hero, still great because of his wisdom and goodness. — Kenneth Sisam (The Structure of Beowulf, Clarendon Press, 1965).

20

British Literature Student wCB.indb 20

11/14/12 4:38 PM

The most unexpected quality in Beowulf is its abiding communication of joy. In contrast with the Mediterranean glitter of the Odyssey . . . Beowulf takes place in an atmosphere of semi-darkness, the gloom of fire-lit halls, stormy wastelands, and underwater caverns. It is full of blood and fierceness. . . . Men exult in their conflict with each other and the elements. Even Grendel and his mother are serious in the way Greek demons never are. They may be horrors survived from the pagan Norse world of frost giants, wolf men, and dragons of the waters, but nobody would ever dream of calling them frivolous. They share Beowulf ’s dogged earnestness; what they lack is his joy. — Kenneth Rexroth (“Classics Revisited — IV: Beowulf,” Saturday Review, April 10, 1965). 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. — R.W. Chambers (Beowulf: An Introduction to the Study of the Poem, Cambridge, 1959).

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.

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 1-E.

•

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

Antagonist

CONCEPT BUILDER 1-E

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

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

Darth Vader Cinderella’s stepmother Scar (in The Lion King)

Captain Hook (in Peter Pan)

21

British Literature Student wCB.indb 21

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 the 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 In chapter 2 we look at

one of the great men of history. The Venerable Bede was not merely an insightful historian; he was also a very pious Christian. He was brilliant, but he was also a great man of God. Let him be a model for you as you look ahead to your vocational choices! 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 of the Teacher Guide.

22

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

British Literature Student wCB.indb 22

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

The Venerable Bede Background

The earliest and most important writer of prose was the Venerable Bede, a contemporary of the author of Beowulf. Bede (also spelled Baeda, or Beda; 672/673–735), Anglo-Saxon theologian, historian, and chronologist, is best known today for his Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the English People), a source vital to the history of the AngloSaxon people’s conversion to Christianity. A brilliant man and a devoted Christian, Bede wrote the first extant English history. Many students will find it difficult to read the entire history. Those who

persevere, however, will be blessed by the gentle, committed Christian who understood history better than many know. Caedmon, the first Old English Christian poet, is known from Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, which tells how Caedmon, an illiterate herdsman, retired from company one night in shame because he could not comply with the demand made of each guest to sing. Then in a dream a stranger appeared, commanding him to sing of “the beginning of things,” and the herdsman found himself uttering “verses which he had never heard.”

•

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?

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 2-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 2.

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

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-A

Assignments

1

Why does Bede begin his history this way?

2

Why doesn’t Ireland have any snakes? Do you believe that this is true?

3

In what language was this history written?

4

According to Bede, why did the Picts invade Britain?

23

British Literature Student wCB.indb 23

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Autobiographical History Herbert Thurston In the last chapter of his great work on the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, Bede told us something of his own life, and it is, practically speaking, all that we know. His words, written in 731, when death was not far off, not only show a simplicity and piety characteristic of the man, but they throw a light on the composition of the work through which he is best remembered by the world at large: Thus much concerning the ecclesiastical history of Britain, and especially of the race of the English, I, Baeda, a servant of Christ and a priest of the monastery of the blessed apostles St. Peter and St. Paul, which is at Wearmouth and at Jarrow (in Northumberland), have with the Lord’s help composed so far as I could gather it either from ancient documents or from the traditions of the elders, or from my own knowledge. I was born in the territory of the said monastery, and at the age of seven I was, by the care of my relations, given to the most reverend Abbot Benedict [St. Benedict Biscop], and afterwards to Ceolfrid, to be educated. From that time I have spent the whole of my life within that monastery, devoting all my pains to the study of the Scriptures, and amid the observance of monastic discipline and the daily charge of singing in the Church, it has been ever my delight to learn or teach or write. In my nineteenth year I was admitted to the diaconate, in my thirtieth to the priesthood, both by the hands of the most reverend Bishop John [St. John of Beverley], and at the bidding of Abbot Ceolfrid. From the time of my admission to the priesthood to my present fiftyninth year, I have endeavored for my own use and that of my brethren, to make brief notes upon the holy Scripture, either out of the works of the venerable Fathers or in conformity with their meaning and interpretation. (Herbert Thurston, “The Venerable Bede,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907; www.newadvent.org/cathen/02384a.htm, March 29, 2012).

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 2-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.

24

British Literature Student wCB.indb 24

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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:

Which form do you like better? Why?

25

British Literature Student wCB.indb 25

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

The Arrival in Kent of the Missionaries Sent by Gregory the Great (597) In the year of our Lord 582, Maurice, the fifty-fourth emperor from Augustus, ascended the throne and reigned twenty-one years. In the tenth year of his reign, Gregory, a man renowned for learning and behavior, was promoted to the apostolic see of Rome, and presided over it thirteen years, six months, and ten days. He, being moved by divine inspiration, about the one hundred and fiftieth year after the coming of the English into Britain, sent the servant of God, Augustine, and with him several other monks who feared the Lord, to preach the word of God to the English nation. . . . [Augustine, with his companions, arrived in Britain.] The powerful Ethelbert was at that time king of Kent; he had extended his dominions as far as the great river Humber, by which the southern Saxons are divided from the northern. On the east of Kent is the large Isle of Thanet, containing, according to the English way of reckoning, six hundred families, and divided from the other land by the river Wantsum, which is about three furlongs across and fordable only in two places, for both ends of it run into the sea. In this island landed the servant of our Lord, Augustine, and his companions, being, as is reported, nearly forty men. They had, by order of the blessed Pope Gregory, brought interpreters of the nation of the Franks, and sending to Ethelbert, signified that they were come from Rome, and brought a joyful message, which most undoubtedly assured to all that took advantage of it everlasting joys in heaven, and a kingdom that would never end with the living and true God. The king, having heard this, ordered them to stay in that island where they had landed and that they should be furnished with all necessaries till he

should consider what to do with them. For he had heard of the Christian religion, having a Christian wife, of the royal family of the Franks, called Bertha, whom he had received from her parents upon condition that she should be permitted to practice her religion with the bishop, Luidhard, who was sent with her to preserve the faith. Some days later the king came into the island and, sitting in the open air, ordered Augustine and his companions to be brought into his presence. For he had taken precaution that they should not come to him in any house, lest, according to an ancient superstition, if they practiced any magical arts they might impose upon him, and so get the better of him. But they came furnished with divine, not with magic, power, bearing a silver cross for their banner, and the image of our Lord and Saviour painted on a board; and singing the litany, they offered up their prayers to the Lord for eternal salvation both of themselves and of those to whom they came. When Augustine had sat down, pursuant to the king’s commands, and preached to him and his attendants there present the word of life, the king answered thus: “Your words and promises are very fair, but they are new to us and of uncertain import, and I cannot approve of them so far as to forsake that which I have so long followed with the whole English nation. But because you are come from far into my kingdom, and, as I conceive, are desirous to impart to us those things which you believe to be true and most beneficial, we will not molest you, but give you favorable entertainment and take care to supply you with the necessary sustenance; nor do we forbid you to preach and gain as many as you can to your religion.”

26

British Literature Student wCB.indb 26

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Accordingly, he permitted them to reside in the city of Canterbury, which was the metropolis of all his dominions, and pursuant of his promise, besides allowing them sustenance, did not refuse them the liberty to preach. . . . As soon as they entered the dwelling place assigned them, they began to imitate the course of life practiced in the primitive church: applying themselves to frequent prayer, watching, and fasting; preaching the word of life to as many as they could; despising all worldly things, as not belonging to them; receiving only their necessary food from those they taught; living in all respects conformably to what they prescribed to others, and being always disposed to suffer any adversity, and even to die for that truth which they preached. In short, several believed and were baptized, admiring the simplicity of their innocent life and the sweetness of their heavenly doctrine.

There was on the east side of the city a church dedicated to St. Martin, built whilst the Romans were still in the island, wherein the queen, who, as has been said before, was a Christian, used to pray. In this they first began to meet, to sing, to pray, to say mass, to preach and to baptize, till the king, being converted to the faith, allowed them to preach openly and to build or repair churches in all places. When he among the rest, induced by the unspotted life of these holy men and their delightful promises, which, by many miracles, they proved to be most certain, believed and was baptized, greater numbers be — an daily to flock together to hear the word and, forsaking their heathen rites to associate themselves, by believing, to the unity of the Church of Christ (J. H. Robinson, Readings in European History, Boston: Ginn, 1905).

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 2-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Poetry vs. Prose

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-C

Write a prose description of a laughing baby.

Next, write a poetry description of a laughing baby.

Which is most effective?

27

British Literature Student wCB.indb 27

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Benedictine Monk The oldest monastic communities in England belong to the Benedictine order. There were other orders or communities: Franciscans, Cistercians, Jesuits — among others. The Venerable Bede was a Benedictine Monk. The order was started by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century, who established some daily rituals call the “Rule,” which detail the regulations by which a community of Benedictine monks should live, including its government, daily schedule, discipline, property ownership, and almost every other subject that concerns human society. The Benedictines are known as the “black monks” and “black nuns” due to the predominantly dark colors of their garments. The Bede’s community must have been very large. The following is a copy of a typical schedule that was part of the Benedictine Rule. I have preserved the original language.

The benedictine saints Bonifatius, Gregorius the Great, Adelbertus of Egmond and priest Jeroen van Noordwijk by Jan Joesten van Hillegom, c.1529 (PD-Art).

A Typical Benedictine Schedule Approximate Time

Activity

2:00

Professed rise from their beds, don night shoes, proceed to the choir, and recite private prayers while waiting for the children to arrive. The latter enter and say their prayers while the professed wait.

2:30

Celebration of Nocturns (Divine Office, Office of the Dead, Office of All Saints, Office of Our Lady).

4:30 (or when finished with Nocturns)

Reading.

5:30 (or at first light)

Celebration of Matins (Divine Office, Office of Our Lady). Sleep in the dormitory.

28

British Literature Student wCB.indb 28

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Approximate Time

Activity

6:30 (or when daylight is full)

Celebration of Prime (Divine Office, Office of Our Lady).

7:30 (or when finished with Prime)

Recitation of private Masses by ordained religious, and reading.

8:00

Return to dormitories, wash, don day shoes, and recite private prayers.

8:15

Celebration of Terce (Divine Office, Office of Our Lady). Celebration of morrow Mass.

9:00

Meet in chapter.

10:00

Reading or work such as the copying of books or working in the gardens.

12:15

Celebration of Sext (Divine Office, Office of Our Lady). Celebration of High Mass. Refectory servers and readers leave the church and consume a small amount of bread and ale.

13:15

Celebration of None (Divine Office, Office of Our Lady).

14:00

Dinner (prandium) in the refectory. Sleep in the dormitory (siesta).

15:30

Reading or work such as the copying of books.

17:30

Celebration of Vespers (Divine Office, Office of the Dead, Office of All Saints, Office of Our Lady).

18:00

Return to the dormitory and change into night shoes. Drink in the refectory.

18:30

Public reading (collatio) in the choir.

18:45

Celebration of Compline (Divine Office, Office of Our Lady). Recitation of private prayers.

19:00

Retire to dormitory for sleep.

29

British Literature Student wCB.indb 29

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

Warm-up: Describe your prayer life.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 2-D.

•

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

The First English History

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-D

Bede had at his command all the learning of his time. His library at Wearmouth-Jarrow 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.

________

_________

Bede’s Ecclesiastical History

30

British Literature Student wCB.indb 30

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Worldview Formation Background

If you are a committed Christian believer, you will be challenged to analyze the worldviews, individuals, and institutions around you. You are inextricably tied to your culture, but that does not mean you can’t be in this culture but not of this culture. Furthermore, you will be asked to explain your own worldview and to defend it against all sorts of assaults. It is important that you pause and examine several worldviews that you will encounter. Throughout this course and your educational career you will be challenged to analyze the worldviews of many writers. The Venerable Bede, for instance, has a worldview that is radically different from Virginia Wolf, but both are British authors. You will have to discern the worldview of all the authors we read this year. What is a “worldview?” A worldview is a way that a person understands, relates to, and responds from a philosophical position that he embraces as his own. Worldview is a framework that ties everything together, that allows us to understand society, the world, and our place in it. A worldview helps us to make the critical decisions that will shape our future. A worldview colors all our decisions and all our artistic creations. In the first Star Wars movie (1977), for instance, Luke Skywalker clearly values a JudeoChristian code of ethics. That does not mean that he is a believing Christian — indeed he is not — but he does uphold and fight for a moral world. Darth Vader, on the other hand, represents chaos and amoral behavior. He does whatever it takes to advance the emperor’s agenda, regardless of who he hurts or what rule he breaks. It is important that you articulate your worldview now so that you will be ready to discern other worldviews later.

From our study of Greek history we know that there are basically two worldview roots: One originates from Aristotle and argues that the empirical world is primary. Thus, if one wants to advance knowledge, one has to learn more about the world. Another root originates with Plato who argues that the unseen world is primary. In Plato’s case, that meant that if one wished to understand the world one studied the gods. In our case, we agree with Plato to the extent that we believe that God — who cannot be seen or measured — is in fact more real than the world. Both Plato and Aristotle were impacted by Socrates. Socrates was one of the most influential but mysterious figures in Western philosophy. He wrote nothing, yet he had a profound influence on someone who did: Plato. Plato carefully recorded most of his dialogues. Unlike earlier philosophers, Socrates’ main concern was with ethics. There was nothing remotely pragmatic about Socrates who was the consummate idealist. Until his day, philosophers invested most of their time explaining the natural world. In fact, the natural world often intruded into the abstract world of ideas and reality. Socrates kept both worlds completely separate. To Socrates, the natural laws governing the rotation of the earth were merely uninteresting speculation of no earthly good. Socrates was more interested in such meaty concepts as “virtue” and “justice.” Taking issue with the Sophists, Socrates believed that ethics, specifically virtue, must be learned and practiced like any trade. One was not born virtuous; one developed virtue as he would a good habit. It could be practiced only by experts. There was, then, nothing pragmatic about the pursuit of virtue. It was systematic; it was intentional. Virtue was acquired and maintained by open and free dialogue. For the first time, the importance

31

British Literature Student wCB.indb 31

11/14/12 4:38 PM

of human language was advanced by a philosopher (to reappear at the end of the 20th century in postmodern philosophy). There was no more important philosopher in Western culture than Socrates’ disciple, Plato. Plato, like Socrates, regarded ethics as the highest branch of knowledge. Plato stressed the intellectual basis of virtue, identifying virtue with wisdom. Plato believed that the world was made of forms (such as a rock) and ideas (such as virtue). The ability of human beings to appreciate forms made a person virtuous. Knowledge came from the gods; opinion was from man. Virtuous activity, then, was dependent upon knowledge of the forms. To Plato, knowledge and virtue were inseparable. To Aristotle, they were unconnected. Aristotle was not on a search for absolute truth. He was not even certain it existed. Truth, beauty, and goodness were to be observed and quantified from human behavior and the senses, but they were not the legal tender of the land. Goodness in particular was not an absolute and in Aristotle’s opinion it was much abused. Goodness was an average between two absolutes. Aristotle said that mankind should strike a balance between passion and temperance, between extremes of all sorts. He said that good people should seek the “Golden Mean,” defined as a course of life that was never extreme. Finally, while Plato argued that reality lay in knowledge of the gods, Aristotle argued that reality lay in empirical, measurable knowledge. To Aristotle, reality was tied to purpose and to action. For these reasons, Aristotle, became known as the father of modern science. Aristotle’s most enduring impact occurred in the area of metaphysics — philosophical speculation about the nature, substance, and structure of reality. It is not physics — concerned with the visible or natural world. Metaphysics is concerned with explaining the non-physical world. Aristotle then advanced the discussion about God, the human soul, and the nature of space and time. What makes this

particularly interesting is Aristotle’s penchant for delving into the metaphysical by talking about the gods in human terms. Aristotle said, “All men by nature desire to know,” and it is by the senses that the gods were known — or not. Faith had nothing to do with it. In other words, Aristotle, for the first time, discussed the gods as if they were quantified entities. He spoke about them as if they were not present. The Hebrews had done this earlier (Genesis 3) but Aristotle was probably not aware of Moses’ text. While some Christian thinkers such as Augustine and Aquinas employed Aristotelian logic in their discussions about God, they never speculated about His existence as Aristotle did. They only used Aristotle’s techniques to understand more about Him. Most of you have not heard of this particular worldview paradigm. It is called a cultural worldview paradigm (as contrasted to a socio-political paradigm). Both are useful. Both are accurate. However, most Americans obtain their worldviews from culture, not from scholarship and education. While socio-political descriptions of worldviews are completely accurate, they are not used by American universities or the media at all. When have you heard the words “cosmic humanist” used on television? In a movie? Very few people use this terminology in the real world. Therefore, if Christians wish to be involved in apologetics they must use a language that the unsaved can understand. Chesterton once lamented that evangelical Christians are like Americans who visit France. Chesterton generalized that Americans, by and large, speak their words slower, articulate their words more carefully, and speak fewer words to complete a thought. However, what they should do, Chesterton argues, is to speak French in France! If we believers want the world to hear us we need to speak their language.

32

British Literature Student wCB.indb 32

11/14/12 4:38 PM

•

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 2-E.

•

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

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

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 2-E

Assignments

1

Reading this historical event as a story, what is the crisis?

2

Who are the characters?

3

Do you believe that this event really happened? Why or why not?

33

British Literature Student wCB.indb 33

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 3 we examine the literary works of Geoffrey Chaucer and medieval ballads.

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.

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

34

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Students should review Sir Gawain and The Green Knight (author unknown). History connections: British History chapter 3, “Anglo-Saxon Invasions.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 34

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Middle English Literature Background

The Norton Anthology of English Literature begins, “When did English Literature begin?” Any answer to that question must be problematic, for the very concept of English literature is a construction of literary history, a concept that changed over time. There are no “English” characters in Beowulf, and English scholars and authors had no knowledge of the poem before it was discovered and edited in the 19th century. Although written in the language called “AngloSaxon,” the poem was claimed by Danish and German scholars as their earliest national epic before it came to be thought of as an “Old English” poem. One of the results of the Norman Conquest was that the structure and vocabulary of the English language changed to such an extent that Chaucer, even if he had come across a manuscript of Old English poetry, would have experienced far more difficulty construing the language than with medieval Latin, French, or Italian. If a King Arthur had actually lived, he would have spoken a Celtic language possibly still intelligible to native speakers of Middle Welsh but not to Middle English speakers.” (www. wwnorton.com/college/english/nael/credits.htm) The Middle Ages were not “dark,” as many characterize them. They were a time of heightened religious sensitivity. Most medieval Englishmen were more conscious of their eternal state than their present one. And with no wonder. Many of them would only live 40 years — most women even died by age 35. This was a hard time, but a time graced by great writers. The Middle Ages was a time of proliferation, though not necessarily refinement, for short narratives. The short tale became an important means of diversion and amusement. From the Dark Ages (A.D. 500) to the Renaissance (1500), Englishmen adopted short fiction for their own purposes.

A statue of Julian (in white) appears on the front of Norwich Cathedral, along with a statue of St. Benedict. Photo by Jerzy Kociatkiewicz, 2008 (CC BY-SA 2.0).

Middle English emerged from the 12th century until the late 15th century, when the Chancery Standard, urban English, became widespread and the printing press brought uniformity to English. Between 1500 to 1550 there was a transition to Modern English. In literary terms the characteristics of the literary works written did not change radically until the effects of the Renaissance and Reformation. There are three main categories of Middle English Literature: Christianity, Chivalry, and Legends, though much of Geoffrey Chaucer’s work stands outside these. Among the many religious works include the writings of Julian of Norwich and Richard Rolle.

35

British Literature Student wCB.indb 35

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

Warm-up: Write Chaucer a letter.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 3-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 3.

Creative Writing

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-A

Write a short story or poem based on your understanding of knights and chivalry.

36

British Literature Student wCB.indb 36

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Early Ballads The ballads of early England and Scotland were some of the earliest indigenous poems of Norman English literature (i.e., French Normandy poems brought by William the Conqueror). The old folk ballads were meant to be sung. They were the popular songs of their day. The most common themes in these ballads were unrequited love and revenge. It was common in medieval England to sing stories in song — ballads — either stories composed for the occasion out of a repertory of traditional motifs or phrases, or stories preserved by memory and handed down orally. As an oral art, the ballad did not need to be written down to be performed or preserved; in any case, many of the carriers of the ballad tradition were illiterate and could not read a written ballad. The precise date of a ballad, therefore, or even any particular version of a ballad, is almost impossible to determine. Historical ballads would seem on the surface to be easily datable, but their origins were usually quite uncertain. The ballad could have arisen long after the events it described.

Bonny Barbara Allan

Author unknown

It was in and about the Martinmas time,

That ye made the healths gae round and round,

When the green leaves were a falling,

And slighted Barbara Allan?”

That Sir John Grææme in the West Country, Fell in love with Barbara Allan. He sent his man down through the town, To the place where she was dwelling: “O haste and come to my master dear, Gin ye be Barbara Allan.” O hooly, hooly rose she up, To the place where he was lying, And when she drew the curtain by, “Young man, I think you’re dying.” “O it’s I’m sick, and very, very sick, And ’tis a’ for Barbara Allan:” “O the better for me ye’s never be, Tho your heart’s blood were a spilling. “O dinna ye mind, young man,” said she, “When ye was in the tavern a drinking,

He turned his face unto the wall, And death was with him dealing: “Adieu, adieu, my dear friends all, And be kind to Barbara Allan.” And slowly, slowly raise she up, And slowly, slowly left him, And sighing said, she coud not stay, Since death of life had reft him. She had not gane a mile but twa, When she heard the dead-bell ringing, And every jow that the dead-bell gied, It cry’d, Woe to Barbara Allan! “O mother, mother, make my bed! O make it saft and narrow! Since my love died for me to-day, I’ll die for him to-morrow

37

British Literature Student wCB.indb 37

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Get Up and Bar the Door

Author unknown

It fell about the Martinmas time,

But neer a word wad ane o them speak,

And a gay time it was then,

For barring of the door.

When our good wife got puddings to make, And she’s boild them in the pan.

And first they ate the white puddings, And then they ate the black;

The wind sae cauld blew south and north,

Tho muckle thought the goodwife to hersel,

And blew into the floor;

Yet neer a word she spake.

Quoth our goodman to our goodwife, “Gae out and bar the door.”

Then said the one unto the other, “Here, man, tak ye my knife;

“My hand is in my hussyfskap,

Do ye tak aff the auld man’s beard,

Goodman, as ye may see;

And I’ll kiss the goodwife.”

An it shoud nae be barrd this hundred year, It’s no be barrd for me.”

“But there’s nae water in the house, And what shall we do than?”

They made a paction tween them twa,

“What ails thee at the pudding-broo,

They made it firm and sure,

That boils into the pan?”

That the first word whaeer shoud speak, Shoud rise and bar the door.

O up then started our goodman, An angry man was he:

Then by there came two gentlemen,

“Will ye kiss my wife before my een,

At twelve o’clock at night,

And scad me wi pudding-bree?”

And they could neither see house nor hall, Nor coal nor candle-light.

Then up and started our goodwife, Gied three skips on the floor:

“Now whether is this a rich man’s house,

“Goodman, you’ve spoken the foremost word,

Or whether is it a poor?”

Get up and bar the door.”

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 3-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

38

British Literature Student wCB.indb 38

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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?

2

This stanza foreshadows (gives warning) that something is coming. What is it?

3

What rascally plans do the uninvited visitors have?

4

What does the goodwife say to her husband?

39

British Literature Student wCB.indb 39

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

The Canterbury Tales Geoffrey Chaucer Background

Geoffrey Chaucer lived at the end of the Middle Ages. He was born into a prosperous middle-class family rather than a noble or peasant family. Chaucer was a soldier, diplomat, and royal official. His most famous work was The Canterbury Tales, a series of short stories. The setting for The Canterbury Tales was centered around pilgrims traveling to Canterbury, England, the cultic center of British Catholicism. Each pilgrim was to tell two stories on the way and two as he returned. Chaucer died before he could finish all the stories, but the stories he completed are the best picture of life in 14th-century England that we have. Most people in the English society of Chaucer’s time viewed the world in a similar way. People believed that, behind the frustration of the day-to-day world, God was in control. Chaucer’s society could feel, at least much of the time, a sense of security about the world, knowing that it was following a divine plan. The reason Chaucer so vehemently disliked people like the Monk and the Friar, for instance, was that they hypocritically violated the fragile unity of this feudal society. Chaucer’s world was a world in transition. Within British society was a budding middle class. Still entrenched, however, was a noble and ecclesiological class that was resistant to all change. These groups engendered different values. Those values were represented in the medieval world by two structures: the class system and the Church. People believed God established both setups, and each went unchallenged.

Engraving of Chaucer from Speght’s edition. Artist unknown, 1602 (PD-US).

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 3-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of all assigned essays.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

40

British Literature Student wCB.indb 40

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 Ordinary Characters

Tragedy

Clearly meant to be memorized

Narrative (story)

Ballad

41

British Literature Student wCB.indb 41

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Beast Fable

A wiry rooster who nonetheless outsmarts the fox

An ordinary, slightly weak husband — Chaunticleer

A shrewish, dominating wife who taunts her husband

A Truth Be careful not to ignore dreams/premonitions

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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 3-D.

•

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?

2

What was her business?

3

Describe the rooster.

4

Why was Chanticleer disturbed?

5

Why is Pertelote disappointed with her husband Chaunticleer?

42

British Literature Student wCB.indb 42

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Medieval Christianity

The Monk does not follow monastic rules.

The Pardoner is a hypocrite and is dishonest. He sells relics.

The Friar tells an unflattering story about the Summoner and vice versa. Both are cheats and liars.

English Medieval Roman Catholicism

The Parson — A very poor but very holy and virtuous religious man who tells a highly moral tale.

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 3-E.

•

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?

A Picture Summary

CONCEPT BUILDER 3-E

•

43

British Literature Student wCB.indb 43

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 4 we examine

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Weexplore the Arthurian legends and examine how these legends exhibit the strengths and fears of medieval England. Next, we look at two major characters and finish by looking at spin-off sequels. 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 of the Teacher Guide.

44

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.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 44

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Author Unknown Background

No one knows who the author of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight was. All we know is that he was a contemporary of Geoffrey Chaucer — although his alliterative style would have been considered barbaric to Chaucer. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (ca. 1360–1400) is a Middle English alliterative romance written by an anonymous West Midlands poet also credited with “The Pearl, Patience, and Purity or Cleanness.” The protagonist, Sir Gawain, survives two tests: a challenge, which he alone of King Arthur’s knights accepts, to behead the fearsome Green Knight, and a temptation to commit adultery with the wife of Lord Bertilak — in reality the Green Knight — in whose castle he stays en route to the chapel. Critics have long complimented its intricate and well-written poetry and its superb portrait of Gawain, an ideal knight who remains fallibly human.

Sir Gawaine the Son of Lot, King of Orkney, by Howard Pyle from The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, 1903, (PD-US).

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite legend?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 4-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 4.

45

British Literature Student wCB.indb 45

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-A

Read this excerpt of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and respond to the following: One Christmas in Camelot King Arthur sat at ease with his lords and loyal liegemen arranged as brothers round the Round Table. Their reckless jokes rang about that rich hall till they turned from the table to the tournament field and jousted like gentlemen with lances and laughs, then trooped to court in a carolling crowd. For the feast lasted a full fifteen days of meals and merriment (as much as could fit.) Such gay glee must gladden the ear — by day what a din, and dancing by night! The halls and chambers were heaped with happy lords and ladies as high as you like! There they were gathered with all the world’s goodness: knights as kind as Christ himself, ladies as lovely as ever have lived, and the noblest king our nation has known. They were yet in the pride, in the prime of their youth, and filled as full of heaven’s blessing as the king had strength of will. And mighty men surpassing all were gathered on that hill.

Describe King Arthur and his loyal knights of the Round Table.

While the year was as young as New Years can be the dais was prepared for a double feast. The king and his company came in together when mass had been chanted; and the chapel emptied as clergy and commons alike cried out, “Noel! Noel!” again and again. And the lords ran around loaded with parcels, palms extended to pass out presents, Describe Guinevere. or crowded together comparing gifts. The ladies laughed when they lost at a game Round they milled in a merry mob till the meal was ready, washed themselves well, and walked to their places (the best for the best on seats raised above.) Then Guinevere moved gaily among them, took her place on the dais, which was dearly adorned with sides of fine silk and a canopied ceiling of sheer stuff: and behind her shimmering tapestries from far Tarsus, embroidered, bedecked with bright gems that the jewelers would pay a pretty price for any day, but the finest gem in the field of sight looked back: her eyes were grey. That a lovelier’s lived to delight the gaze — is a lie, I’d say!

46

British Literature Student wCB.indb 46

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

The Legends of King Arthur and his Knights Sir John Knowles CHAPTER VI

The Marriage of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, and the Founding of the Round Table — The Adventure of the Hart and Hound — The Story of Sir Gawain (www.gutenberg.org/ files/12753/12753-h/12753-h.htm#chapter_vi). Sir John Knowles gathered the Arthurian legends into a popular 19th-century version. In Chapter VI he highlights the loyal knight, Sir Gawain. It befell upon a certain day, that King Arthur said to Merlin, “My lords and knights do daily pray me now to take a wife; but I will have none without thy counsel, for thou hast ever helped me since I came first to this crown.” “It is well,” said Merlin, “that thou shouldst take a wife, for no man of bounteous and noble nature should live without one; but is there any lady whom thou lovest better than another?” “Yea,” said King Arthur, “I love Guinevere, the daughter of King Leodegrance, of Camelgard, who also holdeth in his house the Round Table that he had from my father Uther; and as I think, that damsel is the gentlest and the fairest lady living.” “Sir,” answered Merlin, “as for her beauty, she is one of the fairest that do live; but if ye had not loved her as ye do, I would fain have had ye choose some other who was both fair and good. But where a man’s heart is set, he will be loath to leave.” This Merlin said, knowing the misery that should hereafter happen from this marriage. Then King Arthur sent word to King Leodegrance that he mightily desired to wed King Arthur, photograph of sculpture by Peter Vischer at Art Institute of Chicago, c.1900.

his daughter, and how that he had loved her since he saw her first, when with Kings Ban and Bors he rescued Leodegrance from King Ryence of North Wales. When King Leodegrance heard the message, he cried out, “These be the best tidings I have heard in all my life — so great and worshipful a prince to seek my daughter for his wife! I would fain give him half my lands with her straightway, but that he needeth none — and better will it please him that I send him the Round Table of King Uther, his father, with a hundred good knights towards the furnishing of it with guests, for he will soon find means to gather more, and make the table full.” Then King Leodegrance delivered his daughter Guinevere to the messengers of King Arthur, and also the Round Table with the hundred knights. So they rode royally and freshly, sometimes by water and sometimes by land, towards Camelot. And as they rode along in the spring weather, they made full many sports and pastimes. And, in all those sports and games, a young

47

British Literature Student wCB.indb 47

11/14/12 4:38 PM

knight lately come to Arthur’s court, Sir Lancelot by name, was passing strong, and won praise from all, being full of grace and hardihood; and Guinevere also ever looked on him with joy. And always in the eventide, when the tents were set beside some stream or forest, many minstrels came and sang before the knights and ladies as they sat in the tent-doors, and many knights would tell adventures; and still Sir Lancelot was foremost, and told the knightliest tales, and sang the goodliest songs, of all the company. And when they came to Camelot, King Arthur made great joy, and all the city with him; and riding forth with a great retinue he met Guinevere and her company, and led her through the streets all filled with people, and in the midst of all their shoutings and the ringing of church bells, to a palace hard by his own. Then, in all haste, the king commanded to prepare the marriage and the coronation with the stateliest and most honourable pomp that could be made. And when the day was come, the archbishops led the king to the cathedral, whereto he walked, clad in his royal robes, and having four kings, bearing four golden swords, before him; a choir of passing sweet music going also with him. In another part, was the queen dressed in her richest ornaments, and led by archbishops and bishops to the Chapel of the Virgins, the four queens also of the four kings last mentioned walked before her, bearing four white doves, according to ancient custom; and after her there followed many damsels, singing and making every sign of joy. And when the two processions were come to the churches, so wondrous was the music and the singing, that all the knights and barons who were there pressed on each other, as in the crowd of battle, to hear and see the most they might. When the king was crowned, he called together all the knights that came with the Round Table from Camelgard, and twenty-eight others, great and valiant men, chosen by Merlin out of all the realm, towards making up the full number of the table. Then the Archbishop of Canterbury blessed the seats of all the knights, and when they rose again therefrom to pay their homage to King Arthur there was found upon the back of each knight’s seat his name, written in letters of gold. But upon one seat was

found written, “This is the Siege Perilous, wherein if any man shall sit save him whom Heaven hath chosen, he shall be devoured by fire.” Anon came young Gawain, the king’s nephew, praying to be made a knight, whom the king knighted then and there. Soon after came a poor man, leading with him a tall fair lad of eighteen years of age, riding on a lean mare. And falling at the king’s feet, the poor man said, “Lord, it was told me, that at this time of thy marriage thou wouldst give to any man the gift he asked for, so it were not unreasonable.” “That is the truth,” replied King Arthur, “and I will make it good.” “Thou sayest graciously and nobly,” said the poor man. “Lord, I ask nothing else but that thou wilt make my son here a knight.” “It is a great thing that thou askest,” said the king. “What is thy name?” “Aries, the cowherd,” answered he. “Cometh this prayer from thee or from thy son?” inquired King Arthur. “Nay, lord, not from myself,” said he, “but from him only, for I have thirteen other sons, and all of them will fall to any labour that I put them to. But this one will do no such work for anything that I or my wife may do, but is for ever shooting or fighting, and running to see knights and joustings, and torments me both night and day that he be made a knight.” “What is thy name?” said the king to the young man. “My name is Tor,” said he. Then the king, looking at him steadfastly, was well pleased with his face and figure, and with his look of nobleness and strength. “Fetch all thy other sons before me,” said the king to Aries. But when he brought them, none of them resembled Tor in size or shape or feature. Then the king knighted Tor, saying, “Be thou to thy life’s end a good knight and a true, as I pray God thou mayest be; and if thou provest worthy, and of prowess, one day thou shall be counted in the Round Table.” Then turning to Merlin, Arthur said,

48

British Literature Student wCB.indb 48

11/14/12 4:38 PM

“Prophesy now, O Merlin, shall Sir Tor become a worthy knight, or not?” “Yea, lord,” said Merlin, “so he ought to be, for he is the son of that King Pellinore whom thou hast met, and proved to be one of the best knights living. He is no cowherd’s son.” Presently after came in King Pellinore, and when he saw Sir Tor he knew him for his son, and was more pleased than words can tell to find him knighted by the king. And Pellinore did homage to King Arthur, and was gladly and graciously accepted of the king; and then was led by Merlin to a high seat at the Table Round, near to the Perilous Seat. But Sir Gawain was full of anger at the honour done King Pellinore, and said to his brother Gaheris, “He slew our father, King Lot, therefore will I slay him.” “Do it not yet,” said he; “wait till I also be a knight, then will I help ye in it: it is best ye suffer him to go at this time, and not trouble this high feast with bloodshed.” “As ye will, be it,” said Sir Gawain. Then rose the king and spake to all the Table Round, and charged them to be ever true and noble knights, to do neither outrage nor murder, nor any unjust violence, and always to flee treason; also by no means ever to be cruel, but give mercy unto him that asked for mercy, upon pain of forfeiting the liberty of his court for evermore. Moreover, at all times, on pain of death, to give all succour unto ladies and young damsels; and lastly, never to take part in any wrongful quarrel, for reward or payment. And to all this he swore them knight by knight. Then he ordained that, every year at Pentecost, they should all come before him, wheresoever he might appoint a place, and give account of all their doings and adventures of the past twelvemonth. And so, with prayer and blessing, and high words of cheer, he instituted the most noble order of the Round Table, whereto the best and bravest knights in all the world sought afterwards to find admission. Then was the high feast made ready, and the king and queen sat side by side, before the whole assembly; and great and royal was the banquet and the pomp.

And as they sat, each man in his place, Merlin went round and said, “Sit still awhile, for ye shall see a strange and marvellous adventure.” So as they sat, there suddenly came running through the hall, a white hart, with a white hound next after him, and thirty couple of black running hounds, making full cry; and the hart made circuit of the Table Round, and past the other tables; and suddenly the white hound flew upon him and bit him fiercely, and tore out a piece from his haunch. Whereat the hart sprang suddenly with a great leap, and overthrew a knight sitting at the table, who rose forthwith, and, taking up the hound, mounted, and rode fast away. But no sooner had he left, than there came in a lady, mounted on a white palfrey, who cried out to the king, “Lord, suffer me not to have this injury! — the hound is mine which that knight taketh.” And as she spake, a knight rode in all armed, on a great horse, and suddenly took up the lady and rode away with her by force, although she greatly cried and moaned. Then the king desired Sir Gawain, Sir Tor, and King Pellinore to mount and follow this adventure to the uttermost; and told Sir Gawain to bring back the hart, Sir Tor the hound and knight, and King Pellinore the knight and the lady. So Sir Gawain rode forth at a swift pace, and with him Gaheris, his brother, for a squire. And as they went, they saw two knights fighting on horseback, and when they reached them they divided them and asked the reason of their quarrel. “We fight for a foolish matter,” one replied, “for we be brethren; but there came by a white hart this way, chased by many hounds, and thinking it was an adventure for the high feast of King Arthur, I would have followed it to have gained worship; whereat my younger brother here declared he was the better knight and would go after it instead, and so we fight to prove which of us be the better knight.” “This is a foolish thing,” said Sir Gawain. “Fight with all strangers, if ye will, but not brother with brother. Take my advice, set on against me, and if ye yield to me, as I shall do my best to make ye, ye shall go to King Arthur and yield ye to his grace.”

49

British Literature Student wCB.indb 49

11/14/12 4:38 PM

“Sir knight,” replied the brothers, “we are weary, and will do thy wish without encountering thee; but by whom shall we tell the king that we were sent?” “By the knight that followeth the quest of the white hart,” said Sir Gawain. “And now tell me your names, and let us part.” “Sorlous and Brian of the Forest,” they replied; and so they went their way to the king’s court. Then Sir Gawain, still following his quest by the distant baying of the hounds, came to a great river, and saw the hart swimming over and near to the further bank. And as he was about to plunge in and swim after, he saw a knight upon the other side, who cried, “Come not over here, Sir knight, after that hart, save thou wilt joust with me.” “I will not fail for that,” said Sir Gawain; and swam his horse across the stream. Anon they got their spears, and ran against each other fiercely; and Sir Gawain smote the stranger off his horse, and turning, bade him yield. “Nay,” replied he, “not so; for though ye have the better of me on horseback, I pray thee, valiant knight, alight, and let us match together with our swords on foot.” “What is thy name?” quoth Gawain. “Allardin of the Isles,” replied the stranger. Then they fell on each other; but soon Sir Gawain struck him through the helm, so deeply and so hard, that all his brains were scattered, and Sir Allardin fell dead. “Ah,” said Gaheris, “that was a mighty stroke for a young knight!” Then did they turn again to follow the white hart, and let slip three couple of greyhounds after him; and at the last they chased him to a castle, and there they overtook and slew him, in the chief courtyard. At that there rushed a knight forth from a chamber, with a drawn sword in his hand, and slew two of the hounds before their eyes, and chased the others from the castle, crying, “Oh, my white hart! alas, that thou art dead! for thee my sovereign lady gave to me, and evil have I kept thee; but if I live, thy death shall be dear bought.” Anon he went within and armed, and came out fiercely, and met Sir Gawain face to face.

50

British Literature Student wCB.indb 50

“Why have ye slain my hounds?” said Sir Gawain; “they did but after their nature: and ye had better have taken vengeance on me than on the poor dumb beasts.” “I will avenge me on thee, also,” said the other, “ere thou depart this place.” Then did they fight with each other savagely and madly, till the blood ran down to their feet. But at last Sir Gawain had the better, and felled the knight of the castle to the ground. Then he cried out for mercy, and yielded to Sir Gawain, and besought him as he was a knight and gentleman to save his life. “Thou shalt die,” said Sir Gawain, “for slaying my hounds.” “I will make thee all amends within my power,” replied the knight. But Sir Gawain would have no mercy, and unlaced his helm to strike his head off; and so blind was he with rage, that he saw not where a lady ran out from her chamber and fell down upon his enemy. And making a fierce blow at him, he smote off by mischance the lady’s head. “Alas!” cried Gaheris, “foully and shamefully have ye done — the shame shall never leave ye! Why give ye not your mercy unto them that ask it? a knight without mercy is without worship also.” Then Sir Gawain was sore amazed at that fair lady’s death, and knew not what to do, and said to the fallen knight, “Arise, for I will give thee mercy.” “Nay, nay,” said he, “I care not for thy mercy now, for thou hast slain my lady and my love — that of all earthly things I loved the best.” “I repent me sorely of it,” said Sir Gawain, “for I meant to have struck thee: but now shalt thou go to King Arthur and tell him this adventure, and how thou hast been overcome by the knight that followeth the quest of the white hart.” “I care not whether I live or die, or where I go,” replied the knight. So Sir Gawain sent him to the court to Camelot, making him bear one dead greyhound before and one behind him on his horse. “Tell me thy name before we part,” said he. “My name is Athmore of the Marsh,” he answered.

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Then went Sir Gawain into the castle, and prepared to sleep there and began to unarm; but Gaheris upbraided him, saying, “Will ye disarm in this strange country? bethink ye, ye must needs have many enemies about.” No sooner had he spoken than there came out suddenly four knights, well armed, and assailed them hard, saying to Sir Gawain, “Thou new-made knight, how hast thou shamed thy knighthood! a knight without mercy is dishonoured! Slayer of fair ladies, shame to thee evermore! Doubt not thou shalt thyself have need of mercy ere we leave thee.” Then were the brothers in great jeopardy, and feared for their lives, for they were but two to four, and weary with travelling; and one of the four knights shot Sir Gawain with a bolt, and hit him through the arm, so that he could fight no more. But when there was nothing left for them but death, there came four ladies forth and prayed the four knights’ mercy for the strangers. So they gave Sir Gawain and Gaheris their lives, and made them yield themselves prisoners. On the morrow, came one of the ladies to Sir Gawain, and talked with him, saying, “Sir knight, what cheer?” “Not good,” said he.

“It is your own default, sir,” said the lady, “for ye have done a passing foul deed in slaying that fair damsel yesterday — and ever shall it be great shame to you. But ye be not of King Arthur’s kin.” “Yea, truly am I,” said he; “my name is Gawain, son of King Lot of Orkney, whom King Pellinore slew — and my mother, Belisent, is half-sister to the king.” When the lady heard that, she went and presently got leave for him to quit the castle; and they gave him the head of the white hart to take with him, because it was in his quest; but made him also carry the dead lady with him — her head hung round his neck and her body lay before him on his horse’s neck. So in that fashion he rode back to Camelot; and when the king and queen saw him, and heard tell of his adventures, they were heavily displeased, and, by the order of the queen, he was put upon his trial before a court of ladies — who judged him to be evermore, for all his life, the knight of ladies’ quarrels, and to fight always on their side, and never against any, except he fought for one lady and his adversary for another; also they charged him never to refuse mercy to him that asked it, and swore him to it on the Holy Gospels. Thus ended the adventure of the white hart.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 4-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.

51

British Literature Student wCB.indb 51

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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

Chivalry

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-B

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

52

British Literature Student wCB.indb 52

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

The Green Knight In the first section we meet the Green Knight for the first time: Now will I tell you no more of their service, for everybody must well understand that there was no lack of opportunity for the people to take their food. Another noise full new suddenly drew nigh, for scarcely had the music ceased a moment, and the first course been properly served in the court, than there burst in at the hall door an awesome being, in height one of the tallest men in the world; from the neck to the waist so square and so thick was he, and his loins and his limbs so long and so great, that half giant I believed him to have been, or, at any rate, the largest of men, and withal the handsomest in spite of his bulk, that ever rode; for though his back and breast were so vast, yet his belly and waist were properly slim; and all his form according, full fairly shaped. At the hue of his noble face men wondered; he carried himself in hostile fashion and was entirely green. All green was this man and his clothing; a straight coat sat tight to his sides; a fair mantle above, adorned within; the lining showed, with costly trimming of shining white fur; and such his hood also, that was caught back from his locks and lay on his shoulders, the hem well stretched; hose of the same green, that clung to his calf; and clean spurs under, of bright gold upon silk bands richly barred, and shoes on his shanks as the hero rides. And all his vesture verily was clean verdure, both the bars of his belt, and the other beauteous stones that were set in fine array about himself and his saddle, worked on silk. It would be too difficult to tell the half of the trifles that were embroidered there, with birds and flies, with gay gauds of green — the good over in the middle; the pendants of the poitrel, the proud crupper, the bits — and all the metal was enamelled; the stirrups that he stood on were coloured the same, and his saddle bow likewise, and his fine reins that glimmered and glinted all of green stones. The horse that he rode on

was of the same colour too, a green horse, great and thick, a steed full stiff to guide, in gay embroidered bridle, and one right dear to his master. This hero was splendidly dressed in green; and the hair of his head matched that of his horse; fair flowing locks enfolded his shoulders; a beard as big as a bush hung over his breast; and it, together with his splendid hair that reached from his head, was trimmed evenly all round above his elbows, so that half his arms were caught thereunder in the manner of a king’s hood, that covers his neck. The mane of that great horse was much like it, very curly and combed, with knots full many folded in with gold wire about the fair green — always one knot of the hair, another of gold. The tail and the forelock were twined in the same way, and both bound with a band of bright green, set with full precious stones the whole length of the dock, and then tied up with a thong in a tight knot; where rang many bells full bright of burnished gold. Such a steed in the world, such a hero as rides him, was never beheld in that hall before that time. His glances were like bright lightning, so said all that saw him. It seemed as if no man could endure under his blows. He had neither helm nor hauberk, nor gorget, armour nor breastplate, nor shaft nor shield to guard or to smite; but in his one hand he had a holly twig, that is greenest when groves are bare, and an axe in his other, a huge and prodigious one, a weapon merciless almost beyond description; the head had the vast length of an ellyard, the blade all of green steel and of beaten gold; the bit brightly burnished, with a broad edge, as well shaped for cutting as sharp razors. The stern warrior gripped it by the steel of its stout staff, which was wound with iron to the end of the wood and all engraven with green in beauteous

53

British Literature Student wCB.indb 53

11/14/12 4:38 PM

work. A lace was lapped about it, that was fastened at the head, and tied up often along the helve, with many precious tassels attached on rich embroidered buttons of the bright green. This hero turns him in and enters the hall, riding straight to the high dais, fearless of mischief. He greeted never a one, but looked loftily about, and the first word that he uttered was: “Where is the governor of this company? Gladly I would see that hero and speak with him.”

He cast his eye on the knights and rode fiercely up and down, stopped and pondered who was there the most renowned (Sir Gawain and the Green Knight translated by W.A. Neilson, Cambridge, Ontario: In Parentheses Publications, Middle English Series, 1999).

The Green Knight is one of the most enigmatic figures in British literature. He appears to be a pagan version of a Tolkien-like plant person who has regenerative powers. Like a tree grows new limbs, the Green Knight can survive the most onerous physical injuries. He apparently has recuperative powers that far exceed even the most generous estimates of monster powers. Certainly he is no Grendel. When Grendel is killed, he stays dead. The Green Knight is not necessarily resurrected but he does grow new things. After he is decapitated he takes his head in his hand — and the head is still speaking — and later we find that the head is back on his head! This makes the Green Knight an immutable figure who lives forever as he constantly grows new things. Nature both attracts and repels medieval man. He knows that it is beautiful and necessary for life but it also harbors an uncivilized wildness that is dangerous and deadly. The devil was thought to dwell in the darkest, deepest part of the forest. The forest then, was not the playland of the romantics, as Wordsworth and other proclaimed; it was foreboding. The Green Knight, in his own way, was charming. He had personality. This is a new development in the Middle Ages and a reflection of medieval cosmology.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 4-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

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:

Three Tests

54

British Literature Student wCB.indb 54

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Sir Gawain: A New Kind of Hero Sir Gawain is no Beowulf. Sir Gawain describes himself as the least of Arthur’s knights. Modesty is part of chivalrous virtue in the Arthurian legend. But such false modesty flies in the face of the reality that Gawain is Arthur’s nephew and one of the most famous knights in Camelot. Sir Gawain draws strength from his community. To Gawain, his public reputation is as important as his reputation with his enemies, and, at the end of the story, as an admission of his own frailties and shortcomings, he insists on wearing the green girdle as a sign of shame. Like a later American heroine, Hester Prynne, who willingly wears a scarlet A and remains

in her community, Sir Gawain will remain in his. He believes that sins should be as visible as virtues. Gawain is a paragon of virtue but in Part 3 he conceals the magical green girdle that Bertilak’s wife gives him, revealing that, despite his bravery, Gawain is not perfect. Ultimately, however, Gawain confesses his sin and begs to be pardoned; thereafter, he voluntarily wears the girdle as a symbol of his sin. The poem, then, moves to a resolution and exaltation of Judeo-Christian virtue. This resolution makes Sir Gawain one of the most developed and richest characters in world history.

Assignments •

Warm-up: What stereotype does Sir Gawain typify?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 4-D.

•

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

Lady Bertiak:

Women Characters

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-D

Identify and discuss how the author presents these three women.

Women in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Morgan le Fay:

Guinevere:

55

British Literature Student wCB.indb 55

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Spin-off Sequels Sir Gawain is part of the origin story, the King Arthur legend. However, his character is so compelling that he reappears in later medieval legends. “The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle” is a 15th-century English poem, one of several versions of the “loathly lady” story popular during the Middle Ages. An earlier version of the story appears as “The Wife of Bath’s Tale” in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Sir Gawain, by Howard Pyle from The Story of King Arthur and His Knights, 1903 (PD-US). Canterbury Tales, and the later ballad “The Marriage of Sir Gawain” is a retelling (medievalromance.bod leian. The Carle of Carlisle (17th century) also resemox.ac.uk/romance-the-fortunes-of-sir-gawain). bles Gawain in a scene in which the Carle (Churl), a lord, takes Sir Gawain to a chamber where two The Greene Knight (15th–17th century) is a swords are hanging and orders Gawain to cut off his rhymed retelling. As new villains appear on the world stage, in this case Islamic nations, likewise the head or suffer his own to be cut off. Gawain obliges and strikes, but the Carle rises, laughing and antagonist takes on another persona. Another story, The Turke and Gowin (15th century), begins with an unharmed. Unlike the Gawain poem, no return blow Islamic Ottomonk entering Arthur’s court. The story is demanded or given (www.lib.rochester.edu/ camelot/teams/carintro.htm). continues along approximately the same storyline.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 4-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 4 test.

56

British Literature Student wCB.indb 56

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

Metaphor: Hunting

CONCEPT BUILDER 4-E

The Deer:

+ The Fox:

The Hunt

+ The Boar:

57

British Literature Student wCB.indb 57

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 5 we analyze all the important Elizabethan poets, from Edmund Spenser to William Shakespeare.

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 AnthonyVan Dyck and compare his themes to the themes we see represented in Elizabethan literature. 6. Analyze several sonnets by William Shakespeare.

58

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Students should review Macbeth by William Shakespeare.

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

British Literature Student wCB.indb 58

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Elizabethan Age Background

The Elizabethan Age is named after Queen Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII and one of the most important English monarchs. This era is marked by advances on almost all intellectual fronts: science, art, and drama. It is the English version, as it were, of the European Renaissance. The Elizabethan Age, then, was a time of transition from the Middle Ages and a precursor of the cultural revival of classicism that was the Renaissance. There was however a revival of chivalry. There was also a surge of nationalism fostered by the English Reformation. The Elizabethan Age saw England emerge as the leading naval and commercial power of the Western world. England soared in world influence with the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. At the same time, Queen Elizabeth firmly established the Church of England begun by her father, King Henry VIII. Sir Francis Drake gave his queen the world. He circumnavigated the world and became the most celebrated English sea captain of his generation. Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh sent colonists to the new world and opened the New World. European wars brought an influx of continental refugees into England, exposing the Englishman to new cultures. London was the New York City of the 16th century. London in the 16th century underwent a transformation. Its population grew 400 percent during the 1500s, swelling to nearly 200,000 people in the city proper and outlying region by the time William Shakespeare starting writing his plays.

QUEEN ELIZABETH I Queen Elizabeth I (1533–1603) was perhaps England’s greatest monarch, ruling from 1558 until her death in 1603. She oversaw England’s victory over the Spanish Armada and the rise of the British Empire. In fact, her name was applied to the whole era — called the Elizabethan Age.

On Monsieur’s Departure I grieve and dare not show my discontent, I love and yet am forced to seem to hate, I do, yet dare not say I ever meant, I seem stark mute but inwardly do prate. I am and not, I freeze and yet am burned. Since from myself another self I turned. My care is like my shadow in the sun, Follows me flying, flies when I pursue it, Stands and lies by me, doth what I have done. His too familiar care doth make me rue it. No means I find to rid him from my breast, Till by the end of things it be supprest. Some gentler passion slide into my mind, For I am soft and made of melting snow; Or be more cruel, love, and so be kind. Let me or float or sink, be high or low. Or let me live with some more sweet content, Or die and so forget what love ere meant.

59

British Literature Student wCB.indb 59

11/14/12 4:38 PM

The Doubt of Future Foes The doubt of future foes exiles my present joy, And wit me warns to shun such snares as threaten mine annoy; For falsehood now doth flow, and subjects’ faith doth ebb, Which should not be if reason ruled or wisdom weaved the web. But clouds of joys untried do cloak aspiring minds, Which turn to rain of late repent by course of changed winds. The top of hope supposed the root upreared shall be, And fruitless all their grafted guile, as shortly ye shall see. The dazzled eyes with pride, which great ambition blinds, Shall be unsealed by worthy wights whose foresight falsehood finds. The daughter of debate that discord aye doth sow Shall reap no gain where former rule still peace hath taught to know. No foreign banished wight shall anchor in this port; Our realm brooks not seditious sects, let them elsewhere resort. My rusty sword through rest shall first his edge employ To poll their tops that seek such change or gape for future joy. (Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women)

Elizabeth I’s Speech to the Troops at Tilbury This famous speech was given by Elizabeth I in 1588 as England prepared for an invasion by King Philip of Spain and his powerful armada. My loving people, We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see, at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have 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; to which rather than any dishonour shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people. Ibid.; (www.nationalcenter.org/ElizabethITilbury.html).

60

British Literature Student wCB.indb 60

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 5-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 5.

Poetic Devices

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-A

Match the poetic device with the following poetic lines.

A

Alliteration is a repetition of consonant sounds, usually at the beginning of words.

B

Assonance is a repetition of vowel sounds within words.

C

Consonance is a repetition of consonant sounds within and at the end of words.

D

Personification is a comparison of an inanimate object with human characteristics.

E

Simile is a comparison of dissimilar objects with like or as.

___ 1

My care is like my shadow in the sun, Follows me flying, flies when I pursue it,

___ 2

Stands and lies by me, doth what I have done. His too familiar care doth make me rue it.

___ 3

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May-morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me and be my Love. And if they cannot always weep,

___ 4 they wet their cheeks by art. ___ 5

Care Charmer Sleep, son of the sable Night, Brother to Death, in silent darkness born, Relieve my languish, and restore the light;

61

British Literature Student wCB.indb 61

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Edmund Spenser Background

Edmund Spenser was born around 1552 in London, England. He began writing poetry in his early twenties and was a part of Queen Elizabeth’s court. He was a life-long admirer of Queen Elizabeth. His first major work, The Shepheardes Calender, was published in 1579 and met with critical success; within a year he was at work on his greatest and longest work, the longest narrative poem in the English language, The Faerie Queene. This poem occupied him for most of his life. Spenser intended to write 12 books of the Faerie Queene, but could only complete about one-half. Each book concerns the story of a knight, representing a particular Christian virtue that he must represent at the court of the Faerie Queene. The Faerie Queene is an Elizabethan version of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. In Books I and III, Spenser presents two knights, Redcrosse and Britomart, who represent holiness and chastity. Fervent Redcrosse gets into temptation that is too much for his virtue to overcome. His quest is to be united with Una, truth. Spenser wants the reader to

know that holiness cannot be attained without Christian knowledge of truth (i.e., the Word of God). In his immature state, Redcrosse mistakes falsehood for truth by following the deceitful witch Duessa. He suffers for his bad choice, but his suffering makes way for his recovery in the House of Holiness, aided by faith, hope, and charity. By the grace of God, Redcrosse is able to conquer the dragon that represents all the evil in the world. In a different manner, Britomart also struggles in her virtue of chastity. She already has the strength to resist lust, but she is not ready to accept love she feels when she sees a vision of her future husband in a magic mirror. She discovers moderation. The sonnet is a poem of 14 lines perfected in Italy in the 14th century. Elizabethan love sonnets celebrate beauty — especially female beauty. The Elizabethan love sonnet is the first love song in English literature.

Sonnet 26 Sweet is the Rose, but growes vpon a brere;

and sweet is Moly, but his root is ill.

Sweet is the Iunipere, but sharpe his bough;

So euery sweet with soure is tempred still,

sweet is the Eglantine, but pricketh nere;

that maketh it be coueted the more:

sweet is the firbloome, but his braunches rough

for easie things that may be got at will,

Sweet is the Cypresse, but his rynd is tough,

most sorts of men doe set but little store.

sweet is the nut, but bitter is his pill;

Why then should I accoumpt of little paine,

sweet is the broome-flowre, but yet sowre enough;

that endlesse pleasure shall vnto me gaine.

62

British Literature Student wCB.indb 62

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Sonnet 75 One day I wrote her name vpon the strand,

and eek my name bee wyped out lykewize.

but came the waues and washed it away:

Not so, (quod I) let baser things deuize,

agayne I wrote it with a second hand,

to dy in dust, but you shall liue by fame:

but came the tyde, and made my paynes his pray.

my verse your vertues rare shall eternize,

Vayne man, sayd she, that doest in vaine assay,

and in the heuens wryte your glorious name.

a mortall thing so to immortalize,

Where whenas death shall all the world subdew,

for I my selue shall lyke to this decay,

our loue shall liue, and later life renew.

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 5-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.

Mood/Tone

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-B

•

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?

Viewpoint:

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

Metaphors:

Tone: Whimsical

63

British Literature Student wCB.indb 63

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Isabella Whitney Isabella Whitney (1540–1580?) was the first English woman to publish a collection of original poetry. Unlike many other female — and male — poets of the day, Whitney was not a noblewoman but was of the middle class. Because of this, relatively little is known about her life. However, since many of her poems occur in London, most scholars think that she lived there. Whitney’s most ambitious work, “The Author . . . Maketh Her Will and Testament,” depicts daily life in urban 16th-century England. Her signature, Is. W., was a daring gesture in her day as was her courage in presenting the viewpoint of Elizabethan women.

The Admonition by the Author to all Young Gentlewomen: And to all other

Ovid, within his Art of Love,

Maids being in Love

doth teach them this same knack

Ye Virgins, ye from Cupid’s tents

To wet their hand and touch their eyes,

do bear away the foil,

so oft as tears they lack.

Whose hearts as yet with raging love

Why have ye such deceit in store?

most painfully do boil.

have you such crafty wile?

To you I speak: for you be they

Less craft than this, God knows, would soon

that good advice do lack:

us simple souls beguile.

Oh, if I could good counsell get,

And will ye not leave off? but still

my tongue should not be slack.

delude us in this wise?

But such as I can give, I will

Sith it is so, we trust we shall

here in few words express,

take heed to fained lies.

Which, if you do observe, it will

Trust not a man at the first sight

some of your care redress.

but try him well before:

Beware of fair and painted talk,

I wish all maids within their breasts

beware of flattering tongues:

to keep this thing in store.

The Mermaids do pretend no good

For trial shall declare his truth

for all their pleasant songs.

and show what he doth think,

Some use the tears of crocodiles,

Whether he be a lover true,

contrary to their heart:

or do intend to shrink.

And if they cannot always weep,

If Scilla had not trust too much

they wet their cheeks by art.

before that she did try,

64

British Literature Student wCB.indb 64

11/14/12 4:38 PM

She could not have been clean forsake

She scrat her face, she tare her hair

when she for help did cry.

(it grieveth me to tell)

Or if she had had good advice,

When she did know the end of him

Nisus had lived long:

that she did love so well.

How durst she trust a stranger and

But like Leander there be few,

do her dear father wrong.

therefore in time take heed

King Nisus had a hair by fate,

And always try before ye trust,

which hair, while he did kepe,

so shall you better speed.

He never should be overcome,

The little fish that careless is

neither on land nor deep.

within the water clear,

The stranger that the daughter lou’d

How glad is he, when he doth see,

did war against the King

a bait for to appear.

And always sought how that he might

He thinks his hap right good to be,

them in subjection bring.

that he the same could spy,

This Scylla stole away the hair,

And so the simple fool doth trust

for to obtain her will,

too much before he try.

And gave it to the stranger that

O little fish, what hap hadst thou?

did straight her father kill.

to have such spiteful fate,

Then she, who thought her self most sure

To come into one’s cruel hands

to have her whole desire,

out of so happy state?

Was clean reject and left behind

Thou didst suspect no harm when thou

when he did home retire.

upon the bait didst look:

Or if such falsehood had been once

O that thou hadst had Linceus’ eyes

unto Oenone known,

for to have seen the hook.

About the fields of Ida wood,

Then hadst thou with thy pretty mates

Paris had walkt alone.

been playing in the streams

Or if Demophoon’s deceit

Whereas sir Phoebus daily doth

to Phillis had been told,

shew forth his golden beams.

She had not been transformed so,

But sith thy fortune is so ill

as Poets tell of old.

to end thy life on shore,

Hero did try Leander’s truth

Of this thy most unhappy end

before that she did trust:

I mind to speak no more.

Therefore she found him unto her

But of thy fellow’s chance that late

both constant, true, and just.

such pretty shift did make,

For he always did swim the sea

That he from fishers’ hook did sprit

when stars in sky did glide

before he could him take,

Till he was drowned by the way

And now he pries on euery bait,

near hand unto the side.

suspecting still that prick

British Literature Student wCB.indb 65

65

11/14/12 4:38 PM

(for to lie hid in every thing)

that turneth us to care?

wherewith the fishers strick,

And I who was deceived late

And since the fish that reason lacks

by one’s unfaithful tears

once warnèd doth beware,

Trust now for to beware, if that

Why should not we take heed to that

I live this hundreth years.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 5-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

66

British Literature Student wCB.indb 66

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Elizabethan Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 5-C

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

Elizabethian Themes

67

British Literature Student wCB.indb 67

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Shepherd Poetry The Passionate Shepherd to His Love

The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd

Come live with me and be my Love,

If all the world and love were young,

And we will all the pleasures prove

And truth in every shepherd’s tongue,

That hills and valleys, dales and field,

These pretty pleasures might me move

Or woods or steepy mountain yields.

To live with thee and be thy Love.

And we will sit upon the rocks

But Time drives flocks from field to fold;

And see the shepherds feed their flocks,

When rivers rage and rocks grow cold;

By shallow rivers, to whose falls

And Philomel becometh dumb;

Melodious birds sing madrigals.

The rest complains of cares to come.

And I will make thee beds of roses

The flowers do fade, and wanton fields

And a thousand fragrant posies,

To wayward Winter reckoning yields:

A cap of flowers, and a kirtle

A honey tongue, a heart of gall,

Embroider’d all with leaves of myrtle.

Is fancy’s spring, but sorrow’s fall.

A gown made of the finest wool,

Thy gowns, thy shoes, thy beds of roses,

Which from our pretty lambs we pull,

Thy cap, thy kirtle, and thy posies,

Fair linèd slippers for the cold,

Soon break, soon wither—soon forgotten,

With buckles of the purest gold.

In folly ripe, in reason rotten.

A belt of straw and ivy buds

Thy belt of straw and ivy-buds,

With coral clasps and amber studs:

Thy coral clasps and amber studs,—

And if these pleasures may thee move,

All these in me no means can move

Come live with me and be my Love.

To come to thee and be thy Love.

The silver dishes for thy meat

But could youth last, and love still breed,

As precious as the gods do eat,

Had joys no date, nor age no need,

Shall on an ivory table be

Then these delights my mind might move

Prepared each day for thee and me.

To live with thee and be thy Love.

The shepherd swains shall dance and sing For thy delight each May-morning: If these delights thy mind may move, Then live with me and be my Love.

68

British Literature Student wCB.indb 68

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 5-D.

•

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.

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

Elizabethan Women

69

British Literature Student wCB.indb 69

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Sir Philip Sidney To Sleep by

Sir Philip Sidney

Come, Sleep; O Sleep! the certain knot of peace, The baiting-place of wit, the balm of woe, The poor man’s wealth, the prisoner’s release, Th’ indifferent judge between the high and low; With shield of proof, shield me from out the prease Of those fierce darts Despair at me doth throw: O make in me those civil wars to cease; I will good tribute pay, if thou do so.

Take thou of me smooth pillows, sweetest bed, A chamber deaf to noise and blind to light, A rosy garland and a weary head: And if these things, as being thine by right,

Move not thy heavy grace, thou shalt in me,



Livelier than elsewhere, Stella’s image see.

The casket of Sir Philip Sidney, Plate 16 from Procession at the Obsequies of Sir Philip Sidney by Thomas Lant, engraved by Theodor de Bry, 1587 (PD-Art).

70

British Literature Student wCB.indb 70

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 5-E.

•

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.

Now it is your turn to write a sonnet!

71

British Literature Student wCB.indb 71

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 6 we will

analyze William Shakespeare’s play “Macbeth.” 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 of the Teacher Guide.

72

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.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 72

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

William Shakespeare Elizabethan England experienced a great revival of literature, especially in the field of drama. The Italian Renaissance had rediscovered the classical Greek drama, and this was instrumental in the development of new English drama, which rebelled against the miracle plays of the Middle Ages. William Shakespeare, of course, is the leading dramatist of this period. We don’t know much about Shakespeare’s life. John Shakespeare, William’s father, was born a farmer but became a merchant in Stratford-uponAvon and was good at it. He was quite wealthy. John Shakespeare married Mary Arden, a genteel, middleclass woman. William Shakespeare, their first son, was born in 1564. However, John Shakespeare lost his fortune, so William Shakespeare grew up in poverty. Thus, while William Shakespeare became very wealthy, he was never an aristocrat. He remembered from where he had come.

Shakespeare was, in fact, an artist who earned his living as a dramatist, one of the first men in history to do that. When he was 18, he married Anne Hathaway. They had three children; two girls and one boy, and the boy, Hamnet, died young. By his mid-twenties, Shakespeare was a successful actor and playwright in London, and he stayed in the theater until he died, in 1616. Macbeth was written relatively late in his career — when he was in his forties. It was the last of what are considered the four great tragedies. The others are Hamlet, Othello, and King Lear. Macbeth is one of the shortest of Shakespeare’s works, and its economy is a sign that Shakespeare was a gifted dramatist.

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.

73

British Literature Student wCB.indb 73

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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?

2

Summarize these first few lines.

3

What do we learn about Macbeth and Banquo and the different ways that they react to the witches?

4

Predict what the ending of this play will be.

74

British Literature Student wCB.indb 74

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

“Macbeth,” Act I “Macbeth,” one of Shakespeare’s best tragedies, is the story of how a man’s debility first brought him puissance, and then destruction. We meet one of the greatest heroes in Western literature — Banquo — and one of the most diabolical villains — Lady Macbeth — whose chicanery would rival the most malevolent Walt Disney miscreant. The story is based on historical fact: Holinshed’s Chronicles recounts a similar story of Scottish treachery. Critic R.A. Foakes writes, “The play opens with thunder and the appearance of the witches, and a succession of immediate and effective visual or auditory images is presented directly to an audience or imaginative reader by means of the bleeding sergeant, the bloody daggers and hands, the knocking at the gate, the banquet with the ghost of Banquo, the apparitions, and the sleep-walking. These effects establish the play’s atmosphere, and form a kind of framework to the poetic imagery (Allardyce Nicoll, editor, Shakespeare Survey Volume 5: Textual Criticism, “Suggestions for a New Approach to Shakespeare’s Imagery” by R.A. Foakes, Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1952).

Assignments

A poster for a c. 1884 American production of “Macbeth,” starring Thomas W. Keene. Depicted, counter clockwise from top-left, are: Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches; just after the murder of Duncan; Banquo’s ghost; Macbeth duels Macduff; and Macbeth (PD-US).

•

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.

75

British Literature Student wCB.indb 75

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-B

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.

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

Lady Macbeth Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

76

British Literature Student wCB.indb 76

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Themes Theme is a concept that is central to the study of literature. It is basically the one-sentence, major meaning of a literary work which is often implied but rarely stated in the work itself. Below are examples of major themes.

Murder

Loyalty

Themes

Ambition

Fate

77

British Literature Student wCB.indb 77

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

78

British Literature Student wCB.indb 78

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Soliloquy

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-C

How does Shakespeare use Macbeth’s “dagger soliloquy” in Act II, Scene I, lines 33–64, to build suspense? Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible To feeling as to sight? or art thou but A dagger of the mind, a false creation, Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain? I see thee yet, in form as palpable As this which now I draw. Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going; And such an instrument I was to use. Mine eyes are made the fools o’ the other senses, Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still, And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood, Which was not so before. There’s no such thing: It is the bloody business which informs Thus to mine eyes. Now o’er the one halfworld Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse The curtain’d sleep; witchcraft celebrates Pale Hecate’s offerings, and wither’d murder, Alarum’d by his sentinel, the wolf, Whose howl’s his watch, thus with his stealthy pace. With Tarquin’s ravishing strides, towards his design Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth, Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear Thy very stones prate of my whereabout, And take the present horror from the time, Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives: Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives. [A bell rings] I go, and it is done; the bell invites me. Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell That summons thee to heaven or to hell. [Exit]

79

British Literature Student wCB.indb 79

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Foils Secondary characters can serve an important function in a literary work, especially if they are foils. These characters often are provided as a contrast to other characters and often function as a device or mechanism through which the main character can be more fully developed. Below is an example of foils and how they impact the character of Macbeth.

Lady Macbeth She draws Macbeth into utter depravity.

Macbeth

Banquo The murder of this good friend evidences Macbeth’s utter depravity.

Duncan He shows Macbeth’s ambivalence toward evil acts.

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.

80

British Literature Student wCB.indb 80

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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

He murders his king, who is also a relative 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 sends men to kill Macduff’s wife and children. 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).

81

British Literature Student wCB.indb 81

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Dramatic Irony Scene

Irony

MACBETH Tonight we hold a solemn supper sir, And I’ll request your presence. BANQUO Let your highness Command upon me; to the which my duties Are with a most indissoluble tie For ever knit.

MACBETH I wish your horses swift and sure of foot; And so I do commend you to their backs. Farewell. [Exit BANQUO] Let every man be master of his time Till seven at night: to make society The sweeter welcome, we will keep ourself Till supper-time alone: while then, God be with you!

Banquo has no idea that Macbeth has murdered his king.

Banquo whom he plans to murder. The audience knows that Macbeth does not “bless” Banquo at all.

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.

82

British Literature Student wCB.indb 82

11/14/12 4:38 PM

As one critic explains:

Internal Conflict

CONCEPT BUILDER 6-E

So Macbeth does horrible things, but that is not the whole story. Macbeth is different from some of Shakespeare’s other villains like Iago (in “Othello”) and “Richard III.” The latter enjoy doing evil; they have renounced what we think of as normal ethics and morality. Macbeth’s feelings are more complicated. In the beginning of the play, at least, he appears to have a conscience that tells him what he’s doing is wrong. Or is he just afraid of the consequences of his actions? He is never able to enjoy the crown he has taken. He experiences nothing but anguish. Is that simply because he is afraid of losing the crown, or is his conscience bothering him? Explore Macbeth’s internal conflicts of by relating incidences that precipitate his conscience changes. Event

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

83

British Literature Student wCB.indb 83

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

84

Chapter Learning Objectives In chapter 7 we look more closely at Elizabethan poetry and the essay genre. We also look at a tragic play by the relatively unknown Elizabeth Cary. We finish by looking at essays by Bacon, who tried his best to merge his Christian faith and his penchant toward rationalism. 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 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review “Dr. Faustus” by Christopher Marlowe; King James Bible. History connections: British History chapter 7, “Elizabethan Age: Part Two.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 84

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Ben Jonson Background

His contemporaries characterized Ben Jonson as “a great lover and praiser of himself, a condemner and scorner of others.” He gave evidence of his narcissism by publishing his collected works in 1616 — an unprecedented event. But he had reason to boast. Jonson — a friend of Shakespeare, Marlowe, Raleigh, Bacon, and John Donne — was a great writer in his own right. Many think that he was the greatest English writer of the Elizabethan period. The following are obituaries found in recent and older newspapers: Joseph Stephens, an old and respected citizen of East Wheatfield Township, Indiana County, died last Friday about four o’clock. . . . Mr. Stephens leaves but two children. . . . He was a member of the Baptist Church for many years and believed with firm conviction in the rewards promised to those who are faithful Christians. . . . He had a large acquaintance and was universally respected by all who knew him. (from an 1889 obituary) Donald Charles, 59, formerly of Johnstown, died at Lee Hospital. . . was a local musician for many years, [and an] Air Force veteran. . . . Arrangements by Geisel Funeral Home. (from a 1996 obituary) Compare and contrast these two obituaries. What do they tell you about the way values have changed since Ben Jonson’s son died?

On My First Son Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; My sin was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy. Seven years tho’ wert lent to me, and I thee pay, Exacted by thy fate, on the just day. O, could I lose all father now! For why Will man lament the state he should envy? To have so soon ’scap’d world’s and flesh’s rage, And if no other misery, yet age? Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say, “Here doth lie Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry.” For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such, As what he loves may never like too much.

The Noble Nature It is not growing like a tree In bulk, doth make Man better be; Or standing long an oak, three hundred year, To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere: A lily of a day Is fairer far in May, Although it fall and die that night — It was the plant and flower of Light In small proportions we just beauties see; And in short measures life may perfect be.

85

British Literature Student wCB.indb 85

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

86

British Literature Student wCB.indb 86

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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

[MARIAM alone.] MARIAM How oft have I with public voice run on To censure Rome’s last hero for deceit: Because he wept when Pompey’s life was gone, Yet when he lived, he thought his name too great.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-A

5 But now I do recant, and, Roman lord, Excuse too rash a judgment in a woman: My sex pleads pardon, pardon then afford, Mistaking is with us but too too common. Now do I find, by self-experience taught, 10

One object yields both grief and joy: You wept indeed, when on his worth you thought, But joyed that slaughter did your foe destroy. So at his death your eyes true drops did rain, Whom dead, you did not wish alive again.



When Herod lived, that now is done to death, Oft have I wished that I from him were free: Oft have I wished that he might lose his breath, Oft have I wished his carcass dead to see. Then rage and scorn had put my love to flight,

20

That love which once on him was firmly set: Hate hid his true affection from my sight, And kept my heart from paying him his debt. And blame me not, for Herod’s jealousy Had power even constancy itself to change:

25

For he, by barring me from liberty, To shun my ranging, taught me first to range. But yet too chaste a scholar was my heart, To learn to love another than my lord: To leave his love, my lesson’s former part,

30

I quickly learned, the other I abhorred. But now his death to memory doth call The tender love that he to Mariam bare. And mine to him; this makes those rivers fall, Which by another thought unmoistened are.

1

What are the ambivalent thoughts that Mariam feels toward her husband Herod?

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?

87

British Literature Student wCB.indb 87

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

“To the Memory of My Beloved Master, Mr. William Shakespeare, and What He Hath Left Us” To draw no envy, Shakespeare, on thy name,

And tell how far thou didst our Lyly outshine,

Am I thus ample to thy book and fame;

Or sporting Kyd, or Marlowe’s mighty line.

While I confess thy writings to be such

And though thou hadst small Latin and less Greek,

As neither man nor Muse can praise too much.

From thence, to honour thee, I would not seek

‘Tis true, and all men’s suffrage. But these ways

For names; but call forth thund’ring Aeschylus,

Were not the paths I meant unto thy praise;

Euripides, and Sophocles to us,

For seeliest Ignorance on these may light,

Paccuvius, Accius, him of Cordova dead

Which, when it sounds at best, but echoes right;

To life again, to hear thy buskin tread

Or blind Affection, which doth ne’er advance

And shake a stage; or when thy socks were on,

The truth, but gropes and urgeth all by chance;

Leave thee alone, for the comparison

Or crafty Malice might pretend this praise,

Of all that insolent Greece or haughty Rome

And think to ruin where it seem’d to raise.

Sent forth; or since did from their ashes come.

These are as some infamous bawd or whore

Triumph, my Britain! Thou hast one to show

Should praise a matron. What could hurt her more?

To whom all scenes of Europe homage owe.

But thou art proof against them, and, indeed,

He was not of an age, but for all time!

Above the ill-fortune of them, or the need.

And all the Muses still were in their prime,

I, therefore, will begin. Soul of the age!

When, like Apollo, he came forth to warm

The applause, delight, the wonder of our stage,

Our ears, or, like a Mercury, to charm.

My Shakespeare, rise! I will not lodge thee by

Nature herself was proud of his designs,

Chaucer, or Spenser, or bid Beaumont lie

And joy’d to wear the dressing of his lines,

A little further, to make thee a room:

Which were so richly spun, and woven so fit

Thou art a monument without a tomb,

As, since, she will vouchsafe no other wit.

And art alive still, while thy book doth live,

The merry Greek, tart Aristophanes,

And we have wits to read, and praise to give.

Neat Terence, witty Plautus, now not please;

That I not mix thee so, my brain excuses;

But antiquated and deserted lie,

I mean, with great but disproportion’d Muses.

As they were not of Nature’s family.

For, if I thought my judgment were of years,

Yet must I not give Nature all! Thy art,

I should commit thee, surely, with thy peers.

My gentle Shakespeare, must enjoy a part.

88

British Literature Student wCB.indb 88

11/14/12 4:38 PM

For though the Poet’s matter Nature be

As brandish’d at the eyes of Ignorance.

His art doth give the fashion. And that he

Sweet Swan of Avon! what a sight it were

Who casts to write a living line, must sweat

To see thee in our water yet appear,

(Such as thine are), and strike the second heat

And make those flights upon the banks of Thames

Upon the Muses’ anvil, turn the same

That so did take Eliza, and our James!

(And himself with it), that he thinks to frame;

But stay, I see thee in the hemisphere

Or for the laurel he may gain a scorn!

Advanc’d, and made a constellation there!

For a good Poet’s made as well as born;

Shine forth, thou star of poets, and with rage

And such wert thou! Look how the father’s face

Or influence, chide, or cheer the drooping stage;

Lives in his issue; even so, the race

Which since thy flight from hence hath mourn’d like night,

Of Shakespeare’s mind and manners brightly shines In his well-turnèd and true-filèd lines;

And despairs day, but for thy volume’s light.

In each of which he seems to shake a lance

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 7-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.

Foils

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-B

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

A

She speaks forcefully for a woman’s right to divorce and for evenhanded justice for unhappy wives — though she herself is thoroughly wicked, denouncing the innocent Mariam for marital infidelity while she flaunts her illicit affairs and has two husbands killed when she is ready to replace them.

B

He is a wicked tyrant but he nonetheless deeply loves and reveres Mariam.

C

They judge Mariam by their own very conservative notion of a wife’s duty, that she owes entire subjection of mind and body to her husband.

___ 1

Chorus

___ 2

Salome

___ 3

Herod

89

British Literature Student wCB.indb 89

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

More Jonson Poems A Farewell to the World False world, good night! since thou hast brought

Where every freedom is betray’d,

That hour upon my morn of age;

And every goodness tax’d or grieved.

Henceforth I quit thee from my thought, My part is ended on thy stage.

But what we’re born for, we must bear: Our frail condition it is such

Yes, threaten, do. Alas! I fear

That what to all may happen here,

As little as I hope from thee:

If ’t chance to me, I must not grutch.

I know thou canst not show nor bear

Else I my state should much mistake

More hatred than thou hast to me.

To harbour a divided thought

My tender, first, and simple years

From all my kind — that, for my sake,

Thou didst abuse and then betray;

There should a miracle be wrought.

Since stir’d’st up jealousies and fears,

No, I do know that I was born

When all the causes were away.

To age, misfortune, sickness, grief:

Then in a soil hast planted me

But I will bear these with that scorn

Where breathe the basest of thy fools;

As shall not need thy false relief.

Where envious arts professèd be,

Nor for my peace will I go far,

And pride and ignorance the schools;

As wanderers do, that still do roam;

Where nothing is examined, weigh’d,

But make my strengths, such as they are,

But as ’tis rumour’d, so believed;

Here in my bosom, and at home.

The Noble Nature It is not growing like a tree

Is fairer far in May,

In bulk, doth make Man better be;

Although it fall and die that night —

Or standing long an oak, three hundred year,

It was the plant and flower of Light

To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere:

In small proportions we just beauties see;

A lily of a day

And in short measures life may perfect be.

90

British Literature Student wCB.indb 90

11/14/12 4:38 PM

A Hymn on the Nativity of My Savior I sing the birth was born tonight, The Author both of life and light; The angels so did sound it, And like the ravished shepherds said, Who saw the light, and were afraid, Yet searched, and true they found it. The Son of God, the eternal King, That did us all salvation bring, And freed the soul from danger; He whom the whole world could not take, The Word, which heaven and earth did make, Was now laid in a manger. The Father’s wisdom willed it so, The Son’s obedience knew no “No,” Both wills were in one stature; And as that wisdom had decreed, The Word was now made Flesh indeed, And took on Him our nature. What comfort by Him do we win? Who made Himself the Prince of sin, To make us heirs of glory? To see this Babe, all innocence, A Martyr born in our defense, Can man forget this story?

91

British Literature Student wCB.indb 91

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-C

Read “On My First Son” by Ben Jonson, and respond to the following: Farewell, thou child of my right hand, and joy; My sin was too much hope of thee, lov’d boy. Seven years tho’ wert lent to me, and I thee pay, Exacted by thy fate, on the just day. O, could I lose all father now! For why Will man lament the state he should envy? To have so soon ’scap’d world’s and flesh’s rage, And if no other misery, yet age? Rest in soft peace, and, ask’d, say, “Here doth lie Ben Jonson his best piece of poetry.” For whose sake henceforth all his vows be such, As what he loves may never like too much.

1

To whom is Jonson speaking?

2

What does this line mean? “For why/Will man lament the state he should envy.”

3

To what metaphor does Jonson compare his son?

92

British Literature Student wCB.indb 92

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

The Tragedy of Mariam, the Faire Queene of Jewry Elizabeth Cary (1585–1639) was born the daughter of Sir Laurence and Lady Elizabeth Tanfield. Even in her youth, it was obvious that she was an extraordinarily gifted writer. In 1602, Elizabeth married Sir Henry Cary in what was no doubt a marriage arranged by her parents. Nonetheless, Elizabeth apparently was quite fond of her husband in spite of their religious differences. Sir Henry was a fervent Protestant; Elizabeth was a closet Catholic. This religious tension hurt her relationship with the Elizabethan court and is evident in her writings. Lady Elizabeth Cary’s most famous work was “The Tragedy of Mariam,” written around 1602–1604 but not published until 1613. It was the first play by an Englishwoman ever to be published. Cary bases her play on the biblical story of evil King Herod and his wife Mariam. Many feel that she based it on the Jewish historian Josephus’ Antiquities of the Jews.

From Act 3, Scene 3 (On the Duties of a Wife) CHORUS: “Tis not enough for one that is a wife

When to their husbands they themselves do bind,

To keep her spotless from an act of ill:

Do they not wholly give themselves away?

But from suspicion she should free her life,

Or give they but their body, not their mind,

And bare herself of power as well as will.

Reserving that, though best, for others’ prey?

‘Tis not so glorious for her to be free.

No sure, their thoughts no more can be their own,

As by her proper self restrained to be.

And therefore should to none but one be known.

When she hath spacious ground to walk upon,

Then she usurps upon another’s right,

Why on the ridge should she desire to go?

That seeks to be by public language graced:

It is no glory to forbear alone

And though her thoughts reflect with purest light,

Those things that may her honor overthrow.

Her mind if not peculiar is not chaste.

But ‘tis thankworthy if she will not take

For in a wife it is no worse to find,

All lawful liberties for honor’s sake.

A common body than a common mind.

That wife her hand against her fame cloth rear,

And every mind, though free from thought of ill,

That more than to her lord alone will give

That out of glory seeks a worth to show,

A private word to any second ear,

When any’s ears but one therewith they fill,

And though she may with reputation live,

Doth in a sort her pureness overthrow.

Yet though most chaste, she doth her glory blot,

Now Mariam had (but that to this she bent)

And wounds her honor, though she kills it not.

Been free from fear, as well as innocent.

Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, p.49–51; athena.english.vt.edu/.

93

British Literature Student wCB.indb 93

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

Setting:

Tone: Maudlin

Plot:

94

British Literature Student wCB.indb 94

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Essays Francis Bacon Background

Was Francis Bacon a medieval man or a modern man? Bacon represents in broad relief the tensions of Elizabethan England. He was a scientist (most agree a “second-rate” scientist), a writer, and a philosopher. Philosophically, Bacon sought to purge the mind of what he called “idols,” or a disposition to error. These came from human nature (“idols of the tribe”), from individual temperament and experience (“idols of the cave”), from language (“idols of the marketplace”), and from false philosophies (“idols of the theater”). Of earlier philosophers, he particularly criticized Aristotle. Within the writings of Plato, Bacon found a kindred spirit. Aristotle, with his propensity toward celebration of the human spirit over the power of the cosmology, greatly offended Bacon. As you read Essays, find evidence of these tensions.

From “Of Wisdom for a Man’s Self” An ant is a wise creature for itself, but it is a shrewd thing in an orchard or garden. And certainly men that are great lovers of themselves waste the public. Divide with reason between self-love and society; and be so true to thyself, as thou be not false to others; specially to thy king and country. It is a poor centre of a man’s actions, himself. It is right earth. For that only stands fast upon his own centre; whereas all things that have affinity with the heavens move upon the centre of another, which they benefit. The referring of all to a man’s self is more tolerable in a sovereign prince; because themselves are not only themselves but their good and evil is at the peril of the public fortune. But it is a desperate evil in a servant to a prince, or a citizen in a republic. For whatsoever affairs pass such a man’s hands, he crooketh them to his own ends; which must needs be often eccentric to the ends of his master or state. Therefore let princes, or states, choose such servants as have not this mark; except they mean their service should be made but the accessory. That which maketh the effect more pernicious is that all proportion is lost. It were disproportion enough for the servant’s good to be preferred before the master’s; but yet it is a greater extreme, when a little good of the servant shall carry things against a great good of the master’s. And yet that is the case of bad officers,

British Literature Student wCB.indb 95

treasurers, ambassadors, generals, and other false and corrupt servants; which set a bias upon their bowl, of their own petty ends and envies, to the overthrow of their master’s great and important affairs. And for the most part, the good such servants receive is after the model of their own fortune; but the hurt they sell for that good is after the model of their master’s fortune. And certainly it is the nature of extreme self-lovers, as they will set an house on fire, and it were but to roast their eggs; and yet these men many times hold credit with their masters, because their study is but to please them and profit themselves; and for either respect they will abandon the good of their affairs. Wisdom for a man’s self is, in many branches thereof, a depraved thing. It is the wisdom of rats, that will be sure to leave a house somewhat before it fall. It is the wisdom of the fox, that thrusts out the badger, who digged and made room for him. It is the wisdom of crocodiles, that shed tears when they could devour. But that which is specially to be noted is, that those which (as Cicero says of Pompey) are sui amantes, sine rivali [lovers of themselves without a rival] are many times unfortunate. 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 (www.gutenberg.org/).

95

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 7-E

Read the following excerpt “Of Atheism” by Francis Bacon, and respond to the following: I had rather believe all the fables in the Legend, and the Talmud, and the Alcoran, than that this universal frame is without a mind. And therefore, God never wrought miracle, to convince atheism, because his ordinary works convince it. It is true, that a little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism; but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion. For while the mind of man looketh upon second causes scattered, it may sometimes rest in them, and go no further; but when it beholdeth the chain of them, confederate and linked together, it must needs fly to Providence and Deity. Nay, even that school which is most accused of atheism doth most demonstrate religion. . . . For it is a thousand times more credible, that four mutable elements, and one immutable fifth essence, duly and eternally placed, need no God, than that an army of infinite small portions, or seeds unplaced, should have produced this order and beauty, without a divine marshal. The Scripture saith, The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God; it is not said, The fool hath thought in his heart; so as he rather saith it, by rote to himself, as that he would have, than that he can thoroughly believe it, or be persuaded of it. For none deny, there is a God, but those, for whom it maketh that there were no God. It appeareth in nothing more, that atheism is rather in the lip, than in the heart of man, than by this; that atheists will ever be talking of that their opinion, as if they fainted in it, within themselves, and would be glad to be strengthened, by the consent of others. Nay more, you shall have atheists strive to get disciples, as it fareth with other sects. And, which is most of all, you shall have of them, that will suffer for atheism, and not recant; whereas if they did truly think, that there were no such thing as God, why should they trouble themselves? Epicurus is charged, that he did but dissemble for his credit’s sake, when he affirmed there were blessed natures, but such as enjoyed themselves, without having respect to the government of the world. Wherein they say he did temporize; though in secret, he thought there was no God.

1

What does Bacon mean, “Nay, even that school which is most accused of atheism doth most demonstrate religion?”

2

To Bacon, who are the fools?

96

British Literature Student wCB.indb 96

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 8 we continue

our discussion of the Elizabethan Age with a study of “Dr. Faustus” by Christopher Marlowe, poetry by a talented woman poet Mary Sidney Herbert, and the King James Bible. 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 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review “Go and Catch a Falling Star,” “Holy Sonnet IX,” “Holy Sonnet XIV,” and “Meditation XVII,” by John Donne.

97

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

British Literature Student wCB.indb 97

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Marlowe’s Mighty Line BACKGROUND

Christopher Marlowe’s life tragically ended in 1593 when he was 29, yet in his short life Marlowe became one of the preeminent Elizabethan dramatists — even considering he was a contemporary of William Shakespeare! When he began to write, English drama was crude and uninspiring. Marlowe, and then Shakespeare, transformed English drama into the most inspiring example of its genre in Western civilization. Marlowe’s writing style is often called “Marlowe’s mighty line.” That phrase was coined by Ben Jonson in a poetic tribute he wrote, not to Marlowe, but to Shakespeare. Jonson preferred Shakespeare’s subtlety to Marlowe’s overt manner. When Dr. Faust speaks of power, for instance, he boasts of command over “all things that move between the quiet poles,” dominion that stretcheth as far as doth the mind of man.” This is an example of hyperbole (exaggeration). Here are three more examples of “Marlowe’s mighty line” in “Dr. Faustus.” Marlowe describes a pearl as an “orient pearl.” Marlowe’s giants are not merely large, they are “Lapland giants,” huge, creatures from the frozen north who come running, with smoke on their breath, to obey a magician’s commands. He imagines spirits who will “ransack the ocean” floor and “search all corners of the new-found world” for treasure.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 8-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 8.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-A

Read “Doctor Faustus,” Act I, Scene I, by Marlowe, respond to the following:

1

Who is this Faustus? What kind of choice is he about to make?

2

What does Marlowe say about Providence?

3

What does this line mean, “Here, Faustus, tire thy brains to gain a deity?”

98

British Literature Student wCB.indb 98

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

The Tragic Hero Faust is a tragic hero. A tragic hero self-destructs in the narrative of which he is a part.

At first Faust enjoys his new power.

Dr. John Faustus, the renowned scholar of Wittenberg, has closeted himself in his study to decide his future career. He is unhappy.

Things do not turn out the way he had hoped.

Faustus is led away to hell.

Mephistophilis offers Faust riches and fame for his eternal soul.

99

British Literature Student wCB.indb 99

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 8-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.

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.

Doctor Faustus

100

British Literature Student wCB.indb 100

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Mary Sidney Herbert Mary Sidney Herbert, Countess of Pembroke (1563–1621) was the first English woman to achieve a significant literary reputation. Unlike most early modern women writers, Lady Pembroke never apologizes for or even mentions her role as a woman writer. She was inspired by her poet brother Philip Sidney (although many think her poems better than her brother’s). Her “Psalmes” influenced 17th-century writers including George Herbert and John Donne.

To the Thrice-Sacred Queen Elizabeth Even now that care which on thy crown attends

The poorer left, the richer rest away,

And with thy happy greatness daily grows

Who better might (O might, ah word of woe)

Tells me, thrice-sacred Queen, my muse offends,

Have given for me what I for him defray.

And of respect to thee the line out goes. One instant will or willing can she lose I say not reading, but receiving rhymes, On whom in chief dependeth to dispose What Europe acts in these most active times?

How can I name whom sighing signs extend, And not unstop my tears eternal spring? But he did warp, I weaved this web to end; The stuff not ours, our work no curious thing, Wherein yet well we thought the Psalmist King

Yet dare I so, as humbleness may dare,

How English denizened, though Hebrew born.

Cherish some hope they shall acceptance find;

Would to thy music undispleased sing,

Now weighing less thy state, lighter thy care,

Oft having worse, without repining worn;

But knowing more thy grace, abler thy mind. What heavenly powers thee highest throne assigned, Assigned thee goodness suiting that degree, And by thy strength thy burthen so designed, To others toil is exercise to thee.

And I the cloth in both our names present, A livery robe to be bestowed by thee; Small parcel of the undischarged rent, From which no pains nor payments can us free. And yet enough to cause our neighbors see

Cares though still great, cannot be greatest still,

We will our best, though scanted in our will;

Business must ebb, though leisure never flow;

And those nigh fields where sown they favors be

Then these the posts of duty and goodwill

Unwealthy do, not else unworthy till.

Shall press to offer what their senders owe. Which once in two, now in one subject go,

For in our work what bring we but thine own? What English is, by many names is thine,

101

British Literature Student wCB.indb 101

11/14/12 4:38 PM

There humble laurels in thy shadows grown

He with great conquest, thou with greater blessed;

To garland others would themselves repine.

Thou sure to win, and he secure to lose.

Thy breast the cabinet, thy seat the shrine, Where muses hang their vowed memories;

Thus hand in hand with him thy glories walk;

Where wit, where art, where all that is divine

But who can trace them where alone they go?

Conceived best, and best defended lies.

Of thee who hemispheres on honor talk,

Which if men did not (as they do) confess, And wronging worlds would otherwise consent, Yet here who minds so meet a patroness For authors’ state or writings’ argument? A King should only to a Queen be sent;

And lands and seas thy trophies jointly show. The very winds did on thy party blow, And rocks in arms thy foemen eft defy. But soft, my muse, thy pitch is earthly love; Forbear this heaven where only eagles fly.

God’s loved choice unto his chosen love;

Kings on a Queen enforced their states to lay,

Devotion to devotion’s president;

Mainlands for empire waiting on an isle;

What all applaud, to her whom none reprove.

Men drawn by worth a woman to obey;

And who sees ought, but sees how justly square His haughty ditties to thy glorious days? How well beseeming thee his triumphs are? His hope, his zeal, his prayer, plaint, and praise, Needless thy person to their height to raise;

One moving all, herself unmoved the while; Truth’s restitution, vanity exile, Wealth sprung of want, war held without annoy? Let subject be of some inspired style, Till then the object of her subjects’ joy.

Less need to bend them down to thy degree;

Thy utmost can but offer to her sight

Some holy garments each good soul assays,

Her handmaids’ task, which most her will endears;

Some sorting all, all sort to none but thee.

And pray unto thy pains life from that light

For even thy rule is painted in his reign; Both clear in right; both nigh by wrong oppressed; And each at length (man crossing God in vain) Possessed of place, and each in peace possessed. Proud Philistines did interrupt his rest,

Which lively light some, court and kingdom cheers, What wish she may (far past her living peers And rival still to Judah’s faithful king) In more than he and more triumphant years, Sing what God doth, and do what men may sing.

The foes of heaven no less have been thy foes;

Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, p. 30; athena.english.vt.edu/.

102

British Literature Student wCB.indb 102

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 8-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Theme

Ambition

Plot Support “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.

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-C

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

103

British Literature Student wCB.indb 103

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Psalm 58 Mary Sidney Herbert And call ye this to utter what is just

So let them sink as water in the sand.

You that of justice hold the sovereign throne?

When deadly bow their aiming fury draws,

And call ye this, to yield, O sons of dust,

Shiver the shaft ere past the shooter’s hand.

To wronged brethren every man his own?

So make them melt as the dishoused snail,

O no! It is your long malicious will

Or as the embryo whose vital band

Now to the world to make by practice known

Breaks ere it holds, and formless eyes do fail

With whose oppression you the balance fill:

To see the sun, though brought to lightful land.

Just to yourselves, indifferent else to none.

O let their brood, a brood of springing thorns,

But what could they, who even in birth declined

Be by untimely rooting overthrown;

From truth and right to lies and injuries?

Ere bushes waxed, they push with pricking horns,

To show the venom of their cankered mind

As fruits yet green are oft by tempest blown.

The adder’s image scarcely can suffice;

The good with gladness this revenge shall see

Nay, scarce the aspic may with them contend,

And bathe his feet in blood of wicked one

On whom the charmer all in vain applies

While all shall say, “The just rewarded be;

His skillful’st spells, aye missing of his end,

There is a God that carves to each his own.”

While she, self-deaf and unaffected, lies. Lord, crack their teeth! Lord, crush these lions’ jaws! Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, p. 33; http://athena.english.vt.edu/.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 8-D.

•

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

104

British Literature Student wCB.indb 104

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Meditative Psalm

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-D

Meditative psalms were very popular among English common people. They were ways for poets and pastors respectfully to interpret biblical passages to common people. These meditations would be what we would call homilies. It would be similar to contemporary interpretations of Scripture (e.g., The Living Bible). Donne and Herbert were masters at this genre — but in this author’s opinion, their ability pales in the light of Lady Pembroke. The meditative psalm would be very similar to some of the sacred lyrics that Isaac Watts wrote 200 years later. 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?

Herbert uses several vitriolic metaphors to invite God’s judgment on despicable rulers. Give two.

105

British Literature Student wCB.indb 105

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

The English Bible King James Version BACKGROUND

The world as we know it is deeply indebted to the Bible. In fact, it is fair to say that the foundations of modern Western culture evolved from its pages. For over 1,000 years the Bible has influenced the greatest English writers. As you remember, the first Anglo-Saxon singer/writer Caedmon sang the stories of the Bible in his histories. The total effect of the Bible on later generations is incalculable. No part of our lives remains untouched by the Bible. But in its original versions, Greek and Hebrew, and in its early translations, such as Latin, most Englishmen could not read the Bible. This was tolerable in pre-Reformation England because Catholicism jealously reserved its Scripture for the clergy alone. But with the Reformation and its emphasis on the priesthood of all believers, the Bible needed to be read by all. It surprised no one, then, when King James I, in 1604, asked 54 scholars to translate the Bible into the King’s English. The world has never been the same. The great Christian scholar Dr. Bruce Metzger, professor emeritus of Princeton Theological Seminary, chairman of the translation committee for the New Revised Standard Version (1990) writes: I read it [the Bible] and I am inspired by the Frontispiece to the King James’ Bible, 1611, shows the Twelve Apostles at inspired words of the writers. I also find it the top. Moses and Aaron flank the central text. In the four corners sit Matinteresting as literature. It is productive for thew, Mark, Luke, and John, authors of the four gospels, with their symbolic animals. At the top, over the Holy Spirit in a form of a dove, 1611 (PD-US). life, for the church, for the individual believer. I thank God that I am still able to study its passages. As long as I am able, I want to follow a motto that is found in a 1734 edition of the Greek New Testament: “Apply yourself totally to the text; apply the text totally to yourself ” (In Christian History, issue 43, vol. 13, no. 3, p. 40).

106

British Literature Student wCB.indb 106

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite Bible verse?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 8-E.

•

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

The King James Bible

CONCEPT BUILDER 8-E

Match the following types of literature in the Bible.

___ 1

The song: a rhythmic, often poetic verse poem.

___ 2

The ode: A verse poem that extols a deity or great person.

___ 3

The elegy: A verse poem that expresses grief.

___ 4

Meditative poetry: Verse that interprets a problem or issue.

A

Captives weeping by the rivers of Babylon in Psalm 137

B

Deborah’s song in Judges 5:3–31

C

Psalm 1

D

Psalm 40

107

British Literature Student wCB.indb 107

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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!

108

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 of the Teacher Guide.

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

British Literature Student wCB.indb 108

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Margaret Lucas Cavendish Duchess of Newcastle Margaret Lucas Cavendish (1623–1673), Duchess of Newcastle, was a Royalist during the English Civil War. She met and married William Cavendish, a leader of the Royalist forces and 30 years her senior. They lived on the Continent during the reign of Cromwell. At a time when it was considered bold for women to produce even the tamest of compositions, “the crazy duchess” tried to combine metaphysical poetry with scientific speculation, philosophical meditation with fanciful fantasizing (Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, p. 93). Like her American contemporary Anne Bradstreet, Lady Cavendish loved to write about ordinary subjects. She even speculated on the meaning of femininity, exhibiting the “unusually sophisticated acknowledgment of the complex problems posed by woman’s cultural situation.” Both Cavendish and Bradstreet expressed the “anxieties authorship instilled.” Cavendish was the first aristocratic woman in England continually to remind her readers that she is a woman and that she writes about issues from a woman’s perspective.

An Excuse for So Much Writ upon My Verses Condemne me not for making such a coyle About my Book, alas it is my Childe. Just like a Bird, when her Young are in Nest, Goes in, and out, and hops and takes no Rest; But when their Young are fledg’d, their heads out peep, Lord what a chirping does the Old one keep. So I, for feare my Strengthlesse Childe should fall Against a doore, or stoole, aloud I call, Bid have a care of such a dangerous place: Thus write I much, to hinder all disgrace. (Ibid., p. 94).

109

British Literature Student wCB.indb 109

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 9-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 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:

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-A

An Excuse for So Much Writ upon My Verses Condemne me not for making such a coyle About my Book, alas it is my Childe. Just like a Bird, when her Young are in Nest, Goes in, and out, and hops and takes no Rest; But when their Young are fledg’d, their heads out peep, Lord what a chirping does the Old one keep. So I, for feare my Strengthlesse Childe should fall Against a doore, or stoole, aloud I call, Bid have a care of such a dangerous place: Thus write I much, to hinder all disgrace.

1

To what is Cavendish comparing her book?

2

What literary device is this?

3

What is her great fear?

110

British Literature Student wCB.indb 110

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

John Donne Background

No poet in the 17th century spoke so often and so eloquently about love as did John Donne. Donne’s love poetry was written over 400 years ago; yet, as A.J. Smith states, “It speaks to us as directly and urgently as if we overhear a present confidence. For instance, a lover who is about to board ship for a long voyage turns back to share a last intimacy with his wife: ‘Here take my picture’ (Elegy 5). Two lovers who have turned their backs upon a threatening world in ‘The Good Morrow’ celebrate their discovery of a new world in each other: Let sea-discoverers to new worlds have gone, Let maps to others, worlds on worlds have shown, Let us possess one world, each hath one, and is one.”

(www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/john-donne).

Go and Catch a Falling Star Go and catch a falling star,

a

All strange wonders that befell thee,

Get with child a mandrake root,

b

And swear g

Tell me where all past years are,

a

Nowhere g

Or who cleft the devil’s foot,

b

Lives a woman true, and fair.

g

Teach me to hear mermaids singing,

c

Or to keep off envy’s stinging,

c

If thou find’st one, let me know;

h

And find d

Such a pilgrimage were sweet.

i

What wind d

Yet do not; I would not go

h

Serves to advance an honest mind.

Though at next door we might meet.

j

Though at next door we might meet.

j k

d

f

If thou be’st born to strange sights,

d

And last till you write your letter.

Things invisible to see,

e

Yet she l

Ride ten thousand days and nights

f

Will be, l

Till age snow white hairs on thee;

e

False, ere I come, to two or three.

l

Thou, when thou return’st, wilt tell me f (www.bartleby.com/40/169.html).

111

British Literature Student wCB.indb 111

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 9-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 “Go and Catch a Falling Star” by John Donne, and respond to the following:

1

“Go and catch a falling star” implies what?

2

What is more difficult to find than a falling star?

3

What will inevitably happen to this woman “true and fair?”

112

British Literature Student wCB.indb 112

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Holy Sonnet X John Donne Death, be not proud, though some have called thee Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow, Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me. From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be, Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow, And soonest our best men with thee do go, Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery. Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men, And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell; And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then? One short sleep past, we wake eternally, And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die. (www.netpoets.com/classic/poems/022033.htm).

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 9-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

113

British Literature Student wCB.indb 113

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Part of the house where John Donne lived in Pyrford. Photo by Suzanne Knights, 2007 (PD-US).

Christian Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-C

Identify two Christian themes in John Donne’s “Holy Sonnet X.”

Holy Sonnet X

114

British Literature Student wCB.indb 114

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Meditation XVII No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a man or of thy friend’s or of thine own were. Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. . . . If a man carry treasure in bullion or in a wedge of gold and have none coined into current money, his treasure will not defray him as he travels. Tribulation is treasure in the nature of it, but it is not current money in the use of it, except we get nearer and nearer our home, heaven, by it. 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 (www.online-literature.com/donne/409).

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 9-D.

•

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

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 9-D

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: Since she whom I loved hath paid her last debt To Nature, and to hers, and my good is dead, And her soul early into heaven ravishèd, Wholly on heavenly things my mind is set. Here the admiring her my mind did whet To seek thee, God; so streams do show the head; But though I have found thee, and thou my thirst hast fed, A holy thirsty dropsy melts me yet. But why should I beg more love, whenas thou Dost woo my soul, for hers offering all thine: And dost not only fear lest I allow My love to saints and angels, things divine, But in thy tender jealousy dost doubt Lest the world, flesh, yea, devil put thee out.

1

What is Donne’s reaction to his wife’s death?

2

What respectful complaint does Donne have against God?

115

British Literature Student wCB.indb 115

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Donne Across the Ages Professor A.J. Smith, University of Southampton (UK), remarks: John Donne’s standing as a great English poet, and one of the greatest writers of English prose, is now assured. However, it has been confirmed only in the present century. The history of Donne’s reputation is the most remarkable of any major writer in English; no other body of great poetry has fallen so far from favor for so long and been generally condemned as inept and crude. In Donne’s own day his poetry was highly prized among the small circle of his admirers, who read it as it was circulated in manuscript, and in his later years he gained wide fame as a preacher. For some thirty years after his death successive editions of his verse stamped his powerful influence upon English poets. During the Restoration his writing went out of fashion and remained so for several centuries. Throughout the eighteenth century, and for much of the nineteenth century, he was little read and scarcely appreciated. Commentators followed Samuel Johnson in dismissing his work as no more than frigidly ingenious and metrically uncouth. Some scribbled notes by Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Charles Lamb’s copy of Donne’s poems make a testimony of admiration rare in the early nineteenth century. Robert Browning became a known (and wondered-at) enthusiast of Donne, but it was not until the end of the nineteenth century that Donne’s poetry was eagerly taken up by a growing band of avant-garde readers and writers. His prose remained largely unnoticed until 1919. In the first two decades of the twentieth century Donne’s poetry was decisively rehabilitated. Its extraordinary appeal to modern readers throws light on the Modernist movement, as well as on our intuitive response to our own times. Donne may no longer be the cult figure he became in the 1920s and 1930s, when T.S. Eliot and William Butler Yeats, among others, discovered in his poetry the peculiar fusion of intellect and passion and the alert contemporariness which they aspired to in their own art. He is not a poet for all tastes and times; yet for many readers Donne remains what Ben Jonson judged him: “the first poet in the world in some things.” His poems continue to engage the attention and challenge the experience of readers who come to him afresh. His high place in the pantheon of the English poets now seems secure.

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?”

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 9-E.

•

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

116

British Literature Student wCB.indb 116

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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? No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a man or of thy friend’s or of thine own were. Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. . . . If a man carry treasure in bullion or in a wedge of gold and have none coined into current money, his treasure will not defray him as he travels. Tribulation is treasure in the nature of it, but it is not current money in the use of it, except we get nearer and nearer our home, heaven, by it. 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.

117

British Literature Student wCB.indb 117

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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, 17th-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).

118

Chapter Learning Objectives In chapter 10 we meet

some of the greatest poets in history: the metaphysical poets. We explore their anointed balance of the secular and sacred and their gifted way of presenting it in prose and verse. 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 of the Teacher Guide. 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. History connections: British History chapter 10, “The English Civil War.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 118

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Katherine Philips Katherine Fowler (1631–1667) was born on New Year’s Day in London, England. Her father, John Fowler, was a Presbyterian merchant. Katherine was married to 54-yearold James Philips. She was a Royalist; he supported Oliver Cromwell. This difference in their views is recorded in Katherine’s poetry. Katherine was the first English poet to participate openly in intellectual gatherings and clubs where she shared her own works and critiqued others.

To My Excellent Lucasia, on our friendship 7th July 65 I did not live untill this time

Which now inspires, cures and supply’s,

Crown’d my felicity,

And guides my darken’d brest:

When I could say without a crime

For thou art all that I can prize,

I am not Thine, but Thee.

My Joy, my Life, my rest.

This Carkasse breath’d and walk’d and slept,

No Bridegroomes nor crown’d conqu’rour’s mirth

So that the world believ’d

To mine compar’d can be:

There was a soule the motions kept;

They have but pieces of this Earth

But they were all deceiv’d.

I’ve all the World in thee.

For as a watch by art is wound

Then let our flames still light and shine

To motions such was mine:

(And no bold feare controule)

But never had Orinda found

As innocent as our designs

A Soule till she found thine;

Immortall as our Soule.

Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, p. 103.

119

British Literature Student wCB.indb 119

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 10-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 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?”

2

This friendship is greater than what other relationships?

3

Other friends “have but pieces of this Earth” but she has “all the World in thee.” What does she mean?

120

British Literature Student wCB.indb 120

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Richard Lovelace Background

In 1618, Richard Lovelace was born into an old and wealthy English family. He was the first-born son of Sir William Lovelace. His dad, Sir Lovelace, had served in the Low Countries (i.e., the Netherlands) against the Spanish and was killed in action in 1627. Lovelace barely knew his father, but his death nonetheless greatly affected him. He was educated at Charterhouse School and at Gloucester Hall, Oxford. He was handsome, witty, and much admired by his peers. He was a classic cavalier, a supporter of King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria. Lovelace took part in the King’s military expeditions to Scotland in 1639–1640. After the failure of the campaign, he withdrew to his estates in Kent, where he remained until 1642. In April 1642, Lovelace presented a Royalist petition to Parliament favoring the restoration of the Anglican bishops who had been excluded from the Long Parliament. He joined the royalist side in the English Civil War and found himself on the losing side when Cromwell, political leader of Puritanism, assumed power. Lovelace was imprisoned in Westminster Gatehouse from April 30 to June 21, 1642. While in prison, Lovelace wrote “To Althea, from Prison,” which includes the famous words: “Stone walls do not a prison make, / Nor iron bars a cage.” Lovelace died in poverty in 1658.

To Lucasta, on Going to the Wars Tell me not (Sweet,) I am unkind,

Yet this inconstancy is such

That from the nunnery

As you too shall adore;

Of thy chaste breast and quiet mind

I could not love thee, (Dear,) so much,

To war and arms I fly.

Lov’d I not Honour more.

True, a new mistress now I chase,

False, ere I come, to two or three.

The first foe in the field; And with a stronger faith embrace A sword, a horse, a shield. (www.bartleby.com/40/237.html).

121

British Literature Student wCB.indb 121

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 10-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.

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



122

British Literature Student wCB.indb 122

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

George Herbert George Herbert was born in Montgomery, Wales, on April 3, 1593, the fifth son of Richard and Magdalen Newport Herbert. After his father’s death in 1596, he and his six brothers and three sisters were reared by their godly mother. John Donne described Herbert’s mother: “Her house was a court in the conversation of the best.” Herbert was led to the Lord and into the priesthood by his mother. By the time of his death in 1633 Herbert was one of the best-known poets in England.

The Collar I struck the board, and cried, “No more!

Recover all thy sigh-blown age

I will abroad.

On double pleasures; leave thy cold dispute

What! shall I ever sigh and pine?

Of what is fit and not; forsake thy cage,

My lines and life are free; free as the road,

Thy rope of sands,

Loose as the wind, as large as store.

Which petty thoughts have made, and made to thee

Shall I be still in suit?

Good cable, to enforce and draw,

Have I no harvest but a thorn

And be thy law,

To let me blood, and not restore

While thou didst wink and wouldst not see.

What I have lost with cordial fruit?

Away! take heed;

Sure there was wine

I will abroad.

Before my sighs did dry it; there was corn

Call in thy death’s-head there; tie up thy fears;

Before my tears did drown it.

He that forbears

Is the year only lost to me?

To suit and serve his need

Have I no bays to crown it?

Deserves his load.”

No flowers, no garlands gay? all blasted?

But as I rav’d, and grew more fierce and wilde

All wasted?

At every word,

Not so, my heart; but there is fruit,

Me thoughts I heard one calling, “Child”;

And thou hast hands.

And I replied, “My Lord.”

(www.bartleby.com/40/221.html).

123

British Literature Student wCB.indb 123

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 10-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

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.’”

Metaphysical Conceits

124

British Literature Student wCB.indb 124

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Henry Vaughan Vaughan, a Christian believer, wrote much inspired religious poetry reminiscent of George Herbert’s writings. Vaughan’s poetry, full of metaphysical conceits, invites the reader to a serious reflection of his faith in Christ.

The Retreat Happy those early days! when I

But felt through all this fleshly dress

Shin’d in my angel-infancy.

Bright shoots of everlastingness.

Before I understood this place Appoint’d for my second race,

O how I long to travel back

Or taught my soul to fancy ought

And tread again that ancient track!

But a white, celestial thought,

That I might once more reach that plain,

When yet I had not walk’d above

Where first I left my glorious train,

A mile, or two, from my first love,

From whence th’enlightened spirit sees

And looking back (at that short space,)

That shady city of palm trees;

Could see a glimpse of his bright face;

But (ah!) my soul with too much stay

When on some gild’d cloud or flower

Is drunk, and staggers in the way.

My gazing soul would dwell an hour,

Some men a forward motion love,

And in those weaker glories spy

But I by backward steps would move,

Some shadows of eternity;

And when this dust falls to the urn

Before I taught my tongue to wound

In that state I came return.

My conscience with a sinful sound, Or had the black art to dispense A sev’ral sin to ev’ry sense, (www.bartleby.com/40/226.html).

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 10-D.

•

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

British Literature Student wCB.indb 125

125

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Read George Herbert’s “Easter Wings” and respond to the following:

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-D

Lord, Who createdst man in wealth and store, Though foolishly he lost the same, Decaying more and more, Till he became Most poore: With Thee O let me rise, As larks, harmoniously, And sing this day Thy victories: Then shall the fall further the flight in me. My tender age in sorrow did beginne; And still with sicknesses and shame Thou didst so punish sinne, That I became Most thinne. With Thee Let me combine, And feel this day Thy victorie; For, if I imp my wing on Thine, Affliction shall advance the flight in me. On a separate piece of paper, create a shaped poem about an object or concept that is important to you.

126

British Literature Student wCB.indb 126

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Robert Herrick BACKGROUND

Robert Herrick was one of the best poets of the 17th century. Herrick, an Anglican minister, was assigned to the country. At first he hated country life; eventually, though, he learned to love it. In the seclusion of country life, he wrote some of his best work. Of the 1,400 poems in the volume, the following poem is the only one Herrick ever published.

To the Virgins to Make Much of Time Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

That age is best which is the first,

Old Time is still a-flying:

When youth and blood are warmer;

And this same flower that smiles today

But being spent, the worse, and worst

Tomorrow will be dying.

Times, still succeed the former.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the Sun,

Then be not coy, but use your time;

The higher he’s a-getting The sooner will his race be run, And nearer he’s to setting.

And while ye may, go marry: For having lost but once your prime, You may forever tarry.

BACKGROUND

Born in 1621, Andrew Marvell was a preacher’s kid who represents the enigma that existed in the English Civil War literary scene. On one hand, Marvell had clear Royalist sympathies, but he also served as a tutor at a country estate of one of Cromwell’s strongest supporters. He wrote more prose than poetry, but most critics agree that his poetry was far superior. He died in 1678.

Bermudas Where the remote Bermudas ride

Where he the huge sea-monsters wracks,

In th’ ocean’s bosom unespy’d,

That lift the deep upon their backs,

From a small boat, that row’d along,

He lands us on a grassy stage,

The list’ning winds receiv’d this song:

Safe from the storm’s and prelates’ rage.

“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?

He gave us this eternal spring Which here enamels everything, And sends the fowls to us in care, On daily visits through the air. He hangs in shades the orange bright, Statue of the poet Andrew Marvell, located in King Street, Hull, UK. Photo by Oliver Brown, 2007 (CC BY-SA 3.0).

British Literature Student wCB.indb 127

127

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Like golden lamps in a green night;

The Gospel’s pearl upon our coast,

And does in the pomegranates close

And in these rocks for us did frame

Jewels more rich than Ormus shows.

A temple, where to sound his name.

He makes the figs our mouths to meet

Oh let our voice his praise exalt,

And throws the melons at our feet,

Till it arrive at heaven’s vault;

But apples plants of such a price,

Which thence (perhaps) rebounding, may

No tree could ever bear them twice.

Echo beyond the Mexico Bay.”

With cedars, chosen by his hand, From Lebanon, he stores the land,

Thus sung they in the English boat

And makes the hollow seas that roar

An holy and a cheerful note,

Proclaim the ambergris on shore.

And all the way, to guide their chime,

He cast (of which we rather boast)

With falling oars they kept the time.

To His Coy Mistress Had we but world enough, and time,

Deserts of vast eternity.

This coyness, Lady, were no crime.

Thy beauty shall no more be found,

We would sit down and think which way

Nor, in thy marble vault, shall sound

To walk, and pass our long love’s day;

My echoing song; then worms shall try

Thou by the Indian Ganges’ side

That long preserv’d virginity,

Shouldst rubies find; I by the tide

And your quaint honour turn to dust,

Of Humber would complain. I would

And into ashes all my lust.

Love you ten years before the Flood;

The grave’s a fine and private place,

And you should, if you please, refuse

But none I think do there embrace.

Till the conversion of the Jews.

Now therefore, while the youthful hue

My vegetable love should grow

Sits on thy skin like morning dew,

Vaster than empires, and more slow.

And while thy willing soul transpires

An hundred years should go to praise

At every pore with instant fires,

Thine eyes, and on thy forehead gaze;

Now let us sport us while we may;

Two hundred to adore each breast,

And now, like am’rous birds of prey,

But thirty thousand to the rest;

Rather at once our time devour,

An age at least to every part,

Than languish in his slow-chapp’d power.

And the last age should show your heart.

Let us roll all our strength, and all

For, Lady, you deserve this state,

Our sweetness, up into one ball;

Nor would I love at lower rate.

And tear our pleasures with rough strife

But at my back I always hear

Thorough the iron gates of life.

Time’s winged chariot hurrying near;

Thus, though we cannot make our sun

And yonder all before us lie

Stand still, yet we will make him run!

(eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem1386.html).

128

British Literature Student wCB.indb 128

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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,

Theme

CONCEPT BUILDER 10-E

That lift the deep upon their backs, He lands us on a grassy stage,

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?

129

British Literature Student wCB.indb 129

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Chapter 11

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.”

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

Chapter Learning Objectives In chapter 11 we meet

one of the most talented and godly poets of all time: John Milton. We examine several of his poems that span most of his life.

130

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 poem (especially “Sonnet IX”).

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review Paradise Lost by John Milton. History connections: British History chapter 11, “The Commonwealth.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 130

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

John Milton Background

The English poet John Milton is one of the major figures of Western literature. His Christian epic Paradise Lost assures his stature as the finest non-dramatic poet of the Renaissance, the worthy successor to Homer, Virgil, Dante, and Tasso. Some authors struggle to receive family approval. Not John Milton. He was born on December 9, 1608, into a prosperous London family that recognized and encouraged his remarkable writing gifts. His father, an accomplished musician, provided private tutors and sent him to Saint Paul’s School in London so that even before he matriculated (1625) at Cambridge University, Milton was proficient in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Milton’s published works included a brief tribute to Shakespeare. In 1645, during the English Civil War, he published Poems of Mr. John Milton. The volume was largely ignored, although it contained the extraordinary “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso.” In 1649, during the trial of Charles I, Milton wrote Of the Tenure of Kings and Magistrates, a republican argument that monarchs can rule only with their subjects’ consent. He then became secretary to the council of state under Oliver Cromwell and was entrusted with writing in Latin a defense of the execution of the king, Eikonoklastes (The Image Breakers), in 1649. That proved to be the last major writing project he undertook before he went blind.

In 1652 he became completely blind and was tempted, as he confessed in the moving sonnet “When I Consider How My Light Is Spent,” to despair of ever accomplishing his life’s work. However, the best was yet to come. Paradise Lost, published in 1667, stands with Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales and Spenser’s The Faerie Queene as the greatest of Englishlanguage epics. It was followed four years later by Paradise Regained, a “brief epic” that dramatizes the Fall of man and the triumph of Jesus Christ over the devil. With Paradise Lost, this work holds out the possibility of recovering a “paradise within” by faith in Jesus Christ. In the last work published in his lifetime, Samson Agonistes, Milton recast a biblical folktale into classical tragic form, bestowing on the figure of Samson a moral stature that dignifies his violent revenge on the Philistines. He died, probably of complications arising from gout, on November 8, 1674. Milton remains one of the greatest saints and writers of the 17th century.

131

British Literature Student wCB.indb 131

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 11-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 11.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-A

Read “On His Blindness” by John Milton, and respond to the following: When I consider how my light is spent 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 My true account, lest he returning chide, “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?” I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent 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.”

1

What is the basis of Milton’s frustration?

2

What is Milton’s response?

www.bartleby.com/101/318.html.

132

British Literature Student wCB.indb 132

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

O Nightingale O nightingale that on yon bloomy spray

Have linked that amorous power to thy soft lay,

Warbl’st at eve, when all the woods are still,

Now timely sing, ere the rude bird of hate

Thou with fresh hope the lover’s heart dost fill,

Foretell my hopeless doom, in some grove nigh;

While the jolly hours lead on propitious May.

As thou from year to year hast sung too late

Thy liquid notes that close the eye of day,

For my relief, yet hadst no reason why.

First heard before the shallow cuckoo’s bill,

Whether the Muse or Love call thee his mate,

Portend success in love. O, if Jove’s will

Both them I serve, and of their train am I.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 11-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.

Figurative Language

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-B

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

___ 1

Personification/Metaphor

___ 2

Paradox

___ 3

Alliteration

___ 4

Metaphor

A

Though my soul more bent / To serve therewith my Maker (lines 3–4)

B

The author compares his soul to his mind — my days in this dark world and wide (line 2).

C

But Patience, to prevent / That murmur, soon replies (lines 8–9)

D

They also serve who only stand and wait

133

British Literature Student wCB.indb 133

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Blindness How Soon Hath Time How soon hath Time, the subtle thief of youth,

That some more timely-happy spirits endu’th.

Stol’n on his wing my three-and-twentieth year!

Yet it be less or more, or soon or slow,

My hasting days fly on with full career,

It shall be still in strictest measure ev’n

But my late spring no bud or blossom shew’th.

To that same lot, however mean or high,

Perhaps my semblance might deceive the truth

Toward which Time leads me, and the will of Heav’n:

That I to manhood am arriv’d so near;

All is, if I have grace to use it so

And inward ripeness doth much less appear,

As ever in my great Task-Master’s eye.

To a Virtuous Young Lady Lady! that in the prime of earliest youth

No anger find in thee, but pity and ruth.

Wisely hath shunned the broad way and the green,

Thy care is fixed, and zealously attends

And with those few art eminently seen

To fill thy odorous lamp with deeds of light,

That labour up the hill of heavenly Truth;

And hope that reaps not shame. Therefore be sure

The better part with Mary and with Ruth

Thou, when the Bridegroom with his feastful friends

Chosen thou hast; and they that overween,

Passes to bliss at the mid-hour of night,

And at thy growing virtues fret their spleen,

Hast gained thy entrance, Virgin wise and pure.

When I Consider How My Light Is Spent When I consider how my light is spent

I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent

Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,

That murmur, soon replies: “God doth not need

And that one talent which is death to hide

Either man’s work or his own gifts: who best

Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed

My true account, lest he returning chide,”

And post over land and ocean without repose:

Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?”

They also serve who only stand and wait.”

(www.bartleby.com/l).

134

British Literature Student wCB.indb 134

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 11-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Those Who Wait

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-C

•

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:

Example 2:

135

British Literature Student wCB.indb 135

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

L’Allegro Hence loathèd Melancholy

And love to live in dimple sleek;

Of Cerberus and blackest midnight born,

Sport that wrincled Care derides,

In Stygian Cave forlorn

And Laughter holding both his sides.

’Mongst horrid shapes, and shreiks, and sights unholy.

Com, and trip it as ye go

Find out som uncouth cell,

And in thy right hand lead with thee,

Where brooding darknes spreads his jealous wings, And the night-Raven sings; There, under Ebon shades, and low-brow’d Rocks, As ragged as thy Locks, In dark Cimmerian desert ever dwell. But com thou Goddes fair and free, In Heav’n ycleap’d Euphrosyne, And by men, heart-easing Mirth, Whom lovely Venus, at a birth With two sister Graces more To Ivy-crownèd Bacchus bore; Or whether (as som Sager sing) The frolick Wind that breathes the Spring, Zephir with Aurora playing, As he met her once a Maying, There on Beds of Violets blew, And fresh-blown Roses washt in dew, Fill’d her with thee a daughter fair, So bucksom, blith, and debonair. Haste thee nymph, and bring with thee Jest and youthful Jollity, Quips and Cranks, and wanton Wiles, Nods, and Becks, and Wreathèd Smiles, Such as hang on Hebe’s cheek,

On the light fantastick toe, The Mountain Nymph, sweet Liberty; And if I give thee honour due, Mirth, admit me of thy cruel To live with her, and live with thee, In unreprovèd pleasures free; To hear the Lark begin his flight, And singing startle the dull night, From his watch-towre in the skies, Till the dappled dawn doth rise; Then to com in spight of sorrow, And at my window bid good morrow, Through the Sweet-Briar, or the Vine, Or the twisted Eglantine. While the Cock with lively din, Scatters the rear of darknes thin, And to the stack, or the Barn dore, Stoutly struts his Dames before, Oft list’ning how the Hounds and horn Chearly rouse the slumbring morn, From the side of som Hoar Hill, Through the high wood echoing shrill. Som time walking not unseen By Hedge-row Elms, on Hillocks green, Right against the Eastern gate,

136

British Literature Student wCB.indb 136

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Wher the great Sun begins his state,

On a Sunshine Holyday,

Rob’d in flames, and Amber light,

Till the live-long day-light fail,

The clouds in thousand Liveries dight.

Then to the Spicy Nut-brown Ale,

While the Plowman neer at hand,

With stories told of many a feat,

Whistles ore the Furrow’d Land,

How Faery Mab the junkets eat,

And the Milkmaid singeth blithe,

She was pincht, and pull’d the sed,

And the Mower whets his sithe,

And he by Friars Lanthorn led

And every Shepherd tells his tale

Tells how the drudging Goblin swet,

Under the Hawthorn in the dale.

To ern his Cream-bowle duly set,

Streit mine eye hath caught new pleasures

When in one night, ere glimps of morn,

Whilst the Lantskip round it measures,

His shadowy Flale hath thresh’d the Corn

Russet Lawns, and Fallows Gray,

That ten day-labourers could not end,

Where the nibling flocks do stray,

Then lies him down the Lubbar Fend,

Mountains on whose barren brest

And stretch’d out all the Chimney’s length,

The labouring clouds do often rest:

Basks at the fire his hairy strength;

Meadows trim with Daisies pide,

And Crop-full out of dores he flings,

Shallow Brooks, and Rivers wide.

Ere the first Cock his Mattin rings.

Towers, and Battlements it sees

Thus don the Tales, to bed they creep,

Boosom’d high in tufted Trees,

By whispering Windes soon lull’d asleep.

Wher perhaps som beauty lies,

Towred Cities please us then,

The Cynosure of neighbouring eyes.

And the busie humm of men,

Hard by, a Cottage chimney smokes,

Where throngs of Knights and Barons bold,

From betwixt two agèd Okes,

In weeds of Peace high triumphs hold,

Where Corydon and Thyrsis met,

With store of Ladies, whose bright eies

Are at their savory dinner set

Rain influence, and judge the prise

Of Hearbs, and other Country Messes,

Of Wit, or Arms, while both contend

Which the neat-handed Phillis dresses;

To win her Grace, whom all commend.

And then in haste her Bowre she leaves,

There let Hymen oft appear

With Thestylis to bind the Sheaves;

In Saffron robe, with Taper clear,

Or if the earlier season lead

And pomp, and feast, and revelry,

To the tann’d Haycock in the Mead,

With mask, and antique Pageantry,

Som times with secure delight

Such sights as youthfull Poets dream

The up-land Hamlets will invite,

On Summer eeves by haunted stream.

When the merry Bells ring round,

Then to the well-trod stage anon,

And the jocond rebecks sound

If Jonsons learnèd Sock be on,

To many a youth, and many a maid,

Or sweetest Shakespear fancies childe,

Dancing in the Chequer’d shade;

Warble his native Wood-notes wilde,

And young and old com forth to play

And ever against eating Cares,

British Literature Student wCB.indb 137

137

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Lap me in soft Lydian Aires,

That Orpheus self may heave his head

Married to immortal verse

From golden slumber on a bed

Such as the meeting soul may pierce

Of heapt Elysian flowres, and hear

In notes, with many a winding bout

Such streins as would have won the ear

Of linckèd sweetnes long drawn out,

Of Pluto, to have quite set free

With wanton heed, and giddy cunning,

His half regain’d Eurydice.

The melting voice through mazes running;

These delights, if thou canst give,

Untwisting all the chains that ty

Mirth with thee, I mean to live.

The hidden soul of harmony. (www.bartleby.com/4/313.html).

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 11-D.

•

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

Christian Motifs

CONCEPT BUILDER 11-D

Milton’s poems are full of biblical references and motifs. Find TWO examples of these references in poems by Milton. Lines 3 to 6 of the poem allude to the “Parable of the Talents” in chapter 25 of the Gospel of Matthew, verses 14 to 30. In this famous parable, an employer who is going away for a time gives his three servants money in proportion to their ability to increase its value. He distributes the money in talents, a unit of weight used in ancient times to establish the value of gold, silver, or any other medium used as money. Thus, a Roman might pay ten talents of gold for military supplies or seven talents of silver for a quantity of food. In the “Parable of the Talents,” the employer gives the first servant five talents of silver, the second servant two talents, and the third servant one talent. After the employer returns from the trip and asks for an accounting, the first servant reports that he doubled his talents to ten and the second that he doubled his to four. Both men receive promotions. The third servant then reports that he still has only one talent, for he did nothing to increase its value. Instead, he buried it. The employer denounces him for his laziness, gives his talent to the man with ten, and casts him outside into the darkness. Poem

Biblical Reference

To a Virtuous Young Lady

On His Blindness

138

British Literature Student wCB.indb 138

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Il Penseroso Many literary critics argue that “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso” are rewrites of Milton’s academic assignments at Cambridge University. “The cheerful man” (“L’Allegro”) and “the thoughtful man” (“Il Penseroso”) appeal to a melancholy mood. What does Milton mean by melancholy? HENCE vain deluding joyes,

He met her, and in secret shades

The brood of folly without father bred,

Of woody Ida’s inmost grove,

How little you bested,

Whilst yet there was no fear of Jove.

Or fill the fixèd mind with all your toyes;

Com pensive Nun, devout and pure,

Dwell in som idle brain,

Sober, stedfast, and demure,

And fancies fond with gaudy shapes possess,

All in a robe of darkest grain,

As thick and numberless

Flowing with majestick train,

As the gay motes that people the Sun Beams,

And sable stole of Cipres Lawn,

Or likest hovering dreams

Over thy decent shoulders drawn.

The fickle Pensioners of Morpheus train.

Com, but keep thy wonted state,

But hail thou Goddes, sage and holy,

With ev’n step, and musing gate,

Hail divinest Melancholy,

And looks commercing with the skies,

Whose Saintly visage is too bright

Thy rapt soul sitting in thine eyes:

To hit the Sense of human sight;

There held in holy passion still,

And therefore to our weaker view,

Forget thy self to Marble, till

Ore laid with black staid Wisdoms hue.

With a sad Leaden downward cast,

Black, but such as in esteem,

Thou fix them on the earth as fast.

Prince Memnons sister might beseem,

And joyn with thee calm Peace, and Quiet,

Or that Starr’d Ethiope Queen that strove

Spare Fast, that oft with gods doth diet,

To set her beauties praise above

And hears the Muses in a ring,

The Sea Nymphs, and their powers offended.

Ay round about Joves Altar sing.

Yet thou art higher far descended,

And adde to these retirèd Leasure,

Thee bright-hair’d Vesta long of yore,

That in trim Gardens takes his pleasure;

To solitary Saturn bore;

But first, and chiefest, with thee bring,

His daughter she (in Saturns raign,

Him that yon soars on golden wing,

Such mixture was not held a stain)

Guiding the fiery-wheelèd throne,

Oft in glimmering Bowres, and glades

The Cherub Contemplation,

139

British Literature Student wCB.indb 139

11/14/12 4:38 PM

And the mute Silence hist along,

And of those Dææmons that are found

‘Less Philomel will daign a Song,

In fire, air, flood, or under ground,

In her sweetest, saddest plight,

Whose power hath a true consent

Smoothing the rugged brow of night,

With Planet, or with Element.

While Cynthia checks her Dragon yoke,

Som time let Gorgeous Tragedy

Gently o’re th’accustom’d Oke;

In Scepter’d Pall com sweeping by,

Sweet Bird that shunn’st the noise of folly,

Presenting Thebs, or Pelops line,

Most musical, most melancholy!

Or the tale of Troy divine.

Thee Chauntress oft the Woods among,

Or what (though rare) of later age,

I woo to hear thy even-Song;

Ennoblèd hath the Buskind stage.

And missing thee, I walk unseen

But, O sad Virgin, that thy power

On the dry smooth-shaven Green.

Might raise Musæus from his bower

To behold the wandring Moon,

Or bid the soul of Orpheus sing

Riding neer her highest noon,

Such notes as warbled to the string,

Like one that had bin led astray

Drew Iron tears down Pluto’s cheek,

Through the Heav’ns wide pathles way;

And made Hell grant what Love did seek.

And oft, as if her head she bow’d,

Or call up him that left half told

Stooping through a fleecy cloud.

The story of Cambuscan bold,

Oft on a Plat of rising ground,

Of Camball, and of Algarsife,

I hear the far-off Curfeu sound,

And who had Canace to wife,

Over som wide-water’d shoar,

That own’d the vertuous Ring and Glass,

Swinging slow with sullen roar;

And of the wondrous Hors of Brass,

Or if the Ayr will not permit,

On which the Tartar King did ride;

Som still removèd place will fit,

And if ought els, great Bards beside,

Where glowing Embers through the room

In sage and solemn tunes have sung,

Teach light to counterfeit a gloom,

Of Turneys and of Trophies hung;

Far from all resort of mirth,

Of Forests, and inchantments drear,

Save the Cricket on the hearth,

Where more is meant then meets the ear.

Or the bellman’s drowsie charm,

Thus night oft see me in thy pale career,

To bless the dores from nightly harm:

Till civil-suited Morn appeer,

Or let my Lamp at midnight hour,

Not trickt and frounc’t as she was wont,

Be seen in som high lonely Towr,

With the Attick Boy to hunt,

Where I may oft out-watch the Bear,

But Cherchef ’t in a comly Cloud,

With thrice great Hermes, or unsphear

While rocking Winds are Piping loud,

The spirit of Plato to unfold

Or usher’d with a shower still,

What Worlds, or what vast Regions hold

When the gust hath blown his fill,

The immortal mind that hath forsook

Ending on the russling Leaves,

Her mansion in this fleshly nook:

With minute drops from off the Eaves.

140

British Literature Student wCB.indb 140

11/14/12 4:38 PM

And when the Sun begins to fling

Or th’unseen Genius of the Wood.

His flaring beams, me Goddes bring

But let my due feet never fail,

To archèd walks of twilight groves,

To walk the studious Cloysters pale,

And shadows brown that Sylvan loves,

And love the high embowèd Roof,

Of Pine, or monumental Oake,

With antick Pillars massy proof,

Where the rude Ax with heavèd stroke,

And storied Windows richly dight,

Was never heard the Nymphs to daunt,

Casting a dimm religious light.

Or fright them from their hallow’d haunt.

There let the pealing Organ blow,

There in close covert by som Brook,

To the full voic’d Quire below,

Where no profaner eye may look,

In Service high, and Anthems cleer,

Hide me from Day’s garish eie,

As may with sweetnes, through mine ear,

While the Bee with Honied thie,

Dissolve me into extasies,

That at her flowry work doth sing,

And bring all Heav’n before mine eyes.

And the Waters murmuring

And may at last my weary age

With such consort as they keep,

Find out the peacefull hermitage,

Entice the dewy-feather’d Sleep;

The Hairy Gown and Mossy Cell,

And let som strange mysterious dream,

Where I may sit and rightly spell

Wave at his Wings in Airy stream,

Of every Star that Heav’n doth shew,

Of lively portrature display’d,

And every Herb that sips the dew;

Softly on my eye-lids laid.

Till old experience do attain

And as I wake, sweet musick breath

To somthing like Prophetic strain.

Above, about, or underneath,

These pleasures Melancholy give,

Sent by som spirit to mortals good,

And I with thee will choose to live.

www.bartleby.com/4/202.html.

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 11-E.

•

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?

141

British Literature Student wCB.indb 141

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Chapter 12

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 In chapter 12 we will analyze Paradise Lost.

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.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide.

142

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.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 142

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Narrative Structure The following schematic plan of the narrative structure of the poem makes it easy for you to see the distribution of the events. Note that the poem is divided into 12 books. I. Hell. Satan rallies the fallen angels II. Hell. The council in Pandemonium III. Heaven. The council in Heaven Limbo and the Sun. Satan’s journey IV. Paradise. Satan spies on Adam and Eve V. Paradise. Raphael arrives Flashback: War in Heaven VI. Flashback: War in Heaven VII. Flashback: Creation of the world

VIII. Flashback: Creation of Adam and formation of Eve IX. Paradise. The Fall X. Heaven. Judgment Chaos. Sin and Death build bridge Hell. Fallen angels turn into snakes Paradise. Adam and Eve quarrel XI. Paradise. Sentence on Adam and Eve Flashforward: The World until Noah’s Flood XII. Flash-forward: The World to the Second Coming Paradise. Adam and Eve leave for Eden

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 12-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 12.

143

British Literature Student wCB.indb 143

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-A

Read Paradise Lost Book 1, excerpt by John Milton, and respond to the following:

Of Man’s first disobedience, and the fruit Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste Brought death into the World, and all our woe, With loss of Eden, till one greater Man Restore us, and regain the blissful seat, Sing, Heavenly Muse, that, on the secret top Of Oreb, or of Sinai, didst inspire That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed In the beginning how the heavens and earth Rose out of Chaos: or, if Sion hill Delight thee more, and Siloa’s brook that flowed Fast by the oracle of God, I thence Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song, That with no middle flight intends to soar Above th’ Aonian mount, while it pursues Things unattempted yet in prose or rhyme. And chiefly thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer Before all temples th’ upright heart and pure, Instruct me, for thou know’st; thou from the first Wast present, and, with mighty wings outspread, Dove-like sat’st brooding on the vast Abyss, And mad’st it pregnant: what in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support; That, to the height of this great argument, I may assert Eternal Providence, And justify the ways of God to men. Say first — for Heaven hides nothing from thy view, Nor the deep tract of Hell — say first what cause Moved our grand parents, in that happy state, Favoured of Heaven so highly, to fall off From their Creator, and transgress his will For one restraint, lords of the World besides. Who first seduced them to that foul revolt? Th’ infernal Serpent; he it was whose guile, Stirred up with envy and revenge, deceived The mother of mankind, what time his pride Had cast him out from Heaven, with all his host Of rebel Angels, by whose aid, aspiring To set himself in glory above his peers, He trusted to have equalled the Most High, If he opposed, and with ambitious aim Against the throne and monarchy of God, Raised impious war in Heaven and battle proud, With vain attempt. Him the Almighty Power

Who is this “greater” man?

For what is Milton asking?

Who defied God?

144

British Literature Student wCB.indb 144

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Hurled headlong flaming from th’ ethereal sky, With hideous ruin and combustion, down To bottomless perdition, there to dwell In adamantine chains and penal fire, Who durst defy th’ Omnipotent to arms. Nine times the space that measures day and night To mortal men, he, with his horrid crew, Lay vanquished, rolling in the fiery gulf, Confounded, though immortal. But his doom Reserved him to more wrath; for now the thought Both of lost happiness and lasting pain Torments him: round he throws his baleful eyes, That witnessed huge affliction and dismay, Mixed with obdurate pride and steadfast hate. At once, as far as Angels ken, he views The dismal situation waste and wild. A dungeon horrible, on all sides round, As one great furnace flamed; yet from those flames No light; but rather darkness visible Served only to discover sights of woe, Regions of sorrow, doleful shades, where peace And rest can never dwell, hope never comes That comes to all, but torture without end Still urges, and a fiery deluge, fed With ever-burning sulphur unconsumed. Such place Eternal Justice has prepared For those rebellious; here their prison ordained In utter darkness, and their portion set.

What happened to him?

What torments the devil?

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

145

British Literature Student wCB.indb 145

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Characters Only two characters, Adam and Eve, are mortals, and they have no families from which Milton may build their characters. All other characters are other immortal beings. SATAN —Is Satan the hero or the villain of Paradise Lost? BEELZEBUB — Beelzebub, whose name during the Middle Ages meant simply “devil,” is Satan’s second-incommand. He behaves like a foil for Satan, allowing his leader to demonstrate his best qualities. Beelzebub is quite content with his delegated role. GOD — God is not an opponent of Satan. He is in a whole other league. Satan may think he is an opponent, but God can simply nod and Satan is toast! Milton’s God is absolutely awesome and omniscient. THE SON — Or Jesus Christ. In Book III, when we first meet the Son, He 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) RAPHAEL — Raphael spends the most time with Adam and Eve and therefore with the reader. MICHAEL — Michael is the warrior archangel. GABRIEL — Gabriel has the important job of guarding Heaven. ADAM — Is Adam the protagonist? Or is Eve? 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. EVE — Poor Eve suffers from Milton’s time and place. She is the “weaker,” she was made not directly in God’s image but from part of Adam’s body, she must worship God through Adam, not in her own right. She is beautiful, yet her beauty is her downfall when the serpent flatters her, and it is downgraded in value by both Adam and Michael. (www.bartleby.com).

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 12-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.

146

British Literature Student wCB.indb 146

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Vanity

Foil

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-B

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

Eve

147

British Literature Student wCB.indb 147

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

The Anguish of Milton’s Blindness Milton wrote Paradise Lost when he was blind. He married his second and third wives without seeing them. The whole of Paradise Lost was dictated to his daughters, who purportedly were not too thrilled to help their father — since he loved to “write” in the very early morning. His great distress about his blindness is clearly expressed in what scholars call an “invocation to light in Book III, lines 1–55. He celebrates the “holy light, of spring of heav’n first-born” but that hardly mitigates the grief that Milton feels as he describes something he will never know again, except in his mind and imagination. “. . . ever-enduring dark Surrounds me, from the cheerful ways of men / Cut off, and for the Book of Knowledge fair / Presented with a universal blank / Of Nature’s works to me expunged and razed, / And wisdom at one entrance quite shut out” (45–50). 1: Hail holy light, ofspring of Heav’n first-born,

24: To find thy piercing ray, and find no dawn;

2: Or of th’ Eternal Coeternal beam

25: So thick a drop serene hath quencht thir Orbs,

3: May I express thee unblam’d? since God is light,

26: Or dim suffusion veild. Yet not the more

4: And never but in unapproached light

27: Cease I to wander where the Muses haunt

5: Dwelt from Eternitie, dwelt then in thee,

28: Cleer Spring, or shadie Grove, or Sunnie Hill,

6: Bright effluence of bright essence increate.

29: Smit with the love of sacred song; but chief

7: Or hear’st thou rather pure Ethereal stream,

30: Thee SION and the flowrie Brooks beneath

8: Whose Fountain who shall tell? before the Sun,

31: That wash thy hallowd feet, and warbling flow,

9: Before the Heavens thou wert, and at the voice

32: Nightly I visit: nor somtimes forget

10: Of God, as with a Mantle didst invest

33: Those other two equal’d with me in Fate,

11: The rising world of waters dark and deep,

34: So were I equal’d with them in renown,

12: Won from the void and formless infinite.

35: Blind THAMYRIS and blind MAEONIDES,

13: Thee I re-visit now with bolder wing,

36: And TIRESIAS and PHINEUS Prophets old.

14: Escap’t the STYGIAN Pool, though long detain’d

37: Then feed on thoughts, that voluntarie move

15: In that obscure sojourn, while in my flight

39: Sings darkling, and in shadiest Covert hid

16: Through utter and through middle darkness borne 17: With other notes then to th’ ORPHEAN Lyre 18: I sung of CHAOS and ETERNAL NIGHT, 19: Taught by the heav’nly Muse to venture down 20: The dark descent, and up to reascend, 21: Though hard and rare: thee I revisit safe, 22: And feel thy sovran vital Lamp; but thou 23: Revisit’st not these eyes, that rowle in vain

38: Harmonious numbers; as the wakeful Bird 40: Tunes her nocturnal Note. Thus with the Year 41: Seasons return, but not to me returns 42: Day, or the sweet approach of Ev’n or Morn, 43: Or sight of vernal bloom, or Summers Rose, 44: Or flocks, or herds, or human face divine; 45: But cloud in stead, and ever-during dark 46: Surrounds me, from the chearful waies of men 47: Cut off, and for the book of knowledg fair 48: Presented with a Universal blanc

148

British Literature Student wCB.indb 148

11/14/12 4:38 PM

49: Of Natures works to mee expung’d and ras’d,

53: Irradiate, there plant eyes, all mist from thence

50: And wisdome at one entrance quite shut out.

54: Purge and disperse, that I may see and tell

51: So much the rather thou Celestial light

55: Of things invisible to mortal sight.

52: Shine inward, and the mind through all her powers

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 12-C.

•

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.

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.

149

British Literature Student wCB.indb 149

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Critics Corner Milton’s chief ethical interest was freedom. He wanted to be free of his own appetites, and the appetites of others, especially tyranny. Repeatedly he says you can’t have the second freedom without the first; and since the Fall that is difficult (John Broadbent, Paradise Lost: Introduction, Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1972, p. 75). We are never, for one moment, away from Milton in Paradise Lost. It is overwhelmingly the product of his mind and his genius. But the vocation to “assert eternal providence” is faithfully pursued. His darkened eyes search out “thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues, powers.” And it is from the Archangel that Adam receives the reassurance that though He is now invisible, God’s presence follows his people through the world. The vision must be asserted because it will never, in the realm of nature, be automatically felt (A.N. Wilson, The Life of John Milton, Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 1983, p. 213).

Milton Dictates the Lost Paradise to His Three Daughters, by Eugène Delacroix, c.1826 (PD-Art).

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 12-D.

•

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

150

British Literature Student wCB.indb 150

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

Epic Similes

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-D

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

Epic Similes

151

British Literature Student wCB.indb 151

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

The Ending Adam now understands that obedience to God is really the only freedom a person can have, that dependence on God’s truth will bring him mercy and strength. Suffering, too, has meaning if it draws Milton closer to God. “That suffering for Truth’s sake / Is fortitude to highest victory.” Michael finishes with a valedictorian address. This final scene is one of the most moving scenes in Western literature. Adam and Eve look back at the Garden of Eden, their eyes full of tears, and see the gate closed against them. Above it flames the burning sword, and all around are the armed angels with forbidding faces. They turn and look out to a foreboding land they have never seen. Significantly, in this moment of great despair, they grasp each other’s hands and feel strengthened by their trust in God. To bring forth fruits, joy and eternal bliss.

Acknowledge my Redeemer ever blest.

He ended; and thus Adam last replied.

To whom thus also the Angel last replied.

How soon hath thy prediction, Seer blest,

This having learned, thou hast attained the sum

Measured this transient world, the race of time,

Of wisdom; hope no higher, though all the stars

Till time stand fixed! Beyond is all abyss,

Thou knewest by name, and all the ethereal powers,

Eternity, whose end no eye can reach.

All secrets of the deep, all Nature’s works,

Greatly-instructed I shall hence depart;

Or works of God in Heaven, air, earth, or sea,

Greatly in peace of thought; and have my fill

And all the riches of this world enjoyedst,

Of knowledge, what this vessel can contain;

And all the rule, one empire; only add

Beyond which was my folly to aspire.

Deeds to thy knowledge answerable; add faith,

Henceforth I learn, that to obey is best,

Add virtue, patience, temperance; add love,

And love with fear the only God; to walk

By name to come called charity, the soul

As in his presence; ever to observe

Of all the rest: then wilt thou not be loth

His providence; and on him sole depend,

To leave this Paradise, but shalt possess

Merciful over all his works, with good

A Paradise within thee, happier far.

Still overcoming evil, and by small

Let us descend now therefore from this top

Accomplishing great things, by things deemed weak

Of speculation; for the hour precise

Subverting worldly strong, and worldly wise

Exacts our parting hence; and see the Guards,

By simply meek: that suffering for truth’s sake

By me encamped on yonder hill, expect

Is fortitude to highest victory,

Their motion; at whose front a flaming sword,

And, to the faithful, death the gate of life;

In signal of remove, waves fiercely round:

Taught this by his example, whom I now

We may no longer stay: go, waken Eve;

152

British Literature Student wCB.indb 152

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Her also I with gentle dreams have calmed

Such favour I unworthy am vouchsafed,

Portending good, and all her spirits composed

By me the Promised Seed shall all restore.

To meek submission: thou, at season fit,

So spake our mother Eve; and Adam heard

Let her with thee partake what thou hast heard;

Well pleased, but answered not: For now, too nigh

Chiefly what may concern her faith to know,

The Arch-Angel stood; and, from the other hill

The great deliverance by her seed to come

To their fixed station, all in bright array

(For by the Woman’s seed) on all mankind:

The Cherubim descended; on the ground

That ye may live, which will be many days,

Gliding meteorous, as evening-mist

Both in one faith unanimous, though sad,

Risen from a river o’er the marish glides,

With cause, for evils past; yet much more cheered

And gathers ground fast at the labourer’s heel

With meditation on the happy end.

Homeward returning. High in front advanced,

He ended, and they both descend the hill;

The brandished sword of God before them blazed,

Descended, Adam to the bower, where Eve

Fierce as a comet; which with torrid heat,

Lay sleeping, ran before; but found her waked;

And vapour as the Libyan air adust,

And thus with words not sad she him received.

Began to parch that temperate clime; whereat

Whence thou returnest, and whither wentest, I know;

In either hand the hastening Angel caught

For God is also in sleep; and dreams advise,

Led them direct, and down the cliff as fast

Which he hath sent propitious, some great good Presaging, since with sorrow and heart’s distress Wearied I fell asleep: But now lead on; In me is no delay; with thee to go, Is to stay here; without thee here to stay, Is to go hence unwilling; thou to me Art all things under Heaven, all places thou, Who for my wilful crime art banished hence. This further consolation yet secure I carry hence; though all by me is lost,

Our lingering parents, and to the eastern gate To the subjected plain; then disappeared. They, looking back, all the eastern side beheld Of Paradise, so late their happy seat, Waved over by that flaming brand; the gate With dreadful faces thronged, and fiery arms: Some natural tears they dropt, but wiped them soon; The World was all before them, where to choose Their place of rest, and Providence their guide: They, hand in hand, with wand’ring steps and slow, Through Eden took their solitary way.

(www.brysons.net/miltonweb/book-12.html).

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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 12-E.

•

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

153

British Literature Student wCB.indb 153

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Individual Responsibility and Choices

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 12-E

Give three themes in Paradise Lost.

Themes

154

British Literature Student wCB.indb 154

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Chapter 13

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 In chapter 13 we enjoy

the very talented Anne Killigrew and trendsetter John Dryden. We see British society moving out of the Renaissance and into Neoclassicism. 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 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Evelina or Cecilia by Frances Burney d’Arblay; Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

155

History connections: British History chapter 13, “The Glorious Revolution.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 155

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Anne Killigrew In many ways Anne Killigrew (c.1660–1685) is a mystery — we know very little about her life. All we really know about her is what other people wrote, since she wrote nothing autobiographical. We do know, however, that she was a great writer. John Dryden, for instance, another author in this lesson, highly esteemed her. Killigrew was the subject of Dryden’s famous elegy, “To the Pious Memory of the Accomplished Young Lady Mrs. Anne Killigrew” (1686). According to Norton’s Anthology of Literature by Women, Anne was “raised in an atmosphere where female talent was encouraged. . . . Dryden defined her as a modern equivalent of the famous Greek woman poet Sappho. . . . The hazards of female authorship were not insignificant, even in an age when women intellectuals were beginning to gain some strength.”

Upon Being Contented with a Little We deem them moderate, but Enough implore, What barely will suffice, and ask no more: Who say, (O Jove) a competency give, Neither in Luxury, or Want we’d live. But what is that, which these Enough do call? If both the Indies unto some should fall, Such Wealth would yet Enough but onely be, And what they’d term not Want, or Luxury. Among the Suits, O Jove, my humbler take; A little give, I that Enough will make.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 13-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 13.

156

British Literature Student wCB.indb 156

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-A

Read “On Death” by Anne Killigrew and respond to the following: Tell me thou safest End of all our Woe, Why wreched Mortals do avoid thee so: Thou gentle drier o’th’ afflicteds Tears, Thou noble ender of the Cowards Fears; Thou sweet Repose to Lovers sad dispaire, Thou Calm t’Ambitions rough Tempestuous Care. If in regard of Bliss thou wert a Curse, And then the Joys of Paradise art worse; Yet after Man from his first Station fell, And God from Eden Adam did expel, Thou wert no more an Evil, but Relief; The Balm and Cure to ev’ry Humane Grief: Through thee (what Man had forfeited before) He now enjoys, and ne’r can loose it more. 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. Ah since from thee so many Blessings flow, Such real Good as Life can never know; Come when thou wilt, in thy afrighting’st Dress, Thy Shape shall never make thy Welcome less. Thou mayst to Joy, but ne’er to Fear give Birth, Thou Best, as well as Certain’st thing on Earth. Fly thee? May Travellers then fly their Rest, And hungry Infants fly the profer’d Brest. No, those that faint and tremble at thy Name, Fly from their Good on a mistaken Fame. Thus Childish fear did Israel of old From Plenty and the Promis’d Land with-hold; They fancy’d Giants, and refus’d to go, When Canaan did with Milk and Honey flow.

How does Killigrew characterize death?

What distinct advantages does death offer?

What sort of metaphor is “Come when thou wilt, in they afrighting’st Dress?

www.poemhunter.com/anne-killigrew/.

157

British Literature Student wCB.indb 157

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

John Dryden BACKGROUND

John Dryden called himself Neander, the “new man,” in his “Essay of Dramatic Poesy,” (1668) and implied that he was a spokesman for the concerns of his generation and the embodiment of its tastes. He was the Bob Dylan of his generation, setting the trend for a generation of poets and essayists. He specialized in comedy, heroic tragedy, and verse satire — genres that his contemporaries and later readers have defined as representative of the Restoration period. His writings had considerable influence on Alexander Pope and others. In a real sense Dryden determined the course of literary history for the next generation.

A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day Stanza 1

His list’ning brethren stood around

From harmony, from Heav’nly harmony

And wond’ring, on their faces fell

This universal frame began.

To worship that celestial sound:

When Nature underneath a heap

Less than a god they thought there could not dwell

Of jarring atoms lay,

Within the hollow of that shell

And could not heave her head,

That spoke so sweetly and so well.

The tuneful voice was heard from high,

What passion cannot music raise and quell!

Arise ye more than dead. Then cold, and hot, and moist, and dry, In order to their stations leap, And music’s pow’r obey. From harmony, from Heav’nly harmony This universal frame began: From harmony to harmony Through all the compass of the notes it ran, The diapason closing full in man. Stanza 2 What passion cannot music raise and quell! When Jubal struck the corded shell,

Stanza 3 The trumpet’s loud clangor Excites us to arms With shrill notes of anger And mortal alarms. The double double double beat Of the thund’ring drum Cries, hark the foes come; Charge, charge, ’tis too late to retreat. Stanza 4 The soft complaining flute In dying notes discovers

158

British Literature Student wCB.indb 158

11/14/12 4:38 PM

The woes of hopeless lovers,

Notes inspiring holy love,

Whose dirge is whisper’d by the warbling lute.

Notes that wing their Heav’nly ways To mend the choirs above.

Stanza 5 Sharp violins proclaim

Stanza 7

Their jealous pangs, and desperation,

Orpheus could lead the savage race;

Fury, frantic indignation,

And trees unrooted left their place;

Depth of pains and height of passion,

Sequacious of the lyre:

For the fair, disdainful dame.

But bright Cecilia rais’d the wonder high’r; When to her organ, vocal breath was giv’n,

Stanza 6 But oh! what art can teach What human voice can reach

An angel heard, and straight appear’d Mistaking earth for Heav’n.

The sacred organ’s praise?

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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 13-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 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?

2

What lies within the “corded shell?”

3

Dryden is evoking a warlike image. Explain.

6

What special addition does the violin bring?

159

British Literature Student wCB.indb 159

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism was a widespread and influential movement in painting and the other visual arts that lasted over a hundred years from 1750–1850. In painting, it generally took the form of an emphasis on traditional linear design in the depiction of classical themes, using archaeologically correct settings and costumes. In literature there was an emphasis on rationalism and logic. Dryden and other neoclassical poets avoided what they considered “superfluous metaphors.”

Neoclassical art

Oath of the Horatii by Jacques-Louis David, 1784 (PD-Art).

Neoclassical architecture and decorative arts

The apartment of empress Joséphine in the Château de Malmaison in Rueil-Malmaison, France. Photo by Moonik, 2010 (CC BY-SA 3.0).

160

British Literature Student wCB.indb 160

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Neoclassical sculpture

Emotions. One of the “character heads” of Franz Xaver Messerschmidt. (CC BY-SA 2.0).

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 13-C.

•

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.

Religious conservatism.

Man is part of nature.

161

British Literature Student wCB.indb 161

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Antithesis Robert Harris, in A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices writes: Antithesis establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure. Human beings are inveterate systematizers and categorizers, so the mind has a natural love for antithesis, which creates a definite and systematic relationship between ideas: •

To err is human; to forgive, divine. — Pope

•

That short and easy trip made a lasting and profound change in Harold’s outlook.

•

That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. —Neil Armstrong

•

Antithesis can convey some sense of complexity in a person or idea by admitting opposite or nearly opposite truths:

•

Though surprising, it is true; though frightening at first, it is really harmless.

•

If we try, we might succeed; if we do not try, we cannot succeed.

•

Success makes men proud; failure makes them wise.

Antithesis, because of its close juxtaposition and intentional contrast of two terms or ideas, is also very useful for making relatively fine distinctions or for clarifying differences which might be otherwise overlooked by a careless thinker or casual reader: •

In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it. — Samuel Johnson

•

The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. — Matt. 23:2–3 (RSV)

•

I agree that it is legal; but my question was, Is it moral?

•

The advertisement indeed says that these shoes are the best, but it means that they are equal; for in advertising “best” is a parity claim and only “better” indicates superiority.

Note also that short phrases can be made antithetical: Every man who proposes to grow eminent by learning should carry in his mind, at once, the difficulty of excellence and the force of industry; and remember that fame is not conferred but as the recompense of labor, and that labor, vigorously continued, has not often failed of its reward. —Samuel Johnson (Robert A. Harris, A Handbook of Rhetorical Devices, www.virtualsalt.com/rhetoric2.htm#Antithesis).

162

British Literature Student wCB.indb 162

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

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

Antithesis

163

British Literature Student wCB.indb 163

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Grand Chorus As from the pow’r of sacred lays

This crumbling pageant shall devour,

The spheres began to move,

The trumpet shall be heard on high,

And sung the great Creator’s praise

The dead shall live, the living die,

To all the bless’d above;

And music shall untune the sky.

So when the last and dreadful hour (poetry_pearls.tripod.com/ePoets/Dryden.htm).

Assignments •

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.

Verse

CONCEPT BUILDER 13-E

Read “A Grand Chorus” (from “A Song for St. Cecilia’s Day”) by John Dryden and respond to the following: As from the pow’r of sacred lays The spheres began to move, And sung the great Creator’s praise To all the bless’d above; 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. Memorize the above poetic verse.

This short poetic verse is an image of what?

164

British Literature Student wCB.indb 164

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Chapter 14

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?

Chapter Learning Objectives In chapter 14 we read, or reread, a timely classic that created motifs and archetypes galore, that are replicated in many ways over the last 200 years. 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 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review “London’s Summer Morning” by Mary Darby Robinson, and “The Rape of The Lock” by Alexander Pope.

165

History connections: British History chapter 14, “The Oranges, Stuarts, & Hanovers.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 165

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Frances Burney d’Arblay Frances Burney d’Arblay (1752–1840) created a new genre in the English novel, chronicled events ranging from George III’s mad crisis to the aftermath of Waterloo, and wrote comedies that were as excellent as any written in the 18th century. Her first novel, Evelina, was published anonymously in 1778. It was written in secret and in a disguised hand because publishers were familiar with her handwriting. Evelina “explored the social development of a heroine who proves herself worthy of her well-born suitor.” Evelina was a new school of fiction in English, one in which women in society were portrayed in realistic, contemporary circumstances — the novel of manners. “She conveyed the manners and morals of polite society with a relish for the ridiculous and a respect for the conventional that explain why Jane Austin found both the theme and the title of Pride and Prejudice in the concluding chapter of Cecilia. Burney was the first woman to make the writing of novels a respectable endeavor. Her second novel, Cecilia, published in 1782, was an even greater critical success.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 14-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 14.

166

British Literature Student wCB.indb 166

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Read Evelina, chapter I, by Fanny Burney, and respond to the following: LADY HOWARD TO THE REV. MR. VILLARS Howard Grove, Kent.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-A

CAN any thing, my good Sir, be more painful to a friendly mind, than a necessity of communicating disagreeable intelligence? Indeed it is sometimes difficult to determine, whether the relator or the receiver of evil tidings is most to be pitied. I have just had a letter from Madame Duval; she is totally at a loss in what manner to behave; she seems desirous to repair the wrongs she has done, yet wishes the world to believe her blameless. She would fain cast upon another the odium of those misfortunes for which she alone is answerable. Her letter is violent, sometimes abusive, and that of you!-you, to whom she is under obligations which are greater even than her faults, but to whose advice she wickedly imputes all the sufferings of her much injured daughter, the late Lady Belmont. The chief purport of her writing I will acquaint you with; the letter itself is not worthy your notice. She tells me that she has, for many years past, been in continual expectation of making a journey to England, which prevented her writing for information concerning this melancholy subject, by giving her hopes of making personal inquiries; but family occurrences have still detained her in France, which country she now sees no prospect of quitting.

1

With what literary form does Burney begin her book? What advantage does this offer her?

2

Based on this passage, what may the reader infer Madame Duvall is saying about Rev. Mr. Villars?

digital.library.upenn.edu/women/burney/evelina/evelina.html.

167

British Literature Student wCB.indb 167

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Robinson Crusoe Daniel Defoe Background

The 18th century in English literature has been called the Augustan Age (the most famous Roman emperor was named Augustus), the Neoclassical (Greek Revival) Age, and the Age of Reason (Enlightenment). The 18th century introduced a new genre — the novel. The middle-aged printer Samuel Richardson introduced the novel and achieved fame with the long novel Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded, followed by the even longer Clarissa Harlowe (1747–1748). This new writing phenomenon was the newest thing in British literature since Spencer’s Faire Queen. But don’t think John Grisham! Richardson’s subjects — like many 18th-century protagonists — were always women. Their temptations, tragedies, and triumphs were told in the form of letters. Imagine an 18th-century book version of the 1970s television series Magnum P.I. Laurence Sterne, too, introduced the maudlin romance (the only thing in the bookstore). The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman (1760–1767) was a colorful medley of autobiographical details and cynical reflections on life. Sterne was the Jeannette Oake of his day. By comparison with Richardson and Sterne, Henry Fielding, Tobias Smollett, and Oliver Goldsmith were straightforward storytellers whose novels seem routine, almost modern. Fielding’s greatest novel, Tom Jones (1749), gave an exciting and frequently hilarious, almost ribald, account of a young man’s maturation. Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield, immensely popular in its own day, depicted the victory of domestic virtue over fashionable vice and therefore appeared a little contrived to modern readers, but the easy simplicity of its prose style enchanted his 18thcentury public. By the way, all these Victorian novels hold a plethora of vocabulary words that the reader needs to harvest!

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 14-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.

168

British Literature Student wCB.indb 168

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-B

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

1

What narrative strategy does Defoe employ?

2

What may have been the cause of the misfortunes that fall on Crusoe?

3

Crusoe, the narrator, speaks at length about his father. Why?

169

British Literature Student wCB.indb 169

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Daniel Defoe Background

Daniel Defoe was born in London in 1660, probably in September, third child and first son of James and Mary Defoe. Defoe’s father hoped he would become a minister, but Daniel wasn’t interested. Defoe’s family was part of the dissenting English church. Defoe was a very bright student and did very well in school. In 1684 he joined the army of the Duke of Monmouth, who was attempting to take the throne from James II. When the rebellion failed, Defoe and many other troops were forced into semi-exile. He traveled around the continent for three years, and wrote very dangerous, very anti-government pamphlets. In 1701, he wrote a poem called “The True-Born Englishman,” which became the best-selling poem ever at that time. The first volume of Robinson Crusoe was published on April 25, 1719, and it was a big success, especially among ordinary people. In fact, Defoe was the first Clancy of his age! Since that one worked so well, Defoe published Moll Flanders in 1722. He died on April 24, 1731.

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your best attribute?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 14-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

170

British Literature Student wCB.indb 170

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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).

171

British Literature Student wCB.indb 171

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Worldview Battles The following were contemporaries of Daniel Defoe and determined the worldview preferences of a generation. God

Happiness/ Government

Bible

Chance, not God, rules the world. Reason is Voltaire’s god.

Advocated revolution to overthrow the old order and to bring in a new order based on reason.

The Bible is mythology. Human reason is the sole criterion for truth.

God is insignificant in the face of human intuition.

Man is naturally good but society is bad.

The Bible is inspiring in that it is full of human dreams and visions.

God is alive but not active in human affairs (deism).

The individual is more important than any other restraining influence of society.

The Bible is okay as long as it supports the self-interests of the individual.

Diderot

Man is supremely able to take care of himself through logic and reason.

God does not exist.

Governments should be created and run by rationalistic groups of men.

Christian Reformers

Man is created in the image of God, but, through sin, he is separated from God.

God not only exists, He is omniscient, omnipresent, and sovereign.

Governments exist to control sinful man.

Man

Voltaire

Rousseau

Locke

Man is god. Every man has a divine nature within him and man and nature are perfectible. Man is indeed god, but he exhibits his divinity when his imagination is unshackled. Each individual man alone must decide what is best for himself.

Christianity should be removed and replaced by rationalism. There is no divine revelation. The Bible is the authoritative, inspired, infallible source of morality and truth.

172

British Literature Student wCB.indb 172

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 14-D.

•

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

Shipwrecked

CONCEPT BUILDER 14-D

•

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. Television

Microwave

AM/FM Radio

Cell phone

Bible

Robinson Crusoe

Knife

Can opener

Matches

Your little brother

Nails

Surfboard

World atlas

Generator

First-aid kit

Gun

Toothbrush

Flares

A magazine

Ironing board

Pencil

Paper

Your pet

Your British Concept Builders

Hamburger

A soccer ball

A pot

A vacuum cleaner A sleeping bag

A two-liter soda

173

British Literature Student wCB.indb 173

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Friday Critics have often cited Defoe’s description of Crusoe’s first encounter with Friday to argue that Defoe was a very gifted writer indeed. He was a comely handsome fellow, perfectly well made, with straight, strong limbs, not too large, tall and well-shaped, and, as I reckoned, about twenty-six years of age. He had a very good countenance, not a fierce and surly aspect, but seemed to have something very manly in his face; and yet he had all the sweetness and softness of an European in his countenance too, especially when he smiled. His hair was long and black, not curled like wool; his forehead very high and large; and a great vivacity and sparkling sharpness in his eyes. The color of his skin was not quite black, but very tawny; and yet not of an ugly, yellow, nauseous tawny, as the Brazilians and Virginians, and other natives of America are, but of a bright kind of a dun olive color, that had in it something very agreeable, though not very easy to describe. His face was round and plump; his nose small, not flat like the negroes; a very good mouth, thin lips, and his fine teeth well set, and white as ivory. After he had slumbered, rather than slept, about half an hour, he waked again, and comes out of the cave to me, for I had been milking my goats, which I had in the enclosure just by. When he espied me, he came running to me, laying himself down again upon the ground, with all the possible signs of an humble, thankful disposition, making as many antic gestures to show it.

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 14-E.

•

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

174

British Literature Student wCB.indb 174

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

Crusoe is the disobedient son, wandering with no direction.

175

British Literature Student wCB.indb 175

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Chapter 15

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..

176

Chapter Learning Objectives In chapter 15 we enjoy

some of the most biting satire in world history. Along the way we will have a taste of modern literature in the inviting poetry of Mary Robinson. 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 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review Gulliver’s Travels and Abolishing Christianity by Jonathan Swift. History connections: British History chapter 15, “Whigs and Tories.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 176

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Mary Darby Robinson Background

Mary Darby Robinson (1758–1800), whose life was marked by hardship and heartbreak, was nonetheless one of the greatest poets, playwrights, and actresses of the 18th century. Her first published work, Poems, received little critical support and made little money — and Mary and her husband needed money. They were in debtor’s prison. Mary Robinson continued to write, dedicating “Captivity, a Poem” and “Celadon and Lydia, a Tale” (1777) to the Duchess of Devonshire. After 15 months in prison, Thomas Robinson finally negotiated their release. Having given up the theater when she married, Mary returned in hopes of supporting her family by acting. To increasing acclaim, she continued to act for the next four seasons. Robinson moved in “intellectual circles that included Wordsworth, Coleridge, Mary Wollstonecraft, and William Godwin” (Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, p. 251).

London’s Summer Morning Who has not waked to list the busy sounds

Save where the canvas awning throws a shade

Of summer’s morning, in the sultry smoke

On the day merchandize. Now, spruce and trim,

Of noisy London? On the pavement hot

In shops (where beauty smiles with industry),

The sooty chimney-boy, with dingy face

Sits the smart damsel; while the passenger

And tatter’d covering, shrilly bawls his trade,

Peeps through the window, watching every charm.

Rousing the sleepy housemaid. At the door

Now pastry dainties catch the eye minute

The milk-pail rattles, and the tinkling bell

Of humming insects, while the limy snare

Proclaims the dustman’s office; while the street

Waits to enthral them. Now the lamp-lighter

Is lost in clouds impervious. Now begins

Mounts the tall ladder, nimbly venturous,

The din of hackney-coaches, waggons, carts;

To trim the half-fill’d lamp; while at his feet

While tinmen’s shops, and noisy trunk-makers,

The pot-boy yells discordant! All along

Knife-grinders, coopers, squeaking cork-cutters,

The sultry pavement, the old-clothes man cries

Fruit barrows, and the hunger-giving cries

In tone monotonous, the side-long views

Of vegetable venders, fill the air.

The area for his traffic: now the bag

Now every shop displays its varied trade,

Is slily open’d, and the half-worn suit

And the fresh-sprinkled pavement cools the feet

(Sometimes the pilfer’d treasure of the base

Of early walkers. At the private door

Domestic spoiler), for one half its worth,

The ruddy housemaid twirls the busy mop,

Sinks in the green abyss. The porter now

Annoying the smart ‘prentice, or neat girl,

Bears his huge load along the burning way;

Tripping with band-box lightly. Now the sun

And the poor poet wakes from busy dreams,

Darts burning splendour on the glittering pane,

To paint the summer morning (Ibid., p. 251–252).

British Literature Student wCB.indb 177

177

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-A

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.

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?

2

What terrible nightmare has disturbed Belinda’s sleep?

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?

178

British Literature Student wCB.indb 178

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Alexander Pope Background

The most accomplished male verse satirist in the English language, Alexander Pope, was born May 21, 1688. Pope’s life, which he ironically described as “this long disease,” was shaped by two great disadvantages: he was crippled from his earliest years by a deformity of the spine, and he was a member of the Roman Catholic Church, a fact which excluded him from the public life of his time and denied him a university education. Nevertheless, Pope was a gifted writer. Home-schooled, he wrote his earliest surviving poem when he was about 12 years old. Too sickly for boys’ sports, he devoted his teenage years to literature. His most famous works were “An Essay on Criticism” (1711) and “The Rape of the Lock.” Who can ever forget the tragic figure Miss Arabella Fermor, who lost a curl to the upstart young Baron Lord Petre! Pope added to the second edition the following dedicatory letter: To Mrs. Arabella Fermor Madam, It will be in vain to deny that I have some regard for this piece, since I dedicate it to You. Yet you may bear me witness, it was intended only to divert a few young Ladies, who have good sense and good humour enough to laugh not only at their sex’s little unguarded follies, but at their own. But as it was communicated with the air of a secret, it soon found its way into the world. An imperfect copy having been offered to a Bookseller, you had the good nature for my sake to consent to the publication of one more correct: This I was forced to, before I had executed half my design, for the Machinery was entirely wanting to complete it. The Machinery, Madam, is a term invented by the Critics, to signify that part which the Deities, Angels, or Dæmons are made to act in a poem: For the ancient poets are in one respect like many modern ladies: let an action be never so trivial in itself, they always make it appear of the utmost importance. These Machines I determined to raise on a very new and odd foundation, the Rosicrucian doctrine of Spirits. I know how disagreeable it is to make use of hard words before a lady; but ‘tis so much the concern of a poet to have his works understood and particularly by your sex, that you must give me leave to explain two or three difficult terms. The Rosicrucians are a people I must bring you acquainted with. The best account I know of them is in a French book called Le Comte de Gabalis, which both in its title and size is so like a novel, that many of the fair sex have read it for one by mistake. According to these gentlemen, the four elements are inhabited by spirits, which they call Sylphs, Gnomes, Nymphs, and Salamanders. The Gnomes or Dæmons of Earth delight in mischief; but the Sylphs, whose habitation is in the air, are the best-conditioned creatures imaginable. For they say, any mortals may enjoy the most intimate familiarities with these gentle spirits, upon a condition very easy to all true adepts, an inviolate preservation of Chastity. As to the following Cantos, all the passages of them are as fabulous as the Vision at the beginning or the Transformation at the end; (except the loss of your Hair, which I always mention with reverence). The

179

British Literature Student wCB.indb 179

11/14/12 4:38 PM

human persons are as fictitious as the airy ones, and the character of Belinda, as it is now managed, resembles you in nothing but in Beauty. If this poem had as many graces as there are in your person, or in your mind, yet I could never hope it should pass through the world half so uncensured as you have done. But let its fortune be what it will, mine is happy enough, to have given me this occasion of assuring you that I am, with the truest esteem,

Madam,



Your most obedient, Humble Servant,



A. 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

Epic Hero(oine): The Church:

Society:

Mock Epic

180

British Literature Student wCB.indb 180

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

“The Rape of the Lock” Canto I What dire Offence from am’rous Causes springs,

Fairest of Mortals, thou distinguish’d Care

What mighty Contests rise from trivial Things,

Of thousand bright Inhabitants of Air!

I sing-This verse to Caryl, Muse! is due;

If e’er one Vision touch’d thy infant Thought,

This, ev’n Belinda may vouchsafe to view:

Of all the Nurse and all the Priest have taught,

Slight is the Subject, but not so the Praise,

Of airy Elves by Moonlight Shadows seen,

If She inspire, and He approve, my Lays.

The silver Token, and the Circled Green, Or Virgins visited by Angel-powers

Say what strange Motive, Goddess! cou’d compel A well-bred Lord t’assault a gentle Belle? Oh say what stranger Cause, yet unexplor’d, Cou’d make a gentle Belle reject a Lord? In tasks so bold, can little Men engage,

With Golden Crowns and Wreaths of heav’nly Flow’rs; Hear and believe! thy own Importance know, Nor bound thy narrow Views to things below. Some secret Truths, from Learned Pride conceal’d,

And in soft Bosoms, dwell such mighty Rage?

To Maids alone and Children are reveal’d:

Sol through white Curtains shot a tim’rous Ray,

The Fair and Innocent shall still believe.

And ope’d those Eyes that must eclipse the Day: Now Lap-dogs give themselves the rouzing Shake,

What tho’ no Credit doubting Wits may give? Know then, unnumber’d Spirits round thee fly, The light Militia of the lower sky:

And sleepless Lovers, just at Twelve, awake:

These, tho’ unseen, are ever on the Wing,

Thrice rung the Bell, the Slipper knock’d the Ground,

Hang o’er the Box, and hover round the Ring. Think what an Equipage thou hast in Air,

And the press’d Watch return’d a silver sound,

And view with scorn Two-pages and a Chair.

Belinda still her downy Pillow prest,

As now your own, our Beings were of old,

Her guardian Sylph prolng’d the balmy rest.

And once inclos’d in Woman’s beauteous Mold;

’Twas he had summon’d to her silent Bed

Thence, by a soft Transition, we repair

The Morning Dream that hover’d o’er her Head.

From earthly Vehicles to these of Air.

A Youth more glitt’ring than a Birth-night Beau

Think not, when Woman’s transient Breath is fled,

(That ev’n in slumber caus’d her Cheek to glow)

That all her Vanities at once are dead.

Seem’d to her Ear his winning Lips to lay,

Succeeding Vanities she still regards,

And thus in Whispers said, or seemed to say.

And tho’ she plays no more, o’erlooks the Cards. Her Joy in gilded Chariots, when alive,

British Literature Student wCB.indb 181

181

11/14/12 4:38 PM

And love of Ombre after Death survive.

The Sylphs through Mystic mazes guide their Way.

For when the Fair in all their Pride expire,

Thro’ all the giddy Circle they pursue,

To their first Elements the Souls retire:

And old Impertinence expel by new.

The Sprites of fiery Termagants in Flame

What tender Maid but must a Victim fall

Mount up, and take a Salamander’s name.

To one Man’s Treat, but for another’s Ball?

Soft yielding Minds to Water glide away,

When Florio speaks, what Virgin could withstand,

And sip, with Nymphs, their elemental Tea.

If gentle Damon did not squeeze her Hand?

The graver Prude sinks downward to a Gnome,

With varying Vanities, from ev’ry Part,

In search of Mischief still on Earth to roam.

They shift the moving Toyshop of their Heart;

The light Coquettes in Sylphs aloft repair,

Where Wigs with Wigs, with Sword-knots Swordknots strive,

And sport and flutter in the Fields of Air. Know further yet; Whoever fair and chaste Rejects Mankind, is by some Sylph embrac’d: For Spirits, freed from mortal Laws, with ease Assume what Sexes and what Shapes they please. What guards the Purity of melting Maids, In Courtly Balls, and Midnight Masquerades, Safe from the treach’rous Friend, the daring Spark, The Glance by Day, the Whisper in the Dark; When kind Occasion prompts their warm Desires, When Music softens, and when Dancing fires? ’Tis but their Sylph, the wise Celestials know,

Beaux banish Beaux, and Coaches Coaches drive. This erring Mortals Levity may call, Oh blind to Truth! the Sylphs contrive it all. Of these am I, who thy Protection claim, A watchful Sprite, and Ariel is my name. Late, as I rang’d the crystal Wilds of Air, In the clear Mirror of thy ruling Star I saw, alas! some dread Event impend, Ere to the Main this morning’s Sun descend, But Heav’n reveals not what, or how, or where:

Tho’ Honour is the Word with Men below.

Warn’d by thy Sylph, oh pious Maid beware!

Some Nymphs there are, too conscious of their Face,

Beware of all, but most beware of Man!

For Life predestin’d to the Gnomes’ Embrace. Who swell their Prospects and exalt their Pride, When Offers are disdain’d, and Love deny’d. Then gay Ideas crowd the vacant Brain, While Peers and Dukes, and all their sweeping Train, And Garters, Stars, and Coronets appear, And in soft sounds, Your Grace salutes their Ear. ’Tis these that early taint the Female Soul, Instruct the eyes of young Coquettes to roll, Teach Infant Cheeks a bidden Blush to know, And little Hearts to flutter at a Beau. Oft when the World imagine Women stray,

This to disclose is all thy Guardian can.

He said: when Shock, who thought she slept too long, Leap’d up, and wak’d his Mistress with his Tongue. ’Twas then, Belinda! if Report say true, Thy Eyes first open’d on a Billet-doux; Wounds, Charms, and Ardors, were no sooner read, But all the Vision vanish’d from thy Head. And now, unveil’d, the Toilet stands display’d, Each Silver Vase in mystic Order laid. First, rob’d in White, the Nymph intent adores With Head uncover’d, the Cosmetic Pow’rs. A heav’nly Image in the Glass appears,

182

British Literature Student wCB.indb 182

11/14/12 4:38 PM

To that she bends, to that her Eyes she rears;

Puffs, Powders, Patches, Bibles, Billet-doux.

Th’ inferior Priestess, at her Altar’s side,

Now awful Beauty puts on all its Arms;

Trembling, begins the sacred Rites of Pride.

The Fair each moment rises in her Charms,

Unnumber’d Treasures ope at once, and here

Repairs her Smiles, awakens ev’ry Grace,

The various Off ’rings of the World appear;

And calls forth all the Wonders of her Face;

From each she nicely culls with curious Toil,

Sees by Degrees a purer Blush arise,

And decks the Goddess with the glitt’ring Spoil.

And keener Lightnings quicken in her Eyes.

This casket India’s glowing Gems unlocks,

The busy Sylphs surround their darling Care;

And all Arabia breathes from yonder Box.

These set the Head, and those divide the Hair,

The Tortoise here and Elephant unite,

Some fold the Sleeve, whilst others plait the Gown;

Transform’d to Combs, the speckled and the white.

And Betty’s prais’d for labours not her own.

Here Files of Pins extend their shining Rows,

(eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem1644.html)

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!

www.walden3.org/KnowSelf.htm.

British Literature Student wCB.indb 183

183

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Allegory “The Rape of the Lock” is full of allegory. It is at the heart of the satire. Allegory, or symbolism, a sort of extended metaphor where dissimilar things are compared, is a central part of our lives. When we are grouchy we symbolize ourselves as “bears.” When we are passive we symbolize ourselves as “sheep.” Allegory has enriched world literature. Whether it was the ancient Anglo-Saxon poet who wrote “The Seafarer” or George Orwell in Animal Farm who subtly castigated communism, allegory has been used by authors to enrich, to inspire, to challenge. Allegory is, as it were, one of the most fruitful forms of rhetorical interpretation. It invites the reader to compare the familiar with the unfamiliar, and in the process to gain insightful understandings. Allegory is at the intersection of life and insight. Leo Tolstoy wrote, “Happiness is an allegory, unhappiness a story.” Allegory or symbolism is a form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons…in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie

outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas such as charity, greed, or envy…A symbol is a sign or token of something. A lion, for instance, is a symbol of courage. Culture has a way of creating its own symbols. Pepsi represents youth and vitality. Some symbols have multiple meanings. The golden arch represents Macdonald’s and familiarity — people know that they will get the same food no matter where the restaurant is located. The bald eagle is a symbol of America. A white bridal gown is a symbol of chastity and purity. The Cross represents Christianity. They are a part of our everyday experience. Objects can change their symbolic meaning. In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, for instance, the protagonist Hester Prynne wears a scarlet letter A that represents redemption, forgiveness, and wholeness. That was not its original purpose — originally it was meant to represent “adultery” and “sin.”

Assignments •

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.

184

British Literature Student wCB.indb 184

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Allegory

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-D

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

Allegory (symbols)

185

British Literature Student wCB.indb 185

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Satire The 18th century was one in which satire became mainstream in British literature. Underneath the enlightenment ideals of neoclassical rationality, order, and knowledge, there was a literary tongue-incheek crowd. Pope, and later Swift, had much to say about a society that embraced a pervasive obsession with “decorum,” a façade of established traditions and vanities, as well as an innate sense of moral and political supremacy. Satire, then, was not comedy — it was biting criticism. This is not the mild parody of Lewis Caroll’s Alice in Wonderland. Satires poked fun at the shortcomings of society through ridiculing orthodox standards of thought. In short, Pope and his satirists were hungry for a world that was substance more than just appearance. “The Rape of the Lock” assimilates the masterful qualities of a heroic epic (like Paradise Lost), yet is applied satirically to a seemingly petty degree. Of course, there is nothing remotely playful and mocking about Milton. He is the very essence of seriousness. Literary critic M.H. Abrams explains,

“Despite the likeness to historical epic pieces, this work displays a light and playful tone, which illuminates the idiosyncratic nature of the poem’s central conflict, the Baron stealing or ‘raping’ Belinda’s illustrious lock of hair. ‘The meeting points the sacred hair dissever from the fair head, forever and forever! Then flashed the living lightening from her eyes, and screams of horror rend the affrighted skies’ (Pope, 153–156). This embellished and exaggerated quotation is representative of the fundamental elements of Horatian satire used in this mock epic. Personification is employed to place emphasis on the seemingly transcendent effects of Belinda’s terror, as her screams ‘rend the affrighted skies.’ As read, this example makes a mockery of the traditional epic, suggesting that the removal of Belinda’s lock has detrimental and almost divine implications. Pope uses personification extensively throughout, to add to the heroic colouring of the poem and in general elevating the subject matter.” (M.H. Abrams, S. Greenblatt, and J. Stillinger, The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 8th edition, New York: Norton, 2000).

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.

186

British Literature Student wCB.indb 186

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 15-E

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

1

2

3

What ordinary details does the poet share with the reader?

Give two examples of imagery (descriptions).

Who wakes into this noisy world?

187

British Literature Student wCB.indb 187

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 16 we meet the Laputans, the Struldbrugs, the Houyhnhnms, and the Yahoos. 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.

188

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith. History connections: British History chapter 16, “European Wars.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 188

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Gulliver’s Travels Jonathan Swift The famous Swift biographer Charles Read wrote: In the spring of 1667 Jonathan Swift, full cousin to the poet Dryden, and steward to the Society of King’s Inns, Dublin, died in poor circumstances leaving a widow. Seven months later, on the 30th of November, in a little house in Hoey’s Court the poor widow gave birth to a son who was named Jonathan after his dead father, and whose life, began thus miserably, was fated to be one constant round of warfare and suffering, of defeat in victory and of disappointment in success. The greatest satirist (parodist) England was to produce began as a poor beggar. His most famous book was Gulliver’s Travels. It was an overnight success, a runaway best-seller. It had all the things that 18th-century England wanted: mystery and political/social scandal. It was also hilarious! Since Swift poked fun at prominent political figures, he published the book anonymously. Most everyone knew, however that it was Swift. Days after the publication of Travels, Alexander Pope wrote him: “Motte (Swift’s publisher) receiv’d the copy (he tells me) he knew not from whence, nor from whom, dropp’d at his house in the dark, from a Hackney-coach: by computing the time, I found it was after you left England, so for my part, I suspend my judgment.” London buzzed with speculations, suggestions, and counter-suggestions regarding the author’s identity, as well as those of some of his characters. In part I, for example, the Lilliputian Emperor — tyrannical, cruel, corrupt, and obsessed with ceremony — though a timeless symbol of bad government, is also a biting satire of George I, King of England (from 1714 to 1727), during much of Swift’s career. The Lilliputian Empress stands for Queen Anne, who blocked Swift’s advancement in the Church of England. There are two political parties in Lilliput, the Low-Heels and the High-Heels. These correspond respectively to the Whigs and Tories, the two major British political parties. It didn’t take long for people to catch on to the fact that the author was writing about England by way of Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the land of the Houyhnhnms. And it also didn’t take long for the public to discover that the author was Jonathan Swift. Gulliver Exhibited to the Brobdingnag Farmer by Richard Redgrave, date unknown (PD-Art).

189

British Literature Student wCB.indb 189

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Swift was a clergyman/writer/activist. Like many 18th-century clergy, Swift was caught up in the social milieu of his period. In 1729, when he was 63, he wrote A Modest Proposal, considered by many to be the best satire ever written in English. Swift’s last years were a torment. He suffered awful bouts of dizziness, nausea, deafness, and mental incapacity. In fact, Swift’s harshest critics tried to discredit Travels on the grounds that the author was mad when he wrote it. But he wasn’t. Travels was published in 1726—part IV, which raised the most controversy, was written before part III—and Swift didn’t enter a mental institution until 1742. He died in 1745. Some of you may have read Travels as a children’s book. Now I ask you to read this biting satire with mature minds and hearts.

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?

2

What kind of person can you infer Gulliver to be?

190

British Literature Student wCB.indb 190

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

William Hogarth Paintings William Hogarth was the most famous English painter when Jonathan Swift was alive. He painted all sorts of people, of all social classes. What emotions are visible in these paintings?

Hogarth Marriage 1743

Heads of Six of Hogarth’s Servants 1750

Canvassing for Votes 1754

191

British Literature Student wCB.indb 191

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

Part II

Plot

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-B

Part I

Part III

Part IV

192

British Literature Student wCB.indb 192

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Travelogue Written in the form of a travel book, Gulliver’s Travels includes several settings, each of which symbolizes one or more of Swift’s themes. Each setting exhibits another aspect of Gulliver’s personality and another idiosyncrasy of British society. Because the settings change, and Gulliver finds himself in contrasting situations, Gulliver’s viewpoints (as well as our own) are constantly shifting.

Human Nature

Human Nature

The Lilliputians and Gulliver among the Brobdingnagians show how petty humans are.

The Brobdingnagians and Pedro de Mendez are fine examples of generosity and fairness.

Mankind Is A Mixed Bag

Sin of Pride

Yahoos

Gulliver at the end is prideful.

193

British Literature Student wCB.indb 193

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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.

Character Profile

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-C

Circle the words that describe Gulliver.

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active Gulliver

Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

194

British Literature Student wCB.indb 194

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Critic Corner Quotations and reflections on Gulliver’s Travels: I will make over all my profits to you, for the property of Gulliver’s Travells, which I believe, will have as great a Run as John Bunian [John Bunyon, Pilgrim’s Progress]. . . . Her Royal Highness . . . was reading Gulliver and was just come to the passage of the Hobbling prince, which she laughed at. . . . Gulliver is in every body’s hands. Lord — who is no inventor of stories told me that he fell in company with a Master of a ship, who told him that he was very well acquainted with Gulliver . . . I lent the book to an old gentleman who went immediately to his map to search for Lilliput. I congratulate you first upon what you call your Couzen’s wonderful Book, which is publica trita manu at present, and I prophecy will be in future the admiration of all men. . . . I find no considerable man very angry at the book; some indeed think it rather too bold, and too general a Satire: but none that I hear of accuse it of particular reflections (I mean no persons of consequence, or good judgment; the mob of Criticks, you know, always are desirous to apply Satire to those that they envy for being above them). . . . Motte receiv’d the copy (he tells me) he knew not from whence, nor from whom, dropp’d at his house in the dark, from a Hackney-coach: by computing the time, I found it was after you left England, so for my part, I suspend my judgment.

— Alexander Pope to Swift, November 16, 1726

I wondered to hear him say of Gulliver’s Travels, “When once you have thought of big men and little men, it is very easy to do all the rest.” I endeavoured to make a stand for Swift, and tried to rouse those who were much more able to defend him.”

— Boswell, Life of Johnson, 1775

Swift’s greatness lies in the intensity, the almost insane violence, of that “hatred of bowels” which is the essence of his misanthropy and which underlies the whole of this book.

— Aldous Huxley, Do What You Will, 1930

Animal rationale — animal rationis capax! Swift’s somewhat scholastic distinction turns out, in the light of seventeenth century thought, to be by no means scholastic. It symbolizes, in fact, the chief intellectual battle of the age. Swift seems to have seen clearly enough that in assaulting man’s pride in reason, he was attacking the new optimism at its very root.

— T.O. Wedel, “On the Philosophical Background of Gulliver’s Travels,” from Studies in Philology, 23 (1926)

195

British Literature Student wCB.indb 195

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

Description

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-D

Describe the Yahoos.

Yahoos

196

British Literature Student wCB.indb 196

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Satire An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity, is an essay by Jonathan Swift defending Christianity, and in particular, Anglicanism, against contemporary assaults by its various opponents, including deists, atheists, and other so-called “dissenters.” The essay was written in 1708 and is known for its sophisticated irony. “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.” I AM very sensible what Weakness and Presumption it is, to reason against the general Humour and Disposition of the World. I remember it was with great Justice, and a due regard to the Freedom both of the Publick and the Press, forbidden upon severe Penalties to Write, or Discourse, or lay Wagers against the Union, even before it was confirmed by Parliament, because that was look’d upon as a Design, to oppose the Current of the People, which besides the Folly of it, is a manifest Breach of the Fundamental Law that makes this Majority of Opinion the Voice of God. In like manner, and for the very same Reasons, it may perhaps be neither safe nor prudent to argue against the abolishing of Christianity: at a Juncture when all Parties seem so unanimously determined upon the Point, as we cannot but allow from their Actions, their Discourses, and their Writings. However, I know not how, whether from the Affectation of Singularity, or the Perverseness of Human Nature, but so it unhappily falls out, that I cannot be entirely of this Opinion. Nay, although I were sure, an Order were issued out for my immediate Prosecution by the Attorney General, I should still confess that in the present Posture of our Affairs at home or abroad, I do not yet see the absolute Necessity of extirpating the Christian Religion from among us. THIS perhaps may appear too great a Paradox even for our wise and paradoxical Age to endure;

therefore I shall handle it with all Tenderness, and with the utmost Deference to that great and profound Majority which is of another Sentiment. AND yet the Curious may please to observe, how much the Genius of a Nation is liable to alter in half an Age. I have heard it affirmed for certain by some very old People, that the contrary Opinion was even in their Memories as much in Vogue as the other is now; And, that a Project for the abolishing Christianity would then have appeared as singular, and been thought as absurd, as it would be at this time to write or discourse in it’s Defence. Who are the Trinitarians? THEREFORE I freely own that all Appearances are against me. The System of the Gospel after the Fate of other Systems is generally antiquated and exploded; and the Mass or Body of the common People, among whom it seems to have had it’s latest Credit, are now grown as much ashamed of it as their Betters: Opinions like Fashions always descending from those of Quality to the middle sort, and thence to the Vulgar, where at length they are dropp’d and vanish. BUT here I would not be mistaken, and must therefore be so bold as to borrow a Distinction from the Writers on the other side, when they make a Difference between Nominal and Real Trinitarians. I hope no Reader imagines me so weak to stand up in

197

British Literature Student wCB.indb 197

11/14/12 4:38 PM

the Defence of real Christianity, such as used in primitive Times (if we may believe the Authors of those Ages) to have an Influence upon Mens Belief and Actions: To offer at the restoring of That would indeed be a wild Project; It would be to dig up Foundations, to destroy at one Blow all the Wit, and half the Learning of the Kingdom; to break the entire Frame and Constitution of Things, to ruin Trade, extinguish Arts and Sciences with the Professors of them; In short, to turn our Courts, Exchanges, and shops into Deserts; and would be full as absurd as the Proposal of Horace, where he advises the Romans, all in a Body to leave their City, and seek a new Seat in some remote Part of the World, by way of a Cure for the Corruption of their Manners. THEREFORE I think this Caution was in it self altogether unnecessary (which I have inserted only to prevent all Possibility of Caviling) since every candid Reader will easily understand my Discourse to be intended only in Defence of nominal Christianity, the other having been for some time wholly laid aside by general Consent, as utterly inconsistent with all our present Schemes of Wealth and Power. BUT why we should therefore cast off the Name and Title of Christians, although the general Opinion and Resolution be so violent for it, I confess I cannot (with Submission) apprehend the Consequence necessary. However, since the Undertakers propose such wonderful Advantages to the Nation by this Project, and advance many plausible Objections against the System of Christianity, I shall briefly consider the Strength of both, fairly allow them their greatest Weight, and offer such Answers as I think most reasonable. After which I will beg leave to shew what Inconveniencies may possibly happen by such an Innovation, in the present Posture of our Affairs. First, ONE great Advantage proposed by the abolishing of Christianity is, That it would very much enlarge and establish Liberty of Conscience, that great Bulwark of our Nation, and of the Protestant Religion, which is still too much limited by Priest-craft, notwithstanding all the good Intentions of the Legislature, as we have lately found by a severe Instance. For it is confidently reported, that two Young Gentlemen of great Hopes, bright

198

British Literature Student wCB.indb 198

Wit, and profound Judgment, who upon a thorough Examination of Causes and Effects, and by the meer Force of natural Abilities, without the least Tincture of Learning, having made a Discovery, that there was no God, and generously communicating their Thoughts for the good of the Publick; were some time ago by an unparalleled Severity, and upon I know not what obsolete Law, broke only for Blasphemy. And as it hath been wisely observed, if Persecution once begins no Man alive knows how far it may reach, or where it will end. IN answer to all which, with deference to wiser Judgments, I think this rather shews the Necessity of a nominal Religion among us. Great Wits love to be free with the highest Objects, and if they cannot be allowed a God to revile or renounce; they will speak Evil of Dignities, abuse the Government, and reflect upon the Ministry, which I am sure few will deny to be of much more pernicious Consequence, according to the saying of Tiberius, DEORUM OFFENSA DIIS CURAE. As to the particular Fact related, I think it is not fair to argue from one Instance, perhaps another cannot be produced, yet (to the Comfort of all those who may be apprehensive of Persecution) Blasphemy we know is freely spoke a Million of times in every Coffee-House and Tavern, or wherever else good Company meet. It must be allowed indeed that to break an English Free-born Officer only for Blasphemy, was, to speak the gentlest of such an Action, a very high strain of absolute Power. Little can be said in Excuse for the General; Perhaps he was afraid it might give Offence to the Allies, among whom, for ought I know, it may be the Custom of the Country to believe a God. But if he argued, as some have done, upon a mistaken Principle, that an Officer who is guilty of speaking Blasphemy, may sometime or other proceed so far as to raise a Mutiny, the Consequence is by no means to be admitted; For, surely the Commander of an English Army is like to be but ill obey’d, whose Soldiers fear and reverence him as little as they do a Deity. IT is further objected against the Gospel System, that it obliges men to the Belief of Things too difficult for free Thinkers, and such who have shook off the Prejudices that usually cling to a confin’d Education. To which I answer, that Men should be cautious how they raise Objections which reflect

11/14/12 4:38 PM

upon the Wisdom of the Nation. Is not every body freely allowed to believe whatever he pleaseth, and to publish his Belief to the World whenever he thinks fit, especially if it serve to strengthen the Party which is in the Right. Would any indifferent Foreigner, who should read the Trumpery lately written by Asgil, Tindall, Toland, Coward, and Forty more, imagine the Gospel to be our Rule of Faith, and to be confirmed by Parliaments. Does any Man either Believe, or say he believes, or desire to have it thought that he says he Believes one Syllable of the Matter, and is any Man worse received upon that Score, or does he find his want of Nominal Faith a disadvantage to him in the Pursuit of any Civil or Military Employment? What if there be an old dormant Statute or two against him, are they not now obsolete, to a degree, that Empson and Dudley themselves if they were now alive, would find it impossible to put them in execution? What are the tongue-in-cheek arguments that Swift is advancing? IT is likewise urged, that there are by Computation in this Kingdom, above Ten Thousand Parsons, whose Revenues added to those of my Lords the Bishops, would suffice to maintain at least Two Hundred Young Gentlemen of Wit and Pleasure, and Free-thinking Enemies to Priest-Craft, narrow Principles, Pedantry, and Prejudices, who might be an Ornament to the Court and Town: And then, again, so great a Number of able (bodied) Divines might be a Recruit to our Fleet and Armies. This indeed appears to be a Consideration of some Weight: But then, on the other side, several Things deserve to be considered likewise: As, First, Whether it may not be thought necessary that in certain Tracts of Country, like what we call Parishes, there should be one Man at least, of Abilities to Read and Write. Then it seems a wrong Computation, that the Revenues of the Church throughout this Island would be large enough to maintain Two Hundred Young Gentlemen, or even half that Number, after the present refined Way of Living, that is, to allow each of them such a Rent, as in the modern Form of Speech, would make them easy. But still there is in this Project a greater Mischief behind; And we ought to beware of the Woman’s Folly, who killed the Hen that every Morning laid her a Golden Egg. For, pray what would become of the Race of Men in the next

British Literature Student wCB.indb 199

Age, if we had nothing to trust to besides the Scrophulous consumptive Production furnished by our Men of Wit and Pleasure, when having squandered away their Vigour, Health, and Estates, they are forced by some disagreeable Marriage to piece up their broken Fortunes, and entail Rottenness and Politeness on their Posterity. Now, here are ten thousand Persons reduced by the wise Regulations of Henry the Eighth, to the Necessity of a low Dyet, and moderate Exercise, who are the only great Restorers of our Breed, without which the Nation would in an Age or two become but one great Hospital. ANOTHER Advantage proposed by the Abolishing of Christianity, is the clear Gain of one Day in Seven, which is now entirely lost, and consequently the Kingdom one Seventh less considerable in Trade, Business, and Pleasure; beside the Loss to the Publick of so many Stately Structures now in the Hands of the Clergy, which might be converted into Theatres, Exchanges, Market-houses, common Dormitories, and other Publick Edifices. I hope I shall be forgiven a hard Word if I call this a perfect Cavil. I readily own there hath been an old Custom time out of mind, for People to assemble in the Churches every Sunday, and that shops are still frequently shut, in order as it is conceived, to preserve the Memory of that antient Practice, but how this can prove a hindrance to Business or Pleasure, is hard to imagine. What if the Men of Pleasure are forced one Day in the Week to game at Home instead of the Chocolate-House. Are not the Taverns and Coffee-Houses open? Can there be a more convenient Season for taking a Dose of Physick? Are fewer Claps got upon Sundays than other Days? Is not that the chief Day for Traders to Sum up the Accounts of the Week, and for Lawyers to prepare their Briefs? But I would fain know how it can be pretended that the Churches are misapplied. Where are more Appointments and Rendezvouzes of Gallantry? Where more Care to appear in the foremost Box with greater Advantage of Dress? Where more Meetings for Business? Where more Bargains driven of all Sorts? And where so many Conveniences or Incitements to Sleep? THERE is one Advantage greater than any of the foregoing, proposed by the Abolishing of

199

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Christianity, that it will utterly extinguish Parties among us, by removing those Factious Distinctions of High and Low Church, of Whig and Tory, Presbyterian and Church of England, which are now so many grievous Clogs upon Publick Proceedings, and dispose Men to prefer the gratifying themselves or depressing their Adversaries, before the most important Interest of the State. I confess, if it were certain that so great an Advantage would redound to the Nation by this Expedient, I would submit, and be silent: But, will any man say that if the Words, Drinking, Cheating, Lying, Stealing, were by Act of Parliament ejected out of the English Tongue and Dictionaries; We should all Awake next Morning Chast and Temperate, Honest and Just, and Lovers of Truth. Is this a fair Consequence? Or if the Physicians would forbid us to pronounce the Words Pox, Gout, Rheumatism and Stone, would that Expedient serve like so many Talismans to destroy the Diseases themselves. Are Party and Faction rooted in Mens Hearts no deeper than Phrases borrowed from Religion, or founded upon no firmer Principles? And is our Language so poor that we cannot find other Terms to express them? Are Envy, Pride, Avarice and Ambition such ill Nomenclators, that they cannot furnish Appellations for their Owners? Will not Heydukes and Mamalukes, Mandarins and Patshaws, or any other Words formed at Pleasure, serve to distinguish those who are in the Ministry from others who would be in it if they could? What, for instance, is easier than to vary the Form of Speech, and instead of the Word, Church, make it a Question in Politicks, Whether the Monument be in Danger? Because Religion was nearest at hand to furnish a few convenient Phrases, is our Invention so barren, we can find no other? Suppose for Argument sake, that the Tories favoured Margarita, the Whigs Mrs. Tofts, and the Trimmers Valentini, would not Margaritians, Toftians and Valentinians be very tolerable Marks of Distinction? The Prasini and Veneti, two most virulent Factions in Italy, began (if I remember right) by a Distinction of Colours in Ribbans, which we might do with as Good a Grace about the Dignity of the Blew and the Green, and would serve as properly to divide the Court, the Parliament, and the Kingdom between them, as any Terms of Art whatsoever, borrowed from Religion. Therefore I think there is little Force

in this Objection against Christianity, or Prospect of so great an Advantage as is proposed in the abolishing of it. IT is again objected as a very absurd ridiculous Custom, that a Set of Men should be suffered, much less employed and hired, to bawl one Day in Seven against the Lawfulness of those Methods most in use towards the Pursuit of Greatness, Riches and Pleasure, which are the constant Practice of all Men alive on the other Six. But this Objection is I think, a little unworthy so refined an Age as ours. Let us argue this Matter calmly; I appeal to the Breast of any polite Free Thinker, whether in the Pursuit of gratifying a predominant Passion, he hath not always felt a wonderful Incitement, by reflecting it was a Thing forbidden; And therefore we see, in order to cultivate this Taste, the Wisdom of the Nation hath taken special Care, that the Ladies should be furnished with Prohibited Silks, and the Men with Prohibited Wine; And indeed it were to be wisht, that some other Prohibitions were promoted, in order to improve the Pleasures of the Town, which for want of such Expedients begin already, as I am told, to flag and grow languid, giving way daily to cruel Inroads from the Spleen. IT is likewise proposed as a great Advantage to the Publick, that if we once discard the System of the Gospel, all Religion will of course be banished for ever, and consequently along with it, those grievous Prejudices of Education, which under the Names of Virtue, Conscience, Honour, Justice, and the like, are so apt to disturb the Peace of human Minds, and the Notions whereof are so hard to be eradicated by Right Reason or Free Thinking, sometimes during the whole Course of our Lives. HERE first I observe how difficult it is to get rid of a Phrase which the World is once grown fond of, although the Occasion that first produced it, be entirely taken away. For several Years past, if a Man had but an ill-favoured Nose, the deep Thinkers of the Age would some way or other contrive to impute the Cause to the Prejudice of his Education. From this Fountain are said to be derived all our foolish Notions of Justice, Piety, Love of our Country, all our Opinions of God or a Future State, Heaven, Hell and the like: And there might formerly perhaps have been some Pretence for this Charge. But so effectual

200

British Literature Student wCB.indb 200

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Care hath been since taken to remove those Prejudices, by an entire Change in the Methods of Education, that (with Honour I mention it to our Polite Innovators) the Young Gentlemen, who are now on the Scene, seem to have not the least Tincture left of those Infusions, or String of those Weeds, and by consequence the Reason for abolishing Nominal Christianity upon that Pretext, is wholly ceast. FOR the rest, it may perhaps admit a Controversy, whether the banishing all Notions of Religion whatsoever, would be convenient for the Vulgar. Not that I am in the least of Opinion with those who hold Religion to have been the Invention of Politicians, to keep the lower Part of the World in Awe by the fear of Invisible Powers; unless Mankind were then very different from what it is now: For I look upon the Mass or Body of our People here in England, to be as Free Thinkers, that is to say, as Stanch Unbelievers, as any of the highest Rank. But I conceive some scattered Notions about a Superior Power to be of singular Use for the Common People, as furnishing excellent Materials to keep Children quiet when they grow peevish, and providing Topicks of Amusement in a tedious Winter Night. LASTLY, it is proposed as a singular Advantage, that the abolishing of Christianity will very much contribute to the uniting of Protestants, by enlarging the Terms of Communion so as to take in all sorts of Dissenters, who are now shut out of the Pale upon Account of a few Ceremonies which all Sides confess to be Things indifferent: That this alone will effectually answer the great Ends of a Scheme for Comprehension, by opening a large noble Gate, at which all Bodies may enter; whereas the chaffering with Dissenters, and dodging about this or the other Ceremony, is but like opening a few Wickets, and leaving them at jar, by which no more than one can get in at a time, and that, not without stooping, and sideling, and squeezing his Body. TO all this I answer; that there is one darling Inclination of Mankind, which usually affects to be a Retainer to Religion, though she be neither it’s Parent, it’s Godmother, or it’s Friend; I mean the Spirit of Opposition, that lived long before Christianity, and can easily subsist without it. Let us for instance, examine wherein the Opposition of

Sectaries among us consists. we shall find Christianity to have no hare in it at all. Does the Gospel any where prescribe a starcht squeezed Countenance, a Stiff formal Gate, a singularity of Manners and Habit, or any affected Modes of Speech different from the reasonable Part of Mankind. Yet, if Christianity did not lend it’s name, to stand in the Gap, and to employ or divert these Humors, they must of necessity be spent in Contraventions to the Laws of the Land, and Disturbance of the Publick Peace. There is a Portion of Enthusiasm assigned to every Nation, which if it hath not proper Objects to work on, will burst out and set all in a Flame. If the Quiet of a State can be bought by only flinging Men a few Ceremonies to devour, it is a Purchase no Wise Man would refuse. Let the Mastiffs amuse themselves about a Sheepskin stufft with Hay, provided it will keep them from Worrying the Flock. The Institution of Convents abroad, seems in one Point a strain of great Wisdom, there being few Irregularities in human Passions, that may not have recourse to vent themselves in some of those Orders, which are so many Retreats for the Speculative, the Melancholy, the Proud, the Silent, the Politick and the Morose, to spend themselves, and evaporate the Noxious Particles; for each of whom we in this Island are forced to provide a several Sect of Religion, to keep them Quiet; and whenever Christianity shall be abolished, the Legislature must find some other Expedient to employ and entertain them. For what imports it how large a Gate you open, if there will be always left a Number who place a Pride and a Merit in refusing to enter? HAVING thus consider’d the most important Objections against Christianity, and the chief Advantages proposed by the Abolishing thereof; I shall now with equal Deference and Submission to wiser Judgments as before, proceed to mention a few Inconveniencies that may happen, if the Gospel should be repealed; which perhaps the Projectors may not have sufficiently considered. AND first, I am very sensible how much the Gentlemen of Wit and Pleasure are apt to murmur, and be choqued at the sight of so many daggled-tail Parsons, who happen to fall in their way, and offend their Eyes; but at the same Time these wise Reformers do not consider what an Advantage and Felicity it is, for great Wits to be always provided

201

British Literature Student wCB.indb 201

11/14/12 4:38 PM

with Objects of Scorn and Contempt, in order to exercise and improve their Talents, and divert their Spleen from falling on each other or on themselves, especially when all this may be done without the least imaginable Danger to their Persons. AND to urge another Argument of a parallel Nature. If Christianity were once abolished, how could the Free Thinkers, the Strong Reasoners, and the Men of profound Learning, be able to find another Subject so calculated in all Points whereon to display their Abilities. What wonderful Productions of Wit should we be deprived of, from those whose Genius by continual Practice hath been wholly turn’d upon Railery and Invectives against Religion, and would therefore never be able to shine or distinguish themselves upon any other Subject. We are daily complaining of the great decline of Wit among us, and would we take away the greatest, perhaps the only Topick we have left? Who would ever have suspected Asgil for a Wit, or Toland for a Philosopher, if the inexhaustible Stock of Christianity had not been at hand to provide them with Materials. What other Subject through all Art or Nature could have produced Tindall for a profound Author, or furnished him with Readers. It is the wise Choice of the Subject that alone adorns and distinguishes the Writer. For, had a Hundred such Pens as these been employed on the side of Religion, they would have immediately sunk into Silence and Oblivion. NOR do I think it wholly groundless, or my Fears altogether imaginary, that the Abolishing of Christianity may perhaps bring the Church in Danger, or at least put the Senate to the Trouble of another Securing Vote. I desire I may not be mistaken; I am far from presuming to affirm or think that the Church is in Danger at present, or as Things now stand, but we know not how soon it may be so when the Christian Religion is repealed. As plausible as this Project seems, there may a dangerous Design lurk under it; Nothing can be more notorious, than that the Atheists, Deists, Socinians, AntiTrinitarians, and other Subdivisions of Free Thinkers, are Persons of little Zeal for the present Ecclesiastical Establishment: Their declared Opinion is for repealing the Sacramental Test, they are very indifferent with regard to Ceremonies, nor do they hold the Jus Divinum of Episcopacy. Therefore this

may be intended as one Politick step towards altering the Constitution of the Church Established, and setting up Presbytery in the stead, which I leave to be further considered by those at the Helm. IN the last Place I think nothing can be more plain, than that by this Expedient, we shall run into the Evil we chiefly pretend to avoid; and that the Abolishment of the Christian Religion, will be the readiest Course we can take to introduce Popery. And I am the more inclined to this Opinion, because we know it has been the constant Practice of the Jesuits to send over Emissaries, with Instructions to personate themselves Members of the several prevailing Sects amongst us. So it is recorded, that they have at sundry Times appeared in the Guise of Presbyterians, Anabaptists, Independents, and Quakers, according as any of these were most in Credit; So, since the Fashion hath been taken up of exploding Religion, the Popish Missionaries have not been wanting to mix with the Free-Thinkers; among whom Toland the great Oracle of the Anti-Christians is an Irish Priest, the Son of an Irish Priest; and the most learned and ingenious Author of a Book called the Rights of the Christian Church, was in a proper Juncture reconciled to the Romish Faith, whose true Son, as appears by a hundred Passages in his Treatise, he still continues. Perhaps I could add some others to the Number; but the Fact is beyond Dispute, and the Reasoning they proceed by is right: For supposing Christianity to be extinguished, the People will never be at Ease till they find out some other Method of Worship; which will as infallibly produce Superstition, as this will end in Popery. AND therefore, if notwithstanding all I have said, it still be thought necessary to have a Bill brought in for repealing Christianity; I would humbly offer an Amendment; That instead of the Word, Christianity, may be put Religion in general, which I conceive will much better answer all the good Ends proposed by the Projectors of it. For, as long as we leave in being, a God and his Providence, with all the necessary Consequences which curious and inquisitive Men will be apt to draw from such Premises, we do not strike at the Root of the Evil, though we should ever so effectually annihilate the present Scheme of the Gospel; For, of what Use is Freedom of Thought, if it will not produce Freedom of Action, which is the sole End, how remote soever

202

British Literature Student wCB.indb 202

11/14/12 4:38 PM

in Appearance, of all Objections against Christianity; And therefore, the Free-Thinkers consider it as a Sort of Edifice, wherein all the Parts have such a mutual Dependence on each other, that if you happen to pull out one single Nail, the whole Fabrick must fall to the Ground. This was happily exprest by him who had heard of a Text brought for proof of the Trinity, which in an ancient Manuscript was differently read; He thereupon immediately took the Hint, and by a sudden Deduction of a long Sorites, most Logically concluded: Why, if it be as you say, I may safely Whore and Drink on, and defy the Parson. From which, and many the like Instances easy to be produced, I think nothing can be more manifest, than that the Quarrel is not against any particular Points of hard digestion in the Christian System, but against Religion in general, which, by laying Restraints on human Nature, is supposed the great Enemy to the Freedom of Thought and Action. UPON the whole, if it shall still be thought for the Benefit of Church and State, that Christianity be abolished; I conceive however, it may be more convenient to defer the Execution to a Time of Peace, and not venture in this Conjuncture to

disoblige our Allies, who as it falls out, are all Christians, and many of them, by the Prejudices of their Education, so bigotted, as to place a sort of Pride in the Appellation. If upon being rejected by them, we are to trust to an Alliance with the Turk, we shall find our selves much deceived: For, as he is too remote, and generally engaged in War with the Persian Emperor, so his People would be more Scandalized at our Infidelity, than our Christian Neighbours. Because the Turks are not only strict Observers of religious Worship; but what is worse, believe a God, which is more than is required of us, even while we preserve the Name of Christians. TO conclude, Whatever some may think of the great Advantages to Trade by this favourite Scheme, I do very much apprehend, that in Six Months time after the Act is past for the Extirpation of the Gospel, the Bank, and East-India Stock, may fall at least One per Cent. And since that is Fifty times more than ever the Wisdom of our Age thought fit to venture for the Preservation of Christianity, there is no Reason we should be at so great a Loss meerly for the sake of destroying it (ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/s/swift/ jonathan).

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

CONCEPT BUILDER 16-E

•

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

Irony

Allegory

Satire

203

British Literature Student wCB.indb 203

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.”.

Chapter Learning Objectives In chapter 17 we meet the Primrose family.

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 of the Teacher Guide.

204

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.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 204

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

The Vicar of Wakefield Oliver Goldsmith Background

You will enjoy this early British novel about an eccentric pastor and his family. It became the prototype for a generation of novels written by Austen, Bronté, and others.

Irishman Oliver Goldsmith — born in Kilkenny West, Ireland, on November 10, 1730(?), and died April 4, 1774 — first achieved literary success with “The Traveller” (1764), a poem making a social statement about British rule. Like Jonathan Swift, Goldsmith wrote social criticism, but, unlike Swift, not with biting satire. Goldsmith’s greatest poetic triumph, “The Deserted Village” (1770), lamented the passing of a simple rural life in the face of agricultural consolidation by the great landowners (below). Goldsmith championed the small town much like country music ballads today call us back to rural living. This same theme is developed in The Vicar of Wakefield. His most substantial work at that time was The Citizen of the World (1762), a collection of soft satiric essays on English life as viewed by an imaginary Chinese visitor. He also wrote two successful plays, “The Good-Natured Man” (1768) and “She Stoops to Conquer” (1773), a witty attack on the sentimental drama of the day. Our novel, The Vicar of Wakefield, ranks as one of the truly great classics of the 18th century.

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 17-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 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?

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.”

3

What kind of man is the narrator?

205

British Literature Student wCB.indb 205

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

A Review

I suppose it makes me a philistine to say that I’m not charmed by Jonathan Swift’s wildly lauded Gulliver’s Travels, but it’s true. It does not seem particularly clever to me to imagine tiny people; nor does it seem particularly winsome to portray your ideological foes as sub-human. Swift’s satire is far too savage to be persuasive. For those reasons, students using this reading list only briefly meet Swift through his essay “An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in England.” A little Swift goes a long way, as this essay makes clear. Subtlety, something that seems to me to be crucial for the highest satire, is completely lacking in Swift. Didn’t you understand his latest barb? Well, he’ll tell it again — in several variations — until even the most dim-witted among us sees his point. Even the title of this essay is a shout: the people I’m satirizing will not stop till they have destroyed religion!

It’s helpful to compare Swift with my favorite satire, The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith. Because Goldsmith prizes subtlety, many careless readers walk away from The Vicar of Wakefield not knowing that their most precious conventions have been undermined. Does this mean that Goldsmith failed to influence those readers? Not necessarily. When we are behaving in a ridiculous way, it often takes time and reflection for the ridiculousness to dawn on us. But we are rarely snapped out of our foolishness by the Swiftian method of clapping us on the shoulder and yelling, “You’re a fool!” We like to be told a little more gently than that (Review by Jeff Baldwin, www.thegreatbooks.com/books).

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 17-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.

206

British Literature Student wCB.indb 206

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-B

Measuring Heights : A scene from Oliver Goldsmith’s The Vicar of Wakefield by W.P. Frith,1863 (PD-Art).

Themes

207

British Literature Student wCB.indb 207

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Ending The next morning as soon as I awaked I found my eldest son sitting by my bedside, who came to encrease my joy with another turn of fortune in my favour. First having released me from the settlement that I had made the day before in his favour, he let me know that my merchant who had failed in town was arrested at Antwerp, and there had given up effects to a much greater amount than what was due to his creditors. My boy’s generosity pleased me almost as much as this unlooked for good fortune. But I had some doubts whether I ought in justice to accept his offer. While I was pondering upon this, Sir William entered the room, to whom I communicated my doubts. His opinion was, that as my son was already possessed of a very affluent fortune by his marriage, I might accept his offer without any hesitation. His business, however, was to inform me that as he had the night before sent for the licences, and expected them every hour, he hoped that I would not refuse my assistance in making all the company happy that morning. A footman entered while we were speaking, to tell us that the messenger was returned, and as I was by this time ready, I went down, where I found the whole company as merry as affluence and innocence could make them. However, as they were now preparing for a very solemn ceremony, their laughter entirely displeased me. I told them of the grave, becoming and sublime deportment they should assume upon this Mystical occasion, and read them two homilies and a thesis of my own composing, in order to prepare them. Yet they still seemed perfectly refractory and ungovernable. Even as we were going along to church, to which I led the way, all gravity had quite forsaken them, and I was often tempted to turn back in indignation. In church a new dilemma arose, which promised no easy solution. This was, which couple should be married first; my son’s bride

warmly insisted, that Lady Thornhill, (that was to be) should take the lead; but this the other refused with equal ardour, protesting she would not be guilty of such rudeness for the world. The argument was supported for some time between both with equal obstinacy and good breeding. But as I stood all this time with my book ready, I was at last quite tired of the contest, and shutting it, ‘I perceive,’ cried I, ‘that none of you have a mind to be married, and I think we had as good go back again; for I suppose there will be no business done here to-day.’ — This at once reduced them to reason. The Baronet and his Lady were first married, and then my son and his lovely partner. I had previously that morning given orders that a coach should be sent for my honest neighbour Flamborough and his family, by which means, upon our return to the inn, we had the pleasure of finding the two Miss Flamboroughs alighted before us. Mr Jenkinson gave his hand to the eldest, and my son Moses led up the other; (and I have since found that he has taken a real liking to the girl, and my consent and bounty he shall have whenever he thinks proper to demand them.) We were no sooner returned to the inn, but numbers of my parishioners, hearing of my success, came to congratulate me, but among the rest were those who rose to rescue me, and whom I formerly rebuked with such sharpness. I told the story to Sir William, my son-in-law, who went out and reprove them with great severity; but finding them quite disheartened by his harsh reproof, he gave them half a guinea a piece to drink his health and raise their dejected spirits. Soon after this we were called to a very genteel entertainment, which was drest by Mr Thornhill’s cook. And it may not be improper to observe with respect to that gentleman, that he now resides in

208

British Literature Student wCB.indb 208

11/14/12 4:38 PM

quality of companion at a relation’s house, being very well liked and seldom sitting at the side-table, except when there is no room at the other; for they make no stranger of him. His time is pretty much taken up in keeping his relation, who is a little melancholy, in spirits, and in learning to blow the French-horn. My eldest daughter, however, still remembers him with regret; and she has even told me, though I make a great secret of it, that when he reforms she may be brought to relent. But to return, for I am not apt to digress thus, when we were to sit down to dinner our ceremonies were going to be renewed. The question was whether my eldest daughter, as being a matron, should not sit above the two young brides, but the debate was cut short by my son George, who proposed, that the company should sit indiscriminately, every gentleman by his lady. This was received with great approbation by all, excepting my wife, who I could perceive was not perfectly satisfied, as she expected to have had the pleasure of sitting at the head of the table and carving all the meat for all the

company. But notwithstanding this, it is impossible to describe our good humour. I can’t say whether we had more wit amongst us now than usual; but I am certain we had more laughing, which answered the end as well. One jest I particularly remember, old Mr Wilmot drinking to Moses, whose head was turned another way, my son replied, ‘Madam, I thank you.’ Upon which the old gentleman, winking upon the rest of the company, observed that he was thinking of his mistress. At which jest I thought the two miss Flamboroughs would have died with laughing. As soon as dinner was over, according to my old custom, I requested that the table might be taken away, to have the pleasure of seeing all my family assembled once more by a chearful fireside. My two little ones sat upon each knee, the rest of the company by their partners. I had nothing now on this side of the grave to wish for, all my cares were over, my pleasure was unspeakable. It now only remained that my gratitude in good fortune should exceed my former submission in adversity (gutenberg.org/).

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 17-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Ending

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-C

Create a better ending for this book on the back of this paper. Use this chart to create an outline.

Better Ending

Reason:

Textual Support:

209

British Literature Student wCB.indb 209

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

The Ambitions of the Vicar’s Family I now began to find that all my long and painful lectures upon temperance, simplicity, and contentment were entirely disregarded. The distinctions lately paid us by our betters awakened that pride which I had laid asleep, but not removed. Our windows again, as formerly, were filled with washes for the neck and face. The sun was dreaded as an enemy to the skin without doors, and the fire as a spoiler of the complexion within. My wife observed that rising too early would hurt her daughters’ eyes, that working after dinner would redden their noses, and she convinced me that the hands never looked so white as when they did nothing. Instead therefore of finishing George’s shirts, we now had them newmodeling their old gauzes, or flourishing upon catgut. The poor Miss Flamboroughs, their former gay companions, were cast off as mean acquaintance, and the whole conversation ran upon high life and high-lived company, with pictures, taste, Shakespeare, and the musical glasses. But we could have borne all this, had not a fortune-telling gipsy come to raise us into perfect sublimity. The tawny sibyl no sooner appeared than my girls came running to me for a shilling apiece, to cross her hand with silver. To say the truth, I was tired of being always wise, and could not help gratifying their request, because I loved to see them happy. I gave each of them a shilling, tho for the honor of the family it must be observed that they never went without money themselves, as my wife always generously let them have a guinea each to keep in their pockets, but with strict injunctions never to change it. After they had been closeted up with the fortune-teller for some time, I knew by their looks upon their returning that they had been promised something great. “Well, my girls, how have you sped? Tell me, Livy, has the fortune-teller given

thee a pennyworth?” “I protest, papa,” says the girl, “I believe she deals with somebody that is not right, for she positively declared that I am to be married to a squire in less than a twelvemonth!” “Well now, Sophy, my child,” said I, “and what sort of a husband are you to have?” “Sir,” replied she, “I am to have a lord soon after my sister has married the squire.” “How,” cried I, “is that all you are to have for your two shillings? Only a lord and a squire for two shillings! You fools, I could have promised you a prince and a nabob for half the money!” This curiosity of theirs, however, was attended with very serious effects: we now began to think ourselves designed by the stars to something exalted, and already anticipated our future grandeur. . . . It has been a thousand times observed, and I must observe it once more, that the hours we pass with happy prospects in view are more pleasing than those crowned with fruition. In the first case we cook the dish to our own appetite; in the latter, nature cooks it for us. It is impossible to repeat the train of agreeable reveries we called up for our entertainment. We looked upon our fortunes as once more rising; and as the whole parish asserted that the Squire was in love with my daughter, she was actually so with him, for they persuaded her into the passion. In this agreeable interval my wife had the most lucky dreams in the world, which she took care to tell us every morning with great solemnity and exactness. It was one night a coffin and crossbones, the sign of an approaching wedding; at another time she imagined her daughter’s pockets filled with farthings, a certain sign of their being shortly stuffed with gold. The girls themselves had their omens. They felt strange kisses on their lips; they saw rings in the candle; purses bounced from the fire, and true-love knots lurked in the bottom of every teacup.

210

British Literature Student wCB.indb 210

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Toward the end of the week we received a card from the town ladies, in which, with their compliments, they hoped to see all our family at church the Sunday following. All Saturday morning I could perceive, in consequence of this, my wife and daughters in close conference together, and now and then glancing at me with looks that betrayed a latent plot. To be sincere, I had strong suspicions that some absurd proposal was preparing for appearing with splendor the next day. In the evening they began their operations in a very regular manner, and my wife undertook to conduct the siege. After tea, when I seemed in spirits, she began thus: “I fancy, Charles my dear, we shall have a great deal of good company at our church tomorrow.” “Perhaps we may, my dear,” returned I; “tho you need be under no uneasiness about that; you shall have a sermon whether there be or not.” “That is what I expect,” returned she; “but I think, my dear, we ought to appear there as decently as possible, for who knows what may happen?” “Your precautions,” replied I, “are highly commendable. A decent behavior and appearance in church is what charms me. We should be devout and humble, cheerful and serene.” “Yes,” cried she, “I know that; but I mean we should go there in as proper a manner as possible; not altogether like the scrubs about us.” “You are quite right, my dear,” returned I; “and I was going to make the very same proposal. The proper manner of going is to go there as early as possible, to have time for meditation before the service begins.” “Phoo, Charles!” interrupted she; “all that is very true, but not what I would be at. I mean we should go there genteelly. You know the church is two miles off, and I protest I don’t like to see my daughters trudging up to their pew all blowzed and red with walking, and looking for all the world as if they had been winners at a smock-race. Now, my dear, my proposal is this: there are our two plow-horses, the colt that has been in our family these nine years, and his companion Blackberry that has scarcely done an earthly thing this month past. They are both grown fat and lazy. Why should not they do something as well as we? And let me tell you, when Moses has trimmed them a little they will cut a very tolerable figure.”

To this proposal I objected that walking would be twenty times more genteel than such a paltry conveyance, as Blackberry was wall-eyed and the colt wanted a tail; that they had never been broke to the rein, but had a hundred vicious tricks; and that we had but one saddle and pillion in the whole house. All these objections, however, were overruled; so that I was obliged to comply. The next morning I perceived them not a little busy in collecting such materials as might be necessary for the expedition, but as I found it would be a business of time, I walked on to the church before, and they promised speedily to follow. I waited near an hour in the reading-desk for their arrival, but not finding them come as I expected, I was obliged to begin, and went through the service, not without some uneasiness at finding them absent. This was increased when all was finished, and no appearance of the family. I therefore walked back to the horse-way, which was five miles around, tho the foot-way was but two, and when I got about half-way home, perceived the procession marching slowly forward toward the church; my son, my wife, and the two little ones exalted upon one horse, and my two daughters upon the other. I demanded the cause of their delay; but I soon found by their looks they had met with a thousand misfortunes on the road. The horses had at first refused to move from the door, till Mr. Burchell was kind enough to beat them forward for about two hundred yards with his cudgel. Next, the straps of my wife’s pillion broke down, and they were obliged to stop to repair them before they could proceed. After that, one of the horses took it into his head to stand still, and neither blows nor entreaties could prevail with him to proceed. They were just recovering from this dismal situation when I found them; but perceiving everything safe, I own their present mortification did not much displease me, as it would give me many opportunities of future triumph, and teach my daughters more humility (www.gutenberg. org).

211

British Literature Student wCB.indb 211

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 17-D.

•

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

Character Profile

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-D

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

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active The Vicar

Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

212

British Literature Student wCB.indb 212

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Biography of Oliver Goldsmith by Washington Irving There are few writers for whom the reader feels such personal kindness as for Oliver Goldsmith, for few have so eminently possessed the magic gift of identifying themselves with their writings. We read his character in every page, and grow into familiar intimacy with him as we read. The artless benevolence that beams throughout his works; the whimsical, yet amiable views of human life and human nature; the unforced humor, blending so happily with good feeling and good sense, and singularly dashed at times with a pleasing melancholy; even the very nature of his mellow, and flowing, and softly-tinted style, all seem to bespeak his moral as well as his intellectual qualities, and make us love the man at the same time that we admire the author. While the productions of writers of loftier pretension and more sounding names are suffered to moulder on our shelves, those of Goldsmith are cherished and laid in our bosoms. We do not quote them with ostentation, but they mingle with our minds, sweeten our tempers, and

harmonize our thoughts; they put us in good humor with ourselves and with the world, and in so doing they make us happier and better men. An acquaintance with the private biography of Goldsmith lets us into the secret of his gifted pages. We there discover them to be little more than transcripts of his own heart and picturings of his fortunes. There he shows himself the same kind, artless, good-humored, excursive, sensible, whimsical, intelligent being that he appears in his writings. Scarcely an adventure or character is given in his works that may not be traced to his own party-colored story. Many of his most ludicrous scenes and ridiculous incidents have been drawn from his own blunders and mischances, and he seems really to have been buffeted into almost every maxim imparted by him for the instruction of his reader.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 17-E.

•

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

213

British Literature Student wCB.indb 213

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Plot Sequencing

CONCEPT BUILDER 17-E

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

___ A

George marries Miss Wilmot

___ B

Mr. Burchill AKA Thornhill marries Sophia

___ C

A fire destroys the Vicar’s home.

___ D

George leaves home

___ E

The Vicar’s fortunes are restored

___ F

The family loses its fortune

___ G

Mr. Burchill saves Sophia

214

British Literature Student wCB.indb 214

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Chapter 18

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 In chapter 18 we meet

one of the most talented and extraordinary poets, essayists, and scholars in world history — Samuel Johnson. 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 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review “The Rivals” by Richard Brinsley Sheridan.

215

History connections: British History chapter 18, “Response to the French Revolution.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 215

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Samuel Johnson Background

Samuel Johnson, essayist, poet, and critic, was the leading English writer of the second half of the 18th century and one of this reader’s favorites. The period is now called the Age of Johnson, in recognition of his eminence. He wrote the first English dictionary based on historical principles; he produced the first editorially intelligent edition of Shakespeare’s plays; his literary criticism, after suffering a long period of disrepute, is now ranked with the finest in English; as a moral essayist he has always been admired (see passage below). On September 18, 1709, Johnson was born in Lichfield, and on December 13, 1784, he died in London, which had become his home after 1737.

Preface to His Edition of Shakespeare’s Plays THAT praises are without reason lavished on the dead, and that the honours due only to excellence are paid to antiquity, is a complaint likely to be always continued by those, who, being able to add nothing to truth, hope for eminence from the heresies of paradox; or those, who, being forced by disappointment upon consolatory expedients, are willing to hope from posterity what the present age refuses, and flatter themselves that the regard which is yet denied by envy, will be at last bestowed by time. Antiquity, like every other quality that attracts the notice of mankind, has undoubtedly votaries that reverence it, not from reason, but from prejudice. Some seem to admire indiscriminately what ever has been long preserved, without considering that time has sometimes co-operated with chance; all perhaps are more willing to honour past than present excellence; and the mind contemplates genius through the shades of age, as the eye surveys the sun through artificial opacity. The great contention of criticism is to find the faults of the moderns, and the beauties of the ancients. While an authour is yet living we estimate his powers by his worst performance, and when he is dead we rate them by his best. To works, however, of which the excellence is not absolute and definite, but gradual and comparative; to works not raised upon principles demonstrative

216

British Literature Student wCB.indb 216

and scientifick, but appealing wholly to observation and experience, no other test can be applied than length of duration and continuance of esteem. What mankind have long possessed they have often examined and compared, and if they persist to value the possession, it is because frequent comparisons have confirmed opinion in its favour. 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. Demonstration immediately displays its power, and has nothing to hope or fear from the flux of years; but works tentative and experimental must be estimated by their proportion to the general and collective ability of man, as it is discovered in a long succession of endeavours. Of the first building that was raised, it might be with certainty determined that it was round or square, but whether it was spacious or lofty must have been referred to time. The Pythagorean scale of numbers was at once discovered to be perfect; but the poems of Homer we yet know not to transcend the common limits of human intelligence, but by remarking, that nation after nation, and century after century, has been able to do little more than transpose his incidents, new name his characters, and paraphrase his sentiments.

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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. The Poet, of whose works I have undertaken the revision, may now begin to assume the dignity of an ancient, and claim the privilege of established fame and prescriptive veneration. He has long outlived his century, the term commonly fixed as the test of literary merit. Whatever advantages he might once derive from personal allusions, local customs, or temporary opinions, have for many years been lost; and every topick of merriment or motive of sorrow, which the modes of artificial life afforded him, now only obscure the scenes which they once illuminated. The effects of favour and competition are at an end; the tradition of his friendships and his enmities has perished; his 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, unpractised 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. It is from this wide extension of design that so much instruction is derived. It is this which fills the plays of Shakespeare with practical axioms and domestick wisdom. It was said of Euripides, that every verse was a precept; and it may be said of Shakespeare, that from his works may be collected a sys[t]em of civil and [e]conomical prudence. Yet his real power is not in the splendour of particular passages, but by the progress of his fable, and, the tenour of his dialogue; and he that tries to recommend him by select quotations, will succeed like the pedant in Hierocles, who, when he offered his house to sale, carried a brick in his pocket as a specimen. It will not easily be imagined how much Shakespeare excells in accommodating his sentiments to real life, but by comparing him with other authours. It was observed of the ancient schools of declamation, that the more diligently they were frequented, the more was the student disqualified for the world, because he found nothing there which he should ever meet in any other place. The same remark may be applied to every stage but that of Shakespeare. The theatre, when it is under any other direction, is peopled by such characters as were never seen, conversing in a language which was never heard, upon topicks which will never arise in the commerce of mankind. But the dialogue of this authour is often so evidently determined by the incident which produces it, and is pursued with so much ease and simplicity, that it seems scarcely to claim the merit of fiction, but to have been gleaned

217

British Literature Student wCB.indb 217

11/14/12 4:38 PM

by diligent selection out of common conversation, and common occurrences. 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. Characters thus ample and general were not easily discriminated and preserved, yet perhaps no poet ever kept his personages more distinct from each other. I will not say with Pope, that every speech may be assigned to the proper speaker, because many speeches there are which have nothing characteristical; but, perhaps, though some may be equally adapted to every person, it will be difficult to find, any that can be properly transferred from the present possessor to another claimant. The choice is right, when there is reason for choice. Other dramatists can only gain attention by hyperbolical or aggravated characters, by fabulous and unexampled excellence or depravity, as the writers of barbarous romances invigorated the reader by a giant and a dwarf; and he that should form his expectations of human affairs from the play, or from the tale, would be equally deceived. 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,

218

British Literature Student wCB.indb 218

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. His adherence to general nature has exposed him to the censure of criticks, who form their judgments upon narrower principles. Dennis and Rhymer think his Romans not sufficiently Roman; and Voltaire censures his kings as not completely royal. Dennis is offended, that Menenius, a senator of Rome, should play the buffoon; and Voltaire perhaps thinks decency violated when the Danish Usurper is represented as a drunkard. But Shakespeare always makes nature predominent over accident; and if he preserves the essential character, is not very careful of distinctions superinduced and adventitious. His story requires Romans and kings, but he thinks only on men. He knew that Rome, like every other city, had men of all dispositions; and wanting a buffoon, he went into the senate-house for that which the senatehouse would certainly have afforded him. He was inclined to shew an usurper and a murderer not only odious but despicable, he therefore added drunkenness to his other qualities, knowing that kings love wine like other men, and that wine exerts its natural power upon kings. These are the petty cavils of petty minds; a poet overlooks the casual distinction of country and condition, as a painter, satisfied with the figure, neglects the drapery. The censure which he has incurred by mixing comick and tragick scenes, as it extends to all his works, deserves more consideration. Let the fact be first stated, and then examined. Shakespeare’s plays are not in the rigorous or critical sense either tragedies or comedies, but compositions of a distinct kind; exhibiting the real state of sublunary nature, which partakes of good and evil, joy and sorrow, mingled with endless

11/14/12 4:38 PM

variety of proportion and innumerable modes of combination; and expressing the course of the world, in which the loss of one is the gain of another; in which, at the same time, the reveller is hasting to his wine, and the mourner burying his friend; in which the malignity of one is sometimes defeated by the frolick of another; and many mischiefs and many benefits are done and hindered without design. Out of this chaos of mingled porposes [purposes] and casualties the ancient poets, according to the laws which custom had prescribed, selected some the crimes of men, and some of their absurdities; some the momentous vicissitudes of life, and some the lighter occurrences; some the terrours of distress, and some the gayeties of prosperity. Thus rose the two modes of imitation, known by the names of tragedy and comedy, compositions intended to promote different ends by contrary means, and considered as so little allied, that I do not recollect among the Greeks or Romans a single writer who attempted both. Shakespeare has united the powers of exciting laughter and sorrow not only in one mind but in one

composition. Almost all his plays are divided between serious and ludicrous characters, and, in the successive evolutions of the design, sometimes produce seriousness and sorrow, and sometimes levity and laughter. That this is a practice contrary to the rules of criticism will be readily allowed; but there is always an appeal open from criticism to nature. The end of writing is to instruct; the end of poetry is to instruct by pleasing. That the mingled drama may convey all the instruction of tragedy or comedy cannot be denied, because it includes both in its alterations of exhibition, an[d] approaches nearer than either to the appearance of life, by shewing how greate machinations and slender designs may promote or obviate one another, and the high and the low co-operate in the general system by unavoidable concatenation. 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.

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 18-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 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?

2

What point is Johnson making concerning great literature?

3

Why, in Johnson’s opinion is Shakespeare so great?

219

British Literature Student wCB.indb 219

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

The Vanity of Human Wishes The Tenth Satire of Juvenal, Imitated

Wealth heap’d on wealth, nor truth nor safety buys,

Let observation with extensive view,

The dangers gather as the treasures rise.

Survey mankind, from China to Peru; Remark each anxious toil, each eager strife,

Let hist’ry tell where rival kings command,

And watch the busy scenes of crouded life;

And dubious title shakes the madded land,

Then say how hope and fear, desire and hate,

When statutes glean the refuse of the sword,

O’er spread with snares the clouded maze of fate,

How much more safe the vassal than the lord,

Where wav’ring man, betray’d by vent’rous pride,

Low sculks the hind beneath the rage of pow’r,

To tread the dreary paths without a guide,

And leaves the wealthy traytor in the Tow’r,

As treach’rous phantoms in the mist delude,

Untouch’d his cottage, and his slumbers sound,

Shuns fancied ills, or chases airy good.

Tho’ confiscation’s vulturs hover round.

How rarely reason guides the stubborn choice, Rules the bold hand, or prompts the suppliant voice,

The needy traveller, serene and gay,

How nations sink, by darling schemes oppres’d,

Walks the wild heath, and sings his toil away.

When vengeance listens to the fool’s request.

Does envy seize thee? crush th’ upbraiding joy,

Fate wings with ev’ry wish th’ afflictive dart,

Encrease his riches and his peace destroy,

Each gift of nature, and each grace of art,

New fears in dire vicissitude invade,

With fatal heat impetuous courage glows,

The rustling brake alarms, and quiv’ring shade,

With fatal sweetness elocution flows,

Nor light nor darkness bring his pain relief,

Impeachment stops the speaker’s pow’rful breath,

One shews the plunder, and one hides the thief.

And restless fire precipitates on death. Yet still one gen’ral cry the skies assails, But scarce observ’d the knowing and the bold.

And gain and grandeur load the tainted gales;

Fall in the gen’ral massacre of gold;

Few know the toiling statesman’s fear or care,

Wide-wasting pest! that rages unconfin’d,

Th’ insidious rival and the gaping heir.

And crouds with crimes the records of mankind,

The vanquish’d hero leaves his broken bands,

For gold his sword the hireling ruffian draws,

And shews his miseries in distant lands;

For gold the hireling judge distorts the laws;

Condemn’d a needy supplicant to wait,

220

British Literature Student wCB.indb 220

11/14/12 4:38 PM

While ladies interpose, and slaves debate.

From hill to hill the beacons rousing blaze

But did not Chance at length her error mend?

Spreads wide the hope of plunder and of praise;

Did no subverted empire mark his end?

The fierce Croatian, and the wild Hussar,

Did rival monarchs give the fatal wound?

And all the sons of ravage croud the war;

Or hostile millions press him to the ground?

The baffled prince in honour’s flatt’ring bloom

His fall was destin’d to a barren strand,

Of hasty greatness finds the fatal doom,

A petty fortress, and a dubious hand;

his foes derision, and his subjects blame,

He left the name, at which the world grew pale,

And steals to death from anguish and from shame.

To point a moral, or adorn a tale. Enlarge my life with multitude of days, All times their scenes of pompous woes afford,

In health, in sickness, thus the suppliant prays;

From Persia’s tyrant to Bavaria’s lord.

Hides from himself his state, and shuns to know,

In gay hostility, and barb’rous pride,

That life protracted is protracted woe.

With half mankind embattled at his side,

Time hovers o’er, impatient to destroy,

Great Xerxes comes to seize the certain prey,

And shuts up all the passages of joy:

And starves exhausted regions in his way;

In vain their gifts the bounteous seasons pour,

Attendant Flatt’ry counts his myriads o’er,

The fruit autumnal, and the vernal flow’r,

Till counted myriads sooth his pride no more;

With listless eyes the dotard views the store,

Fresh praise is try’d till madness fires his mind,

He views, and wonders that they please no more;

The waves he lashes, and enchains the wind;

Now pall the tastless meats, and joyless wines,

New pow’rs are claim’d, new pow’rs are still bestowed,

And luxury with sighs her slave resigns.

Till rude resistance lops the spreading god;

And yield the tuneful lenitives of pain:

The daring Greeks deride the martial shew, And heap their vallies with the gaudy foe; Th’ insulted sea with humbler thoughts he gains, A single skiff to speed his flight remains; Th’ incumber’d oar scarce leaves the dreaded coast Through purple billows and a floating host. The bold Bavarian, in a luckless hour, Tries the dread summits of Cesarean pow’r, With unexpected legions bursts away, And sees defenceless realms receive his sway; Short sway! fair Austria spreads her mournful charms, The queen, the beauty, sets the world in arms;

British Literature Student wCB.indb 221

Approach, ye minstrels, try the soothing strain, No sounds alas would touch th’ impervious ear, Though dancing mountains witness’d Orpheus near; Nor lute nor lyre his feeble pow’rs attend, Nor sweeter musick of a virtuous friend, But everlasting dictates croud his tongue, Perversely grave, or positively wrong. The still returning tale, and ling’ring jest, Perplex the fawning niece and pamper’d guest, While growing hopes scarce awe the gath’ring sneer, And scarce a legacy can bribe to hear; The watchful guests still hint the last offence, The daughter’s petulance, the son’s expence, Improve his heady rage with treach’rous skill, And mould his passions till they make his will.

221

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Unnumber’d maladies his joints invade,

From Marlb’rough’s eyes the streams of dotage flow,

Lay siege to life and press the dire blockade;

And Swift expires a driv’ler and a show.

But unextinguish’d Av’rice still remains, And dreaded losses aggravate his pains;

The teeming mother, anxious for her race,

He turns, with anxious heart and cripled hands,

Begs for each birth the fortune of a face:

His bonds of debt, and mortgages of lands;

Yet Vane could tell what ills from beauty spring;

Or views his coffers with suspicious eyes,

And Sedley curs’d the form that pleas’d a king.

Unlocks his gold, and counts it till he dies.

Ye nymphs of rosy lips and radiant eyes, Whom Pleasure keeps too busy to be wise,

But grant, the virtues of a temp’rate prime

Whom Joys with soft varieties invite,

Bless with an age exempt from scorn or crime;

By day the frolick, and the dance by night,

An age that melts in unperceiv’d decay,

Who frown with vanity, who smile with art,

And glides in modest Innocence away;

And ask the latest fashion of the heart,

Whose peaceful day Benevolence endears,

What care, what rules your heedless charms shall save,

whose night congratulating Conscience cheers; The gen’ral fav’rite as the gen’ral friend:

Each nymph your rival, and each youth your slave?

Such age there is, and who could wish its end?

Against your fame with fondness hate combines,

Yet ev’n on this her load Misfortune flings,

With distant voice neglected Virtue calls,

To press the weary minutes flagging wings: New sorrow rises as the day returns, A sister sickens, or a daughter mourns. Now kindred Merit fills the sable bier, Now lacerated Friendship claims a tear. Year chases year, decay pursues decay, Still drops some joy from with’ring life away; New forms arise, and diff ’rent views engage, Superfluous lags the vet’ran on the stage, Till pitying nature signs the last release,

The rival batters, and the lover mines. Less heard, and less the faint remonstrance falls; Tir’d with contempt, she quits the slipp’ry reign, And Pride and Prudence take her seat in vain. In croud at once, where none the pass defend, The harmless Freedom, and the private Friend. The guardians yield, by force superior ply’d; By Int’rest, Prudence; and by Flatt’ry, Pride. Now Beauty falls betray’d, despis’d, distress’d, And hissing Infamy proclaims the rest.

And bids afflicted worth retire to peace.

Where then shall Hope and Fear their objects find?

But few there are whom hours like these await,

Must helpless man, in ignorance sedate,

Who set unclouded in the gulphs of fate. From Lydia’s monarch should the search descend, By Solon caution’d to regard his end, In life’s last scene what prodigies surprise, Fears of the brave, and follies of the wise?

Must dull Suspence corrupt the stagnant mind? Roll darkling down the torrent of his fate? Must no dislike alarm, no wishes rise, No cries attempt the mercies of the skies? Enquirer, cease, petitions yet remain, Which heav’n may hear, nor deem religion vain.

222

British Literature Student wCB.indb 222

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Still raise for good the supplicating voice,

For love, which scarce collective man can fill;

But leave to heav’n the measure and the choice.

For patience sov’reign o’er transmuted ill;

Safe in his pow’r, whose eyes discern afar

For faith, that panting for a happier seat,

The secret ambush of a specious pray’r.

Counts death kind Nature’s signal of retreat:

Implore his aid, in his decisions rest,

These goods for man the laws of heav’n ordain,

Secure whate’er he gives, he gives the best.

These goods he grants, who grants the pow’r to gain;

Yet when the sense of sacred presence fires,

With these celestial wisdom calms the mind,

And strong devotion to the skies aspires,

And makes the happiness she does not find.

Pour forth thy fervours for a healthful mind,

(www.bartleby.com).

Obedient passions, and a will resign’d;

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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 18-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.

My Favorite Author

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-B

Who is your favorite author and why?

Reason 1:

Reason 2:

My Favorite Author

223

British Literature Student wCB.indb 223

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

The Life of Samuel Johnson James Boswell Perhaps the best biography of Samuel Johnson was written by a contemporary, James Boswell. The following is taken from the introduction. Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited. But although he at different times, in a desultory manner, committed to writing many particulars of the progress of his mind and fortunes, he never had persevering diligence enough to form them into a regular composition. Of these memorials a few have been preserved; but the greater part was consigned by him to the flames, a few days before his death. As I had the honour and happiness of enjoying his friendship for upwards of twenty years; as I had the scheme of writing his life constantly in view; as he was well apprised of this circumstance, and from time to time obligingly satisfied my inquiries, by communicating to me the incidents of his early years; as I acquired a facility in recollecting, and was very assiduous in recording, his conversation, of which the extraordinary vigour and vivacity constituted one of the first features of his character; and as I have spared no pains in obtaining materials concerning him, from every quarter where I could discover that they were to be found, and have been favoured with the most liberal communications by his friends; I flatter myself that few biographers have entered upon such a work as this, with more advantages; independent of literary abilities, in which I am not vain enough to compare myself with some great names who have gone before me in this kind of writing.

Indeed I cannot conceive a more perfect mode of writing any man’s life, than not only relating all the most important events of it in their order, but interweaving what he privately wrote, and said, and thought; by which mankind are enabled as it were to see him live, and to ‘live o’er each scene’ with him, as he actually advanced through the several stages of his life. Had his other friends been as diligent and ardent as I was, he might have been almost entirely preserved. As it is, I will venture to say that he will be seen in this work more completely than any man who has ever yet lived. And he will be seen as he really was; for I profess to write, not his panegyrick, which must be all praise, but his Life; which, great and good as he was, must not be supposed to be entirely perfect. To be as he was, is indeed subject of panegyrick enough to any man in this state of being; but in every picture there should be shade as well as light, and when I delineate him without reserve, I do what he himself recommended, both by his precept and his example. I am fully aware of the objections which may be made to the minuteness on some occasions of my detail of Johnson’s conversation, and how happily it is adapted for the petty exercise of ridicule, by men of superficial understanding and ludicrous fancy; but I remain firm and confident in my opinion, that minute particulars are frequently characteristick, and always amusing, when they relate to a distinguished man. I am therefore exceedingly unwilling that any thing, however slight, which my illustrious friend thought it worth his while to express, with any degree of point, should perish.

224

British Literature Student wCB.indb 224

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Of one thing I am certain, that considering how highly the small portion which we have of the table-talk and other anecdotes of our celebrated writers is valued, and how earnestly it is regretted that we have not more, I am justified in preserving rather too many of Johnson’s sayings, than too few; especially as from the diversity of dispositions it

cannot be known with certainty beforehand, whether what may seem trifling to some, and perhaps to the collector himself, may not be most agreeable to many; and the greater number that an authour can please in any degree, the more pleasure does there arise to a benevolent mind (www.gutenberg.org/files/1564/1564-h/1564-h.htm).

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 18-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Shakespeare’s Faults

CONCEPT BUILDER 18-C

•

Shakespeare was a genius but he did have several faults (according to Johnson). List a few of these.

1 2 3 4 5

225

British Literature Student wCB.indb 225

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Preface to a Dictionary of the English Language by Samuel Johnson It is the fate of those who toil at the lower employments of life, to be rather driven by the fear of evil, than attracted by the prospect of good; to be exposed to censure, without hope of praise; to be disgraced by miscarriage, or punished for neglect, where success would have been without applause, and diligence without reward. Among these unhappy mortals is the writer of dictionaries; whom mankind have considered, not as the pupil, but the slave of science, the pionier of literature, doomed only to remove rubbish and clear obstructions from the paths through which Learning and Genius press forward to conquest and glory, without bestowing a smile on the humble drudge that facilitates their progress. Every other authour may aspire to praise; the lexicographer can only hope to escape reproach, and even this negative recompense has been yet granted to very few.

of any writers of classical reputation or acknowledged authority. Having therefore no assistance but from general grammar, I applied myself to the perusal of our writers; and noting whatever might be of use to ascertain or illustrate any word or phrase, accumulated in time the materials of a dictionary, which, by degrees, I reduced to method, establishing to myself, in the progress of the work, such rules as experience and analogy suggested to me; experience, which practice and observation were continually increasing; and analogy, which, though in some words obscure, was evident in others.

I have, notwithstanding this discouragement, attempted a dictionary of the English language, which, while it was employed in the cultivation of every species of literature, has itself been hitherto neglected; suffered to spread, under the direction of chance, into wild exuberance; resigned to the tyranny of time and fashion; and exposed to the corruptions of ignorance, and caprices of innovation.

In adjusting the ORTHOGRAPHY, which has been to this time unsettled and fortuitous, I found it necessary to distinguish those irregularities that are inherent in our tongue, and perhaps coeval with it, from others which the ignorance or negligence of later writers has produced. Every language has its anomalies, which, though inconvenient, and in themselves once unnecessary, must be tolerated among the imperfections of human things, and which require only to be registered, that they may not be increased, and ascertained, that they may not be confounded: but every language has likewise its improprieties and absurdities, which it is the duty of the lexicographer to correct or proscribe.

When I took the first survey of my undertaking, I found our speech copious without order, and energetick without rules: wherever I turned my view, there was perplexity to be disentangled, and confusion to be regulated; choice was to be made out of boundless variety, without any established principle of selection; adulterations were to be detected, without a settled test of purity; and modes of expression to be rejected or received, without the suffrages

As language was at its beginning merely oral, all words of necessary or common use were spoken before they were written; and while they were unfixed by any visible signs, must have been spoken with great diversity, as we now observe those who cannot read catch sounds imperfectly, and utter them negligently. When this wild and barbarous jargon was first reduced to an alphabet, every penman endeavoured to express, as he could, the

226

British Literature Student wCB.indb 226

11/14/12 4:38 PM

sounds which he was accustomed to pronounce or to receive, and vitiated in writing such words as were already vitiated in speech. The powers of the letters, when they were applied to a new language, must have been vague and unsettled, and therefore different hands would exhibit the same sound by different combinations. From this uncertain pronunciation arise in a great part the various dialects of the same country, which will always be observed to grow fewer, and less different, as books are multiplied; and from this arbitrary representation of sounds by letters, proceeds that diversity of spelling observable in the Saxon remains, and I suppose in the first books of every nation, which perplexes or destroys analogy, and produces anomalous formations, that, being once incorporated, can never be afterward dismissed or reformed. Of this kind are the derivatives length from long, strength from strong, darling from dear, breadth from broad, from dry, drought, and from high, height, which Milton, in zeal for analogy, writes highth; Quid te exempta juvat spinis de pluribus una [Horace, Epistles, II. ii. 212]; to change all would be too much, and to change one is nothing. This uncertainty is most frequent in the vowels, which are so capriciously pronounced, and so differently modified, by accident or affectation, not only in every province, but in every mouth, that to them, as is well known to etymologists, little regard is to be shewn in the deduction of one language from another. Such defects are not errours in orthography, but spots of barbarity impressed so deep in the English language, that criticism can never wash them away: these, therefore, must be permitted to remain untouched; but many words have likewise been altered by accident, or depraved by ignorance, as the pronunciation of the vulgar has been weakly followed; and some still continue to be variously written, as authours differ in their care or skill: of these it was proper to enquire the true orthography, which I have always considered as depending on their derivation, and have therefore referred them to their original languages: thus I write enchant, enchantment, enchanter, after the French and incantation after the Latin; thus entire is chosen

rather than intire, because it passed to us not from the Latin integer, but from the French entier. Of many words it is difficult to say whether they were immediately received from the Latin or the French, since at the time when we had dominions in France, we had Latin service in our churches. It is, however, my opinion, that the French generally supplied us; for we have few Latin words, among the terms of domestick use, which are not French; but many French, which are very remote from Latin. Even in words of which the derivation is apparent, I have been often obliged to sacrifice uniformity to custom; thus I write, in compliance with a numberless majority, convey and inveigh, deceit and receipt, fancy and phantom; sometimes the derivative varies from the primitive, as explain and explanation, repeat and repetition. Some combinations of letters having the same power are used indifferently without any discoverable reason of choice, as in choak, choke; soap, sope; jewel, fuel, and many others; which I have sometimes inserted twice, that those who search for them under either form, may not search in vain. In examining the orthography of any doubtful word, the mode of spelling by which it is inserted in the series of the dictionary, is to be considered as that to which I give, perhaps not often rashly, the preference. I have left, in the examples, to every authour his own practice unmolested, that the reader may balance suffrages, and judge between us: but this question is not always to be determined by reputed or by real learning; some men, intent upon greater things, have thought little on sounds and derivations; some, knowing in the ancient tongues, have neglected those in which our words are commonly to be sought. Thus Hammond writes fecibleness for feasibleness, because I suppose he imagined it derived immediately from the Latin; and some words, such as dependant, dependent, dependence, dependence, vary their final syllable, as one or another language is present to the writer. In this part of the work, where caprice has long wantoned without controul, and vanity sought praise by petty reformation, I have endeavoured to proceed with a scholar’s reverence for antiquity, and a grammarian’s regard to the genius of our tongue. I

227

British Literature Student wCB.indb 227

11/14/12 4:38 PM

have attempted few alterations, and among those few, perhaps the greater part is from the modern to the ancient practice; and I hope I may be allowed to recommend to those, whose thoughts have been perhaps employed too anxiously on verbal singularities, not to disturb, upon narrow views, or for minute propriety, the orthography of their fathers. It has been asserted, that for the law to be KNOWN, is of more importance than to be RIGHT. Change, says Hooker, is not made without inconvenience, even

from worse to better. There is in constancy and stability a general and lasting advantage, which will always overbalance the slow improvements of gradual correction. Much less ought our written language to comply with the corruptions of oral utterance, or copy that which every variation of time or place makes different from itself, and imitate those changes, which will again be changed, while imitation is employed in observing them.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 18-D.

•

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.

Compare

Contrast

228

British Literature Student wCB.indb 228

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Legacy Critic Steven Lynn reflected on the fact that Johnson was “more than a well-known writer and scholar; he was a celebrity. His activities and the state of his health in his later years were constantly reported in various journals and newspapers, and when there was nothing to report, something was invented” (Jack Lynch, editor Samuel Johnson’s Dictionary, New York: Walker & Co., 2003), introduction, p. 1–21. It is difficult to find an author of the same stature as Samuel Johnson in American society today. The public judges success by how many books an author writes — not by his/her writing ability. Johnson was one of those rare exceptions in history — a wildly popular but also gifted author. According to Johnson biographer Walter Jackson Bate, Johnson changed the whole course of biography for the modern world. One by-product was the most famous single work of biographical art in the whole of literature, Boswell’s Life of Johnson, and there were many other memoirs and biographies of a similar kind written on Johnson after his death. In short, people loved writing about him. He was an interesting, colorful, but never a scandalous person. That is a rare combination by contemporary standards! Not every literary critic appreciated Samuel

Johnson. “In criticism, Johnson had a lasting influence, although not everyone viewed him favourably. Some, like Macaulay, regarded Johnson as an idiot savant who produced some respectable works, and others, like the Romantic poets, were completely opposed to Johnson’s views on poetry and literature, especially in regards to Milton” (Greg Clingham, Cambridge Companion to Samuel Johnson, “Johnson’s Critical Reception” by Steven Lynn, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997, p. 245). It was T.S. Eliot, however, who forced literary critics to take Johnson seriously. With William Shakespeare in one’s peerage, it is difficult to step beyond Shakespeare’s shadow. But Johnson manages to do that, Eliot argues. Yvor Winters claimed that “A great critic is the rarest of all literary geniuses; perhaps the only critic in English who deserves that epithet is Samuel Johnson” (Yvor Winters, The Anatomy of Nonsense, Norfolk, CN: New Directions, 1943, p. 240). Yale critic Harold Bloom placed Johnson’s work firmly within the Western Canon, describing him as “unmatched by any critic in any nation before or after him (Harold Bloom, Women Memoirists, Vol. II, Philadelphia, PA: Chelsea House 1998, p. 74–76; also see Harold Bloom’s Western Canon, New York: Harcourt Brace, 1994).

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 18-E.

•

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

229

British Literature Student wCB.indb 229

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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?

Why is this picture sentimental? (www.clipart.com)

230

British Literature Student wCB.indb 230

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Chapter 19

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 In chapter 19 we discuss

the memorable, and in many ways unique, “The Rivals” by Richard Sheridan. 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 of the Teacher Guide. 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.

231

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

British Literature Student wCB.indb 231

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

The Rivals Richard Brinsley Sheridan Background

The most highly regarded English playwright of the 18th century and my personal favorite, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was born in Dublin on October 31, 1751, and died in London on July 7, 1816. He grew up in a family with theatrical connections and received his formal education at Harrow. In 1772 he eloped to the continent with Elizabeth Linley, a singer, and married her the following year. What a scandal! His first play, “The Rivals” (1775), a comedy mixing action and romantic sentimentality, was followed by “St. Patrick’s Day,” a two-act farce, and “The Duenna,” a comic opera, both of which appeared later in 1775 and were milestones in British high comedy.

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.

232

British Literature Student wCB.indb 232

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Plot Summary “The Rivals” is a play about the mischievous, unexpected, and ubiquitous power of love. Lydia Languish, a young heiress obsessed with romantic novels, is infatuated with a poor soldier named Ensign Beverley. Unbeknownst to her, Beverley is really Captain Jack Absolute who, in order to court her, has assumed this identity to indulge Lydia’s delusions about romantic love. Lydia’s aunt, Mrs. Malaprop, shocked at Lydia’s involvement with a common soldier, has arranged with Sir Anthony Absolute, Jack’s father, for Lydia to marry Jack. Unfortunately, when Jack reveals his true identity, Lydia defiantly clings to her romantic notions and refuses to accept him. Simultaneously, a close friend of Jack’s named Faulkland has fallen in love with Sir Anthony’s ward, Julia. Julia is constant in her love, but Faulkland is driven by irrational doubts to submit her love to a ridiculous test. When this test destroys Julia’s faith in him, she breaks off their engagement. In the meantime, Lydia’s rejected suitors, Bob Acres and Lucius O’Trigger, each threaten to fight duels on her behalf: Acres with his

non-existent rival Beverley, and O’Trigger with Jack. Ironically, the young captain finds himself facing the prospect of dying for a lady who has rejected him. Everything comes to a head on the dueling field. There, Lydia, alarmed by the prospect of Jack’s death, halts the fight and admits her love for him. Julia, ever patient and loyal, forgives Faulkland his illdirected imagination (Joel G. Fink, www. coloradoshakes.org/index.php?option=com_ content&view=article&id=114). Sheridan skillfully tells two stories at once through dramatic dialogue and this greatly enhances the theme. 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!

Assignments •

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

•

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.

233

British Literature Student wCB.indb 233

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-B

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

234

British Literature Student wCB.indb 234

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Irony Sheridan skillfully tells two stories at once through dramatic dialogue and this greatly enhances the theme. 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!

Assignments •

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

•

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

Act 3

Act 4

Act 5

235

British Literature Student wCB.indb 235

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Malapropisms Here are some of the original malapropisms from Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Sheridan’s play “The Rivals” (1775). These are collected by Fun with Words. “. . . promise to forget this fellow — to illiterate him, I say, quite from your memory.” [obliterate] “O, he will dissolve my mystery!” [resolve] “He is the very pine-apple of politeness!” [pinnacle] “I have since laid Sir Anthony’s preposition before her;” [proposition] “Oh! It gives me the hydrostatics to such a degree.” [hysterics] “I hope you will represent her to the captain as an object not altogether illegible.” [eligible] “. . . she might reprehend the true meaning of what she is saying.” [comprehend] “. . . she’s as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of Nile.” [alligator] “I am sorry to say, Sir Anthony, that my affluence over my niece is very small.” [influence] “Why, murder’s the matter! slaughter’s the matter! killing’s the matter! — but he can tell you the perpendiculars.” [particulars] “Nay, no delusions to the past — Lydia is convinced;” [allusions] “. . . behold, this very day, I have interceded another letter from the fellow;” [intercepted] “I thought she had persisted from corresponding with him;” [desisted] “His physiognomy so grammatical!” [phraseology] “I am sure I have done everything in my power since I exploded the affair;” [exposed] “I am sorry to say, she seems resolved to decline every particle that I enjoin her.” [article] “. . . if ever you betray what you are entrusted with . . . you forfeit my malevolence for ever.” [benevolence] “Your being Sir Anthony’s son, captain, would itself be a sufficient accommodation;” [recommendation] “Sure, if I reprehend any thing in this world it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!” [apprehend, vernacular, arrangement, epithets]

236

British Literature Student wCB.indb 236

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite malapropism?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 19-D.

•

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

Compare

237

British Literature Student wCB.indb 237

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Student Essay: Why Does Bob Acres Make a Poor Gentleman? In “The Rivals,” Bob Acres is one of the many men who try to woo Lydia and marry her. Unfortunately for Mr. Acres, his actions and behaviors do not appear gentleman-like and, in fact, he is anything but a gentleman. He is disorganized, has terrible hygiene, and does not stand by his decisions. And worst of all, he has no imagination!

to a duel. In fact, all of act 3, scene 1 is Acres trying to encourage himself and find courage to fight Beverly in a duel. He had made the decision to fight in haste and now was regretting it. “But my honour, David, my honour! I must be very careful of my honour.” He was more afraid of losing his honour than his life.

Act Two is the first time the reader encounters Mr. Acres. Here, he is discussing his passion for Lydia with Faulkland. He notes: “Ah! You joke — ha! ha! mischief — ha! ha! but you know I am not my own property, my dear Lydia has forestalled me. She could never abide me in the country, because I used to dress so badly — but odds frogs and tambours! I shan’t take matters so here, now ancient madam has no voice in it: I’ll make my old clothes know who’s master. I shall straightway cashier the hunting-frock, and render my leather breeches incapable. My hair has been in training some time.” This is the first insight the reader has into Mr. Acres habits. From what he speaks of, it appears he is disorganized, has terrible clothes, and actually has to “train” his hair. “Ay — and tho’ff the side curls are a little restive, my hind-part takes it very kindly.” How could someone with so many outward faults be considered a gentleman? Later, we see Mrs. Acres discussing fashion again. “Acres: Dress does make a difference, David . . . Ay, David, there’s nothing like polishing.” It seems Acres is more focused on his looks and appearances than his character and personality.

When the appointed time came to fight, Bob Acres was ready. “Acres: Odds bullets, no! — by my valour! There is no merit in killing him so near; do, my dear Sir Lucius, let me bring him down at a long shot: — a long shot, Sir Lucius, if you love me.” Obviously, Mr. Acres had full confidence in himself that he would kill Ensign Beverly. However, things soon changed. Upon learning that Ensign Beverly was really Acres close friend, Captain Jack Absolute, Acres refused to fight. “Absolute: What, Jack! — my dear Jack! — my dear friend!” Sir Lucius: “Well, Mr. Acres — I don’t blame your saluting the gentleman civilly. [To FAULKLAND] So, Mr. Beverly, if you’ll choose your weapons, the captain and I will measure the ground.” Faulkland: “My weapons, sir!” Acres: “Odds life! Sir Lucius, I’m not going to fight Mr. Falukland; these are my particular friends.” Bob Acres ultimately refused to fight in the duel, and it disgraced him, especially since he had just demanded a long shot pistol to kill Beverly from a far distance.

While these by themselves may seem insignificant, another flaw in Acres makes him unfit to be called a gentleman. While trying to woo Lydia, Acres learns of another man, Ensign Beverly, who is interested in Lydia as well. Acres challenges this man

These are the qualities and actions that made Bob Acres a poor representation of a gentleman. He talked more about fashion than about character. When the time came to fight Mr. Beverly, Acres demanded to shoot from a far, only to refuse to fight when Ensign’s true identity was revealed. No wonder he could not woo Lydia!

238

British Literature Student wCB.indb 238

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is the most humorous book you have read? What makes it humorous?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 19-E.

•

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

Characterization

CONCEPT BUILDER 19-E

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

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

Bob Acres Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

239

British Literature Student wCB.indb 239

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 20 we read Robert Burns, the favorite poet of bonnie Scotland and we study the enigmatic, but brilliant, early romantic, William Blake.

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 of the Teacher Guide.

240

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.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 240

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Robert Burns BACKGROUND

Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759, into the family of a poor, subsistence farmer in the highlands of rural Scotland. His first published work was Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786), printed in the small town of Kilmarnock. This work, which contains most of his poems, was expanded in 1787 and again in 1793. In 1789 he obtained the post of excise man, or inspector, but his heavy drinking had ruined his health, and he died July 21, 1796. Because of his indigenous writings, many Scottish people still revere Burns.

A Man’s a Man for A’ That Is there for honest poverty

For a’ that, an a’ that,

That hings his head, an a’ that?

His ribband, star, an a’ that,

The coward slave, we pass him by —

The man o’ independent mind,

We dare be poor for a’ that!

He looks and laughts at a’ that.

For a’ that, an a’ that, Our toils obscure, an a’ that, The rank is but the guinea’s stamp, The man’s the gowd for a’ that.

A prince can mak’ a belted knight, A marquis, duke, an’ a’ that; But an honest man’s aboon this might, Guid faith he mauna fa’ that!

What though on hamely fare we dine,

For a’ that, an’ a’ that,

Wear hoddin grey, an a’ that?

Their dignities, an’ a’ that,

Gie fools their silks, and knaves their wine —

The pit o’ sense, an’ pride o’ worth,

A man’s a man for a’ that.

Are higher rank than a’ that.

For a’ that, an a’ that. Their tinsel show, an a’ that, The honest man, tho e’er sae poor, Is king o’ men for a’ that.

Then let us pray that come it may, And come it will for a’ that, That sense and worth, o’er a’ the earth, May bear the gree, and a’ that.

Ye see you birkie ca’d a lord,

For a’ that, an’ a’ that,

What struts, an stares, an a’ that?

It’s coming yet, for a’ that,

Tho hundreds worship at his word,

That man to man, the warld o’er,

He’s but a cuif for a’ that.

Shall brothers be for a’ that.

(www.dgdclynx.plus.com/poetry/poets/man.html).

British Literature Student wCB.indb 241

241

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 20-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 20.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-A

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

1

The poem begins with a rhetorical question, a question whose answer is obvious. What question does Burns ask?

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?

3

What is his final prayer?

242

British Literature Student wCB.indb 242

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

More poems by Robert Burns O, My Luve Is Like a Red, Red Rose O, my luve is like a red, red rose,

As fair art thou, my bonie lass,

That’s newly sprung in June!

So deep in luve am I,

O, my luve is like a melodie,

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

Till a’ the seas gang dry — Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

And fare thee weel, my only luve!

And the rocks melt wi the sun!

And fare thee weel, a while!

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

And I will come again, my luve,

While the sands o’ life shall run.

Tho it were ten thousand mile!

(www.bartleby.com/101/503.html).

To a Mouse Wee sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie,

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve:

O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!

What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!

Thou need na start awa sae hasty,

A daimen icker in a thrave

Wi’ bickering brattle!

’S a sma’ request;

I wad be laith to rin an chase thee,

I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave,

Wi’ murdering pattle!

An’ never miss’t!

I’m truly sorry man’s dominion

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!

Has broken Nature’s social union,

Its silly wa’s the win’s are strewin!

An’ justifies that ill opinion,

An naething, now, to big a new ane,

Which makes thee startle

O’ foggage green!

At me, thy poor, earth-born companion.

An’ bleak December’s win’s ensuin.

An’ fellow mortal!

Baith snell an’ keen!

243

British Literature Student wCB.indb 243

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste,

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,

An’ weary winter comin fast.

In proving foresight may be vain:

An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,

The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men

Thou thought to dwell —

Gang aft agley,

Till crash! the cruel coulter past

An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,

Out thro’ thy cell.

For promis’d joy!

That wee bit heap o’ leaves an stibble,

Still thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me!

Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!

The present only toucheth thee:

Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble.

But, och! I backward cast my e’e,

But house or hald,

On prospects drear!

To thole the winter’s sleety dribble,

An’ forward, tho’ I canna see,

An’ cranreuch cauld!

I guess an’ fear!

(www.electricscotland.com/burns/mouse.html).

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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 20-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.

244

British Literature Student wCB.indb 244

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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

Contemporary Language

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-B

To a Mouse Wee sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie, O, what a panic’s in thy breastie! Thou need na start awa sae hasty, Wi’ bickering brattle! I wad be laith to rin an chase thee, Wi’ murdering pattle!

That wee bit heap o’ leaves an stibble, Has cost thee monie a weary nibble! Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble. But house or hald, To thole the winter’s sleety dribble, An’ cranreuch cauld!

I’m truly sorry man’s dominion Has broken Nature’s social union, An’ justifies that ill opinion, Which makes thee startle At me, thy poor, earth-born companion. An’ fellow mortal!

But Mousie, thou art no thy lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy!

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve: What then? poor beastie, thou maun live! A daimen icker in a thrave ’S a sma’ request; I’ll get a blessin wi’ the lave, An’ never miss’t! O’ foggage green! An’ bleak December’s win’s ensuin. Baith snell an’ keen!

Still thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me! The present only toucheth thee: But, och! I backward cast my e’e, On prospects drear! An’ forward, tho’ I canna see, I guess an’ fear!

Thou saw the fields laid bare an’ waste, An’ weary winter comin fast. An’ cozie here, beneath the blast, Thou thought to dwell— Till crash! the cruel coulter past Out thro’ thy cell.

Contemporary Language

245

British Literature Student wCB.indb 245

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

William Blake How Sweet I Roam’d from Field to Field How sweet I roam’d from field to field,

With sweet May dews my wings were wet,

And tasted all the summer’s pride,

And Phoebus fir’d my vocal rage;

’Till I the prince of love beheld,

He caught me in his silken net,

Who in the sunny beams did glide!

And shut me in his golden cage.

He shew’d me lilies for my hair,

He loves to sit and hear me sing,

And blushing roses for my brow;

Then, laughing, sports and plays with me;

He led me through his gardens fair,

Then stretches out my golden wing,

Where all his golden pleasures grow.

And mocks my loss of liberty.

And Did Those Feet in Ancient Time? (from the preface to “Milton”)

And did those feet in ancient time

Bring me my bow of burning gold:

Walk upon England’s mountains green?

Bring me my arrows of desire:

And was the holy Lamb of God

Bring me my spear: O clouds unfold!

On England’s pleasant pastures seen?

Bring me my chariot of fire.

And did the Countenance Divine

I will not cease from mental fight,

Shine forth upon our clouded hills?

Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand

And was Jerusalem builded here

Till we have built Jerusalem

Among these dark Satanic mills?

In England’s green and pleasant land.

The Clod and the Pebble “Love seeketh not itself to please,

But a Pebble of the brook

Nor for itself hath any care,

Warbled out these metres meet:

But for another gives its ease,

“Love seeketh only self to please,

And builds a Heaven in Hell’s despair.”

To bind another to its delight,

So sung a little Clod of Clay

Joys in another’s loss of ease,

Trodden with the cattle’s feet,

And builds a Hell in Heaven’s despite.”

(eir.library.utoronto.ca/rpo/display/poem)

246

British Literature Student wCB.indb 246

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 20-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-C

•

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

1

Answer the question posed in the first stanza.

2

What images does Blake use to describe a tiger?

3

Why would Blake spell a “tiger” “tyger?”

247

British Literature Student wCB.indb 247

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Christian Symbolism The Lamb Little Lamb, who made thee?

Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee,

Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, I’ll tell thee:

Gave thee life, and bid thee feed

He is called by thy name,

By the stream and o’er the mead;

For he calls himself a Lamb.

Gave thee clothing of delight,

He is meek, and he is mild;

Softest clothing, woolly, bright;

He became a little child.

Gave thee such a tender voice,

I a child, and thou a lamb.

Making all the vales rejoice?

We are called by his name.

Little Lamb, who made thee?

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

Dost thou know who made thee?

Little Lamb, God bless thee!

The Tyger Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

What the hammer? what the chain?

In the forests of the night,

In what furnace was thy brain?

What immortal hand or eye

What the anvil? what dread grasp

Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

Dare its deadly terrors clasp?

In what distant deeps or skies

When the stars threw down their spears,

Burnt the fire of thine eyes?

And water’d heaven with their tears,

On what wings dare he aspire?

Did he smile his work to see?

What the hand dare seize the fire?

Did he who made the Lamb make thee?

And what shoulder, and what art,

Tyger! Tyger! burning bright

Could twist the sinews of thy heart,

In the forests of the night,

And when thy heart began to beat,

What immortal hand or eye,

What dread hand? and what dread feet?

Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

(eir.library.utoronto.ca/)

248

British Literature Student wCB.indb 248

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 20-D.

•

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:

Interpretation:

249

British Literature Student wCB.indb 249

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Spiritual Warfare Poetry in the 19th century wandered into areas where no writer had yet wandered: the whole classical/theistic worldview was under attack. As William Wordsworth wrote: A sense sublime Of something far more deeply interfused, Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, And the round ocean and the living air, And the blue sky, and in the mind of man.

By its very nature, poetic imagery links human thoughts and emotions intimately with the external world. Poetry in English and North American cultures has invited artists and writers to embrace various kinds of heresies (akin to contemporary New Age religions). Reading critically in current cultures is a necessity. Within romanticism there is a tendency to believe that the soul pervades all matter. The full development of this feeling is a heresy called pantheism. Pantheism argues that deity is in everything and is everywhere. This belief became explicit among the Romantics and among various poets of other times. Examine the examples below for half-truths/lies and then state the truth.

William Blake (1757–1827) God only Acts and Is, in existing beings or Men.(in “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” [1793]) The Lie: God is limited by His creation.

The Truth: God is omniscient and omnipotent, unlimited in power, in size, or in ability to create (Gen. 1; Psalm 139; Book of Job).

William Wordsworth (1770–1850) And I have felt

A lover of the meadows and the woods,

a presence that disturbs me with the joy

And mountains; and of all that we behold

Of elevated thoughts; a sense sublime

From this green earth. . . .

Of something far more deeply interfused,

(from “Tintern Abbey,” lines 93–105 [1798])

Whose dwelling is the light of setting suns, And the round ocean and the living air, And the blue sky, and in the mind of man: A motion and a spirit, that impels All thinking things, all objects of all thought,

The Lie: There is a power/force without limit or name that rules the universe. The Truth: Moses in Exodus 3 is reminded that God is the “I AM WHO I AM.” We serve a mighty God!

And rolls through all things. Therefore am I still

250

British Literature Student wCB.indb 250

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) At once the Soul of each, and God of all . . .

But thou my babe! shalt wander like a breeze

O! the one Life within us and abroad,

By lakes and sandy shores, beneath the crags

Which meets all motion and becomes its soul,

Of ancient mountain, and beneath the clouds,

A light in sound, a sound-like power in light,

Which image in their bulk both lakes and shores

Rhythm in thought, and joyance everywhere —

And mountain crags: so shalt thou see and hear

Methinks, it should have been impossible

The lovely shapes and sounds intelligible

Not to love all things in a world so filled . . .

Of that eternal language, which thy God

And what if all of animated nature

Utters, who from eternity doth teach

Be but organic harps diversely framed,

Himself in all, and all things in himself.

That tremble into thought, as o’er them sweeps

(from “Frost at Midnight” [1798])

Plastic and vast, one intellectual breeze, At once the Soul of each, and God of all. (from “The Eoliean Harp” [1795–1817]) [To his baby, sleeping in a cradle. Coleridge hopes for a better future for her than his own childhood, reared in the city.]

The Lie: God is everything, everywhere. The Truth: God is omnipotent and omnipresent, but there is a chasm between man and creature that cannot be bridged (Genesis 1) without Christ. To worship a rock or tree is to deny God’s creation of mankind in His image (the only creature whom He so honored).

Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809–1892) The sun, the moon, the stars, the seas, the hills and the plains —

Speak to Him thou for He hears, and Spirit with Spirit can meet —

Are not these, O Soul, the Vision of Him who reigns?

Closer is he than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet.

Is not the Vision He? tho’ He be not that which he seems? Dreams are true while they last, and do we not live in dreams? Earth, these solid stars, this weight of body and limb,

God is law, say the wise; O Soul, and let us rejoice, For if he is thunder by law the thunder is yet his voice. (from “The Higher Pantheism” [1870])

Are they not sign and symbol of thy division from Him?

Flower in the crannied wall,

Dark is the world to thee: thyself art the reason why;

I hold you here, root and all, in my hand,

For is He not all but that which has power to feel “I am I”?

What you are, root and all, and all in all,

Glory about thee, without thee; and thou fulfillest thy doom Making him broken gleams, and a stifled splendour and gloom.

I pluck you out of the crannies, Little flower - but if I could understand I should know what God and man is. (from “The Princess”) Hallowed be thy name — Halleluiah! —

251

British Literature Student wCB.indb 251

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Infinite ideality!

(from “The Human Cry”)

Immeasurable Reality! Infinite Personality! Hallowed be thy name — Halleluiah! We feel we are nothing — for all is Thou and in Thee; We feel we are something — that also has come from thee; We know we are nothing — but Thou wilt help us to be. Hallowed be thy name — Halleluiah!

The Lie: The Christian finds the spirit and tone of this poem appealing. It is a liturgical poem worshiping God’s creation, but that is the rub. The Truth: We do not worship God’s creation. We worship God. The stars and heavens are wondrous images of God’s creation, but they are not the creator. Only Jesus Christ, both God and man, clearly shows us God, who is not a thing limited by a stone statue or a beautiful spring day. He is a terrible, awesome, compassionate, just God, without comparison!

Oscar Wilde (1854–1900) We are resolved into the supreme air,

That we are nature’s heritors, and one

We are made one with what we touch and see,

With every pulse of life that beats the air?

With our heart’s blood each crimson sun is fair,

Rather new suns across the sky shall pass,

With our young lives each spring-impassioned tree

New splendour come unto the flower, new glory to the grass.

Flames into green, the wildest beasts that range The moor our kinsmen are, all life is one, and all is change.

And we two lovers shall not sit afar,

With beat of systole and of diastole

Shall be our raiment, and the bearded star

One grand great life throbs through earth’s giant heart,

Shoot arrows at our pleasure! We shall be

And mighty waves of single Being roll

And through all Aeons mix and mingle with the Kosmic Soul!

From nerve-less germ to man, for we are part Of every rock and bird and beast and hill, One with the things that prey on us, and one with what we kill. . . .

Critics of nature, but the joyous sea

Part of the mighty universal whole,

We shall be notes in that great Symphony Whose cadence circles through the rhythmic spheres,

One sacrament are consecrate, the earth

And all the live World’s throbbing heart shall be

Not we alone hath passions hymeneal,

One with our heart, the stealthy creeping years

The yellow buttercups that shake for mirth

Have lost their terrors now, we shall not die,

At daybreak know a pleasure not less real

The Universe itself shall be our Immortality!

Than we do, when in some fresh-blossoming wood

(from “We Are Made One with What We Touch and See”)

We draw the spring into our hearts, and feel that life is good. . . . Is the light vanished from our golden sun, Or is this daedal-fashioned earth less fair,

The Lie: We are one with nature. Everything we experience is part of us. The Truth: Without Christ, there is an unbreachable chasm between man and God’s creation.

252

British Literature Student wCB.indb 252

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 20-E.

•

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

Theme and Worldview

CONCEPT BUILDER 20-E

Discuss the theme and worldview of the poem “The Divine Image” by Helen Maria Williams. To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love, All pray in their distress, And to these virtues of delight Return their thankfulness. For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love, Is God our Father dear; And Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love, Is man, His child and care. For Mercy has a human heart; Pity, a human face; And Love, the human form divine: And Peace the human dress. Then every man, of every clime, That prays in his distress, Prays to the human form divine: Love, Mercy, Pity, Peace. And all must love the human form, In heathen, Turk, or Jew. Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell, There God is dwelling too.

1

2

Theme:

Worldview:

www.poemhunter.com/helen-maria-williams.

253

British Literature Student wCB.indb 253

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 counterEnlightenment 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 In chapter 21, we study

the romantics in earnest. At the same time, we meet Helen Maria Williams, who was thoroughly modern, and we meet Wordsworth’s sister, who for love of her choleric brother, may have written more of the Wordsworth corpus than we know. 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 of the Teacher Guide.

254

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

British Literature Student wCB.indb 254

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

The Nineteenth Century BACKGROUND

The 19th century in England was what Prime Minister Disraeli called a time of “two nations,” meaning that it was a time of revolution and conflict. In the 19th century, England was a very poor nation, exploited by the Industrial Revolution; however, it was also a very rich England, enriched by the Industrial Revolution. Meanwhile, romanticism, begun by the writings of William Blake, who had transfigured English literature, was already in evidence. In 1798, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William Wordsworth rejected what they called the pretension of earlier 18th-century verse. As a young man, Wordsworth had been deeply stirred by a visit (1791–1792) to revolutionary France. Human nature, he felt, had been reborn; to be young was “very Heaven.” The keynotes of romantic poetry were its cult of youth and freedom, its reliance on the sovereign force of love, and its sense of a close relationship with nature, which many 18th-century poets had tended to regard as merely a decorative background designed to enhance the activities of man. Now, the subject of English writing was nature, not man.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 21-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 21.

255

British Literature Student wCB.indb 255

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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

A Political Statement

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-A

TO MRS. K UPON SENDING ME A CHRISTMAS PUDDING CAKE What crowding thoughts around me wake, What marvels in a Christmas-cake! Ah say, what strange enchantment dwells Enclosed within its odorous cells? Is there no small magician bound Encrusted in its snowy round? For magic surely lurks in this, A cake that tells of vanished bliss; A cake that conjures up to view The early scenes, when life was new; When memory knew no sorrows past, And hope believed in joys that last! — Mysterious cake, whose folds contain Life’s calendar of bliss and pain; That speaks of friends for ever fled, And wakes the tears I love to shed. Oft shall I breathe her cherished name From whose fair hand the offering came: For she recalls the artless smile Of nymphs that deck my native isle; Of beauty that we love to trace, Allied with tender, modest grace; Of those who, while abroad they roam, Retain each charm that gladdens home, And whose dear friendships can impart A Christmas banquet for the heart

How does Williams use a Christmas cake to make political statements?

(www.dgdclynx.plus.com/poetry/poets/man.html).

256

British Literature Student wCB.indb 256

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Helen Maria Williams Helen Maria Williams (1762–1827) was one of the best, if basically unknown, English poets of the early 19th century — arguably the greatest sonnet writer of the 19th century. Admired by William Wordsworth, her sonnets championed the anti-slavery movement. She is described as “an incisive observer, an astute commentator, and a sophisticated expatriate . . . a pioneering woman journalist who mediated between two cultures with subtlety and verve” (Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, p. 276). Williams was sympathetic to the principles of the French Revolution, and her letters “attracted attention because of their emotional immediacy and because of her personal engagement in political events.” The following poem, “A Song,” represents her early poems, characterized by critic Mary Favret as “initial dependence on sentimental and romantic fictions” that eventually served as “registers for political rather than emotional turbulence. They become the instruments probing the inner workings of power structures.”

A Song I.

IV.

No riches from his scanty shore

The frugal meal, the lowly cot

My lover could impart;

If blest my love with thee!

He gave a boon I valued more —

That simple fare, that humble lot,

He gave me all his heart!

Were more than wealth to me.

II.

V.

His soul sincere, his gen’rous worth,

While he the dang’rous ocean braves,

Might well this bosom move;

My tears but vainly flow:

And when I ask’d for bliss on earth,

Is pity in the faithless waves

I only meant his love.

To which I pour my woe?

III.

VI.

But now for me, in search of gain

The night is dark, the waters deep,

From shore to shore he flies:

Yet soft the billows roll;

Why wander riches to obtain,

Alas! at every breeze I weep —

When love is all I prize!

The storm is in my soul.

257

British Literature Student wCB.indb 257

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 21-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.

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

Romanticism

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-B

TO A SKYLARK I have walked through wildernesses dreary And to-day my heart is weary; Had I now the wings of a Faery, Up to thee would I fly. There is madness about thee, and joy divine In that song of thine; Lift me, guide me high and high To thy banqueting-place in the sky.

Based on the unusual: Nature is reverenced:

I have walked through wilderness dreary

Subjective:

Romanticism

258

British Literature Student wCB.indb 258

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

William Wordsworth London, 1802 Milton! thou should’st be living at this hour:

And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.

England hath need of thee: she is a fen

Thy soul was like a Star, and dwelt apart:

Of stagnant waters: altar, sword, and pen,

Thou hadst a voice whose sound was like the sea:

Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,

Pure as the naked heavens, majestic, free,

Have forfeited their ancient English dower

So didst thou travel on life’s common way,

Of inward happiness. We are selfish men;

In cheerful godliness; and yet thy heart

Oh! raise us up, return to us again;

The lowliest duties on herself did lay.

A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal A slumber did my spirit seal;

My heart Leaps Up when I Behold

I had no human fears:

My heart leaps up when I behold

She seemed a thing that could not feel

A rainbow in the sky:

The touch of earthly years.

So was it when my life began;

No motion has she now, no force; She neither hears nor sees; Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course, With rocks, and stones, and trees.

So is it now I am a man; So be it when I shall grow old, Or let me die! The Child is father of the Man; I could wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety.

To the Cuckoo O blithe New-comer! I have heard,

While I am lying on the grass

I hear thee and rejoice.

Thy twofold shout I hear,

O Cuckoo! shall I call thee Bird,

From hill to hill it seems to pass,

Or but a wandering Voice?

At once far off, and near.

259

British Literature Student wCB.indb 259

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Though babbling only to the Vale,

To seek thee did I often rove

Of sunshine and of flowers,

Through woods and on the green;

Thou bringest unto me a tale

And thou wert still a hope, a love;

Of visionary hours.

Still longed for, never seen.

Thrice welcome, darling of the Spring!

And I can listen to thee yet;

Even yet thou art to me

Can lie upon the plain

No bird, but an invisible thing,

And listen, till I do beget

A voice, a mystery;

That golden time again.

The same whom in my school-boy days

O blessed Bird! the earth we pace

I listened to; that Cry

Again appears to be

Which made me look a thousand ways

An unsubstantial, faery place;

In bush, and tree, and sky.

That is fit home for Thee!

To a Skylark Up with me! up with me into the clouds!

Joyous as morning

For thy song, Lark, is strong;

Thou art laughing and scorning;

Up with me, up with me into the clouds!

Thou hast askest for thy love and thy rest,

Singing, singing,

And, though little troubled with sloth,

With clouds and sky about thee ringing,

Drunken Lark! thou would’st be loth

Lift me, guide me till I find

To be such a traveller as I.

That spot which seems so to thy mind!

Happy, happy Liver,

I have walked through wildernesses dreary And to-day my heart is weary; Had I now the wings of a Faery,

With a soul as strong as a mountain river Pouring out praise to the Almighty Giver, Joy and jollity be with us both!

Up to thee would I fly.

Alas! my journey, rugged and uneven,

There is madness about thee, and joy divine

Through prickly moors or dusty ways must wind;

In that song of thine;

But hearing thee, or others of thy kind,

Lift me, guide me high and high

As full of gladness and as free of heaven,

To thy banqueting-place in the sky.

I, with my fate contented, will plod on, And hope for higher raptures, when life’s day is done.

www.bartleby.com/

260

British Literature Student wCB.indb 260

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 21-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

Romanticism Art

CONCEPT BUILDER 21-C

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



261

British Literature Student wCB.indb 261

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

More Wordsworth Poems Composed upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 Earth has not anything to show more fair:

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

Never did sun more beautifully steep

A sight so touching in its majesty:

In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

Strange Fits of Passion Have I Known Strange fits of passion have I known:

The sinking moon to Lucy’s cot

And I will dare to tell,

Came near, and nearer still.

But in the Lover’s ear alone, What once to me befell.

In one of those sweet dreams I slept, Kind Nature’s gentlest boon!

When she I loved looked every day

And all the while my eyes I kept

Fresh as a rose in June,

On the descending moon.

I to her cottage bent my way, Beneath an evening-moon.

My horse moved on; hoof after hoof He raised, and never stopped:

Upon the moon I fixed my eye,

When down behind the cottage roof,

All over the wide lea;

At once, the bright moon dropped.

With quickening pace my horse drew nigh Those paths so dear to me.

What fond and wayward thoughts will slide Into a Lover’s head!

And now we reached the orchard-plot;

“O mercy!” to myself I cried,

And, as we climbed the hill,

“If Lucy should be dead!”

262

British Literature Student wCB.indb 262

11/14/12 4:38 PM

The Tables Turned An Evening Scene on the Same Subject

She has a world of ready wealth,

Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;

Our minds and hearts to bless —

Or surely you’ll grow double:

Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,

Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;

Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

Why all this toil and trouble?

One impulse from a vernal wood

The sun, above the mountain’s head,

May teach you more of man,

A freshening lustre mellow

Of moral evil and of good,

Through all the long green fields has spread,

Than all the sages can.

His first sweet evening yellow.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;

Books! ’tis a dull and endless strife:

Our meddling intellect

Come, hear the woodland linnet,

Misshapes the beauteous forms of things: —

How sweet his music! on my life,

We murder to dissect.

There’s more of wisdom in it.

Enough of Science and of Art;

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!

Close up those barren leaves;

He, too, is no mean preacher:

Come forth, and bring with you a heart

Come forth into the light of things,

That watches and receives.

Let Nature be your teacher.

Lines Written in Early Spring I heard a thousand blended notes,

The birds around me hopped and played,

While in a grove I sate reclined,

Their thoughts I cannot measure:

In that sweet mood when pleasant thoughts

But the least motion which they made

Bring sad thoughts to the mind.

It seemed a thrill of pleasure.

To her fair works did Nature link

The budding twigs spread out their fan,

The human soul that through me ran;

To catch the breezy air;

And much it grieved my heart to think

And I must think, do all I can,

What man has made of man.

That there was pleasure there.

Through primrose tufts, in that green bower,

If this belief from heaven be sent,

The periwinkle trailed its wreaths;

If such be Nature’s holy plan,

And ’tis my faith that every flower

Have I not reason to lament

Enjoys the air it breathes.

What man has made of man?

www.bartleby.com/

British Literature Student wCB.indb 263

263

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 21-D.

•

Students 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

Feelings

264

British Literature Student wCB.indb 264

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Dorothy Wordsworth Dorothy Wordsworth (1777–1855) was the younger sister of poet William Wordsworth, and she wrote prose with as much alacrity as her famous brother wrote poetry! Her most famous prose is to be found in her journals, which she undertook to give her brother pleasure. Her journal entries capture the Wordsworths’ rural life intertwined with their literary world. Her brother considered that she “preserved me still a Poet” during times of personal crisis (Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, p. 318). From September 1795 until William’s death in April 1850, Dorothy Wordsworth lived with her brother, where she became “a fond nurse to his children” and for whom “she wrote some accomplished verses” (Ibid., p. 319). The following is one of her journal entries from The Grasmere Journals, Easter 1802. Oh, William, William! You drive me to the very edge of distraction! How worthless it now seems, those agreements we had to adjourn Northward amid the rolling Grasmere greenhills, to start a New Life together away from all the hurly-burly of the literary set. In almost nine months thus far at Dove Cottage I have scarcely ventured further than Ambleside, even less up to where my heart truly lies — no races! — the steeps and summit ridges of Fairfield, Dollywagon Pike, Loughrigg Fell. Why, only recently I heard tell of a noble and fear-inducing ridge, one “Striding Edge,” leading straight unto the summit cairn of high Helvellyn, yet I fear the day will never come to test myself against, its castellations. All Wm. ever wishes is to write, write, write. Flowers and clouds, pastures and peasants, gods and goddesses. . . . All well and good, I say, we need to earn a crust, but you promised. . . . Promised to assist old Mister Snape in repairing the roof, promised to refrain from partaking of substances with Southey, Coleridge and all the rest, promised to plant a few daffs in the garden rather than simply

musing upon them. But no! Tomorrow, he says, tomorrow you may gird your skirts and venture forth. If only tomorrow would ever come! And Coleridge! I fear he will not live to see the year’s end. Only recently I hear his wanderings — which I envy greatly, though not so much as to wish to accompany his more risk-stricken jaunts — took him atop Sca Fell by a route most deathdefying. By a slab named Broad Stand they say he returned, his mind quite addled by eastern intoxicants. He cannot surely cheat Death so often and so casually. At least my dear Wm stays tethered to his books and beloved Rydal Water. But as for me. . . . Our neighbour Beatrix tells of a town clerk in distant Kendal, Alfred Wheelwright or some such name, who has commenced compiling a “guide book” of the Lakeland heights. 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.

bubl.ac.uk/org/tacit/tac/tac17/index.html; in The Angry Corrie, No. 17, Feb.-March 1994.

265

British Literature Student wCB.indb 265

11/14/12 4:38 PM

•

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 21-E.

•

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

+

City

=

Theme

266

British Literature Student wCB.indb 266

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 22 we meet

Mary Shelley’s mother, Mary Wollstonecraft, and read A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Next we read several romantic poets and finish with the great English poet John Keats. 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.”

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

267

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

British Literature Student wCB.indb 267

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

A Vindication of the Rights of Women

Mary Wollstonecraft The Rights and Involved Duties of Mankind Considered In the present state of society it appears necessary to go back to first principles in search of the most simple truths, and to dispute with some prevailing prejudice every inch of ground. To clear my way, I must be allowed to ask some plain questions, and the answers will probably appear as unequivocal as the axioms on which reasoning is built; though, when entangled with various motives of action, they are formally contradicted, either by the words or conduct of men. In what does man’s pre-eminence over the brute creation consist? The answer is as clear as that a half is less than the whole; in Reason. What acquirement exalts one being above another? Virtue; we spontaneously reply. For what purpose were the passions implanted? That man by struggling with them might attain a degree of knowledge denied to the brutes; whispers Experience. Consequently the perfection of our nature and capability of happiness, must be estimated by the degree of reason, virtue, and knowledge, that distinguish the individual, and direct the laws which bind society: and that from the exercise of reason, knowledge and virtue naturally flow, is equally undeniable, if mankind be viewed collectively. The rights and duties of man thus simplified, it seems almost impertinent to attempt to illustrate truths that appear so incontrovertible; yet such deeply rooted prejudices have clouded reason, and such spurious qualities have assumed the name of virtues, that it is necessary to pursue the course of reason as it has been perplexed and involved in error, by various adventitious circumstances,

comparing the simple axiom with casual deviations. Men, in general, seem to employ their reason to justify prejudices, which they have imbibed, they cannot trace how, rather than to root them out. The mind must be strong that resolutely forms its own principles; for a kind of intellectual cowardice prevails which makes many men shrink from the task, or only do it by halves. Yet the imperfect conclusions thus drawn, are frequently very plausible, because they are built on partial experience, on just, though narrow, views. Going back to first principles, vice skulks, with all its native deformity, from close investigation; but a set of shallow reasoners are always exclaiming that these arguments prove too much, and that a measure rotten at the core may be expedient. Thus expediency is continually contrasted with simple principles, till truth is lost in a mist of words, virtue, in forms, and knowledge rendered a sounding nothing, by the specious prejudices that assume its name. That the society is formed in the wisest manner, whose constitution is founded on the nature of man, strikes, in the abstract, every thinking being so forcibly, that it looks like presumption to endeavour to bring forward proofs; though proof must be brought, or the strong hold of prescription will never be forced by reason; yet to urge prescription as an argument to justify the depriving men (or women) of their natural rights, is one of the absurd sophisms which daily insult common sense. The civilization of the bulk of the people of Europe is very partial; nay, it may be made a question, whether

268

British Literature Student wCB.indb 268

11/14/12 4:38 PM

they have acquired any virtues in exchange for innocence, equivalent to the misery produced by the vices that have been plastered over unsightly ignorance, and the freedom which has been bartered for splendid slavery. The desire of dazzling by riches, the most certain pre-eminence that man can obtain, the pleasure of commanding flattering sycophants, and many other complicated low calculations of doting self-love, have all contributed to overwhelm the mass of mankind, and make liberty a convenient handle for mock patriotism. For whilst rank and titles are held of the utmost importance, before which Genius “must hide its diminished head,” it is, with a few exceptions, very unfortunate for a nation when a man of abilities, without rank or property, pushes himself forward to notice. — Alas! what unheard of misery have thousands suffered to purchase a cardinal’s hat for an intriguing obscure adventurer, who longed to be ranked with princes, or lord it over them by seizing the triple crown! Such, indeed, has been the wretchedness that has flowed from hereditary honours, riches, and monarchy, that men of lively sensibility have almost uttered blasphemy in order to justify the dispensations of providence. Man has been held out as independent of his power who made him, or as a lawless planet darting from its orbit to steal the celestial fire of reason; and the vengeance of heaven, lurking in the subtile flame, sufficiently punished his temerity, by introducing evil into the world. Impressed by this view of the misery and disorder which pervaded society, and fatigued with jostling against artificial fools, Rousseau became enamoured of solitude, and, being at the same time an optimist, he labours with uncommon eloquence to prove that man was naturally a solitary animal. Misled by his respect for the goodness of God, who certainly — for what man of sense and feeling can doubt it! — gave life only to communicate happiness, he considers evil as positive, and the work of man; not aware that he was exalting one attribute at the expense of another, equally necessary to divine perfection. Reared on a false hypothesis, his arguments in favour of a state of nature are plausible, but unsound. I say unsound; for to assert that a state of nature is preferable to civilization, in all its possible perfection, is, in other words, to arraign supreme wisdom; and the paradoxical exclamation, that God has made all

things right, and that evil has been introduced by the creature, whom he formed, knowing what he formed, is as unphilosophical as impious. When that wise Being who created us and placed us here, saw the fair idea, he willed, by allowing it to be so, that the passions should unfold our reason, because he could see that present evil would produce future good. Could the helpless creature whom he called from nothing break loose from his providence, and boldly learn to know good by practising evil, without his permission? No. — How could that energetic advocate for immortality argue so inconsistently? Had mankind remained for ever in the brutal state of nature, which even his magic pen cannot paint as a state in which a single virtue took root, it would have been clear, though not to the sensitive unreflecting wanderer, that man was born to run the circle of life and death, and adorn God’s garden for some purpose which could not easily be reconciled with his attributes. But if, to crown the whole, there were to be rational creatures produced, allowed to rise in excellence by the exercise of powers implanted for that purpose; if benignity itself thought fit to call into existence a creature above the brutes, who could think and improve himself, why should that inestimable gift, for a gift it was, if man was so created as to have a capacity to rise above the state in which sensation produced brutal ease, be called, in direct terms, a curse? A curse it might be reckoned, if all our existence was bounded by our continuance in this world; for why should the gracious fountain of life give us passions, and the power of reflecting, only to imbitter our days and inspire us with mistaken notions of dignity? Why should he lead us from love of ourselves to the sublime emotions which the discovery of his wisdom and goodness excites, if these feelings were not set in motion to improve our nature, of which they make a part, and render us capable of enjoying a more godlike portion of happiness? Firmly persuaded that no evil exists in the world that God did not design to take place, I build my belief on the perfection of God. Rousseau exerts himself to prove that all was right originally: a crowd of authors that all is now right: and I, that all will be right. But, true to his first position, next to a state of nature, Rousseau celebrates barbarism, and, apostrophizing the shade of Fabricius, he forgets that, in conquering the world, the Romans never

269

British Literature Student wCB.indb 269

11/14/12 4:38 PM

dreamed of establishing their own liberty on a firm basis, or of extending the reign of virtue. Eager to support his system, he stigmatizes, as vicious, every effort of genius; and, uttering the apotheosis of savage virtues, he exalts those to demi-gods, who were scarcely human — the brutal Spartans, who, in defiance of justice and gratitude, sacrificed, in cold blood, the slaves who had shewn themselves men to rescue their oppressors. Disgusted with artificial manners and virtues, the citizen of Geneva, instead of properly sifting the subject, threw away the wheat with the chaff, without waiting to inquire whether the evils which his ardent soul turned from indignantly, were the consequence of civilization or the vestiges of barbarism. He saw vice trampling on virtue, and the semblance of goodness taking place of the reality; he saw talents bent by power to sinister purposes, and never thought of tracing the gigantic mischief up to arbitrary power, up to the hereditary distinctions that clash with the mental superiority that naturally raises a man above his fellows. He did not perceive that regal power, in a few generations, introduces idiotism into the noble stem, and holds out baits to render thousands idle and vicious. Nothing can set the regal character in a more contemptible point of view, than the various crimes that have elevated men to the supreme dignity. — Vile intrigues, unnatural crimes, and every vice that degrades our nature, have been the steps to this distinguished eminence; yet millions of men have supinely allowed the nerveless limbs of the posterity of such rapacious prowlers to rest quietly on their ensanguined thrones. What but a pestilential vapour can hover over society when its chief director is only instructed in the invention of crimes, or the stupid routine of childish ceremonies? Will men never be wise? — will they never cease to expect corn from tares, and figs from thistles? It is impossible for any man, when the most favourable circumstances concur, to acquire sufficient knowledge and strength of mind to discharge the duties of a king, entrusted with uncontrouled power; how then must they be violated when his very elevation is an insuperable bar to the attainment of either wisdom or virtue; when all the feelings of a man are stifled by flattery, and reflection shut out by pleasure! Surely it is madness to make the fate of thousands depend on the caprice of a weak fellow creature, whose very

station sinks him necessarily below the meanest of his subjects! But one power should not be thrown down to exalt another — for all power intoxicates weak man; and its abuse proves, that the more equality there is established among men, the more virtue and happiness will reign in society. But this, and any similar maxim deduced from simple reason, raises an outcry — the church or the state is in danger, if faith in the wisdom of antiquity is not implicit; and they who, roused by the sight of human calamity, dare to attack human authority, are reviled as despisers of God, and enemies of man. These are bitter calumnies, yet they reached one of the best of men, whose ashes still preach peace, and whose memory demands a respectful pause, when subjects are discussed that lay so near his heart. After attacking the sacred majesty of Kings, I shall scarcely excite surprise by adding my firm persuasion that every profession, in which great subordination of rank constitutes its power, is highly injurious to morality. A standing army, for instance, is incompatible with freedom; because subordination and rigour are the very sinews of military discipline; and despotism is necessary to give vigour to enterprizes that one will directs. A spirit inspired by romantic notions of honour, a kind of morality founded on the fashion of the age, can only be felt by a few officers, whilst the main body must be moved by command, like the waves of the sea; for the strong wind of authority pushes the crowd of subalterns forward, they scarcely know or care why, with headlong fury. Besides, nothing can be so prejudicial to the morals of the inhabitants of country towns as the occasional residence of a set of idle superficial young men, whose only occupation is gallantry, and whose polished manners render vice more dangerous, by concealing its deformity under gay ornamental drapery. An air of fashion, which is but a badge of slavery, and proves that the soul has not a strong individual character, awes simple country people into an imitation of the vices, when they cannot catch the slippery graces, of politeness. Every corps is a chain of despots, who, submitting and tyrannizing without exercising their reason, become dead weights of vice and folly on the community. A man of rank or fortune, sure of rising by interest, has nothing to do but to pursue some extravagant freak; whilst the needy gentleman, who is to rise, as the

270

British Literature Student wCB.indb 270

11/14/12 4:38 PM

phrase turns, by his merit, becomes a servile parasite or vile pander. Sailors, the naval gentlemen, come under the same description, only their vices assume a different and a grosser cast. They are more positively indolent, when not discharging the ceremonials of their station; whilst the insignificant fluttering of soldiers may be termed active idleness. More confined to the society of men, the former acquire a fondness for humour and mischievous tricks; whilst the latter, mixing frequently with well-bred women, catch a sentimental cant. — But mind is equally out of the question, whether they indulge the horse-laugh, or polite simper. May I be allowed to extend the comparison to a profession where more mind is certainly to be found; for the clergy have superior opportunities of impovement, tho’ subordination almost equally cramps their faculties? The blind submission imposed at college to forms of belief serves as a novitiate to the curate, who must obsequiously respect the opinion of his rector or patron, if he means to rise in his profession. Perhaps there cannot be a more forcible contrast than between the servile dependent gait of a poor curate and the courtly mien of a bishop. And the respect and contempt they inspire render the discharge of their separate functions equally useless. It is of great importance to observe that the character of every man is, in some degree, formed by his profession. A man of sense may only have a cast of countenance that wears off as you trace his individuality, whilst the weak, common man has scarcely ever any character, but what belongs to the body; at least, all his opinions have been so steeped in the vat consecrated by authority, that the faint spirit which the grape of his own vine yields cannot be distinguished. Society, therefore, as it becomes more enlightened, should be very careful not to establish bodies of men who must necessarily be made foolish or vicious by the very constitution of

their profession. In the infancy of society, when men were just emerging out of barbarism, chiefs and priests, touching the most powerful springs of savage conduct, hope and fear, must have had unbounded sway. An aristocracy, of course, is naturally the first form of government. But, clashing interests soon losing their equipoise, a monarchy and hierarchy break out of the confusion of ambitious struggles, and the foundation of both is secured by feudal tenures. This appears to be the origin of monarchical and priestly power, and the dawn of civilization. But such combustible materials cannot long be pent up; and, getting vent in foreign wars and intestine insurrections, the people acquire some power in the tumult, which obliges their rulers to gloss over their oppression with a shew of right. Thus, as wars, agriculture, commerce, and literature, expand the mind, despots are compelled, to make covert corruption hold fast the power which was formerly snatched by open force. And this baneful lurking gangrene is most quickly spread by luxury and superstition, the sure dregs of ambition. The indolent puppet of a court first becomes a luxurious monster, or fastidious sensualist, and then makes the contagion which his unnatural state spread, the instrument of tyranny. It is the pestiferous purple which renders the progress of civilization a curse, and warps the understanding, till men of sensibility doubt whether the expansion of intellect produces a greater portion of happiness or misery. But the nature of the poison points out the antidote; and had Rousseau mounted one step higher in his investigation, or could his eye have pierced through the foggy atmosphere, which he almost disdained to breathe, his active mind would have darted forward to contemplate the perfection of man in the establishment of true civilization, instead of taking his ferocious flight back to the night of sensual ignorance.

www.bartleby.com/144/1.html.

271

British Literature Student wCB.indb 271

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

Warm-up: Wollstonecraft feels women are treated unfairly.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 22-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 22.

Text Comprehension

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-A

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

No education

Reasons women are treated unfairly

272

British Literature Student wCB.indb 272

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

George Gordon, Lord Byron BACKGROUND

Lord Byron (1788–1824), an English poet, influenced romantic literature as much with his colorful lifestyle and as he did with his powerful poetry. He fled England to avoid a scandal and died in the struggle for Greek Independence. His story was tragic and paralleled some of the other tragic stories of last century. Romanticism is tied closely to republicanism and democracy — the much-preferred governments for romantics. Students will find evidence of these persuasions in the following Byron poems. (Note: Don Juan is pronounced Don Ju’an — two syllables with emphasis on the first syllable of Ju’an — because of the poem’s rhyme scheme.)

Don Juan: Canto the First I want a hero: an uncommon want,

With many of the military set,

When every year and month sends forth a new one,

Exceedingly remarkable at times,

Till, after cloying the gazettes with cant,

But not at all adapted to my rhymes.

The age discovers he is not the true one; Of such as these I should not care to vaunt, I’ll therefore take our ancient friend Don Juan, We all have seen him, in the pantomime, Sent to the Devil somewhat ere his time.

Nelson was once Britannia’s god of War, And still should be so, but the tide is turn’d; There’s no more to be said of Trafalgar, ’Tis with our hero quietly inurn’d; Because the army’s grown more popular,

Vernon, the butcher Cumberland, Wolfe, Hawke,

At which the naval people are concern’d;

Prince Ferdinand, Granby, Burgoyne, Keppel, Howe,

Besides, the Prince is all for the land-service,

Evil and good, have had their tithe of talk,

Forgetting Duncan, Nelson, Howe, and Jervis.

And filled their sign-posts then, like Wellesley now; Each in their turn like Banquo’s monarchs stalk, Followers of fame, “nine farrow” of that sow: France, too, had Buonaparté and Dumourier Recorded in the Moniteur and Courier. Barnave, Brissot, Condorcet, Mirabeau, Pétion, Clootz, Danton, Marat, La Fayette Were French, and famous people, as we know; And there were others, scarce forgotten yet, Joubert, Hoche, Marceau, Lannes, Desaix, Moreau,

British Literature Student wCB.indb 273

Brave men were living before Agamemnon And since, exceeding valorous and sage, A good deal like him too, though quite the same none; But then they shone not on the poet’s page, And so have been forgotten: I condemn none, But can’t find any in the present age Fit for my poem (that is, for my new one); So, as I said, I’ll take my friend Don Juan.

273

11/14/12 4:38 PM

The Prisoner of Chillon My hair is grey, but not with years,

And in each pillar there is a ring,

Nor grew it white

And in each ring there is a chain;

In a single night,

That iron is a cankering thing,

As men’s have grown from sudden fears:

For in these limbs its teeth remain,

My limbs are bow’d, though not with toil,

With marks that will not wear away,

But rusted with a vile repose,

Till I have done with this new day,

For they have been a dungeon’s spoil,

Which now is painful to these eyes,

And mine has been the fate of those

Which have not seen the sun so rise

To whom the goodly earth and air

For years — I cannot count them o’er,

Are bann’d, and barr’d — forbidden fare;

I lost their long and heavy score

But this was for my father’s faith

When my last brother droop’d and died,

I suffer’d chains and courted death;

And I lay living by his side.

That father perish’d at the stake For tenets he would not forsake; And for the same his lineal race In darkness found a dwelling place; We were seven — who now are one, Six in youth, and one in age, Finish’d as they had begun, Proud of Persecution’s rage; One in fire, and two in field, Their belief with blood have seal’d, Dying as their father died, For the God their foes denied; — Three were in a dungeon cast, Of whom this wreck is left the last.

They chain’d us each to a column stone, And we were three — yet, each alone; We could not move a single pace, We could not see each other’s face, But with that pale and livid light That made us strangers in our sight: And thus together — yet apart, Fetter’d in hand, but join’d in heart, ’Twas still some solace in the dearth Of the pure elements of earth, To hearken to each other’s speech, And each turn comforter to each With some new hope, or legend old, Or song heroically bold;

There are seven pillars of Gothic mould,

But even these at length grew cold.

In Chillon’s dungeons deep and old,

Our voices took a dreary tone,

There are seven columns, massy and grey,

An echo of the dungeon stone,

Dim with a dull imprison’d ray,

A grating sound, not full and free,

A sunbeam which hath lost its way,

As they of yore were wont to be:

And through the crevice and the cleft

It might be fancy — but to me

Of the thick wall is fallen and left;

They never sounded like our own.

Creeping o’er the floor so damp, Like a marsh’s meteor lamp:

274

British Literature Student wCB.indb 274

I was the eldest of the three And to uphold and cheer the rest

11/14/12 4:38 PM

I ought to do — and did my best —

Lake Leman lies by Chillon’s walls:

And each did well in his degree.

A thousand feet in depth below

The youngest, whom my father loved

Its massy waters meet and flow;

Because our mother’s brow was given

Thus much the fathom-line was sent

To him, with eyes as blue as heaven —

From Chillon’s snow-white battlement

For him my soul was sorely moved:

Which round about the wave inthralls:

And truly might it be distress’d

A double dungeon wall and wave

To see such bird in such a nest;

Have made — and like a living grave

For he was beautiful as day —

Below the surface of the lake

(When day was beautiful to me

The dark vault lies wherein we lay:

As to young eagles, being free) —

We heard it ripple night and day;

A polar day, which will not see

Sounding o’er our heads it knock’d;

A sunset till its summer’s gone,

And I have felt the winter’s spray

Its sleepless summer of long light,

Wash through the bars when winds were high

The snow-clad offspring of the sun:

And wanton in the happy sky;

And thus he was as pure and bright,

And then the very rock hath rock’d,

And in his natural spirit gay,

And I have felt it shake, unshock’d,

With tears for nought but others’ ills,

Because I could have smiled to see

And then they flow’d like mountain rills,

The death that would have set me free.

Unless he could assuage the woe Which he abhorr’d to view below.

I said my nearer brother pined, I said his mighty heart declined,

The other was as pure of mind,

He loathed and put away his food;

But form’d to combat with his kind;

It was not that ’twas coarse and rude,

Strong in his frame, and of a mood

For we were used to hunter’s fare,

Which ’gainst the world in war had stood,

And for the like had little care:

And perish’d in the foremost rank

The milk drawn from the mountain goat

With joy: — but not in chains to pine:

Was changed for water from the moat,

His spirit wither’d with their clank,

Our bread was such as captives’ tears

I saw it silently decline —

Have moisten’d many a thousand years,

And so perchance in sooth did mine:

Since man first pent his fellow men

But yet I forced it on to cheer

Like brutes within an iron den;

Those relics of a home so dear.

But what were these to us or him?

He was a hunter of the hills,

These wasted not his heart or limb;

Had followed there the deer and wolf;

My brother’s soul was of that mould

To him this dungeon was a gulf,

Which in a palace had grown cold,

And fetter’d feet the worst of ills.

Had his free breathing been denied The range of the steep mountain’s side;

British Literature Student wCB.indb 275

275

11/14/12 4:38 PM

But why delay the truth? — he died.

Strive with a swoln convulsive motion,

I saw, and could not hold his head,

I’ve seen the sick and ghastly bed

Nor reach his dying hand — nor dead, —

Of Sin delirious with its dread:

Though hard I strove, but strove in vain,

But these were horrors — this was woe

To rend and gnash my bonds in twain.

Unmix’d with such — but sure and slow:

He died — and they unlock’d his chain,

He faded, and so calm and meek,

And scoop’d for him a shallow grave

So softly worn, so sweetly weak,

Even from the cold earth of our cave.

So tearless, yet so tender — kind,

I begg’d them, as a boon, to lay

And grieved for those he left behind;

His corse in dust whereon the day

With all the while a cheek whose bloom

Might shine — it was a foolish thought,

Was as a mockery of the tomb

But then within my brain it wrought,

Whose tints as gently sunk away

That even in death his freeborn breast

As a departing rainbow’s ray;

In such a dungeon could not rest.

An eye of most transparent light,

I might have spared my idle prayer —

That almost made the dungeon bright;

They coldly laugh’d — and laid him there:

And not a word of murmur — not

The flat and turfless earth above

A groan o’er his untimely lot, —

The being we so much did love;

A little talk of better days,

His empty chain above it leant,

A little hope my own to raise,

Such Murder’s fitting monument!

For I was sunk in silence — lost

But he, the favourite and the flower, Most cherish’d since his natal hour, His mother’s image in fair face The infant love of all his race His martyr’d father’s dearest thought, My latest care, for whom I sought To hoard my life, that his might be Less wretched now, and one day free; He, too, who yet had held untired A spirit natural or inspired — He, too, was struck, and day by day Was wither’d on the stalk away. Oh, God! it is a fearful thing To see the human soul take wing In any shape, in any mood: I’ve seen it rushing forth in blood, I’ve seen it on the breaking ocean

In this last loss, of all the most; And then the sighs he would suppress Of fainting Nature’s feebleness, More slowly drawn, grew less and less: I listen’d, but I could not hear; I call’d, for I was wild with fear; I knew ’twas hopeless, but my dread Would not be thus admonishèd; I call’d, and thought I heard a sound — I burst my chain with one strong bound, And rushed to him: — I found him not, I only stirred in this black spot, I only lived, I only drew The accursed breath of dungeon-dew; The last, the sole, the dearest link Between me and the eternal brink,

276

British Literature Student wCB.indb 276

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Which bound me to my failing race

It ceased, and then it came again,

Was broken in this fatal place.

The sweetest song ear ever heard,

One on the earth, and one beneath —

And mine was thankful till my eyes

My brothers — both had ceased to breathe:

Ran over with the glad surprise,

I took that hand which lay so still,

And they that moment could not see

Alas! my own was full as chill;

I was the mate of misery;

I had not strength to stir, or strive,

But then by dull degrees came back

But felt that I was still alive —

My senses to their wonted track;

A frantic feeling, when we know

I saw the dungeon walls and floor

That what we love shall ne’er be so.

Close slowly round me as before,

I know not why

I saw the glimmer of the sun

I could not die,

Creeping as it before had done,

I had no earthly hope — but faith,

But through the crevice where it came

And that forbade a selfish death.

That bird was perch’d, as fond and tame,

Why does the bird’s song encourage the speaker?

And tamer than upon the tree;

What next befell me then and there I know not well — I never knew — First came the loss of light, and air, And then of darkness too: I had no thought, no feeling — none — Among the stones I stood a state, And was, scarce conscious what I wist, As shrubless crags within the mist; For all was blank, and bleak, and grey; It was not night — it was not day; It was not even the dungeon-light, So hateful to my heavy sight, But vacancy absorbing space, And fixedness — without a place; There were no stars, no earth, no time, No check, no change, no good, no crime But silence, and a stirless breath Which neither was of life nor death; A sea of stagnant idleness, Blind, boundless, mute, and motionless! A light broke in upon my brain, — It was the carol of a bird;

British Literature Student wCB.indb 277

A lovely bird, with azure wings, And song that said a thousand things, And seemed to say them all for me! I never saw its like before, I ne’er shall see its likeness more: It seem’d like me to want a mate, But was not half so desolate, And it was come to love me when None lived to love me so again, And cheering from my dungeon’s brink, Had brought me back to feel and think. I know not if it late were free, Or broke its cage to perch on mine, But knowing well captivity, Sweet bird! I could not wish for thine! Or if it were, in wingèd guise, A visitant from Paradise; For — Heaven forgive that thought! the while Which made me both to weep and smile — I sometimes deem’d that it might be My brother’s soul come down to me; Then at last away it flew, And then ’twas mortal well I knew,

277

11/14/12 4:38 PM

For he would never thus have flown —

For thought of them had made me mad;

And left me twice so doubly lone, —

But I was curious to ascend

Lone as the corse within its shroud,

To my barr’d windows, and to bend

Lone as a solitary cloud,

Once more, upon the mountains high,

A single cloud on a sunny day,

The quiet of a loving eye.

While all the rest of heaven is clear, A frown upon the atmosphere, That hath no business to appear When skies are blue, and earth is gay.

I saw them — and they were the same, They were not changed like me in frame; I saw their thousand years of snow On high — their wide long lake below,

A kind of change came in my fate,

And the blue Rhone in fullest flow;

My keepers grew compassionate;

I heard the torrents leap and gush

I know not what had made them so,

O’er channell’d rock and broken bush;

They were inured to sights of woe,

I saw the white-wall’d distant town,

But so it was: — my broken chain

And whiter sails go skimming down;

With links unfasten’d did remain,

And then there was a little isle,

And it was liberty to stride

Which in my very face did smile,

Along my cell from side to side,

The only one in view;

And up and down, and then athwart,

A small green isle, it seem’d no more,

And tread it over every part;

Scarce broader than my dungeon floor,

And round the pillars one by one,

But in it there were three tall trees,

Returning where my walk begun,

And o’er it blew the mountain breeze,

Avoiding only, as I trod,

And by it there were waters flowing,

My brothers’ graves without a sod;

And on it there were young flowers growing,

For if I thought with heedless tread

Of gentle breath and hue.

My step profaned their lowly bed,

The fish swam by the castle wall,

My breath came gaspingly and thick,

And they seem’d joyous each and all;

And my crush’d heart felt blind and sick.

The eagle rode the rising blast,

I made a footing in the wall,

Methought he never flew so fast

It was not therefrom to escape,

As then to me he seem’d to fly;

For I had buried one and all,

And then new tears came in my eye,

Who loved me in a human shape;

And I felt troubled — and would fain

And the whole earth would henceforth be

I had not left my recent chain;

A wider prison unto me:

And when I did descend again,

No child, no sire, no kin had I,

The darkness of my dim abode

No partner in my misery;

Fell on me as a heavy load;

I thought of this, and I was glad,

It was as is a new-dug grave,

278

British Literature Student wCB.indb 278

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Closing o’er one we sought to save, —

A hermitage — and all my own!

And yet my glance, too much opprest,

And half I felt as they were come

Had almost need of such a rest.

To tear me from a second home:

It might be months, or years, or days — I kept no count, I took no note —

With spiders I had friendship made And watch’d them in their sullen trade, Had seen the mice by moonlight play,

I had no hope my eyes to raise, And clear them of their dreary mote; At last men came to set me free; I ask’d not why, and reck’d not where; It was at length the same to me,

And why should I feel less than they? We were all inmates of one place, And I, the monarch of each race, Had power to kill — yet, strange to tell! In quiet we had learn’d to dwell;

Fetter’d or fetterless to be,

My very chains and I grew friends,

I learn’d to love despair. And thus when they appear’d at last, And all my bonds aside were cast, These heavy walls to me had grown

So much a long communion tends To make us what we are: — even I Regain’d my freedom with a sigh.

She Walks in Beauty She walks in beauty, like the night

Or softly lightens o’er her face;

Of cloudless climes and starry skies;

Where thoughts serenely sweet express

And all that’s best of dark and bright

How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

Meet in her aspect and her eyes: Thus mellow’d to that tender light Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, The smiles that win, the tints that glow,

One shade the more, one ray the less,

But tell of days in goodness spent,

Had half impair’d the nameless grace

A mind at peace with all below,

Which waves in every raven tress,

A heart whose love is innocent!

eir.library.utoronto.ca/

279

British Literature Student wCB.indb 279

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 22-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 22-B

Read Lord Byron’s “The Prison of Chillon” (excerpt) and respond to the following: My hair is grey, but not with years, Nor grew it white In a single night, As men’s have grown from sudden fears: My limbs are bow’d, though not with toil, But rusted with a vile repose, For they have been a dungeon’s spoil, And mine has been the fate of those To whom the goodly earth and air Are bann’d, and barr’d — forbidden fare; But this was for my father’s faith I suffer’d chains and courted death; That father perish’d at the stake For tenets he would not forsake; And for the same his lineal race In darkness found a dwelling place; We were seven—who now are one, Six in youth, and one in age, Finish’d as they had begun, Proud of Persecution’s rage; One in fire, and two in field, Their belief with blood have seal’d, Dying as their father died, For the God their foes denied; — Three were in a dungeon cast, Of whom this wreck is left the last.

In what way has the narrator aged?

Why is this man imprisoned?

What is the tone of this poem?

classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/lbyron/bl-lbyron-prisoner.htm.

280

British Literature Student wCB.indb 280

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Many of the romantic poets are reminiscent of tragic rock singers systematically destroying their lives with loose living and drug abuse. One such figure is Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834) who wrote a great deal of his most promising poetry during six years of close friendship with William Wordsworth. Their collaboration resulted in the Lyrical Ballads (1798), a seminal work of the English romantic movement.

Kubla Khan In Xanadu did Kubla Khan

It flung up momently the sacred river.

A stately pleasure-dome decree:

Five miles meandering with a mazy motion

Where Alph, the sacred river, ran

Through wood and dale the sacred river ran,

Through caverns measureless to man

Then reached the caverns measureless to man,

Down to a sunless sea.

And sank in tumult to a lifeless ocean:

So twice five miles of fertile ground

And ’mid this tumult Kubla heard from far

With walls and towers were girdled round:

Ancestral voices prophesying war!

And there were gardens bright with sinuous rills, Where blossomed many an incense-bearing tree; And here were forests ancient as the hills, Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.

The shadow of the dome of pleasure Floated midway on the waves; Where was heard the mingled measure From the fountain and the caves.

But O, that deep romantic chasm which slanted

It was a miracle of rare device,

Down the green hill athwart a cedarn cover!

A sunny pleasure-dome with caves of ice!

A savage place! as holy and enchanted As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted By woman wailing for her demon-lover! And from this chasm, with ceaseless turmoil seething, As if this earth in fast thick pants were breathing, A mighty fountain momently was forced: Amid whose swift half-intermitted burst Huge fragments vaulted like rebounding hail, Or chaffy grain beneath the thresher’s flail: And ’mid these dancing rocks at once and ever

British Literature Student wCB.indb 281

In a vision once I saw: It was an Abyssinian maid, And on her dulcimer she played, Singing of Mount Abora. Could I revive within me Her symphony and song, To such a deep delight ’twould win me, That with music loud and long, I would build that dome in air, That sunny dome! those caves of ice!

281

11/14/12 4:38 PM

And all who heard should see them there,

And close your eyes with holy dread,

And all should cry, Beware! Beware!

For he on honey-dew hath fed,

His flashing eyes, his floating hair!

And drunk the milk of Paradise.

Weave a circle round him thrice, eir.library.utoronto.ca/

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 22-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher or a peer evaluator may correct rough drafts.

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

Figurative Language

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-C

Personification: “tell of days in goodness spent.”

“She Walks in Beauty”

282

British Literature Student wCB.indb 282

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Percy Bysshe Shelley Background

Percy Bysshe Shelley’s life could make a good television movie. Shelley — who was born August 4, 1792, and died July 8, 1822 — stands among Coleridge, Wordsworth, Keats, and Byron as great English romantic poets. Shelley was educated at Eton and was expelled from Oxford for publishing an anti-Christian pamphlet called “The Necessity of Atheism” (1811). That same year he eloped to Ireland with 16-year-old Harriet Westbrook, with whom he had a son and a daughter. Three years later Shelley eloped again, this time with Mary Wollstonecraft Godwin, whom he married in 1816, after Harriet had committed suicide. He and Mary had four children, only one of whom survived. (Note: Bysshe is pronounced “bish.”)

Ozymandias I met a traveller from an antique land

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.

Who said — “Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

And on the pedestal these words appear —

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The lone and level sands stretch far away.”

To a Skylark Hail to thee, blithe Spirit!

O’er which clouds are bright’ning,

Bird thou never wert,

Thou dost float and run,

That from Heaven, or near it,

Like an unbodied joy whose race is just begun.

Pourest thy full heart In profuse strains of unpremeditated art.

The pale purple even Melts around thy flight;

Higher still and higher

Like a star of Heaven

From the earth thou springest

In the broad daylight

Like a cloud of fire;

Thou art unseen, but yet I hear thy shrill delight:

The blue deep thou wingest,

Keen as are the arrows

And singing still dost soar, and soaring ever singest.

Of that silver sphere,

In the golden lightning Of the sunken sun

British Literature Student wCB.indb 283

Whose intense lamp narrows In the white dawn clear Until we hardly see — we feel that it is there.

283

11/14/12 4:38 PM

All the earth and air

All that ever was

With thy voice is loud.

Joyous, and clear, and fresh, thy music doth surpass.

As, when night is bare, From one lonely cloud The moon rains out her beams, and Heaven is overflowed. What thou art we know not;

Teach us, Sprite or Bird, What sweet thoughts are thine: I have never heard Praise of love or wine

What is most like thee?

That panted forth a flood of rapture so divine.

From rainbow clouds there flow not

Chorus Hymeneal

Drops so bright to see As from thy presence showers a rain of melody. Like a Poet hidden

Or triumphal chaunt Matched with thine, would be all But an empty vaunt—

In the light of thought,

A thing wherein we feel there is some hidden want.

Singing hymns unbidden,

What objects are the fountains

Till the world is wrought To sympathy with hopes and fears it heeded not: Like a high-born maiden

Of thy happy strain? What fields, or waves, or mountains? What shapes of sky or plain?

In a palace tower,

What love of thine own kind? what ignorance of pain?

Soothing her love-laden

With thy clear keen joyance

Soul in secret hour With music sweet as love, which overflows her bower: Like a glow-worm golden

Languor cannot be: Shadow of annoyance Never came near thee:

In a dell of dew,

Thou lovest, but ne’er knew love’s sad satiety.

Scattering unbeholden

Waking or asleep,

Its aërial hue Among the flowers and grass, which screen it from the view: Like a rose embowered In its own green leaves, By warm winds deflowered, Till the scent it gives Makes faint with too much sweet these heavy-winged thieves. Sound of vernal showers On the twinkling grass, Rain-awakened flowers,

Thou of death must deem Things more true and deep Than we mortals dream, Or how could thy notes flow in such a crystal stream? We look before and after, And pine for what is not: Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught; Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought. Yet if we could scorn Hate, and pride, and fear;

284

British Literature Student wCB.indb 284

11/14/12 4:38 PM

If we were things born

Teach me half the gladness

Not to shed a tear,

That thy brain must know,

I know not how thy joy we ever should come near.

Such harmonious madness

Better than all measures Of delightful sound,

From my lips would flow The world should listen then, as I am listening now!

Better than all treasures That in books are found, Thy skill to poet were, thou scorner of the ground! eir.library.utoronto.ca/

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 22-D.

•

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

Comparison

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-D

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?

Skylark

285

British Literature Student wCB.indb 285

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

John Keats BACKGROUND

Keats’s short poetic life is unprecedented in English literature; between the ages of 18 and 24 he wrote poems of such power that they rank with the greatest in the language. Taking in all the senses, they lyrically render the totality of an experience and catch the complexity of life.

Bright Star Bright star! would I were steadfast as thou art —

Of snow upon the mountains and the moors —

Not in lone splendour hung aloft the night,

No — yet still steadfast, still unchangeable,

And watching, with eternal lids apart,

Pillow’d upon my fair love’s ripening breast,

Like Nature’s patient sleepless Eremite,

To feel for ever its soft fall and swell,

The moving waters at their priestlike task

Awake for ever in a sweet unrest,

Of pure ablution round earth’s human shores,

Still, still to hear her tender-taken breath,

Or gazing on the new soft fallen mask

And so live ever — or else swoon to death.

Ode on a Grecian Urn Thou still unravish’d bride of quietness,

Fair youth, beneath the trees, thou canst not leave

Thou foster-child of silence and slow time,

Thy song, nor ever can those trees be bare;

Sylvan historian, who canst thus express

Bold Lover, never, never canst thou kiss,

A flowery tale more sweetly than our rhyme:

Though winning near the goal — yet, do not grieve;

What leaf-fring’d legend haunts about thy shape

She cannot fade, though thou hast not thy bliss,

Of deities or mortals, or of both,

For ever wilt thou love, and she be fair!

In Tempe or the dales of Arcady? What men or gods are these? What maidens loth? What mad pursuit? What struggle to escape? What pipes and timbrels? What wild ecstasy?

Ah, happy, happy boughs! that cannot shed Your leaves, nor ever bid the Spring adieu; And, happy melodist, unwearied, For ever piping songs for ever new;

Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard

More happy love! more happy, happy love!

Are sweeter; therefore, ye soft pipes, play on;

For ever warm and still to be enjoy’d,

Not to the sensual ear, but, more endear’d,

For ever panting, and for ever young;

Pipe to the spirit ditties of no tone:

All breathing human passion far above,

286

British Literature Student wCB.indb 286

11/14/12 4:38 PM

That leaves a heart high-sorrowful and cloy’d,

O Attic shape! Fair attitude! with brede

A burning forehead, and a parching tongue.

Of marble men and maidens overwrought,

Who are these coming to the sacrifice? To what green altar, O mysterious priest, Lead’st thou that heifer lowing at the skies, And all her silken flanks with garlands drest? What little town by river or sea shore, Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel, Is emptied of this folk, this pious morn? And, little town, thy streets for evermore

With forest branches and the trodden weed; Thou, silent form, dost tease us out of thought As doth eternity: Cold Pastoral! When old age shall this generation waste, Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st, “Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” — that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

Will silent be; and not a soul to tell Why thou art desolate, can e’er return.

Ode to a Nightingale My heart aches, and a drowsy numbness pains

Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget

My sense, as though of hemlock I had drunk,

What thou among the leaves hast never known,

Or emptied some dull opiate to the drains

The weariness, the fever, and the fret

One minute past, and Lethe-wards had sunk:

Here, where men sit and hear each other groan;

’Tis not through envy of thy happy lot,

Where palsy shakes a few, sad, last gray hairs,

But being too happy in thine happiness, —

Where youth grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies;

That thou, light-winged Dryad of the trees,

Where but to think is to be full of sorrow

In some melodious plot

And leaden-eyed despairs,

Of beechen green, and shadows numberless,

Where Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes,

Singest of summer in full-throated ease.

Or new Love pine at them beyond to-morrow.

O, for a draught of vintage! that hath been

Away! away! for I will fly to thee,

Cool’d a long age in the deep-delved earth,

Not charioted by Bacchus and his pards,

Tasting of Flora and the country green,

But on the viewless wings of Poesy,

Dance, and Provençal song, and sunburnt mirth!

Though the dull brain perplexes and retards:

O for a beaker full of the warm South,

Already with thee! tender is the night,

Full of the true, the blushful Hippocrene,

And haply the Queen-Moon is on her throne,

With beaded bubbles winking at the brim,

Cluster’d around by all her starry Fays;

And purple-stained mouth;

But here there is no light,

That I might drink, and leave the world unseen,

Save what from heaven is with the breezes blown

And with thee fade away into the forest dim:

Through verdurous glooms and winding mossy ways.

287

British Literature Student wCB.indb 287

11/14/12 4:38 PM

I cannot see what flowers are at my feet,

Thou wast not born for death, immortal Bird!

Nor what soft incense hangs upon the boughs,

No hungry generations tread thee down;

But, in embalmed darkness, guess each sweet

The voice I hear this passing night was heard

Wherewith the seasonable month endows

In ancient days by emperor and clown:

The grass, the thicket, and the fruit-tree wild;

Perhaps the self-same song that found a path

White hawthorn, and the pastoral eglantine;

Through the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home,

Fast fading violets cover’d up in leaves;

She stood in tears amid the alien corn;

And mid-May’s eldest child,

The same that oft-times hath

The coming musk-rose, full of dewy wine,

Charm’d magic casements, opening on the foam

The murmurous haunt of flies on summer eves.

Of perilous seas, in faery lands forlorn.

Darkling I listen; and, for many a time

Forlorn! the very word is like a bell

I have been half in love with easeful Death, Call’d him soft names in many a mused rhyme, To take into the air my quiet breath;

To toil me back from thee to my sole self! Adieu! the fancy cannot cheat so well As she is fam’d to do, deceiving elf.

Now more than ever seems it rich to die,

Adieu! adieu! thy plaintive anthem fades

To cease upon the midnight with no pain, While thou art pouring forth thy soul abroad In such an ecstasy! Still wouldst thou sing, and I have ears in vain — To thy high requiem become a sod.

Past the near meadows, over the still stream, Up the hill-side; and now ’tis buried deep In the next valley-glades: Was it a vision, or a waking dream? Fled is that music: — Do I wake or sleep?

Posthuma When I have fears that I may cease to be

Their shadows, with the magic hand of chance;

Before my pen has glean’d my teeming brain,

And when I feel, fair creature of an hour!

Before high piled books, in charact’ry,

That I shall never look upon thee more,

Hold like rich garners the full-ripen’d grain;

Never have relish in the faery power

When I behold, upon the night’s starr’d face,

Of unreflecting love! — then on the shore

Huge cloudy symbols of a high romance,

Of the wide world I stand alone, and think

And think that I may never live to trace

Till Love and Fame to nothingness do sink.

eir.library.utoronto.ca/

288

British Literature Student wCB.indb 288

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 22-E.

•

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

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 22-E

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

Themes

289

British Literature Student wCB.indb 289

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 23 we read two of the best Victorian novels, different in almost every way. 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.

290

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens.

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

British Literature Student wCB.indb 290

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë Charlotte Brontë (1816–1854) was born into a devout Methodist family and was perhaps the most talented of the exceptionally talented Brontë family. Because women’s works were not usually received seriously by reviewers, Charlotte and sisters Emily and Anne became Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell, newly professional writers. Jane Eyre, Charlotte’s most famous novel, came together as a powerful work of fiction where her difficulties as a governess and her unrequited love shaped the fictional autobiography of her heroine Jane. The novel was different from previous sentimental novels of manners popular in the early decades of the century. Jane Eyre includes a remarkable and unique character in the unflappable, plain, Jane, who refuses to be in the shadow of any man: “she spoke with surprising authority about a woman’s desire for liberty — ‘for liberty I gasped; for liberty I uttered a prayer.’ ” (Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, p. 471). This novel thrust Charlotte Brontë into a dramatic public life, quite a change for the formerly shy, unsophisticated young woman.

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 23-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 23.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-A

•

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

1

What is the narrative point of view?

2

From the text, what sort of person may the reader infer the narrator is?

3

What is the narrator telling the reader by quoting this book?

291

British Literature Student wCB.indb 291

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Jane Eyre Critics Corner Jane Eyre was an immediate best seller and has remained in publication ever sense. The first critics, too, were mostly favorable. One exception was a reviewer named Elizabeth Rigby, who condemned the novel as profoundly immoral and “anti-Christian” — not so much because of Mr. Rochester’s character as because of Jane’s “unregenerate and undisciplined” spirit. In Jane Eyre, the characters and events, though some of them masterly in conception, are coined expressly for the purpose of bringing out great effects. The hero and heroine are beings both so singularly unattractive that the reader feels they can have no vocation in the novel but to be brought together; and they do things which, though not impossible, lie utterly beyond the bounds of probability. On this account a short sketch of the plan seems requisite; not but what it is a plan familiar enough to all readers of novels — especially those of the old school and those of the lowest school of our own day. For Jane Eyre is merely another Pamela, who, by the force of her character and the strength of her principles, is carried victoriously through great trials and temptations from the man she loves. Nor is she even a Pamela adapted and refined to modern notions; for though the story is conducted without those derelictions of decorum which we are to believe had their excuse in the manners of Richardson’s time, yet it is stamped with a coarseness of language and a laxity of tone which have certainly no excuses in ours. It is a very remarkable book: we have no remembrance of another combining such genuine power with such horrid taste. Both together have equally assisted to gain the great popularity it has enjoyed; for in these days of extravagant adoration of all that bears the stamp of novelty and originality, sheer rudeness and vulgarity have come in for a most mistaken worship. The story is written in the first person. Jane begins with her earliest recollections, and at once takes possession of the reader’s intensest interest by

the masterly picture of a strange and oppressed child she raises up in a few strokes before him. She is an orphan, and a dependant in the house of a selfish, hard-hearted aunt, against whom the disposition of the little Jane chafes itself in natural antipathy, till she contrives to make the unequal struggle as intolerable to her oppressor as it is to herself. She is therefore, at eight years of age, got rid of to a sort of Dothegirls Hall, where she continues to enlist our sympathies for a time with her little pinched fingers, cropped hair, and empty stomach. But things improve: the abuses of the institution are looked into. The Puritan patron, who holds that young orphan girls are only safely brought up upon the rules of La Trappe, is superseded by an enlightened committee — the school assumes a sound English character — Jane progresses from scholar to teacher, and passes ten profitable and not unhappy years at Lowood. Then she advertises for a situation as governess, and obtains one immediately in one of the midland counties. We see her, therefore, as she leaves Lowood, to enter upon a new life — a small, plain, odd creature, who has been brought up dry upon school learning, and somewhat stunted accordingly in mind and body, and who is now thrown upon the world as ignorant of its ways, and as destitute of its friendships, as a shipwrecked mariner upon a strange coast. Thornfield Hall is the property of Mr. Rochester — a bachelor addicted to travelling. She finds it at first in all the peaceful prestige of an English gentleman’s seat when “nobody is at the hall.” The companions are an old decayed gentlewoman

292

British Literature Student wCB.indb 292

11/14/12 4:38 PM

house-keeper — a far away cousin of the squire’s — and a young French child, Jane’s pupil, Mr. Rochester’s ward and reputed daughter. There is a pleasing monotony in the summer solitude of the old country house, with its comfort, respectability, and dulness, which Jane paints to the life; but there is one circumstance which varies the sameness and casts a mysterious feeling over the scene. A strange laugh is heard from time to time in a distant part of the house — a laugh which grates discordantly upon Jane’s ear. She listens, watches, and inquires, but can discover nothing but a plain matter of fact woman, who sits sewing somewhere in the attics, and goes up and down stairs peaceably to and from her dinner with the servants. But a mystery there is, though nothing betrays it, and it comes in with marvellous effect from the monotonous reality of all around. After awhile Mr. Rochester comes to Thornfield, and sends for the child and her governess occasionally to bear him company. He is a dark, strange-looking man — strong and large — of the brigand stamp, with fine eyes and lowering brows — blunt and sarcastic in his manners, with a kind of misanthropical frankness, which seems based upon utter contempt for his fellow-creatures, and a surly truthfulness which is more rudeness than honesty. With his arrival disappears all the prestige of the country innocence that had invested Thornfield Hall. He brings the taint of the world upon him, and none of its illusions. The queer little governess is something new to him. He talks to her at one time imperiously as to a servant, and at another recklessly as to a man. He pours into her ears disgraceful tales of his past life, connected with the birth of little Adèle, which any man with common respect for a woman, and that a mere girl of eighteen, would have spared her; but which eighteen in this case listens to as if it were nothing new, and certainly nothing distasteful. He is captious and Turk-like — she is one day his confidant, and another his unnoticed dependant. In short, by her account, Mr. Rochester is a strange brute, somewhat in the Squire Western style of absolute and capricious eccentricity, though redeemed in him by signs of a cultivated intellect, and gleams of a certain fierce justice of heart. He has a mind, and when he opens it at all, he opens it freely to her. Jane becomes attached to her “master,” as Pamela-like she calls him, and it is not difficult to see that solitude and propinquity are taking effect upon

him also. An odd circumstance heightens the dawning romance. Jane is awoke one night by that strange discordant laugh close to her ear — then a noise as if hands feeling along the wall. She rises — opens her door, finds the passage full of smoke, is guided by it to her master’s room, whose bed she discovers enveloped in flames, and by her timely aid saves his life. After this they meet no more for ten days, when Mr. Rochester returns from a visit to a neighbouring family, bringing with him a housefull of distinguished guests; at the head of whom is Miss Blanche Ingram, a haughty beauty of high birth, and evidently the especial object of the Squire’s attentions — upon which tumultuous irruption Miss Eyre slips back into her naturally humble position. Our little governess is now summoned away to attend her aunt’s death-bed, who is visited by some compunctions toward her, and she is absent a month. When she returns Thornfield Hall is quit of all its guests, and Mr. Rochester and she resume their former life of captious cordiality on the one side, and diplomatic humility on the other. At the same time the bugbear of Miss Ingram and of Mr. Rochester’s engagement with her is kept up, though it is easy to see that this and all concerning that lady is only a stratagem to try Jane’s character and affection upon the most approved Griselda precedent. Accordingly an opportunity for explanation ere long offers itself, where Mr. Rochester has only to take it. Miss Eyre is desired to walk with him in shady alleys, and to sit with him on the roots of an old chestnut-tree towards the close of evening, and of course she cannot disobey her “master” — whereupon there ensues a scene which, as far as we remember, is new equally in art or nature; in which Miss Eyre confesses her love — whereupon Mr. Rochester drops not only his cigar (which she seems to be in the habit of lighting for him) but his mask, and finally offers not only heart, but hand. The wedding-day is soon fixed, but strange misgivings and presentiments haunt the young lady’s mind. The night but one before, her bed-room is entered by a horrid phantom, who tries on the wedding veil, sends Jane into a swoon of terror, and defeats all the favourite refuge of a bad dream by leaving the veil in two pieces. But all is ready. The bride has no friends to assist — the couple walk to church — only the clergyman and the clerk are there — but Jane’s quick eye has seen two

293

British Literature Student wCB.indb 293

11/14/12 4:38 PM

figures lingering among the tombstones, and these two follow them into church. The ceremony commences, when at the due charge which summons any man to come forward and show just cause why they should not be joined together, a voice interposes to forbid the marriage. There is an impediment, and a serious one. The bridegroom has a wife not only living, but living under the very roof of Thornfield Hall. Hers was that discordant laugh which had so often caught Jane’s ear; but she it was who in her malice had tried to burn Mr. Rochester in his bed — who had visited Jane by night and torn her veil, and whose attendant was that same pretended sew-woman who had so strongly excited Jane’s curiosity. For Mr. Rochester’s wife is a creature, half fiend, half maniac, whom he had married in a distant part of the world, and whom now, in his self-constituted code of morality, he had thought it his right, and even his duty, to supersede by a more agreeable companion. Now follow scenes of a truly tragic power. This is the grand crisis in Jane’s life. Her whole soul is wrapt up in Mr. Rochester. He has broken her trust, but not diminished her love. He entreats her to accept all that he still can give, his heart and his home; he pleads with the agony not only of a man who has never known what it was to conquer a passion, but of one who, by that same self-constituted code, now burns to atone for a disappointed crime. There is no one to help her against him or against herself. Jane had no friends to stand by her at the altar, and she has none to support her now she is plucked away from it. There is no one to be offended or disgraced at her following him to the sunny land of Italy, as he proposes, till the maniac should die. There is no duty to any one but to herself, and this feeble reed quivers and trembles beneath the overwhelming weight of love and sophistry opposed to it. But Jane triumphs; in the middle of the night she rises — glides out of her room — takes off her shoes as she passes Mr. Rochester’s chamber; — leaves the house, and casts herself upon a world more desert than ever to her — “Without a shilling and without a friend.” Thus the great deed of self-conquest is accomplished; Jane has passed through the fire of temptation from without and from within; her character is stamped from that day; we need therefore follow her no further into wanderings and

sufferings which, though not unmixed with plunder from Minerva-lane, occupy some of, on the whole, the most striking chapters in the book. Virtue of course finds her reward. The maniac wife sets fire to Thornfield Hall, and perishes herself in the flames. Mr. Rochester, in endeavouring to save her, loses the sight of his eyes. Jane rejoins her blind master; they are married, after which of course the happy man recovers his sight. Such is the outline of a tale in which, combined with great materials for power and feeling, the reader may trace gross inconsistencies and improbabilities, the chief and foremost that highest moral offence a novel writer can commit, that of making an unworthy character interesting in the eyes of the reader. Mr. Rochester is a man who deliberately and secretly seeks to violate the laws of both God and man, and yet we will be bound half our lady readers are enchanted with him for a model of generosity and honour. We would have thought that such a hero had no chance, in the purer taste of the present day; but the popularity of Jane Eyre is a proof how deeply the love for illegitimate romance is implanted in our nature. Not that the author is strictly responsible for this. Mr. Rochester’s character is tolerably consistent. He is made as coarse and as brutal as can in all conscience be required to keep our sympathies at a distance. In point of literary consistency the hero is at all evens impugnable, though we cannot say as much for the heroine. The inconsistencies of Jane’s character lie mainly not in her own imperfections, though of course she has her share, but in the author’s. There is that confusion in the relations between cause and effect, which is not so much untrue to human nature as to human art. The error in Jane Eyre is, not that her character is this or that, but that she is made one thing in the eyes of her imaginary companions, and another in that of the actual reader. There is a perpetual disparity between the account she herself gives of the effect she produces, and the means shown us by which she brings that effect about. We hear nothing but self-eulogiums on the perfect tact and wondrous penetration with which she is gifted, and yet almost every word she utters offends us, not only with the absence of these qualities, but with the positive contrasts of them, in either her pedantry, stupidity, or gross vulgarity. She is one of those ladies

294

British Literature Student wCB.indb 294

11/14/12 4:38 PM

who put us in the unpleasant predicament of undervaluing their very virtues for dislike of the person in whom they are represented. One feels provoked as Jane Eyre stands before us — for in the wonderful reality of her thoughts and descriptions, she seems accountable for all done in her name — with principles you must approve in the main, and yet with language and manners that offend you in every particular. Even in that chef-d’oeuvre of brilliant retrospective sketching, the description of her early life, it is the childhood and not the child that interests you. The little Jane, with her sharp eyes and dogmatic speeches, is a being you neither could fondle nor love. There is a hardness in her infantine earnestness,

and a spiteful precocity in her reasoning, which repulses all our sympathy. One sees that she is of a nature to dwell upon and treasure up every slight and unkindness, real or fancied, and such natures we know are surer than any others to meet with plenty of this sort of thing. As the child, so also the woman — an uninteresting, sententious, pedantic thing; with no experience of the world, and yet with no simplicity or freshness in its stead. What are her first answers to Mr. Rochester but such as would have quenched all interest, even for a prettier woman, in any man of common knowledge of what was nature — and especially in a blasé monster like him? A more affected governessy effusion we never read.

Elizabeth Rigby, “Vanity Fair — and Jane Eyre,” Quarterly Review 84:167 (December 1848): p. 153–185; http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/peter. friesen/default.asp?go=252.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 23-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.

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 ___________

___________

Unusual Protagonist

295

British Literature Student wCB.indb 295

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Frankenstein Mary Shelley BACKGROUND

Unlike most of her contemporaries, Mary Shelley foresaw the perils of the newly born technological society, inherent in scientific research, and the exploitation of nature. Her novel, Frankenstein, was written during a particular period of crisis in romanticism: the failure of the French Revolution. Like so many English authors, Shelley (like Wordsworth) loved the ideology of the French Revolution but struggled with its violent excesses. Victor Frankenstein was a scientist who made himself god by creating a man-monster. There were disastrous results. The novel’s premise allows the reader to hear the story not only from the perspective of the tragic, misguided Dr. Frankenstein but also from that of his listener, Captain Walton — who has entertained similar fascinations in the natural sciences. The book is divided into three sections: Shelley’s preface, four letters from Walton to his sister back in England, and the 24 chapters that make up Dr. Frankenstein’s story.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-C

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 23-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

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

1

What is the narrative point of view?

2

What sort of person is the narrator’s father?

3

Discuss the relationship between the narrator’s parents.

296

British Literature Student wCB.indb 296

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Critics Corner The novel Frankenstein is a feeble imitation of one that was very popular in its day — the St. Leon of Mr. Godwin. It exhibits many characteristics of the school whence it proceeds; and occasionally puts forth indications of talent; but we have been very much disappointed in the perusal of it, from our expectations having been raised too high beforehand by injudicious praises; and it exhibits a strong tendency towards materialism. The main idea on which the story of Frankenstein rests, undoubtedly affords scope for the display of imagination and fancy, as well as knowledge of the human heart; and the anonymous author has not wholly neglected the opportunities which it presented to him: but the work seems to have been written in great haste, and on a very crude and ill-digested plan; and the detail is, in consequence, frequently filled with the most gross and obvious inconsistencies. We shall hereafter point out a few of those to which we allude. The story begins at the end. Walton, an enthusiastic traveller, bound on a voyage of discovery in the north seas, after having been for some time surrounded with ice, is astonished by the appearance of a human being of apparently savage character who passes the vessel at a distance, in a sledge drawn by dogs. The day after this extraordinary adventure the ice breaks up; but previously to the vessel sailing away from it, they encounter another human being, nearly exhausted with fatigue and privation. This last, who is taken into the vessel, proves to be Frankenstein, the hero of the tale; who at the time he had been nearly destroyed by the breaking up of the ice, was in pursuit of the being that had passed the vessel on the preceding day. After a time Frankenstein contracts a friendship with Walton, the

Captain of the vessel, and relates to him his supernatural story. — In his youth he had been led by accident to study chemistry; and becoming deeply interested by the results of his experiments, he at length conceived the idea of its being possible to discover the principle of vital existence. Taking this possibility as the leading point of his studies, he pursues them with such effect as at last actually to gain the power of endowing inanimate matter with life!!! He instantly determines to put his newly acquired power into practice; and for this purpose collects the materials with which to form a living human being. From the difficulty of arranging some of the parts, arising from their minuteness, he determines to chuse them of more than ordinary size. In short, after incredible pains and perseverence, he at length succeeded in producing a living human being, eight feet high, and of proportionate powers. From this moment Frankenstein commences a life of unmixed and unceasing misery. The being which he has formed becomes his torment, and that of every one connected with him. He causes one by one the death of all Frankenstein’s dearest connections; his brother, his friend, and lastly his wife — whom he murders on their wedding night. The fiend then quits the country where he has committed these horrors; and Frankenstein, in dispair, determines to pursue him until he shall either destroy him, or die by his hand. The story ends shortly after what we have related in the beginning. Frankenstein dies on board the vessel of Walton; and the fiend may, for any thing we know to be the contrary, be wandering about upon the ice in the neighbourhood of the North Pole to this day; and may, in that case, be among the wonderful discoveries to be made by the expedition which is destined there.

297

British Literature Student wCB.indb 297

11/14/12 4:38 PM

We have mentioned that there are gross inconsistencies in the minor details of the story. They are such, for example, as the following: the moment Frankenstein has endowed with life the previously inanimate form of the being which he has made, he is so horror-struck with the hideousness of the form and features, when they are put in motion, that he remains fixed to the spot, while the gigantic monster runs from the horizontal posture in which he lay, and walks away; and Frankenstein never hears any more of him for nearly two years. The author supposes that his hero has the power of communicating life to dead matter: but what has the vital principle to do with habits, and actions which are dependent on the moral will? If Frankenstein could have endowed his creature with the vital principle of a hundred or a thousand human beings, it would no more have been able to walk without having previously acquired the habit of doing so, than it would be to talk, or to reason, or to judge. He does not pretend that he could endow it with faculties as well as life: and yet when it is about a year old we find it reading Werter, and Plutarch and Volney! The whole detail of the development of the creature’s mind and faculties is full of these monstrous inconsistencies. After the creature leaves Frankenstein, on the night of its birth, it wanders for sometime in the woods, and then takes up its residence in a kind of shed adjoining to a cottage, where it remains for many months without the knowledge of the inhabitants; and learns to talk and read thro’ a chink in the wall! “Quod mihi ostendit,” and etc. We have heard that this work is written by Mr. Shelley; but should be disposed to attribute it to even a less experienced writer than he is. In fact we have some idea that it is the production of a daughter of a celebrated living novelist (Review of Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus, The Literary Panorama and National Register, n.s., 8 (June 1, 1818): p. 411–414; www.rc.umd.edu/reference/chronologies/mschronology/reviews/lprev.html). This is a very bold fiction; and, did not the author, in a short Preface, make a kind of apology , we should almost pronounce it to be impious. We hope, however, the writer had the moral in view which we are desirous of drawing from it, that the presumptive

works of man must be frightful, vile, and horrible; ending only in discomfort and misery to himself. But will all our readers understand this? Should not an author, who has a moral end in view, point out rather that application which may be more generally understood? We recommend, however, to our fair readers, who may peruse a work which, from its originality, excellence of language, and peculiar interest, is likely to be very popular, to draw from it that meaning which we have cited above. The story of Frankenstein is told in a letter from a Captain Walton to his sister, Mrs. Saville, residing in England. Walton is almost as much of an enthusiast as the wretched Frankenstein, whom, as the Captain is in search of finding the north west passage, and penetrating as far as possible to the extremeities of the pole, he meets, engaged in the pursuit of the demon-being of his own creation: Walton rescues Frankenstein from the imminent danger of losing his life in this pursuit, amongst the floating flakes of ice; and after this Prometheus recovers, in part, his bodily strength, and relates his history to Walton. Frankenstein is a Genevese (these people are not naturally romantic) but Frankenstein’s mind has been early warped by a perusal of those authors who deal in the marvellous. His father is a respectable Syndic, and has taken under his protection a niece, born in Italy. In due time, Frankenstein and his fair cousin become lovers, and their union is sanctioned by his father. He has also the blessings of a sincere friend, Henry Clerval, of a stronger mind than the Prometheus, who is absorbed in the study of natural philosophy, which he declares as “the genius that regulated his fate.” — When he becomes a student at the University of Ingoldstadt, he bewails, as his first misfortune, the death of his mother; and when his grief has begun to subside, he devotes himself entirely to chemistry and his favourite science: the structure of the human frame particularly excites his attention, and, indeed, every animal endowed with life: he then proceeds to examine the cause of life and death — (how vain) — and finds himself capable (we use the writer’s own words) “of bestowing animation on lifeless matter!!!” This reminds us of the famous philosopher who declared, that, give him but matter enough, and he

298

British Literature Student wCB.indb 298

11/14/12 4:38 PM

could create a world! Why, then, could he not form one in miniature, about the size of an egg or a walnut? To return to Frankenstein; he had no longer any doubt but what he could create a perfect man! But his workshop, and the process he was compelled to observe, disgusted him; for he tells Walton, that “the dissecting-room, and the slaughter-house, furnished him with materials.” On a dark night of November he completes his work, and the eye of the creature opens; whom, in order to make superior to his species, he has formed eight feet high! He is soon after surprised by a visit from his friend Clerval; and trembles at the idea of his seeing the monster he has created: he steals up softly to his apartment, and finds that the demon has fled. After a fit of illness, which causes a cessation of his studies, he is afflicted, on his return to them, by a letter from his father, acquainting him that his little brother William is murdered; the picture he wore round his neck being found in the pocket of an interesting young girl, the attendant on Elizabeth, Frankenstein’s cousin, she is accused, and suffers innocently. After visiting the parental roof, as the unfortunate Prometheus is wandering among the Alps, he beholds the frightful being he has formed, and he feels convinced in his own mind that he is the murderer of his brother. — This being seems, indeed, to have a supernatural power of following his maker wherever he goes, and he soon after meets with him near Mont Blanc. He here relates to Frankenstein how he has supported his miserable existence; but he feels the charm, and the imperious want of society, by having beheld, in a cottage, an old peasant and his daughter, with a young man; they are indigent, but, in comparison with his forlorn state, most happy. Delighted with the picture of social life and its affections, he seeks to contribute to their wants; piles wood before their cottage, when they want fuel, and other offices unperceived: by listening, he gains speech, and understands the meaning of different words. The arrival of an Arabian lady serves to complete the savage’s education: he hears the young man read to her, and obtains a slight knowledge of history. This part of the work is rather prolix and unnatural; the monster learns to read, and is delighted with Paradise Lost, Plutarch’s Lives, and The Sorrows of Werter!

British Literature Student wCB.indb 299

The demon then confesses himself the murderer of Frankenstein’s brother; and, moreoever, declares his intention of immolating the rest of his family, if he does not create a female like himself, with whom he may retire to undiscovered wilds, and molest mankind no more. Frankenstein, at first, positively refuses, but at length consents. After pausing some time in travelling, Frankenstein and Clerval visit Scotland; and the former retires from the society of his friend, to undertake, in the solitude of the Orkney Islands, the dreadful task assigned him. When he has half finished the wretched work, he reflects that, perhaps, he is bringing a curse on future generations, and he tears the thing to pieces on which he is engaged. The monster presents himself, and after some severe upbraidings, he tells him he will be with him on his wedding night. The fragments of a human being lying before him, urge Frankenstein to seek his safety by flight; he packs them in a basket, sails from the Orkneys, and sinks them when he has attained the midst of the sea: he next arrives at a good harbour, where he is taken up for murder; and for the murder, too, of Clerval, his friend, whose mangled body is presented before him: this deprives him of reason; and in a gaol, loaded with irons, like a malefactor, he suffers all the agonies of the mind, accompanied with frenzied fever. He is, however, at length, honourably acquitted, and accompanies his father, who comes for him, back to Geneva, where preparations take place for his wedding; for which, when the day is arrived, Elizabeth is found dead, after coming from the sacred ceremony, and lying across her bridal bed. He now makes a solemn vow to find out the fiend of his creation, and to destroy him, though the work of his own hands. He traverses wild and barbarous countries; where, in some places, he beholds inscriptions on the rocks and trees, as, “My reign is not yet over” — “You live, and my power is complete,” and etc. and etc. By perseverance, Frankenstein, at length, meets with him, where Captain Walton first discovers him; and whom Frankenstein, after bringing his narrative to a close, intreats to avenge his cause by killing the monster, should he die. He expires soon after; and this wonderful work of man comes in at the cabinwindow of Captain Walton’s ship, breathes a soliloquy over the coffin of his creator, and then

299

11/14/12 4:38 PM

plunges into the icy waves, the same way as he entered. This work, which we repeat, has, as well as originality, extreme interest to recommend it, and an easy, yet energetic style, is inscribed to Mr. Godwin; who, however he once embraced novel systems, is, we are credibly informed, happily converted to what he once styled ancient prejudices. We are sorry our limits will not allow us a more copious review of Frankenstein. The few following extracts will serve to shew the excellence of its style and language: ENTHUSIASM OF FRANKENSTEIN IN HIS WORK OF FORMING MAN. “Life and death appeared to me ideal bounds, which I should first break through, and pour a torrent of light into our dark world. A new species would bless me as its creator and source; many happy and excellent natures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs. Pursuing these reflections, I thought, that if I could bestow animation upon lifeless matter, I might in process of time (although I now found it impossible) renew life where death had apparently devoted the body to corruption.” DESCRIPTION OF FRANKENSTEIN’S MAN WHEN FIRST ENDOWED WITH LIFE. “It was on a dreary night of November, that I beheld the accomplishment of my toils. With an anxiety almost amounting to agony, I collected the instruments of life around me, that I might infuse a spark of being into the lifeless thing that lay at my feet. It was already one in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out, when, by the glimmer of the half-extinguished light, I saw the dull yellow eye of the creature open; it breathed hard, and a convulsive motion agitated its limbs. How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch whom with such infinite pains and care I had endeavoured to form? His limbs were in proportion, and I had selected his features as beautiful. Beautiful! — Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and

arteries beneath; his hair was of a lustrous black, and flowing; his teeth of a pearly whiteness; but these luxuriances only formed a more horrid contrast with his watery eyes, that seemed almost of the same colour as the dun white sockets in which they were set, his shrivelled complexion, and straight black lips.” HIS REPENTANCE AT HAVING FORMED HIM. “I considered the being whom I had cast among mankind, and endowed with the will and power to effect purposes of horror, such as the deed which he had now done, nearly in the light of my own vampire, my own spirit let loose from the grave, and forced to destroy all that was dear to me.” ARGUMENTS HELD OUT BY THE MONSTER “All men hate the wretched; how, then, must I be hated, who am miserable beyond all living things! Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us. You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life? Do your duty towards me, and I will do mine towards you and the rest of mankind. If you will comply with my conditions, I will leave them and you at peace; but if you refuse, I will glut the maw of death, until it be satiated with the blood of your remaining friends. “God, in pity, made man beautiful and alluring, after his own image; but my form is a filthy type of yours, more horrid from its very resemblance. Satan had his companions, fellow-devils, to admire and encourage him; but I am solitary and detested.” FRANKENSTEIN’S AGONY ON THE DEATH OF ELIZABETH. “Great God! why did I not then expire? — Why am I here to relate the destruction of the best hope, and the purest creature of earth. She was there, lifeless and inanimate, thrown across the bed, her head hanging down, and her pale and distorted features half covered by her hair. Every where I turn I see the same figure — her bloodless arms and relaxed form flung by the murderer on its bridal bier. Could I behold this and live? Alas! life is obstinate, and clings closest where it is most hated. For a moment only did I lose recollection; I fainted.”

300

British Literature Student wCB.indb 300

11/14/12 4:38 PM

THE MONSTER’S REFLECTIONS OVER THE DEAD BODY OF FRANKENSTEIN. “ ‘That is also my victim!’ he exclaimed; ‘in his murder my crimes are consummated; the miserable series of my being is wound to its close! Oh, Frankenstein! generous and self-devoted being! what does it avail that I now ask thee to pardon me? I,

who irretrievably destroyed thee by destroying all thou lovedst. — Alas! he is cold; he may not answer me.’ (Review of Frankenstein; or the Modern Prometheus, The Belle Assemblée, or Bell’s Court and Fashionable Magazine 17 (March 1818): p. 139–142; www.rc.umd.edu/reference/chronologies/ mschronology/reviews/barev.html.)

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 23-D.

•

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

Characterization

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-D

Circle words that describe Victor Frankenstein.

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

Victor Frankenstein Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

301

British Literature Student wCB.indb 301

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

The Development of Dr. Frankenstein and His Monster Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, follows the regretful circumstances of Dr. Frankenstein and his monster creation. An aspiring young scientist at the beginning of the novel, after Dr. Frankenstein creates this monster and observes his terrible strength, the protagonist begins to lament over his creation. For the monster, as he discovers more about his creator and the human race, he realizes their hate and disgust for him. As a result, he kills more and more people, eventually committing suicide at the end of the literary work. Mary Shelley writes of both characters’ development, which ultimately leads to the death of both. As Mary Shelley begins to introduce the character of Dr. Frankenstein, he appears to be an aspiring scientist, looking forward to what science may reveal. However, as the novel unfolds and his character develops, Frankenstein comes to regret his scientific creation. Frankenstein relates to his early interest in and desire to study science. “It was the secrets of heaven and earth that desired to learn and whether it was the outward substance of things, or the inner spirit of nature and the mysterious soul of man that occupied me, still my inquiries were directed to the metaphysical, or, in its highest sense, the physical secrets of the world.” He soon leaves to attend college, where he devotes himself solely to the creating of life. “These thoughts supported my spirits, while I pursued my undertaking with unremitting ardour . . . my person had become emaciated with confinement. Sometimes, on the very brink of certainty, I failed; yet I clung to the hope which the next day or the next hour might realize.” However, when he reaches his goal and successfully creates a being, Frankenstein realizes his terrible mistake. He begins to describe the horrific ugliness of the monster. “How can I describe my emotions at this catastrophe, or how delineate the wretch who with

302

British Literature Student wCB.indb 302

such infinite pains and care I had endeavored to form?” Nearing the end of the novel, the doctor closes his tale by begging the captain who rescued him to continue searching for the monster. “When I am dead, if he should appear . . . swear that he shall not live — swear that he shall not triumph over my accumulated woes.” Frankenstein dies while on a quest to kill the monster he created. He dies in regret. Frankenstein’s monster leads a life of regret and disappointment as well. Even from the first moments of his life, this monster has been detested by all he has encountered. After observing a small family for months, which he has grown to love, he meets them. Yet, they in no way reciprocate his love. “Who can describe their horror and consternation on beholding me?” The monster expresses his sadness and hurt to Frankenstein. “Overcome by pain and anguish, I quitted the cottage and in the general tumult escaped unperceived to my hovel.” Believing that if he had a woman of his own kind, he would be content, the monster entreats Frankenstein to create one. However, the doctor soon destroys the object he is working on. This sends the monster into greater despair and anger. “The wretch saw me destroy the creature on whose future existence he depended for happiness, and, with a howl of devilish despair and revenge, withdrew. At the end of the novel, the monster observes the death of his creator, and, realizing there is no hope, brings his own life to an end. “He sprung from the cabinwindow . . . upon the ice-raft which lay close to the vessel. He was soon borne away by the waves and lost in darkness and distance.” Both the character of Frankenstein and his creation live lives of disappointment. The Doctor regrets making the “wretch,” while the “wretch” lives a life in which everyone hates him. The development of both characters leads to the demise of each at the end of the novel. (Claire Atwood).

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 23-E.

•

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

Characterization

CONCEPT BUILDER 23-E

Circle words that describe the creature in Frankenstein.

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

The Creature Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

303

British Literature Student wCB.indb 303

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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!

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.

Chapter Learning Objectives In chapter 24 we read one

of the aesthetically inferior but most popular works of Charles Dickens. We hold our breath again as Sydney Carton utters his famous words, “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”

304

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

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

British Literature Student wCB.indb 304

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

A Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens Background

When Dickens was 12, his father, John, was imprisoned for debt, an event that Dickens considered the most terrible experience of his life. Removed from school and put to work in a blacking (shoe-dye) factory, he lived alone, ashamed and frightened, in a lodging house in North London. It is from this experience that most of Dickens’ novels arose. During the 18th century, the novel had not ranked high as a form of literary expression; during the 19th century, thanks to the spread of circulating libraries and the growth of popular education, it became immensely powerful. Sir Walter Scott, who had begun his career in verse in 1805 with “The Lay of the Last Minstrel,” occupied himself between 1814 and 1823 with the Waverley novels, a series of historical romances that continued from Waverley to Quentin Durward. Sitting in her mother’s living room and writing one novel after another, Jane Austen redefined the English novel. Her style was quite revolutionary — at times it approaches later realism. The constellation of great Victorian novelists — Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell, William Makepeace Thackeray, and Anthony Trollope — were all, to some extent, committed writers and had a sense of grave responsibility for the welfare of their fellow human beings. Charles Dickens, in particular, took to heart the plight of his fellow Englishman.

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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 24-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 24.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-A

•

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

1

Speculate upon why the author begins his book this way.

2

What metaphor does the author use to discuss events in Paris?

305

British Literature Student wCB.indb 305

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

A Weekly Sitcom A Tale of Two Cities, like all of Dickens’s novels, was published in weekly or monthly installments in popular magazines. Dickens would sell the chapters to a magazine and then sell them again to a publisher. Dickens was an astute businessman and perhaps, other than Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, the most popular and prosperous author in the 19th century. The installments usually included a few chapters and an illustration of an important or dramatic scene. A Tale of Two Cities was the first serial to be published in his own new magazine, All the Year Round. The serial form allowed Dickens to introduce a large number of characters and develop the reader’s familiarity with them. It also allowed the author to respond to the likes and dislikes of the audience as he was writing the novel. Quite literally, Dickens could change the plot weekly to suit his whims and the events unfolding in British society. At the same time, serial installments required Dickens to end each installment with a “cliffhanger.” He hoped this technique would leave the audience in suspense, hungry for more of the story and willing to buy the next issue. The novel, then, quite literally has a strong episodic flavor with multiple climaxes. Anxious readers waited with bated breath for the appearance of each new episode.

Cover of magazine 3rd series “All the Year Round” by Charles Dickens, 1891 (PD-US).

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 24-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.

306

British Literature Student wCB.indb 306

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Plot Analysis

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-B

True or False.

___ 1

Charles Darnay tried and acquitted of treason in Paris, France.

___ 2

Dr. Manette is recruited by the St. Evremonde brothers to treat an assaulted young woman and her dying brother.

___ 3

Lucie Darnay hears “hundreds of footsteps,” signaling the approach of revolution in France.

___ 4

Dr. Manette writes a journal account of his sufferings and hides it in his London cell.

___ 5

Carton secretly loves Madame Defarge.

___ 6

Storming of the Bastille; Defarge searches Dr. Manette’s old cell.

___ 7

Dr. Manette’s influence protects Darnay from death at the hands of the mob.

___ 8

Darnay’s return to France, and imprisonment in Paris.

___ 9

Driving in his carriage, Charles Darnay’s uncle the Marquis St. Evremonde runs over and kills Gaspard’s child. In the morning, St. Evremonde flees the country. Darnay tried and acquitted at La Conciergerie; Darnay rearrested same night.

___ 10 Carton dies for Darnay.

307

British Literature Student wCB.indb 307

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Condensed Books At the end of the 20th century, before there were e-books and the Internet, Americans loved to read condensed versions of the great classics. This trend began at the end of the last century. One famous condensed version of Dickens’ works was Tales From Dickens by Hallie Erminie Rives (Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1905).

SYDNEY CARTON’S SACRIFICE That same night of his release all the happiness of Darnay and Lucie was suddenly broken. Soldiers came and again arrested him. Defarge and his wife were the accusers this time, and he was to be retried. The first one to bring this fresh piece of bad news to Mr. Lorry was Sydney Carton, the reckless and dissipated young lawyer. Probably he had heard, in London, of Lucie’s trouble, and out of his love for her, which he always carried hidden in his heart, had come to Paris to try to aid her husband. He had arrived only to hear, at the same time, of the acquittal and the rearrest. As Carton walked along the street thinking sadly of Lucie’s new grief, he saw a man whose face and figure seemed familiar. Following, he soon recognized him as the English spy, Barsad, whose false testimony, years before in London, had come so near convicting Darnay when he was tried for treason. Barsad (who, as it happened, was now a turnkey in the very prison where Darnay was confined) had left London to become a spy in France, first on the side of the king and then on the side of the people. At the time of this story England was so hated by France that if the people had known of Barsad’s career in London they would have cut off his head at once. Carton, who was well aware of this, threatened the spy with his knowledge and made him swear that if worst came to worst and Darnay were condemned, he would admit Carton to the cell to see him once

before he was taken to execution. Why Carton asked this Barsad could not guess, but to save himself he had to promise. Next day Darnay was tried for the second time. When the judge asked for the accusation, Defarge laid a paper before him. It was a letter that had been found when the Bastille fell, in the cell that had been occupied for eighteen years by Doctor Manette. He had written it before his reason left him, and hidden it behind a loosened stone in the wall; and in it he had told the story of his own unjust arrest. Defarge read it aloud to the jury. And this was the terrible tale it told: The Marquis de St. Evrémonde (the cruel uncle of Darnay), when he was a young man, had dreadfully wronged a young peasant woman, had caused her husband’s death and killed her brother with his own hand. As the brother lay dying from the sword wound, Doctor Manette, then also a young man, had been called to attend him, and so, by accident, had learned the whole. Horrified at the wicked wrong, he wrote of it in a letter to the Minister of Justice. The Marquis whom it accused learned of this, and, to put Doctor Manette out of the way, had him arrested secretly, taken from his wife and baby daughter and thrown into a secret cell of the Bastille, where he had lived those eighteen years, not knowing whether his wife and child lived or died. He waited ten years for release, and when none came, at last, feeling his

308

British Literature Student wCB.indb 308

11/14/12 4:38 PM

mind giving way, he wrote the account, which he concealed in the cell wall, denouncing the family of Evrémonde and all their descendants. The reading of this paper by Defarge, as may be guessed, aroused all the murderous passions of the people in the court room. There was a further reason for Madame Defarge’s hatred, for the poor woman whom Darnay’s uncle had so wronged had been her own sister! In vain old Doctor Manette pleaded. That his own daughter was now Darnay’s wife made no difference in their eyes. The jury at once found Darnay guilty and sentenced him to die by the guillotine the next morning. Lucie fainted when the sentence was pronounced. Sydney Carton, who had witnessed the trial, lifted her and bore her to a carriage. When they reached home he carried her up the stairs and laid her on a couch. Before he went, he bent down and touched her cheek with his lips, and they heard him whisper: “For a life you love!” They did not know until next day what he meant. Carton had, in fact, formed a desperate plan to rescue Lucie’s husband, whom he so much resembled in face and figure, even though it meant his own death. He went to Mr. Lorry and made him promise to have ready next morning passports and a coach and swift horses to leave Paris for England with Doctor Manette, Lucie and himself, telling him that if they delayed longer, Lucie’s life and her father’s also would be lost. Next, Carton bought a quantity of a drug whose fumes would render a man insensible, and with this in his pocket early next morning he went to the spy, Barsad, and bade him redeem his promise and take him to the cell where Darnay waited for the signal of death. Darnay was seated, writing a last letter to Lucie, when Carton entered. Pretending that he wished him to write something that he dictated, Carton stood over him and held the phial of the drug to his face. In a moment the other was unconscious. Then Carton changed clothes with him and called in the spy, directing him to take the unconscious man, who now seemed to be Sydney Carton instead of Charles

Darnay, to Mr. Lorry’s house. He himself was to take the prisoner’s place and suffer the penalty. The plan worked well. Darnay, who would not have allowed this sacrifice if he had known, was carried safely and without discovery, past the guards. Mr. Lorry, guessing what had happened when he saw the unconscious figure, took coach at once with him, Doctor Manette and Lucie, and started for England that very hour. Miss Pross was left to follow them in another carriage. While Miss Pross sat waiting in the empty house, who should come in but the terrible Madame Defarge! The latter had made up her mind, as Carton had suspected, to denounce Lucie also. It was against the law to mourn for any one who had been condemned as an enemy to France, and the woman was sure, of course, that Lucie would be mourning for her husband, who was to die within the hour. So she stopped on her way to the execution to see Lucie and thus have evidence against her. When Madame Defarge entered, Miss Pross read the hatred and evil purpose in her face. The grim old nurse knew if it were known that Lucie had gone, the coach would be pursued and brought back. So she planted herself in front of the door of Lucie’s room, and would not let Madame Defarge open it. The savage Frenchwoman tried to tear her away, but Miss Pross seized her around the waist, and held her back. The other drew a loaded pistol from her breast to shoot her, but in the struggle it went off and killed Madame Defarge herself. Then Miss Pross, all of a tremble, locked the door, threw the key into the river, took a carriage and followed after the coach. Not long after the unconscious Darnay, with Lucie and Doctor Manette, passed the gates of Paris, the jailer came to the cell where Sydney Carton sat and called him. It was the summons to die. And with his thoughts on Lucie, whom he had always hopelessly loved, and on her husband, whom he had thus saved to her, he went almost gladly. A poor little seamstress rode in the death cart beside him. She was so small and weak that she feared to die, and Carton held her cold hand all the way and comforted her to the end. Cruel women of the people sat about the guillotine knitting and

309

British Literature Student wCB.indb 309

11/14/12 4:38 PM

counting with their stitches, as each poor victim died. And when Carton’s turn came, thinking he was Darnay, the hated Marquis de St. Evrémonde, they cursed him and laughed. Men said of him about the city that night that it was the peacefullest man’s face ever beheld there. If they could have read his thought, if he could have spoken it in words it would have been these: “I see the lives, for which I lay down mine, peaceful and happy in that England I shall see no

more. I see Lucie and Darnay with a child that bears my name, and I see that I shall hold a place in their hearts for ever. I see her weeping for me on the anniversary of this day. I see the blot I threw upon my name faded away, and I know that till they die neither shall be more honored in the soul of the other than I am honored in the souls of both. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known!”

•

 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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 24-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

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?

Coincidence

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-C

Assignments

Carton and Darnay look the same: Is it appropriate?

Coincidence

Lucie’s dad survives: is it necessary?

310

British Literature Student wCB.indb 310

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Secondary Source The Cambridge History of English and British Literature in 18 volumes (1907–1921) was one of the early and popular critical analyses of The Tale of Two Cities. In the new paper, he used his energies in a more strictly literary, and a much more permanently delectable, fashion, starting off with an elaborate historical romance, A Tale of Two Cities, and contributing to it, from time to time, exercises in his own earliest kind but of much greater power, variety, originality and artistic value. He put them forth as reports entitled The Uncommercial Traveller, under which form they were separately published, in successively enlarged collections, during the remainder of his life. Sometimes, but not too often, he made them the vehicle of his social-reform purpose; sometimes, they were sketches of scenes and manners in the style of the earlier “eye-witness” papers of Household Words, to which Charles Collins had been a main contributor; sometimes, more or less fantastic pieces; but, almost always, good. A Tale of Two Cities belongs to quite a different type, in almost all respects, from that of any of his previous novels, save that, like Barnaby Rudge, it has a historical subject. It would seem as if he had intended to leave out the comic element altogether; and, though, for him, this was nearly an impossibility, there is certainly very little, except in the grim-grotesque of the body-snatcher Jerry Cruncher and his family; the grotesque, if not grim, ways of the faithful Miss Pross; and a very few other touches. Taking for canvas The French Revolution of his friend Carlyle (for whom he had a strong admiration), he embroidered upon it a rather strictly constructed, but not very richly furnished, story of action and character, bringing in a victim of the ancient regime, a wicked example of it (unfortunately, as much a caricature as is Sir John Chester, in Dickens’s most nearly allied book), a younger aristocrat, who would fain atone for his family’s crimes and who loves the victim’s daughter, who nearly falls a prey to the vengeance of “the people,” but who is saved by the self-sacrifice of his rival, a ne’er-do-weel barrister. In contrast to all this, we have some leaders of “the people” themselves, especially a much overdone wine-shop keeper and his wife — a still more exaggerated tricoteuse of the guillotine. The book has been said to be more of a drama than of a novel, and it has been actually dramatised more than once — recently, it would seem, with considerable success. Even as a novel, it has been highly praised by some good judges. To people not acquainted with Carlyle’s own book, and even to some who are, the vigour of its sketches of the oppression and the terror might, no doubt, carry it off sufficiently; and the character of Sydney Carton is altogether of a higher type than any other that Dickens ever attempted. But the rival for whom Carton sacrifices himself is entirely uninteresting; Lucie Manette, the heroine, has little more attraction than any pretty and good girl, so labelled, might have; and even her father’s sufferings and madness are doubtfully treated; while the mannerisms of expression are stronger than ever, and the glaring high lights and pitchy shadows weary more than they move. The Cambridge History of English and British Literature, in 18 volumes (1907–1921), Volume XIII, The Victorian Age, Part One; http://www.bartleby. com/223/1015.html

311

British Literature Student wCB.indb 311

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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?

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 24-D.

•

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

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-D

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.

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

Sydney Carton Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

312

British Literature Student wCB.indb 312

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Movie Versions As the reader can well imagine, A Tale of Two Cities has been a perennial favorite of movie producers. There have been at least five movies based on the book: 1. A Tale of Two Cities, a 1911 silent film. 2. A Tale of Two Cities, a 1917 silent film. 3. A Tale of Two Cities, a 1922 silent film. 4. The Only Way, a 1927 silent British film directed by Herbert Wilcox. 5. A Tale of Two Cities, a 1935 black-and-white MGM film starring Ronald Colman, Elizabeth Allan, Reginald Owen, Basil Rathbone, and Edna Mae Oliver. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. 6. A Tale of Two Cities, a 1958 version, starring Dirk Bogarde, Dorothy Tutin, Christopher Lee, Leo McKern, and Donald Pleasence. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan honors the storyline in A Tale of Two Cities, with Spock giving Kirk a copy of the book for his birthday, then later sacrificing his life to save the Enterprise.

Archetypes

CONCEPT BUILDER 24-E

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 24-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 24 test. 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 The courageous male The indigent, reluctant hero The malevolent villain The humorous bungler

313

British Literature Student wCB.indb 313

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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. 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.

314

Chapter Learning Objectives In chapter 25, we examine

literature that may be the best in the 19th century. Lord Macaulay wrote in 1843, “Shakespeare has had neither equal nor second. But among the writers who . . . have approached nearest to the manner of the great master, we have no hesitation in placing Jane Austen, a woman of whom England is justly proud. She has given us a multitude of characters, all in a certain sense commonplace, all such as we meet every day. Yet they are all as perfectly discriminated from each other as if they were the most eccentric of human beings.” 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.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. History connections: British History chapter 25, “19th-Century England.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 314

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen Background

The novel takes place in England in the first two decades of the 19th century. Most of the novel’s action occurs in the homes of declining middle- and upper-class families living in the countryside not far from urban centers. By this time, the industrial revolution had been in full swing for several decades and was transforming English society. As a result, many middle-class business owners and professionals were wealthy. On the other hand, some professionals, like Elizabeth’s father, were slowly declining. The newly rich were eager to adopt the lifestyle of England’s traditional landed aristocracy. Others were trying to hold on and keep what they had. In addition, England was experiencing an economic depression and was fighting the Napoleonic wars in Europe. Many critics find it odd that Jane Austen’s novels almost totally exclude these important events, for she would certainly have been aware of them. But if Austen was anything, she was focused, and international events hardly affected the genteel, nouveau riche life of the growing middle class.

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?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 25-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 25.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-A

•

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

1

What narrative viewpoint does the author employ?

2

How does the author use dialogue to develop her characters?

315

British Literature Student wCB.indb 315

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Elizabeth and Darcy Elizabeth Bennet is a typical Austen female protagonist. She is attractive but not too beautiful. She is capable, but not obnoxiously so. Elizabeth is just under 21. She is not exactly “plain,” but she is no raving beauty. She has other redeeming qualities. For one thing, she is very smart. Mr. Darcy is attracted by her looks, but he especially likes what he calls her “lively mind” — she herself calls it her “impertinence.” Elizabeth is a very serious person. This seriousness is the main source of her irritation with Darcy, and also ultimately the source of her love for him.

It turns out that Elizabeth misreads Darcy. He is a generous master to his servants and a loving brother to his young sister Georgiana. He is so steadfast in his love for Elizabeth — even though she has rejected him — that he finds and rescues her sister from disgrace. He does this in secret. Darcy’s character gradually unfolds in the course of the story, and when Elizabeth discovers these good things she falls in love with him. The gradual revelation of Darcy’s character — from hubris to munificence and gentleness — is one of the strengths of the novel.

Fitzwilliam Darcy is the leading foil, a tall, handsome man of 28, seven years older than Elizabeth. The eventual love affair that develops between this pair is one of the legendary love stories of all time.

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.

316

British Literature Student wCB.indb 316

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-B

What are two themes in this novel?

Themes

317

British Literature Student wCB.indb 317

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Style In spite of the fact that Austen is writing in a particularly verbose prose age, her style is very precise. Jane Austen’s graceful, economical narrative style was unique in her time. The economy of Austen’s verbiage is extraordinary. Pride and Prejudice has no superfluous words. Notice, especially, the way Austen uses dialogue. She frequently breaks into dialogue so vigorous that entire scenes have been lifted from the novel and reproduced in dramatized versions for stage and screen. To take prose verbatim and transfer it to drama is the penultimate compliment one can make of Austen’s prose.

Chapter 1 It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters. “My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?” Mr. Bennet replied that he had not. “But it is,” returned she; “for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it.” Mr. Bennet made no answer. “Do you not want to know who has taken it?” cried his wife impatiently. “You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it.” This was invitation enough. “Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says Austen is perhaps the most skillful prose writer in English literature. Notice how she uses dialogue both to move the plot forward and to develop her characters. Dialogue is the most economical way to develop characters and it presumes a high regard for its readers.

that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.” “What is his name?” “Bingley.” “Is he married or single?” “Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!” “How so? How can it affect them?” “My dear Mr. Bennet,” replied his wife, “how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them.” “Is that his design in settling here?” “Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes.” “I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as

318

British Literature Student wCB.indb 318

11/14/12 4:38 PM

handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley may like you the best of the party.”

other girls; but Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters.”

“My dear, you flatter me. I certainly have had my share of beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now. When a woman has five grownup daughters, she ought to give over thinking of her own beauty.”

“Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion for my poor nerves.”

“In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of.” “But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley when he comes into the neighbourhood.” “It is more than I engage for, I assure you.” “But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them. Sir William and Lady Lucas are determined to go, merely on that account, for in general, you know, they visit no newcomers. Indeed you must go, for it will be impossible for us to visit him if you do not.” “You are over-scrupulous, surely. I dare say Mr. Bingley will be very glad to see you; and I will send a few lines by you to assure him of my hearty consent to his marrying whichever he chooses of the girls; though I must throw in a good word for my little Lizzy.” “I desire you will do no such thing. Lizzy is not a bit better than the others; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so goodhumoured as Lydia. But you are always giving her the preference.” “They have none of them much to recommend them,” replied he; “they are all silly and ignorant like

“You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these last twenty years at least.” “Ah, you do not know what I suffer.” “But I hope you will get over it, and live to see many young men of four thousand a year come into the neighbourhood.” “It will be no use to us, if twenty such should come, since you will not visit them.” “Depend upon it, my dear, that when there are twenty, I will visit them all.” Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news. Austen offers some omniscient narration to restate her point, in case the reader did not entirely grasp the subtlties of the above scene.

www.gutenberg.org/.

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 25-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

319

British Literature Student wCB.indb 319

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-C

Circle the words that describe Elizabeth Bennet.

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

Elizabeth Bennet Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

320

British Literature Student wCB.indb 320

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Climax In this scene Darcy’s pride and Elizabeth’s rancor reaches its climax. It is arguably one of the most dramatic scenes in Western literature.

Chapter 34 When they were gone, Elizabeth, as if intending to exasperate herself as much as possible against Mr. Darcy, chose for her employment the examination of all the letters which Jane had written to her since her being in Kent. They contained no actual complaint, nor was there any revival of past occurrences, or any communication of present suffering. But in all, and in almost every line of each, there was a want of that cheerfulness which had been used to characterise her style, and which, proceeding from the serenity of a mind at ease with itself and kindly disposed towards everyone, had been scarcely ever clouded. Elizabeth noticed every sentence conveying the idea of uneasiness, with an attention which it had hardly received on the first perusal. Mr. Darcy’s shameful boast of what misery he had been able to inflict, gave her a keener sense of her sister’s sufferings. It was some consolation to think that his visit to Rosings was to end on the day after the next — and, a still greater, that in less than a fortnight she should herself be with Jane again, and enabled to contribute to the recovery of her spirits, by all that affection could do. She could not think of Darcy’s leaving Kent without remembering that his cousin was to go with him; but Colonel Fitzwilliam had made it clear that he had no intentions at all, and agreeable as he was, she did not mean to be unhappy about him. While settling this point, she was suddenly roused by the sound of the door-bell, and her spirits were a little fluttered by the idea of its being Colonel Fitzwilliam himself, who had once before called late in the evening, and might now come to inquire particularly after her. But this idea was soon

An engraving of a scene from chapter 59 of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Mr. Bennet is on the left, Elizabeth on the right, 1833 (PDUS).

banished, and her spirits were very differently affected, when, to her utter amazement, she saw Mr. Darcy walk into the room. In an hurried manner he immediately began an inquiry after her health, imputing his visit to a wish of hearing that she were better. She answered him with cold civility. He sat down for a few moments, and then getting up, Dialogue, omniscient narration, stream of consciousness — Austen employs all three to make this one of the most memorable passages in the English language.

321

British Literature Student wCB.indb 321

11/14/12 4:38 PM

walked about the room. Elizabeth was surprised, but said not a word. After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began:

however, and I hope will be of short duration. The feelings which, you tell me, have long prevented the acknowledgment of your regard, can have little difficulty in overcoming it after this explanation.”

“In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”

Mr. Darcy, who was leaning against the mantelpiece with his eyes fixed on her face, seemed to catch her words with no less resentment than surprise. His complexion became pale with anger, and the disturbance of his mind was visible in every feature. He was struggling for the appearance of composure, and would not open his lips till he believed himself to have attained it. The pause was to Elizabeth’s feelings dreadful. At length, with a voice of forced calmness, he said:

Elizabeth’s astonishment was beyond expression. She stared, coloured, doubted, and was silent. This he considered sufficient encouragement; and the avowal of all that he felt, and had long felt for her, immediately followed. He spoke well; but there were feelings besides those of the heart to be detailed; and he was not more eloquent on the subject of tenderness than of pride. His sense of her inferiority — of its being a degradation — of the family obstacles which had always opposed to inclination, were dwelt on with a warmth which seemed due to the consequence he was wounding, but was very unlikely to recommend his suit. In spite of her deeply-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the compliment of such a man’s affection, and though her intentions did not vary for an instant, she was at first sorry for the pain he was to receive; till, roused to resentment by his subsequent language, she lost all compassion in anger. She tried, however, to compose herself to answer him with patience, when he should have done. He concluded with representing to her the strength of that attachment which, in spite of all his endeavours, he had found impossible to conquer; and with expressing his hope that it would now be rewarded by her acceptance of his hand. As he said this, she could easily see that he had no doubt of a favourable answer. He spoke of apprehension and anxiety, but his countenance expressed real security. Such a circumstance could only exasperate farther, and, when he ceased, the colour rose into her cheeks, and she said: “In such cases as this, it is, I believe, the established mode to express a sense of obligation for the sentiments avowed, however unequally they may be returned. It is natural that obligation should be felt, and if I could feel gratitude, I would now thank you. But I cannot — I have never desired your good opinion, and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly. I am sorry to have occasioned pain to anyone. It has been most unconsciously done,

“And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of expecting! I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why, with so little endeavour at civility, I am thus rejected. But it is of small importance.” “I might as well inquire,” replied she, “why with so evident a desire of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character? Was not this some excuse for incivility, if I was uncivil? But I have other provocations. You know I have. Had not my feelings decided against you—had they been indifferent, or had they even been favourable, do you think that any consideration would tempt me to accept the man who has been the means of ruining, perhaps for ever, the happiness of a most beloved sister?” As she pronounced these words, Mr. Darcy changed colour; but the emotion was short, and he listened without attempting to interrupt her while she continued: “I have every reason in the world to think ill of you. No motive can excuse the unjust and ungenerous part you acted there. You dare not, you cannot deny, that you have been the principal, if not the only means of dividing them from each other — of exposing one to the censure of the world for caprice and instability, and the other to its derision for disappointed hopes, and involving them both in misery of the acutest kind.” She paused, and saw with no slight indignation that he was listening with an air which proved him wholly unmoved by any feeling of remorse. He even looked at her with a smile of affected incredulity.

322

British Literature Student wCB.indb 322

11/14/12 4:38 PM

“Can you deny that you have done it?” she repeated. With assumed tranquillity he then replied: “I have no wish of denying that I did everything in my power to separate my friend from your sister, or that I rejoice in my success. Towards him I have been kinder than towards myself.” Elizabeth disdained the appearance of noticing this civil reflection, but its meaning did not escape, nor was it likely to conciliate her. “But it is not merely this affair,” she continued, “on which my dislike is founded. Long before it had taken place my opinion of you was decided. Your character was unfolded in the recital which I received many months ago from Mr. Wickham. On this subject, what can you have to say? In what imaginary act of friendship can you here defend yourself? or under what misrepresentation can you here impose upon others?” “You take an eager interest in that gentleman’s concerns,” said Darcy, in a less tranquil tone, and with a heightened colour. “Who that knows what his misfortunes have been, can help feeling an interest in him?” “His misfortunes!” repeated Darcy contemptuously; “yes, his misfortunes have been great indeed.” “And of your infliction,” cried Elizabeth with energy. “You have reduced him to his present state of poverty — comparative poverty. You have withheld the advantages which you must know to have been designed for him. You have deprived the best years of his life of that independence which was no less his due than his desert. You have done all this! and yet you can treat the mention of his misfortune with contempt and ridicule.” “And this,” cried Darcy, as he walked with quick steps across the room, “is your opinion of me! This is the estimation in which you hold me! I thank you for explaining it so fully. My faults, according to this calculation, are heavy indeed! But perhaps,” added he, stopping in his walk, and turning towards her, “these offenses might have been overlooked, had not your pride been hurt by my honest confession of the scruples that had long prevented my forming any serious design. These bitter accusations might have been suppressed, had I, with greater policy, concealed my struggles, and flattered you into the belief

British Literature Student wCB.indb 323

of my being impelled by unqualified, unalloyed inclination; by reason, by reflection, by everything. But disguise of every sort is my abhorrence. Nor am I ashamed of the feelings I related. They were natural and just. Could you expect me to rejoice in the inferiority of your connections? — to congratulate myself on the hope of relations, whose condition in life is so decidedly beneath my own?” Elizabeth felt herself growing more angry every moment; yet she tried to the utmost to speak with composure when she said: “You are mistaken, Mr. Darcy, if you suppose that the mode of your declaration affected me in any other way, than as it spared me the concern which I might have felt in refusing you, had you behaved in a more gentlemanlike manner.” She saw him start at this, but he said nothing, and she continued: “You could not have made the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it.” Again his astonishment was obvious; and he looked at her with an expression of mingled incredulity and mortification. She went on: “From the very beginning — from the first moment, I may almost say — of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry.” “You have said quite enough, madam. I perfectly comprehend your feelings, and have now only to be ashamed of what my own have been. Forgive me for having taken up so much of your time, and accept my best wishes for your health and happiness.” And with these words he hastily left the room, and Elizabeth heard him the next moment open the front door and quit the house. The tumult of her mind, was now painfully great. She knew not how to support herself, and from actual weakness sat down and cried for halfan-hour. Her astonishment, as she reflected on what

323

11/14/12 4:38 PM

had passed, was increased by every review of it. That she should receive an offer of marriage from Mr. Darcy! That he should have been in love with her for so many months! So much in love as to wish to marry her in spite of all the objections which had made him prevent his friend’s marrying her sister, and which must appear at least with equal force in his own case — was almost incredible! It was gratifying to have inspired unconsciously so strong an affection. But his pride, his abominable pride — his shameless avowal of what he had done with respect

to Jane — his unpardonable assurance in acknowledging, though he could not justify it, and the unfeeling manner in which he had mentioned Mr. Wickham, his cruelty towards whom he had not attempted to deny, soon overcame the pity which the consideration of his attachment had for a moment excited. She continued in very agitated reflections till the sound of Lady Catherine’s carriage made her feel how unequal she was to encounter Charlotte’s observation, and hurried her away to her room.

www.gutenberg.org/

Assignments •

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

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 25-D.

•

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

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-D

Circle the words that describe Mr. Darcy.

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

Mr. Darcy Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

324

British Literature Student wCB.indb 324

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Critics Corner Criticisms and Interpretations by F.W. Cornish JANE AUSTEN needs no testimonials; her position is at this moment established on a firmer basis than that of any of her contemporaries. She has completely distanced Miss Edgeworth, Miss Ferrier, Fanny Burney, and Hannah More, writers who eclipsed her modest reputation in her own day. The readers of “Evelina,” “Ormond,” “Marriage,” or “Caelebs” are few; but hundreds know intimately every character and every scene in “Pride and Prejudice.” She has survived Trollope and Mrs. Gaskell: one may almost say that she is less out of date than Currer Bell and George Eliot. It was not always so. In 1859 a writer in “Blackwood’s Magazine” spoke of her as “being still unfamiliar in men’s mouths” and “not even now a household word.” The reason for this comparative obscurity in her own time, compared with her fame at the present day, may in some measure be that in writing, as in other arts, finish is now more highly prized than formerly. But conception as well as finish is in it. The miracle in Jane Austen’s writing is not only that her presentment of each character is complete and consistent, but also that every fact and particular situation is viewed in comprehensive proportion and relation to the rest. Some facts and expressions which pass almost unnoticed by the reader, and quite unnoticed by the other actors in the story, turn up later to take their proper place. She never drops a stitch. The reason is not so much that she took infinite trouble, though no doubt she did, as that everything was actual to her, as

in his larger historical manner everything was actual to Macaulay. It is easier to feel than to estimate a genius which has no parallel. Jane Austen’s faults are obvious. She has no remarkable distinction of style. Her plots, though worked out with microscopic delicacy, are neither original nor striking; incident is almost absent; she repeats situations, and to some extent even characters. She cared for story and situation only as they threw light on character. She has little idealism, little romance, tenderness. Poetry, or religion. All this may be conceded, and yet she stands by the side of Moliere, unsurpassed among writers of prose and poetry, within the limits which she imposed on herself, for clear and sympathetic vision of human character. She sees everything in clear outline and perspective. She does not care to analyze by logic what she knows by intuition; she does not search out the grounds of motive like George Eliot, nor illumine them like Meredith by search-light flashes of insight, nor like Hardy display them by irony sardonic or pitying, nor like Henry James thread a labyrinth of indications and intimations, repulsions and attractions right and left, all pointing to the central temple, where sits the problem. She has no need to construct her characters, for there they are before her, like Mozart’s music, only waiting to be written down. — From “Jane Austen” in “English Men of Letters.”

Assignments •

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

•

Student should complete Concept Builder 25-E.

•

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

325

British Literature Student wCB.indb 325

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

Jane Austin’s Work

CONCEPT BUILDER 25-E

1

2

3

4

5

326

British Literature Student wCB.indb 326

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 26 we meet

one of the disturbing antagonists in human history and discover, to our horror, that he is also one of the most inspiring protagonists in human history. 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 of the Teacher Guide. 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.

327

History connections: British History chapter 26, “British Colonialism in Africa.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 327

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson (1850–1894), novelist, essayist, and poet, was descended from a famous family of lighthouse builders. He was born at Edinburgh, Scotland, and was intended for the ancestral profession of engineer. Abandoning this, he tried law with no better success, and finally devoted himself to his destined vocation of letters. Stevenson began his career with the writing of essays, then issued two charming volumes of humorous and contemplative travel, An Inland Voyage and Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes; then collected in his New Arabian Nights a number of fanciful short stories he had been publishing in a magazine. In 1883 he first caught the attention of the larger public with Treasure Island, one of the best, and probably the best written, boys’ story in the language. His

most sensational success was The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; but a much higher literary quality appears in such novels as The Master of Ballantrae, Kidnapped, and Catriona, in which he to some extent follows the tradition of Scott, with far greater finish of style, but without Scott’s fine spontaneity and unconsciousness. He published also three small volumes of verse, some of it of great charm and delicacy.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde poster, 1888 (CC BY-SA 3.0).

328

British Literature Student wCB.indb 328

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Stevenson was essentially an artist in words. The modern desire for subtlety of cadence and for the rendering of fine shades of expression is seen in a high degree in all he wrote, and his work has the merits and defects that accompany this extreme preoccupation with style. But he had also great virtues of matter. He was a superb storyteller, an acute and sensitive critic, a genial and whole-hearted

lover of life. In the essay on Truth of Intercourse will be found an example of his gracious and tactful moralizing; in Samuel Pepys, a penetrating interpretation of one of the most amazing pieces of self-revelation in the annals of literature. (Essays: English and American, The Harvard Classics, 1909–1914, Introductory Note to Robert Louis Stevenson; www.bartleby.com/28/1008.html.)

Assignments Warm-up: What does this statement mean “Stevenson was essentially an artist in words?”

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 26-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 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?

2

What effect does Mr. Enfield’s story have on the reader?

3

Predict the ending to this book.

329

British Literature Student wCB.indb 329

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Social Darwinism It is my firm conviction that Stevenson was a Christian culture warrior — he saw the dangers of Darwinism and sought to make a statement through his short novel, or novella. Stevenson was aware of the new social theory called economics, science, and the workings of the mind. Darwin and Freud, in particular, affected Stevenson. The term Social Darwinism was not coined until the 1940s; however, the concept, or theory of sociology, was developed by 19th-century sociologist Herbert Spencer. In effect, Spencer, employing the biological concepts of Darwinian evolution to social welfare policy, argued that there were certain laws functioning in society that should not be disturbed; namely, the “survival of the fittest.” This, of course, was at the heart of naturalism that dominated Western art for a century.

Social Darwinism posits: “There are underlying, and largely irresistible, forces acting in societies which are like the natural forces that operate in animal and plant communities. One can therefore formulate social laws similar to natural ones. These social forces are of such a kind as to produce evolutionary progress through the natural conflicts between social groups. The best-adapted and most successful social groups survive these conflicts, raising the evolutionary level of society generally (the ‘survival of the fittest’).” (Nicholas Abercrombie, Stephen Hill, and Bryan Turner, The Penguin Dictionary of Sociology, 4th edition London; New York: Penguin Books, 2000, p. 321–322.) Hyde, then, to Stevenson, was that undisciplined, depraved, animalistic being that lies dormant in mankind. It is unleashed to the participant’s peril and to the peril of society at large.

Assignments •

Warm-up: What comes to mind when you see the word Darwinism?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 26-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.

330

British Literature Student wCB.indb 330

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-B

Circle words that describe Dr. Jekyll and check the words that describe Mr. Hyde.

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

Dr. Jekyll Phlegmatic passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

Mr. Hyde

Sanguine sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

331

British Literature Student wCB.indb 331

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Villains The Transformation of Evil Beowulf: Grendel Grendel, the first of the three monsters Beowulf kills, lives in the bottom of a lake. According to the poet, the monster is a descendant of Cain, one of many monsters whom God punished for the crime of Abel’s death. The author of Beowulf creates evil that is biblical and of an epic proportion. Grendel is hostile to humanity. He is nothing like a man. He is a monster. He possesses no human feelings except hatred and bitterness toward mankind. This is important: Grendel is unredeemable. There’s no way Grendel can ever be good.

A Tale Of Two Cities: Madame Defarge Madame Defarge is evil, vengeful, unforgiving, and spiteful. But she is clearly a woman and, in her defense, Dickens explains why she is so bad. She and her family were treated very poorly by the French nobility. In that sense, she is both the victim and the perpetrator.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Mr. Hyde Hyde is described as “pale and dwarfish,” and has rough, corded hands. Everyone who sees him describes him as giving an impression of ugliness, although he isn’t physically deformed. Essentially, he exudes pure evil. Hyde was created out of an experiment by Dr. Henry Jekyll, who wanted to live a wild, carefree existence without losing his respectability. So he decided to unleash his darker side. In other words, Hyde is the alter-ego of good Dr. Jekyll.

Assignments •

Warm-up: Which of the following villains is most nefarious?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 26-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

332

British Literature Student wCB.indb 332

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Setting

CONCEPT BUILDER 26-C

How did Stevenson use setting to enhance the effect of his novel?

Setting

333

British Literature Student wCB.indb 333

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Student Essay: The Importance of the Setting Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Stevenson is a story about the depravity of sinful man. In order to better emphasize this theme, Stevenson uses a dreary, cold setting. By doing so, he is able to display the scientific advancement attempted by Dr. Jekyll and the sin within every human being. The setting is crucial when the reader first encounters Mr. Hyde. “Well, it was this way,” returned Mr. Enfiled: “I was coming home from some place at the end of the world, about three o’clock of a black winter morning, and my way lay through a part of town where there was literally nothing to be seen but lamps. Street after street, and all the folks asleep — street after street, all lighted up as if for a procession and all as empty as a church — till at last I got into that state of mind when a man listens and listens and begins to long for the sight of a policeman.” This is the account given by Mr. Enfield of encountering the hideous Mr. Hyde in the streets of London. Mr. Enfield was coming home in the early morning hours. The streetlights were on and the city was cold. In fact, Mr. Enfield became terrified and wished to see a policeman. This description allows the reader to understand how Mr. Enfield would have been horrified upon seeing Mr. Hyde in the streets. In this sense, the setting enhances the plot. “That evening Mr. Utterson came home to his bachelor house in somber spirits and sat down to diner without relish. It was his custom of a Sunday, when this meal was over, to sit by the fire . . . until the clock of the neighbouring church rang out the hour of twelve, when he would go soberly and gratefull to bed. On this night, however, as soon as the cloth was taken away, he took up a candle and

went into his business room.” In this instance, the hunt for Mr. Hyde is beginning, with Mr. Utterson heading the investigation. Stevenson allows the reader to truly see how Mr. Hyde is disrupting the normal peace of the community. This particular setting of Mr. Utterson sitting by his fire until the clock rang adds to the suspenseful feel of the novel. Later, as Mr. Utterson prepares to confront Dr. Jekyll regarding Mr. Hyde, the setting plays an important role again. “It was late in the afternoon, when Mr. Utterson found his way to Dr. Jekyll’s door, where he was at once admitted by Poole, and carried down by the kitchen offices and across a yard which had once been a garden, to the building which was indifferently known as the laboratory or dissecting rooms.” While this setting does not refer to London as a whole, it refers to Dr. Jekyll’s home. Both Mr. Utterson and the reader begin to question Dr. Jekyll’s scientific motives, especially since his home has now been converted into a laboratory. In this sense, the setting adds to both the suspense and the idea that Dr. Jekyll is hiding something from the surrounding community. Robert Stevenson uses the setting not only as a backdrop to his story but as a critical element of the theme. As the plot unfolds in the cold, wintry town of London where men like Utterson are confined to their houses, the reader understands how much fear and dread Mr. Hyde has brought to the city. Later scenes such as Dr. Jekyll’s house suggest the doctor is hiding something sinister from the people. Overall, these scenes and the setting as a whole help Stevenson communicate his theme of the depravity of mankind (Chris).

334

British Literature Student wCB.indb 334

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

Warm-up: How important is the setting? Could this story have occurred anywhere?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 26-D.

•

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

335

British Literature Student wCB.indb 335

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Obituary Death of R.L. Stevenson By THE NEW YORK TIMES LONDON, Dec. 17, 1894 — A dispatch to The Star, dated Apia, Samoa, Dec. 8, confirms the report that Robert Louis Stevenson, the novelist, died suddenly a few days ago from apoplexy. His body was buried on the summit of Paa Mountain, 1,300 feet high. The Westminster Gazette, in an article on the death of Robert Louis Stevenson, says that, although Mr. Stevenson was anything but apoplectic, there is little doubt that his untimely end was due to apoplexy, induced by the heat of the climate. He left a new novel half completed. The Gazette says he was among the most lovable of modern writers, and the news of his death will be heard with the keenest regret. Perhaps no author of recent years has enlisted so much personal interest on the part of his readers. The Pall Mall Gazette says that in letters recently written Mr. Stevenson said he had two novels practically completed, but could not be induced to part with them until they had received finishing touches. One is entitled The Chief Justice’s Clerk, the plot of which was foreshadowed in Catriona. Those who have read portions of this work regard it as his masterpiece. The other book, entitled St. Ives, is the story of a French prisoner who made his escape from Edinburgh Castle and had stirring adventures in a romantic district of Scotland. Mr. Stevenson had many shorter tales sketched out. He loved Samoa better than any other place, except Scotland. His wife, interviewed recently, said: “We mean to live in Samoa always and leave our bones there.” Stevenson’s Forty-three Years Robert Louis Stevenson’s full name was Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson, but the Balfour he had

ceased to use. He was a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, and the date of his birth was Nov. 13, 1850. His father, Thomas Stevenson, had eminence in connection with lighthouses. For many years Thomas Stevenson was an Inspector of Lighthouses, and retained his activity in that office until near the time of his death, in 1888. On the English coast he was connected with the building of several houses; in the arrangement of reflectors he made important improvements, and some of his knowledge on the subject went into a book that he published on lighthouse optics. When he died his son wrote a sketch of his life, and one of his son’s books was dedicated to him, “by whose devices the great sea lights in every quarter of the globe shine out more brightly.” Thomas Stevenson, like most Scotchmen, had dabbled in theology. In 1877 he brought out Christianity Confirmed by Jewish and Heathen Testimony, and the Deductions from Physical Science. The work went into a second edition in the following year. Thomas Stevenson’s devotion to lighthouses came to him by inheritance. His father was that Robert Stevenson who, between 1795 and 1840, designed no fewer than eighteen lighthouses for the Scotch coast, the chief of which was the famous one on Bell Rock, in which he improved on the one Smeaton had built at Edystone. Of his Scotch origin Louis Stevenson was always proud. He has said in one of his books that to be born a Scotchman is “the happiest lot on earth.” But it was a privilege one must pay for. “You have to learn,” he said, “the paraphrases and the Shorter Catechism; you generally take to drink; your youth,

336

British Literature Student wCB.indb 336

11/14/12 4:38 PM

so far as I can find out, is a time of louder war against society, of more outcry and tears and turmoil than if you were born, for instance, in England. But, somehow, life is warmer and closer, the hearth burns more redly, the lights of home shine softer on the rainy street, the very names endeared in verse and music cling nearer round our hearts.” Stevenson’s father intended him for a lawyer, and with that end in view carefully educated him at private schools and at the University of Edinburgh. He went far enough with his legal studies to be entered at the Scottish bar, and then changed the whole course of his life. He began to travel for his health, and in this found such enjoyment that he took to writing of the things he saw. Then it was that he entered upon the literary career which has given him fame and honor wherever contemporary literature is read. Before his travels began he had probably made some attempts at authorship, for to an earlier period belong these contributions which Mr. P.G. Hamerton obtained from him for his Portfolio and Leslie Stephen for The Cornhill Magazine. His first published books have date of 1878, when his Inland Voyage and Edinburgh: Picturesque Notes made their appearance. The first of these at once seized public attention. It was an account of travel in canoes by two friends, who took to Belgian and French waters. It was the author’s style which captivated his readers. Some one described it as a compound of Sir Philip Sidney, Lord Bacon, George Herbert, Stern, and Blackmore. He was seen to have rare humor, great insight, refined feeling, and splendid powers of fresh description. Mr. Hamerton declared that he was “one of the most perfect writers living, one of the very few who may yet do something that will become classical.” The book on Edinburgh naturally appealed to a narrower audience, but it was greatly liked wherever it was read. He was not wholly complimentary, having the ability to see things as they were, but this style and his effective descriptions charmed all. Already had Mr. Stevenson begun to show his fondness for France. This was in part due to his uncertain health, but in part also to a genuine liking for the land and people. As early as 1876 he had spent a whole Summer there, and at Barbizon, Grez,

and Fontainebleau American artists first made acquaintance with the brilliancy of his mind and the charm of his personality. Out of this Summer came part of the experience recorded in An Inland Voyage, and two years later French travel — the region of the Covennes — yielded up his Travels with a Donkey, through which, in this country, his rise to fame really began. Of actual scenes of travel and adventures the book contained a small amount. Not the occurrences of the journey so much as the way things were told made the value of this new piece of composition. Critics saw an improvement on former writings. As he was more natural, so was there a corresponding absence of premeditated art. His sympathies with men and women were as generous as ever, but his humanity was more health, and his fun sweeter and stronger. Stevenson’s next volume was his Virginibus Puerisque and Other Papers, which appeared in 1881, and in the following year came his Familiar Studies of Men and Books. Both contained matter that was repeated from the periodicals for which he had written — The Portfolio, The Cornhill, The New Quarterly, and Macmillan’s. In 1882 he published his New Arabian Nights, with which were included some short stores that originally were published in The Cornhill and Temple Bar. Of this volume, The Saturday Review remarked that there was little be got from the stories but pleasure. It praised “their striking fertility of invention, their charming touch of chivalry, which is by no means too common, either in real life or in fiction, and that other quality of the author’s also by no means too common, of making his readers’ cup full of horrors, and yet putting no offense in it.” When Treasure Island came out, in 1883, fame for Stevenson had already been achieved; but this work was to widen and deepen it everywhere. The book is said to have had its origin in a suggestion made to the author by a small boy, in whom he was interested, who repeatedly had asked him why he did not write something interesting, like Robinson Crusoe. Although especially a book for boys, this work gave quite as much pleasure to folks grown to man’s estate, and to whom tales of prowess and daring in the Spanish Main have always been captivating. What The Saturday Review admired most in it was, as usual, the style. It said the book

337

British Literature Student wCB.indb 337

11/14/12 4:38 PM

was “written in that crisp, choice, nervous English, of which he has the secret, with such a union of measure and farce as to be in its way a masterpiece of narrative.” Mr. Stevenson’s first visit to America had been made before Treasure Island appeared. In the Summer of 1879 he determined to make a voyage from Liverpool to New York in the steerage, and on arrival here he concluded to continue the journey on land in an immigrant car as far as San Francisco. It was an odd mode of travel for one with Stevenson’s refinement and sensitive spirit, but with him love of adventure has ever been one of the strongest passions. We may, perhaps, call it an inherited taste — a survival in the tastes of the man of letters of what had been the daily habit and environment of his ancestors for two or more generations. Out of the American trip Mr. Stevenson got a series of magazine papers, and some years later a further fruit was seen in his book, The Silverado Squatters; a Sketch from a California Mountain, which had to do with a deserted mining camp in the southern part of the State. Originally, the story was printed in The Century Magazine. Mr. Stevenson’s charming collection of verse relating to the inner life of childhood followed next. It was appropriately called A Child’s Garland of Verse, and only two years ago an illustrated reprint of it awakened new praises. Next, in 1885, came Prince Otto: A Romance, in which he dealt with the morals of marriage, and in 1886 his Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which has enjoyed the double reputation of great success on the stage as well as in book and story form. Mr. Stevenson has declared that the principal incident was dreamed by him many years before he wrote the story. In his dream he saw Hyde rush into a mysterious recess, take a drug, and then, by the terror that followed, was awakened. Such was the impression the dream made on him that it haunted him for years before he made a story out of it. In the same year was published Kidnapped, which was described as the Memoirs of the Adventures of David Balfour in the year 1751. It told of his being kidnapped and cast away on a desert island, where he had many sufferings, and from which he escaped to the west highlands of Scotland, there to meet Alan Breck Stewart “and other

notorious highland Jacobites.” Balfour suffered much at the hands of his “Uncle Ebenezer Balfour of Shawes, falsely so called.” Balfour was declared to have written these memoirs himself, and the adventures end when the hero is scarcely more than a boy. Most readers were reminded of it by Treasure Island. The workmanship was admired and the horrors were related with such charm and freshness, joined to refinement, that readers of fine taste found the work a source of genuine pleasure. Mr. Stevenson, after the years spent in France for his health, sought elsewhere for a better climate than Scotland afforded. At one time he fixed his abode at Bournemouth, in the south of England, at a country home, which he called Skerryvore. Again he came to New York and spent a Winter and some additional months in the Adirondacks, and finally he pitched his tent in Samoa. Great was the surprise of the public when it learned that to this remote Pacific isle the brilliant author had gone for a stay that would be prolonged, and might be permanent. He was dwelling in Samoa when the quarrel among the European powers occurred, with the awful disaster by which such wreck was done to the war ships of three nations. In his Footnote to History, these Samoan events find extended narration in which are mingled accounts of beggars and planters, the strife of consuls, the awful hurricane, the scene on the shore and in the harbor when the hurricane had passed, and the making and unmaking of Kings, with the sorrows of one of them named Laupepa. Stevenson’s marriage was as romantic as any tale he ever told. Lloyd Osbourne, who assisted him in writing two of his stories, was the son of his wife by a former marriage, and when Mrs. Osbourne became Mrs. Stevenson she was recently divorced from her husband, Samuel C. Osbourne. She and Osbourne had been married in Indiana in 1858. Her maiden name was Vandergrift, and in 1861 the couple, with a son and daughter, started for Arizona with a few thousand dollars they had saved. Mr. Osbourne put his money in a mine, for which a few months later $100,000 was offered. Osbourne wished to sell, but his partner did not. They held on, and six months later the mine would not fetch a dollar. Osbourne, with his family, then went to San Francisco, and he so prospered as a court reporter

338

British Literature Student wCB.indb 338

11/14/12 4:38 PM

that he sent his wife to Europe to educate the children. In Paris Mrs. Osbourne, in 1883, met Stevenson, and fell in love with him. Returning to San Francisco she obtained a divorce, and arrangements were at once made for her marriage with Stevenson. Osbourne was invited to the wedding and accepted. On the appointed day he presented himself in faultless attire with a lady on his arm, whom he introduced as Mrs. Osbourne. To this lady Osbourne had been quietly married as soon as the divorce was

granted. Some newspaper stories have declared that the divorce broke Osbourne’s heart, but his prompt second marriage hardly bears out the story. In any event, it is known that as Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson took up their abode in Samoa, so Mr. and Mrs. Osbourne took up theirs in Australia. Each couple went to a land where all the old ties might be forgotten (www. nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/).

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is the thing for which you most want to be remembered?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 26-E.

•

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?

339

British Literature Student wCB.indb 339

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 27 we analyze

several important late 19th-century poets. We enjoy again the thunder of canon fire and he fiery passion of love.

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.

340

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy.

History connections: British History chapter 27, “The New Century.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 340

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Mary Elizabeth Coleridge Mary Elizabeth Coleridge (1861–1907) was born and lived her entire life in London, where, after 1890, she taught in college and contributed extensively to literary journals. Coleridge was the great-great-niece of the romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Her family often entertained such recognized poets as Tennyson and Browning. Raised to be a “dutiful 19th-century English lady,” Coleridge was well educated and “by the time she was nineteen she was well versed in [Hebrew], as well as in German, French, Italian; and a little later she became a keen reader of Greek.” (Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, p. 1144.) She also studied philosophy and literature, participated in intellectual circles, traveled, and wrote stories and essays.

The Witch I have walked a great while over the snow,

Her voice was the voice that women have,

And I am not tall nor strong.

Who plead for their heart’s desire.

My clothes are wet, and my teeth are set,

She came-she came-and the quivering flame

And the way was hard and long.

Sank and died in the fire.

I have wandered over the fruitful earth,

It never was lit again on my hearth

But I never came here before.

Since I hurried across the floor,

Oh, lift me over the threshold, and let me in

To lift her over the threshold, and let her in

at the door!

at the door!

The cutting wind is a cruel foe; I dare not stand in the blast. My hands are stone, and my voice a groan, And the worst of death is past. I am but a little maiden still; My little white feet are sore. Oh, lift me over the threshold, and let me in at the door! Ibid., p. 1147.

341

British Literature Student wCB.indb 341

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: What evidence of naturalism do you see in this poem?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 27-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 27.

Read Mary Elizabeth Coleridge’s “The Witch” and respond to the following:

1

Describe the speaker in the first stanza.

2

What is the purpose of the second refrain?

3

Who “sank and died in the fire/at the door” in the last stanza?

342

British Literature Student wCB.indb 342

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

John Henry Newman BACKGROUND

John Henry Newman was born in London, England, on February 21, 1801. He entered a private, exclusive school at Ealing in 1808, at the age of seven. Following the failure of his father’s bank in 1816, Newman, then in his final year at Ealing, underwent what he would later refer to as a “conversion.” Like so many 19th-century Protestant evangelicals, his conversion left him with a hatred of the Roman Catholic Church and a personal conviction that the pope was the antichrist. This is an interesting fact because before the end of his life, Newman was a cardinal in the Roman Catholic Church. In the 1850s Newman lectured in Ireland and published The Idea of a University (1852, 1854, 1858). In 1873, this presentation formed the basis for The Idea of a University Defined and Illustrated, a timeless compilation of his lectures on education written during the preceding two decades and still referenced by university scholars today. In 1878, Trinity College, Oxford, elected Newman as its first honorary fellow. John Henry Newman died at Edgbastion on August 11, 1890. Many Protestant Christians find Newman to be pedantic and subtle with a theistic vision.

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 27-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.

343

British Literature Student wCB.indb 343

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Contrast the story line with the deep feeling in this poem.

A Frame Story

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-B

The External Setting:

The Internal Person:

344

British Literature Student wCB.indb 344

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Alfred Lord Tennyson Break, Break, Break Break, break, break,

And the stately ships go on

On thy cold gray stones, O Sea!

To their haven under the hill;

And I would that my tongue could utter

But O for the touch of a vanish’d hand,

The thoughts that arise in me.

And the sound of a voice that is still!

O, well for the fisherman’s boy,

Break, break, break

That he shouts with his sister at play!

At the foot of thy crags, O Sea!

O, well for the sailor lad,

But the tender grace of a day that is dead

That he sings in his boat on the bay!

Will never come back to me.

The Charge of the Light Brigade Half a league, half a league,

Cannon to right of them,

Half a league onward,

Cannon to left of them,

All in the valley of Death

Cannon in front of them

Rode the six hundred.

Volley’d and thunder’d;

“Forward, the Light Brigade!

Storm’d at with shot and shell,

“Charge for the guns!” he said:

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the valley of Death

Into the jaws of Death,

Rode the six hundred.

Into the mouth of Hell

“Forward, the Light Brigade!”

Rode the six hundred.

Was there a man dismay’d?

Flash’d all their sabres bare,

Not tho’ the soldier knew

Flash’d as they turn’d in air,

Someone had blunder’d:

Sabring the gunners there,

Theirs not to make reply,

Charging an army, while

Theirs not to reason why,

All the world wonder’d:

Theirs but to do and die:

Plunged in the battery-smoke

Into the valley of Death

Right thro’ the line they broke;

Rode the six hundred.

Cossack and Russian

British Literature Student wCB.indb 345

345

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Reel’d from the sabre-stroke

Came thro’ the jaws of Death,

Shatter’d and sunder’d.

Back from the mouth of Hell,

Then they rode back, but not

All that was left of them,

Not the six hundred.

Left of six hundred.

Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them Volley’d and thunder’d; Storm’d at with shot and shell, While horse and hero fell, They that had fought so well

When can their glory fade? O the wild charge they made! All the world wonder’d. Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade, Noble six hundred!

Ulysses It little profits that an idle king,

As tho’ to breathe were life! Life piled on life

By this still hearth, among these barren crags,

Were all too little, and of one to me

Match’d with an aged wife, I mete and dole

Little remains: but every hour is saved

Unequal laws unto a savage race,

From that eternal silence, something more,

That hoard, and sleep, and feed, and know not me.

A bringer of new things; and vile it were

I cannot rest from travel: I will drink Life to the lees: All times I have enjoy’d Greatly, have suffer’d greatly, both with those That loved me, and alone, on shore, and when

For some three suns to store and hoard myself, And this gray spirit yearning in desire To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

Thro’ scudding drifts the rainy Hyades

This is my son, mine own Telemachus,

Vext the dim sea: I am become a name;

To whom I leave the sceptre and the isle, —

For always roaming with a hungry heart

Well-loved of me, discerning to fulfil

Much have I seen and known; cities of men

This labour, by slow prudence to make mild

And manners, climates, councils, governments,

A rugged people, and thro’ soft degrees

Myself not least, but honour’d of them all;

Subdue them to the useful and the good.

And drunk delight of battle with my peers,

Most blameless is he, centred in the sphere

Far on the ringing plains of windy Troy.

Of common duties, decent not to fail

I am a part of all that I have met;

In offices of tenderness, and pay

Yet all experience is an arch wherethro’

Meet adoration to my household gods,

Gleams that untravell’d world whose margin fades

When I am gone. He works his work, I mine.

For ever and forever when I move. How dull it is to pause, to make an end, To rust unburnish’d, not to shine in use!

There lies the port; the vessel puffs her sail: There gloom the dark, broad seas. My mariners, Souls that have toil’d, and wrought, and thought with me —

346

British Literature Student wCB.indb 346

11/14/12 4:38 PM

That ever with a frolic welcome took

The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds

The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed

To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths

Free hearts, free foreheads — you and I are old;

Of all the western stars, until I die.

Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;

It may be that the gulfs will wash us down:

Death closes all: but something ere the end,

It may be we shall touch the Happy Isles,

Some work of noble note, may yet be done,

And see the great Achilles, whom we knew.

Not unbecoming men that strove with Gods. The lights begin to twinkle from the rocks: The long day wanes: the slow moon climbs: the deep Moans round with many voices. Come, my friends, ’Tis not too late to seek a newer world. Push off, and sitting well in order smite

Tho’ much is taken, much abides; and tho’ We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are; One equal temper of heroic hearts, Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

Crossing the Bar Sunset and evening star,

And after that the dark!

And one clear call for me!

And may there be no sadness of farewell,

And may there be no moaning of the bar,

When I embark;

When I put out to sea,

For tho’ from out our bourne of Time and Place

But such a tide as moving seems asleep,

The flood may bear me far,

Too full for sound and foam,

I hope to see my Pilot face to face

When that which drew from out the boundless deep

When I have crost the bar.

Turns again home. Twilight and evening bell,

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 27-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

347

British Literature Student wCB.indb 347

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Style

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-C

What stylistic strategies does Newman employ in the first section of The Idea of a University?

Style

348

British Literature Student wCB.indb 348

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Robert Browning BACKGROUND

Robert Browning was one of the greatest Victorian poets. He was also an incorrigible optimist. In that sense he was more a Renaissance artist than a 19th-century romantic. One who examines Browning’s work closely can observe that in his poetry evil often overcomes good. Born in London May 7, 1812, he derived from his parents a deep, if unconventional, faith and a love of books, music, and painting. His first published poem, “Pauline,” (1833) was inspired by Percy Shelley; it was a series of musings on poetic sensibility. In 1846, Browning married Elizabeth Barrett, who also became a poet of renown. They were one of the most celebrated married couples in English history. They settled in Casa Guidi in Florence, where he composed many more poems. Elizabeth died in 1861, breaking Browning’s heart. He never fully recovered. In 1869, in his grief, he published “The Ring and the Book,” which finally established his reputation as a major poet.

Prospice Fear death? — to feel the fog in my throat,

I would hate that death bandaged my eyes and forbore,

The mist in my face,

And bade me creep past.

When the snows begin, and the blasts denote

No! let me taste the whole of it, fare like my peers

I am nearing the place,

The heroes of old,

The power of the night, the press of the storm,

Bear the brunt, in a minute pay glad life’s arrears

The post of the foe;

Of pain, darkness and cold.

Where he stands, the Arch Fear in a visible form,

For sudden the worst turns the best to the brave,

Yet the strong man must go:

The black minute’s at end,

For the journey is done and the summit attained,

And the elements’ rage, the fiend-voices that rave,

And the barriers fall,

Shall dwindle, shall blend,

Though a battle’s to fight ere the guerdon be gained,

Shall change, shall become first a peace out of pain,

The reward of it all.

Then a light, then thy breast,

I was ever a fighter, so — one fight more,

O thou soul of my soul! I shall clasp thee again,

The best and the last!

And with God be the rest!

349

British Literature Student wCB.indb 349

11/14/12 4:38 PM

The Lost Leader Just for a handful of silver he left us,

We shall march prospering, — not thro’ his presence;

Just for a riband to stick in his coat —

Songs may inspirit us, — not from his lyre;

Found the one gift of which fortune bereft us,

Deeds will be done, — while he boasts his quiescence,

Lost all the others she lets us devote;

Still bidding crouch whom the rest bade aspire:

They, with the gold to give, doled him out silver,

Blot out his name, then, record one lost soul more,

So much was theirs who so little allowed:

One task more declined, one more footpath untrod,

How all our copper had gone for his service!

One more devils’ triumph and sorrow for angels,

Rags — were they purple, his heart had been proud!

One wrong more to man, one more insult to God!

We that had loved him so, followed him, honoured him,

Life’s night begins: let him never come back to us!

Lived in his mild and magnificent eye,

There would be doubt, hesitation and pain,

Learned his great language, caught his clear accents,

Forced praise on our part — the glimmer of twilight,

Made him our pattern to live and to die!

Never glad confident morning again!

Shakespeare was of us, Milton was for us,

Best fight on well, for we taught him — strike gallantly,

Burns, Shelley, were with us, — they watch from their graves!

Menace our heart ere we master his own;

He alone breaks from the van and the freemen,

Pardoned in heaven, the first by the throne!

He alone sinks to the rear and the slaves!

Then let him receive the new knowledge and wait us,

My Last Duchess Ferrara That’s my last Duchess painted on the wall,

Frà Pandolf chanced to say, “Her mantle laps

Looking as if she were alive. I call

Over my Lady’s wrist too much,” or “Paint

That piece a wonder, now: Frà Pandolf ’s hands

Must never hope to reproduce the faint

Worked busily a day, and there she stands.

Half-flush that dies along her throat”; such stuff

Will ’t please you sit and look at her? I said

Was courtesy, she thought, and cause enough

“Frà Pandolf ” by design, for never read

For calling up that spot of joy. She had

Strangers like you that pictured countenance,

A heart . . . how shall I say? . . . too soon made glad,

The depth and passion of its earnest glance,

Too easily impressed; she liked whate’er

But to myself they turned (since none puts by

She looked on, and her looks went everywhere.

The curtain I have drawn for you, but I)

Sir, ’twas all one! My favour at her breast,

And seemed as they would ask me, if they durst,

The dropping of the daylight in the West,

How such a glance came there; so, not the first

The bough of cherries some officious fool

Are you to turn and ask thus. Sir, ’twas not

Broke in the orchard for her, the white mule

Her husband’s presence only, called that spot

She rode with round the terrace — all and each

Of joy into the Duchess’ cheek: perhaps

Would draw from her alike the approving speech,

350

British Literature Student wCB.indb 350

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Or blush, at least. She thanked men, — good; but thanked

Whene’er I passed her; but who passed without

Somehow . . . I know not how . . . as if she ranked

Much the same smile? This grew; I gave commands;

My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old name

Then all smiles stopped together. There she stands

With anybody’s gift. Who’d stoop to blame

As if alive. Will ’t please you rise? We’ll meet

This sort of trifling? Even had you skill

The company below, then. I repeat,

In speech — (which I have not) — to make your will

The Count your Master’s known munificence

Quite clear to such an one, and say, “Just this

Is ample warrant that no just pretence

Or that in you disgusts me; here you miss,

Of mine for dowry will be disallowed;

Or there exceed the mark” — and if she let

Though his fair daughter’s self, as I avowed

Herself be lessoned so, nor plainly set

At starting, is my object. Nay, we’ll go

Her wits to yours, forsooth, and made excuse,

Together down, Sir! Notice Neptune, though,

— E’en then would be some stooping; and I chuse

Taming a sea-horse, thought a rarity,

Never to stoop. Oh, sir, she smiled, no doubt,

Which Claus of Innsbruck cast in bronze for me.

eir.library.utoronto.ca/

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.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 27-D.

•

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

2

351

British Literature Student wCB.indb 351

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Elizabeth Barrett Browning BACKGROUND

In her era, Elizabeth Barrett Browning was a prolific, scholarly, and highly political poet and was considered a major author. She was an accomplished student and translator of Greek. According to The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, “Nothing could be more misleading than the twentieth-century image of ‘Mrs. Browning’ as a swooning Victorian invalid, languishing on a sofa, smelling salts in one hand and sentimental verses in the other.” She suffered a spinal injury when she was 15, while saddling a pony, and then for ten years coped with chronic anxiety due that suffering and a lung ailment. Her writing offered escape from pain. Barrett Browning was known for her “Sonnets of the Portuguese,” which introduced the “usually male-oriented genre of the sonnet cycle to female requirements, telling the story of a love affair from a woman’s, instead of a man’s, point of view.” She also composed a translation of Prometheus Bound and Poems of 1850, which included a fierce political statement in The Runaway Slave at Pilgrim’s Point, dramatizing the problem of slavery in the United States and the pain of impoverished children in England. Her epic-novel Auora Leigh was published in 1857. Elizabeth met Robert Browning in 1845, after he praised her poetry. He wrote to her, and Elizabeth responded by secretly writing love poems to him. At the age of 40, against the objections of her father, she married Robert Browning. Elizabeth continued writing poetry until she died June 29, 1861, in Florence, Italy.

Sonnet XIV If thou must love me, let it be for nought

Be changed, or change for thee, — and love, so wrought,

Except for love’s sake only. Do not say

May be unwrought so. Neither love me for

“I love her for her smile — her look — her way

Thine own dear pity’s wiping my cheeks dry, —

Of speaking gently, — for a trick of thought

A creature might forget to weep, who bore

That falls in well with mine, and certes brought

Thy comfort long, and lose thy love thereby!

A sense of pleasant ease on such a day” —

But love me for love’s sake, that evermore

For these things in themselves, Beloved, may

Thou mayst love on, through love’s eternity.

Sonnet I I thought once how Theocritus had sung

To bear a gift for mortals, old or young:

Of the sweet years, the dear and wished-for years,

And, as I mused it in his antique tongue,

Who each one in a gracious hand appears

I saw, in gradual vision through my tears,

352

British Literature Student wCB.indb 352

11/14/12 4:38 PM

The sweet, sad years, the melancholy years,

And a voice said in mastery, while I strove, —

Those of my own life, who by turns had flung

“Guess now who holds thee?” — “Death,” I said. But, there,

A shadow across me. Straightway I was ’ware, So weeping, how a mystic Shape did move

The silver answer rang, — “Not Death, but Love.”

Behind me, and drew me backward by the hair:

Sonnet XLIII How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

I love thee with the passion put to use

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.

For the ends of Being and ideal Grace.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

I love thee to the level of everyday’s

With my lost saints, — I love thee with the breath,

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,

I love thee freely, as men strive for Right;

I shall but love thee better after death.

Assignments •

Warm-up: : What evidence do you have in these poems that Barrett Browning is very ill?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 27-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 27 test.

353

British Literature Student wCB.indb 353

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s beautiful “Sonnet XLIII” is full of metaphors.

Metaphors

CONCEPT BUILDER 27-E

Sonnet XLIII 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. I love thee freely, as men strive for Right; I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise. I love thee with the passion put to use In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose With my lost saints — I love thee with the breath, Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

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?”

2

Explain this line: “ I love thee to the level of everyday’s Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.”

3

How does someone love someone “better after death?”

354

British Literature Student wCB.indb 354

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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 In chapter 28 we analyze one of the earliest naturalistic British novels, The Mayor of Casterbridge.

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 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad.

355

History connections: British History chapter 28, “Modernism.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 355

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

The Mayor of Casterbridge

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy’s life can be divided into phases. The first phase (1840–1870) includes childhood, apprenticeship as an architect, first marriage, early poems and his first unpublished novel. The second phase (1871–1897) was the time of prolific writing, which resulted in the publication of 14 novels and a number of short stories. In the third phase (1898–1928), Hardy returned to poetry. Michael Millgate, in his biography of Hardy states, “Because he could always call up so clearly the dark as well as the more cheerful aspects of his early experience, Hardy in his mature years was rarely tempted to indulge in indiscriminate nostalgia for the past. He was always deeply conscious, however, of the process of change itself and of the many relics, good and bad, of earlier days and ways which were constantly being swept away. . . . Hardy, in fact, was born just in time to catch a last glimpse of that English rural life which, especially in so conservative a county, had existed largely undisturbed from medieval times until the onset of the new forces — population expansion, urbanization, railways, cheap printing, cheap food imports, enclosures, agricultural mechanization and depression, pressures and opportunities for migration and emigration — which so swiftly and radically impinged upon it in the middle of the nineteenth century (Michael Millgate, Thomas Hardy: A Biography, New York: Random House, 1982).

Assignments •

Warm-up: Describe, generally, the way Hardy treats women in this novel.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 28-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 28.

356

British Literature Student wCB.indb 356

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-A

Portrait of Florence Hardy, wife of the English writer Thomas Hardy, at the seashore. Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Yale University, 1915 (PD-US).

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?

2

What is the relationship between the man and the woman?

3

The author’s penchant for naturalism is obvious. Explain.

357

British Literature Student wCB.indb 357

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

The Wife Sale Thomas Hardy had heard of such a case at Portland (not far from Dorchester, on the English Channel), and that it suggested this incident to him. In the Observer of March 24, 1833, the following extract from the Blackburn Gazette appeared: “Sale of a Wife — A grinder named Calton sold his wife publicly in the market place, Stockport, on Monday week. She was purchased by a shop-mate of the husband for a gallon of beer. The fair one, who had a halter round her neck, seemed quite agreeable.” Most modern readers are surprised by how contemporary Hardy’s themes and characters seem. What do you think?

Selling a Wife by Thomas Rowlandson c.1812. The painting gives the viewer the impression that the wife was a willing party to the sale, which was “a genial affair” marked by laughter (PD-Art).

Assignments •

Warm-up: Why would anyone treat a loved one like Henchard from The Mayor of Casterbridge did?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 28-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.

358

British Literature Student wCB.indb 358

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-B

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.

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

Michael Henchard Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

359

British Literature Student wCB.indb 359

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Point of View The Mayor of Casterbridge is written from the point of view of an omniscient narrator. As an outside, omniscient observer, the narrator moves back and forth through time as he chronicles Henchard’s fateful journey, as well as reveal the private thoughts of each character. He can also anticipate or review actions or speeches. He can even make value judgments, which he often does. Look at the way omniscient narration is used effectively in chapter IV. Henchard’s wife acted for the best, but she had involved herself in difficulties. A hundred times she had been upon the point of telling her daughter Elizabeth-Jane the true story of her life, the tragical crisis of which had been the transaction at Weydon Fair, when she was not much older than the girl now beside her. But she had refrained. An innocent maiden had thus grown up in the belief that the relations between the genial sailor and her mother were the ordinary ones that they had always appeared to be. The risk of endangering a child’s strong affection by disturbing ideas which had grown with her growth was to Mrs. Henchard too fearful a thing to contemplate. It had seemed, indeed folly to think of making Elizabeth-Jane wise. But Susan Henchard’s fear of losing her dearly loved daughter’s heart by a revelation had little to do with any sense of wrong-doing on her own part. Her simplicity — the original ground of Henchard’s contempt for her — had allowed her to live on in the conviction that Newson had acquired a morally real and justifiable right to her by his purchase — though the exact bearings and legal limits of that right were vague. It may seem strange to sophisticated minds that a sane young matron could believe in the seriousness of such a transfer; and were there not numerous other instances of the same belief the thing might scarcely be credited. But she was by no means the first or last peasant woman who had religiously adhered to her purchaser, as too many rural records show.

The history of Susan Henchard’s adventures in the interim can be told in two or three sentences. Absolutely helpless she had been taken off to Canada where they had lived several years without any great worldly success, though she worked as hard as any woman could to keep their cottage cheerful and well-provided. When Elizabeth-Jane was about twelve years old the three returned to England, and settled at Falmouth, where Newson made a living for a few years as boatman and general handy shoreman. He then engaged in the Newfoundland trade, and it was during this period that Susan had an awakening. A friend to whom she confided her history ridiculed her grave acceptance of her position; and all was over with her peace of mind. When Newson came home at the end of one winter he saw that the delusion he had so carefully sustained had vanished for ever. There was then a time of sadness, in which she told him her doubts if she could live with him longer. Newson left home again on the Newfoundland trade when the season came round. The vague news of his loss at sea a little later on solved a problem which had become torture to her meek conscience. She saw him no more. Of Henchard they heard nothing. To the liege subjects of Labour, the England of those days was a continent, and a mile a geographical degree.

360

British Literature Student wCB.indb 360

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Elizabeth-Jane developed early into womanliness. One day a month or so after receiving intelligence of Newson’s death off the Bank of Newfoundland, when the girl was about eighteen, she was sitting on a willow chair in the cottage they still occupied, working twine nets for the fishermen. Her mother was in a back corner of the same room engaged in the same labour, and dropping the heavy wood needle she was filling she surveyed her daughter thoughtfully. The sun shone in at the door upon the young woman’s head and hair, which was worn loose, so that the rays streamed into its depths as into a hazel copse. Her face, though somewhat wan and incomplete, possessed the raw materials of beauty in a promising degree. There was an underhandsomeness in it, struggling to reveal itself through the provisional curves of immaturity, and the casual disfigurements that resulted from the straitened circumstances of their lives. She was handsome in the bone, hardly as yet handsome in the flesh. She possibly might never be fully handsome, unless the carking accidents of her daily existence could be evaded before the mobile parts of her countenance had settled to their final mould. The sight of the girl made her mother sad — not vaguely but by logical inference. They both were still in that strait-waistcoat of poverty from which she had tried so many times to be delivered for the girl’s sake. The woman had long perceived how zealously and constantly the young mind of her companion was struggling for enlargement; and yet now, in her eighteenth year, it still remained but little unfolded. The desire — sober and repressed — of ElizabethJane’s heart was indeed to see, to hear, and to understand. How could she become a woman of wider knowledge, higher repute — “better,” as she termed it — this was her constant inquiry of her mother. She sought further into things than other girls in her position ever did, and her mother groaned as she felt she could not aid in the search. The sailor, drowned or no, was probably now lost to them; and Susan’s staunch, religious adherence to him as her husband in principle, till her views had been disturbed by enlightenment, was demanded no more. She asked herself whether the present moment, now that she was a free woman again, were not as opportune a one as she would find in a world where everything had been so

British Literature Student wCB.indb 361

inopportune, for making a desperate effort to advance Elizabeth. To pocket her pride and search for the first husband seemed, wisely or not, the best initiatory step. He had possibly drunk himself into his tomb. But he might, on the other hand, have had too much sense to do so; for in her time with him he had been given to bouts only, and was not a habitual drunkard. At any rate, the propriety of returning to him, if he lived, was unquestionable. The awkwardness of searching for him lay in enlightening Elizabeth, a proceeding which her mother could not endure to contemplate. She finally resolved to undertake the search without confiding to the girl her former relations with Henchard, leaving it to him if they found him to take what steps he might choose to that end. This will account for their conversation at the fair and the half-informed state at which Elizabeth was led onward. In this attitude they proceeded on their journey, trusting solely to the dim light afforded of Henchard’s whereabouts by the furmity woman. The strictest economy was indispensable. Sometimes they might have been seen on foot, sometimes on farmers’ waggons, sometimes in carriers’ vans; and thus they drew near to Casterbridge. Elizabeth-Jane discovered to her alarm that her mother’s health was not what it once had been, and there was ever and anon in her talk that renunciatory tone which showed that, but for the girl, she would not be very sorry to quit a life she was growing thoroughly weary of. It was on a Friday evening, near the middle of September and just before dusk, that they reached the summit of a hill within a mile of the place they sought. There were high banked hedges to the coach-road here, and they mounted upon the green turf within, and sat down. The spot commanded a full view of the town and its environs. “What an old-fashioned place it seems to be!” said Elizabeth-Jane, while her silent mother mused on other things than topography. “It is huddled all together; and it is shut in by a square wall of trees, like a plot of garden ground by a box-edging.” Its squareness was, indeed, the characteristic which most struck the eye in this antiquated borough, the borough of Casterbridge — at that time,

361

11/14/12 4:38 PM

recent as it was, untouched by the faintest sprinkle of modernism. It was compact as a box of dominoes. It had no suburbs — in the ordinary sense. Country and town met at a mathematical line. To birds of the more soaring kind Casterbridge must have appeared on this fine evening as a mosaicwork of subdued reds, browns, greys, and crystals, held together by a rectangular frame of deep green. To the level eye of humanity it stood as an indistinct mass behind a dense stockade of limes and chestnuts, set in the midst of miles of rotund down and concave field. The mass became gradually dissected by the vision into towers, gables, chimneys, and casements, the highest glazings shining bleared and bloodshot with the coppery fire they caught from the belt of sunlit cloud in the west. From the centre of each side of this tree-bound square ran avenues east, west, and south into the wide expanse of cornland and coomb to the distance of a mile or so. It was by one of these avenues that the pedestrians were about to enter. Before they had risen to proceed two men passed outside the hedge, engaged in argumentative conversation. “Why, surely,” said Elizabeth, as they receded, “those men mentioned the name of Henchard in their talk — the name of our relative?” “I thought so too,” said Mrs. Newson. “That seems a hint to us that he is still here.” “Yes.” —”

“Shall I run after them, and ask them about him

“No, no, no! Not for the world just yet. He may be in the workhouse, or in the stocks, for all we know.” “Dear me — why should you think that, mother?” “’Twas just something to say — that’s all! But we must make private inquiries.” Having sufficiently rested they proceeded on their way at evenfall. The dense trees of the avenue rendered the road dark as a tunnel, though the open land on each side was still under a faint daylight, in other words, they passed down a midnight between two gloamings. The features of the town had a keen interest for Elizabeth’s mother, now that the human

side came to the fore. As soon as they had wandered about they could see that the stockade of gnarled trees which framed in Casterbridge was itself an avenue, standing on a low green bank or escarpment, with a ditch yet visible without. Within the avenue and bank was a wall more or less discontinuous, and within the wall were packed the abodes of the burghers. Though the two women did not know it these external features were but the ancient defences of the town, planted as a promenade. The lamplights now glimmered through the engirdling trees, conveying a sense of great smugness and comfort inside, and rendering at the same time the unlighted country without strangely solitary and vacant in aspect, considering its nearness to life. The difference between burgh and champaign was increased, too, by sounds which now reached them above others — the notes of a brass band. The travellers returned into the High Street, where there were timber houses with overhanging stories, whose small-paned lattices were screened by dimity curtains on a drawing-string, and under whose bargeboards old cobwebs waved in the breeze. There were houses of brick-nogging, which derived their chief support from those adjoining. There were slate roofs patched with tiles, and tile roofs patched with slate, with occasionally a roof of thatch. The agricultural and pastoral character of the people upon whom the town depended for its existence was shown by the class of objects displayed in the shop windows. Scythes, reap-hooks, sheepshears, bill-hooks, spades, mattocks, and hoes at the iron-monger’s; bee-hives, butter-firkins, churns, milking stools and pails, hay-rakes, field-flagons, and seed-lips at the cooper’s; cart-ropes and ploughharness at the saddler’s; carts, wheel-barrows, and mill-gear at the wheelwright’s and machinist’s, horse-embrocations at the chemist’s; at the glover’s and leather-cutter’s, hedging-gloves, thatchers’ knee-caps, ploughmen’s leggings, villagers’ pattens and clogs. They came to a grizzled church, whose massive square tower rose unbroken into the darkening sky, the lower parts being illuminated by the nearest lamps sufficiently to show how completely the mortar from the joints of the stonework had been

362

British Literature Student wCB.indb 362

11/14/12 4:38 PM

nibbled out by time and weather, which had planted in the crevices thus made little tufts of stone-crop and grass almost as far up as the very battlements. From this tower the clock struck eight, and thereupon a bell began to toll with a peremptory clang. The curfew was still rung in Casterbridge, and it was utilized by the inhabitants as a signal for shutting their shops. No sooner did the deep notes of the bell throb between the house-fronts than a clatter of shutters arose through the whole length of the High Street. In a few minutes business at Casterbridge was ended for the day.

“Ye may as well look for manna-food as good bread in Casterbridge just now,” she said, after directing them. “They can blare their trumpets and thump their drums, and have their roaring dinners” — waving her hand towards a point further along the street, where the brass band could be seen standing in front of an illuminated building — but we must needs be put-to for want of a wholesome crust. There’s less good bread than good beer in Casterbridge now.”

Other clocks struck eight from time to time — one gloomily from the gaol, another from the gable of an almshouse, with a preparative creak of machinery, more audible than the note of the bell; a row of tall, varnished case-clocks from the interior of a clock-maker’s shop joined in one after another just as the shutters were enclosing them, like a row of actors delivering their final speeches before the fall of the curtain; then chimes were heard stammering out the Sicilian Mariners’ Hymn; so that chronologists of the advanced school were appreciably on their way to the next hour before the whole business of the old one was satisfactorily wound up.

“How does it happen there’s no good bread?” asked Mrs. Henchard.

In an open space before the church walked a woman with her gown-sleeves rolled up so high that the edge of her underlinen was visible, and her skirt tucked up through her pocket hole. She carried a load under her arm from which she was pulling pieces of bread, and handing them to some other women who walked with her, which pieces they nibbled critically. The sight reminded Mrs. Henchard-Newson and her daughter that they had an appetite; and they inquired of the woman for the nearest baker’s.

“And less good beer than swipes,” said a man with his hands in his pockets.

“Oh, ‘tis the corn-factor — he’s the man that our millers and bakers all deal wi’, and he has sold ‘em growed wheat, which they didn’t know was growed, so they SAY, till the dough ran all over the ovens like quicksilver; so that the loaves be as flat as toads, and like suet pudden inside. I’ve been a wife, and I’ve been a mother, and I never see such unprincipled bread in Casterbridge as this before. — But you must be a real stranger here not to know what’s made all the poor volks’ insides plim like blowed bladders this week?” “I am,” said Elizabeth’s mother shyly. Not wishing to be observed further till she knew more of her future in this place, she withdrew with her daughter from the speaker’s side. Getting a couple of biscuits at the shop indicated as a temporary substitute for a meal, they next bent their steps instinctively to where the music was playing.

http://www.gutenberg.org/

Assignments •

Warm-up: Is omniscient narration the best approach? Would first person be better?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 28-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

363

British Literature Student wCB.indb 363

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Foils are characters whose sole purpose is to develop the main character. Discuss the role of the following foils.

Foils

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-C

Susan Henchard:

Henchard

Donald Farfrae:

Elizabeth-Jane:

364

British Literature Student wCB.indb 364

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Critics Corner ON HARDY’S PURPOSE Who, comparing the ways of Henchard and Farfrae, will easily choose between them? Certainly not Hardy. He is too canny, too reflective for an unambiguous stand, and his first loyalty is neither to Henchard nor Farfrae but the larger community of Wessex. Hardy’s feelings may go out to Henchard but his mind is partly with Farfrae. He knows that in important respects the Scotsman will help bring a better life to Casterbridge, even if a life less vivid and integral. Yet he also recognizes that the narrowing of opportunity for men like Henchard represents a loss in social strength. In his own intuitive and “poetic” way Hardy works toward an attitude of mature complexity, registering gains and losses, transcending the fixed positions of “progress” and “tradition.” — Irving Howe

ON HENCHARD Yet although this relentless decline of Henchard’s is (as we take its meaning) what unifies the book, 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, and he has reserves of affection and humility that they quite lack. The essential is something else though: that his whole nature, good or bad, is centered upon a deep source of vital energy.... Farfrae prospers through skill which the new mode of life has impersonally taught him; Henchard is able to struggle on, though defeated, because not of what he has learnt but of what he is. He blocks out something like the full contour of the human being. — John Holloway

ON PLOT TECHNIQUES The reader’s breath is almost taken away by the succession of surprising turns of the kind so much prized in a certain kind of romance, and now become the staple of the movies. Everything is so disposed that the story shall never lag, that never shall there be a failure of good things for the lover of movement and novelty. . . . The specialty of The Mayor of Casterbridge, and what makes its close affinity to the movie, is the large provision of scenes of violent and surprising action making their appeal directly to the sense of sight. . . . The device of the overheard conversation is also a favorite one in the movies, it gives such scope for that study of facial expression which is so important a feature of movie art. Consider, for example, the picture that Henchard makes as he listens to the love-making of Farfrae and Lucetta, or later to that of Farfrae and Elizabeth. — Joseph Warren Beach

ON THEME Founding itself upon an ancient psychology, The Mayor of Casterbridge celebrates, first of all, the subordination of the passions that link man with nature to the reason that unites him with God. It is Henchard’s tragedy that, like Lear and Othello, he reverses and destroys this order. For when he sells his wife to a sailor for five guineas in violation of the profoundest moral tact, it is at a moment when, under the spell

365

British Literature Student wCB.indb 365

11/14/12 4:38 PM

of the furmity-woman, he has allowed the passions to distort and deform the reason. Indeed, the surrender to passion responsible for the original crime will, in spite of his heroic resolution to give up drinking for [21] years, repeat itself in those sudden angers and indignations that alienate Farfrae, Elizabeth, and Lucetta, among others, and eventually deprive him of the ordinary consolations of love and friendship. The precarious balance between reason and passion will be re-established only at the very end when, thoroughly scourged and chastised, all passion spent, Henchard is displaced by the Farfraes and Elizabeths in whose persons the claims of reason are piously acknowledged. — John Paterson (James K. Robinson, editor, The Mayor of Casterbridge: An Authoritative Text/Backgrounds/Criticism, “The Mayor of Casterbridge as Tragedy,” by John Paterson (New York: W.W. Norton, 1977).

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.”

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 28-D.

•

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

Structure

CONCEPT BUILDER 28-D

Divide The Mayor of Casterbridge into five distinct sections and label each section.

1. ________________

5.

2.

________________

________________

4.

3.

________________

________________

366

British Literature Student wCB.indb 366

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Student Essay: Plot Thomas Hardy’s The Mayor Casterbridge is the tale of a man who rises to power and prominence, but through pride and selfishness destroys the very life he has built. Even though Hardy divides his story into different literary chapters, the book can also be split into five larger sections: the selling of his wife and the immediate aftermath, the wife’s attempt and success to reunite the family, Mrs. Henchard’s death and truth revealed, Mr. Henchard’s deterioration, and Mr. Henchard’s realization of his wrongs and the consequent forgiveness. The first event that occurs which really lays the framework for later chapters and Mr. Henchard’s struggles is the selling of his wife. This incident and the immediate situation afterward is the first section of The Mayor of Casterbridge. “ ‘I’ll tell ye what — I won’t sell her for less than five,’ said the husband . . . ‘I’ll sell her for five guineas to any man that will pay me the money, and treat her well.’ ” Essentially drunk, Henchard allows this act, which apparently he almost committed several times before. The next day, Henchard is sober and realizes what he has done. “Well, I must walk about till I find her.” Finally, in the last part of this first section, Henchard takes an oath to not consume alcohol for 21 years. “I, Michael Henchard, on this morning of the sixteenth of September, do take an oath before God here in this solemn place that I will avoid all strong liquors for the space of twenty-one years to come, being a year for every year that I have lived.” The scene then switches to years later. In this portion of the novel, Henchard’s wife is trying to reunite the family. Ultimately, he succeeds. Mrs. Newson, formerly Mrs. Henchard, along with her fully grown daughter, are walking down a dusty road. They are searching for Mr. Henchard and stumble upon the small town of Casterbridge. “We

might, perhaps after all, make a few enquiries about our relation, Mr. Henchard, whispered Mrs. Newson. . . . And this, I think, would be a good place for trying it — just to ask, you know, how he stands in the town — if he is here, as I think he must be.” In the end, Mrs. Newson and Elizabeth-Jane find him. “ ‘Have you seen him, mother?’ whispered the girl. ‘Yes, yes,’ answered her companion hastily. ‘I have seen him, and it is enough for me! Now I only want to go — pass away — die.’ ” The next few literary chapters follows Mr. Henchard remarrying his wife, and the family living in Casterbridge. Some time later, in part three, Mrs. Henchard dies. “Henchard and Elizabeth sat conversing by the fire. It was three weekls after Mrs. Henchard’s funeral; the candles were not lighted, and a restless, acrobatic flame, poised on a coal, called from the shady walls the smiles of all shapes that could repond.” The remaining two family members are distraught over the death of their wife and mother. In the days and weeks following, Mr. Henchard begins to clean his wife’s belongings. In her desk, he finds a note entitled “Mr. Michael Henchard. Not to be opened till Elizabeth-Jane’s wedding-day.” Curious, he opens the letter and learns a life altering truth. “My Dear Michael . . . I have kept one thing a secret from you till now . . . Elizabeth-Jane is not your daughter.” With the revelation that this girl is not his true daughter, the fourth portion of this story begins. While the idea that Mr. Henchard’s position and reputation in the town of Casterbridge has been declining surfaces immediately upon Mrs. Henchard’s return, it does not become truly evident until after this revelation. When Mr. Henchard had first realized his old wife and daughter were in Casterbridge, he carefully timed the remarriage in

367

British Literature Student wCB.indb 367

11/14/12 4:38 PM

order to hide the truth. Now, with the revelation that Elizabeth-Jane is not his true daughter, Henchard must hide this truth. This is where his downfall begins. Perhaps the largest portion of this novel follows the self-destruction of Mr. Henchard. He loses his position as mayor of Casterbridge, his wealth, and his reputation, as he seeks to find a new wife, but fails in the process. In fact, the man who Henchard helped establish himself in the town marries the woman and becomes the new mayor and wealthy gentleman in Casterbridge. “By this time the marriage that had taken place was known through-out Casterbridge; had been discussed noisily on kerbstones, condifentially behind counters, and jovially at the Three Mariners. Whether Farfae would sell his business and set up for a gentleman on his wife’s money, or whether he would show independence enough to stick to his trade in spite of his brilliant alliance, was a great point of interest.” In the end, Farfae does profit enough to live as a gentleman. Still, this demonstrates Henchard’s self-inflicted downfall and his consequential deterioration as a respected man. In the final portion of Hardy’s brilliant novel, Mr. Henchard seeks forgiveness for his past deeds. By this time, the man to whom Henchard sold his wife and child, Mr. Newson, has come to Casterbridge. Elizabeth-Jane is now fully aware that she is Mr. Newson’s daughter. She is suspicious of Henchard for hiding this information from her. Mr. Farfae’s wife, whom Mr. Henchard was going to marry, has died, and Farfae has taken Elizabeth-Jane as his wife, as Mrs. Henchard originally had hoped. At the wedding reception, Mr. Henchard tries to mend his family ties. “Oh my maid — I see you have

another — a real father in my place. Then you know all; but don’t give all your thought to him! Do ye save a little room for me!” As the reader may expect, Elizabeth-Jane is appalled by such statements and essentially tells Henchard to leave, since he has been so deceptive. Later, when Elizabeth-Jane reads a piece of paper one of Mr. Henchard’s friends has delivered to her, she changes her mind. By now, Henchard is gone and will never return. Elizabeth, in reponse to this note, says “Oh, Donald . . . what bitterness lies there! Oh, I would not have minded so much if it had not been for my unkindness at that last parting! . . . But there’s no altering — so it must be.” Elizabeth Jane now forgives Henchard in her heart, but will never be able to make that forgiveness known to Henchard. This is the last and final section of Hardy’s novel. As mentioned earlier, Thomas Hardy’s story The Mayor of Casterbridge can be divided into five distinct sections. In the first, Henchard sells his wife and realizes his wrong afterward. Although he cannot find them, he takes an oath to abstain from drink for 21 years. Next, Hardy switches to Elizabeth-Jane and her mother searching for their father and husband. She finds him and the family is reunited. In part three, Mrs. Henchard dies and the truth about Elizabeth Jane is learned. Then, Henchard’s position and prominence in the town begins to deteriorate. Finally, Henchard tries to mend his relationship with Elizabeth Jane. She refuses at first, but forgives him after receiving a wrenching note from him. These are the five sections that The Mayor of Casterbridge can be divided into and make the story easy to follow and study. (Chris)

Assignments •

Warm-up: Most modern readers are surprised by how contemporary Hardy’s themes and characters seem. What do you think?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 28-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 28 test.

368

British Literature Student wCB.indb 368

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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

369

British Literature Student wCB.indb 369

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Chapter 29

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 In chapter 29 we enter the heart of darkness, in earnest, in this most frustrating of novels!

As a result of this chapter study you will be able to . . . 1. Analyze the point of view. 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.

370

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide.

History connections: British History chapter 29, “Causes of World War I.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 370

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Tone In naturalistic novels, like Lord Jim, storms inevitably portray the storm that is so much a part of the hopeless human condition. A storm rages outside the hotel — a reflection of Jim’s turbulent emotions. As Jim gradually refocuses, the storm dies down.

CHAPTER 17 He came in at last; but I believe it was mostly the rain that did it; it was falling just then with a devastating violence which quieted down gradually while we talked. His manner was very sober and set; his bearing was that of a naturally taciturn man possessed by an idea. My talk was of the material aspect of his position; it had the sole aim of saving him from the degradation, ruin, and despair that out there close so swiftly upon a friendless, homeless man; I pleaded with him to accept my help; I argued reasonably: and every time I looked up at that absorbed smooth face, so grave and youthful, I had a disturbing sense of being no help but rather an obstacle to some mysterious, inexplicable, impalpable striving of his wounded spirit. “I suppose you intend to eat and drink and to sleep under shelter in the usual way,” I remember saying with irritation. “You say you won’t touch the money that is due to you.” . . . He came as near as his sort can to making a gesture of horror. (There were three weeks and five days’ pay owing him as mate of the Patna.) “Well, that’s too little to matter anyhow; but what will you do to-morrow? Where will you turn? You must live . . .” “That isn’t the thing,” was the comment that escaped him under his breath. I ignored it, and went on combating what I assumed to be the scruples of an exaggerated delicacy. “On every conceivable ground,” I concluded, “you must let me help you.” “You can’t,” he said very simply and gently, and holding fast to some deep idea which I could detect shimmering like a pool of water in the

dark, but which I despaired of ever approaching near enough to fathom. I surveyed his well-proportioned bulk. “At any rate,” I said, “I am able to help what I can see of you. I don’t pretend to do more.” He shook his head sceptically without looking at me. I got very warm. “But I can,” I insisted. “I can do even more. I am doing more. I am trusting you . . .” “The money . . .” he began. “Upon my word you deserve being told to go to the devil,” I cried, forcing the note of indignation. He was startled, smiled, and I pressed my attack home. “It isn’t a question of money at all. You are too superficial,” I said (and at the same time I was thinking to myself: Well, here goes! And perhaps he is, after all). “Look at the letter I want you to take. I am writing to a man of whom I’ve never asked a favour, and I am writing about you in terms that one only ventures to use when speaking of an intimate friend. I make myself unreservedly responsible for you. That’s what I am doing. And really if you will only reflect a little what that means . . .” He lifted his head. The rain had passed away; only the water-pipe went on shedding tears with an absurd drip, drip outside the window. It was very quiet in the room, whose shadows huddled together in corners, away from the still flame of the candle flaring upright in the shape of a dagger; his face after a while seemed suffused by a reflection of a soft light as if the dawn had broken already. “Jove!” he gasped out. “It is noble of you!” Had he suddenly put out his tongue at me in derision, I could not have felt more humiliated. I

371

British Literature Student wCB.indb 371

11/14/12 4:38 PM

thought to myself — Serve me right for a sneaking humbug. . . . His eyes shone straight into my face, but I perceived it was not a mocking brightness. All at once he sprang into jerky agitation, like one of those flat wooden figures that are worked by a string. His arms went up, then came down with a slap. He became another man altogether. “And I had never seen,” he shouted; then suddenly bit his lip and frowned. “What a bally ass I’ve been,” he said very slow in an awed tone. . . . “You are a brick!” he cried next in a muffled voice. He snatched my hand as though he had just then seen it for the first time, and dropped it at once. “Why! this is what I — you — I . . .” he stammered, and then with a return of his old stolid, I may say mulish, manner he began heavily, “I would be a brute now if I . . .” and then his voice seemed to break. “That’s all right,” I said. I was almost alarmed by this display of feeling, through which pierced a strange elation. I had pulled the string accidentally, as it were; I did not fully understand the working of the toy. “I must go now,” he said. “Jove! You have helped me. Can’t sit still. The very thing . . .” He looked at me with puzzled admiration. “The very thing . . .” Of course it was the thing. It was ten to one that I had saved him from starvation — of that peculiar sort that is almost invariably associated with drink. This was all. I had not a single illusion on that score, but looking at him, I allowed myself to wonder at the nature of the one he had, within the last three minutes, so evidently taken into his bosom. I had forced into his hand the means to carry on decently the serious business of life, to get food, drink, and shelter of the customary kind while his wounded spirit, like a bird with a broken wing, might hop and flutter into some hole to die quietly of inanition there. This is what I had thrust upon him: a definitely small thing; and — behold! — by the manner of its reception it loomed in the dim light of the candle like a big, indistinct, perhaps a dangerous

shadow. “You don’t mind me not saying anything appropriate,” he burst out. “There isn’t anything one could say. Last night already you had done me no end of good. Listening to me — you know. I give you my word I’ve thought more than once the top of my head would fly off . . .” He darted — positively darted — here and there, rammed his hands into his pockets, jerked them out again, flung his cap on his head. I had no idea it was in him to be so airily brisk. I thought of a dry leaf imprisoned in an eddy of wind, while a mysterious apprehension, a load of indefinite doubt, weighed me down in my chair. He stood stock-still, as if struck motionless by a discovery. “You have given me confidence,” he declared, soberly. “Oh! for God’s sake, my dear fellow — don’t!” I entreated, as though he had hurt me. “All right. I’ll shut up now and henceforth. Can’t prevent me thinking though. . . . Never mind! . . . I’ll show yet . . .” He went to the door in a hurry, paused with his head down, and came back, stepping deliberately. “I always thought that if a fellow could begin with a clean slate . . . And now you . . . in a measure . . . yes . . . clean slate.” I waved my hand, and he marched out without looking back; the sound of his footfalls died out gradually behind the closed door — the unhesitating tread of a man walking in broad daylight. But as to me, left alone with the solitary candle, I remained strangely unenlightened. I was no longer young enough to behold at every turn the magnificence that besets our insignificant footsteps in good and in evil. I smiled to think that, after all, it was yet he, of us two, who had the light. And I felt sad. A clean slate, did he say? As if the initial word of each our destiny were not graven in imperishable characters upon the face of a rock (www.gutenberg.org/).

372

British Literature Student wCB.indb 372

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments Warm-up: Give another example of an author using the setting to set the tone of the novel, poem, or shortstory.

•

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.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 29.

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-A

•

Read Joseph Conrad’s Lord Jim (Cchapter 1) and respond to the following:

1

What sort of man is Lord Jim?

2

Why was Jim trying to remain anonymous?

3

At the beginning of his life Jim was a romantic. Explain.

373

British Literature Student wCB.indb 373

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Theme The horizons Jim dreamed of are unattainable, the heroic dreams he imagined to himself he cannot realize in action, life consecrated to an ideal of conduct cannot be lived, not only because of the ungovernable hostility of baser men but also because of the inexpugnable weaknesses in the ideal itself. But the feelings that lie at the root of all these aspirations and ideals — you cannot give the lie to those. Such would seem to be Marlow’s point. And it is because of the unflagging persistence of those feelings, their determination to operate at the highest attainable level, that both Marlow and Stein are inclined to speak of the “truth” of Jim’s later life. The terrible unavoidable truth about Jim is that “he is not good enough” — the worst truth to Conrad is that “nobody, nobody is good enough.” Jim cannot triumph over the ugly facts (a key word in the novel) though he spends his time trying to: he cannot “lay the ghost” of the ugly fact that he himself embodies and must carry with him wherever he goes. . . . But these facts are true — which is why truth is always referred to as “painful” or “sinister” in the later Conrad. Jim, despite the Platonic halo and the author’s efforts to shore him up poetically, is not finally true. Or not true enough for the relentlessly penetrating eye of Conrad. The realists have no ideals — thus their lives are ugly. But the idealist has no grip on reality: he cannot live properly at all. Lord Jim is a prelude to profound pessimism.

— Tony Tanner (“Butterflies and Beetles: Conrad’s Two Truths” Chicago Review 16, Winter-Spring 1963: p. 123–140)

Assignments •

Warm-up: If you could spend an hour with Lord Jim, what would you tell him that might encourage him?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 29-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.

374

British Literature Student wCB.indb 374

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

Lord Jim Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

375

British Literature Student wCB.indb 375

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 3

Point of View Lord Jim was written by an author who learned English as his third language. In addition to this accomplishment, Joseph Conrad wrote a beautiful and magnificent novel about the story of a man’s life. Throughout the plot, Conrad uses two types of narration. In the first few chapters he employs third-person narration, while the story later changes to limited omniscient narration. Using these techniques, Conrad tells the story through the eyes of one individual, Marlow, yet allows this character to both interact and understand the characters in the story. This adds not only suspense for the reader, but a clear picture of the story’s events and each character’s reaction. Third-person narration is used initially. “He was an inch, perhaps two, under six feet, powerfully built and he advanced straight at you with a slight stoop of the shoulders, head forward, and a fixed fromunder stare which made you think of a charging bull. His voice was deep, loud, and his manner displayed a kind of dogged self-assertion which had nothing aggressive in it. . . . He was spotlessly neat, appareled in immaculate white from shoes to hat, and in the various Eastern ports where he got his living as ship-chandler’s water clerk he was very popular.” These are the opening words to Lord Jim. Like any other author would do, Conrad must provide some basic information upon which he can build the plot. Notice the message Conrad is attempting to convey here. There appears to be a man who has the potential to harm and inflict suffering upon others, like a bull does, but retains self-control. Conrad must illustrate this point to confirm part of this man’s character, and third-person narration is the most effective way to communicate this idea. The reader may not believe Conrad if this man spoke these words himself. Likewise, if one of this man’s friends

were speaking such words, the reader would be asking “Really? Is that really the way you would describe him?” Third-person narration allows the reader to see a snapshot of how an ordinary person would observe this unique character. Such a description continues for several paragraphs. Then, suddenly, it changes, and the man is given a name and the character becomes much more personal. Although the reader may not realize it, this is the point at which Marlow begins narrating, and the reader can gain more insight into who Jim truly is. “To the white men in the waterside business and to the captains of ships he was just Jim — nothing more. He had, of course, another name, but he was anxious that it should not be pronounced. His incognito, which had as many holes as a sieve, was not meant to hide a personality but a fact. When the fact broke through the incognito he would leave suddenly the seaport where he happened to be at the time and go to another — generally farther east.” The reader now learns that Jim is faking his identity. An impersonal third narration like the initial lines would not reveal this information or reveal why Jim was faking his true identity. However, Marlow does. “He kept to seaports because he was a seaman in exile from the sea, and had ability in the abstract, which is good for no other work but that of a water-clerk. . . . Thus in the course of years he was known successively in Bombay, in Calcutta, in Rangoon, in Penang, in Batavia — and in each of these halting-places was just Jim, the water-clerk. Afterwards, when his keen perception of the Intolerable drove him away for good from seaports and white men, even into the virgin forest, the Malays of the jungle village, where he had elected to conceal his deplorable faculty, added a word to the monosyllable of his incognito. They called him Tuan

376

British Literature Student wCB.indb 376

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Jim: as one might say — Lord Jim.” Thus, Marlow hints at some events where Jim had reason to doubt himself and eventually drive himself into exile. This not only adds a sense of suspense for the reader but also reveals deeper information about Jim himself. “He confessed that his knees wobbled a good deal as he stood on the foredeck looking at another sleeping crowd. The engines having been stopped by that time, the steam was blowing off. Its deep rumble made the whole night vibrate like a bass string. The ship trembled to it.” At this point, Jim is retelling his life story to Marlow. Marlow is in turn telling the story to the reader. It is evident that something is wrong with the ship Patna upon which Jim and the 800 Muslim pilgrims are on. The reader must read further to understand what happens. Obviously, then, it is a suspenseful scene. Unfortunately for the reader but fortunate for Conrad, Marlowe does not reveal the source of the vibration. Instead, the scene changes again. “I thought I would choke before I got drowned.” Now the reader is receiving the story straight from Jim’s own mind. This makes it more personal and realistic, as Jim could convey the scene better than Marlow ever could. Once again, both suspense and more information are revealed. Finally, in the last chapters of the novel, limited omniscient narration is again seen. “What thoughts

passed through his head — what memories? Who can tell? Everything was gone, and he who had been once unfaithful to his trust had lost again all men’s confidence. It was then, I believe, he tried to write — to somebody — and gave it up. Loneliness was closing on him. People had trusted him with their lives — only for that; and yet they could never, as he had said, never be made to understand him.” Marlow and Tamb’ Itam are discussing Jim’s life. Marlow, although not revealing such thought to Tamb’ Itam, makes them known to the reader. Marlow is in deep thought about how Jim related to other men, and the reader can once again understand Jim’s impact on his community. The limited omniscient narration employed in Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad allows Conrad to both reveal and hide information as he pleases. The first view of Jim may seem strange to the reader, but as the story progresses Marlow provides more insight into Jim’s character. When Jim abandons the Patna, the narration keeps the story suspenseful as the reader has no explanation for the sudden vibration. Finally, the story closes with Marlow reflecting on Jim’s life and providing a summary of who Jim was. In this way, Conrad is able to produce a masterful novel that continues to attract readers.

Assignments •

Warm-up: What are the narrative points of view, and do you agree with Conrad’s choices?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 29-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

377

British Literature Student wCB.indb 377

11/14/12 4:38 PM

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.

Lord Jim

378

British Literature Student wCB.indb 378

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 4

Student Essay: Character Development Lord Jim, by Joseph Conrad, is the tale of a sailor in the southern Pacific. Throughout the novel, he learns to become selfless, as he initially only thinks of himself but later thinks of others. This is the theme and the underlying message of Conrad’s magnificent work. As Conrad builds his plot, it is evident that Jim is on the sea for adventure. He works as a water-clerk on a ship and has become friendly with many individuals in various ports. There seems to be something Jim may be trying to hide, but he has constructed a personality that many appear to enjoy, as evident from his popularity. A few pages later, the reader learns about Jim’s dreams. “He saw himself saving people from sinking ships, cutting away masts in a hurricane, swimming through the surf with a line; or as a lonely castaway, barefooted, and half-naked, walking on uncovered reefs in search of shellfish to stave off starvation. He confronted savages on tropical shores, quelled mutinies on the high seas, and in a small boat upon the ocean kept up the hearts of despairing men — always an example of devotion to duty, and as unflinching as a hero in a book.” Once again, these thoughts may be innocent by themselves, but as the reader later sees, thoughts like this cause Jim to act selfishly. These verses indicate Jim wished to have a noble life, with much adventure and heroic acts, as any man would. However it seems Jim may have thought of these scenes only for his pleasure. From the text it is evident Jim would not want to save people from sinking ships simply to save them, but to be able to tell others and receive popularity back in port. These thoughts make an impact on Jim. When the ship Patna, loaded with 800 Muslim pilgrims springs a leak, Jim only thinks of himself. Now, any

sane human would want to save himself, but Jim acts selfishly. “When I got onto the bridge at last the beggars were getting one of the boats of the chocks. A boat! . . . Somehow I had my mind not to be surprised at anything. All this seemed natural — and awful and awful.” Notice Jim’s words here. He was shocked that the crew was lowering boats off the Patna. He knew the Muslim pilgrims on board would all die if the ship sank. Despite this, which he confesses, he still made the decision to abandon ship. Jim, despite his past thoughts of heroically rescuing people from sinking ships, only saved himself. After an investigation into Jim and his fellow sailors abandoning the Patna, Jim is depressed. In fact, he is ashamed of his actions. To cope, he exiles himself to a remote region where only natives live. Here in this land, the white settlers are trying to overthrow the natives. Jim rises up and defends the natives. “The thirty or forty men standing with their muskets at ready outside the stockade held their breath. . . . ‘If you think it worth your while to wait a day outside’ called Jim ‘I’ll try to send you down something — bullocks, some yams what I can.’ ‘Yes, do’ said a voice, blank, and muffled out of the fog. Not one of the many attentive listeners understood what the words meant, and then Brown and his men in their boat floated away.” Jim did not run and try to save himself. Instead, he fought against the invading people and saved the natives. Conrad’s main character experiences a change in heart. Instead of living for himself, as he did in the first half of the book, and especially on the Patna, where he jumps overboard to save himself, Jim becomes a selfless person by the end of the novel. His mind shifts from how he can please himself to how he can help others, specifically the natives.

379

British Literature Student wCB.indb 379

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

Warm-up: Does Conrad logically, credibly develop his character Lord Jim?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 29-D.

•

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

Delineate several themes that Conrad develops. There are many different answers.

Can Lord Jim be forgiven for his bad choice?

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 29-D

Redemption & Forgiveness:

Themes

380

British Literature Student wCB.indb 380

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 5

Critics Corner LORD JIM: ON CONRAD’S VIEW OF JIM

The crux of it all is that at the end we ask what precisely Conrad’s intentions were — did he approve of Jim or did he not? And there is no answer to that question — none but the simple, all-sufficing one, that he strove “to make us see.” We do see Jim as Conrad, a man of vision, saw him, and we are left with that spectacle to make what we can of it for ourselves. —E  dward Crankshaw (Joseph Conrad: Some Aspects of the Art of the Novel, London: John Lane, 1936).

LORD JIM: ON JIM’S DENIAL

In contrast with the captain of [Conrad’s story] “The Secret Sharer,” Jim repudiates the other-self that has been revealed to him; at no time does he consciously acknowledge that it was himself who jumped from the Patna — it was only his body that had jumped; and his career thenceforth is an attempt to prove before men that the gross fact of the jump belied his identity. —D  orothy Van Ghent (The English Novel: Form and Function, New York: Rinehart, 1953).

LORD JIM: JIM AND BROWN Dramatically as well as theoretically, Lord Jim is a story of sympathies, projections, empathies . . . and loyalties. The central relationship is that of Marlow and Jim. We can see why Jim needs Marlow, as an “ally, a helper, an accomplice.” He cannot believe in himself unless he has found another to do so. And he needs a judge, witness, and advocate in the solitude of his battle with himself. All this is evident. But why does Marlow go so far out of his way, very far really, to help Jim? He speaks of the fellowship of the craft, of being his very young brother’s keeper, of loyalty to “one of us,” of mere curiosity, of a moral need to explore and test a standard of conduct. And we may say with much truth that this is a novel of a moving and enduring friendship between an older and a younger man. But Marlow . . . acknowledges a more intimate or more selfish alliance. He is loyal to Jim as one must be to another or potential self, to the criminally weak self that may still exist. . . . Marlow is not fatally paralyzed or immobilized by this young “double.” But Big Brierly is. . . . Marlow sees, in retrospect, that “at bottom Poor Brierly must have been thinking of himself ” when he wanted Jim to clear out. He had recognized in Jim an unsuspected potential self; he had looked into himself for the first time. . . . But the episode’s chief function is to prepare us to understand (or at least accept) Jim’s paralyzed identification with Gentleman Brown and suicidal refusal to fight him; and to prepare us, also, for the deliberateness of Jim’s march up to Doramin. —  Albert J. Guerard (Conrad the Novelist, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1958).

381

British Literature Student wCB.indb 381

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Assignments •

Warm-up: : Which critic do you find most convincing?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 29-E.

•

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, a young sailor makes a bad choice

382

British Literature Student wCB.indb 382

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Chapter 30

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 wellwritten literature that has slipped from its efficacious theological and worldview moorings. Has it crossed the “creepy line”?

Chapter Learning Objectives In chapter 30, we read

some of the best short stories in Western literature but whose worldview leaves much to be desired. 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 of the Teacher Guide. 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.

383

History connections: British History chapter 30, “World War I.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 383

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 1

Stevie Smith Stevie Smith (1902–1972), born Florence Margaret Smith, has been compared to American poet-humorist Ogden Nash, (Gilbert and Gubar, The Norton Anthology of Literature by Women, p. 1617) even though her poetry has a more “mordant and (occasionally) more morbid” tone than Nash. Her first volume of verse, A Good Time Was Had by All, was followed by two novels and over ten collections of poetry. “Ranging from satiric melancholy to ferocious irony, Smith’s work both celebrated and criticized the customs of a slowly declining British Empire” (Ibid., p. 1618). Smith worked as a writer and broadcaster for the BBC and is noted for her alacrity and acid humor. Smith won the Queen’s Gold Medal for poetry in 1969, two years before her death.

Not Waving but Drowning Nobody heard him, the dead man,

Oh, no no no, it was too cold always

But still he lay moaning:

(Still the dead one lay moaning)

I was much further out than you thought

I was much too far out all my life

And not waving but drowning.

And not waving but drowning.

Poor chap, he always loved larking And now he’s dead It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way, They said. Ibid., p. 1621.

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.

384

British Literature Student wCB.indb 384

11/14/12 4:38 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-A

Read Stevie Smith’s “Not Waving But Drowning” and respond to the following:

Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning: I was much further out than you thought And not waving but drowning.

What is the first image the reader encounters? What effect does this have on the reader?

Poor chap, he always loved larking And now he’s dead It must have been too cold for him his heart gave way, They said. 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.

What moral lesson does the author connect with this disturbing image?

385

British Literature Student wCB.indb 385

11/14/12 4:38 PM

LESSON 2

Short Stories “Miss Brill” Although it was so brilliantly fine — the blue sky powdered with gold and great spots of light like white wine splashed over the Jardins Publiques — Miss Brill was glad that she had decided on her fur. The air was motionless, but when you opened your mouth there was just a faint chill, like a chill from a glass of iced water before you sip, and now and again a leaf came drifting — from nowhere, from the sky. Miss Brill put up her hand and touched her fur. Dear little thing! It was nice to feel it again. She had taken it out of its box that afternoon, shaken out the moth powder, given it a good brush, and rubbed the life back into the dim little eyes. “What has been happening to me?” said the sad little eyes. Oh, how sweet it was to see them snap at her again from the red eiderdown! . . . but the nose, which was of some black composition, wasn’t at all firm. It must have had a knock, somehow. Never mind — a little dab of black sealing wax when the time came — when it was absolutely necessary . . . little rogue! Yes, she really felt like that about it. Little rogue biting its tail just by her left ear. She could have taken it off and laid it on her lap and stroked it. She felt a tingling in her hands and arms, but that came from walking, she supposed. And when she breathed, something light and sad — no, not sad, exactly — something gentle seemed to move in her bosom. There were a number of people out this afternoon, far more than last Sunday. And the band sounded louder and gayer. That was because the Season had begun. For although he band played all the year round on Sundays, out of season it was never the same. It was like some one playing with only the family to listen; it didn’t care how it played if there weren’t any strangers present. Wasn’t the

Katherine Mansfield conductor wearing a new coat, too? She was sure it was new. He scraped with his foot and flapped his arms like a rooster about to crow, and the bandsmen sitting in the green rotunda blew out their cheeks and glared at the music. Now there came a little “flutey” bit — very pretty! — a little chain of bright drops. She was sure it would be repeated. It was; she lifted her head and smiled. Only two people shared her “special” seat; a fine old man in a velvet coat, his hands clasped over a huge carved walking stick, and a big old woman, sitting upright, with a roll of knitting on her embroidered apron. They did not speak. This was disappointing, for Miss Brill always looked forward to the conversation. She had become really quite expert, she thought, at listening as though she didn’t listen, at sitting in other people’s lives just for a minute while they talked round her. She glanced, sideways, at the old couple. Perhaps they would go soon. Last Sunday, too, hadn’t been as interesting as usual. An Englishman and his wife, he wearing a dreadful Panama hat and she button boots. And she’d gone on the whole time about how she ought to wear spectacles; she knew she needed them; but that it was no good getting any; they’d be sure to break and they’d never keep on. And he’d been so patient. He’d suggested everything — gold rims, the kind that curve round your ears, little pads inside the bridge. No nothing would please her. “They’ll always be sliding down my nose!” Miss Brill had wanted to shake her. The old people sat on a bench, still as statues. Never mind, there was always the crowd to watch. To and fro, in front of the flower beds and the band

386

British Literature Student wCB.indb 386

11/14/12 4:39 PM

rotunda, the couples and groups paraded, stopped to talk, to greet, to buy a handful of flowers from the old beggar who had his tray fixed to the railings. Little children ran among them, swooping and laughing; little boys with big white silk bows under their chins, little girls, little French dolls, dressed up in velvet and lace. And sometimes a tiny staggerer came suddenly rocking into the open from under the trees, stopped, stated, as suddenly sat down “flop,” until its small high-stepping mother, like a young hen, rushed scolding to its rescue. Other people sat on the benches and green chairs, but they were nearly always the same, Sunday after Sunday, and — Miss Brill had often noticed — there was something funny about nearly all of them. They were off, silent, nearly all old, and from the way they stared they looked as though they’d just come from dark little rooms or even — even cupboards! Behind the rotunda the slender trees with yellow leaves down drooping, and through them just a line of sea, and beyond the blue sky with gold-veined clouds. Tum-tum-tum tittle-um! tiddle-um! tum tiddle-um tum ta! blew the band. Two young girls in red came by and two young soldiers in blue met them, and they laughed and paired and went off arm-in-arm. Two peasant women with funny straw hats passed, gravely, leading beautiful smoke-colored donkeys. A cold, pale nun hurried by. A beautiful woman came along and dropped her bunch of violets, and a little boy ran after to hand them to her, and she took them and threw them away as if they’d been poisoned. Dear me! Miss Brill didn’t know whether to admire that or not! And now an ermine toque and a gentleman in gray met just in front of her. He was tall, stiff, dignified, and she was wearing the ermine toque she’d bought when her hair was -yellow. Now everything, her hair, her face, even her eyes, was the same color as the shabby ermine, and her hand, in its cleaned glove, lifted to dab her lips, was a tiny yellowish paw. Oh, she was so pleased to see him — delighted! She rather thought they were going to meet that afternoon. She described where she’d been — everywhere, here, there, along by the sea. The day was so charming — didn’t he agree? And wouldn’t he, perhaps? . . . But he shook his head, lighted a cigarette, slowly breathed a great deep puff into her face, and even while she was still talking and laughing, flicked the match away and

walked on. The ermine toque was alone; she smiled more brightly than ever. But even the band seemed to know what she was feeling and played more softly, played tenderly, and the drum beat, “The Brute! The Brute!” over and over. What would she do? What was going to happen now? But as Miss Brill wondered, the ermine toque turned, raised her hand as though she’d seen someone else, much nicer, just over there, and pattered away. And the band changed again and played more quickly, more gayly than ever, and the old couple on Miss Brill’s seat got up and marched away, and such a funny old man with long whiskers hobbled along in time to the music and was nearly knocked over by four girls walking abreast. Oh, how fascinating it was! How she enjoyed it! How she loved sitting here, watching it all! It was like a play. It was exactly like a play. Who could believe the sky at the back wasn’t painted? But is wasn’t till a little brown dog trotted on solemn and then slowly trotted off, like a little “theatre” dog, a little dog that had been drugged, that Miss Brill discovered what it was that made it so exciting. They were all on stage. They weren’t only the audience, no only looking on; they were acting. Even she had a part and came every Sunday. No doubt somebody would have noticed if she hadn’t been there; she was part of the performance after all. How strange she’d never thought of it like that before! And yet it explained why she made such point of starting from home at just the same time each week — so as not to be late for the performance — and it also explained why she had a queer, shy feeling at telling her English pupils how she spend her Sunday afternoons. No wonder! Miss Brill nearly laughed out loud. She was on the stage. She thought of the old invalid gentleman to whom she read the newspaper four afternoons a week awhile he slept in the garden. She had got quite used to the frail head on the cotton pillow, the hollowed eyes, the open mouth and the high pinched nose. If he’d been dead she mightn’t have noticed for weeks; she wouldn’t have minded. But suddenly he knew he was having the paper read to him by an actress! “An actress!” The old head lifted; two points of light quivered in the old eyes. “An actress — are ye?” And Miss Brill smoothed the newspaper as though it were the manuscript of her part and said gently; “Yes, I have been an actress for a long time.”

387

British Literature Student wCB.indb 387

11/14/12 4:39 PM

The band had been having a rest. Now they started again. And what they played was warm, sunny, yet there was just a faint chill — a something, what was it? — not sadness — no, not sadness — a something that made you want to sing. The tune lifted, lifted, the light shone; and it seemed to Miss Brill that in another moment all of them, all the whole company, would begin singing. The young ones, the laughing ones who were moving together, they would begin and the men’s voices, very resolute and brave, would join them. And then she too, she too, and the others on the benches — they would come in with a kind of accompaniment — something low, that scarcely rose or fell, something so beautiful — moving. . . . And Miss Brill’s eyes filled with tears and she looked smiling at all the other members of the company. Yes, we understand, we understand she thought — though what they understood she didn’t know. Just at that moment a boy and girl came and sat down where the old couple had been. They were beautifully dressed; they were in love. The hero and heroine, of course, just arrived from his father’s yacht. And still soundlessly singing, still with that trembling smile, Miss Brill prepared to listen. “No, not now,” said the girl. “Not here, I can’t.”

“Araby” North Richmond Street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers’ School set the boys free. An uninhabited house of two storeys stood at the blind end, detached from its neighbours in a square ground. The other houses of the street, conscious of decent lives within them, gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces. The former tenant of our house, a priest, had died in the back drawing room. Air, musty from having been long enclosed, hung in all the rooms, and the waste room behind the kitchen was littered with old useless papers. Among these I found a few paper-covered books, the pages of which were curled and damp: The Abbot, by Walter Scott, The Devout Communicant, and The Memoirs of Vidocq. I liked the last best because its leaves were yellow. The wild garden behind the house contained

“But why? Because of that stupid old thing at the end there?” asked the boy. “Why does she come here at all — who wants her? Why doesn’t she keep her silly old mug at home?” “It’s her fur which is so funny,” giggled the girl. “It’s exactly like a fried whiting.” “Ah, be off with you!” said the boy in an angry whisper. Then: “Tell me, ma petite chere —” “No, not here,” said the girl. “Not yet.” On her way home she usually bought a slice of honeycake at the baker’s. It was her Sunday treat. Sometimes there was an almond in her slice, sometimes not. It made a great difference. If there was an almond it was like carrying home a tiny present — a surprise — something that might very well not have been there. She hurried on the almond Sundays and struck the match for the kettle in quite a dashing way. But today she passed the baker’s by, climbed the stairs, went into the little dark room — her room like a cupboard — and sat down on the red eiderdown. She sat there for a long time. The box that the fur came out of was on the bed. She unclasped the necklet quickly; quickly, without looking, laid it inside. But when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying (www.geocities.com/ short-stories). James Joyce a central apple tree and a few straggling bushes, under one of which I found the late tenant’s rusty bicycle pump. He had been a very charitable priest; in his will he had left all his money to institutions and the furniture of his house to his sister. When the short days of winter came, dusk fell before we had well eaten our dinners. When we met in the street the houses had grown sombre. The space of sky above us was the colour of ever-changing violet and towards it the lamps of the street lifted their feeble lanterns. The cold air stung us and we played till our bodies glowed. Our shouts echoed in the silent street. The career of our play brought us through the dark muddy lanes behind the houses, where we ran the gauntlet of the rough tribes from the cottages, to the back doors of the dark dripping gardens where odours arose from the ashpits, to the

388

British Literature Student wCB.indb 388

11/14/12 4:39 PM

dark odorous stables where a coachman smoothed and combed the horse or shook music from the buckled harness. When we returned to the street, light from the kitchen windows had filled the areas. If my uncle was seen turning the corner, we hid in the shadow until we had seen him safely housed. Or if Mangan’s sister came out on the doorstep to call her brother in to his tea, we watched her from our shadow peer up and down the street. We waited to see whether she would remain or go in and, if she remained, we left our shadow and walked up to Mangan’s steps resignedly. She was waiting for us, her figure defined by the light from the half-opened door. Her brother always teased her before he obeyed, and I stood by the railings looking at her. Her dress swung as she moved her body, and the soft rope of her hair tossed from side to side. Every morning I lay on the floor in the front parlour watching her door. The blind was pulled down to within an inch of the sash so that I could not be seen. When she came out on the doorstep my heart leaped. I ran to the hall, seized my books and followed her. I kept her brown figure always in my eye and, when we came near the point at which our ways diverged, I quickened my pace and passed her. This happened morning after morning. I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood. Her image accompanied me even in places the most hostile to romance. On Saturday evenings when my aunt went marketing I had to go to carry some of the parcels. We walked through the flaring streets, jostled by drunken men and bargaining women, amid the curses of labourers, the shrill litanies of shopboys who stood on guard by the barrels of pigs’ cheeks, the nasal chanting of street-singers, who sang a come-all-you about O’Donovan Rossa, or a ballad about the troubles in our native land. These noises converged in a single sensation of life for me: I imagined that I bore my chalice safely through a throng of foes. Her name sprang to my lips at

moments in strange prayers and praises which I myself did not understand. My eyes were often full of tears (I could not tell why) and at times a flood from my heart seemed to pour itself out into my bosom. I thought little of the future. I did not know whether I would ever speak to her or not or, if I spoke to her, how I could tell her of my confused adoration. But my body was like a harp and her words and gestures were like fingers running upon the wires. One evening I went into the back drawing-room in which the priest had died. It was a dark rainy evening and there was no sound in the house. Through one of the broken panes I heard the rain impinge upon the earth, the fine incessant needles of water playing in the sodden beds. Some distant lamp or lighted window gleamed below me. I was thankful that I could see so little. All my senses seemed to desire to veil themselves and, feeling that I was about to slip from them, I pressed the palms of my hands together until they trembled, murmuring: “O love! O love!” many times. At last she spoke to me. When she addressed the first words to me I was so confused that I did not know what to answer. She asked me was I going to Araby. I forgot whether I answered yes or no. It would be a splendid bazaar; she said she would love to go. “And why can’t you?” I asked. While she spoke she turned a silver bracelet round and round her wrist. She could not go, she said, because there would be a retreat that week in her convent. Her brother and two other boys were fighting for their caps, and I was alone at the railings. She held one of the spikes, bowing her head towards me. The light from the lamp opposite our door caught the white curve of her neck, lit up her hair that rested there and, falling, lit up the hand upon the railing. It fell over one side of her dress and caught the white border of a petticoat, just visible as she stood at ease. “It’s well for you,” she said. “If I go,” I said, “I will bring you something.” Statue of James Joyce on North Earl Street, Dublin. Photo by Toniher (CC BY-SA 2.5).

389

British Literature Student wCB.indb 389

11/14/12 4:39 PM

What innumerable follies laid waste my waking and sleeping thoughts after that evening! I wished to annihilate the tedious intervening days. I chafed against the work of school. At night in my bedroom and by day in the classroom her image came between me and the page I strove to read. The syllables of the word Araby were called to me through the silence in which my soul luxuriated and cast an Eastern enchantment over me. I asked for leave to go to the bazaar on Saturday night. My aunt was surprised, and hoped it was not some Freemason affair. I answered few questions in class. I watched my master’s face pass from amiability to sternness; he hoped I was not beginning to idle. I could not call my wandering thoughts together. I had hardly any patience with the serious work of life which, now that it stood between me and my desire, seemed to me child’s play, ugly monotonous child’s play. On Saturday morning I reminded my uncle that I wished to go to the bazaar in the evening. He was fussing at the hallstand, looking for the hat-brush, and answered me curtly: “Yes, boy, I know.” As he was in the hall I could not go into the front parlour and lie at the window. I felt the house in bad humour and walked slowly towards the school. The air was pitilessly raw and already my heart misgave me. When I came home to dinner my uncle had not yet been home. Still it was early. I sat staring at the clock for some time and, when its ticking began to irritate me, I left the room. I mounted the staircase and gained the upper part of the house. The high, cold, empty, gloomy rooms liberated me and I went from room to room singing. From the front window I saw my companions playing below in the street. Their cries reached me weakened and indistinct and, leaning my forehead against the cool glass, I looked over at the dark house where she lived. I may have stood there for an hour, seeing nothing but the brown-clad figure cast by my imagination, touched discreetly by the lamplight at the curved neck, at the hand upon the railings and at the border below the dress. When I came downstairs again I found Mrs. Mercer sitting at the fire. She was an old, garrulous woman, a pawnbroker’s widow, who collected used

stamps for some pious purpose. I had to endure the gossip of the tea-table. The meal was prolonged beyond an hour and still my uncle did not come. Mrs. Mercer stood up to go: she was sorry she couldn’t wait any longer, but it was after eight o’clock and she did not like to be out late, as the night air was bad for her. When she had gone I began to walk up and down the room, clenching my fists. My aunt said: “I’m afraid you may put off your bazaar for this night of Our Lord.” At nine o’clock I heard my uncle’s latchkey in the hall door. I heard him talking to himself and heard the hallstand rocking when it had received the weight of his overcoat. I could interpret these signs. When he was midway through his dinner I asked him to give me the money to go to the bazaar. He had forgotten. “The people are in bed and after their first sleep now,” he said. I did not smile. My aunt said to him energetically: “Can’t you give him the money and let him go? You’ve kept him late enough as it is.” My uncle said he was very sorry he had forgotten. He said he believed in the old saying: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” He asked me where I was going and, when I told him a second time, he asked me did I know The Arab’s Farewell to His Steed. When I left the kitchen he was about to recite the opening lines of the piece to my aunt. I held a florin tightly in my hand as I strode down Buckingham Street towards the station. The sight of the streets thronged with buyers and glaring with gas recalled to me the purpose of my journey. I took my seat in a third-class carriage of a deserted train. After an intolerable delay the train moved out of the station slowly. It crept onward among ruinous houses and over the twinkling river. At Westland Row Station a crowd of people pressed to the carriage doors; but the porters moved them back, saying that it was a special train for the bazaar. I remained alone in the bare carriage. In a few minutes the train drew up beside an improvised wooden platform. I passed out on to the road and saw by the lighted dial of a clock that it was ten minutes to ten. In front of me was a large building which displayed

390

British Literature Student wCB.indb 390

11/14/12 4:39 PM

the magical name. I could not find any sixpenny entrance and, fearing that the bazaar would be closed, I passed in quickly through a turnstile, handing a shilling to a weary-looking man. I found myself in a big hall girded at half its height by a gallery. Nearly all the stalls were closed and the greater part of the hall was in darkness. I recognized a silence like that which pervades a church after a service. I walked into the centre of the bazaar timidly. A few people were gathered about the stalls which were still open. Before a curtain, over which the words Café Chantant were written in coloured lamps, two men were counting money on a salver. I listened to the fall of the coins. Remembering with difficulty why I had come, I went over to one of the stalls and examined porcelain vases and flowered tea-sets. At the door of the stall a young lady was talking and laughing with two young gentlemen. I remarked their English accents and listened vaguely to their conversation. “O, I never said such a thing!” “O, but you did!” “O, but I didn’t!” “Didn’t she say that?”

“O, there’s a . . . fib!” Observing me, the young lady came over and asked me did I wish to buy anything. The tone of her voice was not encouraging; she seemed to have spoken to me out of a sense of duty. I looked humbly at the great jars that stood like eastern guards at either side of the dark entrance to the stall and murmured: “No, thank you.” The young lady changed the position of one of the vases and went back to the two young men. They began to talk of the same subject. Once or twice the young lady glanced at me over her shoulder. I lingered before her stall, though I knew my stay was useless, to make my interest in her wares seem the more real. Then I turned away slowly and walked down the middle of the bazaar. I allowed the two pennies to fall against the sixpence in my pocket. I heard a voice call from one end of the gallery that the light was out. The upper part of the hall was now completely dark. Gazing up into the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity; and my eyes burned with anguish and anger (www.classicreader.com/).

“Yes. I heard her.”

Assignments •

Warm-up: Give at least one internal conflict that Miss Brill experiences and why it is so devastating a revelation.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 30-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.

391

British Literature Student wCB.indb 391

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Protagonist

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-B

Discuss how Mansfield develops her protagonist in “Miss Brill.”

Narration: The reader is invited into the mind of the protagonist.

Protagonist

392

British Literature Student wCB.indb 392

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 3

“The Selfish Giant” Oscar Wilde Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant’s garden. It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. “How happy we are here!” they cried to each other. One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden. “What are you doing here?” he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away. “My own garden is my own garden,” said the Giant; “any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.” So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board. TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED He was a very selfish Giant. The poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. “How happy we were there,” they said to each other.

Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the noticeboard it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. “Spring has forgotten this garden,” they cried, “so we will live here all the year round.” The Snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down. “This is a delightful spot,” he said, “we must ask the Hail on a visit.” So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice. “I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming,” said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden; “I hope there will be a change in the weather.” But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant’s garden she gave none. “He is too selfish,” she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.

393

British Literature Student wCB.indb 393

11/14/12 4:39 PM

One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King’s musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. “I believe the Spring has come at last,” said the Giant; and he jumped out of bed and looked out. What did he see? He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. And the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children’s heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it. “Climb up! little boy,” said the Tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy was too tiny. And the Giant’s heart melted as he looked out. “How selfish I have been!” he said; “now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children’s playground for ever and ever.” He was really very sorry for what he had done. So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again. Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant

coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant’s neck, and kissed him. And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring. “It is your garden now, little children,” said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to market at twelve o’clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen. All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to bid him good-bye. “But where is your little companion?” he said: “the boy I put into the tree.” The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him. “We don’t know,” answered the children; “he has gone away.” “You must tell him to be sure and come here to-morrow,” said the Giant. But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had never seen him before; and the Giant felt very sad. Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him. “How I would like to see him!” he used to say. Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children at their games, and admired his garden. “I have many beautiful flowers,” he said; “but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.” One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing. He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting. Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It certainly was a marvellous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were

394

British Literature Student wCB.indb 394

11/14/12 4:39 PM

all golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he had loved.

“Nay!” answered the child; “but these are the wounds of Love.”

Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came quite close his face grew red with anger, and he said, “Who hath dared to wound thee?” For on the palms of the child’s hands were the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.

“Who art thou?” said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child.

“Who hath dared to wound thee?” cried the Giant; “tell me, that I may take my big sword and slay him.”

The Bag “The Major is coming in to tea,” said Mrs. Hoopington to her niece. “He’s just gone round to the stables with his horse. Be as bright and lively as you can; the poor man’s got a fit of the glooms.” Major Pallaby was a victim of circumstances, over which he had no control, and of his temper, over which he had very little. He had taken on the Mastership of the Pexdale Hounds in succession to a highly popular man who had fallen foul of his committee, and the Major found himself confronted with the overt hostility of at least half the hunt, while his lack of tact and amiability had done much to alienate the remainder. Hence subscriptions were beginning to fall off, foxes grew provokingly scarcer, and wire obtruded itself with increasing frequency. The Major could plead reasonable excuse for his fit of the glooms. In ranging herself as a partisan on the side of Major Pallaby Mrs. Hoopington had been largely influenced by the fact that she had made up her mind to marry him at an early date. Against his notorious bad temper she set his three thousand a year, and his prospective succession to a baronetcy gave a casting vote in his favour. The Major’s plans on the subject of matrimony were not at present in such an advanced stage as Mrs. Hoopington’s, but he was beginning to find his way over to Hoopington Hall with a frequency that was already being commented on. “He had a wretchedly thin field out again yesterday,” said Mrs. Hoopington. “Why you didn’t bring one or two hunting men down with you,

And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, “You let me play once in your garden, to-day you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise.” And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms. Saki (H.H. Munro) instead of that stupid Russian boy, I can’t think.” “Vladimir isn’t stupid,” protested her niece; “he’s one of the most amusing boys I ever met. Just compare him for a moment with some of your heavy hunting men —” “Anyhow, my dear Norah, he can’t ride.” “Russians never can; but he shoots.” “Yes; and what does he shoot? Yesterday he brought home a woodpecker in his game-bag.” “But he’d shot three pheasants and some rabbits as well.” “That’s no excuse for including a woodpecker in his game-bag.” “Foreigners go in for mixed bags more than we do. A Grand Duke pots a vulture just as seriously as we should stalk a bustard. Anyhow, I’ve explained to Vladimir that certain birds are beneath his dignity as a sportsman. And as he’s only nineteen, of course, his dignity is a sure thing to appeal to.” Mrs. Hoopington sniffed. Most people with whom Vladimir came in contact found his high spirits infectious, but his present hostess was guaranteed immune against infection of that sort. “I hear him coming in now,” she observed. “I shall go and get ready for tea. We’re going to have it here in the hall. Entertain the Major if he comes in before I’m down, and, above all, be bright.” Norah was dependent on her aunt’s good graces for many little things that made life worth living, and

395

British Literature Student wCB.indb 395

11/14/12 4:39 PM

she was conscious of a feeling of discomfiture because the Russian youth whom she had brought down as a welcome element of change in the country-house routine was not making a good impression. That young gentleman, however, was supremely unconscious of any shortcomings, and burst into the hall, tired, and less sprucely groomed than usual, but distinctly radiant. His game-bag looked comfortably full. “Guess what I have shot,” he demanded. “Pheasants, woodpigeons, rabbits,” hazarded Norah. “No; a large beast; I don’t know what you call it in English. Brown, with a darkish tail.” Norah changed colour. “Does it live in a tree and eat nuts?” she asked, hoping that the use of the adjective “large” might be an exaggeration. Vladimir laughed. “Oh no; not a biyelka.” “Does it swim and eat fish?” asked Norah, with a fervent prayer in her heart that it might turn out to be an otter. “No,” said Vladimir, busy with the straps of his game-bag; “it lives in the woods, and eats rabbits and chickens.” Norah sat down suddenly, and hid her face in her hands. “Merciful Heaven!” she wailed; “he’s shot a fox!” Vladimir looked up at her in consternation. In a torrent of agitated words she tried to explain the horror of the situation. The boy understood nothing, but was thoroughly alarmed. “Hide it, hide it!” said Norah frantically, pointing to the still unopened bag. “My aunt and the Major will be here in a moment. Throw it on the top of that chest; they won’t see it there.” Vladimir swung the bag with fair aim; but the strap caught in its flight on the outstanding point of an antler fixed in the wall, and the bag, with its terrible burden, remained suspended just above the alcove where tea would presently be laid. At that moment Mrs. Hoopington and the Major entered the hall.

“The Major is going to draw our covers to-morrow,” announced the lady, with a certain heavy satisfaction. “Smithers is confident that we’ll be able to show him some sport; he swears he’s seen a fox in the nut copse three times this week.” “I’m sure I hope so; I hope so,” said the Major moodily. “I must break this sequence of blank days. One hears so often that a fox has settled down as a tenant for life in certain covers, and then when you go to turn him out there isn’t a trace of him. I’m certain a fox was shot or trapped in Lady Widden’s woods the very day before we drew them.” “Major, if any one tried that game on in my woods they’d get short shrift,” said Mrs. Hoopington. Norah found her way mechanically to the tea-table and made her fingers frantically busy in rearranging the parsley round the sandwich dish. On one side of her loomed the morose countenance of the Major, on the other she was conscious of the scared, miserable eyes of Vladimir. And above it all hung THAT. She dared not raise her eyes above the level of the tea-table, and she almost expected to see a spot of accusing vulpine blood drip down and stain the whiteness of the cloth. Her aunt’s manner signalled to her the repeated message to “be bright”; for the present she was fully occupied in keeping her teeth from chattering. “What did you shoot to-day?” asked Mrs. Hoopington suddenly of the unusually silent Vladimir. boy.

“Nothing — nothing worth speaking of,” said the

Norah’s heart, which had stood still for a space, made up for lost time with a most disturbing bound. “I wish you’d find something that was worth speaking about,” said the hostess; “every one seems to have lost their tongues.” “When did Smithers last see that fox?” said the Major. “Yesterday morning; a fine dog-fox, with a dark brush,” confided Mrs. Hoopington. “Aha, we’ll have a good gallop after that brush to-morrow,” said the Major, with a transient gleam of good humour. And then gloomy silence settled again round the tea-table, a silence broken only by

396

British Literature Student wCB.indb 396

11/14/12 4:39 PM

despondent munchings and the occasional feverish rattle of a teaspoon in its saucer. A diversion was at last afforded by Mrs. Hoopington’s fox-terrier, which had jumped on to a vacant chair, the better to survey the delicacies of the table, and was now sniffing in an upward direction at something apparently more interesting than cold tea-cake. “What is exciting him?” asked his mistress, as the dog suddenly broke into short angry barks, with a running accompaniment of tremulous whines. “Why,” she continued, “it’s your gamebag, Vladimir! What HAVE you got in it?” “By Gad,” said the Major, who was now standing up; “there’s a pretty warm scent!” And then a simultaneous idea flashed on himself and Mrs. Hoopington. Their faces flushed to distinct but harmonious tones of purple, and with one accusing voice they screamed, “You’ve shot the fox!” Norah tried hastily to palliate Vladimir’s misdeed in their eyes, but it is doubtful whether they heard her. The Major’s fury clothed and reclothed itself in words as frantically as a woman up in town for one day’s shopping tries on a succession of garments. He reviled and railed at fate and the general scheme of things, he pitied himself with a strong, deep pity too poignent for tears, he condemned every one with whom he had ever come in contact to endless and abnormal punishments. In fact, he conveyed the impression that if a destroying angel had been lent to him for a week it would have had very little time for private study. In the lulls of his outcry could be heard the querulous monotone of Mrs. Hoopington and the sharp staccato barking of the fox-terrier. Vladimir, who did not understand a tithe of what was being said, sat fondling a cigarette

and repeating under his breath from time to time a vigorous English adjective which he had long ago taken affectionately into his vocabulary. His mind strayed back to the youth in the old Russian folk-tale who shot an enchanted bird with dramatic results. Meanwhile, the Major, roaming round the hall like an imprisoned cyclone, had caught sight of and joyfully pounced on the telephone apparatus, and lost no time in ringing up the hunt secretary and announcing his resignation of the Mastership. A servant had by this time brought his horse round to the door, and in a few seconds Mrs. Hoopington’s shrill monotone had the field to itself. But after the Major’s display her best efforts at vocal violence missed their full effect; it was as though one had come straight out from a Wagner opera into a rather tame thunderstorm. Realising, perhaps, that her tirades were something of an anticlimax, Mrs. Hoopington broke suddenly into some rather necessary tears and marched out of the room, leaving behind her a silence almost as terrible as the turmoil which had preceded it. “What shall I do with — THAT?” asked Vladimir at last. “Bury it,” said Norah. “Just plain burial?” said Vladimir, rather relieved. He had almost expected that some of the local clergy would have insisted on being present, or that a salute might have to be fired over the grave. And thus it came to pass that in the dusk of a November evening the Russian boy, murmuring a few of the prayers of his Church for luck, gave hasty but decent burial to a large polecat under the lilac trees at Hoopington.

Assignments •

Warm-up: Is this a children’s story or an adult story?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 30-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

397

British Literature Student wCB.indb 397

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Theme

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-C

What are some themes that Wilde develops in his short story “The Selfish Giant?”

Redemption and Forgiveness: The giant changes and is forgiven

Theme:

Theme:

Themes

398

British Literature Student wCB.indb 398

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 4

“Without Benefit of Clergy” Rudyard Kipling Before my Spring I garnered Autumn’s gain, Out of her time my field was white with grain, The year gave up her secrets to my woe. Forced and deflowered each sick season lay, In mystery of increase and decay; I saw the sunset ere men saw the day, Who am too wise in that I should not know. — Bitter Waters I ‘‘But if it be a girl?’’ ‘‘Lord of my life, it cannot be. I have prayed for so many nights, and sent gifts to Sheikh Badl’s shrine so often, that I know God will give us a son — a manchild that shall grow into a man. Think of this and be glad. My mother shall be his mother till I can take him again, and the mullah of the Pattan mosque shall cast his nativity — God send he be born in an auspicious hour! — and then, and then thou wilt never weary of me, thy slave.’’ ‘‘Since when hast thou been a slave, my queen?’’ ‘‘Since the beginning — till this mercy came to me. How could I be sure of thy love when I knew that I had been bought with silver?’’ ‘‘Nay, that was the dowry. I paid it to thy mother.’’ ‘‘And she has buried it, and sits upon it all day long like a hen. What talk is yours of dower! I was bought as though I had been a Lucknow dancing-girl instead of a child.’’ ‘‘Art thou sorry for the sale?’’ ‘‘I have sorrowed; but to-day I am glad. Thou wilt never cease to love me now? — answer, my king.’’ ‘‘Never — never. No.’’

‘‘Not even though the mem-log — the white women of thy own blood — love thee? And remember, I have watched them driving in the evening; they are very fair.’’ ‘‘I have seen fire-balloons by the hundred. I have seen the moon, and — then I saw no more fire-balloons.’’ Ameera clapped her hands and laughed. ‘‘Very good talk,’’ she said. Then with an assumption of great statelines, ‘‘It is enough. Thou hast my permission to depart, — if thou wilt.’’ The man did not move. He was sitting on a low red-lacquered couch in a room furnished only with a blue and white floor-cloth, some rugs, and a very complete collection of native cushions. At his feet sat a woman of sixteen, and she was all but all the world in his eyes. By every rule and law she should have been otherwise, for he was an Englishman, and she a Mussulman’s daughter bought two years before from her mother, who, being left without money, would have sold Ameera shrieking to the Prince of Darkness if the price had been sufficient. It was a contract entered into with a light heart; but even before the girl had reached her bloom she came to fill the greater portion of John Holden’s life. For her, and the withered hag her mother, he had taken a little house

399

British Literature Student wCB.indb 399

11/14/12 4:39 PM

overlooking the great red-walled city, and found, — when the marigolds had sprung up by the well in the court-yard, and Ameera had established herself according to her own ideas of comfort, and her mother had ceased grumbling at the inadequacy of the cooking-places, the distance from the daily market, and at matters of house-keeping in general, — that the house was to him his home. Any one could enter his bachelor’s bungalow by day or night, and the life that he led there was an unlovely one. In the house in the city his feet only could pass beyond the outer courtyard to the women’s rooms; and when the big wooden gate was bolted behind him he was king in his own territory, with Ameera for queen. And there was going to be added to this kingdom a third person whose arrival Holden felt inclined to resent. It interfered with his perfect happiness. It disarranged the orderly peace of the house that was his own. But Ameera was wild with delight at the thought of it, and her mother not less so. The love of a man, and particularly a white man, was at the best an inconstant affair, but it might, both women argued, be held fast by a baby’s hands. ‘‘And then,’’ Ameera would always say, ‘‘then he will never care for the white mem-log. I hate them all — I hate them all.’’ ‘‘He will go back to his own people in time,’’ said the mother; ‘‘but by the blessing of God that time is yet afar off.’’ Holden sat silent on the couch thinking of the future, and his thoughts were not pleasant. The drawbacks of a double life are manifold. The Government, with singular care, had ordered him out of the station for a fortnight on special duty in the place of a man who was watching by the bedside of a sick wife. The verbal notification of the transfer had been edged by a cheerful remark that Holden ought to think himself lucky in being a bachelor and a free man. He came to break the news to Ameera. ‘‘It is not good,’’ she said slowly, ‘‘but it is not all bad. There is my mother here, and no harm will come to me — unless indeed I die of pure joy. Go thou to thy work and think no troublesome thoughts. When the days are done I believe . . . nay, I am sure. And — and then I shall lay him in thy arms, and thou wilt love me for ever. The train goes to-night, at midnight is it not? Go now, and do not let thy heart be heavy by cause of me. But thou wilt not delay in returning? Thou wilt not stay on the

road to talk to the bold white mem-log. Come back to me swiftly, my life.’’ As he left the courtyard to reach his horse that was tethered to the gate-post, Holden spoke to the white-haired old watchman who guarded the house, and bade him under certain contingencies despatch the filled-up telegraph-form that Holden gave him. It was all that could be done, and with the sensations of a man who has attended his own funeral Holden went away by the night mail to his exile. Every hour of the day he dreaded the arrival of the telegram, and every hour of the night he pictured to himself the death of Ameera. In consequence his work for the State was not of first-rate quality, nor was his temper towards his colleagues of the most amiable. The fortnight ended without a sign from his home, and, torn to pieces by his anxieties, Holden returned to be swallowed up for two precious hours by a dinner at the club, wherein he heard, as a man hears in a swoon, voices telling him how execrably he had performed the other man’s duties, and how he had endeared himself to all his associates. Then he fled on horseback through the night with his heart in his mouth. There was no answer at first to his blows on the gate, and he had just wheeled his horse round to kick it in when Pir Khan appeared with a lantern and held his stirrup. ‘‘Has aught occurred?’’ said Holden. ‘‘The news does not come from my mouth, Protector of the Poor, but —’’ He held out his shaking hand as befitted the bearer of good news who is entitled to a reward. Holden hurried through the courtyard. A light burned in the upper room. His horse neighed in the gateway, and he heard a shrill little wail that sent all the blood into the apple of his throat. It was a new voice, but it did not prove that Ameera was alive. ‘‘Who is there?’’ he called up the narrow brick staircase. There was a cry of delight from Ameera, and then the voice of the mother, tremulous with old age and pride — ‘‘We be two women and — the — man — thy — son.’’ On the threshold of the room Holden stepped on a naked dagger, that was laid there to avert ill-luck, and it broke at the hilt under his impatient heel.

400

British Literature Student wCB.indb 400

11/14/12 4:39 PM

‘‘God is great!’’ cooed Ameera in the half-light. ‘‘Thou hast taken his misfortunes on thy head.’’ “Ay, but how is it with thee, life of my life? Old woman, how is it with her?’’ “She has forgotten her sufferings for joy that the child is born. There is no harm; but speak softly,’’ said the mother. “It only needed thy presence to make me all well,’’ said Ameera. ‘‘My king, thou hast been very long away. What gifts hast thou for me? Ah, ah! It is I that bring gifts this time. Look, my life, look. Was there ever such a babe? Nay, I am too weak even to clear my arm from him.’’ “Rest then, and do not talk. I am here, bachari (little woman).’’ “Well said, for there is a bond and a heel-rope (peecharee) between us now that nothing can break. Look — canst thou see in this light? He is without spot or blemish. Never was such a man-child. Ya illah! he shall be a pundit — no, a trooper of the Queen. And, my life, dost thou love me as well as ever, though I am faint and sick and worn? Answer truly.’’ “Yea. I love as I have loved, with all my soul. Lie still, pearl, and rest.’’ “Then do not go. Sit by my side here — so. Mother, the lord of this house needs a cushion. Bring it.’’ There was an almost imperceptible movement on the part of the new life that lay in the hollow of Ameera’’s arm. ‘‘Aho!’’ she said, her voice breaking with love. ‘‘The babe is a champion from his birth. He is kicking me in the side with mighty kicks. Was there ever such a babe! And he is ours to us — thine and mine. Put thy hand on his head, but carefully, for he is very young, and men are unskilled in such matters.’’ Very cautiously Holden touched with the tips of his fingers the downy head. “He is of the Faith,’’ said Ameera; ‘‘for lying here in the night-watches I whispered the call to prayer and the profession of faith into his ears. And it is most marvellous that he was born upon a Friday, as I was born. Be careful of him, my life; but he can almost grip with his hands.’’ Holden found one helpless little hand that closed feebly on his finger. And the clutch ran through his

body till it settled about his heart. Till then his sole thought had been for Ameera. He began to realise that there was some one else in the world, but he could not feel that it was a veritable son with a soul. He sat down to think, and Ameera dozed lightly. “Get hence, sahib,’’ said her mother under her breath. ‘‘It is not good that she should find you here on waking. She must be still.’’ “I go,’’ said Holden submissively. ‘‘Here be rupees. See that my baba gets fat and finds all that he needs.’’ The chink of the silver roused Ameera. ‘‘I am his mother, and no hireling,’’ she said weakly. ‘‘Shall I look to him more or less for the sake of money? Mother, give it back. I have borne my lord a son.’’ The deep sleep of weakness came upon her almost before the sentence was completed. Holden went down to the courtyard very softly with his heart at ease. Pir Khan, the old watchman, was chuckling with delight. ‘‘This house is now complete,’’ he said, and without further comment thrust into Holden’’s hands the hilt of a sabre worn many years ago when he, Pir Khan, served the Queen in the police. The bleat of a tethered goat came from the well-kerb. “There be two,’’ said Pir Khan, ‘‘two goats of the best. I bought them, and they cost much money; and since there is no birth-party assembled their flesh will be all mine. Strike craftily, sahib! Tis an ill-balanced sabre at the best. Wait till they raise their heads from cropping the marigolds.’’ “And why?’’ said Holden, bewildered. “For the birth-sacrifice. What else? Otherwise the child being unguarded from fate may die. The Protector of the Poor knows the fitting words to be said.’’ Holden had learned them once with little thought that he would ever speak them in earnest. The touch of the cold sabre-hilt in his palm turned suddenly to the clinging grip of the child up-stairs — the child that was his own son — and a dread of loss filled him. “Strike!’’ said Pir Khan. ‘‘Never life came into the world but life was paid for it. See, the goats have raised their heads. Now! With a drawing cut!’’ Hardly knowing what he did, Holden cut twice as he muttered the Mahomedan prayer that runs: ‘‘Almighty! In place of this my son I offer life for life,

401

British Literature Student wCB.indb 401

11/14/12 4:39 PM

blood for blood, head for head, bone for bone, hair for hair, skin for skin.’’ The waiting horse snorted and bounded in his pickets at the smell of the raw blood that spirted over Holden’’s riding-boots.

to go to his dark empty bungalow, where his butler received him as one who knew all his affairs. Holden remained awake for the greater part of the night, and his dreams were pleasant ones.

“Well smitten!’’ said Pir Khan wiping the sabre. ‘‘A swordsman was lost in thee. Go with a light heart, Heaven-born. I am thy servant, and the servant of thy son. May the Presence live a thousand years and . . . the flesh of the goats is all mine?’’ Pir Khan drew back richer by a month’s pay. Holden swung himself into the saddle and rode off through the low-hanging wood-smoke of the evening. He was full of riotous exultation, alternating with a vast vague tenderness directed towards no particular object, that made him choke as he bent over the neck of his uneasy horse. ‘‘I never felt like this in my life,’’ he thought. ‘‘I’ll go to the club and pull myself together.’’

II

A game of pool was beginning, and the room was full of men. Holden entered, eager to get to the light and the company of his fellows, singing at the top of his voice —

‘‘The winter rains are late, and maybe they come out of season. Come, before all the stars are hid. I have put on my richest jewels.’’

In Baltimore a-walking, a lady I did meet!

‘‘Ai! Ours. He comes also. He has never yet seen the skies.’’

“Did you?’’ said the club-secretary from his corner. ‘‘Did she happen to tell you that your boots were wringing wet? Great goodness, man, it’s blood!’’ “Bosh!’’ said Holden, picking his cue from the rack. ‘‘May I cut in? It’s dew. I’ve been riding through high crops. My faith! my boots are in a mess though! ‘‘And if it be a girl she shall wear a wedding-ring, And if it be a boy he shall fight for his king, With his dirk, and his cap, and his little jacket blue, He shall walk the quarter-deck —’’ ‘‘Yellow on blue — green next player,’’ said the marker monotonously. ‘‘He shall walk the quarter-deck, — Am I green, marker? He shall walk the quarter-deck, — eh! that’s a bad shot, — As his daddy used to do!’’ ‘‘I don’t see that you have anything to crow about,’’ said a zealous junior civilian acidly. ‘‘The Government is not exactly pleased with your work when you relieved Sanders.’’ ‘‘Does that mean a wigging from headquarters?’’ said Holden with an abstracted smile. ‘‘I think I can stand it.’’ The talk beat up round the ever-fresh subject of each man’s work, and steadied Holden till it was time

‘‘How old is he now?’’ ‘‘Ya illah! What a man’s question! He is all but six weeks old; and on this night I go up to the house-top with thee, my life, to count the stars. For that is auspicious. And he was born on a Friday under the sign of the Sun, and it has been told to me that he will outlive us both and get wealth. Can we wish for aught better, be-loved?’’ ‘‘There is nothing better. Let us go up to the roof, and thou shalt count the stars — but a few only, for the sky is heavy with cloud.’’

‘‘Thou hast forgotten the best of all.’’

Ameera climbed the narrow staircase that led to the flat roof. The child, placid and unwinking, lay in the hollow of her right arm, gorgeous in silver-fringed muslin with a small skull-cap on his head. Ameera wore all that she valued most. The diamond nose-stud that takes the place of the Western patch in drawing attention to the curve of the nostril, the gold ornament in the centre of the forehead studded with tallow-drop emeralds and flawed rubies, the heavy circlet of beaten gold that was fastened round her neck by the softness of the pure metal, and the chinking curb-patterned silver anklets hanging low over the rosy ankle-bone. She was dressed in jade-green muslin as befitted a daughter of the Faith, and from shoulder to elbow and elbow to wrist ran bracelets of silver tied with floss silk, frail glass bangles slipped over the wrist in proof of the slenderness of the hand, and certain heavy gold bracelets that had no part in her country’s ornaments, but, since they were Holden’s gift and fastened with a cunning European snap, delighted her immensely. They sat down by the low white parapet of the roof, overlooking the city and its lights.

402

British Literature Student wCB.indb 402

11/14/12 4:39 PM

‘‘They are happy down there,’’ said Ameera. ‘‘But I do not think that they are as happy as we. Nor do I think the white mem-log are as happy. And thou?’’ ‘‘I know they are not.’’ ‘‘How dost thou know?’’ ‘‘They give their children over to the nurses.’’ ‘‘I have never seen that,’’ said Ameera with a sigh, ‘‘nor do I wish to see. Ahi!’’ — she dropped her head on Holden’’s shoulder, — ‘‘I have counted forty stars, and I am tired. Look at the child, love of my life, he is counting too.’’ The baby was staring with round eyes at the dark of the heavens. Ameera placed him in Holden’’s arms, and he lay there without a cry. ‘‘What shall we call him among ourselves?’’ she said. ‘‘Look! Art thou ever tired of looking? He carries thy very eyes. But the mouth —’’ ‘‘Is thine, most dear. Who should know better than I?’’ ‘‘Tis such a feeble mouth. Oh, so small! And yet it holds my heart between its lips. Give him to me now. He has been too long away.’’ ‘‘Nay, let him lie; he has not yet begun to cry.’’ ‘‘When he cries thou wilt give him back — eh? What a man of mankind thou art! If he cried he were only the dearer to me. But, my life, what little name shall we give him?’’ The small body lay close to Holden’’s heart. It was utterly helpless and very soft. He scarcely dared to breathe for fear of crushing it. The caged green parrot that is regarded as a sort of guardian-spirit in most native households moved on its perch and fluttered a drowsy wing. ‘‘There is the answer,’’ said Holden. ‘‘Mian Mittu has spoken. He shall be the parrot. When he is ready he will talk mightily and run about. Mian Mittu is the parrot in thy — in the Mussulman tongue, is it not?’’ ‘‘Why put me so far off?’’ said Ameera fretfully. ‘‘Let it be like unto some English name — but not wholly. For he is mine.’’ ‘‘Then call him Tota, for that is likest English.’’ ‘‘Ay, Tota, and that is still the parrot. Forgive me, my lord, for a minute ago, but in truth he is too little to wear all the weight of Mian Mittu for name. He shall be Tota — our Tota to us. Hearest thou, oh,

British Literature Student wCB.indb 403

small one? Littlest, thou art Tota.’’ She touched the child’s cheek, and he waking wailed, and it was necessary to return him to his mother, who soothed him with the wonderful rhyme of Aréé koko, Faréé koko! which says — ‘‘Oh crow! Go crow! Baby’s sleeping sound, And the wild plums grow in the jungle, only a penny a pound. Only a penny a pound, baba, only a penny a pound.’’ Reassured many times as to the price of those plums, Tota cuddled himself down to sleep. The two sleek, white well-bullocks in the courtyard were steadily chewing the cud of their evening meal; old Pir Khan squatted at the head of Holden’’s horse, his police sabre across his knees, pulling drowsily at a big water-pipe that croaked like a bull-frog in a pond. Ameera’s mother sat spinning in the lower verandah, and the wooden gate was shut and barred. The music of a marriage-procession came to the roof above the gentle hum of the city, and a string of flying-foxes crossed the face of the low moon. ‘‘I have prayed,’’ said Ameera after a long pause, ‘‘I have prayed for two things. First, that I may die in thy stead if thy death is demanded, and in the second, that I may die in the place of the child. I have prayed to the Prophet and to Beebee Miriam (the Virgin Mary). Thinkest thou either will hear?’’ ‘‘From thy lips who would not hear the lightest word?’’ ‘‘I asked for straight talk, and thou hast given me sweet talk. Will my prayers be heard?’’ ‘‘How can I say? God is very good.’’ ‘‘Of that I am not sure. Listen now. When I die, or the child dies, what is thy fate? Living, thou wilt return to the bold white mem-log, for kind calls to kind.’’ ‘‘Not always.’’ ‘‘With a woman, no; with a man it is otherwise. Thou wilt in this life, later on, go back to thine own folk. That I could almost endure, for I should be dead. But in thy very death thou wilt be taken away to a strange place and a paradise that I do not know.’’ ‘‘Will it be paradise?’’ ‘‘Surely, for who would harm thee? But we two — I and the child — shall be elsewhere, and we cannot come to thee, nor canst thou come to us. In the old days, before the child was born, I did not

403

11/14/12 4:39 PM

think of these things; but now I think of them always. It is very hard talk.’’

‘‘Now, for all thy years thou art a child, and shalt be picked up and carried down the staircase.’’

‘‘It will fall as it will fall. To-morrow we do not know, but to-day and love we know well. Surely we are happy now.’’

‘‘Tota! Have a care for Tota, my lord! Thou at least art as foolish as any babe!’’ Ameera tucked Tota out of harm’s way in the hollow of her neck, and was carried downstairs laughing in Holden’s arms, while Tota opened his eyes and smiled after the manner of the lesser angels.

‘‘So happy that it were well to make our happiness assured. And thy Beebee Miriam should listen to me; for she is also a woman. But then she would envy me! It is not seemly for men to worship a woman.’’ Holden laughed aloud at Ameera’s little spasm of jealousy. ‘‘Is it not seemly? Why didst thou not turn me from worship of thee, then?’’ ‘‘Thou a worshipper! And of me? My king, for all thy sweet words, well I know that I am thy servant and thy slave, and the dust under thy feet. And I would not have it otherwise. See!’’ Before Holden could prevent her she stooped forward and touched his feet; recovering herself with a little laugh hugged Tota closer to her bosom. Then, almost savagely — ‘‘Is it true that the bold white mem-log live for three times the length of my life? Is it true that they make their marriages not before they are old women?’’ ‘‘They marry as do others — when they are women.’’ ‘‘That I know, but they wed when they are twenty-five. Is that true?’’ ‘‘That is true.’’ ‘‘Ya illah! At twenty-five! Who would of his own will take a wife even of eighteen? She is a woman — aging every hour. Twenty-five! I shall be an old woman at that age, and — Those mem-log remain young for ever. How I hate them!’’ ‘‘What have they to do with us?’’ ‘‘I cannot tell. I know only that there may now be alive on this earth a woman ten years older than I who may come to thee and take thy love ten years after I am an old woman, gray-headed, and the nurse of Tota’s son. That is unjust and evil. They should die too.’’

He was a silent infant, and, almost before Holden could realise that he was in the world, developed into a small gold-coloured little god and unquestioned despot of the house overlooking the city. Those were months of absolute happiness to Holden and Ameera — happiness withdrawn from the world, shut in behind the wooden gate that Pir Khan guarded. By day Holden did his work with an immense pity for such as were not so fortunate as himself, and a sympathy for small children that amazed and amused many mothers at the little station-gatherings. At nightfall he returned to Ameera, — Ameera, full of the wondrous doings of Tota; how he had been seen to clap his hands together and move his fingers with intention and purpose — which was manifestly a miracle — how later, he had of his own initiative crawled out of his low bedstead on to the floor and swayed on both feet for the space of three breaths. ‘‘And they were long breaths, for my heart stood still with delight,’’ said Ameera. Then Tota took the beasts into his councils — the well-bullocks, the little gray squirrels, the mongoose that lived in a hole near the well, and especially Mian Mittu, the parrot, whose tail he grievously pulled, and Mian Mittu screamed till Ameera and Holden arrived. ‘‘Oh villain! Child of strength! This to thy brother on the house-top! Tobah, tobah! Fie! Fie! But I know a charm to make him wise as Suleiman and Aflatoun (Solomon and Plato). Now look,’’ said Ameera. She drew from an embroidered bag a handful of almonds. ‘‘See! we count seven. In the name of God!’’ She placed Mian Mittu, very angry and rumpled, on the top of his cage, and seating herself between the babe and the bird she cracked and peeled an almond less white than her teeth. ‘‘This is a true

404

British Literature Student wCB.indb 404

11/14/12 4:39 PM

charm, my life, and do not laugh. See! I give the parrot one-half and Tota the other.’’ Mian Mittu with careful beak took his share from between Ameera’s lips, and she kissed the other half into the mouth of the child, who ate it slowly with wondering eyes. ‘‘This I will do each day of seven, and without doubt he who is ours will be a bold speaker and wise. Eh, Tota, what wilt thou be when thou art a man and I am gray-headed?’’ Tota tucked his fat legs into adorable creases. He could crawl, but he was not going to waste the spring of his youth in idle speech. He wanted Mian Mittu’’s tail to tweak. When he was advanced to the dignity of a silver belt — which, with a magic square engraved on silver and hung round his neck, made up the greater part of his clothing — he staggered on a perilous journey down the garden to Pir Khan, and proffered him all his jewels in exchange for one little ride on Holden’s horse, having seen his mother’s mother chaffering with pedlars in the verandah. Pir Khan wept and set the untried feet on his own gray head in sign of fealty, and brought the bold adventurer to his mother’s arms, vowing that Tota would be a leader of men ere his beard was grown. One hot evening, while he sat on the roof between his father and mother watching the never ending warfare of the kites that the city boys flew, he demanded a kite of his own with Pir Khan to fly it, because he had a fear of dealing with anything larger than himself, and when Holden called him a ‘‘spark,’’ he rose to his feet and answered slowly in defence of his new-found individuality, ‘‘Hum’park nahin hai. Hum admi hai (I am no spark, but a man.)’’ The protest made Holden choke and devote himself very seriously to a consideration of Tota’s future. He need hardly have taken the trouble. The delight of that life was too perfect to endure. Therefore it was taken away as many things are taken away in India — suddenly and without warning. The little lord of the house, as Pir Khan called him, grew sorrowful and complained of pains who had never known the meaning of pain. Ameera, wild with terror, watched him through the night, and in the dawning of the second day the life was shaken out of him by fever — the seasonal autumn fever. It seemed altogether impossible that he could die, and

neither Ameera nor Holden at first believed the evidence of the little body on the bedstead. Then Ameera beat her head against the wall and would have flung herself down the well in the garden had Holden not restrained her by main force. One mercy only was granted to Holden. He rode to his office in broad daylight and found waiting him an unusually heavy mail that demanded concentrated attention and hard work. He was not, however, alive to this kindness of the gods. III The first shock of a bullet is no more than a brisk pinch. The wrecked body does not send in its protest to the soul till ten or fifteen seconds later. Holden realised his pain slowly, exactly as he had realised his happiness, and with the same imperious necessity for hiding all trace of it. In the beginning he only felt that there had been a loss, and that Ameera needed comforting, where she sat with her head on her knees shivering as Mian Mittu from the house-top called, Tota! Tota! Tota! Later all his world and the daily life of it rose up to hurt him. It was an outrage that any one of the children at the bandstand in the evening should be alive and clamorous, when his own child lay dead. It was more than mere pain when one of them touched him, and stories told by over-fond fathers of their children’s latest performances cut him to the quick. He could not declare his pain. He had neither help, comfort, nor sympathy; and Ameera at the end of each weary day would lead him through the Hell of self-questioning reproach which is reserved for those who have lost a child, and believe that with a little — just a little more care — it might have been saved. ‘‘Perhaps,’’ Ameera would say, ‘‘I did not take sufficient heed. Did I, or did I not? The sun on the roof that day when he played so long alone and I was — ahi! braiding my hair — it may be that the sun then bred the fever. If I had warned him from the sun he might have lived. But, oh my life, say that I am guiltless! Thou knowest that I loved him as I love thee. Say that there is no blame on me, or I shall die — I shall die!’’ ‘‘There is no blame, — before God, none. It was written, and how could we do aught to save? What has been, has been. Let it go, beloved.’’

405

British Literature Student wCB.indb 405

11/14/12 4:39 PM

‘‘He was all my heart to me. How can I let the thought go when my arm tells me every night that he is not here? Ahi! Ahi! Oh, Tota, come back to me — come back again, and let us be all together as it was before!’’ ‘‘Peace, peace! For thine own sake, and for mine also, if thou lovest me — rest.’’ ‘‘By this I know thou dost not care; and how shouldst thou? The white men have hearts of stone and souls of iron. Oh, that I had married a man of mine own people — though he beat me — and had never eaten the bread of an alien!’’ ‘‘Am I an alien — mother of my son?’’ ‘‘What else — Sahib? . . . Oh, forgive me — forgive! The death has driven me mad. Thou art the life of my heart, and the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and — and I have put thee from me, though it was but for a moment. If thou goest away, to whom shall I look for help? Do not be angry. Indeed, it was the pain that spoke and not thy slave.’’ ‘‘I know, I know. We be two who were three. The greater need therefore that we should be one.’’ They were sitting on the roof as of custom. The night was a warm one in early spring, and sheetlightning was dancing on the horizon to a broken tune played by far-off thunder. Ameera settled herself in Holden’s arms. ‘‘The dry earth is lowing like a cow for the rain, and I — I am afraid. It was not like this when we counted the stars. But thou lovest me as much as before, though a bond is taken away? Answer!’’ ‘‘I love more because a new bond has come out of the sorrow that we have eaten together, and that thou knowest.’’ ‘‘Yea, I knew,’’ said Ameera in a very small whisper. ‘‘But it is good to hear thee say so, my life, who art so strong to help. I will be a child no more, but a woman and an aid to thee. Listen! Give me my sitar and I will sing bravely.’’ She took the light silver-studded sitar and began a song of the great hero Rajah Rasalu. The hand failed on the strings, the tune halted, checked, and at a low note turned off to the poor little nurseryrhyme about the wicked crow —

‘‘And the wild plums grow in the jungle, only a penny a pound. Only a penny a pound, baba — only . . .’’ Then came the tears, and the piteous rebellion against fate till she slept, moaning a little in her sleep, with the right arm thrown clear of the body as though it protected something that was not there. It was after this night that life became a little easier for Holden. The ever-present pain of loss drove him into his work, and the work repaid him by filling up his mind for nine or ten hours a day. Ameera sat alone in the house and brooded, but grew happier when she understood that Holden was more at ease, according to the custom of women. They touched happiness again, but this time with caution. ‘‘It was because we loved Tota that he died. The jealousy of God was upon us,’’ said Ameera. ‘‘I have hung up a large black jar before our window to turn the evil eye from us, and we must make no protestations of delight, but go softly underneath the stars, lest God find us out. Is that not good talk, worthless one?’’ She had shifted the accent on the word that means ‘‘beloved,’’ in proof of the sincerity of her purpose. But the kiss that followed the new christening was a thing that any deity might have envied. They went about henceforward saying, ‘‘It is naught, it is naught;’’ and hoping that all the Powers heard. The Powers were busy on other things. They had allowed thirty million people four years of plenty, wherein men fed well and the crops were certain, and the birth-rate rose year by year; the districts reported a purely agricultural population varying from nine hundred to two thousand to the square mile of the overburdened earth; and the Member for Lower Tooting, wandering about India in top-hat and frock-coat, talked largely of the benefits of British rule, and suggested as the one thing needful the establishment of a duly qualified electoral system and a general bestowal of the franchise. His longsuffering hosts smiled and made him welcome, and when he paused to admire, with pretty picked words, the blossom of the blood-red dhak-tree that had flowered untimely for a sign of what was coming, they smiled more than ever.

406

British Literature Student wCB.indb 406

11/14/12 4:39 PM

It was the Deputy Commissioner of KotKumharsen, staying at the club for a day, who lightly told a tale that made Holden’s blood run cold as he overheard the end. ‘‘He won’t bother any one any more. Never saw a man so astonished in my life. By Jove, I thought he meant to ask a question in the House about it. Fellow-passenger in his ship — dined next him — bowled over by cholera and died in eighteen hours. You needn’t laugh, you fellows. The Member for Lower Tooting is awfully angry about it; but he’s more scared. I think he’s going to take his enlightened self out of India.’’ ‘‘I’d give a good deal if he were knocked over. It might keep a few vestrymen of his kidney to their own parish. But what’s this about cholera? It’s full early for anything of that kind,’’ said the warden of an unprofitable salt-lick. ‘‘Don’t know,’’ said the Deputy Commissioner reflectively. ‘‘We’ve got locusts with us. There’s sporadic cholera all along the north — at least we’re calling it sporadic for decency’s sake. The spring crops are short in five districts, and nobody seems to know where the rains are. It’s nearly March now. I don’t want to scare anybody, but it seems to me that Nature’s going to audit her accounts with a big red pencil this summer.’’ ‘‘Just when I wanted to take leave, too!’’ said a voice across the room. ‘‘There won’t be much leave this year, but there ought to be a great deal of promotion. I’ve come in to persuade the Government to put my pet canal on the list of famine-relief works. It’s an ill-wind that blows no good. I shall get that canal finished at last.’’ ‘‘Is it the old programme then,’’ said Holden; ‘‘famine, fever, and cholera?’’ ‘‘Oh no. Only local scarcity and an unusual prevalence of seasonal sickness. You’ll find it all in the reports if you live till next year. You’re a lucky chap. You haven’t got a wife to send out of harm’s way. The hill-stations ought to be full of women this year.’’ ‘‘I think you’re inclined to exaggerate the talk in the bazars,’’ said a young civilian in the Secretariat. ‘‘Now I have observed —’’

‘‘I daresay you have,’’ said the Deputy Commissioner, ‘‘but you’ve a great deal more to observe, my son. In the meantime, I wish to observe to you —’’ and he drew him aside to discuss the construction of the canal that was so dear to his heart. Holden went to his bungalow and began to understand that he was not alone in the world, and also that he was afraid for the sake of another, — which is the most soul-satisfying fear known to man. Two months later, as the Deputy had foretold, Nature began to audit her accounts with a red pencil. On the heels of the spring-reapings came a cry for bread, and the Government, which had decreed that no man should die of want, sent wheat. Then came the cholera from all four quarters of the compass. It struck a pilgrim-gathering of half a million at a sacred shrine. Many died at the feet of their god; the others broke and ran over the face of the land carrying the pestilence with them. It smote a walled city and killed two hundred a day. The people crowded the trains, hanging on to the footboards and squatting on the roofs of the carriages, and the cholera followed them, for at each station they dragged out the dead and the dying. They died by the roadside, and the horses of the Englishmen shied at the corpses in the grass. The rains did not come, and the earth turned to iron lest man should escape death by hiding in her. The English sent their wives away to the hills and went about their work, coming forward as they were bidden to fill the gaps in the fighting-line. Holden, sick with fear of losing his chiefest treasure on earth, had done his best to persuade Ameera to go away with her mother to the Himalayas. ‘‘Why should I go?’’ said she one evening on the roof. ‘‘There is sickness, and people are dying, and all the white mem-log have gone.’’ ‘‘All of them?’’ ‘‘All — unless perhaps there remain some old scald-head who vexes her husband’s heart by running risk of death.’’ ‘‘Nay; who stays is my sister, and thou must not abuse her, for I will be a scald-head too. I am glad all the bold mem-log are gone.’’ ‘‘Do I speak to a woman or a babe? Go to the hills, and I will see to it that thou goest like a queen’s

407

British Literature Student wCB.indb 407

11/14/12 4:39 PM

daughter. Think, child. In a red-lacquered bullock cart, veiled and curtained, with brass peacocks upon the pole and red cloth hangings. I will send two orderlies for guard and —’’ ‘‘Peace! Thou art the babe in speaking thus. What use are those toys to me? He would have patted the bullocks and played with the housings. For his sake, perhaps, — thou hast made me very English — I might have gone. Now, I will not. Let the mem-log run.’’ ‘‘Their husbands are sending them, beloved.’’ ‘‘Very good talk. Since when hast thou been my husband to tell me what to do? I have but borne thee a son. Thou art only all the desire of my soul to me. How shall I depart when I know that if evil befall thee by the breadth of so much as my littlest fingernail — is that not small? — I should be aware of it though I were in paradise. And here, this summer thou mayest die — ai, janee, die! and in dying they might call to tend thee a white woman, and she would rob me in the last of thy love!’’ ‘‘But love is not born in a moment or on a death-bed!’’ ‘‘What dost thou know of love, stoneheart? She would take thy thanks at least and, by God and the Prophet and Beebee Miriam the mother of thy Prophet, that I will never endure. My lord and my love, let there be no more foolish talk of going away. Where thou art, I am. It is enough.’’ She put an arm round his neck and a hand on his mouth. There are not many happinesses so complete as those that are snatched under the shadow of the sword. They sat together and laughed, calling each other openly by every pet name that could move the wrath of the gods. The city below them was locked up in its own torments. Sulphur fires blazed in the streets; the conches in the Hindu temples screamed and bellowed, for the gods were inattentive in those days. There was a service in the great Mahomedan shrine, and the call to prayer from the minarets was almost unceasing. They heard the wailing in the houses of the dead, and once the shriek of a mother who had lost a child and was calling for its return. In the gray dawn they saw the dead borne out through the city gates, each litter with its own little knot of mourners. Wherefore they kissed each other and shivered.

It was a red and heavy audit, for the land was very sick and needed a little breathing-space ere the torrent of cheap life should flood it anew. The children of immature fathers and undeveloped mothers made no resistance. They were cowed and sat still, waiting till the sword should be sheathed in November if it were so willed. There were gaps among the English, but the gaps were filled. The work of superintending famine-relief, cholera-sheds, medicine-distribution, and what little sanitation was possible, went forward because it was so ordered. Holden had been told to keep himself in readiness to move to replace the next man who should fall. There were twelve hours in each day when he could not see Ameera, and she might die in three. He was considering what his pain would be if he could not see her for three months, or if she died out of his sight. He was absolutely certain that her death would be demanded — so certain, that when he looked up from the telegram and saw Pir Khan breathless in the doorway, he laughed aloud. ‘‘And?’’ said he, — ‘‘When there is a cry in the night and the spirit flutters into the throat, who has a charm that will restore? Come swiftly, Heaven-born! It is the black cholera.’’ Holden galloped to his home. The sky was heavy with clouds, for the long-deferred rains were near and the heat was stifling. Ameera’’s mother met him in the courtyard, whimpering, ‘‘She is dying. She is nursing herself into death. She is all but dead. What shall I do, sahib?’’ Ameera was lying in the room in which Tota had been born. She made no sign when Holden entered, because the human soul is a very lonely thing and, when it is getting ready to go away, hides itself in a misty borderland where the living may not follow. The black cholera does its work quietly and without explanation. Ameera was being thrust out of life as though the Angel of Death had himself put his hand upon her. The quick breathing seemed to show that she was either afraid or in pain, but neither eyes nor mouth gave any answer to Holden’s kisses. There was nothing to be said or done. Holden could only wait and suffer. The first drops of the rain began to fall on the roof and he could hear shouts of joy in the parched city.

408

British Literature Student wCB.indb 408

11/14/12 4:39 PM

The soul came back a little and the lips moved. Holden bent down to listen. ‘‘Keep nothing of mine,’’ said Ameera. ‘‘Take no hair from my head. She would make thee burn it later on. That flame I should feel. Lower! Stoop lower! Remember only that I was thine and bore thee a son. Though thou wed a white woman to-morrow, the pleasure of receiving in thy arms thy first son is taken from thee for ever. Remember me when thy son is born — the one that shall carry thy name before all men. His misfortunes be on my head. I bear witness — I bear witness’’ — the lips were forming the words on his ear — ‘‘that there is no God but — thee, beloved!’’ Then she died. Holden sat still, and all thought was taken from him, — till he heard Ameera’s mother lift the curtain. ‘‘Is she dead, sahib?’’ ‘‘She is dead.’’ ‘‘Then I will mourn, and afterwards take an inventory of the furniture in this house. For that will be mine. The sahib does not mean to resume it? It is so little, so very little, sahib, and I am an old woman. I would like to lie softly.’’ ‘‘For the mercy of God be silent a while. Go out and mourn where I cannot hear.’’ ‘‘Sahib, she will be buried in four hours.’’ ‘‘I know the custom. I shall go ere she is taken away. That matter is in thy hands. Look to it, that the bed on which — on which she lies —’’ ‘‘Aha! That beautiful red-lacquered bed. I have long desired —’’ ‘‘That the bed is left here untouched for my disposal. All else in the house is thine. Hire a cart, take everything, go hence, and before sunrise let there be nothing in this house but that which I have ordered thee to respect.’’ ‘‘I am an old woman. I would stay at least for the days of mourning, and the rains have just broken. Whither shall I go?’’ ‘‘What is that to me? My order is that there is a going. The house-gear is worth a thousand rupees and my orderly shall bring thee a hundred rupees to-night.’’ ‘‘That is very little. Think of the cart-hire.’’

‘‘It shall be nothing unless thou goest, and with speed. O woman, get hence and leave me with my dead!’’ The mother shuffled down the staircase, and in her anxiety to take stock of the house-fittings forgot to mourn. Holden stayed by Ameera’s side and the rain roared on the roof. He could not think connectedly by reason of the noise, though he made many attempts to do so. Then four sheeted ghosts glided dripping into the room and stared at him through their veils. They were the washers of the dead. Holden left the room and went out to his horse. He had come in a dead, stifling calm through ankledeep dust. He found the courtyard a rain-lashed pond alive with frogs; a torrent of yellow water ran under the gate, and a roaring wind drove the bolts of the rain like buckshot against the mud-walls. Pir Khan was shivering in his little hut by the gate, and the horse was stamping uneasily in the water. ‘‘I have been told the sahib’s order,’’ said Pir Khan. ‘‘It is well. This house is now desolate. I go also, for my monkey-face would be a reminder of that which has been. Concerning the bed, I will bring that to thy house yonder in the morning; but remember, sahib, it will be to thee a knife turning in a green wound. I go upon a pilgrimage, and I will take no money. I have grown fat in the protection of the Presence whose sorrow is my sorrow. For the last time I hold his stirrup.’’ He touched Holden’s foot with both hands and the horse sprang out into the road, where the creaking bamboos were whipping the sky and all the frogs were chuckling. Holden could not see for the rain in his face. He put his hands before his eyes and muttered — ‘‘Oh you brute! You utter brute!’’ The news of his trouble was already in his bungalow. He read the knowledge in his butler’s eyes when Ahmed Khan brought in food, and for the first and last time in his life laid a hand upon his master’s shoulder, saying, ‘‘Eat, sahib, eat. Meat is good against sorrow. I also have known. Moreover the shadows come and go, sahib; the shadows come and go. These be curried eggs.’’ Holden could neither eat nor sleep. The heavens sent down eight inches of rain in that night and washed the earth clean. The waters tore down walls,

409

British Literature Student wCB.indb 409

11/14/12 4:39 PM

broke roads, and scoured open the shallow graves on the Mahomedan burying-ground. All next day it rained, and Holden sat still in his house considering his sorrow. On the morning of the third day he received a telegram which said only, ‘‘Ricketts, Myndonie. Dying. Holden relieve. Immediate.’’ Then he thought that before he departed he would look at the house wherein he had been master and lord. There was a break in the weather, and the rank earth steamed with vapour. He found that the rains had torn down the mud pillars of the gateway, and the heavy wooden gate that had guarded his life hung lazily from one hinge. There was grass three inches high in the courtyard; Pir Khan’s lodge was empty, and the sodden thatch sagged between the beams. A gray squirrel was in possession of the verandah, as if the house had been untenanted for thirty years instead of three days. Ameera’s mother had removed everything except some mildewed matting. The tick-tick of the little scorpions as they hurried across the floor was the only sound in the house. Ameera’s room and the other one where Tota had lived were heavy with mildew; and the narrow staircase leading to the roof

was streaked and stained with rain-borne mud. Holden saw all these things, and came out again to meet in the road Durga Dass, his landlord, — portly, affable, clothed in white muslin, and driving a Cee-spring buggy. He was overlooking his property to see how the roofs stood the stress of the first rains. ‘‘I have heard,’’ said he, ‘‘you will not take this place any more, sahib?’’ ‘‘What are you going to do with it?’’ ‘‘Perhaps I shall let it again.’’ ‘‘Then I will keep it on while I am away.’’ Durga Dass was silent for some time. ‘‘You shall not take it on, sahib,’’ he said. ‘‘When I was a young man I also —, but to-day I am a member of the Municipality. Ho! Ho! No. When the birds have gone what need to keep the nest? I will have it pulled down — the timber will sell for something always. It shall be pulled down, and the Municipality shall make a road across, as they desire, from the burningghaut to the city wall, so that no man may say where this house stood’’ (fullreads.com/literature/ without-benefit-of-clergy).

•

Warm-up: How does Kipling subtly develop a tragic theme in this short story?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 30-D.

•

Students will re-write corrected copies of essay due tomorrow. Discuss Kipling’s storytelling techniques. Identify the rising action, climax, and resolution.

Storytelling

CONCEPT BUILDER 30-D

Assignments

410

British Literature Student wCB.indb 410

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 5

“The Rocking-Horse Winner” D.H. Lawrence There was a woman who was beautiful, who started with all the advantages, yet she had no luck. She married for love, and the love turned to dust. She had bonny children, yet she felt they had been thrust upon her, and she could not love them. They looked at her coldly, as if they were finding fault with her. And hurriedly she felt she must cover up some fault in herself. Yet what it was that she must cover up she never knew. Nevertheless, when her children were present, she always felt the center of her heart go hard. This troubled her, and in her manner she was all the more gentle and anxious for her children, as if she loved them very much. Only she herself knew that at the center of her heart was a hard little place that could not feel love, no, not for anybody. Everybody else said of her: “She is such a good mother. She adores her children.” Only she herself, and her children themselves, knew it was not so. They read it in each other’s eyes. There were a boy and two little girls. They lived in a pleasant house, with a garden, and they had discreet servants, and felt themselves superior to anyone in the neighborhood. Although they lived in style, they felt always an anxiety in the house. There was never enough money. The mother had a small income, and the father had a small income, but not nearly enough for the social position which they had to keep up. The father went into town to some office. But though he had good prospects, these prospects never materialized. There was always the grinding sense of the shortage of money, though the style was always kept up. At last the mother said: “I will see if I can’t make something.” But she did not know where to begin. She racked her brains, and tried this thing and the

other, but could not find anything successful. The failure made deep lines come into her face. Her children were growing up, they would have to go to school. There must be more money, there must be more money. The father, who was always very handsome and expensive in his tastes, seemed as if he never would be able to do anything worth doing. And the mother, who had a great belief in herself, did not succeed any better, and her tastes were just as expensive. And so the house came to be haunted by the unspoken phrase: There must be more money! There must be more money! The children could hear it all the time though nobody said it aloud. They heard it at Christmas, when the expensive and splendid toys filled the nursery. Behind the shining modern rocking-horse, behind the smart doll’s house, a voice would start whispering: “There must be more money! There must be more money!” And the children would stop playing, to listen for a moment. They would look into each other’s eyes, to see if they had all heard. And each one saw in the eyes of the other two that they too had heard. “There must be more money! There must be more money!” It came whispering from the springs of the still-swaying rocking-horse, and even the horse, bending his wooden, champing head, heard it. The big doll, sitting so pink and smirking in her new pram, could hear it quite plainly, and seemed to be smirking all the more self-consciously because of it. The foolish puppy, too, that took the place of the teddy-bear, he was looking so extraordinarily foolish for no other reason but that he heard the secret whisper all over the house: “There must be more money!”

411

British Literature Student wCB.indb 411

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Yet nobody ever said it aloud. The whisper was everywhere, and therefore no one spoke it. Just as no one ever says: “We are breathing!” in spite of the fact that breath is coming and going all the time. “Mother,” said the boy Paul one day, “why don’t we keep a car of our own? Why do we always use uncle’s, or else a taxi?” “Because we’re the poor members of the family,” said the mother. “But why are we, mother?” “Well — I suppose,” she said slowly and bitterly, “it’s because your father has no luck.” The boy was silent for some time. “Is luck money, mother?” he asked, rather timidly. “No, Paul. Not quite. It’s what causes you to have money.” “Oh!” said Paul vaguely. “I thought when Uncle Oscar said filthy lucker, it meant money.” “Filthy lucre does mean money,” said the mother. “But it’s lucre, not luck.” “Oh!” said the boy. “Then what is luck, mother?” “It’s what causes you to have money. If you’re lucky you have money. That’s why it’s better to be born lucky than rich. If you’re rich, you may lose your money. But if you’re lucky, you will always get more money.” “Oh! Will you? And is father not lucky?” “Very unlucky, I should say,” she said bitterly. The boy watched her with unsure eyes. “Why?” he asked. “I don’t know. Nobody ever knows why one person is lucky and another unlucky.” “Don’t they? Nobody at all? Does nobody know?” “Perhaps God. But He never tells.” “He ought to, then. And aren’t you lucky either, mother?” “I can’t be, if I married an unlucky husband.” “But by yourself, aren’t you?” “I used to think I was, before I married. Now I think I am very unlucky indeed.”

“Why?” “Well — never mind! Perhaps I’m not really,” she said. The child looked at her to see if she meant it. But he saw, by the lines of her mouth, that she was only trying to hide something from him. “Well, anyhow,” he said stoutly, “I’m a lucky person.” “Why?” said his mother, with a sudden laugh. He stared at her. He didn’t even know why he had said it. “God told me,” he asserted, brazening it out. “I hope He did, dear!” she said, again with a laugh, but rather bitter. “He did, mother!” “Excellent!” said the mother. The boy saw she did not believe him; or rather, that she paid no attention to his assertion. This angered him somewhat, and made him want to compel her attention. He went off by himself, vaguely, in a childish way, seeking for the clue to “luck.” Absorbed, taking no heed of other people, he went about with a sort of stealth, seeking inwardly for luck. He wanted luck, he wanted it, he wanted it. When the two girls were playing dolls in the nursery, he would sit on his big rocking-horse, charging madly into space, with a frenzy that made the little girls peer at him uneasily. Wildly the horse careered, the waving dark hair of the boy tossed, his eyes had a strange glare in them. The little girls dared not speak to him. When he had ridden to the end of his mad little journey, he climbed down and stood in front of his rocking-horse, staring fixedly into its lowered face. Its red mouth was slightly open, its big eye was wide and glassy-bright. Now! he would silently command the snorting steed. Now take me to where there is luck! Now take me! And he would slash the horse on the neck with the little whip he had asked Uncle Oscar for. He knew the horse could take him to where there was luck, if only he forced it. So he would mount again and start on his furious ride, hoping at last to get there.

412

British Literature Student wCB.indb 412

11/14/12 4:39 PM

“You’ll break your horse, Paul!” said the nurse. “He’s always riding like that! I wish he’d leave off!” said his elder sister Joan. But he only glared down on them in silence. Nurse gave him up. She could make nothing of him. Anyhow, he was growing beyond her. One day his mother and his Uncle Oscar came in when he was on one of his furious rides. He did not speak to them.

Oscar Cresswell got it all from Bassett. “Master Paul comes and asks me, so I can’t do more than tell him, sir,” said Bassett, his face terribly serious, as if he were speaking of religious matters. “And does he ever put anything on a horse he fancies?”

“Hallo, you young jockey! Riding a winner?” said his uncle.

“Well — I don’t want to give him away — he’s a young sport, a fine sport, sir. Would you mind asking him himself? He sort of takes a pleasure in it, and perhaps he’d feel I was giving him away, sir, if you don’t mind.

“Aren’t you growing too big for a rocking-horse? You’re not a very little boy any longer, you know,” said his mother.

The uncle went back to his nephew and took him off for a ride in the car.

But Paul only gave a blue glare from his big, rather close-set eyes. He would speak to nobody when he was in full tilt. His mother watched him with an anxious expression on her face. At last he suddenly stopped forcing his horse into the mechanical gallop and slid down. “Well, I got there!” he announced fiercely, his blue eyes still flaring, and his sturdy long legs straddling apart. “Where did you get to?” asked his mother. “Where I wanted to go,” he flared back at her. “That’s right, son!” said Uncle Oscar. “Don’t you stop till you get there. What’s the horse’s name?” “He doesn’t have a name,” said the boy. “Gets on without all right?” asked the uncle. “Well, he has different names. He was called Sansovino last week.” “Sansovino, eh? Won the Ascot. How did you know his name?” “He always talks about horse races with Bassett,” said Joan. The uncle was delighted to find that his small nephew was posted with all the racing news. Bassett, the young gardener, who had been wounded in the left foot in the war and had got his present job through Oscar Cresswell, whose batman he had been, was a perfect blade of the “turf.” He lived in the racing events, and the small boy lived with him.

Bassett was serious as a church.

“Say, Paul, old man, do you ever put anything on a horse?” the uncle asked. The boy watched the handsome man closely. “Why, do you think I oughtn’t to?” he parried. “Not a bit of it! I thought perhaps you might give me a tip for the Lincoln.” The car sped on into the country, going down to Uncle Oscar’s place in Hampshire. “Honor bright?” said the nephew. “Honor bright, son!” said the uncle. “Well, then, Daffodil.” “Daffodil! I doubt it, sonny. What about Mirza?” “I only know the winner,” said the boy. “That’s Daffodil.” “Daffodil, eh?” There was a pause. Daffodil was an obscure horse comparatively. “Uncle!” “Yes, son?” “You won’t let it go any further, will you? I promised Bassett.” “Bassett be damned, old man! What’s he got to do with it?” “We’re partners. We’ve been partners from the first. Uncle, he lent me my first five shillings, which I lost. I promised him, honor bright, it was only between me and him; only you gave me that

413

British Literature Student wCB.indb 413

11/14/12 4:39 PM

ten-shilling note I started winning with, so I thought you were lucky. You won’t let it go any further, will you?” The boy gazed at his uncle from those big, hot, blue eyes, set rather close together. The uncle stirred and laughed uneasily. “Right you are, son! I’ll keep your tip private. Daffodil, eh? How much are you putting on him?” “All except twenty pounds,” said the boy. “I keep that in reserve.” The uncle thought it a good joke. “You keep twenty pounds in reserve, do you, you young romancer? What are you betting, then?” “I’m betting three hundred,” said the boy gravely. “But it’s between you and me, Uncle Oscar! Honor bright?” The uncle burst into a roar of laughter. “It’s between you and me all right, you young Nat Gould,” he said, laughing. “But where’s your three hundred?” “Bassett keeps it for me. We’re partners.” “You are, are you! And what is Bassett putting on Daffodil?” “He won’t go quite as high as I do, I expect. Perhaps he’ll go a hundred and fifty.” “What, pennies?” laughed the uncle. “Pounds,” said the child, with a surprised look at his uncle. “Bassett keeps a bigger reserve than I do.” Between wonder and amusement Uncle Oscar was silent. He pursued the matter no further, but he determined to take his nephew with him to the Lincoln races. “Now, son,” he said, “I’m putting twenty on Mirza, and I’ll put five on for you on any horse you fancy. What’s your pick?” “Daffodil, uncle.” “No, not the fiver on Daffodil!” “I should if it was my own fiver,” said the child. “Good! Good! Right you are! A fiver for me and a fiver for you on Daffodil.” The child had never been to a race meeting before, and his eyes were blue fire. He pursed his

mouth tight and watched. A Frenchman just in front had put his money on Lancelot. Wild with excitement, he flayed his arms up and down, yelling “Lancelot!, Lancelot!” in his French accent. Daffodil came in first, Lancelot second, Mirza third. The child, flushed and with eyes blazing, was curiously serene. His uncle brought him four five-pound notes, four to one. “What am I to do with these?” he cried, waving them before the boys eyes. “I suppose we’ll talk to Bassett,” said the boy. “I expect I have fifteen hundred now; and twenty in reserve; and this twenty.” His uncle studied him for some moments. “Look here, son!” he said. “You’re not serious about Bassett and that fifteen hundred, are you?” “Yes, I am. But it’s between you and me, uncle. Honor bright?” “Honor bright all right, son! But I must talk to Bassett.” “If you’d like to be a partner, uncle, with Bassett and me, we could all be partners. Only, you’d have to promise, honor bright, uncle, not to let it go beyond us three. Bassett and I are lucky, and you must be lucky, because it was your ten shillings I started winning with....” Uncle Oscar took both Bassett and Paul into Richmond Park for an afternoon, and there they talked. “It’s like this, you see, sir,” Bassett said. “Master Paul would get me talking about racing events, spinning yarns, you know, sir. And he was always keen on knowing if I’d made or if I’d lost. It’s about a year since, now, that I put five shillings on Blush of Dawn for him — and we lost. Then the luck turned, with that ten shillings he had from you: that we put on Singhalese. And since then, it’s been pretty steady, all things considering. What do you say, Master Paul?” “We’re all right when we’re sure,” said Paul. “It’s when we’re not quite sure that we go down.” “Oh, but we’re careful then,” said Bassett. “But when are you sure?” Uncle Oscar smiled. “It’s Master Paul, sir,” said Bassett in a secret, religious voice. “It’s as if he had it from heaven. Like

414

British Literature Student wCB.indb 414

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Daffodil, now, for the Lincoln. That was as sure as eggs.” “Did you put anything on Daffodil?” asked Oscar Cresswell. “Yes, sir, I made my bit.” “And my nephew?” Bassett was obstinately silent, looking at Paul. “I made twelve hundred, didn’t I, Bassett? I told uncle I was putting three hundred on Daffodil.”

“It’s as if he had it from heaven, sir,” Bassett reiterated. “I should say so!” said the uncle. But he became a partner. And when the Leger was coming on, Paul was “sure” about Lively Spark, which was a quite inconsiderable horse. The boy insisted on putting a thousand on the horse, Bassett went for five hundred, and Oscar Cresswell two hundred. Lively Spark came in first, and the betting had been ten to one against him. Paul had made ten thousand.

“That’s right,” said Bassett, nodding.

“You see,” he said. “I was absolutely sure of him.”

“But where’s the money?” asked the uncle.

Even Oscar Cresswell had cleared two thousand.

“I keep it safe locked up, sir. Master Paul he can have it any minute he likes to ask for it.” “What, fifteen hundred pounds?” “And twenty! And forty, that is, with the twenty he made on the course.” “It’s amazing!” said the uncle. “If Master Paul offers you to be partners, sir, I would, if I were you; if you’ll excuse me,” said Bassett. Oscar Cresswell thought about it. “I’ll see the money,” he said.

“Look here, son,” he said, “this sort of thing makes me nervous.” “It needn’t, uncle! Perhaps I shan’t be sure again for a long time.” “But what are you going to do with your money?” asked the uncle. “Of course,” said the boy. “I started it for mother. She said she had no luck, because Father is unlucky, so I thought if I was lucky, it might stop whispering.” “What might stop whispering?” “Our house. I hate our house for whispering.” “What does it whisper?”

They drove home again, and sure enough, Bassett came round to the garden house with fifteen hundred pounds in notes. The twenty pounds reserve was left with Joe Glee, in the Turf Commission deposit.

“Why — why” — the boy fidgeted —”why, I don’t know. But it’s always short of money, you know, uncle.”

“You see, it’s all right, uncle, when I’m sure! Then we go strong, for all we’re worth, don’t we, Bassett?”

“You know people send Mother writs, don’t you, Uncle?”

“We do that, Master Paul.” “And when are you sure?” said the uncle, laughing. “Oh, well, sometimes I’m absolutely sure, like about Daffodil,” said the boy; “and sometimes I have an idea; and sometimes I haven’t even an idea, have I, Bassett? Then we’re careful, because we mostly go down.” “You do, do you! And when you’re sure, like about Daffodil, what makes you sure, sonny?” “Oh, well, I don’t know,” said the boy uneasily. “I’m sure, you know, uncle; that’s all.”

“I know it, son, I know it.”

“I’m afraid I do,” said the uncle. “And then the house whispers, like people laughing at you behind your back. It’s awful, that is! I thought if I was lucky....” “You might stop it,” added the uncle. The boy watched him with big blue eyes, that had an uncanny cold fire in them, and he said never a word. “Well, then!” said the uncle. “What are we doing?” “I shouldn’t like Mother to know I was lucky,” said the boy.

415

British Literature Student wCB.indb 415

11/14/12 4:39 PM

“Why not, son?” “She’d stop me.” “I don’t think she would.” “Oh!” — and the boy writhed in an odd way —”I don’t want her to know, Uncle.” “All right, son! We’ll manage it without her knowing.” They managed it very easily. Paul, at the other’s suggestion, handed over five thousand pounds to his uncle, who deposited it with the family lawyer, who was then to inform Paul’s mother that a relative had put five thousand pounds into his hands, which sum was to be paid out a thousand pounds at a time, on the mother’s birthday, for the next five years. “So she’ll have a birthday present of a thousand pounds for five successive years,” said Uncle Oscar. “I hope it won’t make it all the harder for her later.” Paul’s mother had her birthday in November. The house had been “whispering” worse than ever lately, and, even in spite of his luck, Paul could not bear up against it. He was very anxious to see the effect of the birthday letter, telling his mother about the thousand pounds. When there were no visitors, Paul now took his meals with his parents, as he was beyond the nursery control. His mother went into town nearly every day. She had discovered that she had an odd knack of sketching furs and dress materials, so she worked secretly in the studio of a friend who was the chief artist for the leading drapers. She drew the figures of ladies in furs and ladies in silk and sequins for the newspaper advertisements. This young woman artist earned several thousand pounds a year, but Paul’s mother only made several hundreds, and she was again dissatisfied. She so wanted to be first in something, and she did not succeed, even in making sketches for drapery advertisements. She was down to breakfast on the morning of her birthday. Paul watched her face as she read her letters. He knew the lawyer’s letter. As his mother read it, her face hardened and became more expressionless. Then a cold, determined look came on her mouth. She hid the letter under the pile of others, and said not a word about it.

“Didn’t you have anything nice in the post for your birthday, mother?” said Paul. “Quite moderately nice,” she said, her voice cold and absent. She went away to town without saying more. But in the afternoon Uncle Oscar appeared. He said Paul’s mother had had a long interview with the lawyer, asking if the whole five thousand could not be advanced at once, as she was in debt. “What do you think, uncle?” said the boy. “I leave it to you, son.” “Oh, let her have it, then! We can get some more with the other,” said the boy. “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush, laddie!” said Uncle Oscar. “But I’m sure to know for the Grand National; or the Lincolnshire; or else the Derby. I’m sure to know for one of them,” said Paul. So Uncle Oscar signed the agreement, and Paul’s mother touched the whole five thousand. Then something very curious happened. The voices in the house suddenly went mad, like a chorus of frogs on a spring evening. There were certain new furnishings, and Paul had a tutor. He was really going to Eton, his father’s school, in the following autumn. There were flowers in the winter, and a blossoming of the luxury Paul’s mother had been used to. And yet the voices in the house, behind the sprays of mimosa and almond-blossom, and from under the piles of iridescent cushions, simply trilled and screamed in a sort of ecstasy: “There must be more money! Oh-h-h; there must be more money. Oh, now, now-w! Now-w-w — there must be more money! — more than ever! More than ever!” It frightened Paul terribly. He studied away at his Latin and Greek. But his intense hours were spent with Bassett. The Grand National had gone by: he had not “known,” and had lost a hundred pounds. Summer was at hand. He was in agony for the Lincoln. But even for the Lincoln he didn’t “know,” and he lost fifty pounds. He became wild-eyed and strange, as if something were going to explode in him. “Let it alone, son! Don’t you bother about it!” urged Uncle Oscar. But it was as if the boy couldn’t really hear what his uncle was saying.

416

British Literature Student wCB.indb 416

11/14/12 4:39 PM

“I’ve got to know for the Derby! I’ve got to know for the Derby!” the child reiterated, his big blue eyes blazing with a sort of madness. His mother noticed how overwrought he was. “You’d better go to the seaside. Wouldn’t you like to go now to the seaside, instead of waiting? I think you’d better,” she said, looking down at him anxiously, her heart curiously heavy because of him. But the child lifted his uncanny blue eyes. “I couldn’t possibly go before the Derby, mother!” he said. “I couldn’t possibly!” “Why not?” she said, her voice becoming heavy when she was opposed. “Why not? You can still go from the seaside to see the Derby with your Uncle Oscar, if that that’s what you wish. No need for you to wait here. Besides, I think you care too much about these races. It’s a bad sign. My family has been a gambling family, and you won’t know till you grow up how much damage it has done. But it has done damage. I shall have to send Bassett away, and ask Uncle Oscar not to talk racing to you, unless you promise to be reasonable about it; go away to the seaside and forget it. You’re all nerves!” “I’ll do what you like, Mother, so long as you don’t send me away till after the Derby,” the boy said. “Send you away from where? Just from this house?” “Yes,” he said, gazing at her. “Why, you curious child, what makes you care about this house so much, suddenly? I never knew you loved it.” He gazed at her without speaking. He had a secret within a secret, something he had not divulged, even to Bassett or to his Uncle Oscar. But his mother, after standing undecided and a little bit sullen for some moments, said: “Very well, then! Don’t go to the seaside till after the Derby, if you don’t wish it. But promise me you won’t let your nerves go to pieces. Promise you won’t think so much about horse racing and events, as you call them!” “Oh, no,” said the boy casually. “I won’t think much about them, Mother. You needn’t worry. I wouldn’t worry, Mother, if I were you.”

“If you were me and I were you,” said his mother, “I wonder what we should do!” “But you know you needn’t worry, Mother, don’t you?” the boy repeated. “I should be awfully glad to know it,” she said wearily. “Oh, well, you can, you know. I mean, you ought to know you needn’t worry,” he insisted. “Ought I? Then I’ll see about it,” she said. Paul’s secret of secrets was his wooden horse, that which had no name. Since he was emancipated from a nurse and a nursery governess, he had had his rocking-horse removed to his own bedroom at the top of the house. “Surely, you’re too big for a rocking-horse!” his mother had remonstrated. “Well, you see, Mother, till I can have a real horse, I like to have some sort of animal about,” had been his quaint answer. “Do you feel he keeps you company?” She laughed. “Oh yes! He’s very good, he always keeps me company, when I’m there,” said Paul. So the horse, rather shabby, stood in an arrested prance in the boy’s bedroom. The Derby was drawing near, and the boy grew more and more tense. He hardly heard what was spoken to him, he was very frail, and his eyes were really uncanny. His mother had sudden strange seizures of uneasiness about him. Sometimes, for half an hour, she would feel a sudden anxiety about him that was almost anguish. She wanted to rush to him at once, and know he was safe. Two nights before the Derby, she was at a big party in town, when one of her rushes of anxiety about her boy, her firstborn, gripped her heart till she could hardly speak. She fought with the feeling, might and main, for she believed in common sense. But it was too strong. She had to leave the dance and go downstairs to telephone to the country. The children’s nursery governess was terribly surprised and startled at being rung up in the night. “Are the children all right, Miss Wilmot?”

417

British Literature Student wCB.indb 417

11/14/12 4:39 PM

“Oh yes, they are quite all right.” “Master Paul? Is he all right?” “He went to bed as right as a trivet. Shall I run up and look at him?” “No,” said Paul’s mother reluctantly. “No! Don’t trouble. It’s all right. Don’t sit up. We shall be home fairly soon.” She did not want her son’s privacy intruded upon. “Very good,” said the governess. It was about one o’clock when Paul’s mother and father drove up to their house. All was still. Paul’s mother went to her room and slipped off her white fur cloak. She had told her maid not to wait up for her. She heard her husband downstairs, mixing a whisky and soda. And then, because of the strange anxiety at her heart, she stole upstairs to her son’s room. Noiselessly she went along the upper corridor. Was there a faint noise? What was it? She stood, with arrested muscles, outside his door, listening. There was a strange, heavy, and yet not loud noise. Her heart stood still. It was a soundless noise, yet rushing and powerful. Something huge, in violent, hushed motion. What was it? What in God’s name was it? She ought to know. She felt that she knew the noise. She knew what it was. Yet she could not place it. She couldn’t say what it was. And on and on it went, like a madness. Softly, frozen with anxiety and fear, she turned the door handle. The room was dark. Yet in the space near the window, she heard and saw something plunging to and fro. She gazed in fear and amazement. Then suddenly she switched on the light, and saw her son, in his green pajamas, madly surging on the rocking-horse. The blaze of light suddenly lit him up, as he urged the wooden horse, and lit her up, as she stood, blonde, in her dress of pale green and crystal, in the doorway. “Paul!” she cried. “Whatever are you doing?” “It’s Malabar!” he screamed in a powerful, strange voice. “It’s Malabar!” His eyes blazed at her for one strange and senseless second, as he ceased urging his wooden

horse. Then he fell with a crash to the ground, and she, all her tormented motherhood flooding upon her, rushed to gather him up. But he was unconscious, and unconscious he remained, with some brain fever. He talked and tossed, and his mother sat stonily by his side. “Malabar! It’s Malabar! Bassett, Bassett, I know! It’s Malabar!” So the child cried, trying to get up and urge the rocking-horse that gave him his inspiration. “What does he mean by Malabar?” asked the heart-frozen mother. “I don’t know,” said the father stonily. “What does he mean by Malabar?” she asked her brother Oscar. “It’s one of the horses running for the Derby,” was the answer. And, in spite of himself, Oscar Cresswell spoke to Bassett, and himself put a thousand on Malabar: at fourteen to one. The third day of the illness was critical: they were waiting for a change. The boy, with his rather long, curly hair, was tossing ceaselessly on the pillow. He neither slept nor regained consciousness, and his eyes were like blue stones. His mother sat, feeling her heart had gone, turned actually into a stone. In the evening Oscar Cresswell did not come, but Bassett sent a message, saying could he come up for one moment, just one moment? Paul’s mother was very angry at the intrusion, but on second thoughts she agreed. The boy was the same. Perhaps Bassett might bring him to consciousness. The gardener, a shortish fellow with a little brown moustache and sharp little brown eyes, tiptoed into the room, touched his imaginary cap to Paul’s mother, and stole to the bedside, staring with glittering, smallish eyes at the tossing, dying child. “Master Paul!” he whispered. “Master Paul! Malabar came in first all right, a clean win. I did as you told me. You’ve made over seventy thousand pounds, you have; you’ve got over eighty thousand. Malabar came in all right, Master Paul.” “Malabar! Malabar! Did I say Malabar, Mother? Did I say Malabar? Do you think I’m lucky, Mother?

418

British Literature Student wCB.indb 418

11/14/12 4:39 PM

I knew Malabar, didn’t I? Over eighty thousand pounds! I call that lucky, don’t you, Mother? Over eighty thousand pounds! I knew, didn’t I know I knew? Malabar came in all right. If I ride my horse till I’m sure, then I tell you, Bassett, you can go as high as you like. Did you go for all you were worth, Bassett?” “I went a thousand on it, Master Paul.” “I never told you, Mother, that if I can ride my horse, and get there, then I’m absolutely sure — oh, absolutely! Mother, did I ever tell you? I am lucky!”

“No, you never did,” said the mother. But the boy died in the night. And even as he lay dead, his mother heard her brother’s voice saying to her: “My God, Hester, you’re eighty-odd thousand to the good, and a poor devil of a son to the bad. But, poor devil, poor devil, he’s best gone out of a life where he rides his rocking-horse to find a winner” (www.dowse.com/fiction/Lawrence. html).

Assignments •

Warm-up: Some readers find this essay to be quite disconcerting. Why?

•

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 incessant rocking of the horse

___________

Suspense

419

British Literature Student wCB.indb 419

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Chapter 31

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.

Chapter Learning Objectives Chapter 31 examines some of the best poetry in the British corpus. William Butler Yeats, in particular, is arguably the best of the best. Along the way we visit Dorothy Sayers, a veritable genius who loved Jesus Christ with all her heart. Finally, unfortunately, if this new age birthed great poets, it also killed them off in wholesale fashion in World War I.

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

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.

420

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 20thcentury 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 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. History connections: British History chapter 31, “World War I and Afterwards.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 420

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 1

Dorothy Sayers All the previous authors pale in substance and talent, in the author’s opinion, when compared to Dorothy Sayers (1893–1957). She was one of the most famous Christian apologists of the 20th century. She was friends with T.S. Eliot and C.S. Lewis, both master apologists. Sayers believed, as she often said, “The only Christian work is good work, well done.” Sayers was born in Oxford, the only child of the Rev. Henry Sayers. Later, Sayers was to be the first woman to receive a degree from Oxford University. At the time, her father was headmaster of Christ Church Cathedral School, and she was born in the headmaster’s house. Therefore, most of Sayers’

young life was spent in a religious, educational setting that had a profound impact on her writing career. In 1923 Sayers published her first novel, Whose Body, which introduced Lord Peter Wimsey, her hero for 14 volumes of novels and short stories. Sayers also loved to write drama. Her most famous drama was The Man Born to be King, in which her decision to present Christ speaking in modern English raised an outcry of protest but revolutionized religious drama. Sayers would never compromise her values to accommodate public opinion. Later, before she died, Sayers translated Dante’s Inferno.

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. They may choose two or three essays. The rest of the T essays can be outlined, answered with shorter answers, or skipped.

•

Students will review all readings for chapter 31.

421

British Literature Student wCB.indb 421

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-A

Read A.E. Housman’s “Loveliest of Trees” and respond to the following: What is the central image of this poem?

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now Is hung with bloom along the bough, And stands about the woodland ride Wearing white for Eastertide. Now, of my three score years and ten, Twenty will not come again, And take from seventy springs a score, It only leaves me fifty more. And since to look at things in bloom Fifty springs are little room, About the woodlands I will go To see the cherry hung with snow.

Using this metaphor, what thematic point is the poet making?

Does the poem end with hope or despair? Why?

422

British Literature Student wCB.indb 422

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 2

A.E. Housman Despite the small number of poems he published, A.E. Housman was a literary force in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in England. He was a poet who loved to write about the country, and there was more than a hint of naturalism in his writings. Read “Terence, This Is Stupid Stuff,” “Loveliest of Trees,” and “Be Still, My Soul.”

Lovliest of Trees Loveliest of trees,

And take from seventy springs a score,

the cherry now Is hung with bloom along the bough,

It only leaves me fifty more.

And stands about the woodland ride

Fifty springs are little room,

Wearing white for Eastertide. Now, of my three score years and ten, Twenty will not come again,

And since to look at things in bloom About the woodlands I will go To see the cherry hung with snow.

Be Still, My Soul, Be Still BE still, my soul, be still; the arms you bear are brittle,

Then it was well with me, in days ere I was born.

Earth and high heaven are fixt of old and founded strong.

Now, and I muse for why and never find the reason,

Think rather, — call to thought, if now you grieve a little,

Be still, be still, my soul; it is but for a season:

The days when we had rest, O soul, for they were long. Men loved unkindness then, but lightless in the quarry I slept and saw not; tears fell down, I did not mourn; Sweat ran and blood sprang out and I was never sorry:

I pace the earth, and drink the air, and feel the sun. Let us endure an hour and see injustice done. Ay, look: high heaven and earth ail from the prime foundation; All thoughts to rive the heart are here, and all are vain: Horror and scorn and hate and fear and indignation — Oh why did I awake? when shall I sleep again?

423

British Literature Student wCB.indb 423

11/14/12 4:39 PM

TERENCE, This Is Stupid Stuff TERENCE, this is stupid stuff:

To justify God’s ways to man.

You eat your victuals fast enough;

Ale, man, ale’s the stuff to drink

There can’t be much amiss, ’tis clear,

For fellows whom it hurts to think:

To see the rate you drink your beer.

Look into the pewter pot

But oh, good Lord, the verse you make,

To see the world as the world’s not.

It gives a chap the belly-ache.

And faith, ’tis pleasant till ’tis past:

The cow, the old cow, she is dead;

The mischief is that ’twill not last.

It sleeps well, the horned head:

Oh I have been to Ludlow fair

We poor lads, ’tis our turn now

And left my necktie God knows where,

To hear such tunes as killed the cow.

And carried half way home, or near,

Pretty friendship ’tis to rhyme

Pints and quarts of Ludlow beer:

Your friends to death before their time

Then the world seemed none so bad,

Moping melancholy mad:

And I myself a sterling lad;

Come, pipe a tune to dance to, lad.’

And down in lovely muck I’ve lain,

Why, if ’tis dancing you would be,

Happy till I woke again.

There’s brisker pipes than poetry.

Then I saw the morning sky:

Say, for what were hop-yards meant,

Heigho, the tale was all a lie;

Or why was Burton built on Trent?

The world, it was the old world yet,

Oh many a peer of England brews

I was I, my things were wet,

Livelier liquor than the Muse,

And nothing now remained to do

And malt does more than Milton can

But begin the game anew.

eir.library.utoronto.ca/

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.

424

British Literature Student wCB.indb 424

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-B

Read John McRae’s “In Flanders Field” and respond to the following: In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below. We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

Why did the poet choose a poppy to represent his fallen comrades?

What is the theme of this passage?

What is the tone of this poem?

425

British Literature Student wCB.indb 425

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 3

World War I Poets BACKGROUND

Wilfred Edward Salter Owen (1893–1918) was on the continent teaching until he visited a hospital for the wounded and then decided in September 1915 to return to England and to enlist. “I came out in order to help these boys — directly by leading them as well as an officer can; indirectly, by watching their sufferings that I may speak of them as well as a pleader can. I have done the first” (Wilfred Owen, “The Calls,” October 1918). Owen was injured in March 1917 and sent home; he was fit for duty in August 1918 and returned to the front. November 4, just seven days before the Armistice, he was caught in a German machine-gun attack and was killed. He was 25 when he died. The bells were ringing on November 11, 1918, in Shrewsbury to celebrate the Armistice when the doorbell rang at his parent’s home, bringing them the telegram about their son’s death.

Greater Love Red lips are not so red

Your voice sings not so soft, —

As the stained stones kissed by the English dead.

Though even as wind murmuring through raftered loft, —

Kindness of wooed and wooer Seems shame to their love pure. O Love, your eyes lose lure When I behold eyes blinded in my stead! Your slender attitude Trembles not exquisite like limbs knife-skewed,

Your dear voice is not dear, Gentle, and evening clear, As theirs whom none now hear, Now earth has stopped their piteous mouths that coughed.

Rolling and rolling there

Heart, you were never hot

Where God seems not to care;

Nor large, nor full like hearts made great with shot;

Till the fierce love they bear

And though your hand be pale,

Cramps them in death’s extreme decrepitude.

Paler are all which trail Your cross through flame and hail: Weep, you may weep, for you may touch them not.

www.anglik.net/ww1wilfredowen.htm

426

British Literature Student wCB.indb 426

11/14/12 4:39 PM

BACKGROUND

Rupert Brooke (1887–1915) was a good student and athlete, and — in part because of his strikingly handsome looks — a popular young man who eventually numbered among his friends E.M. Forster and Virginia Woolf. Brooke actually saw little combat during the war; he contracted blood poisoning from a small neglected wound and died in April 1915.

The Fish In a cool curving world he lies

And gold that lies behind the eyes,

And ripples with dark ecstasies.

The unknown unnameable sightless white

The kind luxurious lapse and steal

That is the essential flame of night,

Shapes all his universe to feel

Lustreless purple, hooded green,

And know and be; the clinging stream

The myriad hues that lie between

Closes his memory, glooms his dream,

Darkness and darkness! . . .

Who lips the roots o’ the shore, and glides Superb on unreturning tides. Those silent waters weave for him A fluctuant mutable world and dim, Where wavering masses bulge and gape Mysterious, and shape to shape Dies momently through whorl and hollow, And form and line and solid follow Solid and line and form to dream Fantastic down the eternal stream; An obscure world, a shifting world, Bulbous, or pulled to thin, or curled, Or serpentine, or driving arrows, Or serene slidings, or March narrows. There slipping wave and shore are one,

And all’s one. Gentle, embracing, quiet, dun, The world he rests in, world he knows, Perpetual curving. Only grows An eddy in that ordered falling, A knowledge from the gloom, a calling Weed in the wave, gleam in the mud — The dark fire leaps along his blood; Dateless and deathless, blind and still, The intricate impulse works its will; His woven world drops back; and he, Sans providence, sans memory, Unconscious and directly driven, Fades to some dank sufficient heaven.

And weed and mud. No ray of sun,

O world of lips, O world of laughter,

But glow to glow fades down the deep

Where hope is fleet and thought flies after,

(As dream to unknown dream in sleep);

Of lights in the clear night, of cries

Shaken translucency illumes

That drift along the wave and rise

The hyaline of drifting glooms;

Thin to the glittering stars above,

The strange soft-handed depth subdues

You know the hands, the eyes of love!

Drowned colour there, but black to hues,

The strife of limbs, the sightless clinging,

As death to living, decomposes —

The infinite distance, and the singing

Red darkness of the heart of roses,

Blown by the wind, a flame of sound,

Blue brilliant from dead starless skies,

The gleam, the flowers, and vast around

427

British Literature Student wCB.indb 427

11/14/12 4:39 PM

The horizon, and the heights above

In felt bewildering harmonies

You know the sigh, the song of love!

Of trembling touch; and music is

But there the night is close, and there Darkness is cold and strange and bare, And the secret deeps are whisperless; And rhythm is all deliciousness; And joy is in the throbbing tide, Whose intricate fingers beat and glide

The exquisite knocking of the blood. Space is no more, under the mud; His bliss is older than the sun. Silent and straight the waters run. The lights, the cries, the willows dim, And the dark tide are one with him.

www.emory.edu/ENGLISH/LostPoets/Fish.html.

Assignments •

Warm-up: Would you charge an enemy position knowing that you probably will die?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 31-C.

•

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: TURNING and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand. The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert A shape with lion body and the head of a man, A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun, Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds. The darkness drops again; but now I know That twenty centuries of stony sleep Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle, And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

What are the first two images the poet is presenting? Why?

What does this line mean?

What is the Second Coming?

The entire poem is full of religious imagery. Share a few examples and explain.

428

British Literature Student wCB.indb 428

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 4

William Butler Yeats BACKGROUND

(Note: Yeats is pronounced “Yates.”) In the May 1938 Atlantic Monthly, Louise Bogan wrote: William Butler Yeats, at the age of seventy-three, stands well within the company of the great poets. He is still writing, and the poems which now appear, usually embedded in short plays or set into the commentary and prefaces which have been another preoccupation of his later years, are, in many instances, as vigorous and as subtle as the poems written by him during the years ordinarily considered to be the period of a poet’s maturity. Yeats has advanced into age with his art strengthened by a long battle which had as its object a literature written by Irishmen fit to take its place among the noble literatures of the world. The spectacle of a poet’s work invigorated by his lifelong struggle against the artistic inertia of his nation is one that would shed strong light into any era.

and poetry alike. And there is not a great deal of difference between the “lank, long-coated figure . . . who came and went as he pleased,” dramatizing himself and his dreams in the streets of Dublin (the youth who had known William Morris and was to know Dowson and Wilde), and the man who, full of honors in our day, impresses us with his detachment and subtle modernity. Yeats, the fiery young Nationalist, rolling up with his own hands, the red carpet spread on a Dublin sidewalk “by some elderly Nationalist softened or weakened by time, to welcome Viceroyalty,” is recognizable in the poet of advanced years who does not hesitate to satirize certain leaders of the new Ireland.

The phenomenon of a poet who enjoys continued development into the beginning of old age is in itself rare. Goethe, Sophocles, and, in a lesser degree, Milton come to mind as men whose last works burned with the gathered fuel of their lives. More often development, in a poet, comes to a full stop; and it is frequently a negation of the ideals of his youth, as well as a declination of his powers, that throws a shadow across his final pages. In his middle years Yeats began to concern himself with the problem of the poet in age. We can trace, in Yeats, the continually enriched and undeviating course of an inspired man, from earliest youth to age. We can trace the rectitude of the spiritual line in his prose

Yeats’ faith in the development of his own powers has never failed. He wrote, in 1923, after receiving from the King of Sweden the medal symbolizing the Nobel Prize: “It shows a young man listening to a Muse, who stands young and beautiful with a great lyre in her hand, and I think as I examine it, ‘I was good-looking once like that young man, but my unpractised verse was full of infirmity, my Muse old as it were, and now I am old and rheumatic and nothing to look at, but my Muse is young.’ I am even persuaded that she is like those Angels in Swedenborg’s vision, and moves perpetually ‘towards the dayspring of her youth.”

429

British Literature Student wCB.indb 429

11/14/12 4:39 PM

The Second Coming TURNING and turning in the widening gyre

Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert

The falcon cannot hear the falconer;

A shape with lion body and the head of a man,

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;

A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,

Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,

Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it

The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere

Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.

The ceremony of innocence is drowned;

The darkness drops again; but now I know

The best lack all conviction, while the worst

That twenty centuries of stony sleep

Are full of passionate intensity.

Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,

Surely some revelation is at hand; Surely the Second Coming is at hand.

And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi www.bartleby.com/.

Assignments •

Warm-up: Discuss Yeats’s use of symbolism in his poetry.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 31-D.

•

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

430

British Literature Student wCB.indb 430

11/14/12 4:39 PM

William Butler Yeats and friends. Photo by Lady Ottoline Morrell, 1933 (PD-US).

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 31-D

Read William Butler Yeats’ “I KNOW that I shall meet my fate” and respond to the following: I KNOW that I shall meet my fate Somewhere among the clouds above; Those that I fight I do not hate Those that I guard I do not love; My country is Kiltartan Cross, My countrymen Kiltartan’s poor, No likely end could bring them loss Or leave them happier than before.

Nor law, nor duty bade me fight, Nor public man, nor cheering crowds, A lonely impulse of delight Drove to this tumult in the clouds; I balanced all, brought all to mind, The years to come seemed waste of breath, A waste of breath the years behind In balance with this life, this death.

Death is a fate all must face. How do your views on life and death differ from those of Yeats?

431

British Literature Student wCB.indb 431

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 5

Analysis of Are Women Human? Dorothy Sayers Are Women Human? by Dorothy Sayers explores a “deep philosophical” question of whether women are in fact of the same race as men. In the first half, entitled “Are Women Human?” Sayers claims yes they are: “Indeed, it is my experience that both men and women are fundamentally human, and that there is very little mystery about either sex, except the exasperation mysteriousness of human beings in general.” After exploring the role of women in earlier American society, from being homemakers to taking on industrial activities during times of war, Sayers concludes women are human. Sayers argues that modern society, instead of confining women to the home, should allow women to be creative and excel at jobs. “If the women make better office-workers than men, they must have the office work. If any individual women is able to make a first-class lawyer, doctor, architect, or engineer, then she must be allowed to try her hand at it.” If these women were truly allowed to explore their hidden talents, the world would truly appreciate them for who they are. In other words, they must be allowed to express their individuality. “And though for certain purposes it may still be necessary, for women to band themselves together, as women, to secure recognition of their requirements as a sex, I am sure that the time has now come to insist more strongly on each woman’s- and indeed each man’s requirement as an individual person.” She argues that women, like men, must be seen as individual persons with value, not as

a class of humans. In fact, doing so will preserve democracy. “If you wish to preserve a free democracy, you must base it not on classes and categories, for this will land you in the totalitarian State. You must base it upon the individual Tom, Dick, and Harry, and the individual Jack and Jill — in fact, upon you and me.” In this sense, women are human. In the second half of her short book, Sayers argues women are not human, at least not in an ordinary sense. On the contrary, women are almost “supernatural beings” with abilities and characteristics that transcend men. “They are far above man to inspire him, far beneath him to corrupt him; they have feminine minds and feminine natures, but their mind is not one with their nature like the minds of men; they have no human mind and no human nature.” What Sayers is trying to say here, is that women acting naturally can be more compassionate, loving, and caring than man is on his own. In this sense, women are not human. Sayers is really right in both senses. Women are human in the idea that they can perform tasks and jobs equally or better than many men. Thus, women should be allowed to unleash their creativity, individuality, and should be allowed to excel at their talents. On the flip side, women are not human in the sense that they have unique abilities and a different perspective on things than men do. Women can see the emotion aspects of situations much better than men, and for that, they are not human, they are almost super humans.

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is Sayers’ thesis of this essay?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 31-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 31 test.

432

British Literature Student wCB.indb 432

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Path to The Future

Yeats and most 20th-century writers were deeply affected by a movement called surrealism. In literature and art, surrealism is a movement whose effective life is generally assigned the years 1924–1945. In 1924, André Breton’s first “Manifesto of Surrealism” appeared, defining the movement in philosophical and psychological terms. Its immediate predecessor was Dada, whose nihilistic reaction to rationalism and the reigning “morality” that produced World War I cleared the way for surrealism’s positive message. Surrealism is often characterized only by its use of unusual, sometimes startling juxtapositions, by which it sought to transcend logic and habitual thinking to reveal deeper levels of meaning and unconscious associations.

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?

433

British Literature Student wCB.indb 433

11/14/12 4:39 PM

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.

434

Chapter Learning Objectives Chapter 32 delights,

inspires, and challenges us all with a Christian classic and great literary work, Mere Christianity. 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 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien. History connections: British History chapter 32, “Totalitarianism.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 434

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 1

C.S. Lewis The back cover of HarperCollins’ edition of Mere Christianity exhibits the following biography of Lewis: Clive Staples Lewis was born in 1898 in a suburb of Belfast. An extraordinarily precocious child, at the age of eight he was writing and illustrating “AnimalLand” stories with his brother Warren, at ten was reading Paradise Lost, and at nineteen was described by one of his teachers as “the most brilliant translator of Greek plays that I have ever met.” By the time Lewis entered Oxford in 1917, he had long considered himself an atheist, a position that his experiences on the front lines of World War I only confirmed. But in 1925 he was elected to a fellowship at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he taught for twenty-five years and where his intellectual, creative, and religious development underwent a remarkable flowering. Shortly after a late night talk with J.R.R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson in 1931, Lewis had a conversion experience, beautifully described in his autobiography Surprised by Joy (1955), and regained his faith in Christianity. There followed an astonishing succession of fiction, criticism, and religious books, including The Problem of Pain

(1940), The Screwtape Letters (1942), The Abolition of Man (1943), The Great Divorce (1946), Miracles (1947), George MacDonald (1947), and Mere Christianity (1952), and the seven children’s books comprising The Chronicles of Narnia, completed in 1954. Greatly admired for his teaching, Lewis was offered the chair of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge in 1954, a position he held until his death. In 1956 he married Joy Davidman Gresham, the American poet and novelist, who was diagnosed with cancer later that year. Despite his wife’s illness, Lewis achieved in his final years the happiness and contentment he had searched for all his life. His relationship with Joy, who died in 1960, is the subject of Richard Attenborough’s film Shadowlands, and Lewis’ own A Grief Observed, published under a pseudonym in 1961, is a deeply moving account of his struggle to come to terms with her loss. C.S. Lewis died on November 22, 1963, at his home in Oxford (www.harpercollins.com/ author/).

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite C. S. Lewis book?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 32-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 32.

435

British Literature Student wCB.indb 435

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Overview

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-A

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 anybody in particular that I’ve been asked to tell you what Christians believe. In fact it’s just the opposite. [The British Broadcasting Corporation] have asked me, first of all because I’m a layman and not a parson, and consequently they thought I might understand the ordinary person’s point of view a bit better. Secondly, I think they asked me because it was known that I’d been an atheist for many years and only became a Christian fairly recently. They thought that would mean I’d be able to see the difficulties — able to remember what Christianity looks like from the outside. So you see the long and the short of it is that I’ve been selected for this job just because I’m an amateur and not a professional, and a beginner not an old hand. Of course this means that you may well ask what right I have to talk on the subject at all. Well, when I’d finished my scripts I sent them round to various people who were professionals: to one Church of England theologian, one Roman Catholic, one Presbyterian, and one Methodist. The Church of England man and the Presbyterian agreed with the whole thing. The Roman Catholic and the Methodist agreed in the main, but would have liked one or two places altered. So there you’ve got all the cards on the table. What I’m going to say isn’t exactly what all these people would say; but the greater part of it is what all Christians agree on. . . . 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. . . .

1

This book is a collection of radio broadcasts. What is Lewis’ purpose in presenting these radio broadcasts?

2

What is Lewis promising his readers?

436

British Literature Student wCB.indb 436

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 2

Mere Christianity C.S. Lewis’ publisher Harper Colllins writes: Regarded as the centerpiece of Lewis’ apologetics, Mere Christianity began as a series of live fifteenminute radio talks that Lewis gave, under the auspices of the BBC, during WWII. Characterized by careful reasoning, vivid analogies, and Lewis’ gift for making complex religious ideas immediately accessible, the broadcasts were overwhelmingly successful, so popular that Lewis was besieged with letters from listeners. He wrote to Arthur Greeves on December 23 1941: “I had an enormous pile of letters from strangers to answer. One gets funny letters after broadcasting — some from lunatics who sign themselves ‘Jehovah’ or begin ‘Dear Mr. Lewis, I was married at the age of 20 to a man I didn’t love’ — but many from serious enquirers whom it was a duty to answer fully.” Lewis was able to reach such a wide audience in part because he tried to explore the essence of Christian belief, what he felt “all Christians agree on.” After he finished the radio scripts, he sent them to Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, and Church of England theologians, all of whom agreed on the main points he had made. Lewis himself says in the preface to

Mere Christianity, “So far as I can judge from reviews and from the numerous letters written to me, the book, however faulty in other respects, did at least succeed in presenting an agreed, or common, or central, or ‘mere’ Christianity.” The broadcasts were initially published as three separate books, The Case for Christianity (1943), Christian Behavior (1943), and Beyond Personality (1945), and collected into Mere Christianity in 1952. Like The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity was warmly received by both the public and the critics. The Guardian said of Lewis: “His learning is abundantly seasoned with common sense, his humour and his irony are always at the service of the most serious purposes, and his originality is the offspring of enthusiastically loyal orthodoxy” (21 May 1943), while The Times Literary Supplement praised Lewis as having “a quite unique power of making theology an attractive, exciting and (one might almost say) an uproariously fascinating quest” (21 October 1944). These qualities have continued to attract a wide audience of both Christian and non-Christian readers (www.harpercollins.com/).

Assignments •

Warm-up: Define “apologetics.”

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 32-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.

437

British Literature Student wCB.indb 437

11/14/12 4:39 PM

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

_____________________

_____________________

438

British Literature Student wCB.indb 438

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 3

Thirty-Five Years in the Light: Reflections on My Conversion (by Chuck Colson, August 12, 2008) A lot of people have asked me what I think about when I remember back to that hot, humid August night in 1973 when Tom Phillips, then the president of the Raytheon Company, witnessed to me in his home. I left his house that night shaken by the words he had read from C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity about pride. It felt as if Lewis were writing about me, former Marine captain, Special Counsel to the President of the United States, now in the midst of the Watergate scandal. I had an overwhelming sense that I was unclean. After talking to Tom, I found that when I got to the automobile to drive away, I couldn’t. I was crying too hard — and I was not one to ever cry. I spent an hour calling out to God. I did not even know the right words. I simply knew that I wanted Him. And I knew for certain that the God who created the universe heard my cry. From the next morning to this day, I have never looked back. I can honestly say that the worst day of the last 35 years has been better than the best days of the 41 years that preceded it. That’s a pretty bold statement, given my time in prison, three major surgeries, and two kids with cancer at the same time, but it is absolutely true. That’s because, for the last 35 years — whether in pain, suffering, joy, or jubilation, it makes no difference — I have known there was a purpose. I have known that I belong to Christ and that I am here on earth to advance His Kingdom. Would I have ever known that if Tom had not witnessed to me? The reason I visited Tom that fateful night was that I was coming back to his company as counsel. But before he met with me, Tom prayed about how he should treat me. After all, here was his lawyer, mixed

up in the Watergate affair. Tom later told me that God spoke to him: “Tell Chuck Colson about me, because he needs a friend.” God was certainly right! I was as desperate and lonely as a man could be. But get this: Never before in Tom Phillips’s life had God told him to share the Gospel. Never before had he done so. But in total obedience, Tom followed God’s lead, and the result? A ministry that now spreads all around the world to 114 countries, tens of thousands of men and women coming out of prison being redeemed by the blood of Christ, and then finding their place in community; and the whole Church being sensitized to the needs of the least of these in our midst. I also wonder what might have happened to me, personally, had I not encountered the living God that night or some other time. I do not really think I would be alive today. Before my conversion I drank, partied, and smoked heavily. I do not think I would be seeing my 77th birthday, which I will this October. And if I managed somehow to survive the high-powered party life in Washington among the rich, famous, and powerful, I would have been so miserable I don’t think I could have lived with myself. If I did not know for sure that the God who created us sent His Son to die on a cross that my sins might be forgiven, I would have long ago suffocated in the stench of my own sin. So how do you celebrate 35 years as a Christian? By recommitting yourself to use every available moment, every ounce of energy, in service of the King. For what He has done for me, how could I ever do less? (descant.wordpress.com/2008/08/25/ chuck-colson-reflects-on-his-conversion/).

439

British Literature Student wCB.indb 439

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Living in Enemy Territory

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-C

Assignments •

Warm-up: Write a brief narrative of your conversion.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 32-C.

•

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 The allure of fame and riches Overcome the Evil One The temptation of physical desires

440

British Literature Student wCB.indb 440

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 4

The Misconception of God and a Moral Law In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis writes, “God is like the moral law; he is not maudlin.” In contemporary society, however, people find this statement to be shocking. The phenomenon of feminizing Jesus paints Him as all-loving, embracing everyone while ignoring Him as an absolute and righteous Judge. C.S. Lewis reminds the world that God, while He is loving and merciful, has established a perfect moral law through which He must judge every human being. C.S. Lewis establishes his belief that there is a moral law by which God will judge the world in his book Mere Christianity. With this statement, he comes to the conclusion that God is neither soft nor sentimental. In part one, chapter five, Lewis describes the moral law. “There is nothing indulgent about the Moral Law. It is as hard as nails. It tells you to do the straight thing, and it does not seem to care how painful, or dangerous, or difficult it is to do.” With this observation, the author explains how this must affect our knowledge and view of God. “The Moral Law does not give us any grounds for thinking that God is ‘good’ in the sense of being indulgent, or soft, or sympathetic. . . . If God is like the Moral Law, then he is not soft.” Instead, Lewis believes that God is righteous and omnipotent, judging in accordance with the moral law. However, if one does not recognize the Moral Law, and his falling short of its standards, then he will never understand the need to repent. “Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness. It is after you have realized that there is a real Moral Law and a Power behind the law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that Power — it is

after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk.” Contemporary society as a whole has forgotten this Moral Law and the Power behind it. People find C.S. Lewis’ statements to be shocking because they contradict the popular belief in an all-loving God who opens His arms to everyone. Lewis writes, “God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from.” Many today take such statements as this and ignore the fact that God is Someone to be feared, and instead only see Him as cuddly and comforting. Safe Guard Yourself, an organization established to expose the lies surrounding Christianity, describes this belief as Universalism. “Universalism: The Extreme form of universalism is the belief that all people are going to Heaven. The more subtle and deadly form of universalism is that anyone who is sincere about whatever they choose is going to the Heaven Christ spoke of.” This belief ignores the Moral Law, which sets a bright line for what God will and will not allow. The Alliance for Life Ministries testifies to the popularity of the belief of universalism and an all-loving God. “If there is one word you can depend on hearing (above all else) during church services today it is the message of love. Love, along with forgiveness, composes literally ninety-nine percent of pulpit sermons.” It goes on to summarize how society uses this view of love. “The feeling of love has supplemented God or religious principle as the moral guide for young people. Wrongful actions are now nothing more than blemishes to be covered up by the cosmetic of divine love.” C.S. Lewis’ views of a Moral Law and a God that strictly adheres to it continues to shock people in modern society. People have established a view of a

441

British Literature Student wCB.indb 441

11/14/12 4:39 PM

divine love that ignores any Law, while giving anyone the right to enter Heaven. This misconception is why, according to Lewis, so many don’t understand Christianity. “It is after you have realized there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind the

law, and that you have broken that law and put yourself wrong with that Power . . . that Christianity begins to talk.” (Claire Atwood)

Assignments •

Warm-up: What does C.S. Lewis mean by “moral law?”

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 32-D.

•

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

God’s Plan

442

British Literature Student wCB.indb 442

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 5

Student Essay: Foundations of a Worldview Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis presents the foundations of a Christian worldview. One question addressed by Lewis concerns God dealing with Satan, a question that any Christian can struggle with. Essentially, Lewis answers by arguing that the reason God has not dealt the final blow to Satan is to give time for more humans to join God’s side. “Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil? Why is He not landing in force, invading it? Is it that He is not strong enough?” This is the question Lewis addresses. It is a question that can arise in Christian circles where Christians question God’s decision in allowing Satan to roam free until Christ returns. If God is so powerful, why has He not dealt with Satan yet? Lewis explains why. “Well, Christians think He is going to land in force; we do not know when. But we can guess why He is delaying. He wants to give us the chance of joining His side freely.” In other words, God’s decision to let Satan rule the earth until Christ returns is actually a gift of mercy. See, when God returns, the end of the world will have arrived. At that point, there will be no opportunity for unbelievers to repent. Lewis confirms this. “When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author

walks on to the stage, the play is over. God is going to invade, all right. . . . For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irresistible love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side.” This is the reason God has not openly dealt with Satan. Christ’s return will signify the end of the world. The time to choose a side will have ended, and those who sided with Satan will have to face the consequences. Despite this talk about the end of the world, Lewis does offer hope. “Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it.” Each and every human being must decide now what side he or she will take. Christ could return at any moment, and mankind must be prepared. The answer C.S. Lewis gives is somewhat harsh. God has not dealt with Satan on an earthly battlefield yet because he is offering mankind a chance to side with God. In fact, God’s decision is a form of mercy in itself. Man must take a side, for Christ will come without warning, and when He does, it will be too late.

Assignments •

Warm-up: What are Lewis’ views of the devil?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 32-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 32 test.

443

British Literature Student wCB.indb 443

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Themes

CONCEPT BUILDER 32-E

What are two points that Lewis makes about salvation?

Salvation

444

British Literature Student wCB.indb 444

11/14/12 4:39 PM

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 By the end of World War

I, J.R.R. Tolkien lost all his friends — all of them but one — and yet he found peace, forgiveness, and joy at the Cross on Calvary. The Trilogy is more than great literature, it is an epic quest, as profound and lifechanging as Homer’s The Odyssey. 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 of the Teacher Guide. Reading ahead: Review “Murder in the Cathedral” by T.S. Eliot.

445

History connections: British History chapter 33, “World War II and the Cold War.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 445

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 1

Book Review Book review by W.H. Auden In “The Return of the King,” Frodo Baggins fulfills his Quest, the realm of Sauron is ended forever, the Third Age is over and J.R.R. Tolkien’s trilogy “The Lord of the Rings” complete. I rarely remember a book about which I have had such violent arguments. Nobody seems to have a moderate opinion: either, like myself, people find it a masterpiece of its genre or they cannot abide it, and among the hostile there are some, I must confess, for whose literary judgment I have great respect. A few of these may have been put off by the first forty pages of the first chapter of the first volume in which the daily life of the hobbits is described; this is light comedy and light comedy is not Mr. Tolkien’s forte. In most cases, however, the objection must go far deeper. I can only suppose that some people object to Heroic Quests and Imaginary Worlds on principle; such, they feel, cannot be anything but light “escapist” reading. That a man like Mr. Tolkien, the English philologist who teaches at Oxford, should lavish such incredible pains upon a genre which is, for them, trifling by definition, is, therefore, very shocking. The difficulty in presenting a complete picture of reality lies in the gulf between the subjectively real, a man’s experience of his own existence, and the objectively real, his experience of the lives of others and the world about him. Life, as I experience it in my own person, is primarily a continuous succession of choices between alternatives, made for a shortterm or long-term purpose; the actions I take, that is to say, are less significant to me than the conflicts of motives, temptations, doubts in which they originate. Further, my subjective experience of time is not of a cyclical motion outside myself but of an

irreversible history of unique moments which are made by my decisions. For objectifying this experience, the natural image is that of a journey with a purpose, beset by dangerous hazards and obstacles, some merely difficult, others actively hostile. But when I observe my fellow-men, such an image seems false. I can see, for example, that only the rich and those on vacation can take journeys; most men, most of the time must work in one place. I cannot observe them making choices, only the actions they take and, if I know someone well, I can usually predict correctly how he will act in a given situation. I observe, all too often, men in conflict with each other, wars and hatreds, but seldom, if ever, a clear-cut issue between Good on the one side and Evil on the other, though I also observe that both sides usually describe it as such. If then, I try to describe what I see as if I were an impersonal camera, I shall produce not a Quest, but a “naturalistic” document. Both extremes, of course, falsify life. There are medieval Quests which deserve the criticism made by Erich Auerbach in his book “Mimesis”: “The world of knightly proving is a world of adventure. It not only contains a practically uninterrupted series of adventures; more specifically, it contains nothing but the requisites of adventure. . . . Except feats of arms and love, nothing occurs in the courtly worldand even these two are of a special sort: they are not occurrences or emotions which can be absent for a time; they are permanently connected with the person of the perfect knight, they are part of his definition, so that he cannot for one moment be without adventure in arms nor for one moment

446

British Literature Student wCB.indb 446

11/14/12 4:39 PM

without amorous entanglement. . . . His exploits are feats of arms, not ‘war,’ for they are feats accomplished at random which do not fit into any politically purposive pattern.” And there are contemporary “thrillers” in which the identification of hero and villain with contemporary politics is depressingly obvious. On the other hand, there are naturalistic novels in which the characters are the mere puppets of Fate, or rather, of the author who, from some mysterious point of freedom, contemplates the workings of Fate. If, as I believe, Mr. Tolkien has succeeded more completely than any previous writer in this genre in using the traditional properties of the Quest, the heroic journey, the Numinous Object, the conflict between Good and Evil while at the same time satisfying our sense of historical and social reality, it should be possible to show how he has succeeded. To begin with, no previous writer has, to my knowledge, created an imaginary world and a feigned history in such detail. By the time the reader has finished the trilogy, including the appendices to this last volume, he knows as much about Tolkien’s Middle Earth, its landscape, its fauna and flora, its peoples, their languages, their history, their cultural habits, as, outside his special field, he knows about the actual world. Mr. Tolkien’s world may not be the same as our own: it includes, for example, elves, beings who know good and evil but have not fallen, and, though not physically indestructible, do not suffer natural death. It is afflicted by Sauron, an incarnate of absolute evil, and creatures like Shelob, the monster spider, or the orcs who are corrupt past hope of redemption. But it is a world of intelligible law, not mere wish; the reader’s sense of the credible is never violated. Even the One Ring, the absolute physical and psychological weapon which must corrupt any who dares to use it, is a perfectly plausible hypothesis from which the political duty to destroy it which motivates Frodo’s quest logically follows. To present the conflict between Good and Evil as a war in which the good side is ultimately victorious is a ticklish business. Our historical experience tells us that physical power and, to a large extent, mental power are morally neutral and effectively

British Literature Student wCB.indb 447

real: wars are won by the stronger side, just or unjust. At the same time most of us believe that the essence of the Good is love and freedom so that Good cannot impose itself by force without ceasing to be good. The battles in the Apocalypse and “Paradise Lost,” for example, are hard to stomach because of the conjunction of two incompatible notions of Deity, of a God of Love who creates free beings who can reject his love and of a God of absolute Power whom none can withstand. Mr. Tolkien is not as great a writer as Milton, but in this matter he has succeeded where Milton failed. As readers of the preceding volumes will remember, the situation in the War of the Ring is as follows: Chance, or Providence, has put the Ring in the hands of the representatives of Good, Elrond, Gandalf, Aragorn. By using it they could destroy Sauron, the incarnation of evil, but at the cost of becoming his successor. If Sauron recovers the Ring, his victory will be immediate and complete, but even without it his power is greater than any his enemies can bring against him, so that, unless Frodo succeeds in destroying the Ring, Sauron must win. Evil, that is, has every advantage but one-it is inferior in imagination. Good can imagine the possibility of becoming evil-hence the refusal of Gandalf and Aragorn to use the Ring-but Evil, defiantly chosen, can no longer imagine anything but itself. Sauron cannot imagine any motives except lust for domination and fear so that, when he has learned that his enemies have the Ring, the thought that they might try to destroy it never enters his head, and his eye is kept toward Gondor and away from Mordor and the Mount of Doom. Further, his worship of power is accompanied, as it must be, by anger and a lust for cruelty: learning of Saruman’s attempt to steal the Ring for himself, Sauron is so preoccupied with wrath that for two crucial days he pays no attention to a report of spies on the stairs of Cirith Ungol, and when Pippin is foolish enough to look in the palantir of Orthanc, Sauron could have learned all about the Quest. His wish to capture Pippin and torture the truth from him makes him miss his precious opportunity. The demands made on the writer’s powers in an epic as long as “The Lord of the Rings” are enormous

447

11/14/12 4:39 PM

and increase as the tale proceeds-the battles have to get more spectacular, the situations more critical, the adventures more thrilling-but I can only say that Mr. Tolkien has proved equal to them. From the appendices readers will get tantalizing glimpses of the First and Second Ages. The legends of these are, I understand, already written and I hope that, as soon as the

publishers have seen “The Lord of the Rings” into a paper-back edition, they will not keep Mr. Tolkien’s growing army of fans waiting too long (Book review, “The Return of the King,” W.H. Auden, “At the end of the Quest, Victory,” New York Times (January 22, 1956); www.nytimes.com/1956/01/22/books/ tolkien-king.html).

Active Reading

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-A

Assignments •

Warm-up: What was your favorite part of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 33-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 33.

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?

2

How does the author use dialogue to advance the plot?

3

Why are the hobbits the perfect heroes?

448

British Literature Student wCB.indb 448

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 2

Tolkien and World War I In World War I Tolkien entered the British army as an officer. Before going off to war, he married his childhood sweetheart, Edith Bratt. Like Tolkien, Edith was an orphan. They had fallen in love when he was 16 and she was 19. Their guardians, however, had forbidden the lovers to meet until Tolkien turned 21, when he would legally be an adult. He incorporated this long separation into The Lord of the Rings, in the romance between Aragorn and Arwen. Tolkien took part in the 1916 Battle of the Somme, a costly battle for the Allied forces. The Battle of the Somme between July 1 and November 18, 1916, on both sides of the river Somme in France. The British Army mounted a joint offensive with the French Army against the German Army, which had occupied large areas of France since its invasion of the country in August 1914. By the time fighting paused in late autumn 1916, both sides had suffered more than one million casualties, making it one of the bloodiest military operations ever recorded. The slaughter there of thousands of young British soldiers left a lasting impression on Tolkien. In addition, the land had been desolated by trench

warfare and the use of heavy artillery. His description of the desolation around Mordor is similar to the Somme battlefield. The loneliness of the journey is also part of Tolkien’s wartime experience. He lost scores of friends during World War I. Many who survived the Battle of the Somme died from influenza and trench fever. Tolkien contracted a particularly bad case of trench fever and was shipped back to England in late 1916. Thanks to the disease, Tolkien survived. When the War ended, Tolkien only had one close friend alive. To someone who valued friendship so highly, this was a great blow. Tolkien once said that at the heart of his books is the realization of the inevitability of death. At the age of 24, he had already faced not only the widespread death of the war, but also the personal losses of his parents and friends. Still, in the midst of so much death, Tokein found hope and life in Christ Jesus, and so much so, that he led C.S. Lewis to the Lord!

Assignments •

Warm-up: Have you experienced death in your life? How did you handle it?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 33-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.

449

British Literature Student wCB.indb 449

11/14/12 4:39 PM

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.

450

British Literature Student wCB.indb 450

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 3

Barren Wastelands in The Lord of the Rings Throughout the constant battle between good and evil in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, J.R.R. Tolkien uses wastelands as a representation of wickedness. Particularly in the area surrounding Sauron, the land is barren — all signs of life are missing. This desolate land is symbolic of Sauron’s evil. Sauron is lacking any degree of goodness or kindness. Instead, this literary figure is a representation of Tolkien’s concept of evil. The frequent depictions of Mordor remind the reader of the land’s ruler, Sauron, and his great wickedness. This evil Lord is contained in an eye in the middle of Mordor, where he can view everything that is happening around him. By depicting him as an eye, Tolkien reminds readers that Sauron is in control over Mordor and the Ring. When describing the one ring created by Sauron, Tolkien reminds the reader of his malicious intent. “One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.” Sauron desires power, and Mordor is a place where he can declare his power. It is the place where he can also build up his armies, as described in chapter two of book two. “Sauron also had watched us, and had long prepared against our stroke, governing Mordor from afar . . . until all was ready.” As Frodo, bearer of the Ring, travels to Mordor to destroy the Ring, he witnesses the sights of the land of Sauron. This land is first truly described in

the beginning of book four, when Frodo and his companions Sam and Gollum reach the brink of a tall cliff. “They stare to where, at the edge of the oncoming night, a dark line hung, like distant mountains of motionless smoke. Every now and again a tiny red gleam far away flickered upwards.” The closer the hobbits are to Sauron, the darker the mood seems to become. When they finally reach the Black Gate of Mordor, Tolkien carefully and meticulously describes the surrounding area. “Upon the west of Mordor marched the gloomy range . . . and upon the north the broken peaks and barren ridges . . . grey as ash. . . . High cliffs lowered upon either side, and thrust forward . . . were two sheer hills, black-boned and bare.” As Frodo and Sam begin to climb Mount Doom in chapter three of book six, Tolkien again illustrates the lifelessness of the area. “Behind the fences of the Black Land the air seemed almost dead, chill and yet stifling. . . . The land all about was dreary, flat, and drab-hued. On the roads nearby nothing was moving now.” Mordor is not simply a scary-looking land. Instead, it is a reminder of Sauron’s desire for power and control. With frequent depictions of the barren wasteland of Mordor, J.R.R. Tolkien reinforces the wickedness of Sauron. Tolkien essentially symbolizes evil as a desolate and bleak wasteland. (Claire Atwood)

Assignments •

Warm-up: : Many of the characters in these three novels gain power through language. Give several examples.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 33-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

The teacher may correct rough drafts.

451

British Literature Student wCB.indb 451

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Character Development

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-C

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.

Melancholic

Choleric

moody anxious rigid sober pessimistic reserved unsociable quiet

touchy restless aggressive excitable changeable impulsive optimistic active

Frodo Baggins Phlegmatic

Sanguine

passive careful thoughtful peaceful controlled reliable even-tempered calm

sociable outgoing talkative responsive easy-going lively carefree leadership

452

British Literature Student wCB.indb 452

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 4

Student Essay: Songs in Lord of the Rings Lord of The Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien’s wonderful masterpiece is the tale of one hobbit and a fellowship of men, elves, dwarves, and wizards attempting to destroy an evil ring. As the characters, especially the hobbits, experience hardships, struggles, and pains, they express their feelings through songs. J.R.R. Tolkien uses such songs to further develop and build his characters as well as describe the setting. “Frodo was chilled to the marrow. After a while the song became clearer, and with dread in his heart he perceived that it had changed into an incantation: Cold be hand and heart and bone, / and cold be sleep under stone: / never to wake on stony bed, / never, till the Sun fails and the Moon is dead. / In the black wind the stars shall die, / and still on gold here let them lie, / till the dark lord lifts his hand / pver dead sea and withered land.” At this point in The Fellowship of the Ring, the first part of Tolkien’s novel, the hobbits are passing through some fog on the Barrow-Downs. Frodo is ahead of Merry, Pippin and Sam and hears this song. It is one that does not offer assurance to these frightened hobbits, and as later songs will display, scares the hobbits further. Tolkien employs the above song in this instance to show the suspense of the fog and how the hobbits passing through it were extremely terrified. Another song offers a look into the hobbits’ character. “Ho! Tom Bombadil, Tom Bombadillo! / By water, wood and hill, by the reed and willow, by fire, sun and moon, harken now and hear us! / Come, Tom Bombadil, for our need is near us!” After being spooked by the previous song, the

hobbits begin to sing for help. The reader can understand how these tiny, five foot tall creatures can be terrified even in the fog so much that they sing for help. Knowing this, the reader can truly appreciate the hobbits’ timidity. After passing through the fog, the hobbits reach the Prancing Pony inn. Here, they are out of the darkness and are safe within the walls of a building. Frodo recalls a song: “There is an inn, a merry old inn / beneath an old grey hill, / And there they brew a beer so brown / that the Man in the Moon himself came down / on night to drink his fill /. . . The Man in the Moon took another mug, / and then rolled beneath his chair; / And there he dozed and dreamed of ale, / till in the sky the stars were pale,/ and dawn was in the air.” This song is a song of happiness and is used by Tolkien to demonstrate the Hobbits’ relief as they reached their destination. While the song may not necessarily describe the Prancing-Pony Inn, it still is used by Tolkien both to describe the happiness at the inn and to illustrate the Hobbits’ thankfulness at being safe. J.R.R. Tolkien uses songs in his novels to not only describe the theme, but also to develop his characters. In these three songs here, the reader learns that the hobbits are terrified in the fog, use song to call for help, and sing a song when safe at the inn. The reader can also realize that these hobbits have emotions that can quickly change, as one moment the hobbits are frightened while another they are relieved. (Chris)

453

British Literature Student wCB.indb 453

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Assignments •

Warm-up: Discuss Tolkien’s use of elves and fairies in his novels.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 33-D.

•

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

Symbolism

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-D

Frodo is a Christ-like figure. Explain.

Misunderstood by friends and family

Christ-like figure

454

British Literature Student wCB.indb 454

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 5

Critics Corner The Lord of the Rings, then, although it presents no “God,” no “Christ,” and no “Christians,” embodies much of Tolkien’s “real religion” and is 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 which would enslave others and ourselves and to submit to that power which frees us all.

— Gunnar Urang (Mark R. Hillegas, editor, Shadows of the Imagination, “Tolkien’s Fantasy: The Phenomenology of Hope,” Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press, 1969).

His Hobbit is both a bridge and a being more like Man than are the heroic, familiar, mock-human counterparts that appear in adventure stories. Moreover, the hobbit is . . . more of a human than if he were one, as petit-bourgeois as if he caught the 8:15 commuter train. . . . The rather jolly virtues of the Hobbits are raised to solemn magnificence when it is realized that these virtues endow their possessors with the power to face and subdue the terrible and soul-destroying opposition of Evil that besets them. It is the reluctant choice to face or not to face Evil . . . that raised Bilbo and more so his heir Frodo, above even great Beowulf.

— William Ready (The Tolkien Relation, Chicago, IL: Regnery, 1968).

What we get is a simple confrontation — in more or less the traditional terms of British melodrama — of the Forces of Evil with the Forces of Good, the remote and alien villain with the plucky little homegrown hero. . . . For the most part such characterizations as Dr. Tolkien has been able to contrive are perfectly stereotyped: Frodo the good little Englishman, Samwise, his doglike servant, who talks lower class and respectful, and who never deserts his master. These characters . . . are involved in interminable adventures the poverty of invention displayed in which is . . . almost pathetic.

— Edmund Wilson (“Oo, Those Awful Orcs!” The Nation, April 14, 1956).

Assignments •

Warm-up: Do you agree with Urang in this review?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 33-E.

•

Essays are due. Students should take the chapter 33 test.

455

British Literature Student wCB.indb 455

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Gollum

CONCEPT BUILDER 33-E

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.

Gollum

456

British Literature Student wCB.indb 456

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Chapter 34

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 In chapter 34 we finish

our journey with the most inspiring and talented author of the 20th century: T.S. Eliot. His verse joins the chorus of the ages proclaiming the glory and honor of our Lord Jesus Christ! What a way to end British literature! 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.

Weekly Essay Options: Begin on page 259 of the Teacher Guide.

457

History connections: British History chapter 34, “The End of an Empire.”

British Literature Student wCB.indb 457

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 1

Murder in the Cathedral T.S. Eliot BackgroundAn Anglo-American poet, critic, dramatist, and editor, Thomas

Stearns Eliot was a major innovator in modern English poetry, famous above all for his revolutionary poem “The Waste Land” (1922). His seminal critical essays helped to usher in literary modernism by stressing tradition, continuity, and objective confessional Christianity over narcissistic egoism. In his lifetime, Eliot would move from self-centered cynicism to profound Christian spirituality. His journey, however, is an unusual one. In this period, modernism and absurdism captured many, or most, authors. Both movements expressed themselves in writings, music, and the arts. These movements embraced nihilism. They believed that there is nothing but chaos in the universe. To pretend that there is order and control is to live in a dream world. Everything, as it were, is absurd, without meaning. There is no anchor on which a person can put his hat. A writer in the camp of absurdism — such as Kurt Vonnegut Jr. — would argue that theism, naturalism, and realism are all bogus worldviews. However, God had other plans in mind for Eliot. Late in his life he converted to Christianity and wrote this magnificent play, “Murder in the Cathedral.” We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.



— T.S. Eliot

Assignments •

Warm-up: What is your favorite Eliot quote?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 34-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 34.

458

British Literature Student wCB.indb 458

11/14/12 4:39 PM

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?

Narration

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-A

Canterbury Cathedral: West Front, Nave and Central Tower. Photo by Hans Musil, 2005 (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Narration

459

British Literature Student wCB.indb 459

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 2

Thomas Becket “Murder in the Cathedral” is a story about the martyrdom of Thomas Becket. Thomas Becket was born in around 1120, the son of a prosperous London middle-class entrepreneur. He entered the priesthood and Theobold, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the most important church official in England, sent him on several missions to Rome. Becket’s talents were noticed by King Henry II, who made him his chancellor, and the two became close friends. When Theobald died in 1161, Henry made Becket archbishop. Becket transformed himself from a hedonistic courtier into a serious cleric. The king and his archbishop’s friendship was put under strain when it became clear that Becket would now stand up for the Church in its disagreements with the king. In 1164, realizing the extent of Henry’s displeasure, Becket fled into exile in France, and remained in exile for several years. He returned in 1170. On the December 29, 1170, four knights, believing the king wanted Becket out of the way, confronted and murdered Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.

Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket. Miniature from an English psalter presenting a spirited account of the murder, Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore, c.1250 (PD-Art).

Assignments •

Warm-up: Why did Becket return from France when he knew he might be martyred?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 34-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.

460

British Literature Student wCB.indb 460

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Figurative Language

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-B

Describe three temptations that Becket faces.

Pleasures of the flesh

Becket

461

British Literature Student wCB.indb 461

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 3

Student Essay: The Changed Life of T.S. Elliot The life of T.S. Elliot provides the Christian with hope amidst a broken world. Throughout the Bible, God encourages His people to hope and trust in Him; to recognize that people can change through His power. T.S. Elliot is an example of someone who changed completely in a lifetime. His life proves that there is hope even when sin abounds. Born on September 26, 1888, in St. Louis, Missouri, T.S. Eliot is now considered to be one of the greatest and most influential writers of the 20th century. Associated with the modernist movement in the beginning of his literary career, his writing often portrayed a bleak outlook on life. One of his most famous works, The Waste Land, “is essentially negative,” according to a biography on Eliot written by the Nobel Prize Organization. Sparknotes summarizes his work by writing, “this poem . . . addressed the fragmentation and alienation characteristic of modern culture.” Interestingly, he finished this work after taking a leave from his job at a bank because of a mental breakdown. Published in 1925, The Hollow Men is another well-known work by Eliot. This piece contains a few of his most famous lines. “This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but with a whimper.” As well, the opening lines of his poem, “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” compare the evening sky to “a patient etherised upon a table.” This line reflects his uniqueness as a writer, someone who was not always in line with the trend or the typical style. These three literary works by T.S. Eliot represent his early literary career, at which point he was a Unitarian. Soon, however, Eliot became interested in Christianity. The Commentary quoted one of Eliot’s biographers in 1989, when it said, “Miss Gordon contends in her book, Eliot’s Early Years, that the

turning point in Eliot’s religious life and development came not at the time of his baptism in 1927 but rather in 1914, when ‘he was circling, in moments of agitation, on the edge of conversion’ ” (www.commentarymagazine.com/article/t-s-eliot/). Finally, in 1927, the author converted from Unitarianism to Anglicanism. Looking back on this event, The Commentary continues by writing, “ ‘The acts of exorcism he performed in his poetry were not enough in themselves to rid his swept and garnished house of the evil spirits that threatened to dispose him,’ T.S. Matthews observed. For that, said Matthews, Eliot believed ‘he had to have the assurance of superhuman power. No distant, deist, Unitarian God could have sustained him.’ ” After his conversion to Christianity, Eliot’s new beliefs and convictions began to emerge in his writing. Such literary works as Ash Wednesday, Four Quartets, Murder in the Cathedral, and The Rock embodied Christian values and beliefs. However, the author made sure that he did not come across to the reader as being an apologist. Sparknotes points out, “Eliot became interested in religion in the later 1920s and eventually converted to Anglicanism. His poetry from this point onward shows a greater religious bent, although it never becomes dogmatic.” The Nobel Prize Organization similarly records, “Eliot has always taken care not to become a religious poet and often belittled the power of poetry as a religious force.” After a few years though, his faith became seemingly more evident in his writing. The Nobel Prize Organization continues, “However, his dramas Murder in the Cathedral (1935) and The Family Reunion (1939) are more openly Christian apologies. In his essays, especially the later ones, Eliot advocates a traditionalism in religion, society, and literature

462

British Literature Student wCB.indb 462

11/14/12 4:39 PM

that seems at odds with his pioneer activity as a poet” (www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/ laureates/1948/eliot-bio.html).

growth. Such a literary trail serves as a beacon of hope to the metamorphosis that occurs in a life changed by God.

The evolution in the literary works of T.S. Elliot parallels his conversion and subsequent spiritual

Assignments •

Warm-up: Why does Eliot’s life give other Christians hope?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 34-C.

•

Students should write rough drafts of assigned essay.

•

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

Providence

463

British Literature Student wCB.indb 463

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 4

T.S. Eliot before Conversion

The Waste Land THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD April is the cruellest month, breeding

And now a gusty shower wraps

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

The grimy scraps

Memory and desire, stirring

Of withered leaves about your feet

Dull roots with spring rain.

And newspapers from vacant lots;

Winter kept us warm, covering

The showers beat

Earth in forgetful snow, feeding

On broken blinds and chimney-pots,

A little life with dried tubers.

And at the corner of the street

Summer surprised us, coming over the Starnbergersee

A lonely cab-horse steams and stamps.

With a shower of rain; we stopped in the colonnade, And went on in sunlight, into the Hofgarten, And drank coffee, and talked for an hour. Bin gar keine Russin, stamm’ aus Litauen, echt deutsch. And when we were children, staying at the archduke’s, My cousin’s, he took me out on a sled, And I was frightened. He said, Marie, Marie, hold on tight. And down we went. In the mountains, there you feel free. I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter. Preludes I THE winter evening settles down With smell of steaks in passageways. Six o’clock. The burnt-out ends of smoky days.

And then the lighting of the lamps. II The morning comes to consciousness Of faint stale smells of beer From the sawdust-trampled street With all its muddy feet that press To early coffee-stands. With the other masquerades That time resumes, One thinks of all the hands That are raising dingy shades In a thousand furnished rooms. III You tossed a blanket from the bed, You lay upon your back, and waited; You dozed, and watched the night revealing The thousand sordid images

464

British Literature Student wCB.indb 464

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Of which your soul was constituted;

At four and five and six o’clock;

They flickered against the ceiling.

And short square fingers stuffing pipes,

And when all the world came back

And evening newspapers, and eyes

And the light crept up between the shutters

Assured of certain certainties,

And you heard the sparrows in the gutters,

The conscience of a blackened street

You had such a vision of the street

Impatient to assume the world.

As the street hardly understands; Sitting along the bed’s edge, where

I am moved by fancies that are curled

You curled the papers from your hair,

Around these images, and cling:

Or clasped the yellow soles of feet

The notion of some infinitely gentle

In the palms of both soiled hands.

Infinitely suffering thing.

IV

Wipe your hand across your mouth, and laugh;

His soul stretched tight across the skies

The worlds revolve like ancient women

That fade behind a city block,

Gathering fuel in vacant lots.

Or trampled by insistent feet www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/eliot/additional.htm.

Assignments •

Warm-up: Give evidence of anger and despair in these verses.

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 34-D.

•

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

465

British Literature Student wCB.indb 465

11/14/12 4:39 PM

How does the Chorus function in this play?

Chorus

CONCEPT BUILDER 34-D

Represents the common people

Chorus

466

British Literature Student wCB.indb 466

11/14/12 4:39 PM

LESSON 5

T.S. Eliot after Conversion THE HIPPOPOTAMUS HE broad-backed hippopotamus

The hippopotamus’s day

Rests on his belly in the mud;

Is passed in sleep; at night he hunts;

Although he seems so firm to us

God works in a mysterious way —

He is merely flesh and blood.

The Church can sleep and feed at once.

Flesh-and-blood is weak and frail,

I saw the ‘potamus take wing

Susceptible to nervous shock;

Ascending from the damp savannas,

While the True Church can never fail

And quiring angels round him sing

For it is based upon a rock.

The praise of God, in loud hosannas.

The hippo’s feeble steps may err

Blood of the Lamb shall wash him clean

In compassing material ends,

And him shall heavenly arms enfold,

While the True Church need never stir

Among the saints he shall be seen

To gather in its dividends.

Performing on a harp of gold.

The ‘potamus can never reach

He shall be washed as white as snow,

The mango on the mango-tree;

By all the martyr’d virgins kist,

But fruits of pomegranate and peach

While the True Church remains below

Refresh the Church from over sea.

Wrapt in the old miasmal mist.

At mating time the hippo’s voice Betrays inflexions hoarse and odd, But every week we hear rejoice The Church, at being one with God.

“The Hippopotamus” is reprinted from T.S. Eliot, Poems (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1920).

467

British Literature Student wCB.indb 467

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Assignments •

Warm-up: In what ways did your walk with the Lord change your life?

•

Students should complete Concept Builder 34-E.

•

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)

468

British Literature Student wCB.indb 468

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Glossary of Literary Terms Allegory—A story or tale with two or more levels of meaning—a literal level and one or more symbolic levels. The events, setting, and characters in an allegory are symbols for ideas or qualities.

those by Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass.

Alliteration—The repetition of initial consonant sounds. The repetition can be juxtaposed (side by side; e.g., simply sad).

Biography—A form of nonfiction in which a writer tells the life story of another person.

Allusion—A casual and brief reference to a famous historical or literary figure or event. Analogy— The process by which new or less familiar words, constructions, or pronunciations conform to the pattern of older or more familiar (and often unrelated) ones; a comparison between two unlike things. The purpose of an analogy is to describe something unfamiliar by pointing out its similarities to something that is familiar. Antagonist—In a narrative, the character with whom the main character has the most conflict. In Jack London’s “To Build a Fire” the antagonist is the extreme cold of the Yukon rather than a person or animal. Archetype—The original pattern or model from which all other things of the same kind are made; a perfect example of a type or group. Argumentation—The discourse in which the writer presents and logically supports a particular view or opinion; sometimes used interchangeably with persuasion. Aside—In a play, an aside is a speech delivered by an actor in such a way that other characters on the stage are presumed not to hear it; an aside generally reveals a character’s inner thoughts. Autobiography—A form of nonfiction in which a person tells his/her own life story. Notable examples of autobiography include

British Literature Student wCB.indb 469

Ballad—A song or poem that tells a story in short stanzas and simple words with repetition, refrain, etc.

Character—A person or an animal who takes part in the action of a literary work. The main character is the one on whom the work focuses. The person with whom the main character has the most conflict is the antagonist. He is the enemy of the main character (protagonist). Characters introduced whose sole purpose is to develop the main character are called foils. Classicism—An approach to literature and the other arts that stresses reason, balance, clarity, ideal beauty, and orderly form in imitation of the arts of Greece and Rome. Conflict—A struggle between opposing forces; can be internal or external; when occurring within a character is called internal conflict. An external conflict is normally an obvious conflict between the protagonist and antagonist(s). Most plots develop from conflict, making conflict one of the primary elements of narrative literature. Crisis or Climax—The moment or event in the plot in which the conflict is most directly addressed: the main character “wins” or “loses” and the secret is revealed. After the climax, the denouement or falling action occurs. Dialectic—Examining opinions or ideas logically, often by the method of question and answer.

469

Discourse, Forms of—Various modes into which writing can be classified; traditionally, writing has been divided into the following modes:

11/14/12 4:39 PM

 Exposition: Writing which presents information

Narration: Writing which tells a story

 Description: Writing which portrays people, places, or things  Persuasion (sometimes also called Argumentation): Writing which attempts to convince people to think or act in a certain way Drama—A story written to be performed by actors; the playwright supplies dialogue for the characters to speak and stage directions that give information about costumes, lighting, scenery, properties, the setting, and the character’s movements and ways of speaking. Dramatic monologue—A poem or speech in which an imaginary character speaks to a silent listener. Elegy—A solemn and formal lyric poem about death, often one that mourns the passing of some particular person. Essay—A short, nonfiction work about a particular subject; essay comes from the Old French word essai, meaning “a trial or attempt”; meant to be explanatory, an essay is not meant to be an exhaustive treatment of a subject; can be classified as formal or informal, personal or impersonal; can also be classified according to purpose as either expository, argumentative, descriptive, persuasive, or narrative. Figurative Language—See metaphor, simile, analogy Foil—A character who provides a contrast to another character and whose purpose is to develop the main character. Genre—A division or type of literature; commonly divided into three major divisions, literature is either poetry, prose, or drama; each major genre can then be divided into smaller genres: poetry can be divided into lyric, concrete, dramatic, narrative, and epic poetry; prose can be divided into fiction (novels and short stories) and nonfiction (biography, autobiography, letters, essays, and reports); drama can be divided into serious drama, tragedy, comic drama, melodrama, and farce. Gothic—The use of primitive, medieval, wild, or mysterious elements in literature. Gothic novels feature writers who use places like mysterious castles where horrifying supernatural events take place; Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher” illustrates the influence of Gothic elements.

Harlem Renaissance—Occurring during the 1920s, a time of African American artistic creativity centered in Harlem in New York City; Langston Hughes was a Harlem Renaissance writer. Hyperbole—A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement. Idyll—A poem or part of a poem that describes and idealizes country life. Irony—A method of humorous or subtly sarcastic expression in which the intended meanings of the words used is the direct opposite of their usual sense. Journal—A daily autobiographical account of events and personal reactions. Kenning—Indirect way of naming people or things; knowledge or recognition; in Old English poetry, a metaphorical name for something. Literature—All writings in prose or verse, especially those of an imaginative or critical character, without regard to their excellence and/or writings considered as having permanent value, excellence of form, great emotional effect, etc. Metaphor—(Figure of speech) A comparison which creatively identifies one thing with another dissimilar thing and transfers or ascribes to the first thing some of the qualities of the second. Unlike a simile or analogy, metaphor asserts that one thing is another thing—not just that one is like another. Very frequently a metaphor is invoked by the verb to be. Meter—A poem’s rhythmical pattern, determined by the number and types of stresses, or beats, in each line; a certain number of metrical feet make up a line of verse; (pentameter denotes a line containing five metrical feet); the act of describing the meter of a poem is called scanning which involves marking the stressed and unstressed syllables, as follows: Iamb: A foot with one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable, as in the word abound.  Trochee: A foot with one stressed syllable followed by one unstressed syllable, as in the word spoken.

Anapest: A foot with two unstressed syllables followed by one stressed syllable, as in the word interrupt.

470

British Literature Student wCB.indb 470

11/14/12 4:39 PM

 Dactyl: A foot with a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, as in the word accident.

Précis—Summary of the plot of a literary piece.

Motif—A main idea element, feature; a main theme or subject to be elaborated on.

Rhetoric—Using words effectively in writing and speaking.

Narration—The way the author chooses to tell the story:  First Person Narration: A character refers to himself or herself, using “I.” This is a creative way to bring humor into the plot. Second Person Narration: Addresses the reader and/or the main character as “you” (and may also use first person narration, but not necessarily).  Third Person Narration: Not a character in the story; refers to the story’s characters as “he” and “she.” This is probably the most common form of narration. Limited Narration: Only able to tell what one person is thinking or feeling. Omniscient Narration: Charles Dickens employs this narration in most of his novels. Reliable Narration: Everything this Narration says is true, and the Narrator knows everything that is necessary to the story. Unreliable Narrator: May not know all the relevant information; may be intoxicated or mentally ill; may lie to the audience. Example: Edgar Allan Poe’s narrators are frequently unreliable. Onomatopoeia—Use of words which, in their pronunciation, suggest their meaning. “Hiss,” for example, when spoken is intended to resemble the sound of steam or of a snake. Other examples include these: slam, buzz, screech, whirr, crush, sizzle, crunch, wring, wrench, gouge, grind, mangle, bang, and pop. Parallelism—Two or more balancing statements with phrases, clauses, or paragraphs of similar length and grammatical structure. Plot—Arrangement of the action in fiction or drama— events of the story in the order the story gives them. A typical plot has five parts: Exposition, Rising Action, Crisis or Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution (sometimes called Denouement).

Protagonist—The main character and opposite of the antagonist.

Setting—The place(s) and time(s) of a story, including the historical period, social milieu of the characters, geographical location, descriptions of indoor and outdoor locales. Scop—An Old English poet or bard. Simile—A figure of speech in which one thing is likened to another dissimilar thing by the use of like, as, etc. Sonnet—A poem normally of fourteen lines in any of several fixed verse and rhyme schemes, typically in rhymed iambic pentameter; sonnets characteristically express a single theme or idea. Structure—The arrangement of details and scenes that make up a literary work. Style—An author’s characteristic arrangement of words. A style may be colloquial, formal, terse, wordy, theoretical, subdued, colorful, poetic, or highly individual. Style is the arrangement of words in groups and sentences; diction on the other hand refers to the choice of individual words; the arrangement of details and scenes make up the structure of a literary work; all combine to influence the tone of the work; thus, diction, style, and structure make up the form of the literary work. Theme—The one-sentence, major meaning of a literary piece, rarely stated but implied. The theme is not a moral, which is a statement of the author’s didactic purpose of his literary piece. A thesis statement is very similar to the theme. Tone—The attitude the author takes toward his subject; author’s attitude is revealed through choice of details, through diction and style, and through the emphasis and comments that are made; like theme and style, tone is sometimes difficult to describe with a single word or phrase; often it varies in the same literary piece to suit the moods of the characters and the situations.

471

British Literature Student wCB.indb 471

11/14/12 4:39 PM

Book List For Supplemental Reading (Comprehensive list comprised of American, British, and other authors from around the world) Note: Not all literature is suitable for all students; educators and students should choose literature appropriate to students’ age, maturity, interests, and abilities. Jane Austen, Emma

Washington Irving, The Sketch Book

Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

Rudyard Kipling, Captains Courageous

Thomas Bulfinch, The Age of Fable

Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird

Pearl S. Buck, The Good Earth

Madeline L’Engle, A Wrinkle in Time

John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress

C. S. Lewis, The Chronicles Of Narnia

Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None

Jack London, The Call Of The Wild

Samuel T. Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner

George MacDonald, Curate’s Awakening

Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness

Guy de Maupassant, Short Stories

James F. Cooper, The Last of the Mohicans Clarence Day, Life with Father Charles Dickens, Great Expectations; A Christmas Carol; Oliver Twist Arthur C. Doyle, The Adventures Of Sherlock Holmes Alexander Dumas, The Three Musketeers Anne Frank, The Diary of Anne Frank Edith Hamilton, Mythology Nathaniel Hawthorne, The House of the Seven Gables Thor Heyerdahl, Kon-Tiki J. Hilton, Lost Horizon

472

Homer, The Odyssey, The Iliad W. H. Hudson, Green Mansions Victor Hugo, Les Miserables Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

British Literature Student wCB.indb 472

Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d’Arthur Herman Melville, Moby Dick Monsarrat, The Cruel Sea on the Bounty Edgar Allen Poe, Poems & Short Stories E. M. Remarque, All Quiet on the Western Front Anne Rinaldi, A Break With Charity: Story of the Salem Witch Trials Carl Sandburg, Abraham Lincoln William Saroyan, The Human Comedy Sir Walter Scott, Ivanhoe William Shakespeare, Hamlet; Macbeth; Romeo And Juliet George Bernard Shaw, Pygmalion Sophocles, Antigone Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men, Grapes of Wrath

11/14/12 4:39 PM

R. L. Stevenson, Treasure Island

Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Irving Stone, Lust For Life

Jules Verne, Master of the World

Booth Tarkington, Penrod

Booker T. Washington, Up From Slavery

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

H. G. Wells, Collected Works

FOR OLDER STUDENTS Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart

Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales

Aristotle, Poeticus

Miguel de Cervantes, Don Quixote

Edward Bellamy, Looking Backward

Fyodor Dostovesky, Crime And Punishment

Jorge Luis Borges, Various Short Stories

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Stephen V. Benet, John Brown’s Body

John Galsworthy, The Forsythe Saga

Charlotte Brontë, Wuthering Heights

Lorraine Hansberry, Raisin In The Sun

Camus, The Stranger

Thomas Hardy, The Return Of The Native

473

British Literature Student wCB.indb 473

11/14/12 4:39 PM

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.

British Literature Student wCB.indb 474

11/14/12 4:39 PM