Wednesday, Feb. 24th

Recap of Tuesday's in-class writing:

Compare and contrast Swift’s “Stella’s Birthday, 1719” (1180-1181) with Shakespeare’s Sonnet 130 (741)

Similarities
Similar perspective: Man to a woman whom the author values and loves deeply.
Both are realistic, describing physical appearance.
Both address inner vs. outer beauty.
“Both poems, while somewhat unflattering, are simultaneously complimentary by virtue of their truth.” -- Lydia

Differences
Both have an identifiable rhyme scheme, but Shakespeare’s is ababcdcdefefgg (as is typical of a sonnet) and Swift’s is couplets (aabbccdd eeffgghhgg).
Shakespeare doesn’t explicitly name the subject of his poem; Swift does.
Shakespeare uses contrast “If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun” (line 3), visual images; Swift is more symbolic.
Shakespeare only praises his mistress’s physical beauty while Swift also praises Stella’s intelligence (wit).
Shakespeare’s tone is harsher.
Passion (Shakespeare) vs. admiration (Swift)

Tuesday, February 23rd

Tuesday's agenda:

1) Quiz
2) Discuss final paper/project
3) Finish Cavendish worksheet/discuss
4) Jonathan Swift - "Stella's Birthday, 1719" (1180) and Shakespeare's Sonnet 130 - compare and contrast (in-class writing)
5) Swift as satirist: What is satire?

Thurs., Feb. 11th-Tues., Feb. 16th

Thursday, Feb. 11th: Mid-term

Friday, Feb. 12th: Milton video

Monday, Feb. 15th: Holiday, no class

Tuesday, Feb. 16th: Quiz, Book 9 Paradise Lost; discussion of Book 9.

In groups, summarize your assigned lines, highlighting key events with quotes from the text.

Lines 404-531: Lydia, Brenda, Surayya

Lines 532-678: Inessa, Jess, Kathleen (Xiaoxi)

Lines 679-833: Frank, Becca, AJ

Lines 834-959: Kaitlyn, Hillery, Sean

Lines 960-1099: Jordan, Janna, Melanie

Lines 1100-1189: Melissa, Ashley, Jacqui

Then (all), compare and contrast Milton's portrayal of Eve or Adam with Lanyer's, citing at least two quotes from each text to illustrate the similarities and/or differences. Submit your work.

Tuesday February 9th

Please see the post for Friday, Feb. 5th for the mid-term study guide.

During today's class, we discussed the following:

1. Understanding the Plot

Eve suggests she and Adam venture out separately (“Let us divide our labors” -- Book 9, line 214). However, Adam is hesitant. Why?

2. Literary Conventions

“I now must change/Those Notes to Tragic” (Book 9, lines 5-6).

Definition: Tragedy depicts the downfall of a noble hero or heroine, usually through some combination of hubris, fate, and the will of the gods. The tragic hero's powerful wish to achieve some goal inevitably encounters limits, usually those of human frailty (flaws in reason, hubris, society), the gods (through oracles, prophets, fate), or nature. Aristotle says that the tragic hero should have a flaw and/or make some mistake (hamartia). The hero need not die at the end, but he / she must undergo a change in fortune. In addition, the tragic hero may achieve some revelation or recognition (anagnorisis--"knowing again" or "knowing back" or "knowing throughout" ) about human fate, destiny, and the will of the gods. Aristotle quite nicely terms this sort of recognition "a change from ignorance to awareness of a bond of love or hate."
Source: http://faculty.gvsu.edu/websterm/Tragedy.htm

Explain how this definition applies to Paradise Lost.

3. Theme

Identify one recurrent theme (freedom vs. bondage, the relationship between good and evil, loss & redemption, ambition, etc.), image, or idea in Books 1-9. Find 5-7 quotes in Books I-9 that develop this theme. Note the book number, page number, and line number for each quote.


4. Food for thought for Friday’s reading:

“In Genesis, the story of Adam and Eve's fall is told in a single line: 'she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat' (Genesis 3:6) In Paradise Lost, Adam eats the fruit of knowledge two hundred fourteen lines after Eve. Milton imagines an intervening mental strife unequalled in the history of the world as Adam comes to choose love and death over rational knowledge of God. The story is no longer one of disobedience, but man's disobedience of God in favor of a human relationship. Critics argue that Milton struggles to define the ideal human relationship even as he views such bonds as inherently human flaws that distance the individual from God.”

Luxon, Thomas H., ed. The Milton Reading Room, http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton, March, 2008.

Mid-term Study Guide

- Know the kings/queens from Elizabeth I – Charles II. Have general knowledge about their leadership styles and birth/death dates.
- Know when the Civil War occurred and some of the reasons behind it, as well as key players (such as Oliver Cromwell).
- Know what is meant by the term metaphysical poetry, and be able to identify metaphysical themes and rhetorical devices in the poems we’ve read.
- Know what an epic is and be able to explain why Milton’s Paradise Lost is considered an epic.
- Be able to compare/contrast Lanyer's and Milton’s visions of the Fall.
- Be able to trace a single theme through at least three works we’ve read this quarter.
- Be able to compare/contrast at least three representations of women in any three works we’ve read.

This exam will be open note/open book!

Thursday, Feb. 4th - Milton cont.

Yesterday, we discussed the debate that took place in Pandemonium (Satan’s Palace), specifically Moloch’s speech advocating for “open War” (51) and Belial’s speech, recommending the status quo.

Returning to the worksheet from yesterday, groups discussed which speech they found most convincing and why.

Then, they moved on to Mammon’s speech (pg. 946, line 229), answering the following questions:

1. What is Mammon’s argument? How is it received? Favorably? Unfavorably? Why?
2. Do you think Satan had any intention of taking Moloch’s, Belial’s, or Mammon’s recommendations to heart, or was his plan to set off for the new world all along?
3. If Satan already knew his next move, why stage the debate?
4. What is Satan’s rationale for wanting to visit the new world?

Finally, the groups shared their views on Satan (yesterday's homework).

Wednesday, Feb. 3

Today, we began discussing Milton and his epic work, Paradise Lost. We talked about epic as a genre and looked specifically at Books 1 & 2. We tried to listen to an NPR story on Milton (linked below), with marginal success. Darn technology!

The in-class activity and homework is noted below:

In-class Activity:
Moloch says, “My sentence if for open War” (Book 2, line 51). Belial, however, speaks out against Moloch, advocating avoiding war. What are his reasons?
1.
2.
3.
Which argument, in your opinion, is more convincing? Why?

Homework: The introduction says romantics saw Satan as a “dynamic rebel.” Renaissance readers, however, were more likely to see Satan as an Elizabethan hero-villain, with his many soliloquies and his tortured psychology of brilliance twisted toward evil” (920). One may also see Satan as a trickster, “a mischievous or roguish figure in myth or folklore who typically makes up for physical weakness with cunning and subversive humor” (American Folklore). In a paragraph, explain how you see Satan, citing at least two quotes in your response.

Tuesday, Feb. 2

Today, we finished our discussion of Lanyer's "Pilate's Wife Apologizes for Eve," discussing the answers to these questions:

1. Write a character sketch of Eve. What are her virtues, faults, motivations, etc.?
2. Why does Langer begin and end with reference to Pontius Pilate and his wife?
3. What’s one theme that runs through these 12 stanzas? Find two quotes to support your claim.
4. What does Lanyer mean by, “Let not us women glory in men’s fall,/Who had power given to overrule us all” (lines 759-760).
5. According to Lanyer, why should Adam be “most to blame” (line 778)?
6. What is the source of man’s knowledge? Why do you think she makes this point? (Lines 807-808)

Then, we briefly recapped English history from Elizabeth I's reign through the Restoration. (PowerPoint available upon request.)

Tomorrow, Milton!

Monday, Feb. 1

Today's agenda:

Presentation: Women writers of the 17th and 18th century.
Group Evaluations
Intro. to Aemelia Lanyer
Read aloud: "Pilate's Wife Apologizes for Eve" (661-663)

Tomorrow: Lanyer cont. and the The Civil War