For Monday: Sheridan, The School for Scandal, Acts I and II

The "Chaucer" group should answer TWO of the following...

Q1: As we saw in Tom Jones, 18th-century comedy typically employed names that represented the characters’ true personalities. How do some of the characters’ names function in this “inside” way with the audience? Related to this, are the “good” characters the ones with non-allegorical names?

Q2: Our previous literature typically had one woman surrounded by a sea of men (The Wife of Bath, Lady Macbeth, etc.); this is the first work that shows women among other women in English society.  How does Sheridan depict female society among the upper classes? What is female conversation, and how does it differ from conversation between males in the play?

Q3: Why does Sir Oliver distrust the accounts of his nephews Joseph and Charles? Why is he more inclined to trust the servant, Rowley, than his old friend, Sir Peter? Related to this, what is his general view of reputation and society?

Q4: Plays like The School for Scandal are the forbearers of the modern-day sitcom with their punch lines and stock characters/situations. Where do we see familiar comic situations or jokes in this play that could still be used today? Or, where do we see modern characters beneath the wigs and petticoats of these 18th-century ancestors? 

For Friday: Questions for the BBC Tom Jones (1998)

We'll be discussing the BBC 1998 version of Tom Jones for Friday's class, as well as talking about eighteenth-century satire in preparation for reading the blockbuster late eighteenth-century comedy, The School for Scandal next week. Even if you only watched one of the two days of the film, answer the questions below for Friday (everyone--not just one specific group). 

Answer TWO of the following for Friday’s class:

Q1: Why does the Narrator have such a large role in the book/film? What purpose does he serve in weaving the story together, and why might eighteenth-century novelists have considered this necessary (or ideal) rather than making the narrator simply a talking voice (and not an actual person)?

Q2: Briefly discuss Tom Jones’ morality: is he as “good” as Allworthy and his sister believe? Or is he truly as “wicked” as Square and Thwackum proclaim? What makes him an interesting protagonist in a book full of caricatures and broad comedy?

Q3: The eighteenth-century novel wasn’t the vehicle of psychological realism that we expect from novels today. What was Fielding’s purpose in writing it, based on Part I of the film? What experience or ideas might he have been trying to convey through the characters, the plot, and the narration?

Q4: How might Tom Jones relate to Cavendish’s The Contract or The Blazing World? Obviously they are very different works, but each one loosely satirizes the vices of his or her age, and helps the reader see England (and its values) in a new light. Why might they have more in common than might first appear?

For Friday: Cavendish, The Blazing World, pp.170-225

The Shakespeare group should answer two of the following:

Q1: In a very surprising moment of the text, the spirits offer to provide the Empress with a writer so she can craft her "Cabbala"--none other than Margaret Cavendish herself! When asked if Cavendish can write well, she answers, "Yes...but not so intelligibly that any reader whatsoever may understand it, unless he be taught to know my characters" (181). While this seems to literally mean "not everyone can read my messy handwriting," why might it also be her artistic credo--that she doesn't want to write a book that just anyone can read?

Q2: How is the second half of this work a defense of the uses of fiction, and why authorship--particularly for women--is such a vital and important pursuit? Why might Cavendish suggest that all women should write and create the wildest, boldest works taken straight from their imaginations? 

Q3: Cavendish talks a lot about "Platonic lovers" in her book, mentioning that the Empress enters into Cavendish's husband's body, and the two of them became "enamored of each other" (194). What is a Platonic lover and why might this stretch the boundaries of love and traditional romantic relationships in Cavendish's day? 

Q4: In a work that Cavendish claims esteems "peace before war, wit before policy, honesty before beauty" (224), why does the Empress often prove quite warlike and willing to conquer other kingdoms and peoples, by force if necessary? Does Cavendish lose control of her work? Or is this meant to show that even the greatest utopia is still "no place" (the meaning of "utopia")? Or another explanation? 

For Wednesday: Cavendish, “The Blazing World” (pp.125-170 or so)

The “Chaucer” group should answer TWO of the following:

Q1: In her preface to the work, Cavendish writes that “I am not covetous, but as ambitious as ever any of my sex was, is, or can be; which makes, that though I cannot be Henry the Fifth, or Charles the Second, yet I endeavour to be Margaret the First” (124). Based on this, what about this work strikes you as especially ambitious, groundbreaking, or shocking to a 17th century audience? How might she be staking her claim as a great author (or a unique one) with this book?

Q2: Cavendish is writing within an established tradition of her time going back to Thomas More’s famous book, Utopia (1516), which as ‘fake’ travel book about going to a “perfect society” (even though “utopia” is Latin for “no-place.” Since More was satirical in his book, is Cavendish? Is her vision of utopia a perfect society that offers a brave new world for her readers? Or is it merely a mirror of her own society, with the same problems transposed to a different culture? You might consider the roles that women play in this society, for example.

Q3: In one passage, the bear-men tell the Empress that “we take more delight in artificial delusions, than in natural truths...for were there nothing but truth, and no falsehood, there would be no occasion for to dispute” (142). As a woman, why might Cavendish find cause to criticize and satirize the scientific pursuits of her time? What might she be able to see that her “betters” (the closed society of men) were blind to?

Q4: Even though Cavendish is a novelist (an artist), she has the Empress engage in a lengthy discussion of the purpose of art, which she claims “is, for the most part, irregular, and disorders men’s understandings more than it rectifies them, and leads them into a labyrinth whence they’ll never get out, and makes them dull and unfit for employments” (161). What does she mean by this? If art is “irregular” and creates “disorder,” should it be banned from the perfect society? What makes it dangerous—and what, perhaps, can also make it useful?

For Monday: Cavendish, “The Contract”

The Anonymous group should answer TWO of the following:

Q1: What is Cavendish’s view of men in the story? Both suitors are said to be vain and debauched, and both act cowardly toward the Young Lady in the story. Even her uncle, for all his open-mindedness, threatens her by saying, “if you consent not, never come near me more, for I will disclaim all the interest of an uncle, and become your enemy” (28). Is she satirizing the idea of male protectors in this story? Or is this simply a realistic portrayal of men who mean well, but often fail to do the right thing (but can still be redeemed)?

Q2: What does this story say about a woman’s coming-of-age in seventeenth-century England? What social conventions and rituals must she follow? What taboos must she avoid? Why is it difficult for a girl raised in isolation in the country to understand and follow these rules?

Q3: The Young Lady ultimately wins her suit before the judges using what she claims is the “truth of her cause,” and “the justness of my plea” (42). Are we meant to applaud her use of rhetoric to win back her true love? Or is this her own ‘fall’ into wickedness and sin? In other words, is she more honest or conniving in the courtroom? Consider, too, that the Duke’s wife calls her a “crafty, flattering, dissembling child” (40).

Q4: Is the moral of this story to use your wit and intelligence to disobey your elders (who are blinded by money and power)? Or is this moral to ignore your own thoughts and desires and follow the advice of your parents/uncle? Which one does the Young Lady ultimately seem to follow?

Options for Paper #2: Ways of Reading Macbeth

Below are the two paper options for Paper #2, due two weeks from today, on  Monday, October 29th by 5pm. Please let me know if you have any questions! 

OPTION 1: Paper #2: The Women of Macbeth

Traditionally, women have been blamed for the terrible goings-on in Macbeth: the witches are blamed for casting evil prophecies to entrap Macbeth’s lust for power, and Lady Macbeth is accused of pushing him to thoughts and deeds of murder. Even Lady Macduff, when she castigates her husband in front of Ross, is told, “I pray you, school yourself” (4.2). Also curious is how little time these women get on stage: a single scene for Lady Macduff, a handful of scenes for the witches, and less and less as the play goes on for Lady Macbeth. If the women are so powerful and so in control, why does Shakespeare give them so little time (and room) to act?

Susan Snyder, in her essay, “Macbeth: A Modern Perspective,” points out that “It is easy to call Lady Macbeth “evil,” but the label tends to close down analysis exactly where we ought to probe more deeply” (208). So for this paper, I want you to examine the women in the play, either focusing on a specific woman (counting the witches as a single woman) or focusing on a theme or idea that connects all three. Are the women the villains of the piece? Is this another hatchet-job against the fair sex that the Wife of Bath’s last husband would enjoy reading? Or is this, like the Wife of Bath herself, a surprisingly complex view of women trying to survive in a world of men?

To help you discuss this, I want you to find two articles (either in books or journals) to give you more ideas to bounce off of. You can use Susan Snyder’s essay in the Folder edition if you wish, or you can find two additional ones: we have a great Shakespeare section in our library (in the PR2820’s), plus unlimited access to the JSTOR database through the library’s electronic resources (I’ll show you this in class on Wednesday). Good writing is responding—both to ideas in the play and other scholars who have written about it. Remember, you’re not the first person to write about Macbeth, so don’t pretend you are. Read what others have said and use it to build your response.

REQUIREMENTS

• 4-5 pages, double spaced
• Close reading of the play—quotes and discussion of the lines
• At least 2 additional sources, also quoted/discussed (Snyder’s essay optional)
• Due Monday, October 29^th by 5pm [we have class that day—we’ll be watching a film]     
  

OPTION 2: Paper #2: He Said, She Said 

In her short critical article, “Macbeth: A Modern Perspective,” Susan Snyder notes that “Macbeth himself is strangely silent about any longing for royal power and position” (207). Indeed, he seems quite content where he is, which prompts Lady Macbeth’s threats and jeers to kill Duncan and become the king. However, Snyder also points out that “It is easy to call Lady Macbeth “evil,” but the label tends to close down analysis exactly where we ought to probe more deeply” (208). In other words, the closer we look at her guilt, the less sure of the guilty verdict. Especially since Lady Macbeth goes mad by the end of the play and arguably kills herself (unless we believe that Macbeth may have authored the deed himself??).

For this paper, I want you to make a case for one of the partners being the “guilty” one who corrupted the other. Did Lady Macbeth push her husband into avarice and murder and set about corrupting his morals? If she had kept quiet, would Macbeth have grown old as the Thane of Cawdor? Or did Macbeth tempt his wife into thoughts of power and prestige in his letter, and force her into ever-more compromising positions as he took control of the kingdom? If you were directing the play, which actor would you want to look like the villain—and which the willing, but ultimately corrupted pawn?

In addition, I want you to read at least TWO critical articles to help you see how other people read and discuss this play. One of the articles can be Susan Synder’s short essay in the Folder edition (and if you don’t have this, I can make you a photocopy). The other should be an article published in a book or journal on some aspect of Macbeth that gives you food for thought and ideas to respond to. Good writing is responding—both to ideas in the play and other scholars who have written about it. Remember, you’re not the first person to write about Macbeth, so don’t pretend you are. Read what others have said and use it to build your response.

REQUIREMENTS

• 4-5 pages, double spaced
• Close reading of the play—quotes and discussion of the lines
• At least 2 additional sources, also quoted/discussed (Snyder’s essay optional)
• Due Monday, October 29^th by 5pm [we have class that day—we’ll be watching a film]