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UNIT 1: Anglo-Saxon BEOWULF CANTO 32
Fifty years have past since Beowulf sailed to Denmark and
saved Hrothgar and the Danes from Grendel. Now, returned
and reigning as king of the Geats in his homeland, Beowulf is
about to face another challenge. A meager slave of his people
steals a tiny gold cup from a dragon’s hoard, and this angers
the dragon, causing havoc that Beowulf must address.
But the thief had not come to steal; he stole,
And roused the dragon, not from desire
But need. He was someone’s slave, had been beaten
By his masters, had run from all men’s sight,
2225 But with no place to hide; then he found the hidden
Path, and used it. And once inside,
Seeing the sleeping beast, staring as it
Yawned and stretched, not wanting to wake it,
Terror-struck, he turned and ran for his life,
2230 Taking the jeweled cup.
That tower
Was heaped high with hidden treasure, stored there
Years before by the last survivor
Of a noble race, ancient riches
2235 Left in darkness as the end of a dynasty
Came. Death had taken them, one
By one, and the warrior who watched over all
That remained mourned their fate, expecting,
Soon, the same for himself, knowing
2240 The gold and jewels he had guarded so long
Could not bring him pleasure much longer. He brought
The precious cups, the armor and the ancient
Swords, to a stone tower built
Near the sea, below a cliff, a sealed
2245 Fortress wit no windows, no doors, waves
In front of it, rocks behind. Then he spoke:
“Take these treasures, earth, now that no one
Living can enjoy them. They were yours, in the \
beginning;
Allow them to return. War and terror
2250 Have swept away my people, shut
Their eyes to delight and to living, closed
The door to all gladness. No one is left
To lift these swords, polish these jeweled
Cups: no one leads, no one follows. These hammered
2255 Helmets, worked with gold, will tarnish
And crack; the hands that should clean an polish them
Are still forever. And these mails shirts, worn
In battle, once, while swords crashed
And blades bit into shields and men,
Name _____________________________________________
TASK: Read, highlight (or underline), and
annotate the text in the margin.
Bracket sections and summarize the
meaning. }
Note and give the meaning of any kenning.
Note at least 3 instances of alliteration.
Note at least 3 references to Anglo-Saxon
Mindest information.
2260 Will rust away like the warriors who owned them.
None of these treasures will travel to distant
Lands, following their lords. The harp’s
Bright song, the hawk crossing through the hall
On its swift wings, the stallion tramping
2265 In the courtyard—all gone, creatures of every
Kind, and their masters, hurled to the grave!”
And so he spoke, sadly, of those
Long dead, and lived from day to day,
Joyless, until, at last, death touched
2270 His heart and took him too. And a stalker
In the night, a flaming dragon, found
The treasure unguarded; he whom men fear
Came flying through the darkness, wrapped in fire,
Seeking caves and stone-split ruins
2275 But finding gold. Then it stayed, buried
Itself with heathen silver and jewels
It could neither use nor ever abandon.
So mankind’s enemy, the mighty beast,
Slept in those stone walls for hundreds
2280 Of years; a runaway slave roused it,
Stole a jeweled cup and bought
His master’s forgiveness, begged for mercy
And was pardoned when he delighted lord took the
present
He bore, turned it in his hands and stared
2285 At the ancient carvings. The cup brought peace
To a slave, pleased his master, but stirred
A dragon’s anger. It turned, hunting
The thief’s tracks, and found them, saw
Where its visitor had come and gone. He’s survived
2290 Had come close enough to touch its scaly
Head and yet lived, as it lifted its cavernous
Jaws, through the grace of almighty God
And a pair of quiet, quick-moving feet.
The dragon followed his steps, anxious
2295 To find the man who had robbed it of its silver
And sleep; it circled around and around
The tower, determined to catch him, but could not,
He had run too fast, the wilderness was empty.
The beast went back to its treasure, planning
2300 A bloody revenge, and found what was missing,
Saw what thieving hands had stolen.
Then it crouched on the stones, counting off
The hours till the Almighty’s candle went out,
And evening came, and wild with anger
2305 Lived in terror, but when Beowulf had learned
Of their trouble his fate was worse, and came quickly.
Name ____________________________ CANTERBURY TALES
UNIT 2: Medieval: Chaucer
TASK: Select one of the 10 Characters we studied and write a psychological profile based on the
significant details given in the text. Try to average 2 significant details for each, or 14 total.
Character: _____________________________ Estate: ___Feudal ___Church ___Commoner
FACTOR TEXTUAL EVIDENCE / QUOTATION Appearance
Personality
Thoughts/ Feelings
Problem
Goal
Likely to Say or Talk About
Likely to Do
Name ____________________________ UNIT 3: Medieval Drama EVERYMAN
TASK: On the web visit the Jog: MEDIEVAL AGE: PART 2: Drama and see the first 10 minutes of the video (Item #7 ) called “Middle Ages: A Wanderer’s Guide to Life and Letters.” You’ll see this video in the Jog ( or also found at: http://archive.org/details/MiddleAgesAWanderersGuideToLife ). Answer the following:
1) Make an outline of ideas in the first 5 minutes of the video. What key Medieval Mindset ideas are discussed? …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
2) Note the medieval ideas (pilgrimage, momento mori, and the need for human action for salvation) in the excerpt of Everyman in the video (minutes 6:30 – 9:30). ( Optional: Refer to pp. 38-41 in the Everyman book). This video may not be available through the school’s filter. PILGRIMAGE: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
MOMENTO MORI (Keep Death in Mind): …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… HUMAN WILL, OR ACTION, NEEDED FOR SALVATION: …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 3. Explain how Everyman is a morality play. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Name ____________________________ UNIT 4: Renaissance MACBETH
TASK: Choose any of the following soliloquies from Macbeth and annotate. Mark any and all of
the imagery sets that appear (blood, liquid, light/dark, clothing, health/disease, children, feasts,
gardening) and then summarize in a paragraph which of these contribute to specific thematic
ideas (ambition, evil, appearance/reality, order/disorder).
1) You may copy and paste the soliloquies from an etext at
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/macbeth (This is also found on the Unit 4 Jog: Item #11.)
2) Then annotate on the page.
3) Attach a separate page with your summary.
Choose one among:
Lady Macbeth: “Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be” (Act 1, Scene 5)
Lady Macbeth: “The raven himself is hoarse” (Act 1, Scene 5)
Macbeth: “If it were done when ‘tis done, ‘twere well” (Act 1, Scene 7)
Macbeth: “Is this a dagger I see before me” (Act 2, 1)
Macbeth: “To be thus is nothing” (Act 3, 1)
Lady Macbeth: “Yet here’s a spot” . . . [continuing for the rest of the scene, omitting all other
characters’ lines]
(Act 5, 1)
Name ______________________________
UNIT 5: John Donne & Metaphysical Poetry DEATH BE NOT PROUD
TASK: Annotate the following sonnet by John Donne.
1) Bracket and summarize ideas. Hint: do this by end-marks or quatrains/sestet.
2) Note any conceit.
3) Note any paradox.
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 picture[s] 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'rt 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.
Name ______________________________
UNIT 6: Milton & Classicism PARADISE LOST
TASK: Answer questions on a poem from a woman writer who was a contemporary to Milton.
BACKGROUND During the late 1700s, a war of words waged on known as the querrelle des femmes, or the “debate
about women.” At issue: Were women by nature idle, vain, and immoral or were they good? Most of the debaters fired off
pamphlets and poems and turned to the biblical story of Eve to support their points. Amelia Lanyer, a middle-class woman
with ties to the court of Elizabeth I, and suspected of being the “dark lady” to whom Shakespeare amorously addressed his
some of his sonnets) saw the need for women’s rights three hundred years before the women’s rights movement for
equality and anticipated future ideas of justice for her gender when such ideas were seen by many men and women alike to
be ridiculous. Today, Lanyer is considered a visionary feminist.and suspected of being the “dark lady” to whom
Shakespeare amorously addressed his some of his sonnets) saw the need for women’s rights three hundred years before the
women’s rights movement for equality and anticipated future ideas of justice for her gender when such ideas were seen by
many men and women alike to be ridiculous. Today, Lanyer is considered a visionary of women’s rights.
Eve’s Apology in Defense of Women
by Amelia Lanyer
But surely Adam cannot be excused;
Her fault though great, yet he was most to blame.
What weakness offered, strength might have refused;
Being lord of all, the greater was his shame;
Although the serpent’s craft had her abused, 5
God’s holy word ought all his actions frame;
For he was lord and king of all the earth,
Before poor Eve had either life or breath,
Who being framed by God’s eternal hand
The perfectest man that ever breathed on earth, 10
And from God’s mouth received that strait command,
The breach whereof he knew was present death;
Yea, having power to rule both sea and land,
Yet with one apple won to lose that breath
Which God had breathed in his beauteous face, 15
Bringing us all in danger and disgrace;
And then to lay the fault on patience’s back,
That we (poor women) must endure it all;
We know right well he did discretion lack,
Being not persuaded thereunto at all. 20
If Eve did err, it was for knowledge sake;
The fruit being fair persuaded him to fall.
No subtle serpent’s falsehood did betray him;
If he would eat it, who had power to stay him?
Not Eve, whose fault was only too much love, 25
Which made her give this present to her dear,
That what she tasted he likewise might prove,
Whereby his knowledge might become more clear;
He never sought her weakness to reprove
With those sharp words which he of God did hear; 30
Yet men will boast of knowledge, which he took
From Eve’s fair hand, as from a learned book.
Questions on Eve’s Apology in Defense of Women
1. Who does Lanyer blame for the Fall—Adam or Eve?
2. How does the second stanza connect Adam’s “superiority” to Eve with his blameworthiness?
3. According to Lanyer, what motive did Eve have for tasting of the Tree of Knowledge?
4. According to Lanyer, why did Eve offer Adam a taste of the apple?
5. Describe Eve’s character according to this poem? What adjectives would you use to define her?
6. According to the last stanza, what should Adam have done?
7. What view of Adam is suggested by Lanyer’s description of him?
8. According to the poem, in what way do men apply a double standard to the story of the Fall?
9. Explain why the interpretation of this story was so important in seventeenth-century arguments
about the nature of women.
10. Why or why not would Milton have appreciated the poem for its style and substance?
Name ______________________________
UNIT 7: Pope & Classicism THE RAPE OF THE LOCK
TASK: Compare the first lines of Pope’s poem “Essay on Man” with Milton’s epic “Paradise Lost,”
noting how they are similar and different in style, and similar and different in meaning. Keep in mind
the elements of classicism to help you answer this prompt
“Essay on Man” by Alexander Pope
Awake, my St. John! leave all meaner things
To low ambition, and the pride of kings.
Let us (since life can little more supply
Than just to look about us and to die)
Expatiate free o’er all this scene of man;
A mighty maze! but not without a plan;
A wild, where weeds and flowers promiscuous
shoot;
Or garden tempting with forbidden fruit.
Together let us beat this ample field,
Try what the open, what the covert yield;
The latent tracts, the giddy heights, explore
Of all who blindly creep, or sightless soar;
Eye Nature’s walks, shoot Folly as it flies,
And catch the manners living as they rise;
Laugh where we must, be candid where we can;
But vindicate the ways of God to man.
I. Say first, of God above, or man below
What can we reason, but from what we know?
Of man, what see we but his station here,
From which to reason, or to which refer?
Through worlds unnumbered though the God be
known,
’Tis ours to trace Him only in our own.
He, who through vast immensity can pierce,
See worlds on worlds compose one universe,
Observe how system into system runs,
What other planets circle other suns,
What varied being peoples every star,
May tell why Heaven has made us as we are.
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Of Mans 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 Heav'nly 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 Heav'ns and Earth
Rose out of CHAOS: Or if SION Hill
Delight thee more, and SILOA'S Brook that
flow'd
Fast by the Oracle of God; I thence
Invoke thy aid to my adventrous 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 satst 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 th' Eternal Providence,
And justify the ways of God to men.
Say first, for Heav'n hides nothing from thy
view
Nor the deep Tract of Hell, say first what cause
Mov'd our Grand Parents in that happy State,
Favour'd of Heav'n so highly, to fall off
From their Creator, and transgress his Will
For one restraint, Lords of the World besides?
Who first seduc'd them to that foul revolt?
Th' infernal Serpent; he it was, whose guile
Stirred up with Envy and Revenge, deceiv'd
The Mother of Mankind, --
Name ______________________________
UNIT 8: Coleridge & Romanticism THE RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER
TASK: Using stanzas from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, write a caption for each of the following
engravings from Gustave Doré, which he made, inspired by Coleridge’s poem. Then in the space
below note what Romanticist elements are at work. They appear in narrative order.
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Nature
Supernatural
Lure of the Exotic
Individualism
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Nature
Supernatural
Lure of the Exotic
Individualism
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Nature
Supernatural
Lure of the Exotic
Individualism
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Nature
Supernatural
Lure of the Exotic
Individualism
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Nature
Supernatural
Lure of the Exotic
Individualism
Name ______________________________
UNIT 9: Wordsworth & Romanticism Sonnet
TASKS: 1. Annotate the poem, making marginalia notes.
2. Annotate the sonnet rhyme scheme at the end of the lines A B B A etc.
3. Summarize the poem, noting Romanticist imagery and expressions contained in the poem
This is poem describing the countryside of the Trossachs, a woodland glen area in Scotland, now a
national park. Below is a picture of a loch in the Trossachs.
“The Trossachs” by William Wordsworth
THERE 's not a nook within this solemn Pass,
But were an apt confessional for one
Taught by his summer spent, his autumn gone,
That Life is but a tale of morning grass
Wither'd at eve. From scenes of art which chase 5
That thought away, turn, and with watchful eyes
Feed it 'mid Nature's old felicities,
Rocks, rivers, and smooth lakes more clear than glass
Untouch'd, unbreathed upon. Thrice happy quest,
If from a golden perch of aspen spray 10
(October's workmanship to rival May)
The pensive warbler of the ruddy breast
That moral sweeten by a heaven-taught lay,
Lulling the year, with all its cares, to rest!
Name ______________________________
UNIT 10: Mary Shelley FRANKENSTEIN
TASK: Annotate the following passage of “Letter 4” where Artic explorer Rober Walton writes of his
unexpected encounter with a man near the North Pole—Dr. Frankenstein chasing his creature.
1. Mark and explain aspects of his letter that relate to thematic ideas in the novel as whole.
2. Mark aspects that parallel characters and events in other parts of the novel.
3. And finally, mark any particularly Romanticist elements.
from “Letter 4”
Two days passed in this manner before he was able to
speak, and I often feared that his sufferings had deprived
him of understanding. When he had in some measure
recovered, I removed him to my own cabin and attended on
him as much as my duty would permit. I never saw a more
interesting creature: his eyes have generally an expression
of wildness, and even madness, but there are moments
when, if anyone performs an act of kindness towards him
or does him any the most trifling service, his whole
countenance is lighted up, as it were, with a beam of
benevolence and sweetness that I never saw equalled. But
he is generally melancholy and despairing, and sometimes
he gnashes his teeth, as if impatient of the weight of woes
that oppresses him.
When my guest was a little recovered I had great trouble
to keep off the men, who wished to ask him a thousand
questions; but I would not allow him to be tormented by
their idle curiosity, in a state of body and mind whose
restoration evidently depended upon entire repose. Once,
however, the lieutenant asked why he had come so far upon
the ice in so strange a vehicle.
His countenance instantly assumed an aspect of the
deepest gloom, and he replied,
To seek one who fled from me.
And did the man whom you pursued travel in the same
fashion?
Yes.
Then I fancy we have seen him, for the day before we
picked you up we saw some dogs drawing a sledge, with a
man in it, across the ice.
This aroused the stranger's attention, and be asked a
multitude of questions concerning the route which the
demon, as he called him, had pursued. Soon after, when he
was alone with me, he said,
I have, doubtless, excited your curiosity, as well as that of
these good people; but you are too considerate to make
inquiries.
Certainly; it would indeed be very impertinent and
inhuman in me to trouble you with any inquisitiveness of
mine.
And yet you rescued me from a strange and perilous
situation; you have benevolently restored me to life.
Soon after this he inquired if I thought that the breaking
up of the ice had destroyed the other sledge. I replied that I
could not answer with any degree of certainty, for the ice
had not broken until near midnight, and the traveller might
have arrived at a place of safety before that time; but of this
I could not judge.
From this time a new spirit of life animated the decaying
frame of the stranger. He manifested the greatest eagerness
to be upon deck to watch for the sledge which had before
appeared; but I have persuaded him to remain in the cabin,
for he is far too weak to sustain the rawness of the
atmosphere. I have promised that someone should watch
for him and give him instant notice if any new object
should appear insight.
Such is my journal of what relates to this strange
occurrence up to the present day. The stranger has
gradually improved in health but is very silent and appears
uneasy when anyone except myself enters his cabin. Yet his
manners are so conciliating and gentle that the sailors are
all interested in him, although they have had very little
communication with him. For my own part, I begin to love
him as a brother, and his constant and deep grief fills me
with sympathy and compassion. He must have been a noble
creature in his better days, being even now in wreck so
attractive and amiable.
I said in one of my letters, my dear Margaret, that I
should find no friend on the wide ocean; yet I have found a
man who, before his spirit had been broken by misery, I
should have been happy to have possessed as the brother of
my heart.
I shall continue my journal concerning the stranger at
intervals, should I have any fresh incidents to record.
Name ______________________________
UNIT 11: Victorian Study the following poem by Thomas Hardy and answer the questions.
“The Darkling Thrush”
by Thomas Hardy
I leant upon a coppice gate
When Frost was spectre-gray,
And Winter’s dregs made desolate
The weakening eye of day.
The tangled bine-stems scored the sky
Like strings of broken lyres,
And all mankind that haunted nigh
Had sought their household fires.
The land’s sharp features seemed to be
The Century’s corpse outleant,
His crypt the cloudy canopy,
The wind his death-lament.
The ancient pulse of germ and birth
Was shrunken hard and dry,
And every spirit upon the earth
Seemed fervourless as I.
At once a voice arose among
The bleak twigs overhead
In a full-hearted evensong
Of joy illimited;
An aged thrush, frail, gaunt, and small,
In blast-beruffled plume,
Had chosen thus to fling his soul
Upon the growing gloom.
So little cause for carolings
Of such ecstatic sound
Was written on terrestrial things
Afar or nigh around,
That I could think there trembled through
His happy good-night air
Some blessed Hope, whereof he knew
And I was unaware.
1. What is surprising about the ending of the poem in contrast to most of it?
2. In what season is the poem set?
3. In the first two stanzas, what details and images does the poet use to convey the mood of the setting?
4. What does the speaker hear in the third stanza and how does this effect the mood?
5. Considering Hardy was a realist writer, do you think that he believes the Hope mentioned to be real? Explain.
Name ______________________________
UNIT 12 Modern – Part 1 TRENCH POET
The Soldier
by Rupert Brooke If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
1. How does the speaker ask his readers to remember him, should he die?
2. Why would the speaker go off to war, knowing he could be killed?
3. Name some of the things England has given the speaker?
4. To what does “richer dust” refer?
5. Brooke’s attitude has been called a “ridiculous anachronism”—something very much
outdated—in the face of modern warfare and global politics. Do you agree or disagree?
Explain your position in agreement or disagreement to specific ideas of this poem.
Name ______________________________
UNIT 13 Modern – Part 2 GEORGE ORWELL
“Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell “Shooting an Elephant” is a classic example of an author using a personal experience to illuminate a political institution and its social implications: here, the experience of shooting an elephant and the British Raj (the imperial government of India and Burma), and colonialism itself. Orwell, whom you are likely to know as the author of Animal Farm and 1984, served in the British police force in Burma after leaving school. The experience heightened his political consciousness. “Shooting an Elephant” is also an essay about how the expectations of others force us to play roles, to behave in ways that we do not choose, and to behave as selves other than the selves we think we are—worse selves, as in this essay, and sometimes better selves as well. Orwell, though he does not use the term, is conscious of what we now refer to as the “social construction of reality.” READ HIS ESSAY ONLINE AT http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/887/ AND ANWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. Study Questions:
1. Who is the narrator and what is his position in the Burmese village?
2. Why, in fact, does he kill the elephant? Answer in some detail.
3. What is the theme in Orwell’s narrative? That is, what idea does he develop in regard to white colonialism?
4. Why did Orwell shoot the elephant? Account for the motives that led him to shoot.
Then categorize them as personal motives, circumstantial motives, social motives, or political motives. Is it easy to assign his motives to categories? Why or why not?
5. (Analyze the opening paragraphs in terms of shifts from narration to commentary. As you will soon see, a personal-experience essay moves frequently back and forth from one to the other. It does not, as students sometimes assume, give all narrative first, all commentary last.)
6. Orwell's essays and novels can be read as protests against economic and social injustices. In fact, a critic once wrote that Orwell "would not blow his nose without moralizing on conditions in the handkerchief industry." Identify the political and social themes in this essay and to comment on the effectiveness of Orwell's rhetoric.
Name ______________________________
UNIT 14: Postmodern Literature
Read the first scene from the postmodern drama Arcadia by Tom Stoppard and then write a brief
response as to what you notice from the Postmodern elements. Copies of this play are available
in Mr. Youngs’ classroom.
Not all elements are evident in this scene.
Quotation
Historical reference
Fantasy and whimsy
Decoration
Pastiche
Self-reference