For Wednesday: The Castle of Otranto: Preface to the First & Second Edition (17-25), and Chapters 1-2

Answer TWO of the following…

1. Walpole engaged in a cunning act of Gothic marketing in the Preface to the First Edition, writing that “Belief in every kind of prodigy was so established in those dark ages, than an author would not be faithful to the manners of the times, who should omit all mention of them” (18).  How does the First Preface try to ‘frame’ the story to the reader, and considering that this is a fraud, why did he feel it was necessary to make the story a work of the ‘dark ages’? 

2. The Castle of Otranto, as discussed in class, was riding the wave of the ‘sensibility’ movement, which was all about the expression of strong emotions of love, pity, awe, joy, and terror.  How does sensibility color the narrative, either in the emotions of the characters, or the twists and turns of the story itself?  You might also consider how it supports Goya’s maxim that “the sleep of reason produces monsters.” 

3. As the Preface to the Second Edition informs us, Shakespeare was a major influence on Walpole’s novel.  Where do we see the Shakespearean influence (perhaps more his plays than his Sonnets)?  For example, Shakespeare modeled most of his plays on old histories or romances, yet modernized them for his audience.  How might Walpole be doing much the same thing?  Are there other links between Walpole’s characters, situations, themes, or language?  Consider specific works of Shakespeare you have encountered—Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, King Lear, Othello, etc. 

4. In Chapter II, Jerome (the monk) is hiding Isabella from Manfred’s lecherous intent.  Manfred orders Jerome to give her up with the statement, “I am her parent…and demand her” (53).  Why might we consider The Castle of Otranto a work about the relationship between parents and children, or perhaps the older and younger generation?  How does this theme run through the first two chapters, and create moments of Gothic anxiety about filial obligations—and in the passage quoted here, even a hint of incest?  (Freudian scholars have a lot to say about this work!) 

For Monday: Sensibility and the Gothic

For Monday's class, I'll give you an introduction to the movement of sensibility that swept through England and Europe in the mid 18th-century, and also gave rise to the Gothic movement, as instigated by Horace Walpole's novel, The Castle of Otranto.  We will start discussing that novel for Wednesday's class, so you can expect questions on Monday.

Monday will also be the absolute last day you can turn in Paper #2 for credit (though you will lose 20 points).  After that, you'll get a zero.  Remember, if you didn't turn in Paper #1 you must do Paper #2.  Otherwise you will fail the course.  Please e-mail me with questions/concerns.

See you next week!

For Monday: Fielding's Tom Jones (the BBC series, that is)

Another slight change of plan: instead of jumping right into the Gothic movement and The Castle of Otranto, I decided to give you the week to work hard on your Paper #2 (due on FRIDAY, revised date)!  Also, I won't be able to teach on Friday, since I'll be returning from a literary conference in Tulsa.  So as a way of connecting back to The Way of the World, I want to watch some scenes from the BBC's adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic 18th-century novel, Tom Jones.  Though we don't have time to read it (it's over 800 pages long!), even from the film we'll see numerous connections to the play, and you can better imagine the world Mirabell, Mrs. Fainall, and Miss Millamant lived in.

See you tomorrow...

For Wednesday: Congreve, The Way of the World, Act V

Answer TWO of the following...

1. Why do Mirabell/ Millamant/ Mrs.Fainall win in the end?  Are they the ‘moral’ group as opposed to Mrs. Marwood/Mr.Fainall?  Have they been more real or authentic throughout the play—or simply at the end?  In short, are we rooting for them throughout, and is this ending satisfying (does it give us the expected happy ending)?  Or is it almost arbitrary who wins and who loses? 

2. Though Lady Wishfort is initially a farcical character, how does Congreve make her a sympathetic—and even tragic—figure by the Final Act?  Examine a scene that might show her as more than the butt of a sex joke, and why we (and perhaps Mirabell?) might pity her. 

3. In the very last scene, Witwoud remarks, “what, are you all got together, like players at the end of the last act?” (75). This act of ‘unmasking’ reminds us that everything has finally been revealed: not only the actor/character’s ‘true’ faces, but the unmasking of plots, alliances, and legal documents.  How do you think the Final Act ‘unmasks’ Congreve’s satirical and/or moral message?  If none of this is real, what is “real” about the play—and the people in it?  What should we take away after the final curtain? 

4. As suggested earlier, the servants have a much larger role in late 17^th century society than their masters realized—or at least dared to admit.  How do the servants (Foible, Waitwell, Mincing) help create the ‘happy ending’ of this play, and in a large degree, control who wins and who loses?  Are the servants more ‘moral’ than their masters, or are they simply available to the highest bidder? 

For Monday: Congreve's The Way of the World, Act Four

NOTE: Only one question this time, but with a purpose: it serves as pre-writing for Option #2 of Paper #2 (if you choose to pursue it).

Act Four, Scene I contains possibly the most famous Restoration ‘love scene,’ where Mirabell woos Millamant and she (reluctantly?) accepts his proposal.  Consider how this passage should be staged in a modern performance: how can you bring out the wit, satire, and personalities under the mask?  In your response, analyze pages 50-53 and discuss how you ‘read’ individual lines and ideas.  How would you want your actors to interpret them—and the audience to understand them?  What does this dialogue reveal about the spirit of the times and the meaning of the play? 

In other words, do a close reading of this passage to help bring out the ideas and characterizations that you feel would help an actor ‘see’ his or her role.  What lines are especially important and reveal more than what they initially seem?  Where might we also see each character peeking from behind their mask to reveal themselves as they truly are?  How can you show us this in a performance?

Paper #2: Due October 25th (new due date)!

Option #1: The Sonnet Drama

I want you to arrange, edit, and shape the Sonnets into a short play for one or more actors.  To do this, you have to consider what ‘story’ you want to tell with the Sonnets, and how you can pick and choose (or even edit) sonnets to tell this story.  Ideally, you only want to use between 10-12 sonnets.  You should create an actual playscript which uses the sonnets as a monologue (or dialogue, or trialogue!) with stage directions, etc.  Consider if you want to use the entire sonnet, only part of it, or have different people speak different sonnets or different parts of a sonnet.  However you do it, by reading your drama, we should have a sense of a story unfolding, characters interacting with each other (even if the other characters are off-stage) and some kind of resolution: is this a tragedy, comedy, or something in-between? 

In addition, you must act as a ‘dramaturg,’ which is someone who works with a theatrical production to explain history, culture, and language to the actors.  To do this, your drama will be accompanied by a 4-5 page paper which explains why you chose the sonnets you did, how you read/understand them, and how the language advances a specific story.  Again, we might not ‘see’ this story without your analysis, so be very specific and show us exactly what you see in the language.  You should have at least 2 outside sources to help you read/interpret the Sonnets—and we have many resources in our library, such as Helen Vendler’s and Mark Mirsky’s excellent books on the sonnets (but don’t forget about JSTOR!). 

Option #2: The Battle of the Sexes

You are a ‘dramaturg,’ which is someone who works with a theatrical production to explain history, culture, and language to the actors.  Oklahoma Shakespeare In the Park has hired you to prepare a new version of The Way of the World for its audience—an audience, mind you, that knows very little about late 17^th century drama!  Your task is to ‘modernize’ the play for 2013 audiences without changing anything substantial about the play.  The words and the characters must remain the same, but you can stage it however you like—in 1920’s Chicago, etc.—to help us ‘see’ the relationships and ideas in the play.  Consider what will lessen the ‘period drama’ sting of the work and help us appreciate the comedy and the satire of Congreve’s language. 

Your paper should to do 3 main things: (1) explain how you intend to stage the play and what ‘ideas’ you hope the play should exhibit; (2) how we should read/portray specific actors in the play—help us understand who they are and how they relate to their historical period; and (3) close read 2 pivotal scenes so we understand how to act them and why they are important to the period and to the drama itself.  You should have at least 2 outside sources to help you read/interpret the play which you can find either in our library or on JSTOR, etc. 

REQUIREMENTS

·         For the Sonnet Drama: at least 10-12 Sonnets in a playscript, plus a 4-5 page dramaturgical paper

·         For the Congreve Production: at 4-5 page dramaturgical paper

·         At least 2 outside sources for both papers

·         Analysis, close reading, and specific ideas: avoid summary and losing your own voice in the paper—show us what you see and think

·         DUE FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25th 

For those who read the blog...

ALSO, for those interested, I've posted a link (on the right side of the screen) to my recently published Kindle-only novel, The Count of the Living Death.  I post it here because it relates to much of what we're reading in class: you can find references from Beowulf, The Sonnets, The Way of the World, and Sense and Sensibility.  It's a Young Adult 'fantasy' novel that is inspired by many of my own favorite books and themes, and anyone leaving Brit I will realize how and why I wrote it.  Feel free to read it--it only costs 99 cents to download, or you can borrow it--and 'grade' me for once!  I promise not to cry! :)

For Friday: Congreve's The Way of the World, Act Three...

There are no questions for Friday; instead, read Act Three and I'll give you an in-class writing response when you arrive in class. 

DON'T FORGET TO RECITE YOUR SONNET BY 3:00 TOMORROW (when I leave the office to pick up my kids)!!!

For Wednesday: Congreve's The Way of the World, Act Two

2012 Production of WOTW, Chichester Main Theatre 

Answer TWO of the following...

1.  If the first act shows us how society men think of women, in Act Two, how do society women think of men?  What ‘wit’ and satire do they share with themselves over men’s behavior and manners—or the institution of marriage itself?

2. How does Act Two play on the idea of masks and acting?  Part of the fun of this play is that the actors are playing people who are also playing roles with each other.  Who is acting and why?  How do we know this—and who else knows it?

3. On page 23, Mirabell says that “beauty is the lover’s gift; ‘tis he bestows your charms—your glass is all a cheat,” which echoes Sonnet 22, 113 (and many others) which claim that the lover sees his love in the mirror rather than himself.  Mrs. Millamant (unlike the Sonnets) is allowed to respond to this and they have an argument about it; what does she say and how might this be a woman’s response to Shakespeare’s claims about love? 

4. Discuss the conversation between Fainall and Mrs. Marwood on pages 16-19.  How does this scene play with the idea of being true/false as well as the tortured relationship of love in seventeenth century London.  What echoes of the Sonnets might we find here, too? 

For Monday: Congreve's The Way of the World, Act One

 Answer TWO of the following:

1. The names of the characters in The Way of the World (like most Restoration comedies) reflect the type of person they are; for example, “Fainall” means “feign all,” and “Wishfort” means “Wish for it [sex].”   What other elements in Act One seem to suggest that these are satirical characters in a Hogarth painting (for example) rather than a portrait of “real” life?

2. Examine Mirabell’s speech on page 5, where he begins, “And for a discerning man, somewhat too passionate a lover; for I like her with all her faults,; nay, like her for her faults.”  How might this passage echo some of the “Dark Lady” sonnets that we discussed on Wednesday?  What might this say about the nature of Mirabell’s love for Millamant?

3. Witwoud and Petulant (note their names) are the Laurel and Hardy (or more relevant comedy duo) of this play: both are buffoonish, improper, and completely crass.  How does Congreve satirize certain aspects of his society—and particularly, upper-class society—through their pretensions and prattle? 

4. Most current TV sitcoms or comedy shows (such as Saturday Night Live, etc.) rely on up-to-the-minute references and satire for their jokes.   In 10 years, few of these jokes will get the same kind of laughs, and in 20 years they will fall on completely deaf ears. The Way of the World is, in a way, a sparkling British sitcom, full of the same satire and cultural references.  Focus on a short passage that you feel is mean to be funny but somehow isn’t: what doesn’t translate?  What words, ideas, or references don’t tickle your funny bone?  Can you make sense of it through a close reading—or does it remain an exhibit in the Museum of Retired Comedy? 

Don't forget STD tomorrow at 2! (see the next post down for Friday's class)

Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, will be having its second meeting of the fall semester at 2 p.m. this Friday, October 4th in the Academic Engagement Center (Faust 159).Subsequent meetings in the fall semester will also be scheduled for the first Friday of each month through December.

 

Whether you are an STD frequent flier or you’ve never had the pleasure of attending one of our meetings, we hope you’ll find a way to work us into your schedule if you enjoy talking about fiction, poetry, drama, film, ideas, and other topics of literary interest—whether you are an English major or not.  And if you know someone who is not on this mailing list but might like to be, invite them to give STD a try in November. 

 

Tomorrow’s reading will be a text by Dr. Paul Bogard, from James Madison University in Virginia, who will coming to campus on November 4^th.

 

We hope to see you there!

 

Steve Benton

Joshua Grasso

Rebecca Nicholson-Weir

Sarah Peters (faculty co-sponsors)

For Friday: The Restoration and Early Eighteenth-Century

No reading or work for Friday, unless you want to start reading our next book, Congreve's play, The Way of the World (1700).  Though written in prose and far less complex than Shakespeare, it still takes some getting used to as the entire work is full of wit and innuendo; it can easily go over your head if you read too fast. 

For Friday's class, I want to introduce you to the world of the Restoration (and what that term even means), so you can appreciate what Congreve was trying to do--and who he was writing for (a slightly different audience than Shakespeare). 

DON'T FORGET to start memorizing Sonnets!  The deadline fast approaches!