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Teachers' Resource Web Study Questions on Byron Manfred 1. Manfred keeps referring, as he does at I.i.14, to some "primal scene" that would appear to be the cause of his unhappiness. Can you find some of his allusions to this "event?" With what does Manfred want to be reconciled? 2. "Nature" deserves attention in this play. Why do you think the alternating Alps/Manfred's Tower setting is important? Is the Alpine setting metaphoric of something? 3. Also, examine Manfred's first encounter with the Spirits in I.i. Who are these spirits, and what is Manfred's relation to Nature? 4. The Chamois Hunter appears in I.ii. Why do you think he is in this play? What does Manfred think of him and of his advice? 5. Who is Astarte and what knowledge does she impart to Manfred? (II.iii) 6. Why is the Abbot in Manfred? Refer to Act Three. What does he represent? What does he offer Manfred? 7. When the spirits come to drag Manfred away to hell, he resists them with scorn. Examine his dying speech, III.iii.109-41. What is his ground for refusing to bow to the spirits' will?
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