EMAIL<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0SYLLABUS<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0POLICIES<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0| QUESTIONS<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0|\u00a0PRESENTATIONS<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0JOURNALS<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0PAPER<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0EXAM<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Lady of Shalott\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. What effect do the poem\u2019s rhyme scheme, meter, and presentation of imagery have on the themes it pursues? How do these elements help move the plot forward? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. This poem employs metaphors of weaving, singing, and reflection (the \u201cmirror\u201d and \u201cshadows\u201d)\u2014what significance do those metaphors have in establishing the poem\u2019s meaning? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. How does the poem\u2019s descriptive quality change when Sir Lancelot enters the scene? How is his appearance connected with what the Lady has called a \u201ccurse\u201d? Why does the sight of Lancelot induce her to leave her loom and \u201clook down to Camelot\u201d (110)? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. How do the Lady\u2019s death and the villagers\u2019 perceptions of her raise the issue of art\u2019s relation to life? What statement, if any, do you think the poem as a whole makes about that relation? Why, for example, must the Lady die \u201csinging in her song\u201d (152)\u2014why is it impossible that she should arrive safely at her destination? <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Lotos-Eaters\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Characterize the nature description of the poem\u2019s first five stanzas. What effect does the natural setting have upon Odysseus\u2019 men? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Where is Odysseus in this poem? What is his relation to his crew? If you have studied Homer\u2019s Odyssey,<\/em> how stands Odysseus in relation to his crew in that work? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. The first several stanzas are written in the Spenserian stanza, which you may recall from The Faerie Queene. <\/em>Why is that an appropriate choice in conveying the poem\u2019s initial atmosphere and the men\u2019s attitude before the Choric Song begins? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 8. In the \u201cChoric Song,\u201d what lesson or sentiment do the Mariners draw from their situation within the poem\u2019s natural setting? What is their primary complaint? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 9. What view of the gods do the Mariners set forth? How does that view differ from the ones that you have found in any studies you have made of ancient Greek texts? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 10. Consider the back-and-forth structure of argument (or complaint) and resolution in \u201cthe Choric Song.\u201d What allows the Mariners to arrive at their resolutions? What role does memory play? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 11. Consider the Mariners\u2019 concluding tone and rhetoric in Section 8. How is their hexameter-couplet rhetoric both powerful and yet a misuse of language within the context of Greek heroism? What, in other words, has happened to the bond between speech, sensory perception, and action? <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUlysses\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 12. What is the basic situation when the poem begins? At what point in his career does Ulysses (i.e. Odysseus, hero of Homer\u2019s Odyssey<\/em>) find himself, and in what state of mind is he? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 13. What is Ulysses\u2019 attitude towards his son Telemachus and towards the domestic realm that the young man will be left to tend? How does Ulysses understand his own people? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 14. At what point does Ulysses begin addressing his old crew members rather than addressing himself in thought? How does his internal commentary on his past experiences and current state of mind differ from the rhetoric he aims at the crew? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 15. To what extent is Tennyson\u2019s Ulysses like Homer\u2019s Odysseus? How does he differ from the Greek hero in Homer\u2019s epic? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 16. How indebted is Tennyson\u2019s construction of Ulysses to Dante\u2019s treatment of the epic hero in Canto 26 of Inferno? <\/em>How does Dante cast Ulysses\u2014what was the epic hero\u2019s sin? Is that sin something we need to consider in understanding Ulysses in Tennyson\u2019s poem? <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTears, Idle Tears\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 17. Why are there single quotation marks at the beginning of each stanza? What effect do those marks have on your understanding of the poem? What is the speaker trying to do by means of his words in \u201cTears, Idle Tears\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 18. How does this poem show what Jonathan Culler and others have noted as the Victorians\u2019 preference for analogy over direct metaphor? What effect does Tennyson\u2019s consistent employment of similes have upon your understanding of the poem?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 19. How does Tennyson\u2019s reference to memory in this poem compare to the role that memory plays in Wordsworth\u2019s poetics and in his great odes?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 20. How does the speaker\u2019s response to his emotions contrast with that of Tithonus?<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Memoriam A.H.H,<\/em> \u201cPrologue\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 21. This poem was added late in the composing stages as an affirmation of Tennyson\u2019s religious faith. What do you think of the quality or steadfastness of Tennyson\u2019s affirmation? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 22. What relationship between faith and knowledge does the speaker posit? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 23. How does this Prologue recast or sum up the whole of In Memoriam A.H.H.? <\/em>In other words, how does the speaker characterize the poetry he has been writing and editing for around 17 years? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 1<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 24. Why does Love need to \u201cclasp\u201d Grief? (9) What\u2019s the penalty if Love does not do so? What is the central problem set forth by this lyric? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 2<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 25. How is the yew tree correlated with the speaker\u2019s state of mind? Why does the speaker envy the yew tree\u2014what qualities or \u201cperspective\u201d (to personify the tree for a moment) does the tree have that he lacks? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 26. What do Sorrow and the speaker argue about? Why does it make sense for the speaker to treat Sorrow momentarily as an external force with whom he can converse? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 4<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 27. What role does sleep play in the psychology of sorrow?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 28. What does this lyric argue or explore about the relationship between words and grief? How does the poem question romantic notions about the powers of expressive language? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 29. How does the speaker\u2019s exploration of expressive theory affect your relationship as a reader to In Memoriam A.H.H.?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 7<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 30. How does the speaker\u2019s state of mind color the description he provides? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 11<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 31. How does the speaker\u2019s own calmness compare to the natural calm he describes? How does natural calm compare to Arthur Hallam\u2019s calmness in death? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 32. How does this poem amount to the speaker\u2019s preparation for accepting his friend\u2019s death, insofar as such acceptance is possible? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 14<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 33. How does this poem set forth the importance of coming to terms with the material fact of death, as one might say Lyric 11 does as well? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 15<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 34. How does the natural setting correlate with the speaker\u2019s state of mind? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 35. Review the reference to molten glass in Job<\/em> 37:18 and Revelations<\/em> 15:2. What do these biblical passages add to your understanding of the poem? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 28<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 36. How can you connect this lyric to the importance of memory in Wordsworth\u2019s poetics, as we gather from \u201cPreface\u201d to Lyrical Ballads?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 37. What associations do the church bells bring back to the speaker? Why are those memories important to the speaker\u2019s process of grieving? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 30<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 38. What allows the speaker to look forward to the day? What does his ability to greet the morning signify with regard to his emotional progress? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 34<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 39. What alternative reason for writing poetry does the speaker set forth as a possibility in this lyric? Does he accept that possibility or reject it? What advantages would accrue to him if he were to become a \u201cwild poet\u201d? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 39<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 40. How does \u201cSorrow\u201d function as a Victorian censor of romantic expression in this lyric?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 54<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 41. What is the speaker saying about poetry\u2019s power to render the world morally or intellectually intelligible? Examine the final stanza with this question in view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 55<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 42. How might you tie this lyric to Wordsworth\u2019s comments about science in \u201cPreface\u201d to Lyrical Ballads?<\/em> The central question here is \u201cwhat kind of knowledge does science give us, and how does that knowledge affect our emotional wellbeing?\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 56<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 43. Why would it be worse for humans than for animals if Nature\u2019s self-description should turn out to be true? What effect does the answer given in the last stanza have upon the emotional movement of In Memoriam<\/em> as a whole (as you gather from our selections)? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 75<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 44. How does this lyric compare to Shakespeare\u2019s handling of the theme of \u201cpoetic immortality\u201d in his Sonnets?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 108<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 45. How does the speaker characterize his attitude towards Arthur Hallam? What feeling is he exploring in this lyric? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 118<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 46. What two kinds of \u201cevolution\u201d does this lyric explore? What seems to be the speaker\u2019s attitude towards early formulations about evolution\u2014for instance Charles Lyell\u2019s theory of uniformitarianism in the 1830\u2019s text Elements of Geology? <\/em>(Uniformitarianism is the theory that posits the steady, long-term application of natural forces as an explanation for earth\u2019s transformations as we see them reflected in geological features?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n 47. Where does the speaker\u2019s conception of God come into play in this poem, if at all? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 123<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 48. What attitude towards scientific knowledge does the speaker take in this lyric? What is the speaker\u2019s \u201cdream,\u201d as he calls it in the final stanza? Why can\u2019t he accept the perpetual change that he has just described in the first two stanzas? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 124<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 49. What does the poem set forth as evidence that God exists? What kinds of evidence fail to convince him of God\u2019s existence? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 50. What is the relationship or similarity between faith and doubt as this lyric handles those states? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 51. Relate this poem\u2019s ending to Carlyle\u2019s doctrine of humankind\u2019s need for \u201cmystery.\u201d Is Tennyson\u2019s solution to religious doubt Carlylean, or more conventionally Christian? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 126<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 52. What are the \u201ccourt\u201d and the \u201cfaithful guard\u201d in this lyric? From what is the speaker being protected while he is in the court? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 130<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 53. To what extent is this lyric a nature poem? What progress does it mark in the speaker\u2019s state of mind as he grieves for Arthur Hallam? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lyric 131<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 54. Comment on the way Tennyson describes human life as a process, a \u201cflow.\u201d What is the thematic value of the metaphor of water employed in this lyric? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Epilogue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 55. How does Tennyson connect his sister\u2019s wedding with the passing of his friend Arthur Hallam? What do the two events have in common? <\/p>\n\n\n\n 56. Do you find this selection from the final part of In Memoriam<\/em> convincing? In other words, do you believe that Tennyson has come full circle in his process of grieving and accepted Arthur Hallam\u2019s death as part of God\u2019s providence? Has he dealt finally with the religious doubts that arose partly his from his response to Arthur\u2019s passing? <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe Charge of the Light Brigade\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 57. What is the function of this poem? What ideal of heroism does the poem set forth? Do you find it convincing? Why or why not?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCrossing the Bar\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 58. How does the treatment of death in Tennyson\u2019s farewell poem compare to his treatment of the same event in other poems? How does he want to go out of the world? With what hopes does he bid the world farewell?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Edition:<\/strong> Abrams, M. H. et al, eds. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. <\/em>8th ed. Vol. E. New York: Norton, 2006. ISBN Package 2 (Vols. DEF) 0-393-92834-9.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" LORD ALFRED TENNYSON QUESTIONS \u201cThe Lady of Shalott\u201d 1. What effect do the poem\u2019s rhyme scheme, meter, and presentation of imagery have on the themes it pursues? How do these elements help move the plot forward? 2. This poem employs metaphors of weaving, singing, and reflection (the \u201cmirror\u201d and \u201cshadows\u201d)\u2014what significance do those metaphors have […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"wf_page_folders":[43],"class_list":["post-497","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/497","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4689,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/497\/revisions\/4689"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wf_page_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_page_folders?post=497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}