{"id":533,"date":"2022-12-16T05:23:37","date_gmt":"2022-12-16T05:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/education\/?page_id=533"},"modified":"2023-03-27T06:56:05","modified_gmt":"2023-03-27T13:56:05","slug":"e212-questions-stoppard-spr-2011","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/e212-questions-stoppard-spr-2011\/","title":{"rendered":"E212 Questions – Stoppard – Spr. 2011"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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

General Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Consider the play\u2019s title: what associations does the word and place \u201cArcadia\u201d call to mind? That is, where is the real Arcadia, and what does the name have to do with the development of the pastoral tradition in poetry? (Theocritus is one Greek poet you might want to research at least briefly.) To what extent is Sidley Park, where the action of Stoppard\u2019s play happens, an Arcadian space?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. There\u2019s much speculation about physics and mathematics (broadly speaking) running all through this play. Explain as much as you can about its significance with regard to what the characters do, say and feel. For instance, Thomasina notes early on that you can stir something together but you can\u2019t stir it apart: look up \u201csecond law of thermodynamics\u201d and \u201centropy\u201d: how might Stoppard be using these principles to address human desire and conduct?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. What is the role of Lord Byron in Stoppard\u2019s Arcadia? He never actually puts in an appearance in the play; he is not a character in that sense, but he is important. Relate the basics of his significance to the play, and examine a few instances where he is mentioned to explore his relevance to some of the themes that interest Stoppard. Why might Stoppard be interested in incorporating real people from the past into a work of dramatic fiction?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scene One<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. In Scene One, how do mathematics or physics and erotic interests already start to cross paths? Consider the scene\u2019s conversations between Septimus and Thomasina: how do those conversations involve both realms?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. In Scene One, what is your impression of the visiting poet Chater? Consider his conversation with Septimus: what is the substance of it, and how do they manage to conclude the matter for the time being?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

6. In Scene One, Lady Croom engages in a spirited conversation regarding Sidley Park\u2019s landscaping as proposed by the landscaping architect Noakes. What is this architect proposing to do, and what does the Lady think about it? Why is the art of landscaping such an important topic in this play: what might it say about the interplay of neoclassical and romantic views of nature?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scene Two<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

7. In Scene Two, examine the dialogue between Hannah and Bernard. Why is Bernard visiting, and what information does he seek from Hannah concerning Lord Byron? What are Hannah\u2019s professional interests: what is she doing at Sidley Park, and what are her notions about the passage from the values of the Enlightenment to English Romanticism?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scene Three<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

8. In Scene Three, we return to the Nineteenth Century. What is Thomasina\u2019s attitude here towards love? What problem does she have with it? Moreover, explain the cause of the prospective duel between Septimus and Chater: what is the cause of the argument here? How does Septimus respond to the challenge thrown his way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scene Four<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

9. In Scene Four, what does Valentine explain about his project at Sidley Park? What principle of modern physics does he describe to Hannah, and how does this principle reflect upon the knowledge that the present- day scholars in the play seek and gather, and perhaps other things they do as well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scene Five<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10. In Scene Five, explore the argument that Hanna, Valentine and Bernard get into regarding the nature and purpose of knowledge: does anyone get the upper hand in this argument? How do they begin to pick apart one another\u2019s theories? Which of the three characters interests you most, and why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scene Six<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

11. In Scene Six, what new developments are related concerning the prospective duel at Sidley Park: what really seems to have happened?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scene Seven<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

12. In Scene Seven, how does Bernard\u2019s theory about Lord Byron as the killer of Mr. Chater unravel? Where do Hannah and Valentine\u2019s researches stand by now? Whose ideas seem most relevant by the play\u2019s end?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

13. In Scene Seven, what does bringing the characters from the two respective time frames together towards the play\u2019s end illuminate or settle? Why, perhaps, does the play end with a pair of couples dancing: how does their act of dancing invite us to conclude all the intellectualizing, philosophizing and intrigue we have processed up to this point? That is, try to explain the poignant quality of the conclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Edition:<\/strong> Greenblatt, Stephen 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":"

General Questions 1. Consider the play\u2019s title: what associations does the word and place \u201cArcadia\u201d call to mind? That is, where is the real Arcadia, and what does the name have to do with the development of the pastoral tradition in poetry? (Theocritus is one Greek poet you might want to research at least briefly.) […]<\/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-533","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/533","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=533"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/533\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4687,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/533\/revisions\/4687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wf_page_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ajdrake.com\/academic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_page_folders?post=533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}