British Literature Victorian Era Study Guide

When was Matthew Arnold born?

December 18, 1822

Where did Mattew Arnold go to study various languages?

Germany

What works of literature is Matthew Arnold known for?

Literature and Dogma
Culture and Anarchy

When did Matthew Arnold die of a heart attack?

April 15, 1888

What causes the change from an initial atmosphere of calmness to one of confusion? Show the poet's choice of words in the first stanza and in the last three lines of the last stanza demonstrate this contrast.

Calmness changes to confusion when the sea met the land. The poet uses more violent words at the end than the beginning.

What comparisons does the poet make between faith and the sea at low tide? What literary allusion does he make, and how does this allusion support his thesis?

The poet compares faith to low tide by saying it was once full around the earth's shore. Later he says it's melancholy, long withdrawing, roar retreating to breathe.

In what line do you know that the speaker is addressing someone? In what line does he identify this person? What conclusion and hope does he offer to her and to the reader? Is this a valid hope? Why or why not? Does the poet exhibit optimism that Tennyson displays in much of his poetry?

The speaker is addressing someone by line 6. He addresses the person on line 9 as his lover. He does not offer hope. His poems do not display as much optimism in contrast to Tennyson.

What does Matthew Arnold think is the cause of universal timeless despair?

mankind

What did Matthew Arnold have a massive influence on?

modern literature

What is something Arnold never reflected on?

mysticism

What perspective on life did Matthew have on life?

humanism and pessimism

What were the three things that Arnold always included in his poems.

1.) Effects of physical setting
2.) Allegorical comparison
3.) Application to listener

When and where was Lord Alfred Tennyson born?

August 6, 1809 in Lincolnshire, England

How was Lord Alfred Tennyson exposed to evangelical beliefs?

his mother

In what ways does the "The Poet" exemplify Carlyle's views of the role of poet/prophet? Which images in the poem are similar to Shelley's images in "Ode to the West Wind," and in what way do the images support Tennyson's ideas on the role of the poet? Give examples also of the poet's use of personification and enjambment of lines to convey his sense of the importance of the poet's mission.

Both exemplify a poet has being the hero who recorded history according to Carlyle. Tennyson describes a poet to be the one who greatly influences the world. Imagery used such as flaming arrows in The Poet to describe how poets go to war with their words.

Even though Tennyson ostensibly affirms religious faith in the Prologue to In Memoriam, what words or phrases do you find which express uncertainty or tentativeness? What progression in faith do you find in a comparison of lyric 54 with lyric 124? How is his optimistic faith expressed in lyric 106 similar to the optimism at the conclusion of Morte d'Arthur? What basis for his faith does the poet identify in lyric 124, and what view of immortality does he express in lyrics 130 and 131?

Decade of silence; His uncertainty and tentativeness is expressed with a sword.

What function is served by the narrative frame in Morte d'Arthur? What parallels do you see in the topics discussed by the characters in the frame and the ideas presented in the idyll? Does the inclusion of the narrative frame add to or detract from your enjoyment of the poem? Why?

The narrative frame is a retrospective to Arthurian romance. These parallels are demonstrated with Arthur and Sir Gwain.

Arthur's words in lines 291-93 of Morte d'Arthur express the poem's theme. State this theme in your own words, and tell how it applies to the situation in which Bedivere finds himself. What action which also signifies at the end of an ear does Arthur require Bedivere to perform, and what do you think Bedivere's reluctance to perform this deed signifies? What note of optimism does Arthur voice in his request in lines 298-99/ What other traces of optimism do you find in the idyll itself and in its framework narrative?

The main theme of Morte d'Arthur is chivalry and loyalty. The idea is pressed with giving way to change and accepting new traditions.

In line 18 of Ulysses," what does the hero mean by his statement, " I am a part of all that I have met"? Can you apply this statement personally? What extended metaphor does he use to express his desire for new experiences? How is the time of day in line 55 appropriate to the theme expressed in the concluding lines of the poem?

I would say with the quote I am a part of what I have seen meaning that the advertising helped to shape the person today.

What is the story of The Poet about?

The life of a melancholy poet. Freedom and indebted are personified to people like Carlyle.

What is Crossing the Bar about?

The poem has death described with an imaginary crossing the sandbar

What is in Morte d'Arthur?

Decades of how Arthur grows as a person while accepting new traditions.

When was Robert Browing born and when did he die?

He was born May 7, 1812 and he died December 12, 1869

When did Robert Browing learn how to read and write?

Age 5

What university did Robert Browning attend and how old was he when he attended?

He attended the University of London at the age of 16

Who did Robert Browning marry?

the poet Elizabeth Browning

What career path did Robert Browning's son follow?

artist

How was Robert Browning when he had an allowance from his parents?

33

What languages did Robert Browning learn at the age of 14?

Greek, Latin, and French

What did Robert Browning's writing consist of?

Monologuing and the idea of facing death head on

What does Soliloquy of the Spanish cluster focus on?

the inner monologue of a monk

What effect does Browning achieve by beginning Prospice with a short question? In what line does he decisively answer the question? Would you describe his attitude toward death as one of defiance or bravery? Use lines from the poem to support your answer.

He answers the question in line 17. His attitude of death us defiant because his poem Prospice describes how he is always against it.

What is the extended metaphor that dominates Prospice? What is the Arch Fear of line 7? What words and images does Browning use to express the approach of death, and how do the words and images change as he approaches immortality? What is his main consolation for conquering death?

The extended metaphor is death is a battle that must be confronted while death is the archenemy. Death is described as a fog that grows ever close. The main consolation after death is to be reunited with his wife.

What similarities do you see in Browning's Prospice and Tennyson's Crossing the Bar? How do the two poems differ in tone? In what other ways do they differ?

The two poems both describe the approach of death but in two different perspectives.

What words and images does the poet use to contrast the gaudy melon-flower with the English scene he envisions in Home Thoughts from Abroad? How does his punctuation and variation in meter help to establish the tone of the poem? How does he avoid sentimentality in his expression of homesickness?

The poet was the melon flower with the English countryside. His punctuation and meter establish the tone by portraying the beauty of his home.

How did Browning affect modern poetry?

His colloquial style and psychoanalysis in addition to being indirect

Why did many people rebel against Browning?

He associated with Shelly

How does Browning describe immortality?

a constant battle against death

What is Browning the creator of?

Dramatic monologue

What do Browning's works Bells and Pomegranate consist of?

To Teach and To Delight

Who was Browning a rival of?

Lord Alfred Tennyson

When did Browning dive into dramatic irony?

After his short career as a playwright

What is Browning also the author of?

Pied Piper of Hamelin

When was Lewis Carrol born?

January 27th 1832

What is Lewis Carrol's real name?

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson

What was Carrol's best work?

Alice and Wonderland

What the inspiration for Alice and Wonderland?

Lewis Carrol's childhood friend Alice Liddel

Did Lewis Carrol ever marry Alice?

nope

What rhyme patter is Carrol's Mad Hatter based off of?

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

In White Queen's riddle, what does it mention about oysters?

Oysters are easy to cook but hard to break

Did Lewis Carrol have a good life?

Yes

What did Lewis Carrol base his writing off of?

The cultures around him which helped him make mire playful and entertaining poems

What did Lewis Carrol make parodies of in his writing?

other literary works

Was Lewis Carrol a religious skeptic?

nope

Was Lewis Carrol's mocking more playful or cynical?

playful

What was Lewis Carrol's only serious poem?

Child of A Pure Unclouded Brave

What does the white queen emphasize?

Chivalry and Medieval Romance

What careers did Lewis Carrol have before becoming a poet and writer?

math teacher and photographer

When and where was Rudyard Kipling born?

December 30, 1865 in Bombay, India (modern day Mumbai)

Where did Kipling receive his secondary education?

Devon, England

At age 17 when Kipling returned to India, what career path did he pursue?

journalist for 7 years

What happened to Kipling when he was 27 years old?

He got married and moved to America and eventually back to India

What were Kipling's best known literary works?

Jungle Book and Bah, Bah, Black Sheep

What Christian denomination were Kipling's parents?

Methodist

What award did Rudyard Kipling receive in 1907 for literature?

Nobel Prize

What was stated in the McGoggins' Creed?

No soul no God

Did Rudyard believe in the afterlife?

nope

According to The Conversion of Aurelian McGoggins' Creed, what is the McGoggin creed? What theme does the author state in the second paragraph, and why is McGoggin a suitable example to illustrate the validity of the thesis?

The creed consists of one thing more sinful was an order of giving a vain. This consists of having a superiority complex

What causes McGoggin's conversion, and what it the nature of the conversion? How does the setting at the time of the conversion contribute to the impact? What is ironic about McGoggin's inability to understand his own condition?

Overworking is the main cause of McGoggin's conversion. The setting and time had caused him to work to that standard.

What ideals did Kipling agree with that caused distrust between him and the people at the time?

Imperialist

Who were Kipling's poems directed towards?

Nobility and the Intellectual people of society

What do critics consider Rudyard Kipling to be?

a successor to Charles Dickens

Wha were Rudyard Kipling's poems considered to be?

Conservative

When and where was Francis Thompson born?

December 18, 1859 on Lancashire, England

What kind of household was Francis Thompson born into?

Housman

Did Francis Thompson fail to obtain a degree?

yes

Before he started attending university, what were parents training him to be?

a priest

What denomination were both of Thompson's parents?

Catholic

Who did Thompson end up marrying?

Alice

What addiction did Thompson succumb to after being in poverty?

opium

What were Thompson's best works?

The Kingdom of God and The Hound of Heaven

What do Thompson's writings ultimately reflect upon?

His hardships

When Thompson was born what book was published?

Origin of Species

Did Thompson believe that faith in God was absurd?

Nope

What allusion does the Hound of Heaven make?

The woman at the well and Jacob's Ladder

In the Hound of Heaven, who were the keepers of ancient places?

the angels

When was Thomas Hardy born?

June 2, 1840

When did Hardy die of a heart attack?

1928

How did Hardy attend church?

he was a regular member

How was Hardy educated?

self education

What career path did Thomas Hardy study?

architecture

What is Thomas Hardy the author of?

The Darkling Thrust

What is the content of the Darkling Thrust?

The despair that a person is hurdled into after rejecting Christ

What is the content of The Respectable Burgher?

The skepticism of the author against false doctrine being preached in churches

Does Hardy believe that church should be rejected entirely?

Yes

How is Hardy's doubt presented?

through higher criticism

What is the content of Jude the Obscure?

A poor villager encountering various hardships such as marriage

What novel by Thomas Hardy received the most backlash?

Jude the Obscure

What is the Three Strangers about?

the story of a prisoner who becomes a clock maker

How does Hardy illustrate clues in the Three Strangers?

he uses the presentation of characters