Brit Lit Study guide final

“Why so Pale and Wan?” - Sir John Suckling

Emotions: speaker feels optimistic for the subject, subject is heartbroken and sickly

Advice: seize the day, find a new love instead of mourning the old one

To Althea, from Prison” - Richard Lovelace

Language of imprisonment: “Hovers within my Gates”

Opinion of king?: he loves his king as much as he loves Althea

State of mind?: not discouraged by prison,  feels his king has been wronged, his mind makes him as accessible as a liberated person

“To Lucasta, Going to the Wars” - Richard Lovelace

Duty: to serve in his country’s war

“New mistress”: the enemy/war itself

Comforts by: telling her he could not have loved her this much if he didn’t love honor more

Opinion of war?: war is necessary, and of peak importance to him

Love or war?: speaker feels war → he chose war from his birth, and he feels valor and war brings him more happiness than love

“To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time” - Robert Herrick

Advice to women: find love before your youth runs out

Rosebud symbol: lovers, sexuality

Passing of time?: as time moves on, your eligibility for love will run out, and you will become decrepit if you do not find a lover

“To His Coy Mistress” - Andrew Marvell

Qualities of the mistress: young, but obstinate

• Scares the speaker because time is running out

Appeals to emotions: saying “worms will try” and destroy her purity

“How Soon Hath Time” - John Milton

Opinion of life?: he has wasted it

Crisis? Fears? Questions?: the speaker’s crisis is his wasting of life and doing nothing substantial before he dies. He questions its meaning and why it must be this way. He fears dying before he does anything important

Comparison?: speaker compares time to a thief of youth

Who judges him?: His Task-Master (God)

“When I Consider How My Light is Spent” - John Milton

Crisis? Fear? Question?: the speaker’s crisis is living as a blind man. He fears he won’t be able to please God or amount to anything because of his blindness. He questions if God values his work, even if he is blind.

Paradise Lost - John Milton

Theme (1-5): consequences of human disobedience

Who does Milton seek assistance from?: The Holy Spirit

Purpose of narrator?: justify the ways of God to man and warn us of Hell

Why is Satan cast into Hell?: rebellion/equating himself to God

Oxymoron example: “Heaven of Hell, Hell of Heaven”

Why is Satan content in Hell?: he is free to reign supreme

Satan’s argument summary: God should not be able to hide knowledge from humans, and questioning whether ignorance of this is proof of their obedience to God

Parallel between Satan/Adam & Eve?: all cast out of a heavenly place and disobeyed God

The Pilgrim’s Progress - John Bunyan

Elements of Allegory:

• Obstinate: human stubbornness to change

• Pliable: human weakness, gullibility, rule-follower

• City of Destruction: Hell

Conflict?: Obstinate/Pliable chase Christian to return him to City of Destruction

Way to Celestial City?: “Go out of the world,” death

Pilgrim’s passage symbolism: Christian journey to Heaven and persecution (cages)

Gulliver’s Travels - Johnathan Swift

What do you think Swift's purpose is in the passage about the Lilliputian emperor on page 524?: Compares the king to the autocratic and totalitarian tendencies of the rulers of Britain/the world at that time

What is being satirized on page 526 in the description of gunpowder?: Swift tells the king that gunpowder is a great invention and is offering it to him as a gift of friendship. This is satirical of our giving this weapon to each other as an act of “friendship” even though gunpowder is capable of massive harm

According to the Brobdingnagian King, what are the qualifications of a legislator?: Understanding of laws/history/humanity, and ignorance/idleness/vice

Does Gulliver feel more at home, politically, in Lilliput or Brobdingnag?: Brobdingnag

How does Swift's manipulation of characters' size contribute to the portrayals of these groups?: Swift’s portrayal of the sizes of each civilization is a symbol representing their moral integrity. As the Brobdingnagian people are giants, this symbolizes their large understanding of morality and large/open mindedness. Lilliputians are small because of their feeble and miniscule understanding of the world: greed first.

“A Modest Proposal” - Jonathan Swift

What is Swift’s purpose in writing this essay?: To highlight the injustice and immorality a government is capable of in pursuit of problem solving, criticizing the elite on their lack of empathy or care for the people of Ireland

Attitudes of British to Irish plight?: indifference, no care at all

6 Advantages: 1. Reducing the number of Catholics, 2. poor people gain something of value to use for debt payment, 3. price of raising children will be lessened, 4. parents would not endure the stress of raising children, 5. increase tavern profits, 6. encourages marriage

Objection: reducing the national population

Essay on Man

Where do we exist?: an isthmus. Explains we are neither good nor bad

“Oroonoko” - Aphra Behn

Opinion of slave trade: bad, text used to explain that slaves are equal to all others

Opinion of humanity: deceitful, treacherous when it comes to greed

“A Brief to Free a Slave” by Samuel Johnson

Understand why the author disagrees with slavery: they did not choose that life and it is unlawful for the government to force that upon them, regardless of whether or not they were born into it

Cavalier

poetry with use of “seize the day” and ideas of honor, bravery…

Metaphysical

poetry emphasizing God/spiritual themes

Neoclassical

witty, satirical, logical, emphasizes evil within humans

“To a Mouse” by Robert Burns

Whom is the speaker addressing?: a mouse

What is the purpose the speaker is addressing this subject?: he is sorry that he destroyed the mouse’s nest

What famous sentiment is shared in lines 37-42?: even the most carefully planned plans can go wrong, whether they were contrived by a human or not

What problems does a mouse face, according to the speaker?: homelessness and hunger

How are the speaker’s problems similar to the problems of the mouse?: the speaker, too, has to construct and fortify his home against the more significant threat of the winter and survive off the little food he earns

“The Lamb” and “The Tyger” by William Blake

What is the Lamb being compared to in the second stanza?  How are they similar?: Jesus. They both share their names and are meek and mild. He and the lamb were both once children

How is the tiger characterized?: sublime beast, massive and scary, as powerful as God

“London” by William Blake

What are the three main life events discussed?: childhood, war, and marriage

What judgment is Blake making about urban life during the Romantic period?: urban life is entire of impoverishment and death while the rich profit

 A Vindication of the Rights of Woman by Mary Wollstonecraft

What reason does Wollstonecraft’s contemporaries give to support the idea that women cannot acquire virtue?: Wollstonecraft’s contemporaries only looked at women’s intelligence based on how they act on the outside - childlike and with too little intelligence to acquire any virtue

Summarize Wollstonecraft’s feelings about the idea that women are incapable of attaining virtue. How does Wollstonecraft reference Milton to support her argument?: Wollstonecraft argues that these arguments only persist because there are prejudices that are allowed to persist within society as well as a cycle created by men on raising women this way, and uses Milton to bolster her argument by pointing out the contradictions he makes in his writing

In what state are women kept?: childlike innocence

What must women be allowed if they are to be virtuous?: the free will to seek the fountain of light themselves

According to Wollstonecraft, what is assumed about women’s intellectual ability?: According to Wollstonecraft, it is assumed that women are supposed to be childish and beautiful, so much so that beauty is all they care about, and so they are not able to search for virtue by themselves

“The World is Too Much With Us” by William Wordsworth

How do we “lay waste our powers”?: getting and spending

What is wrong with focusing too much on “getting” and “spending”?: we do not focus on giving or compassion or nature

What have we “given…away”?: our hearts and love for nature

How does the poet feel about humans’ relationship with nature?: it has declined as our industry grows

What does and does not move the poet?: glimpses of the sea move him, and reflecting on the destruction of the world does not

“Composed Upon Westminster Bridge” by William Wordsworth

What is the speaker looking at?: a city in the morning

How is line 1 contradictory to typical Romantic ideals?: the poem focuses on a city and urban life rather than an individual

What does and does not move the poet?: the view of London in the morning

“Preface to Lyrical Ballads” by William Wordsworth

What are Wordsworth’s thoughts on how poetry should be composed?: it should not 100% conform to the ideals of the time, and be different

What device does Wordsworth reject?: personification

According to Wordsworth, what is poetry?: “a spontaneous overflow of powerful passion”

“Kubla Khan” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Be able to identify dreamlike elements of the poem: sublimity, exploration of the mind, imagery

What is the result of the chasm eruption in stanza 2?: a mighty fountain rises and spews rock like hail

How does the progression of the poem compare to that of a dream?: it is slow, but also observes everything around

“The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” by Samuel Taylor Coleridge

In lines 91-96, the other sailors on the Mariner’s ship express one opinion; then, when the weather stays fine, they express the opposite opinion in lines 97-102.  Describe the sailors’ two reactions: the sailors first acknowledge that the captain killed the bird, and cursed it for bringing the mist. Next, they say it is right to kill birds that bring these curses.

Describe the ship’s situation in lines 107-122: the ship is trapped in the endless ocean, beaten down by the sun and thirst

Describe what the sailors do in lines 139-142 and why they do it: the sailors hang the albatross around the captain’s neck, blaming him for bringing death and distress to the ship

In Part III, the sailors become overjoyed when they spot another ship.  Describe this ship’s appearance and crew.  [The woman on board, by the way, wins the mariner; her companion wins the crew.]: the ship is a skeleton, staying afloat without wind or sail. Death and Life-in-Death are part of the crew, which are skeletons

What happens at the end of Part III?: the mariner’s crew drop dead and their souls flee their bodies past the captain

Based on how the Mariner responds in lines 230-231, why did the Wedding Guest fear him in the preceding lines?: the mariner looks deceased, and his hand looks to be rotten off and browning.

Explain the stanza beginning with line 253: the corpses of the crew seem not to have rotten, and they haunt the mariner

In line 272-273, the Mariner says, “Beyond the shadow of the ship / I watched the water-snakes.”  What does he think of them?  How does this relate to what happens in the last stanza of Part IV?: He is amazed by the water-snakes. This relates because instead of hunting and killing the beasts, he admires them from his ship, unlike what he did to the albatross. This shows he has learned his lesson and become appreciative of nature

Explain what happens in lines 329-340: the dead men reanimate and begin to operate the ship as if they were living

According to lines 377-380, who is moving the ship?: the spirit from the South Pole

Where does the ship arrive in lines 464-471, and how does the Mariner react?: they arrive at the captain’s lighthouse and native land, and he rejoices. He cannot believe the journey is seemingly over, and cries with delight

What three men approach the Mariner’s ship in a small boat?: the pilot, his son, and the hermit

What is the Hermit like?  [If you’re not sure what a “hermit” is, by the way, look it up.]: holy, devout, a man of God and nature, the benchmark for how to live a good life

In lines 525-26, the men in the boat mention signal lights that disappeared.  What did they actually see?: the souls of the dead crew

Once the skiff reaches the Mariner’s ship, what happens?  [lines 542-555]: the ship splits in half and sinks, and the mariner is saved by the pilot

In lines 582-590, the Mariner describes his life since he first confessed his story to the Hermit.  Explain what the Mariner’s life is like now: his guilt and pain compel him to continue traveling and telling his story

How did the Mariner’s experiences change him?: they have made him both fearful of the sea and reverent of nature.

Explain the Wedding Guest’s reaction to the Ancient Mariner’s tale [lines 620-625]: stunned, knocked of his senses, and made wiser

“Casabianca” by Felicia Dorothea Hemans

What qualities of the boy does the author seem to appreciate?: loyalty unto death, innocence

What is the boy’s motive for choosing to stay on the ship?: awaiting orders from his father

“She Walks in Beauty” by Lord Byron

What can one tell from the woman’s smiles?: how much she is at peace with herself and the world

What does it mean to have a mind “at peace with all below”?: you are content with your image and body

“Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage” by Lord Byron

What does the poem suggest the reader not to?: not to waste their time on earthly pleasures and go out and see the world

What does the speaker find in the woods, the shore, and the sea?: a pathless woods, a rapture on the shore, and music in the seas

“Ozymandias”

What remains in the environment around the statue?: sand and decaying ruins

Contrast the king’s words with the surrounding view.  What does the poem say about greed?: greed is temporary, and power will fade

“Ode to the West Wind” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

What three effects is the wind described as having?: influences leaves, wind, and water

What is the speaker asking the wind to do in section 5?: make her its carry the speaker’s words to all mankind

Why does the speaker want the wind to work its powers on him as it does on the leaves, clouds, and waves?: so that all may appreciate its power

“To a Skylark” by Percy Bysshe Shelley

What is the bird doing at the start of the poem?: flying

How is what the bird does different from what a poet does, which causes the speaker to be envious of the bird?: it can sing without paying attention to the chaos and emotion of the world below it

What is the skylark free from, according to lines 76-80?: the pain love can cause

What is the skylark’s song better than?: all measures of delightful sound

“Ode to a Nightingale” by John Keats

Why does the poet admire the nightingale?: its song lasts forever and is more powerful than death or time

How will the poet reach the nightingale?: imagination

“Ode on a Grecian Urn” by John Keats

Why are the boughs happy?: they do not decay or shed their leaves

Why is an imagined song better than an actual one?: it will never die or be piercing to a human’s ears

“When I Have Fears”  by John Keats

What does the speaker fear losing?: life without true love

What is the speaker fear he will not be able to do?: write, experience love, or experience the world

How does the speaker’s thoughts on these three things change by reflecting on death?: he accepts that he will die, and does nothing but sit and think

What does the speaker say about love and fame in the final lines?: their meaning will eventually become nothing

“On First Looking Into Chapman’s Homer” by John Keats

To whom does the author compare himself?: an explorer and an astronomer

What was preventing the speaker’s life from feeling complete?: not reading Chapman

 “My Last Duchess” by Robert Browning

Why was the Duke displeased with his wife?: she showed her smile to other people

What is ironic about the Duke's attempt to present an unflattering characterization of his wife?: though he tried to present her as unchaste and bad, she was friendly and nice

What is the mood in lines 43-47, and what specific words/phrases make you think this?: dark and angry. “This grew; I gave commands; Then all smiles stopped together.”

What traits does the speaker reveal about himself?: controlling, manipulative, dark, dangerous

“Porphyria’s Lover” by Robert Browning

There's a mood shift in lines 1-10.  What two moods exist, and what specific words/phrases make you think this?: gloomy (“sullen wind”) turns to bright and happy because of Porphyria’s entrance (“She shut the cold out and the storm”)

Why does the speaker feel his actions are logical?: he thinks strangling his lover was what she wanted

“How do I love thee?” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

What impact does anaphora have on the poem?: it emphasizes the extent to which she loves the subject, admiring him and all his aspects

Choose which description of her love you find to be the most effective/powerful/relatable.  Why are you drawn to this one?: “I shall but love thee better after death.” This explains that her love is so pure and true that even after her lover dies, she will remain faithful to him, though he isn’t with her

“The Darkling Thrush”  by Thomas Hardy

What elements give the poem a gloomy mood?: the setting and the end of the century

“Ah, Are You Digging on My Grave?” by Thomas Hardy

Who does the subject of the poem thinking is digging on her grave, and why does it turn out not to be these people?: first, her lover (who was getting married), then her kin (who do not believe decorating her grave will do anything good), then their enemy (who does not care about her anymore)

Who is digging on her grave and why is he digging?: her dog, who is digging to bury a bone in case he got hungry near the site

“The Mark of the Beast” by Rudyard Kipling

What mistake does Fleete make that has undesirable consequences for him?: rubs a cigar in a circular motion on a monkey god statue

What connections exist between what Fleete does to the statue and what happens to him?: Fleete marks the statue with his cigar, and later on wakes up sickened and with a similar mark

What things make Strickland and the speaker believe Fleete is turning into an animal?: his senses enhance, he begins eating raw meat, begins to howl, walks on 4 limbs

Describe the attitude Strickland and the speaker have toward the people of India with one cited quote to support your assertion: they are indifferent to what happens to them, and only care about their task of colonization. Strickland also indulges in sadistic acts too violent for the public to read: “...is not to be printed.”

Based on this story, how do you feel Victorians felt toward Indians?: Victorians feel the same way as Strickland, though when faced with the immorality of what they are doing to the Indians, they’d rather cower and be sheltered by someone else

“The Lady of Shalott” by Alfred Lord Tennyson

What is her relationship to the outside world?  

She has never been outside her tower and sits there weaving all day.

Think about: 

what the reapers hear and say 

They hear her singing in the early morning and all through the day

the curse she lives under 

She cannot look upon Camelot

what she sees in the mirror clear (line 46) 

She looks at the world through her mirror so she will not see Camelot

what she weaves in her “magic web” (lines 38, 64-65)

She weaves what she sees in her mirror 

How does she see what is going on in the outside world?: Through the mirror

How does her practice of art demonstrate her distance from the world?: Artists are supposed to stay distant from what they make art of. If they don’t it spoils the artist and the art.

What motivates her to look out the window?: Sir Lancelot is riding past

“Dover Beach” by Matthew Arnold

How does the speaker describe the environment around him?: calm, tranquil, then dark and dangerous

What does the speaker ask of his love at the end of the poem?: to be true to him

What has swept the world?: struggle, infighting, death

What does the speaker feel is declining in the world?: love, truth, kindness

“Spring and Fall to a Young Child” by Gerard Manley Hopkins

What does the speaker ask the child in lines 1-2?: “are you grieving the turning of the season?”

What is the lesson the speaker makes to the child?: nothing in the world is permanent

“When I Was One-and-Twenty” by A. E. Housman

What does the wise man say is and isn’t acceptable to give away?  Why?: giving away riches and money is acceptable, but giving away yourself and your person is not

What comment does the poem make about youth?: pay attention to the lessons shared with you along the way, it may save you pain

 “To an Athlete Dying Young” by A. E. Housman

What does the crowd do BOTH when the boy wins the race and dies?: lift him above their shoulders and carry him into town

What has the boy lost and gained?: the boy lost his life, but he has gained an immortal record

What comment does the poem make about youth?: it is better to die young so that you do not face the shame of being surpassed

“Promises Like Pie-Crust” by Christina Rossetti

What requests does the speaker make?: the speaker requests that their lover make no promises to them

What kind of relationship does it seem the speaker wants?: not a serious romantic relationship, but a friendly one

What does the speaker seem to value in her life?: privacy/secrecy, freedom