Major British Writers Reading Overviews
Reading Overview | Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Assigned Texts: "The Disappointment" (NA 924-7) & "A Modest Proposal" (NA 1114-9)
The two readings for our first class meeting are selected to provide a brief introduction into some of our
course material for Major British Writers. These two texts deal with ideas of the body in different ways and
represent approaches through two different genres. Also, we’ll read longer works from both of these
authors over the coming weeks, so this will introduce you to them.
These Reading Overviews will be provided for each text assigned in the course and are required reading
along with the text(s) for the day. Many of these will include some of the same material in introductions
from our course text, summarized to include only the things you need to know for class and supplemented
with some outside material that will help guide or start our discussion of the text in class. If you are
interested in reading further about a text, an author, or a time period, you can start with our course texts
(the Norton Anthology [NA] or the novels). I’ll also provide citations for the supplemental material included
if you want to follow up on those.
The Restoration & the Eighteenth Century
As the introduction to this section in the NA (pp. 853-876) notes, this literary period spans the years of
1660 to 1785. Our earliest reading, Behn’s “The Disappointment,” is dated 1680. We’ll be discussing texts
from this period for six class sessions, from our first meeting through the following Tuesday. The term
“Restoration” refers to the 1660 restoration of Charles II to the English throne. With the return of the
monarch, the Church of England was also restored, which let to continued religious tension because
monarchs like Charles II and James II supported the Catholic church. This same period saw the return of the
arts after Puritans has closed the theatres in the 1640s. Charles II and the much of the court and aristocracy
emphasized their freedom to live extravagantly, which led to the culture of the libertine.
The literature of this period is characterized by significant growth and development, beginning with a
response to the extravagance of the Renaissance that emphasized simplicity and elegance. Corresponding
with the reign of Charles II, the literature, art, and fashion of this period was heavily influenced by French
culture. Nature—both human nature and the world outside—was a central theme throughout the period,
with different writers and poets using different approaches to it. Many texts also relied heavily on the
careful crafting of language through diction, syntax, and a variety of literary strategies as well as on the
sharp tuning of wit and satire.
In more than a century of literary work from this period, several genres stand out for their popularity. In
the late seventeenth century, with the reopening of the theatres, Restoration drama brought the lives of the
upper classes to the stage in “comedies of manners.” As writers continued to craft their prose, satire
became increasingly popular both in fiction and in nonfiction. In fiction, the early decades of the eighteenth
century also saw novels with famous criminals and with clear moral lessons, while in the middle decades of
the century, the sentimental novel became increasingly popular. Finally as the Romanic period approached,
the Gothic novel or Gothic romance took center stage. After trends of libertine poetry during the
Restoration years and satiric poetry around the turn of the century, much of the poetry during the mid- to
late-eighteenth century, focused on the melancholy poet distancing himself from society, turning inward,
and often connecting to other periods and places or to nature.
About Aphra Behn & “The Disappointment”
As the NA notes, Aphra Behn is known as the first professional woman writer. That does not mean she was
the first woman writer (you can flip through the earlier parts of the NA to see many other women writing
centuries before Behn); instead, it means that Behn actually earned living through her writing. Behn lived
an exciting life—including time as an English spy abroad and a subsequent stay in debtors’ prison—which
has been detailed in several biographies (Janet Todd’s is one of the most popular). In the twentieth century,
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writers and scholars have reclaimed Behn as a model for women writers and as a foremother for sexual
liberation based on the sexually aware women characters in many of her texts and assumptions of her
bisexual orientation. Behn wrote in a variety of genres and was a well-known playwright. We will read her
short prose novel Oroonoko, or The Royal Slave on Wednesday and Thursday. I’ll include more about that
text in tomorrow’s Reading Overview.
The subject of Behn’s “The Disappointment” would be considered somewhat racy in our current time, and it
was shocking for her seventeenth-century readers as well. The diction, syntax, and the poetic form may
make “The Disappointment” difficult on a first reading, so we’ll read the poem aloud in class and
summarize stanza by stanza. This reading strategy can be useful for any text, poem or otherwise, that is
difficult on first reading. Before one can perform deeper analysis on a text, (s)he must understand what the
poem is about. If you’re struggling with a text at any point in the semester, I suggest you return to this
strategy, but please remember that it is only a beginning to the reading process and analysis goes beyond
basic plot summary.
In connection with our course topic of the body, “The Disappointment” is a key text for discussing the
sexual(ized) body. Indeed, it is the sexual desire/satisfaction of a female character that would have made
the poem particularly racy or shocking for its contemporary readers. Other texts in this tradition focus on
the sexual encounters of male figures, whether they are satisfying or failures. As the footnote on page 924
notes, Behn’s poem differs from others in the tradition by including the thoughts and feelings of the woman
with those of the man.
About Jonathan Swift & “A Modest Proposal”
Jonathan Swift, though an excellent writer, was by profession a clergyman in the Anglican Church. Though
born to English parents, Swift lived much of his life in Ireland and fought for Irish rights against English
oppression. His religious work closely tied with political activism and writing, for as you will remember
from any US history course, there was no concept of a separation between church and state in England.
Swift’s writing is most clearly characterized by his satire and his polished prose. Both of the texts we’ll read
by Swift are satiric prose, first is an essay titled “A Modest Proposal” for our first class meeting and second
is the novel Gulliver’s Travels, of which we’ll read Part I on Friday and Monday.
In A Glossary of Literary Terms, M.H. Abrams defines satire “as the literary art of diminishing or derogating
a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking toward it attitudes of amusement, contempt, scorn, or
indignation….[Satire] uses laughter as a weapon, and against a butt that exists outside the work itself. The
butt may be an individual..., or a type of person, a class, an institution, a nation, or even…the entire human
race” (320). It is important to note that satire may not necessarily make you laugh; in fact, you may find
some satire offensive. For example, think about the satire of Stephen Colbert or The Onion online
newspaper. For our discussion in class, think about other present-day examples of satire.
Now to our first reading by Swift, “A Modest Proposal,” an essay Swift published anonymously in 1729. As
the footnote on page 1114 explains, this is a particularly effective example of satire, in which Swift employs
both irony and parody. Like Stephen Colbert, Swift’s narrator represents an illogical and fanatic position,
though his crafted prose makes the reader follow his logic without question for at least part of the essay
before realizing just what the narrator is proposing.
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Reading Overview | Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Assigned Texts: Oroonoko (NA 927-47)
Yesterday’s overview gave you some background on the author of Oroonoko, Aphra Behn, but this prose
narrative is quite different from her poem “The Disappointment.” Since we didn’t discuss Behn in class,
please look back at yesterday’s post for details and background about her.
As the introduction to Behn in the NA suggests, this text is somewhat difficult to categorize mostly because
it is shorter than a novel and unclear whether it’s real or fiction. Behn was in Suriname, a sugar colony in
the northern part of South America, in the 1660s, so it’s likely that the story is based, in some part, on real
events. Still, the narrative appears to exaggerate her social position as a visitor to the colony and likely
enhances other details. This, combined with some of the other details, means that we cannot read the firstperson narrator telling the story as Behn herself though she drew on some actual experiences. Behn wrote
this text late in her career, and it was popular enough to have been rewritten a number of times in the
decades after Behn’s publication of it.
Oroonoko takes up the important issue of slavery and centers on a black male hero. As the NA introduction
explains, the narrative incorporates the qualities of three genres:
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the memoir: the narrator’s descriptions describe a significant first-hand experience
the travel narrative: the action and characters move between Africa, the ‘new world’ in the west, and
the ‘old world’ of Europe
biography: the narrative tells the life story of the protagonist and titular character Oroonoko
As you begin reading, I’ll warn you that parts of Oroonoko are shocking and horrifying, but these aspects
are very important in Behn’s descriptions of the impact of slavery in her lifetime.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion
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Based on the first half of Oroonoko, what do you think is the narrator’s opinion of slavery? Is she
clearly against it? Is she ambivalent?
Do you see Oroonoko as honorable? What does he do that would make him honorable? dishonorable?
Before the actual story starts around the middle of page 930, the narrator gives some background on
her experience and on the slave trade as well as on the natives living in the ‘new world’. What is the
effect of these introductory sections? Of the description of her experience on the bottom of page 927
and the top of 928? Of the description of the current situation around the ‘new world’ and slave trade
on pages 928 through 930?
Which character do you find most sympathetic through the first half of the story: Oroonoko, the King,
Imoinda, the narrator, or someone else? Why? Who do you find least sympathetic? Why?
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Reading Overview | Thursday, July 8, 2010
Assigned Texts: Oroonoko (NA 947-71)
In the second section of Oroonoko, we encounter much more description of the slave trade. As your
classmates shared, the slave trade developed in the 1400s when Portugal began trading slaves with
northern and western Africa. Before this time, there was already an active system of slavery in Africa
among tribes as they fought one another. This system was quite different from the trans-Atlantic trade in
that the slaves within Africa were generally treated with more respect whereas those traded to Europeans
were dehumanized. We see an example of the African system of slavery in Oroonoko’s relationship with
Jamoan. By the 1600s, the Dutch and English were heavily involved in the slave trade as they acquired
workers for the sugar plantations in the ‘new world.’ Here’s a brief excerpt about Surinam around the time
that Oroonoko takes place:
The colonial history of Surinam (map) really began in the middle of the 17th century when a fort
was constructed by the British at the site that would later become the capital, Paramaribo. Sugar
plantations were the initial economic incentive and 2000 African slaves were brought by ship to
provide labour.
Control was ceded to the Dutch in the mid-1660s and the colony became the centre of Dutch slave
trading. Even by the standards of the day, this was a viciously brutal territory with a high mortality
rate, and despite the importation of some 300,000 slaves over 150 years, the population of the
colony never totalled more than 50,000 people. Beyond the sadistic and murderous habits of the
plantation owners, a large number of slaves escaped to form permanent inland (maroon)
communities that waged a guerilla war against the Dutch community for nearly a century (these
maroon communities still exist today).
This information comes from a blog about the slave trade and Surinam that focuses on the account of
Captain John Stedman who was in Surinam in the 1770s, about a century after Behn was there. The blog
about Stedman’s descriptions and the images he produced might be of interest to you.
http://bibliodyssey.blogspot.com/2007/08/surinam-slave-trade.html
As the introduction to Behn in the NA explains, Behn’s experience in Surinam in 1664 shaped much of this
narrative. Many of the aspects of the slave trade, including the methods for acquiring and selling slaves, the
treatment and torture of the slaves, and the locations described. As you will notice in the footnotes, many of
the people described in Surinam are based on actual people who lived on these plantations and Behn met
during her time there. Still, as we discussed in class, there are definitely parts of the story that have been
fictionalized, which complicates the categorization of the text.
The beginning of today’s reading is during the Middle Passage as the ship travels from Coramantien to
Surinam. As one group explained, the term Middle Passage derives from the place on the ship where the
slaves were held. It also refers to the fact that the journey across the Atlantic was the middle segment of a
three-part journey from Europe to Africa, then from Africa to the ‘new world’, and then from the ‘new
world’ back to Europe. Much of the action, though, takes place in Surinam, on the north coast of South
America. We find out much more about the natives of Surinam and about the Europeans living and running
the plantations there.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion
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Our reading for the first day included quite a bit of background on Oroonoko and events in
Coramantien. What is the effect of the first half of the story? Does it change the way you read the parts
set in Surinam?
Have your responses changed to these questions from yesterday? If so, how? If not, why do you think
not?
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Based on the first half of Oroonoko, what do you think is the narrator’s opinion of slavery? Is
she clearly against it? Is she ambivalent?
o Do you see Oroonoko as honorable? What does he do that would make him honorable?
dishonorable?
We talked some in class about how Behn gives several descriptions of Oroonoko that relate his
appearance to her European audience. As the narrative continues, what else do you notice that Behn
does for her European (mostly English) audience?
How does the narrator describe the three main groups in Surinam? The Europeans? The slaves? The
natives?
A number of critics have expressed frustration and disappointment with the ending of Oroonoko.
How do you feel about the ending? Was is satisfactory? If so, why? If not, what would you have like for
Behn to include?
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Reading Overview | Friday, July 9, 2010
Assigned Texts: Gulliver’s Travels (NA 976-98)
The first reading overview for our first day of class has some background information on the author of
Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift, as well as some information about satire. Swift is known for his satirical
work, and Gulliver’s Travels is considered a satirical novel. As the introduction in the NA points out, this
novel was very popular when it was published and has remained popular in the centuries since then. Part
of its appeal is the fact that Gulliver’s Travels appealed then (and arguably does today) to a range of
audiences, from children who read it as a simple fantasy story to politicians who read it as a satire of the
current political situation.
I’ve asked you to read the two letters that introduce the novel, but some context may help you to
understand what they are about. As the NA explains, “Swift’s full title for this work was Travels into Several
Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of several
Ships. In the first edition (1726), either the bookseller or Swift’s friends…and others, who were concerned
in getting the book anonymously into print, altered and omitted so much of the original manuscript
(because of its dangerous political implications) that Swift was seriously annoyed” (975). The 1735 text
includes these two introductory letters, as Swift takes on the persona of Gulliver to complain about the
earlier version. The text included in the NA is from this 1735 edition.
Though we’re only reading the first part of Gulliver’s Travels, it might help you to have an understanding of
the text as a whole, which includes three other voyages after his visit to Lilliput in Part 1. In Part 2, Gulliver
ends up in Brobdingnag, which is a land of giants that is ruled by a wise prince, who talks with Gulliver
about the government of England. The distinction between the utopia of Brobdingnag and the problems in
England are where the satire of this part really becomes clear as Gulliver begins to question his homeland.
In Part 3, Gulliver ends up in Laputa, which is a flying island, whose inhabitants are focused on the pursuit
of knowledge and music to an extreme. This part satirizes the Royal Society of England, which also tended
to blindly pursue the knowledge of science and math in the eighteenth century. After a few detours on his
journey home, Gulliver leaves again, in Part 4, where he encounters the Houyhnhnms, a race of intelligent
and reasonable horses, and the Yahoos, dull and deformed human beings that serve the Houyhnhnms. Here,
the way that the Yahoos lack reason and follow only their passions disgusts Gulliver, as he prefers to
consider himself associated with the Houyhnhnms. He is expelled from this land and returns again to
England where the novel ends with him becoming a recluse from other humans and distancing himself
from his family though he spends several hours each day in conversation with the horses in his stable.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion
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Compare the introductory letter from Gulliver to the opening paragraphs of Oroonoko. What is similar
about their emphasis on the reality of the narratives they are sharing? What is different?
Readers of Gulliver’s Travels are often split on their views of Gulliver. While some quickly become
impatient with him or completely dislike him, others find him relatable, interesting, and/or
humorous. Based on the first four chapters of Part 1, what are your thoughts on our narrator, Lemuel
Gulliver?
Thinking about “A Modest Proposal,” which offers a satirical plan for dealing with the issue of the
large (and growing) Irish population, how do you see the issue of size playing a role in this text?
What is your take on the Lilliputian beliefs about eggs? How does the description of the beliefs and
rules about eggs relate to religion in this period?
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Reading Overview | Monday, July 12, 2010
Assigned Texts: Gulliver’s Travels (NA 998-1016)
As we continue reading Part 1 of Gulliver’s Travels, you will continue to see the representations of religion
and politics that we discussed in class on Friday. Since we’ve discussed the background of the text rather
extensively, I’ll just pose some questions for you to consider for our discussion on Monday.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion
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In the section on the nurseries for young boys and girls, Gulliver describes distinctions related to
gender and class. How are women portrayed by Gulliver? And how are they treated within the
Lilliputian society? In particular, how does the section about “the meaner families” relate to the issues
raised in “A Modest Proposal”?
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As we discussed some in class on Friday, much of Gulliver’s story is humorous in addition to making
important points about politics and religion in the 18th century. What parts of chapters 5-8 did you
find funniest? Why did you think these parts were funny? Do you see any deeper meanings to these
parts?
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In addition to the specific political and religious targets of Swift’s satire, many scholars see this text as
a satire about human nature and human behavior more generally. What aspects of human nature are
represented in chapters 5-8? How are these satirized?
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Returning to our focus on the body in this course, think about the ways the body appears in Part 1.
How do the different types of bodies play a part in the text: the physical/human body? the national
body? the foreign body?
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In his 1995 Jonathan Swift and the Burden of the Future, Alan D. Chalmers describes “anxiety of the
body,” particularly in the first two parts of Gulliver’s Travels. About Gulliver’s body in Lilliput,
Chalmers explains,
his body and its processes are painfully visible to everyone, everyone is looking at him and
he can always be seen, even when asleep (indeed, when at rest he is most vulnerable—this
is when they first came and crawled all over his body)….Gulliver’s alternating pride and
shame in his body reflect a shifting identification with his world. And the worlds of Lilliput
and Brobdingnag mock him most when his successful social adjustments lend him a feeling
of physical identification with others. (91)
How do Gulliver’s lack of privacy in Lilliput and the visibility of his body impact his experience there?
Do you agree with Chalmers that Gulliver has a need to adjust his body or his position to feel a sense
of identification with those around him?
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More generally, what are your reactions to Part 1 of Gulliver’s Travels? Was it an enjoyable text to
read? Why or why not?
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Reading Overview | Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Assigned Texts: Lady Montagu, Preface, Letters X, XII, XXV, XXVI, XXIX, XXXIII (link online); Frances Burney,
The Journal and Letters (NA 1350-61)
Note that the assigned letters from Montagu have been cut from the original assignment given in the syllabus.
Starting today, we take a short break from the fictional prose that has comprised much of our reading thus
far this term and concentrate on nonfiction forms of letters and diaries today and poetry tomorrow.
About Lady Mary Wortley Montagu and the Turkish Embassy Letters
Lady Mary Wortley Montagu grew up in a wealthy and intellectual family in London, where she was well
educated and extremely independent. She married her husband, Edward Wortley Montagu for love, which
for many women of the period was unusual. When her husband took a position as ambassador to
Constantinople in 1716, she traveled with him across Europe and through Turkey, writing letters to family
and friends that were later collected into her Turkish Embassy Letters. Montagu was particularly impressed
with the Turkish inoculations for small pox and brought this scientific information back to England, where
her children were some of the first to be vaccinated for the disease. Her interest in preventing small pox
was because Montagu survived the disease in 1715 and worked to cover her scars with makeup. Montagu
also wrote essays and poems (two of which are included in the NA on pages 1198-1201) and was criticized
by some of her male contemporaries for her work. Though the letters included in the Turkish Embassy
Letters were originally written for selected recipients, she later compiled and edited them into the
collection that was published after her death.
About Frances Burney and The Journal and Letters
Frances (or Fanny as she was often called) Burney also grew up in an intellectual London family but later in
the 18th century. During her lifetime, Burney was widely known for her novels, which were first published
anonymously. She lived as a lady-in-waiting at court for five years, and at 41 years old, she married a
French general. During a visit to France in 1802, the Napoleonic wars broke out, and Burney and her family
were trapped there for a decade.
Burney composed the first three journal entries included in the NA during her younger years (at ages 15,
25, and 37, respectively) while she was living in England. The fourth excerpt is from a letter Burney wrote
while she was living in France in 1812 and faced breast cancer. I want to warn you that the letter is rather
graphic in its detail about her mastectomy, performed by military doctors with no anesthesia. The letter is
addressed to her sister Esther (but as Burney notes, she expects Esther to share it with family and friends)
and was composed months after the surgery because Burney struggled to relive the horrifying experience
in writing. The final two paragraphs are written by Burney’s husband M. d’Arblay about the experience.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion
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Thinking back to our readings of Oroonoko and Gulliver’s Travels, how are Lady Montagu’s letters
similar to those accounts of travel? How are they different?
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Montagu’s letters describe the dress and fashion of those in both Vienna and Constantinople. How do
the physical bodies of women and the fashions covering them demonstrate the place of women in the
two cultures? How do they compare with England?
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Burney’s mastectomy letters takes up the issue of the body in a different way than we have
considered so far in the course. How does she represent the diseased body?
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Reading Overview | Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Assigned Texts: Blake (Innocence Introduction, Experience Introduction, NA 1410, 1416-7), William
Wordsworth (Tintern Abbey, NA 1491-5), Baurbauld (Rights of Woman, Washing-Day, NA 1393, 1395-6),
Dorothy Wordsworth (Grasmere, Thoughts on my Sick-Bed, NA 1606-9), Hemans (Casabianca, Homes of
England, NA 1812-4)
About the Romantic Period
The Romantic Period (generally dated 1785-1830, but the edges can be somewhat loosely defined) is often
associated with the poetry produced during those years, and for quite a while, it was associated with six
male poets: William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, William Blake, Percy Shelley, and
John Keats. Over time, though, a number of women poets, some of whom were more popular among their
contemporaries than the men, have been added to the discussion, including Anna Barbauld, Charlotte
Smith, Mary Robinson, Felicia Hemans, and Letitia Landon. The period also includes the popular fiction of
figures like Horace Walpole, Jane Austin, Sir Walter Scott, Mary Shelley, Ann Radcliffe, and Maria
Edgeworth. This period was heavily influenced by two major revolutions, the American and the French,
which inspired the English to react with policies intended to prevent such resistance at home.
Romantic Poets and Poetry
The Romantic poets used their writing to produce another sort of revolution as they resisted the
conventions of 18th-century poetry and instead encouraged writing that represented the feelings and
sensibility of the poet. Wordsworth described this as “the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings,” and
for many of the poets, nature was an important inspiration for such overflows of emotion. The emotional
response of the poet is reflected in the natural landscape around him. In addition to the focus on nature,
many Romantic poets explored the beauty and a sense of wonder in familiar or ordinary things. Some also
explored supernatural topics, which also appeared in the fiction of the period (which we’ll see in
Frankenstein starting tomorrow). You can read more on Romantic poetry in the introduction to the period
in the NA on pages 1370-1378, which is summarized here.
William Blake and Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Blake was both an artist and a poet, so it is important to consider the illustrations with his poetry. He
published Songs of Innocence in 1789 and then added more poems to create Songs of Innocence and
Experience, published in 1794. We are reading the introductory poem for each of the two sections on
innocence and on experience. The title pages are included with the poems in the NA, so I encourage you to
take some time to look at them. As the footnote on page 1410 explains, the poems in the innocence section
are said to be “happy songs,” but they also take up issues of “injustice, evil, and suffering.” The poems of
experience depict a “state of the soul that…is an ugly and terrifying one of poverty, disease, prostitution,
war, and social, institutional, and sexual repression, epitomized in the ghastly representation of modern
London.”
William Wordsworth and “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey”
In this poem, we can see the importance of a natural landscape as it inspires the poet’s reflection on life.
Wordsworth is visiting the ruins of Tintern Abbey and reflects on the changes to the landscape since a
previous visit five years earlier. The changes lead him to reflect on other changes during that time.
Anna Barbauld and “The Rights of Woman” and “Washing-Day”
In addition to her poems, Barbauld also wrote political pamphlets criticizing England’s war against France
and took strong positions about education (she and her husband also ran a school) and beliefs about
women. As the footnote on page 1393 explains, “The Rights of Woman” is a response to Mary
Wollstonecraft’s famous A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, in which Wollstonecraft argues for the
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education of women and for their equal treatment as partners to men and educators of the nation’s
children. Barbauld’s “Washing-Day” is another poem that takes up the place of women, but this one does do
in considering the work of women. This poem can be read as a version of the Romantic trend of reflecting
on familiar and ordinary topics.
Dorothy Wordsworth and “Grasmere” and “Thoughts on my Sick-Bed”
Dorothy Wordsworth is the younger sister of William Wordsworth and was his regular companion through
much of their adult lives. Though her writing wasn’t published during her lifetime, Dorothy Wordsworth
wrote poetry and journals of reflections. In “Grasmere—A Fragment,” Dorothy’s poetic techniques are
similar to William’s as she uses the landscape to inspire reflection on life. The poem was composed only a
few years after “Tintern Abbey.” The other poem, “Thoughts on My Sick-Bed,” includes reflections on life
and memory during a period of illness.
Felicia Hemans and “Casabianca” and “Homes of England”
Hemans was a popular poet in the 19th century and began publishing poetry at age 15. “Casabianca” tells
the story of a boy on a burning ship and takes up issues of obedience and loyalty. The narrative style of this
ballad was common for Hemans, as it relates a tale while subtly questioning the very qualities it seems to
praise. “The Homes of England” focuses its attention on the domestic, where the home is distinguished
from the problems of the outside world and protects its inhabitants from them. The homes included range
from the “stately Homes” to the “Cottage Homes” and praise all for the way they contribute to the nation as
a whole.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion
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What similarities and differences do you notice when reading the poems of the Wordsworth siblings?
In particular, how do “Tintern Abbey” and “Grasmere” employ similar strategies? Do you notice any
significant differences?
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“Washing-Day” and “The Homes of England” both focus on ordinary aspects of domestic life and duty.
Do you think that they offer similar representations of the domestic? Or are they different? How so?
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Take a few minutes to look over a poem or two from the innocence and experience sections of Blake’s
poetry. What are the some of the topics of the poems in each? What about the innocence poems seems
less than innocent? What kinds of emotions and actions make up Blake’s representation of
experience?
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Reading Overview | Thursday, July 15, 2010
Assigned Text: Shelley’s Frankenstein, Vol. I, Ch. 1-4 (pp. 17-38)
About Mary Shelley and Frankenstein
Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein over the year between June 1816 and May 1817, beginning it when she
was just 18 years old. In her youth, though, Shelley had experienced many tragedies. She was born to two
writers, William Godwin and Mary Wollstonecraft, and her mother died just two weeks after Shelley was
born. By the time she finished Frankenstein, Shelley had run away to Europe with a married man, lost an
infant in childbirth, lost her half-sister to a suicide, married her lover (famous poet Percy Bysshe Shelley)
after his wife committed suicide, and lost another infant just after Frankenstein was published. Shelley’s
understanding of the complicated relationships between love/happiness and loss/tragedy certainly finds a
way into the text.
The novel began while Shelley and her future husband were traveling in Europe and spending time with
other intellectuals and writers and discussing literature, philosophy, and sciences. The group decided to
hold a competition for the best ghost story (a popular form at the time), so Shelley began the story that
eventually became the novel Frankenstein. The issues raised by the story certainly reflect the philosophical
and scientific discussions the groups was having, including theories about the origins of life, issues of
creation and destruction, and intellectual ambition.
The text of Frankenstein begins on page 5 of our Norton edition with a preface written by the Shelley’s
husband, who describes the text in the first person as if he were the author. Then, Volume I opens with four
letters from 28-year-old Captain Robert Walton who has hired a ship and is traveling in the North Sea
around Siberia sent to his sister Margaret in England. Here are brief summaries of those four letters:
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Letter I: Captain Walton describes St. Petersburgh and his desire to explore the Arctic Circle and the
North Pole, where he believes “a wondrous power…may regulate a thousand celestial observations”
(7). His work toward this voyage has been six years in the making.
Letter II: Walton is lonely on his journey and finds that the letters to his sister are his only sense of
companionship and the only way he could share success if he does make an exciting discover. He
describes the lieutenant and the master of the ship, but he does not find them to be suitable as friends.
Letter III: Walton sends a quick letter because he comes across a merchant-man who will be
journeying to England. His journey north continues and is pleasant so far because of the summer
months.
Letter IV: Walton relates some strange occurrences in this three-part letter. First, he and the crew,
while surrounded by ice, see a large figure on a sled drawn across the ice by dogs, and they wonder
where the figure came from because they are so far from land. Then, the next morning they find a
man, a sled, and one dog left floating on a piece of ice. The crew brings him aboard, and they nurse
him back to health. His answers to their questions are ambiguous, and they only figure out that he’s
chasing someone who fled from him, the same man that the crew earlier. Walton talks with this man
and finds him a wonderful companion and both well spoken and educated. The man finally decides to
tell his story, and Walton records the story for his sister.
It is this story that makes up the novel, and the narrator of the story is the man telling Walton his story.
Periodically through the novel, our narrator will give a reminder that he is telling his story to Walton. In
our reading for today, this happens on page 31 when Victor pauses in his story and refuses to give certain
details to Walton. The letters to Margaret resume in the final ten pages of the novel, bringing us back to
this larger narrative frame.
12
Questions for Thinking and Discussion

What do you think of our narrator for the novel? Do you find him likeable? reliable? What do you
think of Victor Frankenstein as both a student and a scientist? What can you infer about him from his
relationships with his family, friends, professors, others?

As you’re reading this first section, how does the setting (location, weather, time of day, etc.) relate to
the events in the story?

After you’ve finished reading for today’s assignment, look back at the story about the storm with
Victor was 15 years old (pp. 22-23). How does this event connect with the events of chapters 3 and 4?

What discovery does Victor make just as he finishes his course of study? How does he apply that
discovery? Why do you think he won’t tell Captain Walton about his discovery?

If you have never read Frankenstein before, what about the text is surprising? If you have read it
before, how does a second reading impact your understanding of the text and your thinking about
these early events?
13
Reading Overview | Monday, July 19, 2010
Assigned Text: Shelley’s Frankenstein, Vol. II, Ch. 1-4 (pp. 59-77)
Summary Information for Volume I
Here is the link for the Victor Frankenstein Twitter page for Volume I: http://twitter.com/v_frankenstein
About Volume II
In this part of the novel, we learn quite a bit more about the creature and his experiences, and the narrative
frame becomes more complex as we now have a story within a story within another story. Many of the
same issues and themes continue to play a part in the text. Since I’ve already given you a general
introduction to the text and to the conventions of gothic literature, I’ll focus this reading overview on
questions for you to be thinking about as you read. On Sunday, I’ll add the discussion questions from our
first presenters, Mike and Hailey, to this area.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion

Continue thinking about the ways that the gothic, sentimentality, and the sublime appear in this
novel. Mark specific passages that illustrate these terms.

As we concluded class on Thursday, I brought up the religious allusions in creating human life. As we
learn more about Frankenstein’s creature, how does this connection play a part in this section?

Reflect on the passage where the creature first sees himself as different from the humans he observes
near the end of chapter 4. What words and phrases seem important here? What, if any, emotions does
this scene inspire in you as a reader?

Do you see any similarities between Victor and the creature? How might the two be considered like
one another? How are they different?

As the story continues to progress, what are your opinions of Victor? Have they changed since Volume
I?
Questions from Monday’s Presenters

How do you feel about the way the story is told? Do you feel it is confusing the way the narrator’s
switch? Why do you think the story is written this way?

Where can the reader find Shelley’s use of sublime in this section?

What do you think the importance is of the monster becoming literate? Does it change your view of
the monster
14
Reading Overview | Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Assigned Text: Shelley’s Frankenstein, Vol. III, Ch. 1-3 (pp. 103-120)
Summary Information for Volume II
Here are the links for the Facebook pages presented by Mike and Hailey:
About Volume III
I’m not going to say much in the way of introduction about this final section of Frankenstein because I
would hate to ruin any of the suspense and excitement created in the events of this section. I’ll raise a few
questions about the section you’re reading and about the novel as a whole.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion

Continue thinking about the ways that the gothic, sentimentality, and the sublime appear in this
novel. Mark specific passages that illustrate these terms. In particular, I would like for you to focus on
a passage about Henry Clerval demonstrating his sensibility and experiencing the sublime at the end
of chapter 1 (pp. 107-108). In this, Shelley quotes from Wordsworth’s “Tintern Abbey.” What is the
effect of her incorporation of Wordsworth in this section? How does Henry fulfill the expectations of a
Romantic poet?

In this section, Victor grapples even more with the responsibility of creating life. How does he handle
that responsibility?

As the story continues to progress, what are your opinions of Victor? Have they changed since
Volumes I and II?
Questions from Tuesday’s Presenters

In what way does Victor escape his depression and how does that tie into the Romantic period as
talked about in class?

What characters do you sympathize with most in Frankenstein?

How does Frankenstein feel about Elizabeth? Is he more committed to her or to another?

After reading the story, how could it apply or relate to the modern day?

Who is the real monster in the story?
15
Reading Overview | Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Assigned Text: Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Ch. 1-4 (pp. 19-51)
Summary Information for Volume III of Frankenstein
Here are the links for the Facebook pages presented by Plunk and Michael:
About the Victorian Period
Read George P. Landow’s brief overview of the period at http://www.victorianweb.org/vn/victor4.html.
We’ll talk in class on Wednesday about the Victorian novel and then next Wednesday about Victorian
poetry.
About Charlotte Bronte and Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte grew up in an intellectual family where she and her siblings began writing plays, stories,
and poems during their childhood. Her father was a clergyman, and her mother died when she was young.
Her father took an interest in the education of the children, and because of his fondness for literature, he
encouraged his children to read and to choose what texts the wanted to read from his library. Charlotte’s
two eldest sisters both died from illnesses because they were neglected by officials at their boarding school.
Charlotte attended a boarding school that she disliked (on which she partially based Lowood) before going
to the much happier Roe Head School where she eventually taught before becoming a governess. After
several setbacks, Bronte published Jane Eyre in 1847 under the gender-ambiguous pseudonym Currier
Bell, which began her career as a writer. After the loss of most of her family members to illnesses, she
married in 1854 and died nine months later. Bronte’s life straddled the Romantic and Victorian periods,
and contemporary events (spread of the empire, gender roles, issues of race and class, etc.) clearly
influenced her writing in a number of ways.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion
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Look closely at the physical description of John Reed (page 22) and the general descriptions of all
three of the Reed children (page 27). What words stand out in those descriptions? How do those
descriptions compare to the description of Mr. Reed (pages 28-29)? How do they compare with the
description of Jane’s parents on page 37? Continue marking descriptions of these figures as you read.
Begin thinking about this text as an autobiography, which is, after all, the subtitle of the text. In these
early chapters, our narrator and main character Jane is a young girl. In what ways does this appear to
be the narrative of a child? In what ways does this appear to be a grown woman writing about her
childhood?
Jane mentions religion some in these early chapters, especially in her meeting with Mr. Brocklehurst.
How is Christianity portrayed in this section?
Questions from Wednesday’s Presenters
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When Jane is living with the Reeds, do you think she acts ungrateful towards them?
Does your opinion change of Mr. Brocklehurst when we find out that he has a lot to do with the
spread of typhus?
Even though we have only read the first 10 chapters of the book, where is there already evidence that
this is considered a gothic novel?
How is the story affected when Jane is the narrator for the first few chapters?
Are there any similarities between Ms. Reed and Mr. Brocklehurst?
16
Reading Overview | Thursday, July 22, 2010
Assigned Text: Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Ch. 11-14 (pp. 104-134)
Summary Information for Chapters 1-10 of Jane Eyre
Here is the link for the blog presented by Lindsey, Juan, and Howard:
About Chapters 11-17 of Jane Eyre
The next section of the novel takes us into a new part of Jane’s life as she notes in the opening of chapter 11.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion

To this point in the novel, Jane has already done some traveling, first from Gateshead to Lowood in
our reading for Wednesday and then to Thornfield in today’s reading. How does this text compare
with others we have discussed over the past few weeks that narrate the experience of traveling? How
are Jane’s travels similar to those of the others? How are they different?

As you’re reading, pay attention to the descriptions of Thornfield. In what ways does Thornfield
sound like a typical Gothic setting? In what ways does it seem un-Gothic? (123)

Building on the descriptions of the characters in the earlier chapters we discussed in class, continue
focusing on characterization in the reading for today. How are Adele, Mrs. Fairfax, Rochester
described? What new details do we learn about Jane?
Questions from Thursday’s Presenters

How has Jane’s role/class in society changed since the beginning of the novel? What factors or
experiences have contributed to this change?

How is Jane’s initial impression of Rochester different or similar from her experiences at previous
locations?

Do you believe Rochester's claim that Adele is not his daughter? Why or why not?

Do you think Rochester is as innocent as he appears to Jane after she saved his life from the fire? What
kind of suspicions/feelings do you have concerning Rochester's relationship with Grace?

What type of physical characteristics are given to describe the characters, such as Mr. Rochester and
his guests?

How did the guests react to Jane? Why did they react the way they did?
17
Reading Overview | Friday, July 23, 2010
Assigned Text: Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Ch. 18-20 (pp. 182-220)
Summary Information for Chapters 11-17 of Jane Eyre
Here is the link for the blog presented by Peter, Wes, and Marshall:
About Chapters 18-24 of Jane Eyre
The next section of the novel takes us through a romance for Mr. Rochester, Jane’s return to Gateshead, and
some interesting disguises.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion

In today’s reading, we have yet another crisis in the middle of the night. How do the situation in
Chapter 20 and the description of it compare with the fire in Rochester’s room in Chapter 15?

Jane makes clear her developing feelings about Mr. Rochester. What do you think makes her attracted
to him? How does Rochester seem to feel about Jane?

What are your thoughts on Rochester’s visitors to Thornfield? Which ones are likeable? And which
ones do you dislike? How do these visitors demonstrate differences in social classes?

As you continue reading, keep thinking about some of the issues we discussed in class, including the
Gothic elements, the development of the characters, the way Jane’s narrative strategies shape the text
and our reading experience, and the importance of children in the text.
Questions from Friday’s Presenters
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Why would Rochester request Jane’s presence during the guest’s visits and in the charades game,
even if she wasn’t involved?
Do you think the way Jane interacted with the gypsy was any indication of her attitudes towards
Rochester? Do you think she knew it was him? And if not then why was she not mad?
Why would Rochester help Mason and also ask for Jane’s help?
What examples of Gothic elements do you see in these chapters?
Why do you think Aunt Reed would finally tell Jane about the inheritance?
How do you feel Jane’s relationship has changed with her cousins since they were younger?
What do you think draws Jane to Rochester?
Can you find an example in this section where Jane has questioned Rochester’s
integrity/morals/actions?
What do you think of Rochester’s devious ways about the engagement?
Do you think Jane is out of line with her request to her uncle?
18
Reading Overview | Monday, July 26, 2010
Assigned Text: Bronte’s Jane Eyre, Ch. 25-27 (pp. 273-317)
Summary Information for Chapters 18-24 of Jane Eyre
Here is the link for the blog presented by Curt, Rachel, and Ellen: janeeyreautobiography.blogspot.com
About Chapters 25-31 of Jane Eyre
The next section of the novel takes us through some major twists and gives answers for some of the eerie
and gothic elements in the novel so far.
Questions for Thinking and Discussion

On pages 303-304, Rochester explains his experience in the West Indies. How does this description
compare with the descriptions of foreign and exotic locations by Behn? By Swift? By Montagu?

In these chapters, we have Rochester’s description of the misfortunes that led him to his current
position. How do you feel about Rochester’s story? Is he justified in not having told Jane about
everything before? Should Jane forgive him? In your mind, should Rochester be allowed to marry
Jane?

Now that many of the seemingly supernatural elements have been settled by the end of today’s
assigned reading, does the text still seem Gothic to you? If so, in what ways? If not, why not?
Questions from Friday’s Presenters

What do you think the dreams that Jane is having means to the story or what they mean in regards to
her future realationship with Rochester?

How has Jane grown to accept God and religion and why do you think that she decides to accept God
at this point in her life? PG 293, 314

Why do you think that Rochester chose to hide Bertha in the secret room on the third story of
Thornfield?

What do you think of Jane’s description of “The Beast”, is she mocking or serious? and why do you
think Rochester remains so calm in regard to such a horrific/Gothic moment? PG 290

What do you think the future holds for Jane Eyre? And do you think she made the right decision to
leave Thornfield?