Lit Final Exam

what does pandamonium translate to? why did milton call it this?

"all demons" chaos the angels are causing chaos

Narrator

-

examples on misogyny in the text

- blames fall of man on eve - shows that through compliments eve was able to get persuaded - since she ate the fruit she persuaded adam to fall with her b/c she wants him to herself

What is Restoration literature?

-Refers to literature during (often celebrating) restoration of Charles II to the throne of England after Cromwell's interregnum; roughly covers 1660-1700

How do the other slaves see Oroonoko?

-They revere him as a god and great warrior -They do not hold a grudge for his having sold them to slavery because they obey him as a king -As a king, he enjoys the privilege of leisure time and not working like the rest of the slaves -He nonetheless chafes under the chains of bondage, and wishes to be free

Explain the use of truth claims in the early novel

-To justify their value, novels often insisted that they were "true" -We see the same in many other early novels (e.g. Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, even Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels) -We should NOT take Oroonoko's truth claims at face value (While parts of the novel may be based on fact, some elements are clearly fiction, i.e. "made up")

What is travel writing?

-Very popular in 17th and 18th century -Accounts of new lands reflect European colonialism and exploration -Catalogues of animals, plants, and peoples reflect the period's interest in "science" -Natives are seen as non-European "other": -Barbaric cannibal -"noble savage"

What's going on?

1.Clearing away of Caribbean natives to clear land for plantations. 2.European trading with remaining natives to keep them peaceful. See page 203. 3.Recruiting white Europeans to run and serve the plantations. 4.Europeans trade in Africa for slaves to work the plantations

Three Important Conventions

1.The novel's initial insistence on the "truth" of its story (it's NOT true) 2.Travel Writing 3.Conventions of Restoration Literature

Year

1606

Act One Scene Two

Antonio and Delio discuss the corruption of the Cardinal and Duke Ferdinand.

Act One Scene One

Antonio praises the French court, which he has just returned from, to Delio.

Who wrote Oroonoko?

Aphra Behn

Why does Oroonoko criticize Christianity?- p. 221

Because despite all these morals they follow they participate in heinous crimes like slavery.

Where is Surinam?

Between Guyana and French Guana, north of Brazil

Act Three Scene Two

Bosola has overheard Antonio's news and tells Ferdinand of the new children. Ferdinand reveals himself in the Duchess' chamber and gets the truth from her.

"(The British camp near Dover) KING LEAR No, no, no, no! Come, let's away to prison: We two alone will sing like birds i' the cage: When thou dost ask me blessing, I'll kneel down, And ask of thee forgiveness: so we'll live, And pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh At gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues Talk of court news; and we'll talk with them too, Who loses and who wins; who's in, who's out; And take upon's the mystery of things, As if we were God's spies: and we'll wear out, In a wall'd prison, packs and sects of great ones, That ebb and flow by the moon."

Cordelia and Lear are prisoners

Write words and phrases that are associated with each location, as presented in the novel. England Surinam Coramentien

England: ill morals, educated, civilized, Christian, hypocracy, Christendom Surinam: Innocence, not-natives, life based on truth, no sense of justice, people are like children, they have no word for sin or liar Coramentien: war-like, hostile, duty, obedience, heroic values, code of honor, big slave trade place

Historical Context

English Renaissance (1500-1660): Monarchy in danger, unstable in Europe James I (catholic) Only male actors Radical Christians

Who says the following lines to Adam: "My author and disposer, what though biddest/Unargued I obey..so God ordains./ God is thy law, thou mine..."

Eve

Themes

Family: Lear is not only king but also a family patriarch whose plans to divvy up his kingdom among his daughters backfires, causing a civil war = dysfunctional family. Also the drama between Gloucester and his two sons Power: The loss of power. Lea loses it all: family, his mind and his power. Justice: When Lear calls upon the Gods to take his side in the injustice of his daughters' actions Society and Class: Social comments on everything from class and politics, homelessness, mental illness, tensions between youth and the older generation. Gender: Women are often seen as emasculating, disloyal, promiscuous and the root of all problems (especially two daughters Goneril and Regan) Loyalty: Is a rare in the harsh world of King Lear. A lot of people are saving their own skin except Kent and Cordelia. Loyalty means death or at least in all cases, suffering.

Act Four Scene One

Ferdinand has imprisoned the Duchess in the palace. He gives her a severed hand and tells her it is Antonio's; wax imitations of her family's corpses are then revealed to make her believe that Antonio and the children are dead. Bosola then strangles the Duchess. Cariloa and a servant are also killed.

"GLOUCESTER No farther, sir; a man may rot even here. EDGAR What, in ill thoughts again? Men must endure Their going hence, even as their coming hither; Ripeness is all: come on. GLOUCESTER And that's true too."

Gloucester Edgar Gloucester

What does Milton mean by the following lines: "Our Marker birds increase, who bids abstain/ But our destroyer, for to God and man?/ Hail wedded Love, mysterious law, true source/Of human offspring....

God wants us to have sex and reproduce. Only Satan would not want us to do so. Sex within marriage is a good thing

What thoughts does Satan have as he site looking down at Eden

He admits he did wrong against God

Oroonoko as "noble savage"?

He is a Prince in a Coramentium, but in the eyes of a European he is a savage. So Aphra makes him up to be this Greek God like perfect man, so that they may better understand his nobility and sympathize more with him.

How does Satan react when he sees Adam kissing Eve

He is full of envy

Why does Oroonoko want to kill the "electric" eel?

He is trying to prove that he is more of a man than these other fisherman, but the eel shocks him and nearly drags him in and drowns him. This is a humbling scene for him, but he still eats the eel in the end because they all try to appease his sense of masculinity.

Why did he ask for a cigar before they killed him?

He went in a masculine way, proving both through his facial expression and action that he would never see his masculinity and freedom stripped from him.

Analyze the function that the Fool serves. Why does he disappear from the action?

He's the stand-up comedian He's the only guy that Lear allows to criticize him which brings an interesting twist to the balance of power in the play He's smart and tells it how it really is Super-loyal He gets hanged (according to the end of the play when Lears says "And my poor fool is hanged", which you can see in the YouTube-video)

What fascinates Eve until God calls her away

Her own image reflected in a pool of water

Act Two Scene Two

In Rome, the Cardinal meets his mistress, Julia. Ferdinand tells the Cardinal that the Duchess has given birth and they express their disgust.

Plot Analysis

Initial situation: split the kingdom (which of his daughters loves him the most?), bring on retirement Conflict: Banishment (Cordelia and Kent) and general scheming (Edmund becomes evil) Family issues boil over: Goneril and Regan aren't hostess material, and Lear is a lousy guest and turns mad. Climax: Thunder, lightning and violence. Suspense: Armies and hidden identities. Denoument: Lear and Cordelia lose the battle and are imprisoned. Lear comes to his senses that power politics don't matter while a good relantionship with his daughter does. Cordelia dies. Oops! Conclusion: Empty nothingness. Lear dies with his dead daughter (Cordelia, all his daughter dies), in his arms.

who is the man that will restore us?

Jesus

Characters

KING LEAR: King of Britain who's getting older, and wants to retire CORDELIA: Daughter of Lear, refuses to flatter the old man and gets banned GONERIL: One of Lear's wicked daughters, she betrays her father in no time REGAN: The other (less) wicked daughter. More passive as she lets someone else to the dirty work and waits for Goneril EARL OF GLOUCESTER: One of the kingdom's powerful men, a lord in Lear's court, loses his sight in the end which must suck EDMUND: The Bastard of Gloucester who turns evil against him and his half-brother EDGAR: Begins the play as rich and clueless son of Gloucester, then becomes a beggar called "Poor Tom" EARL OF KENT: A servant who stands up for Cordelia, gets banned. Becomes "Caius" and follow the king. Admirable loyalty. THE FOOL: Lear's own stand-up comedian, the only man Lear allows to criticize him.

"Fool Mark it, nuncle: Have more than thou showest, Speak less than thou knowest, Lend less than thou owest, Ride more than thou goest, Learn more than thou trowest, Set less than thou throwest; Leave thy drink and thy *****, And keep in-a-door, And thou shalt have more Than two tens to a score."

King Lear by William Shakespeare (1606)

How does Satan appear when he sits on the Tree of Life?

Like a cormorant-- a large bird

How does Satan appear as he attempts to whisper in Eve's ear

Like a toad

Who is the land owner is Surinam?

Lord Governor

the demon's name before he fought God

Lucifer "Light bearer"

Act Five Scene One

Milan. Antonio hopes to reconcile with the Cardinal, unaware that the Duchess is dead. The Cardinal assigns Bosola to kill Antonio.

Where is Coramentien?

Modern day Ghana

What were the three common motifs seen?

New World setting (see page 202) Courtly Romance (see page 210) Heroic Tragedy (see page 208 bottom

Act Two Scene One

Nine months have elapsed. Bosola suspects the Duchess has had a child: he gives her apricots, which cause her to go into labour. Antonio says her jewels have been stolen as an excuse to keep her locked in her chamber.

Is the narrator reliable? (Remember that she takes great pains to establish her story as a "true" one from the very beginning) Is the narrator objective? (Think of instances as on p. 220: "....but I will spare my sense of it, and leave it to my Reader, to judge as he pleases") What is her role in the story? Is she pro- or anti-slavery?

Not really, she has a tendency to over exaggerate many things, and tended to act as a mediator on their little expeditions. Which were most likely used to keep Oroonoko busy from trying to escape or encouraging the other slaves to leave. (which he eventually does do)

What genre is this?

Novella with travel writing and restoration literature

How does Oroonoko define freedom? Compare and contrast that with the European and American notion.

Oroonoko defines freedom as the ability to pursue grand and noble acts, and to commit his name to posterity through his bravery and honor.

What's Strange (to Us) About This Book?

Orthography Spelling Unexpected contractions Capitalization of Nouns Words with different meanings Example: "awful" in 17th-c. English means "awe-inspiring" (or "awesome," as we like to say)

What Plantation was he on?

Parham Hill

"CORDELIA Unhappy that I am, I cannot heave My heart into my mouth: I love your majesty According to my bond; nor more nor less."

Plot turner, because she gets sent away, and the other sisters become more trusted.

"KING OF FRANCE Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich, being poor; Most choice, forsaken; and most loved, despised! Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon: Be it lawful I take up what's cast away. Gods, gods! 'tis strange that from their cold'st neglect My love should kindle to inflamed respect. Thy dowerless daughter, king, thrown to my chance, Is queen of us, of ours, and our fair France: Not all the dukes of waterish Burgundy Can buy this unprized precious maid of me. Bid them farewell, Cordelia, though unkind:"

Plot turner, because she gets sent away, and the other sisters become more trusted.

When was Oroonoko published?

Published in 1689, Oroonoko was one of the earliest novels published in England

"REGAN Go thrust him out at gates, and let him smell His way to Dover"

Regan

What role did the narrator play?

Role of the narrator as actor in the story, Aphra Behn was the narrator, writer, and character. She is recounting the events as "true"

the demon's name after he was cast out of heaven

Satan "the Adversary"

How does the narrator confront and describe the native people? (Carib. Indians) How objective is she in her description?

She sees them as "innocent" and strange.

What role does Immoinda play?

She supports his masculinity because she is the most beautiful girl, and is in love with him. The only problem was she was forced to take the veil, and become one of his father's concubines even she was promised to Oroonoko already. He sneaks in and sees her, and also accidentally takes her which angers the father. So when Oroonoko goes off to war he sells her into slavery and tells his son that he did the honorable thing, and killed her. Then in the end of the book Oroonoko kills her, making the ultimate sacrifice, he takes what he does not want taken from him. Then he lays in the forest dying for a while is found, nursed, and then hacked into bits and sent to other slave homes. Thus stripping away his masculinity, and making him into a martyr and into a lesson.

What political sentiments of Aphra Behn's are revealed throughout the story of Oroonoko?

Staunch Royalist

Who tricks Oroonoko onto the ship?

The Captain who he had hunted with and learned stuff from. A man he thought to be a friend, invited him onto his ship for a dinner then took Oroonoko and all of his court for slaves.

Act Five Scene Two

The Cardinal confides in Julia, then gives her a poisoned Bible to kiss - she dies. Bosola confronts the Cardinal but agrees to hide Julia's body and kill Antonio. He swears not to carry out the deed when alone.

Act Five Scene Three

The Cardinal tells his guards not to come if they hear anything. In the darkness, Bosola think Antonio is the Cardinal and stabs him. Bosola then stabs the Cardinal. Ferdinand enters and accidentally stabs Bosola. Bosola then stabs Ferdinand. They all die. Delio enters with the son of Antonio and the Duchess, saying hope for then future rests with him.

Act Three Scene Three

The Duchess confides in Bosola after he praises Antonio, revealing that he is her husband and the father of her children. The Cardinal banishes the Duchess and Antonio.

Act Act One Scene Three

The Duchess proposes to Antonio. They get married with Cariola, her servant, as a witness.

Who confronts Satan as to what he is doing in the garden of Eden

The angel Gabriel

Novel's stance on slavery

The novel often bashes slavery, but also sympathizes very little for the other slaves. The story revolves more about the injustice of Oroonoko's slavery. It has no clear opinion on the matter. He has been Europeanized so much that there is no way to tell which way this novel leans on the notion of slavery.

Plot

The play's action centers on an aging king who decides to divvy up his kingdom between his three daughters (Goneril, Regan, and Cordelia) in order to avoid any conflict after his death. Early retirement and the division of the kingdom turn out to be a big no-no. Lear's actions end up destroying his family, tearing apart the kingdom, and causing a big old war, leaving just about everyone dead by the play's end.

Depiction of the title character: It idealizes him by attributing European characteristics

They explain him as having an upturned nose, emphasize the white of his teeth and eyes, small lips, angular face, jet black skin, perfect build. She then goes on to explain him as highly educated (spoke french and english), math and science, civil, noble, honorable, and kind as well. He is the spitting image of perfection, and the perfect Prince.

Oroonoko Vs. false promises of British

They would say we will ask about sending you home when the Lord Governor gets here, and then when Immoinda got pregnant they said he needed to wait till the baby was born because it was not safe for her to travel. Although Oroonoko did not let that happen because he did not want his child born as a slave. He tries to run away once, and then kills his wife in the end and is hacked to bits by the Lord Governor in the end.

"GLOUCESTER He has some reason, else he could not beg. I' the last night's storm I such a fellow saw; Which made me think a man a worm: my son Came then into my mind; and yet my mind Was then scarce friends with him: I have heard more since. As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods. They kill us for their sport."

This is one of the most famous lines in the play. For Gloucester, the gods are not only indifferent to human suffering but they're excessively cruel, causing human misery just as easily and thoughtlessly as "wanton boys" might swat at "flies."

What does the scene of his killing the tiger show? (p. 230-31)How are women portrayed in those scenes, and why?

This scene demonstrates his strength, masculinity, bravery, and valor. The women are told to run away, and then he de-masculates the English man (Mr. Martin) to run with women and takes his sword. He kills the "tiger" and then sets the cub at Aphra's feet, which again he is proving his strength and nobility.

We know comparatively little about her. (Why?)

This story is less about her, and more about the injustice done to this great prince, and to draw a picture of the lands where the slaves worked and came from.

Oroonoko was given the name Caesar when in Surinam, explain why that might be.

To emphasize his Greek and Roman god like perfection once more.

Who sympathizes with Oroonoko?

Trefry, this is also the man who names him Caesar

"CORDELIA [...]Why have my sisters husbands, if they say They love you all? Haply, when I shall wed, That lord whose hand must take my plight shall carry Half my love with him, half my care and duty: Sure, I shall never marry like my sisters, To love my father all."

We discuss this passage in "Family" but it's worth talking about here as well. When Lear demands his daughters profess their love to him, Goneril and Regan lay it on pretty thick—professing they love Lear "the most." Here, Cordelia points out that Goneril and Regan are being disloyal to their husbands because, as married women, Goneril and Regan owe much of their love and "duties" to their spouses. Cordelia says she will "obey," "love" and "honour" her father (hmmm... sounds a bit like a wedding ceremony, don't you think?), but she's going to reserve "half" of her "love" and "duty" for her future husband. Cordelia's honesty sends Lear into a rage and he disowns her. (He also takes away the dowry he promised.) Why?

Discuss Edmund. Are we meant to find him sympathetic?

Well, I didn't but in a way, yes. Since he is a bastard, no good will come his way. He can participate in the fancy room but he can never truly have it. Kind of like Jon Snow in Game of Thrones. This motivates him, being a little brother and the son of a *****. No matter how bad he behaves in the play, I feel a little sorry for him. It's not only a thirst for land and power but recognition since he is a social outcast

"CORNWALL Lest it see more, prevent it. Out, vile jelly! Where is thy lustre now?"

When they cut out Gloucesters eyes.

In what scene is the restoration literature seen?

When they kill Oroonoko and make him into a martyr much like what they did with Charles 1.

Author

William Shakespeare

Writing Style and/or Tone

Writing Style: Blank verse. Every second syllable is accented, a classic iambic pentameter → "five verse jams" Tone: It's a tragedy like most of his work (= the protagonist, hero, dies in the end)

Act Three Scene One

Years have passed. Antonio tells Delio he has had two more children.

what allusion is milton making, "man's first disobedience"

adam and eve eating from the tree of knowledge

who do they blame

adam blames eve eve says "you would have been tricked too"

satan's tragic flaw

ambition

how does miltons choice of muse show his hubris

because all the greek writers only did one, the holy spirit is much more "impressive"

who spotted satan

gabriel

pales pomona and vertumnus

goddess' of nature comparing eve to goddess of nature (she looks so beautiful to satan)

eve amongst flowers show

her innocence / purity / virginity

how does eve eat the fruit

hungarily and greedily (gluttony)

discuss hell/the lake of fire. what does it look like? what are the rebel angels doing? how does it smell?

it is dark. supheric smell can see but nothing to see lake gives off darkness torture never stops

adams tragic flaw

loving eve too much

who does milton invoke

muse of the universe / space and time urania "celestial patroness"

describe satans expulsion from heaven. what physically happened to him

on fire head first to hell, nine days to get there chained up, god let him break free can see but there is nothing to see, complete darkness

nature sets the tone

pathetic fallacy when adam eats the fruit

what does adam do at the end

regrets putting eve on a pedalstool, admits his tragic flaw

what does pandamonium look like? why do you think this is

satans palace dark gloomy story fire capital of hell

what muse does milton invoke?

the holy spirit

interpret line 26 "justifie the ways of god to man"

the reason he wrote this poem attempting to explain God's actions

who are the celestrial spirits in bondage? why are they described this way

the rebel angels. they are all kicked out of heaven and locked up in hell

main themes

the unjustness of god good vs evil temptation the fall of man psycho-mania (the mind is a constant battle of good vs evil)

what reasons does satan provide beelzebub as to why they should wage war on god again?

they believe he is a tyrant had no idea he was so strong they should wage a war of guile lost the battle, not the war

why does milton use "maize" and "labyrinth"

to show that the serpent will use deception and confusion to tempt eve

shift in tone while satan watches eve

wow its so beautiful i wish i could take place in earth. no i hate it god did this on purpose just to be mean i hate it

"KING LEAR , reason not the need! Our basest beggars Are in the poorest thing superfluous. Allow not nature more than nature needs, Man's life's as cheap as beast's . . . ... You heavens, give me that patience, patience I need! ... If it be you that stir these daughters' hearts Against their father, fool me not so much To bear it tamely; touch me with noble anger, And let not women's weapons, water-drops, Stain my man's cheeks! No, you unnatural hags, ... No, I'll not weep. I have full cause of weeping, but this heart Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws, Or ere I'll weep. O fool, I shall go mad!

• Lear delivers these lines after he has been driven by the cruelties of Goneril and Regan • He rages against them, explaining that their attempts to take away his knights and servants strike at his heart. • "O, reason not the need!" he cries, explaining that humans would be no different from the animals if they did not need more than the fundamental necessities of life to be happy. • Clearly, Lear needs knights and attendants not only because of the service that they provide him but because of what their presence represents: namely, his identity, both as a king and as a human being. • Goneril and Regan, in stripping Lear of the trappings of power, are reducing him to the level of an animal. • They are also driving him mad, as the close of this quotation indicates, since he is unable to bear the realization of his daughters' terrible betrayal. • Despite his attempt to assert his authority, Lear finds himself powerless; all he can do is vent his rage.