Literary Elements Worksheet 2
Frankenstein
Symbols
Romantic writers share a taste for symbolism, and Mary Shelley is no exception. In Frankenstein, the symbolic significance of certain places, objects, and natural elements is an important key to understanding the novel.
The first column of the chart below lists symbols used in the novel. Locate an example of the use of each symbol in the text and copy the sentences or passages involving the symbol in the second column. In the third column, state the possible meaning of each symbol.
Symbol Example Explanation
the color white, or brilliant light
the Alps
water
ice
lightning or electricity
FOLLOW-UP
Which of the symbols do you think is the most effective? Why?
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12 December 2011
Frankenstein WB 62
Literary Elements Worksheet 1
Frankenstein
Irony
Mary Shelley uses the literary technique of irony to contrast expectation and reality. Irony presents a discrepancy between what is said and what is really meant, between what would normally be expected and what actually happens, or between what the audience knows and what a character knows.
Verbal irony occurs when a character says one thing but really means something else.
Example: The Creature introduces himself to the elderly and blind De Lacey by saying, "I am a traveller in want of a little rest."
Explain how what the Creature says is different from what he really means.
Situations! irony occurs when there is a contrast between what is expected to happen, or what is appropriate to happen, and what really does happen.
Example: Although the De Lacey family is portrayed as valuing virtue and intelligence, they beat and repel the Creature, who possesses both of these qualities, simply because he is ugly.
Explain the contrast between what is expected or appropriate and what actually occurs.
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something important that a character does not know.
Example: The old woman who nurses Frankenstein after he collapses upon seeing Clerval's corpse says, "If you mean about the gentleman you murdered, I believe that it were better for you if you were dead ..."
Explain the irony with information that readers know but the woman does not know.
FOLLOW-UP: Find another example in the novel of one of the three types of irony. Explain what
makes it ironic.
Example:
Frankenstein
Irony
Mary Shelley uses the literary technique of irony to contrast expectation and reality. Irony presents a discrepancy between what is said and what is really meant, between what would normally be expected and what actually happens, or between what the audience knows and what a character knows.
Verbal irony occurs when a character says one thing but really means something else.
Example: The Creature introduces himself to the elderly and blind De Lacey by saying, "I am a traveller in want of a little rest."
Explain how what the Creature says is different from what he really means.
Situations! irony occurs when there is a contrast between what is expected to happen, or what is appropriate to happen, and what really does happen.
Example: Although the De Lacey family is portrayed as valuing virtue and intelligence, they beat and repel the Creature, who possesses both of these qualities, simply because he is ugly.
Explain the contrast between what is expected or appropriate and what actually occurs.
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something important that a character does not know.
Example: The old woman who nurses Frankenstein after he collapses upon seeing Clerval's corpse says, "If you mean about the gentleman you murdered, I believe that it were better for you if you were dead ..."
Explain the irony with information that readers know but the woman does not know.
FOLLOW-UP: Find another example in the novel of one of the three types of irony. Explain what
makes it ironic.
Example:
Frankenstein WB 61
Novel Review
(cont.)
Frankenstein
Setting
Time
Most important place(s).................................................................................
One effect of setting on plot, theme, or character
PLOT
List key events from the novel.
• •
• •
• •
Use your list to identify the plot elements below. Add other events as necessary. Major conflict / problem
Turning point / climax.....................................................................................
Resolution / denouement
MAJOR THEMES
(cont.)
Frankenstein
Setting
Time
Most important place(s).................................................................................
One effect of setting on plot, theme, or character
PLOT
List key events from the novel.
• •
• •
• •
Use your list to identify the plot elements below. Add other events as necessary. Major conflict / problem
Turning point / climax.....................................................................................
Resolution / denouement
MAJOR THEMES
Frankenstein WB 60
Novel Review
Frankenstein
List the MAJOR CHARACTERS
NAME OF CHARACTER:
DESCRIPTION:
FOLLOW-UP: A dynamic character changes in some important way as a result of the story's action. In a paragraph, trace the transformation of one dynamic character from the time the character is introduced through the conclusion of the novel.
60 Frankenstein
Frankenstein
List the MAJOR CHARACTERS
NAME OF CHARACTER:
DESCRIPTION:
FOLLOW-UP: A dynamic character changes in some important way as a result of the story's action. In a paragraph, trace the transformation of one dynamic character from the time the character is introduced through the conclusion of the novel.
60 Frankenstein
Frankenstein WB 57
Reading Strategies: Chapters XVII-XXIV
Frankenstein
Understanding Cause and Effect
In his eloquent speech in Chapter XVII, the Creature uses both convincing facts and strong emotional appeals to persuade Frankenstein to create a partner for him.
Reread the chapter and find three persuasive statements or ideas and list them in the first column of the following chart. In the second column, briefly explain the effect of the statement or idea on Frankenstein. In the third column, describe the effect of the statement or idea on you.
Persuasive Statement or Idea
Effect of Statement or Idea on Frankenstein
Effect of Statement or Idea on You
1.
2.
3.
FOLLOW-UP: Which of the Creature's statements or ideas is the most convincing to you? Explain why you find it more persuasive than the others.
Study Guide
57
Frankenstein
Understanding Cause and Effect
In his eloquent speech in Chapter XVII, the Creature uses both convincing facts and strong emotional appeals to persuade Frankenstein to create a partner for him.
Reread the chapter and find three persuasive statements or ideas and list them in the first column of the following chart. In the second column, briefly explain the effect of the statement or idea on Frankenstein. In the third column, describe the effect of the statement or idea on you.
Persuasive Statement or Idea
Effect of Statement or Idea on Frankenstein
Effect of Statement or Idea on You
1.
2.
3.
FOLLOW-UP: Which of the Creature's statements or ideas is the most convincing to you? Explain why you find it more persuasive than the others.
Study Guide
57
Frankenstein WB 56
Making Meanings: Chapters XVII-XXIV
Frankenstein
Writing Opportunity
Expand your response to this question into a paragraph explaining two or three other ironies about the relationship between the Creature and his creator.
1. Do you believe that the Creature is reallyremorseful about Victor's death, or doyou think, as Walton does, that he is ahypocritical fiend?
Shaping Interpretations
2. The characters of Victor and Henry arecontrasted with each other in the novel.On the journey to England, how aretheir moods and goals different?
3. In Geneva, when he was fifteen, Victorsaw a tree destroyed by a bolt of lightning. He now sees himself as a "blasted tree" whose soul has been invaded by"the bolt." What is he saying about himself in this allusion?
4. In his final discussion with Walton, Victor says that he has examined his past conduct and finds nothing for which to blame himself. He considers his scientificendeavors as an illustrious achievement and feels justified in desiring the death ofthe Creature. What does his unrepentant stance suggest about his character?
5. In what ways do the characters of Victor and the Creature begin to resembleeach other? Why is their growing similarity ironic?
Connecting with the Text
6. Victor must decide whether or not to create a partner for the Creature after hehears the Creature's story. If you were in Victor's position, what decision wouldyou make and why?
Extending the Text
7. The Creature says, "I am malicious because I am miserable," and he is miserablebecause he is "shunned and hated by all mankind." Do you think most people iftreated in a similar fashion would eventually grow to hate society and want to geteven with those who have caused their suffering? Can you think of any examplesfrom the media to support your answer?
Challenging the Text
8. Which of the following do you think is Victor's most irresponsible act: his creationof such an ugly being, his abandonment of the Creature and neglect of his education, his refusal to create a partner for the Creature, or his refusal to tell anyone(until Walton) what he had done? Explain your choice.
56
Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Writing Opportunity
Expand your response to this question into a paragraph explaining two or three other ironies about the relationship between the Creature and his creator.
1. Do you believe that the Creature is reallyremorseful about Victor's death, or doyou think, as Walton does, that he is ahypocritical fiend?
Shaping Interpretations
2. The characters of Victor and Henry arecontrasted with each other in the novel.On the journey to England, how aretheir moods and goals different?
3. In Geneva, when he was fifteen, Victorsaw a tree destroyed by a bolt of lightning. He now sees himself as a "blasted tree" whose soul has been invaded by"the bolt." What is he saying about himself in this allusion?
4. In his final discussion with Walton, Victor says that he has examined his past conduct and finds nothing for which to blame himself. He considers his scientificendeavors as an illustrious achievement and feels justified in desiring the death ofthe Creature. What does his unrepentant stance suggest about his character?
5. In what ways do the characters of Victor and the Creature begin to resembleeach other? Why is their growing similarity ironic?
Connecting with the Text
6. Victor must decide whether or not to create a partner for the Creature after hehears the Creature's story. If you were in Victor's position, what decision wouldyou make and why?
Extending the Text
7. The Creature says, "I am malicious because I am miserable," and he is miserablebecause he is "shunned and hated by all mankind." Do you think most people iftreated in a similar fashion would eventually grow to hate society and want to geteven with those who have caused their suffering? Can you think of any examplesfrom the media to support your answer?
Challenging the Text
8. Which of the following do you think is Victor's most irresponsible act: his creationof such an ugly being, his abandonment of the Creature and neglect of his education, his refusal to create a partner for the Creature, or his refusal to tell anyone(until Walton) what he had done? Explain your choice.
56
Frankenstein
Frankenstein WB page 55
Choices: Chapters XI-XVI
Frankenstein
Building Your Portfolio
A Room of One's Own
Draw the space that the Creature calls "home"—the De Lacey cottage, its main living room, and the attached hovel; the garden; the outhouses; and the surrounding forest. Find references or passages in the novel to support the choices in your artwork. You might want to use the quotes from the text in your drawing as well.
Humans on Trial
With a small group of your classmates, debate the case for and against the way humans behave toward the Creature. Should they show more compassion, or is it natural for humans to react negatively to a strange outsider? Cite examples from real life, from other novels or stories, or from films or television shows to support your points of view.
READING STRATEGIES
And Then What Happened?
At the end of Chapter XVI, get together with a partner and make predictions about what will happen next. Consider the following questions: How do you think Victor will react to the Creature's story? Will he create a partner for the Creature? How do you think the novel will end? You should each keep track of your predictions on a sheet of paper divided into two columns marked Prediction and Actual Outcome. As you finish reading the novel, use these organizers to confirm or refute your predictions.
CREATIVE WRITING
Read All About It ****
Write a newspaper article describing the appearance of the Creature in the village. Write from the villagers' point of view. What did they see? What did they think the Creature was? What do they do to prepare for another visit, if there should be one? Is anyone arguing for a different approach to the Creature than the villagers showed in the past? What is that person advising?
Consider This . . .
There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No: from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and, more than all, against him who had formed me, and sent me forth to this insupportable misery.
How is justice different from revenge? Do you think revenge is ever justified? Explain.
Writing Follow-up: Problem-Solution__ •
Think of some positive ways to release or express anger. Suggest at least two possible ways of constructively dealing with anger. Write two to four paragraphs.
Novel Notes Choose one of the following:
• Choose a scene from one of the chaptersand rewrite it as a scene for a motion picture.
• Describe the plot of a book or film thatevoked horror in you and tell why you thinkthe author of Frankenstein would or would not like it.
Frankenstein
Building Your Portfolio
A Room of One's Own
Draw the space that the Creature calls "home"—the De Lacey cottage, its main living room, and the attached hovel; the garden; the outhouses; and the surrounding forest. Find references or passages in the novel to support the choices in your artwork. You might want to use the quotes from the text in your drawing as well.
Humans on Trial
With a small group of your classmates, debate the case for and against the way humans behave toward the Creature. Should they show more compassion, or is it natural for humans to react negatively to a strange outsider? Cite examples from real life, from other novels or stories, or from films or television shows to support your points of view.
READING STRATEGIES
And Then What Happened?
At the end of Chapter XVI, get together with a partner and make predictions about what will happen next. Consider the following questions: How do you think Victor will react to the Creature's story? Will he create a partner for the Creature? How do you think the novel will end? You should each keep track of your predictions on a sheet of paper divided into two columns marked Prediction and Actual Outcome. As you finish reading the novel, use these organizers to confirm or refute your predictions.
CREATIVE WRITING
Read All About It ****
Write a newspaper article describing the appearance of the Creature in the village. Write from the villagers' point of view. What did they see? What did they think the Creature was? What do they do to prepare for another visit, if there should be one? Is anyone arguing for a different approach to the Creature than the villagers showed in the past? What is that person advising?
Consider This . . .
There was none among the myriads of men that existed who would pity or assist me; and should I feel kindness towards my enemies? No: from that moment I declared everlasting war against the species, and, more than all, against him who had formed me, and sent me forth to this insupportable misery.
How is justice different from revenge? Do you think revenge is ever justified? Explain.
Writing Follow-up: Problem-Solution__ •
Think of some positive ways to release or express anger. Suggest at least two possible ways of constructively dealing with anger. Write two to four paragraphs.
Novel Notes Choose one of the following:
• Choose a scene from one of the chaptersand rewrite it as a scene for a motion picture.
• Describe the plot of a book or film thatevoked horror in you and tell why you thinkthe author of Frankenstein would or would not like it.
Frankenstein
Reading Strategies: Chapters V-X
Frankenstein
Characterization
Shelley uses indirect characterization to depict Victor Frankenstein's ambivalence about his work. As Frankenstein's mood swings back and forth between moments of happiness and moments of anxiety or horror, it becomes clear that he cannot reconcile his conflicting emotions.
In the graphic organizer below, describe Frankenstein's reaction to the situation listed, and then describe the reason for his reaction. The first one has been done for you.
Situation
Frankenstein's Reaction
Reason for Reaction
1. The Creature comes to life.
He rushes out of the room and paces back and forth in his room.
The Creature is more horrible than Frankenstein ever imagined; he refuses to take responsibility for his creation.
2. The Creature looks at Frankenstein through the bed curtains.
3. Henry Clerval arrives.
4. Victor and Henry return to Victor's apartment.
5. Victor is praised by M. Waldman and M. Krempe.
6. Victor visits the site where his brother William was murdered.
7. Victor meets the Creature on the slopes of Montanvertu
FOLLOW-UP: Write a paragraph or two in which you provide some advice to Victor Frankenstein on how to lessen his despair.
Study Guide
49
Frankenstein
Characterization
Shelley uses indirect characterization to depict Victor Frankenstein's ambivalence about his work. As Frankenstein's mood swings back and forth between moments of happiness and moments of anxiety or horror, it becomes clear that he cannot reconcile his conflicting emotions.
In the graphic organizer below, describe Frankenstein's reaction to the situation listed, and then describe the reason for his reaction. The first one has been done for you.
Situation
Frankenstein's Reaction
Reason for Reaction
1. The Creature comes to life.
He rushes out of the room and paces back and forth in his room.
The Creature is more horrible than Frankenstein ever imagined; he refuses to take responsibility for his creation.
2. The Creature looks at Frankenstein through the bed curtains.
3. Henry Clerval arrives.
4. Victor and Henry return to Victor's apartment.
5. Victor is praised by M. Waldman and M. Krempe.
6. Victor visits the site where his brother William was murdered.
7. Victor meets the Creature on the slopes of Montanvertu
FOLLOW-UP: Write a paragraph or two in which you provide some advice to Victor Frankenstein on how to lessen his despair.
Study Guide
49
Frankenstein
Making Meanings: Chapters V-X
Frankenstein
First Thoughts
1. With whom do you sympathize more—Victor or his creation? Why?
Shaping Interpretations
2. Victor had been totally engrossed in theproject until he actually brought theCreature to life. Why do you thinkVictor's feelings changed?
3. What do you think is the significanceof Frankenstein's dream aboutElizabeth? What future events might itforeshadow?
Writing Opportunity
Expand your response in a paragraph that explains the effects of the novel's multiple settings. How does each setting reinforce a particular mood?
4. Victor's personality is repeatedly contrasted with that of his friend Henry. What aresome of the differences between the two characters?
5. Nature is an important part of the setting of the novel. At times, it soothesVictor's troubled mind; at other times, it mirrors his agitation. Choose a scene thattakes place out of doors and analyze the role that nature plays.
6. What do Elizabeth's reactions to the horrible events unfolding about her revealabout her personality? Support your answer with specific details from the story.
7. Victor travels into the mountains to gain relief from his feelings of despair andguilt. The Alps are symbols, that is, they stand for something beyond themselves.What do you think the snowy peaks symbolize?
8. In Chapter X, the Creature speaks for the first time. How does his voice and manner differ from Victor's voice and manner?
Connecting with the Text
9. Victor's immediate response is to run away from the Creature rather than face upto his mistake. Furthermore, when Victor returns to his apartment and finds thatthe Creature is not there, he does not attempt to find out what happened to it.Describe a situation in another story or in a movie or TV show in which a character ran away from a problem instead of facing it.
Extending the Text
10. Parental responsibility is a big issue in today's society. What obligations do you think parents have toward their children? Do you think parents should be held accountable for their children's behavior? Why or why not?
48 Frankenstein
Frankenstein
First Thoughts
1. With whom do you sympathize more—Victor or his creation? Why?
Shaping Interpretations
2. Victor had been totally engrossed in theproject until he actually brought theCreature to life. Why do you thinkVictor's feelings changed?
3. What do you think is the significanceof Frankenstein's dream aboutElizabeth? What future events might itforeshadow?
Writing Opportunity
Expand your response in a paragraph that explains the effects of the novel's multiple settings. How does each setting reinforce a particular mood?
4. Victor's personality is repeatedly contrasted with that of his friend Henry. What aresome of the differences between the two characters?
5. Nature is an important part of the setting of the novel. At times, it soothesVictor's troubled mind; at other times, it mirrors his agitation. Choose a scene thattakes place out of doors and analyze the role that nature plays.
6. What do Elizabeth's reactions to the horrible events unfolding about her revealabout her personality? Support your answer with specific details from the story.
7. Victor travels into the mountains to gain relief from his feelings of despair andguilt. The Alps are symbols, that is, they stand for something beyond themselves.What do you think the snowy peaks symbolize?
8. In Chapter X, the Creature speaks for the first time. How does his voice and manner differ from Victor's voice and manner?
Connecting with the Text
9. Victor's immediate response is to run away from the Creature rather than face upto his mistake. Furthermore, when Victor returns to his apartment and finds thatthe Creature is not there, he does not attempt to find out what happened to it.Describe a situation in another story or in a movie or TV show in which a character ran away from a problem instead of facing it.
Extending the Text
10. Parental responsibility is a big issue in today's society. What obligations do you think parents have toward their children? Do you think parents should be held accountable for their children's behavior? Why or why not?
48 Frankenstein
09 December 2011
Model of Parenthetical Documentation
Model Parenthetical Citations
MLA (Modern Language Association) format follows the author-page method of citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear in your works cited list (see Your Works Cited Page, below). The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence.
Examples:
Direct Quotation with author’s name appearing in the sentence: Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Direct Quotation without author’s name appearing in the sentence: Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
Paraphrase with author’s name appearing in the sentence: Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
No author’s name given: An anonymous Wordsworth critic once argued that his poems were too emotional ("Wordsworth Is A Loser" 100).
MLA (Modern Language Association) format follows the author-page method of citation. This means that the author's last name and the page number(s) from which the quotation is taken must appear in the text, and a complete reference should appear in your works cited list (see Your Works Cited Page, below). The author's name may appear either in the sentence itself or in parentheses following the quotation or paraphrase, but the page number(s) should always appear in the parentheses, not in the text of your sentence.
Examples:
Direct Quotation with author’s name appearing in the sentence: Wordsworth stated that Romantic poetry was marked by a "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (263).
Direct Quotation without author’s name appearing in the sentence: Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).
Paraphrase with author’s name appearing in the sentence: Wordsworth extensively explored the role of emotion in the creative process (263).
No author’s name given: An anonymous Wordsworth critic once argued that his poems were too emotional ("Wordsworth Is A Loser" 100).
Information for the WIT Essay
1.Be sure to use 1-inch margins for all bottom, top, and side margins,
2.Use Times New Roman font.
3.Use size 12 font.
4.Double space your paper.
5.Make a Title Page—be sure to put your Word Count as the last thing on your title page. Also, place the word count again, on the last page of your essay—double space after your last paragraph and then give the word count.
6.Make sure that you parenthetically document all quotes and any information that did not originate with you.
7.List your source (s) on the Works Cited page—this will be your last page and it will numbered. If you don’t know how to do it, google “MLA Works Cited page.” It will tell you exactly how to do it!
8.Remember: your minimum word count is 1200 words! You must not go over 1500 words.
1.Be sure to use 1-inch margins for all bottom, top, and side margins,
2.Use Times New Roman font.
3.Use size 12 font.
4.Double space your paper.
5.Make a Title Page—be sure to put your Word Count as the last thing on your title page. Also, place the word count again, on the last page of your essay—double space after your last paragraph and then give the word count.
6.Make sure that you parenthetically document all quotes and any information that did not originate with you.
7.List your source (s) on the Works Cited page—this will be your last page and it will numbered. If you don’t know how to do it, google “MLA Works Cited page.” It will tell you exactly how to do it!
8.Remember: your minimum word count is 1200 words! You must not go over 1500 words.
07 October 2011
Cyrano de Bergerac etext
Cyrano de Bergerac
by Edmond Rostand
All new material ©2011 Enotes.com Inc. or its Licensors. All Rights Reserved.
No portion may be reproduced without permission in writing from the publisher.
For complete copyright information please see the online version of this text at
http://www.enotes.com/cyrano-de-text
by Edmond Rostand
All new material ©2011 Enotes.com Inc. or its Licensors. All Rights Reserved.
No portion may be reproduced without permission in writing from the publisher.
For complete copyright information please see the online version of this text at
http://www.enotes.com/cyrano-de-text
19 January 2011
Scene 4 and Exodos Qs. on Oedipus Rex
Questions on Scene 4/Choral Ode
1. How does the messenger’s well-meaning effort to jog the old herdsman’s memory remind us of the way a cross-examiner might try to get a recalcitrant witness to « remember » in court ?
2. Why is the old man (herdsman) reluctant to answer ?
3. What does Oedipus threaten to do to make the herdsman talk ?
4. Why does the herdsman shrink from saying what he’s been forced to tell ?
5. Why does Oedipus feel compelled to hear the truth uttered aloud ?
6. The rapid-fire dialogue between Oedipus and the herdsman is an example of what ?
7. Why does Oedipus want never again to see the light of sun now that the truth has been clearly revealed ?
8. Do the Chorus’ words suggest that Oedipus did anything to deserve his fate ?
9. Oedipus’ fall from grace is an example of what ?
10. Explain the metaphor of « Time » in Antistrophe 2.
11. Choruses frequently meditate on the ways in which affection brings suffering. Why ?
Questions on the Exodos
1. Describe the prelude to Jocasta’s death.
2. How did Jocasta die ?
3. What was Oedipus’ reaction to Jocasta’s suicide ?
4. Why did Oedipus commit this act ?
5. Whom does Oedipus curse ?
6. What does Oedipus mean when he says that Apollo was the curse, but he himself is the agent of his own blinding ?
7. Is it reasonable that Oedipus feels he cannot bear to look on anything in the world anymore ?
8. What ironies are involved in Oedipus’ curse on the man who saved him ?
9. Why is he disturbed that his friends pity him and feel pain for him ?
10. Do you agree or disagree witgh the Chorus that Oedipus would be better off dead than blind and banished ?
11. What might Oedipus’ decision to go on living in blindness, exile, and suffering say about his heroic statue ?
12. Why does Oedipus say that he deserves worse punishment than hanging ?
13. Now that Oedipus is blind, where is his inner vision turned ?
14. How are Creon’s tone and remarks reminiscent of Jocasta ?
15. Is there evidence that Creon is cool and impatient with Oedipus ?
16. Analyze lines 222-242.
17. How is Oedipus’ speech like a funeral lament ?
18. Is Creon’s admonition about Oedipus’ children mean-spirited, kindly, justified ? Why ?
1. How does the messenger’s well-meaning effort to jog the old herdsman’s memory remind us of the way a cross-examiner might try to get a recalcitrant witness to « remember » in court ?
2. Why is the old man (herdsman) reluctant to answer ?
3. What does Oedipus threaten to do to make the herdsman talk ?
4. Why does the herdsman shrink from saying what he’s been forced to tell ?
5. Why does Oedipus feel compelled to hear the truth uttered aloud ?
6. The rapid-fire dialogue between Oedipus and the herdsman is an example of what ?
7. Why does Oedipus want never again to see the light of sun now that the truth has been clearly revealed ?
8. Do the Chorus’ words suggest that Oedipus did anything to deserve his fate ?
9. Oedipus’ fall from grace is an example of what ?
10. Explain the metaphor of « Time » in Antistrophe 2.
11. Choruses frequently meditate on the ways in which affection brings suffering. Why ?
Questions on the Exodos
1. Describe the prelude to Jocasta’s death.
2. How did Jocasta die ?
3. What was Oedipus’ reaction to Jocasta’s suicide ?
4. Why did Oedipus commit this act ?
5. Whom does Oedipus curse ?
6. What does Oedipus mean when he says that Apollo was the curse, but he himself is the agent of his own blinding ?
7. Is it reasonable that Oedipus feels he cannot bear to look on anything in the world anymore ?
8. What ironies are involved in Oedipus’ curse on the man who saved him ?
9. Why is he disturbed that his friends pity him and feel pain for him ?
10. Do you agree or disagree witgh the Chorus that Oedipus would be better off dead than blind and banished ?
11. What might Oedipus’ decision to go on living in blindness, exile, and suffering say about his heroic statue ?
12. Why does Oedipus say that he deserves worse punishment than hanging ?
13. Now that Oedipus is blind, where is his inner vision turned ?
14. How are Creon’s tone and remarks reminiscent of Jocasta ?
15. Is there evidence that Creon is cool and impatient with Oedipus ?
16. Analyze lines 222-242.
17. How is Oedipus’ speech like a funeral lament ?
18. Is Creon’s admonition about Oedipus’ children mean-spirited, kindly, justified ? Why ?
Scene 3 Q.s on Oedipus Rex
Questions on Scene 3/Choral Ode
1. Discuss how the messenger’s arrival makes us feel that the plot has been tied into a « knot » that needs to be undone.
2. Look up the Greek word « philos. » How is this ironic when Oedipus uses this word in speaking to Jocasta ?
3. How do you respond to Oedipus’ reaction of relief to the messenger’s message ? Why ?
4. How does the fact that Oedipus should derive comfort from what ought to be bad news highlight the way in which everything is turned upside down in this legend ?
5. By refusing to go near his parents, and thus, theoretically, eliminating the chance of fulfilling the oracle, what is Oedepus really avoiding ?
6. Who is « Liaus’ man »?
7. What does Jocasta mean in lines 140-142 ?
8. Why do you think Jocasta does not want the truth about Oedipus’ birth revealed ?
9. How is Oedipus being unfair to Jocasta in lines 158-162 ?
10.What is Oedipus’ reaction to his being a foundling ?
11.What is the Chorus’ reaction to this news ?
1. Discuss how the messenger’s arrival makes us feel that the plot has been tied into a « knot » that needs to be undone.
2. Look up the Greek word « philos. » How is this ironic when Oedipus uses this word in speaking to Jocasta ?
3. How do you respond to Oedipus’ reaction of relief to the messenger’s message ? Why ?
4. How does the fact that Oedipus should derive comfort from what ought to be bad news highlight the way in which everything is turned upside down in this legend ?
5. By refusing to go near his parents, and thus, theoretically, eliminating the chance of fulfilling the oracle, what is Oedepus really avoiding ?
6. Who is « Liaus’ man »?
7. What does Jocasta mean in lines 140-142 ?
8. Why do you think Jocasta does not want the truth about Oedipus’ birth revealed ?
9. How is Oedipus being unfair to Jocasta in lines 158-162 ?
10.What is Oedipus’ reaction to his being a foundling ?
11.What is the Chorus’ reaction to this news ?
12 January 2011
Questions on Scenes 1 and 2 Oedipus Rex
Oedipus Rex : Questions on Scene 1/Ode
1.Summarize Oedipus’s first speech in Scene 1.
2.How do you respond to Oedipus’s curse ? What does it say about human knowledge that Oedipus, renowned for his intelligence, cannot see what is plain to us, with our hindsight ?
3.Oedipus thinks of himself as a « stranger » to the city and to the royal house. Why is this a tragic mistake ?
4.Does Teiresias sound reasonable ? Is Oedipus justified in feeling infuriated ?
5.What do you think is revealed in Scene 1 as one of Oedipus’s flaws ?
6.Is Oedipus’s suspiciousness based on reasonable (even if ultimately false) conjecture ?
7.What does Teiresias imply about the role of seer ?
8.What does Oedipus accuse Teiresias of ? Why do you think he does this ?
9.How does the audience understand Teiresias in a way Oedipus does not ?
10.Give specific examples of Oedipus’s arrogance in this scene.
11.Summarize Teiresias’s prophecy in this scene.
12.One of the ironies of the play is that the structure of its plot is essentially comic, that is suited to a story with a happy ending. Normally, the stranger who proves to be a citizen gains rewards. What does Teiresias say will happen to this « stranger » ?
13.What does the metaphor « a fellow sower in his father’s bed » mean ?
14.Why does the Chorus seem not to understand Teriesias’s prophecy, which to us seems quite explicit ?
15.Oedipus has represented himself as a « tracker. » What is the effect of the Chorus speaking of itself now as a tracker, or a pack of hunting hounds ?
16.Why is the Chorus reluctant to believe Teiresias ? On what is the Thebans’ allegiance to Oedipus based ?
Questions on Scene 2/Ode of Oedipus Rex
1. How do you react to Oedipus’ outburst ? How has Oedipus moved from conjecture to certainty ? Is he justified ?
2. What is the irony of Oedipus’ use of hunting images to describe Creon’s supposed ambition ?
3. What does the exchange between Oedipus and Creon remind you of ?
4. What does Creon mean when he says that he doesn’t want to be king ?
5. What is Oedipus really saying to the Chorus in lines 137-138 ?
6. Is there a metaphor in lines 169-170 ? If so, what is it ?
7. What is Jocasta’s view of prophets ? Is it similar to Oedipus’ view ?
8. How does Oedipus interpret Jocasta’s speech ?
9. Discuss Oedipus’ reaction to Apollo’s prophecy when he heard it (p. 1242).
10. What do you feel about Oedipus’ attempt to take action rather than submit passively to his fate ?
11. React to the gods’ malevolence.
12. Why does Oedipus seem less certain that he’s the murderer ?
13. Analyze Jocasta’s speech.
14. Who is the « I/me » in Strophe 1 ?
15. Summarize the Antistrophe.
16. Why might it be less frightening to believe that there is some divine plan or unuversal order, even if it is terrible, rather than thinking good and bad fortune are purely random ?
17. Of what does the Chorus try to convince Oedipus about knowledge ?
18. What role does the Chorus play in heightening the dramatic tension of this play ?
1.Summarize Oedipus’s first speech in Scene 1.
2.How do you respond to Oedipus’s curse ? What does it say about human knowledge that Oedipus, renowned for his intelligence, cannot see what is plain to us, with our hindsight ?
3.Oedipus thinks of himself as a « stranger » to the city and to the royal house. Why is this a tragic mistake ?
4.Does Teiresias sound reasonable ? Is Oedipus justified in feeling infuriated ?
5.What do you think is revealed in Scene 1 as one of Oedipus’s flaws ?
6.Is Oedipus’s suspiciousness based on reasonable (even if ultimately false) conjecture ?
7.What does Teiresias imply about the role of seer ?
8.What does Oedipus accuse Teiresias of ? Why do you think he does this ?
9.How does the audience understand Teiresias in a way Oedipus does not ?
10.Give specific examples of Oedipus’s arrogance in this scene.
11.Summarize Teiresias’s prophecy in this scene.
12.One of the ironies of the play is that the structure of its plot is essentially comic, that is suited to a story with a happy ending. Normally, the stranger who proves to be a citizen gains rewards. What does Teiresias say will happen to this « stranger » ?
13.What does the metaphor « a fellow sower in his father’s bed » mean ?
14.Why does the Chorus seem not to understand Teriesias’s prophecy, which to us seems quite explicit ?
15.Oedipus has represented himself as a « tracker. » What is the effect of the Chorus speaking of itself now as a tracker, or a pack of hunting hounds ?
16.Why is the Chorus reluctant to believe Teiresias ? On what is the Thebans’ allegiance to Oedipus based ?
Questions on Scene 2/Ode of Oedipus Rex
1. How do you react to Oedipus’ outburst ? How has Oedipus moved from conjecture to certainty ? Is he justified ?
2. What is the irony of Oedipus’ use of hunting images to describe Creon’s supposed ambition ?
3. What does the exchange between Oedipus and Creon remind you of ?
4. What does Creon mean when he says that he doesn’t want to be king ?
5. What is Oedipus really saying to the Chorus in lines 137-138 ?
6. Is there a metaphor in lines 169-170 ? If so, what is it ?
7. What is Jocasta’s view of prophets ? Is it similar to Oedipus’ view ?
8. How does Oedipus interpret Jocasta’s speech ?
9. Discuss Oedipus’ reaction to Apollo’s prophecy when he heard it (p. 1242).
10. What do you feel about Oedipus’ attempt to take action rather than submit passively to his fate ?
11. React to the gods’ malevolence.
12. Why does Oedipus seem less certain that he’s the murderer ?
13. Analyze Jocasta’s speech.
14. Who is the « I/me » in Strophe 1 ?
15. Summarize the Antistrophe.
16. Why might it be less frightening to believe that there is some divine plan or unuversal order, even if it is terrible, rather than thinking good and bad fortune are purely random ?
17. Of what does the Chorus try to convince Oedipus about knowledge ?
18. What role does the Chorus play in heightening the dramatic tension of this play ?
10 January 2011
More Questions on the Prologue to OEDIPUS REX
More Questions on the Prologue/Parodos
1. Why is Oedipus thought to be a “tyrannos”?
2. How can we say that Oedipus is described as a pilot whose duty it is to guide his ship through treacherous waters?
3. Consider the effect of contrast between the house of Cadmus, emptied, and the house of Hades, filled?
4. How do Oedipus’s subjects view him? Explain the irony that Oedipus came to Thebes as the city’s savior with the gods’ assistance?
5. When Sophocles wrote this play, Athens was reeling from recent war and a severe plague which killed many people and undermined faith in the law and religious customs. What do you think that the biggest fear of most play-goers was? ( as well as the citizens of Thebes in the play?)
6. How does Oedipus’s claim to be even more affected by the sickness than his subjects mean something different to us who know he’s polluted and is the cause of the plague?
7. Oedipus projects himself as a sort of hunter or tracker, hunting down his prey. Explain how he is also the hunter whose arrow will hit the true mark but miss the target he thinks he sees.
8. If only one man killed Liaus, why does the slave who came home say that the king’s party was surrounded by robbers rather than a single man was involved?
9. As the Chorus reminds the gods that they have helped Thebes before, of what are we reminded?
10. Why does the Chorus focus on children and women of childbearing age as victims of the plague?
1. Why is Oedipus thought to be a “tyrannos”?
2. How can we say that Oedipus is described as a pilot whose duty it is to guide his ship through treacherous waters?
3. Consider the effect of contrast between the house of Cadmus, emptied, and the house of Hades, filled?
4. How do Oedipus’s subjects view him? Explain the irony that Oedipus came to Thebes as the city’s savior with the gods’ assistance?
5. When Sophocles wrote this play, Athens was reeling from recent war and a severe plague which killed many people and undermined faith in the law and religious customs. What do you think that the biggest fear of most play-goers was? ( as well as the citizens of Thebes in the play?)
6. How does Oedipus’s claim to be even more affected by the sickness than his subjects mean something different to us who know he’s polluted and is the cause of the plague?
7. Oedipus projects himself as a sort of hunter or tracker, hunting down his prey. Explain how he is also the hunter whose arrow will hit the true mark but miss the target he thinks he sees.
8. If only one man killed Liaus, why does the slave who came home say that the king’s party was surrounded by robbers rather than a single man was involved?
9. As the Chorus reminds the gods that they have helped Thebes before, of what are we reminded?
10. Why does the Chorus focus on children and women of childbearing age as victims of the plague?
07 October 2010
Notes about Garcia Lorca, Blood Wedding, and the Spanish Theater
In the 1920’s there was widespread agreement that the Spanish theater was in a deep crisis. Books and newspaper articles deplored the mediocrity of playwrights, the ignorance of critics, actors, and audiences, and the indifference of government officials. Lorca wrote of this situation, “One must think of the theater of the future. Everything that now exists in Spain is dead. Either the theater changes radically, or it dies away forever. There is no other solution.”
Lorca’s earliest works exemplify a deep concern for social justice; by 1935 Lorca had declared himself an “enthusiastic, devoted follower of the theater of social reform.” He defined theater as:
…a school of laughter and lamentation, an open tribunal where the
people can introduce old and mistaken mores as evidence, and can use
living examples to explain eternal norms of the heart…The theater is an
extremely useful instrument for the edification of a country, and the
barometer that measures its greatness or decline. A sensitive theater,
well oriented in all its branches, from tragedy to vaudeville, can alter
a people’s sensibility in just a few years, while a decadent theater where
hooves have taken the place of wings can cheapen and lull to sleep an
entire nation.
When Lorca attacks the norms of theatrical realism and the expectations of middle-class audiences, he is questioning certain aspects of bourgeois morality: its supposed indifference to suffering, its hostility to deviant forms of behavior, its fear of death and of the forces of nature, its mistrust of fantasy, of dream, and of the artistic imagination. Blood Wedding restored tragic poetry to the Spanish stage.
There are two areas in particular in which Lorca’s theater differs radically from that of his predecessors: his idea of poetic drama and the musical nature of his works. Lorca remarked : “Theater is poetry that rises from the book and becomes human enough to talk and shout, weep and despair.” In Lorca’s work, drama and poetry seem inseparable. His poetry often has the dramatic quality that he admired in traditional Spanish songs and narrative ballads, and his drama has the metaphorical density, the attention to rhythm, the ring of “memorable speech” one normally associates with poetry. In this play, images, metaphors, and symbols form a coherent whole, a poetic system whose full meaning is difficult to paraphrase. Blood Wedding was unprecedented in Spanish theater. Few playwrights had appealed so forcefully to the poetic imagination of so many people, from such a wide cross section of society, in Spain and abroad.
Lorca once remarked that prose and verse have their own distinct functions:
Well-wrought, free prose can soar to expressive heights, freeing us from
the confinement and rigidity of meter. Let us welcome verse at
moments when the excitement and disposition of the theme demand it,
only then. You can see that, in Blood Wedding, verse does not appear
with any intensity or at any length until the wedding scene. Then, with
the scene in the forest and in the last scene in the work, it takes
complete command of the stage.
The second distinctive characteristic of Lorca’s theater is music. Both in his poems and in his plays, Lorca tries to reconcile literature and music. Lorca’s vision of theater draws upon ballet and other forms of dance, and as a director he devoted much attention to the stylization of movement. Nowhere is musical form more apparent than in Blood Wedding, where the characters’ speech is “orchestrated” in a highly stylized, rhythmic manner that sometimes borders on liturgical chant.
No less important than the rhythmical style are two other musical elements: the songs and dances performed by the characters, and the background music. The spinners’ songs in Blood Wedding are reminiscent of Spanish folk tunes. They are also meant to suggest the choruses of Greek tragedy, commenting on the action and revealing something of the psychology of the characters. Lorca also used music as a way of weaning his audiences from expectations of realism. He said: “The use of music allows me to make the scene less realistic, and do away with the audience’s impression that what is going on is “really happening,” permitting me to raise things to the level of poetry.”
For Lorca, tragedy entails certain formal elements, such as the chorus; but above all, it involves creating an illusion of fate or destiny—the suggestion that men and women are at the mercy of elemental forces which shape their lives in ways they barely comprehend. This feeling of inevitability is coupled with mystery. In his view, no tragedy can be fully explained. For him, the very essence of poetry and tragedy lies in mystery.
The central theme of all of Lorca’s work is desire—all of his characters want something; but the object of desire is invisible, shadowy. His plays suggest, not merely that society frustrates our intimate desires and instincts, but that those desires and instincts can never be clearly identified. Lorca’s characters are unhappy and tragic, not because society keeps them from attaining their object or reaching their destination, but because they cannot fully understand what it is that they want.
Beyond its appeal for justice, for freedom, and for sexual equality, Lorca’s theater is a passionate defense of poetry and of the imagination. His characters’ search for meaning parallels that of the reader.
In the 1920’s there was widespread agreement that the Spanish theater was in a deep crisis. Books and newspaper articles deplored the mediocrity of playwrights, the ignorance of critics, actors, and audiences, and the indifference of government officials. Lorca wrote of this situation, “One must think of the theater of the future. Everything that now exists in Spain is dead. Either the theater changes radically, or it dies away forever. There is no other solution.”
Lorca’s earliest works exemplify a deep concern for social justice; by 1935 Lorca had declared himself an “enthusiastic, devoted follower of the theater of social reform.” He defined theater as:
…a school of laughter and lamentation, an open tribunal where the
people can introduce old and mistaken mores as evidence, and can use
living examples to explain eternal norms of the heart…The theater is an
extremely useful instrument for the edification of a country, and the
barometer that measures its greatness or decline. A sensitive theater,
well oriented in all its branches, from tragedy to vaudeville, can alter
a people’s sensibility in just a few years, while a decadent theater where
hooves have taken the place of wings can cheapen and lull to sleep an
entire nation.
When Lorca attacks the norms of theatrical realism and the expectations of middle-class audiences, he is questioning certain aspects of bourgeois morality: its supposed indifference to suffering, its hostility to deviant forms of behavior, its fear of death and of the forces of nature, its mistrust of fantasy, of dream, and of the artistic imagination. Blood Wedding restored tragic poetry to the Spanish stage.
There are two areas in particular in which Lorca’s theater differs radically from that of his predecessors: his idea of poetic drama and the musical nature of his works. Lorca remarked : “Theater is poetry that rises from the book and becomes human enough to talk and shout, weep and despair.” In Lorca’s work, drama and poetry seem inseparable. His poetry often has the dramatic quality that he admired in traditional Spanish songs and narrative ballads, and his drama has the metaphorical density, the attention to rhythm, the ring of “memorable speech” one normally associates with poetry. In this play, images, metaphors, and symbols form a coherent whole, a poetic system whose full meaning is difficult to paraphrase. Blood Wedding was unprecedented in Spanish theater. Few playwrights had appealed so forcefully to the poetic imagination of so many people, from such a wide cross section of society, in Spain and abroad.
Lorca once remarked that prose and verse have their own distinct functions:
Well-wrought, free prose can soar to expressive heights, freeing us from
the confinement and rigidity of meter. Let us welcome verse at
moments when the excitement and disposition of the theme demand it,
only then. You can see that, in Blood Wedding, verse does not appear
with any intensity or at any length until the wedding scene. Then, with
the scene in the forest and in the last scene in the work, it takes
complete command of the stage.
The second distinctive characteristic of Lorca’s theater is music. Both in his poems and in his plays, Lorca tries to reconcile literature and music. Lorca’s vision of theater draws upon ballet and other forms of dance, and as a director he devoted much attention to the stylization of movement. Nowhere is musical form more apparent than in Blood Wedding, where the characters’ speech is “orchestrated” in a highly stylized, rhythmic manner that sometimes borders on liturgical chant.
No less important than the rhythmical style are two other musical elements: the songs and dances performed by the characters, and the background music. The spinners’ songs in Blood Wedding are reminiscent of Spanish folk tunes. They are also meant to suggest the choruses of Greek tragedy, commenting on the action and revealing something of the psychology of the characters. Lorca also used music as a way of weaning his audiences from expectations of realism. He said: “The use of music allows me to make the scene less realistic, and do away with the audience’s impression that what is going on is “really happening,” permitting me to raise things to the level of poetry.”
For Lorca, tragedy entails certain formal elements, such as the chorus; but above all, it involves creating an illusion of fate or destiny—the suggestion that men and women are at the mercy of elemental forces which shape their lives in ways they barely comprehend. This feeling of inevitability is coupled with mystery. In his view, no tragedy can be fully explained. For him, the very essence of poetry and tragedy lies in mystery.
The central theme of all of Lorca’s work is desire—all of his characters want something; but the object of desire is invisible, shadowy. His plays suggest, not merely that society frustrates our intimate desires and instincts, but that those desires and instincts can never be clearly identified. Lorca’s characters are unhappy and tragic, not because society keeps them from attaining their object or reaching their destination, but because they cannot fully understand what it is that they want.
Beyond its appeal for justice, for freedom, and for sexual equality, Lorca’s theater is a passionate defense of poetry and of the imagination. His characters’ search for meaning parallels that of the reader.
23 September 2010
Act III Questions on BLOOD WEDDING
Questions on Act III of Blood Wedding
1. Do the Moon and the Beggar Woman give an indication that Leonardo and the Bride will escape ?
2. How is the lullaby of the horse in Act I, Scene 2, a portent of what occurs in the forest ?
3. Who is the Beggar Woman ?
4. Who or what does the Moon symbolize ?
5. How is the relationship between Leonardo and the Bride different from the one between the Bridegroom and the Bride ?
6. a) In what setting does Scene I, Act II, open ? b) What does this setting represent ?
7. Summarize the comments of the three woodcutters in Scene I.
8. In the Moon’s monologue in Scene I, to what does « blood » refer ?
9. Whom is the woodcutter personified as ?
10. Who gives the Bridegroom directions to find his wayward bride and Leonardo ?
11. How do we know that the Bridegroom will not survive the encounter with Leonardo ?
12. What happens when Leonardo and the Bride realize that they are hemmed in ?
13. In Scene I, in the fifth instance from the end, where Leonardo speaks, what kind of imagery is revealed in those lines ?
14. What is the significance of the Beggar Woman opening her cloak at the end of Scene I ?
15. Why does Scene II open in a white room with arches and thick walls ?
16. How does the Beggar Woman invoke images of death in the beginning of Scene II ?
17. How does the Mother rationalize her life now that her remaining son has been killed ?
18. How does the Mother react to the Bride’s arrival in Scene II ?
19. The play begins and ends with which image?
20. Garcia Lorca creates a landscape so rustic and primitive that it virtually stands outside of time. There are no modern objects with which one can place the play in a specific era ; therefore, what object mentioned in the play can be seen as rather anachronistic ?
21. How can the locale of the forest symbolize both life and death ?
22. Why are the woodcutters a natural choice to report and comment on the pursuit and the encounter between the Bridegroom and Leonardo and the Bride ?
23. What are the allusions to Christianity in Scene III ?
24. Explain the fates of the Bridegroom, Leonardo, and the Bride.
25. With what does the playwright equate the passion of the couple ?
26. What is ironic about the Mother and the women chanting : « Sweet nails/ Sweet cross,/ Sweet Name--/ Jesus » ?
27. Give an example of cartharsis in this play.
28. In giving Leonardo Felix the only proper name in the play, how might the playwright be suggesting that social customs and the conformity they require might be a problem ?
29. Blood Wedding is not merely about a wedding but about the wedding in the blood of the antagonistic forces that together compromise the human condition. Explain this war in the blood on many levels.
30. Explain the ritual of the matador and the bull in a bull fight.
31. Explain the opening of the final scene of the play where the little girls are winding red wool.
32. In the last phase of the play, how is the Bride likened to nature ?
33. What is an irony at the end of the play ?
34. What are the five lyrical passages in the play ?
35. What symbols does Garca Lorca use to indicate the inevitability of fate in the final scene ?
36. How is the climax of Act III similar to action in Oedipus Rex ?
1. Do the Moon and the Beggar Woman give an indication that Leonardo and the Bride will escape ?
2. How is the lullaby of the horse in Act I, Scene 2, a portent of what occurs in the forest ?
3. Who is the Beggar Woman ?
4. Who or what does the Moon symbolize ?
5. How is the relationship between Leonardo and the Bride different from the one between the Bridegroom and the Bride ?
6. a) In what setting does Scene I, Act II, open ? b) What does this setting represent ?
7. Summarize the comments of the three woodcutters in Scene I.
8. In the Moon’s monologue in Scene I, to what does « blood » refer ?
9. Whom is the woodcutter personified as ?
10. Who gives the Bridegroom directions to find his wayward bride and Leonardo ?
11. How do we know that the Bridegroom will not survive the encounter with Leonardo ?
12. What happens when Leonardo and the Bride realize that they are hemmed in ?
13. In Scene I, in the fifth instance from the end, where Leonardo speaks, what kind of imagery is revealed in those lines ?
14. What is the significance of the Beggar Woman opening her cloak at the end of Scene I ?
15. Why does Scene II open in a white room with arches and thick walls ?
16. How does the Beggar Woman invoke images of death in the beginning of Scene II ?
17. How does the Mother rationalize her life now that her remaining son has been killed ?
18. How does the Mother react to the Bride’s arrival in Scene II ?
19. The play begins and ends with which image?
20. Garcia Lorca creates a landscape so rustic and primitive that it virtually stands outside of time. There are no modern objects with which one can place the play in a specific era ; therefore, what object mentioned in the play can be seen as rather anachronistic ?
21. How can the locale of the forest symbolize both life and death ?
22. Why are the woodcutters a natural choice to report and comment on the pursuit and the encounter between the Bridegroom and Leonardo and the Bride ?
23. What are the allusions to Christianity in Scene III ?
24. Explain the fates of the Bridegroom, Leonardo, and the Bride.
25. With what does the playwright equate the passion of the couple ?
26. What is ironic about the Mother and the women chanting : « Sweet nails/ Sweet cross,/ Sweet Name--/ Jesus » ?
27. Give an example of cartharsis in this play.
28. In giving Leonardo Felix the only proper name in the play, how might the playwright be suggesting that social customs and the conformity they require might be a problem ?
29. Blood Wedding is not merely about a wedding but about the wedding in the blood of the antagonistic forces that together compromise the human condition. Explain this war in the blood on many levels.
30. Explain the ritual of the matador and the bull in a bull fight.
31. Explain the opening of the final scene of the play where the little girls are winding red wool.
32. In the last phase of the play, how is the Bride likened to nature ?
33. What is an irony at the end of the play ?
34. What are the five lyrical passages in the play ?
35. What symbols does Garca Lorca use to indicate the inevitability of fate in the final scene ?
36. How is the climax of Act III similar to action in Oedipus Rex ?
Act II Questions on BLOODWEDDING
Blood Wedding : Act II Questions
1. What is a major similarity between the end of Act II, Scene 1, of Blood Wedding and the death of Jocasta and the blinding of Oedipus in Oedipus Rex ?
2. Who are the young men and girls in Act II ? What is their purpose ?
3. How does the reader know that the Bride is not a typical happy bride on her wedding day ?
4. What is the argument about between the Bride and Leonardo on her wedding day ?
5. What new information about the reason for the Bride’s acceptance of the Bridegroom’s proposal of marriage do we learn in Act II ?
6. How do the reports of the wedding given by minor characters in Act II contrast with the true attitude of the Bride ?
7. How does Leonardo’s presence at the wedding upset the traditional balance of society ?
8. Name the characters that are unhappy so far in this play and comment on why each one is.
9. What is the setting of Act II ?
10.How can Leonardo’s plight be seen by the reader as a plea for divorce reform in Catholic Spain ?
11.Why do the Bridegroom and a party of men seek out the Bride and Leonardo ?
1. What is a major similarity between the end of Act II, Scene 1, of Blood Wedding and the death of Jocasta and the blinding of Oedipus in Oedipus Rex ?
2. Who are the young men and girls in Act II ? What is their purpose ?
3. How does the reader know that the Bride is not a typical happy bride on her wedding day ?
4. What is the argument about between the Bride and Leonardo on her wedding day ?
5. What new information about the reason for the Bride’s acceptance of the Bridegroom’s proposal of marriage do we learn in Act II ?
6. How do the reports of the wedding given by minor characters in Act II contrast with the true attitude of the Bride ?
7. How does Leonardo’s presence at the wedding upset the traditional balance of society ?
8. Name the characters that are unhappy so far in this play and comment on why each one is.
9. What is the setting of Act II ?
10.How can Leonardo’s plight be seen by the reader as a plea for divorce reform in Catholic Spain ?
11.Why do the Bridegroom and a party of men seek out the Bride and Leonardo ?
Act 1 of BLOOD WEDDING
Questions on Act I of Blood Wedding
1. The lullaby that the Mother-in-Law and the Wife sing to the baby seems to be an omen. Why?
2. Why are the Mother-in-Law and Wife impressed by the news of the girl?
3. Why is it a bad omen when the Father says of his daughter, “She’s like my wife, in every way”?
4. What is the significance of the color of the room at the Bridegroom’s house in which the play opens?
5. Leonardo’s and the Bride’s homes are characterized by the color pink. What is the significance here?
6. Describe the Bride’s demeanor in Act I.
7. Lack of what characteristic(s) makes the Bridegroom the least compelling major character in the play?
8. Who makes up the chorus in Act I?
9. How does the motif of renewal apply to the Bride’s Father and to the Bridegroom’s Mother?
10.How does the position of Scenes 1 and 3 in Act I relate to the motif of renewal?
11.Who represents the “horse”?
12.What does marriage with the Bridegroom promise for the Bride?
13.Comment on the “lullaby” that the Mother-in-Law and the Wife sing to the baby.
14.Comment on the Mother’s role in the play.
15.Find evidence in the play to support the statement that the Mother is suspicious of the Bride.
16.Of what is “blood” symbolic?
17. What is significant about the position of the scene with the lullaby of “the big horse who didn’t like water”?
18.What does the “bull” symbolize?
19.Explain the following line: “Men, men; wheat, wheat…”
20.What do you think is implied in the Bride’s sullenness and depression in Act I?
1. The lullaby that the Mother-in-Law and the Wife sing to the baby seems to be an omen. Why?
2. Why are the Mother-in-Law and Wife impressed by the news of the girl?
3. Why is it a bad omen when the Father says of his daughter, “She’s like my wife, in every way”?
4. What is the significance of the color of the room at the Bridegroom’s house in which the play opens?
5. Leonardo’s and the Bride’s homes are characterized by the color pink. What is the significance here?
6. Describe the Bride’s demeanor in Act I.
7. Lack of what characteristic(s) makes the Bridegroom the least compelling major character in the play?
8. Who makes up the chorus in Act I?
9. How does the motif of renewal apply to the Bride’s Father and to the Bridegroom’s Mother?
10.How does the position of Scenes 1 and 3 in Act I relate to the motif of renewal?
11.Who represents the “horse”?
12.What does marriage with the Bridegroom promise for the Bride?
13.Comment on the “lullaby” that the Mother-in-Law and the Wife sing to the baby.
14.Comment on the Mother’s role in the play.
15.Find evidence in the play to support the statement that the Mother is suspicious of the Bride.
16.Of what is “blood” symbolic?
17. What is significant about the position of the scene with the lullaby of “the big horse who didn’t like water”?
18.What does the “bull” symbolize?
19.Explain the following line: “Men, men; wheat, wheat…”
20.What do you think is implied in the Bride’s sullenness and depression in Act I?
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