What part of the scholarly essay would you focus on if you were giving a lecture on the material to the class?
Create a heading describing your focus, a few bullet points beneath it (they can include quotations) and, finally, a question about the material you would use to generate discussion.
Answer any or all of the following questions:
Why does Victor destroy the female creature? Is his decision rational, impulsive, or both?
Did having Victor’s point of view on this matter force you reconsider the creature’s assertion that it is Victor’s duty to create him a companion?
How and why does Victor’s perspective conflict with the creature’s in volume III?
How does creature’s story call into question Victor’s belief that the creature is innately evil? You might consider:
The way that the creature is made into a monster by the reception that he receives from others.
The creature’s original innocence and “naturalness,” or closeness to nature.
The way in which the creature learns moral feelings like sympathy and compassion.
Provide a close analysis of a quotation from either the scene of the creature’s birth (vol. I, chapter IV) or the dialogue between Victor and the creature in the Alps (vol. II, chapter II).
Your close analysis should include all of these elements: context (what is happening when this quotation occurs, who is speaking, what is the setting?), a quotation of the passage you’ve chosen, an analysis of the language in the passage (what is being said? how is language working? ) and, finally, an argument about what this passage tells us about Victor’s relationship with the creature.
How does Mary Shelley represent Victor Frankenstein’s education in modern science?
You might:
Compare Victor’s scientific view of nature with Wordsworth’s attitude towards nature in “Tintern Abbey.”
Compare Victor’s education at University with the education that he receives in early life in Geneva.
Does the poem “Tintern Abbey” fulfill the expectations that Wordsworth sets up in his Preface to the collection? How do you connect the claims about poetry from the Preface to this particular poetic performance? If you don’t think the poem lives up to the expectations set in the Preface, explain why. Where, possible, include quotations from the poem.
You might focus on any of the following assertions from the Preface (or another assertion of your choosing):
“Poetry fits to metrical arrangement a selection of the real language of men in a state of vivid sensation.”
“Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feeling.”
Poetry expresses the “passions of men [as they] are incorporated with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature.”
“Poetry is the breath and finer spirit of all knowledge; it is the impassioned expression that is in the countenance of all science.”
What do you take to be the main idea of Bate’s essay “A Voice for Ariel”?
How does Bate establish a connection between issues of race and gender in the play and environmental issues?
In Act 4 scene 1, lines 163-180, Prospero delivers his famous “our revels now are ended” speech after being reminded of Caliban’s plot.
Does the speech demonstrate Prospero’s vulnerability? How?
What does the speech suggest about the revels and about Prospero’s power more generally?
Why do you think this speech comes after the news of Caliban’s plot?
How does Ariel interpret the tempest in his speech as the harpy? What effect is his speech meant to have on the “men of sin”? Is this an effective way of getting revenge? Why or why not? Incorporate quotations from the speech to support your answers.
Act II and III include two different conspiracy plots: Antonio’s and Sebastian’s plot to kill Alonso and Caliban, Trinculo and Stephano’s plot to murder Prospero. Compare and contrast the plots. You might answer the following questions:
How are the conspirators positioned in society and what do they want to accomplish?
What is the tone of the conspiracy scene: ominous, comedic, or something else?
**make sure to include details from the play in your response.
