Theme in The Return of the Native

When we talk about theme in fiction, we talk about the major ideas that the novelist, and the narrative, is exploring in the work.  What ideas do you think Hardy investigates in The Return of the Native?  And, what about the novel--the plot, character, setting, narrative point of view--suggest the theme or themes?  Plot is what happens in the novel, the sequence of events.  Theme is what the novel is "about." 

Elizabeth Barrett Browning

What do you think is the speaker's most persuasive point in "The Cry of the Children"?  In other words, what part of the poem, or technique, would most spur the readers to act against child labor?  On the other hand, do you think that the poem is too dramatic to be really effective?

Tennyson's Politics

It is tempting to talk about Tennyson, and the other Victorian poets, as artists only, but it is difficult to dismiss the political/social/cultural commentary in the poems.  The observations Jared made last week about the working classes in "The Lotos Eaters" and "Locksley Hall" are good examples of the political voice or message in the poetry.

Do you see any other evidence of political or social commentary?  Think about all the poetry we discussed.

Tennyson

Knowing what you know about the Romantic poets, can you determine how much of Tennyson's style is influenced by the poets that came before him?   How would you characterize Tennyson's poetry?  Do you think he stresses form? imagery? both?  Does his narrative poetry ("The Lady of Shalott," e.g.) seem similar to or a departure from the narrative poetry of Keats, Wordsworth, and Coleridge?

I know we haven't had the chance to talk about his poetry yet, but we can start the conversation here.

Austen and Women

All  of Jane Austen's novels deal with the marriage plot--or the main action of each novel revolves around marriage.  In Pride and Prejudice this theme is introduced immediately.  As we said in class, the Bennet girls must marry because they have no rights to their father's estate.  But why marriage?

Why is marriage so important to all the female characters?  Why does Charlotte Lucas marry Mr. Collins, clearly, according to Elizabeth and most readers, I might suggest, an undesirable match for many reasons?  Look carefully at what she says--and how Elizabeth responds.

Romantic Poets

As I mentioned by way of introduction as we began our study of the Romantic poets, scholars singled out six poets (Blake, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley, and Keats), of which we have read five, and "constructed a unified Romanticism based on their works."  Based only on the limited works we have studied, what would you argue "unites" these poets and poetry?  In class we have discussed the repeated theme or motif of childhood v. adulthood,  innocence v. experience, so in addition to that, what similarities do you see?

The Ancient Mariner

I know I said that I would only ask questions in this space about works we had already discussed, but after the two quizzes and seeing your responses to the blog, I think we can do this in preparation for class on Monday.

We did say in class that The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is written mostly in ballad stanza, but that Coleridge also uses stanzas of five and six lines.  As is everything poetic, this is clearly deliberate.  So, what might be the reason he chose to alter the pattern (and meter, so thus the rhythm) of the poem?  What is the effect of the longer stanzas on your idea of the meaning of the poem?

Remember, there is no one correct answer to this question.  It is simply a chance for you to think critically about the form of the poem, and how that form influences or informs the meaning.