LITERATURA Y JUVENTUD

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1.Literature are written works that include different genres.

2.Because they reflect history of different times and they reflect situations and people.
3.It is essential because it is connected to education and culture and history.
4.Yes.
5. It is part of society, it does not construct it.
6.Taking into account the context and the society at those times.
7.Yes, he reflected many of the issues of those times that are still today.

Every Grain of Sand by Bob Dylan

Theme: Religión
Everything is decided by God. We should not be so worried because we are guided by God.
As a human being we have to face temptations and disappointment

Write a poem:

word
adjective
questions about the word
answer about the word
word again

The importance of being Ernest- OW

Oscar Wilde was gay, so his writings showed a kind of double life. He criticizes society.

-Marriage: was not for love. He believes that the servant should give him a moral lesson. He
says “Divorces are in heaven” meaning that you are happy or free when you divorce.

Jack: introduces the double life.

VICTORIAN ERA

LIFE: The family as an institution became importante. The role of women: when a woman
got married, she couldn't have money, heritage and power with the kids. When they became
widows, they didn't get anything.

Discoveries, science, religion (people began to doubt the idea of religion and began to
believe in evolution). It was a time of spiritual life instead of religious.

LITERATURE: stopped being so romantic and talking about country life. It started to talk
about the city and about how people lived.

The Importance of Being Earnest

He criticizes the upper class: they are superficial.

Act II

Gwendolen and Cecily: they both want to marry Ernest. Cecily is described s a sweet girl
(country girl-innocent-overprotected)and Gwendolen is described as more sophisticated (city
girl).
Religion: it is not important
Victorian values: they don't have to show reality: they show things as they should be. “You
never marry the girl you flirt with”

Act III

He criticizes society in a very funny way. There is another audience

Outrageous: indignante aʊtˈreɪʤəs

Characters and themes

Jack Worthing: because of worthiness. He belongs to the upper class. He is Wilde’s alter
ego. He is the one who agrees more with the idea of the Victorian Era.
Marriage: seen as business.
Pasional morality:
Class conflict:

THEMES:
The Nature of Marriage
Marriage is of paramount importance in The Importance of Being Earnest, both as a primary
force motivating the plot and as a subject for philosophical speculation and debate. The
question of the nature of marriage appears for the first time in the opening dialogue between
Algernon and his butler, Lane, and from this point on the subject never disappears for very
long. Algernon and Jack discuss the nature of marriage when they dispute briefly about
whether a marriage proposal is a matter of “business” or “pleasure,” and Lady Bracknell
touches on the issue when she states, “An engagement should come on a young girl as a
surprise, pleasant or unpleasant, as the case may be.” Even Lady Bracknell’s list of
bachelors and the prepared interview to which she subjects Jack are based on a set of
assumptions about the nature and purpose of marriage. In general, these assumptions
reflect the conventional preoccupations of Victorian respectability—social position, income,
and character.

The play is actually an ongoing debate about the nature of marriage and whether it is
“pleasant or unpleasant.” Lane remarks casually that he believes it to be “a very pleasant
state,” before admitting that his own marriage, now presumably ended, was the result of “a
misunderstanding between myself and a young person.” Algernon regards Lane’s views on
marriage as “somewhat lax.” His own views are relentlessly cynical until he meets and falls
in love with Cecily. Jack, by contrast, speaks in the voice of the true romantic. He tells
Algernon, however, that the truth “isn’t quite the sort of thing one tells to a nice, sweet,
refined girl.” At the end of the play, Jack apologizes to Gwendolen when he realizes he had
been telling the truth all his life. She forgives him, she says, on the grounds that she thinks
he’s sure to change, which suggests Gwendolen’s own rather cynical view of the nature of
men and marriage.
The Constraints of Morality
Morality and the constraints it imposes on society is a favorite topic of conversation in The
Importance of Being Earnest. Algernon thinks the servant class has a responsibility to set a
moral standard for the upper classes. Jack thinks reading a private cigarette case is
“ungentlemanly.” “More than half of modern culture depends on what one shouldn’t read,”
Algernon points out. These restrictions and assumptions suggest a strict code of morals that
exists in Victorian society, but Wilde isn’t concerned with questions of what is and isn’t moral.
Instead, he makes fun of the whole Victorian idea of morality as a rigid body of rules about
what people should and shouldn’t do. The very title of the play is a double-edged comment
on the phenomenon. The play’s central plot—the man who both is and isn’t
Ernest/earnest—presents a moral paradox. Earnestness, which refers to both the quality of
being serious and the quality of being sincere, is the play’s primary object of satire.
Characters such as Jack, Gwendolen, Miss Prism, and Dr. Chasuble, who put a premium on
sobriety and honesty, are either hypocrites or else have the rug pulled out from under them.
What Wilde wants us to see as truly moral is really the opposite of earnestness: irreverence.

Hypocrisy vs. Inventiveness

teAlgernon and Jack may create similar deceptions, but they are not morally equivalent
characters. When Jack fabricates his brother Ernest’s death, he imposes that fantasy on his
loved ones, and though we are aware of the deception, they, of course, are not. He rounds
out the deception with costumes and props, and he does his best to convince the family he’s
in mourning. He is acting hypocritically. In contrast, Algernon and Cecily make up elaborate
stories that don’t really assault the truth in any serious way or try to alter anyone else’s
perception of reality. In a sense, Algernon and Cecily are characters after Wilde’s own heart,
since in a way they invent life for themselves as though life is a work of art. In some ways,
Algernon, not Jack, is the play’s real hero. Not only is Algernon like Wilde in his dandified,
exquisite wit, tastes, and priorities, but he also resembles Wilde to the extent that his fictions
and inventions resemble those of an artist.

The Importance of Not Being “Earnest”

Earnestness, which implies seriousness or sincerity, is the great enemy of morality in The
Importance of Being Earnest. Earnestness can take many forms, including boringness,
solemnity, pomposity, complacency, smugness, self-righteousness, and sense of duty, all of
which Wilde saw as hallmarks of the Victorian character. When characters in the play use
the word serious, they tend to mean “trivial,” and vice versa. For example, Algernon thinks it
“shallow” for people not to be “serious” about meals, and Gwendolen believes, “In matters of
grave importance, style, not sincerity is the vital thing.”

For Wilde, the word earnest comprised two different but related ideas: the notion of false
truth and the notion of false morality, or moralism. The moralism of Victorian society—its
smugness and pomposity—impels Algernon and Jack to invent fictitious alter egos so as to
be able to escape the strictures of propriety and decency. However, what one member of
society considers decent or indecent doesn’t always reflect what decency really is. One of
the play’s paradoxes is the impossibility of actually being either earnest (meaning “serious”
or “sincere”) or moral while claiming to be so. The characters who embrace triviality and
wickedness are the ones who may have the greatest chance of attaining seriousness and
virtue.
EPIGRAMS (Short humorous phrases that hide important ideas)

“Divorces are made in heaven”:

“You don't seem to realize that in marriage life three is company and two are none”
“All women become like their mothers and that is tragedy”
“In matters of great importance style not sincerity is the great thing”
“He looks nothing but he has everything”

The Happy Prince-Oscar Wilde

This is a story about the statue of a Happy Prince and a little Swallow. The
Happy Prince was a beautiful statue stood on a tall column high above the
city. The statue was covered with thin leaves of gold. He had sapphires for
his eyes and a ruby in his sword.
One night a little swallow flew over the city. He was tired and want to
spent the night between the feet of the Happy Prince. As he was ready to
sleep just then a large drop of water fell on him. It was curious as there
were no clouds in the sky. Then another drop of water fell on him. The
swallow decided to look for another place just then third drop fell on him, he
looked up and saw that these were the tears from the eyes of the Happy
Prince and the swallow filled with pity. The swallow asked " who are you"
and why are you crying? The Happy Prince told the swallow that he lived in
a palace while he was alive and had a kind human heart. There was no
sorrow at all and his and his courtiers called him the happy prince. After his
death he had been set up on a high pillar, his heart is made up of Lead yet
and it always weeps when he see the ugliness and misery of his city. He
told the swallow that far away in a little street a little boy of a seamstress is
sick. He is crying and his mother could not give him oranges to eat. He
asked the swallow to give his ruby to the poor women when he was going
to Egypt. But he obeyed the Happy Prince and then he flew and laid the
ruby on the table of the poor women.
Then the Happy Prince saw a writer. He was suffering from cold
and was hungry. Happy Prince asked the swallow to give one of the
sapphire to the writer. The swallow did not want to pluck out the sapphire
from his eyes, but he obeyed him unwillingly. After that the Happy Prince
saw a match girl and her matches fall into the gutter. At his command the
swallow very unwillingly plucked out the sapphire from the other eye of the
Happy Prince and now the Prince was totally blind. the swallow slipped the
sapphire into the palm of the match girl. Then the Happy Prince allowed the
Made by- prabha verma,A.T. G.i.c.pattharkhani, pithoragarh
swallow to fly away to Egypt, but the swallow decided to stay with the blind
Prince forever.
 The swallow reported about the sufferings of the starving
people. At the command of the Happy Prince the swallow took of the
golden leaves from the statue and distributed them among the poor people.
Now the statue was dull and grey. The frost made the swallow colder and
colder and he was about to die. He flew to the Happy Prince who bade him
kiss him on the lips. The swallow fell down die at the feet of the statue. The
the lead heart of the Prince broke into two.
The Mayor ordered that the statue should be pulled down
because it was neither beautiful now useful. The broken heart did not melt
in the furnace. It was thrown away on a dust heap where the dead swallow
was also lying. God asked the angels to bring the two most precious things
in the city. God praised the angel's choice in bringing him the leaden heart
of the Happy Prince and the dead swallow.

THEMES:

Selfish love: the Swallow wont make any sacrifice for the Reed.In the story, the Swallow's
love for the Reed keeps him from accompanying the other birds to Egypt. The Swallow
courts the Reed all summer, despite the warnings he receives from the other birds about
how "ridiculous" his attachment to her is, that she has "no money".The other protagonist of
“The Happy Prince,” the Swallow, is a bird en route to Egypt for the winter. His trip is initially
delayed due to his temporary passion for a Reed, foreshadowing to the thematic importance
of love in this story. Although he wants to join his companions in the sunny land of Egypt, he
begins to love the Happy Prince and remains in the town to help him deliver jewels and gold
to townspeople in need. Although not as selfless as the Happy Prince—he repeatedly
emphasizes his desire to leave and enjoy all of the beautiful things abroad—the Swallow
comes to love the Prince and understand the value of doing good In the end, the bird gives
his life for the Prince (two males-deep love: homosexual relation). He kisses the statue on
the lips because they loved each other.

Reality vs Essence :
The Prince was happy when he saw poor people and helped them. The Prince thought he
was happy when he was in the castle, but he didn't know love. Wilde criticizes the victorian
society bc when the chancellor sees that the statue was not beautiful, they remove it. If it
isn't beautiful then it is not useful.

Compassion for Others

"The Happy Prince" is an allegory or a literary tool that uses abstract or fictional characters
to represent spiritual or real-world problems or issues. The story focuses on the compassion
of a beautiful statue and the loyalty of a common bird. Neither of them knows the suffering
and pain of the common townspeople until they see it from the palace wall. The Happy
Prince weeps for the people. When he is inside the palace walls, he has no idea what is
happening to the people in the town and how they suffer as they try to provide for their
families. Swallow finds compassion for the Happy Prince and becomes loyal to him. They
use the jewels and gold that encase the statue to help many people in the town.

The rich people in the town don't understand compassion and never even think to help the
townspeople. One of the Queen's maids-of-honor even goes so far as to say that the
seamstresses are lazy. The seamstress whom the Happy Prince and Swallow help is sore,
tired, and in pain as she toils away, trying to get the dress done while neglecting her son
lying sick in bed.

The story was written in the late Victorian era (1820–1914), a time when society was largely
class-based during Queen Victoria's reign in Britain, which is now the United Kingdom. The
social landscape was changing as more lower-class people were able to work outside their
homes and help better the lives of their families. The Industrial Revolution had begun, which
led to more education and career advancement for some people. This was not possible
before the shift because families previously stayed home to work their farms and focused on
their religious beliefs.

Wilde was a product of the newly booming middle-class society, and he wrote this story
when his sons were young. He wanted to teach them that they would be much happier if
they were morally superior and focused on having compassion for others rather than
spurning those who need help.

Keys to Happiness
Wilde wrote "The Happy Prince" so his sons could better understand how to be happy in the
ever-changing landscape of the Industrial Revolution during the late Victorian era. After the
Happy Prince dies, the town erects a golden statue with jewels to honor him. That is when
he finally sees what is happening outside the walls. He is left with a moral issue. He knows
he did nothing to help them during his lifetime, so he weeps for their pain and needs. He has
to do something. When he meets Swallow, the Happy Prince begs him to help with the task
of distributing the gold and jewels among the poor people. Swallow finally agrees to help and
feels warm because he has done a good deed and knows that helping others is the key to
happiness.

People of the upper-class society in "The Happy Prince" find happiness in their material
possessions much like people in that time. They are oblivious to how much the poorer
people endure. One of the Queen's maids-of-honor has commissioned a seamstress to
make a beautiful gown for her to wear to a ball. The maid-of-honor stands on a balcony with
her suitor, and he remarks that he thinks the power of love is wonderful. The keys to
happiness for those who are part of the upper class are much different from those of the
lower classes. Wilde wrote the story to show the vast differences in classes. Those vast
differences are their keys to happiness.

The Happy Prince realizes after his death that the reason why people called him the "Happy
Prince" is because he knew no pain or suffering. The cruelty in that realization is that he is
no longer happy and feels so much compassion for the townspeople that he weeps for them.
He also realizes that the true key to happiness is to help others and spread his wealth, which
is much different from how he lived his life.
The Shallowness of Upper Society
"The Happy Prince" was written in a time when the upper-class society was desperately
trying to keep their footing as the most important and richest class. However, more people
found themselves with opportunities to work outside the home during the age of the
Industrial Revolution when many advancements were made in the technology and science
sectors. There is a clear difference in the upper-class lifestyle and the lower-class lifestyle.

The upper society doesn't care about how hard it is for the lower part of society to survive. It
isn't until after the Happy Prince dies that he sees the suffering of the lower classes and
immediately begins to weep for them. He convinces Swallow to help him because he wants
to change the lives of those who suffer. It's the only way they can feel some of the happiness
he always knew, which in turn makes him happy. He realizes how shallow and meaningless
his life was. He is willing to change, which Wilde shows in the story was not normal for
upper-class people during that time.

Similarities with The Importance of Being Earnest

Love: In Earnest love is very superficial. In Prince love is very deep.

Superficiality: sjuːpəˌfɪʃɪˈælɪti
Victorian society focused on appearances but not on the real things.

Homosexuality: homosexuals suffered a lot the Victorian Era and some years ago they
were killed for being homosexual.

Shakespeare

Sonets

Sonnet 18.DEDICATED TO THE BOY

It 'sa love story.

Sonnet 116 CXVI.DEDICATED TO THE BOY

He is defining love. At the beginning he says what isn't love.

Line3.Love is not love if it changes when there are changes.
Line 4.If the person that you love disappears, you still love that person.
Ever fixed mark: it is always there. the same happens with love.
its value is beyond measure, Love’s not time’s fool: time changes your physical appearance
but not love.
Time has the power to destroy rosy lips and cheeks, but love is not time’s fool.
Love will go beyond changes.

Sonnet CXXX.DEDICATED TO THE LADY

He is being ironic (on the edge of being disrespectful). He is very sure about the love the
woman feels for him .
The sun is beautiful but her eyes are not.
Dun: between brown and grey.

Othelo
Themes:

The Incompatibility of Military Heroism & Love

Before and above all else, Othello is a soldier. From the earliest moments in the play, his
career affects his married life. Asking “fit disposition” for his wife after being ordered to
Cyprus (I.iii.234), Othello notes that “the tyrant custom . . . / Hath made the flinty and steel
couch of war / My thrice-driven bed of down” (I.iii.227–229). While Desdemona is used to
better “accommodation,” she nevertheless accompanies her husband to Cyprus (I.iii.236).
Moreover, she is unperturbed by the tempest or Turks that threatened their crossing, and
genuinely curious rather than irate when she is roused from bed by the drunken brawl in Act
II, scene iii. She is, indeed, Othello’s “fair warrior,” and he is happiest when he has her by his
side in the midst of military conflict or business (II.i.179).

The military also provides Othello with a means to gain acceptance in Venetian society.
While the Venetians in the play are generally fearful of the prospect of Othello’s social
entrance into white society through his marriage to Desdemona, all Venetians respect and
honor him as a soldier. Mercenary Moors were, in fact, commonplace at the time. Othello
predicates his success in love on his success as a soldier, wooing Desdemona with tales of
his military travels and battles. Once the Turks are drowned—by natural rather than military
might—Othello is left without anything to do: the last act of military administration we see him
perform is the viewing of fortifications in the extremely short second scene of Act III.

No longer having a means of proving his manhood or honor in a public setting such as the
court or the battlefield, Othello begins to feel uneasy with his footing in a private setting, the
bedroom. Iago capitalizes on this uneasiness, calling Othello’s epileptic fit in Act IV, scene i,
“[a] passion most unsuiting such a man.” In other words, Iago is calling Othello unsoldierly.
Iago also takes care to mention that Cassio, whom Othello believes to be his competitor,
saw him in his emasculating trance (IV.i.75). Desperate to cling to the security of his former
identity as a soldier while his current identity as a lover crumbles, Othello begins to confuse
the one with the other. His expression of his jealousy quickly devolves from the
conventional—“Farewell the tranquil mind”—to the absurd:
One might well say that Othello is saying farewell to the wrong things—he is entirely
preoccupied with his identity as a soldier. But his way of thinking is somewhat justified by its
seductiveness to the audience as well. Critics and audiences alike find comfort and nobility
in Othello’s final speech and the anecdote of the “malignant and . . . turbaned Turk”
(V.ii.362), even though in that speech, as in his speech in Act III, scene iii, Othello depends
on his identity as a soldier to glorify himself in the public’s memory, and to try to make his
audience forget his and Desdemona’s disastrous marital experiment.

The Danger of Isolation

The action of Othello moves from the metropolis of Venice to the island of Cyprus. Protected
by military fortifications as well as by the forces of nature, Cyprus faces little threat from
external forces. Once Othello, Iago, Desdemona, Emilia, and Roderigo have come to
Cyprus, they have nothing to do but prey upon one another. Isolation enables many of the
play’s most important effects: Iago frequently speaks in soliloquies; Othello stands apart
while Iago talks with Cassio in Act IV, scene i, and is left alone onstage with the bodies of
Emilia and Desdemona for a few moments in Act V, scene ii; Roderigo seems attached to no
one in the play except Iago. And, most prominently, Othello is visibly isolated from the other
characters by his physical stature and the color of his skin.

Iago is an expert at manipulating the distance between characters, isolating his victims so
that they fall prey to their own obsessions. At the same time, Iago, of necessity always
standing apart, falls prey to his own obsession with revenge. The characters cannot be
islands, the play seems to say: self-isolation as an act of self-preservation leads ultimately to
self-destruction. Such self-isolation leads to the deaths of Roderigo, Iago, Othello, and even
Emilia.

Jealousy
Jealousy motivates the central conflicts of Othello: Iago’s resentment of Othello, and
Othello’s suspicion of Desdemona. Iago is immediately revealed as a jealous character: in
the first scene, he complains that Cassio has been promoted instead of him even though “I
am worth no worse a place” (1.1.). He also later implies that his hatred of Othello is rooted in
jealousy, since there are rumors of Othello having slept with Emilia. As Iago explains, even
the hint of this possibility enrages him: “I know not if’t be true / But I for mere suspicion in
that kind / Will do as if for surety” (1.3.). It seems that his jealousy is so intense that he does
not need proof of this infidelity before punishing Othello for it. Appropriately, Iago decides to
seek revenge by using jealousy as a weapon against Othello, “practicing upon his peace and
quiet / Even to madness” (2.1.). Iago knows, perhaps from his own experience, that jealousy
is a form of psychological torture which will constantly torment Othello. By making Othello
feel the torments of jealousy towards Desdemona and her supposed lover, Iago causes
Othello to suffer as much as he does.

Deception and Treachery

In Othello, Othello simultaneously believes he is being deceived by characters who are
honest while failing to see the deceit and treachery of characters who are tricking him.
Othello refers to Iago as “honest” multiple times, showing that he is totally blind to the way
Iago is tricking and manipulating him. Othello is so deceived by Iago, he believes Iago is
actually incapable of lying: “I know thou’rt full of love and honesty / And weigh’st thy words
before thou givest them breath” (3.3.).

While Othello is naively unable to see that Iago is deceiving him every step of the way, he is
also stubbornly convinced that Desdemona is deceiving him even when she is being totally
honest. Once Othello makes up his mind that Desdemona is guilty, all her claims of
innocence only enrage him further because he is convinced that “this is a subtle whore / A
closet lock and key of villainous secrets” (4.2.). Everything Desdemona does to prove her
innocence comes across to Othello as further proof of her guilt. Othello’s inability to correctly
identify who is and is not deceiving him makes him act rashly and ultimately lead to violence
and tragedy.

Justice
In Othello, characters justify their actions on the basis of deserving justice. The first
character we see seeking justice is Brabantio, who is outraged that his daughter has married
a man of a different race, and decides that Othello must have bewitched her. Brabantio
asserts “I therefore apprehend and do attach thee” (1.2.77), seeking legal restitution for the
perceived violation to himself and his honor. However, Brabantio’s apparent demand for
justice is rooted in his racial prejudice against Othello, and his sense that he is owed
obedience from his daughter. He only feels entitled to justice because social structures have
placed him in a position of racial superiority to Othello and gender superiority to Desdemona.
What Brabantio envisions as justice is the reassertion of his racial and gendered dominance
and power over others.

As Othello becomes increasingly convinced that Desdemona has been unfaithful to him, he
also feels entitled to seek a form of bloody, self-administered justice. As he tells Iago, “my
bloody thoughts with violent pace / Shall ne’er look back, ne’er ebb to humble love / Till that
a capable and wide revenge / Swallow them up” (3.3.). While there would have been legal
procedures in place at this time for bringing charges of adultery against a spouse, Othello is
not interested in seeking official forms of justice. He wants to punish his wife himself, and
feels entitled to do so. When Iago suggests that Othello strangle Desdemona rather than
poisoning her, Othello notes “Good, good—the justice of it pleases!”(4.1.). Othello’s violent
plan to achieve justice is rooted in his sense that he has complete ownership and control
over his wife, and that he can literally decide whether she lives or dies. Othello’s notion of
justice depends on a system that is fundamentally unjust toward women, leaving them
vulnerable to false accusation and violent actions.

Values:
Racism
Loyalty
Love

It is ironic: he wants her to pray before killing her so that she does not go to heaven. He
does not listen to her, he is decided. After, que repents what he did. The most important
message we can take from this play is that jealousy lets you do things without thinking.

Play summary
‘The play opens in the powerful city state of Venice, famous as a center of trade and banking
and for its military might, itis in the carly hours of the morning, and two men — Roderigo, a
young gentleman and former suitor of Senator Brabantio's daughter Desdemona, and Iago,
an ensign who claims to have been passed over for promotion by Othello — are outside
Senator Brabantio's house to tell him the news of his daughter's elopement with Othello, the
Moor.
After sharing the news of the secret marriage in words calculated to. alarm him, the
treacherous and vindictive lago quickly departs, leaving Roderigo to confirm the story.
Feigning friendship and concern, fago then meets with Othello and tells him of Brabantio's
reaction. Brabantio, Othello, and Desdemona appear before the Duke of Venice. Although
Brabantio accuses Othello of seducing his daughter by witchorafi, Othello explains that he
won Desdemona by telling her his adventures, and Desdemona called to testify, convinces
the senators that she has freely gone with Othello and married him for love.The Duke
appoints Othello as general of the defense forces against the Turks, and he must leave for
Cyprus immediately. Desdemona requests permission to accompany Othello to Cyprus. With
the Duke's permission, Othello arranges for Desdemona to follow him later in another ship
with lago, whom he mistakenly believes is a trusted friend, and Iago's wife, Emilia. Iago
convinces Roderigo that
Desdemona will soon tire of Othello and that he should follow her to Cyprus. To himself, lago
decides to make use of Cassio, the man he deeply resents and who received the promotion
he himself wanted, as the instrument to destroy Othello.
In Cyprus, Iago plots against Othello, planting the seed of doubt about Desdemona's fidelity
and implicating Cassio as her lover. Using Roderigo, lago arranges a fight that ultimately
results in Cassio's demotion, Believing that his chances of reinstatement are better if he has
Desdemona plead his case to her husband, Cassio, with lago's help, arranges for a private
meeting with Desdemona, who promises to speak on his behalf to Othello until his
reconciliation with Othello is achieved.
As Cassio leaves, lago and Othello appear. Othello notices Cassio's speedy departure, and
lago quickly seizes the opportunity to point out that Cassio seems to be trying to avoid the
Moor. Desdemona immediately and enthusiastically begins to beg Othello to pardon Cassio,
as she promised, and will not stop her pleading, until Othello, preoccupied with other
thoughts, agrees. The moment Desdemona and Emilia leave, however, Jago begins to plant
seeds of doubt and suspicion in Othello's mind.
Othello, beset by uncertainty and anxiety, later demands of Iago some proof that
Desdemona is unfaithful. Using a handkerchief that Desdemona later innocently drops, lago
convinces Othello that she has been unfaithful, and he stages a conversation with the
innocent Cassio that further hardens the Moor's heart against his wife and her supposed
lover. Convinced of his wife's betrayal and enraged and grieving, Othello rushes into action,
making an agreement with Iago that he, Othello, will kitl
Desdemona, and Jago will dispose of Cassio.
Desdemona, true to her word to Cassio, continues to plead on his behalf, unknowingly
confirming to Othello her unfaithfulness. He accuses her of falseness, and Desdemona, not
knowing what she has done to offend, can only assure him that she loves him.
Meanwhile, the gullible Roderigo has abandoned all hope of Desdemona, but Iago urges him
to kill Cassio and rekindle his hopes. Late that night, they attack Cassio in the street, but it is
Cassio who wounds Roderigo, Iago rushes out and stabs Cassio in the leg. Othello, hearing
Cassio's cries for help, believes that half of the revenge is completed and hastens to fulfil his
undertaking.
Desdemona is in bed when Othello enters. He tells her to pray a last prayer as he has no
wish to kill her soul, Realizing that he plans to murder her, Desdemona protests her
innocence of any wrongdoing. Knowing that he doesn't believe her, she begs him to let her
live just a little longer,but he smothers her with a pillow, Emilia, Desdemona's servant and
Iago's wife, upon discovering the ruse, raises the alarm and declares Tago a liar ‘before
Montano and Gratiano. She explains how Desdemona's handkerchief came into Cassio's
possession, and when she refuses to be quiet, Iago stabs her. Cassio, wounded, confirms
ilia's story. A soldier to the last, Othello stands on his honor. Knowing that this is the end, he
asks to be remembered as "one that loved not wisely but too well." Then he stabs himself
and falls on the bed beside his wife. where he dies.

Romeo and Juliet

Romeo and Josaline.

Romeo and Juliet;: ideal love.

The nurse is the FOIL of Juliet. (old,poor)

THEMES

THE OLD AGAINST THE YOUNG

The old families and the young lovers.
DARK AND LIGHT
Their love develops in darkness. When they can be together and be happy is ar NIGHT.

There's always a comic character to break with the tragedy.

 Romeo and Juliet - Study Guide
In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, a long feud between the Montague and Capulet families
disrupts the city of Verona and causes tragic results for Romeo and Juliet. Revenge, love, and a
secret marriage force the young star-crossed lovers to grow up quickly — and fate causes them to
commit suicide in despair. Contrast and conflict are running themes throughout Shakespeare's play,
Romeo and Juliet — one of the Bard's most popular romantic tragedies.

Written by: William Shakespeare

Type of Work: play

Genres: romantic tragedy
First Published: 1594-1595
Setting: Verona, Italy
Movie Versions: Romeo and Juliet (1968); Romeo + Juliet (1996)

Study Guide

1. Mention and describe the main characters in the play. Draw a character map

2. Which is the role of the comic characters in the tragedy?

3. Describe the feud between the two fami)ies. How does the feud drive the action of the play?
4. Explore and explain the different themes within Romeo and Juliet. Illustrate with quotations from
the play.
The main themes are: Fate, Love, Value and Doubleness. and Meaning of Gender
5. Find examples to Illustrate the main symbols and motifs within the play: -Poison
-Nighttime
-Light and Darkness.
6. Explain the following famous quotes:
"A plague o' both your houses!" (3.1.104)
"For never was a story of more woe [01-Ian this of Juliet and her Romeo." (5.3.317-318)
"0 Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?" (2.2.33)
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other word would smell as sweet," (2.2.43-44)
"Good Night, Good night! Parting is such sweet sorrow, that I shall say good night till it be morrow."
(2.2.185-186)

“A plague o both your houses”: said by Mercurio. He curses both families. Both families re going to
suffer. He says what is going to happen with the curse.

“O Im fortunes fool”: Said by Romeo.he reminds the audience that he was marked by his fate.

Said by the Prince. Families stop fighting and he means that it is a love story..

"0 Romeo, Romeo! wherefore art thou Romeo?" (2.2.33) She asks why he is a member of the
Montague family.

Your name does not define you. : Said by Juliet. S sweet sorrow meaning because she is sad but
they are going to get married the following day. It's an oxymoron.

FATE: WHEN THEY MEET WITH THE SERVANT THAT CANNOT READ. .
 Pride and Prejudice

SOCIO-POLITICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

- The novel is thought to be set in the same year Jane Austen wrote it, between
1796 and 1813. She was born in 1775, Steventon, United Kingdom. During
the years of The Regency, many women established themselves as
prominent writers. One of them was Jane Austen, who decided to depict
traditional female roles during the Regency era. In those times it was hard to
be a woman, especially a woman writer. Women's style of writing was
considered to be inferior to men’s writing style.
- During this time, England was fighting the Napoleonic wars, so it may be a
reason why soldiers are portrayed in the story.
- Besides, England was entering the Industrial revolution, making it possible for
commoners to accumulate massive wealth by trade and manufacturing.
 - The action of the story moves between a few different locations in England,
including Brighton, London, and the counties of Hertfordshire, Derbyshire, and
Kent.
- Pride and Prejudice plot follows women of the gentry in search of a husband.
Social classes were distinguished by who had land, wealth and title. Although
different classes socialized with one another, it was uncommon for landed
gentry and nobility to marry beneath their social class.

THEMES:

Love:
With her central characters, Austen suggests that true love is a force separate from society
and one that can conquer even the most difficult of circumstances. However Austen does
sound some more realistic (or, one could say, cynical) notes about love, using the character
of Charlotte Lucas, who marries the buffoon Mr. Collins for his money, to demonstrate that
the heart does not always dictate marriage.Darcy and Elizabeth’s realization of a mutual
and tender love seems to imply that Austen views love as something independent of
these social forces, as something that can be captured if only an individual is able to
escape the warping effects of a hierarchical society.
Reputation:
Pride and Prejudice depicts a society in which a woman’s reputation is of the utmost
importance. A woman is expected to behave in certain ways. Stepping outside the social
norms makes her vulnerable to ostracism. Austen satirizes this kind of
class-consciousness, particularly in the character of Mr. Collins, who spends most of
his time toadying to his upper-class patron, Lady Catherine de Bourgh.
Though Mr. Collins offers an extreme example, he is not the only one to hold such

views. His conception of the importance of class is shared, among others, by Mr.

Darcy, who believes in the dignity of his lineage; Miss Bingley, who dislikes anyone

not as socially accepted as she is; and Wickham, who will do anything he can to get

enough money to raise himself into a higher station. Mr. Collins’s views are merely

the most extreme and obvious. The satire directed at Mr. Collins is therefore also

more subtly directed at the entire social hierarchy and the conception of all those

within it at its correctness, in complete disregard of other, more worthy virtues.

Through the Darcy-Elizabeth and Bingley-Jane marriages, Austen shows the power

of love and happiness to overcome class boundaries and prejudices, thereby

implying that such prejudices are hollow, unfeeling, and unproductive. Of course, this
whole discussion of class must be made with the understanding that Austen herself

is often criticized as being a classist: she doesn’t really represent anyone from the

lower classes; those servants she does portray are generally happy with their lot.

Austen does criticize class structure, but only a limited slice of that structure

Class:
The theme of class is related to reputation, in that both reflect the strict life for the middle and
upper classes in Regency England. While the Bennets, who are middle class, may socialize
with the upper-class Bingleys and Darcys, they are clearly their social inferiors and are
treated as such.This theme appears in the novel, when Elizabeth walks to Netherfield
and arrives with muddy skirts, to the shock of the reputation-conscious Miss Bingley
and her friends. At other points, the ill-mannered, ridiculous behavior of Mrs. Bennet
gives her a bad reputation with the more refined (and snobbish) Darcys and
Bingleys.
Austen pokes gentle fun at the snobs in these examples, but later in the novel, when

Lydia elopes with Wickham and lives with him out of wedlock, the author treats

reputation as a very serious matter. By becoming Wickham’s lover without benefit of

marriage, Lydia clearly places herself outside the social pale, and her disgrace

threatens the entire Bennet family. The fact that Lydia’s judgment, however terrible,

would likely have condemned the other Bennet sisters to marriageless lives seems

grossly unfair. Why should Elizabeth’s reputation suffer along with Lydia’s? Darcy’s

intervention on the Bennets’ behalf thus becomes all the more generous, but some

readers might resent that such an intervention was necessary at all. If Darcy’s

money had failed to convince Wickham to marry Lydia, would Darcy have still

married Elizabeth? Does his transcendence of prejudice extend that far? The happy

ending of Pride and Prejudice is certainly emotionally satisfying, but in many ways it

leaves the theme of reputation, and the importance placed on reputation,

unexplored. One can ask of Pride and Prejudice, to what extent does it critique social

structures, and to what extent does it simply accept their inevitability?

 Family:
All of the characters operate within networks of family connections that shape their
decisions and perspectives. For example, “the business of [Mrs. Bennet’s] life was to get her
daughters married”, the Bennet sisters constantly have to navigate their mother’s plans and
schemes. While male characters like Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley have much more social and
financial independence, they still rely on the judgment and opinions of their family.
Integrity:
Elizabeth Bennet considers herself to have very high standards of integrity, and she is often
frustrated and disappointed by the way she sees others behaving. She behaves in ways she
considers consistent with her definition of integrity by refusing to marry both Mr. Collins and
Mr. Darcy (when he proposes the first time): Elizabeth thinks it is very important to only
marry a man she loves and respects, despite the pressure to achieve economic security.
The novel endorses the importance of integrity, but it also reminds readers not to be too
quick to pass judgment on who has it and who doesn’t.
Gender:
The story takes place at a time when gender roles were quite rigid, and men and women had
a very different set of options and influences.Marriage is a pressing question for female
characters like Charlotte Lucas and the Bennet sisters because marriage is the only way
women can achieve economic stability and autonomy. As upper-class women, they would
not have been able to work to earn a living, or live independently.

WOMEN’S ROLE IN 18TH CENTURY

1. MARRIAGE
One of the most famous lines in literature, the opening establishes the pursuit of marriage as
central to the social world of the English gentry. In addition, the claim that a wealthy man
must be looking for a wife shows how desperately important it was for women to marry
wealthy men. In Austen's time, they had no other means of support. Women in the
nineteenth century did not have much choice when it came to their future. They could either
get married or become governesses if they were educated enough. Their life was shaped
mostly by their families which tried to find a husband who would support them.

“Happiness in marriage is entirely a matter of chance. If the dispositions of the parties

are ever so well known to each other or ever so similar beforehand, it does not
advance their felicity in the least. They always continue to grow sufficiently unlike
afterwards to have their share of vexation; and it is better to know as little as possible
of the defects of the person with whom you are to pass your life.” Charlotte Lucas.
(Jane Austen 1813:27)

2. WOMEN RIGHTS
Women could not vote, own land while married, go to a university, earn equal wages, enter
many professions, and even report serious cases of domestic abuse. Women who were
found to be too argumentative or radical could deal with cruel and humiliating public
penalties.
3. EDUCATION
Women in early nineteenth-century Britain were not allowed in higher education, so private
tutors, governesses, and private schools were the extent of structured education open to
them. A woman's formal education was limited because her job opportunities were limited —
and vice versa. Society could not conceive of a woman entering a profession such as
medicine or the law and therefore did not offer her the chance to do so.

4. APPEARANCES
According to the society in the 19th century, ruled by Queen Victoria, was a society where
appearances and social class were really essential. Money had the real power there: to
classify people thanks to appalling social conditions. As it is possible to notice in the book
and in the movie as well, it was everything about impressing the social order with the well
being and money you had, in order to form a family and to be considered for the “society” as
somebody important, to gain respect and honor as well.

In this novel, Elizabeth Bennet is a self-reliant and unconventional woman who marries the
man she loves. The other characters, such as Lydia and Mrs. Bennet represent women
whose ultimate goal in life is connected to marriage. Charlotte Lucas represents women who
marry out of necessity and Jane Fairfax embodies the women who are strong and ready to
do anything in the name of love. Accordingly, all those women represent different female
responses to social norms and to their own position in the society.

JANE AUSTEN
“Pride and Prejudice” is based specifically in the early 19th century under the Victorian Age.
Even when a female representative was ruling the country, women did not have many
options for their lives, they were seen as ideal, pure and saints and as saints they had no
legal rights.
She inspired her work on women and her living conditions. Principally, that was all she knew
about: how difficult it was to be a woman, all the pressures, injustices and prejudices that
women faced.
Jane Austen made people believe that despite many rules and prejudices of society there is
always something that moves the world; there is always something inside of any human
which is pure feelings such as love.
 GOTHIC LITERATURE

The adjective gothic describes something that is characterized by mystery, horror,

and gloom — especially in literature. Gothic literature combines the genres of
romance and horror. Some famous writers of Gothic fiction include Charlotte
Bronte, Mary Shelley and Edgar Allan Poe.
Meaning of the subtitle: Or the modern prometheus.

People did not have the possibility of formal education, they gained knowledge through
experiences.

Romantic characteristics (theme).

Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus

When they start talking about weather or atmosphere, we as readers know that sth bad is
going to happen. (characteristic of gothic literature)

Mary Shelley’s Biography

Mary Shelley Biography (1797-1851)

Mary Wollestonecraft (Godwin) Shelley was born on August 30, 1797 in London;
England to philosopher William Godwin and feminist Mary Worlestonecrafte :both her
parents were noted writers in the 1800s. Her father's. Most famous book was Political
Justice (1793), which is a critical look at society and the ethical treatment of the
masses. Mary Wollestonecraft, her mother, was a leading- feminist writer who
espoused her views in her famous work A Vindication of the Rights of Women
(1792). Four weeks after giving birth, Mary Wollestonecraftt died of complications.
Mary's learned father, who had frequent guests in their home all through her
formative years, guaranteed her education. A voracious reader, Mary, borrowed
books from her father's extensive library. She enjoyed writing at a young age

Between June 1812 and March 1814, Mary lived with relatives in Scotland. It was
upon her return visits to London when she met Percy Bysshe Shelley. Mary and
Percy left England for France in June 1814 to begin a life together. Shelley was still
married to his first wife.

In February 1815, .1.-Mary gave birth to a daughter, who was born prematurely and
who subsequently died in March of the same year. The couple settled in
Bishopsgate, England and a second child, William, was born. Iii-the summer of 1816,
a tour of continental Europe was proposed. At a stop in SWitzerland, the couple and
Mary's stepsister; Claire, rented a house near another BritiSh writer, Lord Byron. The
summer proved wet and unseasonable; Byron suggested the group take to writing
ghost stories to paSs the time. It was during this summer that the form for
Frankenstein was to take shape. The story was first only a few pages, but with the
encouragement of Percy, the tale took on a greater length. Mary's story, the best of
the group, was so frightening to Byron that he r-m "shrieking in horror" from the
room. Frankenstein was published in 1818.

In December 1816, Shelley's first wife killed herself. Within two weeks, Percy and
Mary were married. Early the next year, the couple moved to Marlow, England and a
third child, Clara Everina, was born. In 1818, the Shelley's left England for Italy. It
was during this time that both small children died. Mary was miserable and
discontented at 21 and 22 years of age. She did recover somewhat later in
November 1819 when her son Percy was born in Florence, Italy. He would become
the only Shelley child to survive to adulthood. Mary did not remain idle as a writer
during this time, as she began a new novel, Valperga.

On July 8, 1822, her husband drowned at sea. a boating accident off the coast of
Livorno, Italy. By the way, herlife was seemingly connected to tragedy.
She spent the rest of her life writing original works and tending. to the works of her
late husband. She became the keeper of Percy Shelley's fame and was editor of his
posthumous works.

In 1841, her son graduated from Trinity College, and he asked his mother to
accompany him on a tour of Italy and Europe. During her travels, she compiled notes
about her travels. Her son married in 1848, and Mary lived with him and his wife until
she died. On February 1, 1851 Mary died in London and was buried in Bournemouth,
England.

Mary Shelley'S Career Highlights

The first and most memorable work of Mary Shelley is her creation of Frankenstein,
which she wrote during the summer of 1816 and published in 1818.

Shelley's sophomore novel was Valperga. The Last Man (1826) is Shelley's
best-known work after Frankenstein because it tackles the subject of mass
catastrophe in society. -

From 1829 to 1839, Mary began writing articles and stories for the Westminster
Review, The Keepsake, and other publications. She worked again on her own novels
and wrote notes to accompany her husband's works. During this period The Life and
Adventures of Ca.stmccio, Prince of Lucca (1823), The Fortunes of Perkin lAfarbeck
(1830), Lodore (1835), and Falkner (1837) were all published. However, none would
achieve the success and recognition that her earliest and best novel would achieve.
By 1844, she had amassed enough notes from her travels with her son to publish
them in two volumes called Rambles in Germany and Italy (1844).

Frankenstein- Study Guide

Chapter 1
1.How does Victor's father meet his wife?
Victor Frankenstein's parents met because of a man named Beaufort. Beaufort was Victor's
father's close friend who fell on hard times. His daughter was a woman named Caroline.
When Beaufort passed away (he was poor), Victor took Caroline back to Geneva to make
sure she was cared for. Within a few years, they were married.

2.How does Victor describe Elizabeth?

Fond of her from the start, Victor describes Elizabeth as "docile and good tempered, yet gay
and playful as a summer insect," as well as "lively and animated," but with an uncommonly
affectionate disposition and feelings that are strong and deep. She seems to him to be
perhaps be "the most fragile creature in the world"

Chapter 2
1.Describe Victor's childhood..
In some ways, Victor describes his childhood as idyllic. In chapter one, he says, "My parents
were indulgent, and my companions amiable." They lived in Genevsa.

2.What two topics catch Victor's attention? What is he interested in?

Topics: the secrets of heaven and earth. He was interested in Natural Philosophy

3.What natural phenomenon shocks him? Why?

At the age of 13, Victor discovers the works of Cornelius Agrippa, Paracelsus, and Albertus
Magnus, all alchemists from an earlier age. His voracious appetite for knowledge thus
begins, and eventually leads him to study science and alchemy. At age 15, Victor witnesses
an electrical storm that peaks his interest in electricity and possible applications for its use.

4.Explain the last paragraph: "It was a strong....and terrible destruction"

Frankenstein felt there was not a lot of faith in willpower in overcoming his mad obsessions,
he had what was called an external locus of control. That is a belief that you’re not
responsible for your own behaviour, that life is inevitable, and the power of control is
belittled.
Another prevalent theme in the story is the role of destiny in Frankenstein's life

5.What does Henry Clerval stand for?

Clerval’s story runs parallel to Frankenstein’s, illustrating the connection between
Frankenstein’s outsized ambition and the more commonplace ambitions of ordinary men.
Clerval is first described as a boy who loved “enterprise, hardship and even danger, for its
own sake.” Like Walton, Clerval shares Frankenstein’s desire to achieve great things at any
cost.Frankenstein’s friendship with Clerval also shows the importance of companionship in
the novel. Frankenstein draws strength and comfort from having a friend who shares his
experiences and feelings: “Excellent friend! how sincerely you did love me, and endeavor to
elevate my mind until it was on a level with your own!”

Henry is Victor's best friend who looks after him when he is ill and accompanies him to
England. Henry's purpose in the novel is to show what Victor could have been had he not
been influenced by ambition and the desire for discovery - in that sense he is Victor's
opposite.

Chapter 3
1.What are Prof Krempe and Prof Waldman's opinion of the books Victor has read?

Krempe tells Victor that all the time that Victor has spent studying the alchemists has been
wasted, further souring Victor on the study of natural philosophy. The professor told Victor
that those theories were a hundred years old.

Waldman tells Victor that the men he read invented the foundations of knowledge of modern
philosophers. “They had left us to an easier task”.
2.What piece of advice does Prof Waldman give Victor? 3.Why does Victor consider
this day "a memorable one"?
Because that day decided his future destiny. That day, M. Waldman, a professor, told him to
study all the branches of science to become a great chemist.

Chapter 4
Explain the following quotes
1."...how dangerous is the acquirement of knowledge and how much happier the man
is who believes his native town to be his world..."
Frankestein said this, as he regrets creating the monster and having become a man of
science.

2."A new species would bless me as its creator and source....

Frankestein is talking about his initial wishes and objectives …. to create life on inanimate
objects, to renew life after death...

3.”...I shunned my fellow creatures as if I had been guilty of a crime"

Frankestein is talking about how he was engrossed in his occupations, he did not sleep or
talk to anybody

Chapter 5
1.Mention examples of Gothic elements.
The Gothic elements that can be found in this chapter are the grotesque (description of the
monster's features), the eerie environment (Victor's lab at 1 a.m.), the undead quality, and
some type of psychic communication (Victor's feeling of being followed). Also, this chapter
builds fear in the reader, another big part of Gothic writing.

2.Explain the allusion to the Ancient Mariner. Compare Victor to the Mariner.

Chapter 6
1.What is Justine's story? What's her relationship with the Frankenstein family?
Justine lives with the Frankenstein family as a servant after her mother dies. When William is
murdered, the monster puts a photograph that William was carrying in her pocket, and she is
accused of murder. She confesses falsely to the crime out of fear of going to Hell. She is
executed.
2.Why does Henry remove all Victor's chemical instruments?
Henry removes the chemical instruments in Victor's apartment because of the reaction that
Victor has at the sight of those lab apparatuses. When feeling properly recovered, Victor
introduces Henry to his professors, Waldman and Krempe, who have nothing but high praise
for their now prized student.
Chapter 7
1.What does Victor's father's letter say? What is Victor's reaction?

When Victor returns to his department he discovers a letter from his father. It says that
Victor's brother, William, was killed. Victor began to cry and told Henry that they were going
to Geneva instantly.
2.What does Victor realize when he arrives at Geneva?
When Victor arrives at the city gates, they are closed, so he must remain outside the city in
Secheron until the gates are reopened at dawn. It is at this time that he realizes that he had
been gone six years from home and that two years have passed since the creation of his
monster.

3.Why can we say that this chapter is a turning point in the story?
Victor receives a letter from his father telling him to return home immediately because
William, Victor's youngest brother, has been murdered by strangulation. The significance of
the letter is that it is a turning point in the book, in which the monster now has a real
presence in the story; he is a threat to his creator. Up to this point, the monster has been in
the back of Victor's mind. Here the monster is asserting himself into Victor's life.

4.Mention examples of Gothic elements

What makes it Gothic?

The Weather - the flash of lightning accompanies the revelation of the creature, the storm
foreshadows dark circumstances
Sense of mystery and dread - what will happen at the trial?
Secrets - Victor does not tell his family about the creature

Chapter 8
1.What is Shelley's opinion of the Justice system?
Mary Shelley criticises the unfairness and corruption of the justice system, particularly in its
sentencing to death of the innocent Justine. The monster knows he has been the victim of
injustice at the hands of human beings and wants Victor to correct these wrongs.
Justine's role in Frankenstein is to examine the injustice of the execution of the innocent, and
to consider the importance of love and acceptance in the form of nurturing. The Creature is
ostracized by society, but Justine is loved by the Frankenstein family.

2.Explain the quote: "I could not sustain the horror of my situation....but the fangs of
remorse tore my bones and wouldn't forgo their hold."
Victor becomes consumed with guilt, knowing that the monster he created and the cloak of
secrecy within which the creation took place have now caused the deaths of two members of
his family.

3.Why does Justine give a false confession?

In order to find forgiveness for her past, Justine felt it necessary to admit her guilt for
William's murder. She believed that her confession would make righteous in God's eyes.
Unfortunately, the lie made her feel even worse. Essentially, Justine's confession was to
bring her solitude regarding her past.

Chapter 9

1. What does Victor want to do to finish his suffering? Why is this an ironic
solution?Victor finds no relief at the end of Justine's trial. Haunted by the thoughts of
how he ruined so many lives, he cannot sleep or rest. He sinks into a deep depression
 from which he cannot escape. He tries boating on Lake Geneva and a trip into the Swiss
Mountains. He escapes to the Chamounix valley region to rest and recover his senses.

2. Why does Victor decide to make the trip?

To ease his troubled mind, Victor undertakes a tour of the nearby Chamounix valley,
France. He hopes that a rest and vacation will do him good. The visit is characteristic of
Romantic thought in that nature can restore and refresh the soul. Victor mentions the
Arve River, "ruined castles," and the "mighty Alps" as a backdrop to begin his current
healing. Mary Shelley delves into a description of Victor's depression and despair;
depression and despair are both popular topics of Romantic writers. Also, the restorative
and healing powers of nature come through when she describes scenes of beauty and
majesty that transport the soul to another place and time.

3. Explain the quote: " The very winds wl-iispered in soothing accents, and maternal
Nature bade me weep no more"

Shelley describes Nature, who has winds that "whisper in soothing accents," like a caring
mother who tells Victor to "weep no more." With his senses overwhelmed by all that he
has been through, Victor throws himself to the ground and weeps bitterly.

Chapter 10
1.Who does the Monster compare himself to?
The monster likens himself to Adam, the first human created in the Bible. He also speaks of
himself as a "fallen angel," much like Satan in Paradise Lost.

2.Compare and describe the Monster's and Victor's feelings? Who wants love? Who
feels hatred? The monster speaks eloquently enough to convince Victor to calm down and
hear his case. He asks that Victor hear his "long and strange" tale. Convinced that they
should settle this feud between them amicably, Victor follows the creature to a small hut
where they pass an entire afternoon together in conversation. The monster is not what one
would expect. Not only is he eloquent and educated, he speaks of being loved and wanting
love. And Victor, at this point, is the opposite in that he can only think of hatred for the
monster. Thus, Shelley makes the monster a sympathetic creature, not a horrid one.

3.Why does Victor decide to listen to the Monster's tale?

Victor agrees to listen because he feels the duty of the creator is to "render him happy"

Chapter 11
1.What does the Monster remember about his beginnings? He has a vague idea.
2.Why does Mary Shelley describe the De Lacey's family life in detail?
In this part, the description is ROMANTIS. (The book is romantic and gothic. ). It is
characteristic of romantic literature.
3.What feeling does the Monster feel for the first time? When he meets the family, he
feels love for the first time. It is a new feeling for him.
Chapter 12
1.Why is the Monster described with the words "good spirit" and "wonderful"?
Because of his actions towards his neighbors
2.Why is he surprised by this description?
The ugliness of his appearance does not seem to match his personality and actions

Chapter 13
-1. Who arrives at the house? What changes does she bring to family life? How does
the Monster benefit from this new member?
Safie arrives at the house. Safie was the daughter of a Turkish man who got arrested. They
got into trouble with the government and lost all their money. Felix was attempting to help
Safie's father to escape from jail. They were stripped of their money and exiled.
At the house, everyone was happy after Safie arrived, as safie was always gay and happy.
She moves into the cottage, and the mood of the household immediately brightens.

The monster benefits from the family teaching Safie the language. He aksi learned the
science of letters as it was taught to Safie.

Both Safie and Frankenstein's monster are adrift and homeless. Safie has been expelled
from her native Turkey by political intrigue and her love for the oldest De Lacey son, Felix.
The monster has been violently banished from human society, spurned by his creator, Victor
Frankenstein, and driven from the town by the violent attacks of the terrified townspeople.
Both are vulnerable and wounded. Both need comfort and acceptance. Both crave the love
of family and the opportunity to return that love. But only Safie is welcomed in.
Frankenstein's monster, conversely, remains the eternal outcast.

2. Explain the quote: "Was man so powerful....and magnificent; yet so vicious and
base"
The monster is referring to the feeling caused by the narration of the book “Ruins of
Empires” which Felix was reading to Safie. His narrations inspired him with strange feelings.
3.Why is the Monster in agony?
Because he learnt about the system of human society, the more knowledge he had about
the world the more sorrow he felt. He realised that he had no money, no friends, he was
horrible, etc.

Chapter 14
1.Summarise Safie's story.
The old man, De Lacey, was once an affluent and successful citizen in Paris; his children,
Agatha and Felix, were well-respected members of the community. Safie’s father, a Turk,
was falsely accused of a crime and sentenced to death. Felix visited the Turk in prison and
met his daughter, with whom he immediately fell in love. Safie sent Felix letters thanking him
for his intention to help her father and recounting the circumstances of her plight (the
monster tells Victor that he copied some of these letters and offers them as proof that his
tale is true).

The letters relate that Safie’s mother was a Christian Arab who had been enslaved by the
Turks before marrying her father. She inculcated in Safie an independence and intelligence
that Islam prevented Turkish women from cultivating. Safie was eager to marry a European
man and thereby escape the near-slavery that awaited her in Turkey. Felix successfully
coordinated her father’s escape from prison, but when the plot was discovered, Felix,
Agatha, and De Lacey were exiled from France and stripped of their wealth. They then
moved into the cottage in Germany upon which the monster has stumbled. Meanwhile, the
Turk tried to force Safie to return to Constantinople with him, but she managed to escape
with some money and the knowledge of Felix’s whereabouts

2.What are the Monster's feelings? Why?

The monster’s fascination with the relationship between Felix and Safie lies in his desperate
desire for Victor to accept him. Felix’s willingness to risk everything for the sake of someone
who has been unjustly punished gives the monster hope that Victor will recognize the hurtful
injustice of abandoning him.

Chapter 15
1.Which books does the Monster read? What do they stand for?

Deep in the forest, he finds an old leather suitcase containing some clothes and three books,
The Sorrows of Young Werther, a volume of Plutarch's Lives, and Paradise Lost.The first
book the monster studies is The Sorrows of Young Werther, a tale told through letters about
a young man's hopeless romance and ensuing suicide. This book teaches the monster about
deep thoughts. He learns to question life, death, and suicide. The book also teaches him
about sorrow and despair. It makes him feel apart from humanity, and makes him question
the very fact of his own existence.

Next, the monster turns to Plutarch's Lives, which is a series of biographies about noble
Greeks and Romans. This book teaches the monster about men of the past, the great and
the evil. He learns that while some humans can show great virtue, others are full of vice.
This books gives the monster great respect for goodness, and he compares these historical
figures to the De Lacey family.

Finally, the monster picks up Paradise Lost. This books brings out much deeper emotions
than the other two. The monster reads the story of Adam, who was a perfect, happy creature
loved and protected by his Creator. The monster can't help but compare himself to Satan
rather than Adam, and bitter envy swirls inside the monster when he thinks of happy
humans.

2.Explain the quote: "...no Eve soothed my sorrows nor shared my thoughts; I was
alone."
In this part, he was worried about the day of the trial. He thought of his fears and his dream
of being accepted by the family. In the quote, he is referring to the Bible. He was alone with
no one to listen to him, unlike Adam who had Eve (and they could also supplicate to their
creator).

3.What decision does the Monster take? What are the consequences of his actions?
The monster wishes to reveal himself to the cottagers in the hope that they will see past his
hideous exterior and befriend him. He decides to approach the blind De Lacey first, hoping
to win him over while Felix, Agatha, and Safie are away. He believes that De Lacey,
unprejudiced against his hideous exterior, may be able to convince the others of his gentle
nature.
The perfect opportunity soon presents itself, as Felix, Agatha, and Safie depart one day for a
long walk. The monster nervously enters the cottage and begins to speak to the old man.
Just as he begins to explain his situation, however, the other three return unexpectedly. Felix
drives the monster away, horrified by his appearance.

Chapter 16
1.What does the family do? What is the Monster's reaction?
The family left the cottage. The monster felt feelings of revenge and hatred for the first time.
He then burnt the cottage.

2.What course of action does he take?

In the wake of this rejection, the monster swears to revenge himself against all human
beings, his creator in particular. Journeying for months out of sight of others, he makes his
way toward Geneva

3.What happens when he saves the girl from drowning? How does he feel?
the girl slips into a stream and appears to be on the verge of drowning. When the monster
rescues the girl from the water, the man accompanying her, suspecting him of having
attacked her, shoots him. He feels rage and a desire to vengeance to all mankind

4.Who does he meet? What does he do?

As he nears Geneva, the monster runs across Victor’s younger brother, William, in the
woods. When William mentions that his father is Alphonse Frankenstein, the monster erupts
in a rage of vengeance and strangles the boy to death with his bare hands. He takes a
picture of Caroline Frankenstein that the boy has been holding and places it in the folds of
the dress of a girl sleeping in a barn—Justine Moritz, who is later executed for William’s
murder.

5.What does the Monster request Victor to do?

Having explained to Victor the circumstances behind William’s murder and Justine’s
conviction, the monster implores Victor to create another monster to accompany him and be
his mate.

Chapter 17
1.Which is the all or nothing proposition the Monster makes Victor?
2.What does Victor decide to do?

Chapter 18
1.Explain the quote: "I was bound by a solemn promise which I had not yet fulfilled
and dared not break..."

2.What are Victor's future plans?

3Why does Mary Shelley quote Wordsworth's poem?
Chapter 19
1.Why does Victor part from Henry?
2.What are Victor's feelings towards his "job"?
3.Explain the quote: "1 looked towards its completion with a tremulous and eager
hope....which was intermixed with obscure forebodings of evil..."

Chapter 20
1.What are Victor's feelings towards his new creation?
2.What does he do when he realizes that his creation can endanger the entire human race?
What is the Monster's reaction?
3.Who says: "You are my creator, but I'm your master; obey!" What does he mean?
4.What threat does the Monster pose to Victor?
5.Why. is Victor received with hostility when he arrives in Ireland?
Chapter 21
1. What is Victor accused of? Why? What is his reaction?
2. What happens to him? Who comes to look after him and take him home?

Chapter 22
1. What are Victor's feelings when he gets Elizabeth's letter?
2. What do they do when Victor gets back to Geneva?

Chapter 23
1. What happens on their honeymoon?
2. Explain the quote: "I devote myself._ to his destruction". What change does this decision
bring about in Victor?
3. Mention examples of gothic elements.

Chapter 24
1.What promise does Victor make at the cemetery?
2.Who says: "My reign is riot yet over, you live and my power is complete" When? Under
what circumstances?
3.What does Victor want Walton to do?

Final Letters
I. Who is the narrator of the remainder of the story?
2. Why is Walton sad when he is writing his second letter?
3. What happens after Victor's death?
4.Explain the quote: "I shall ascend my funeral pile triumphantly my spirit will sleep
in peace Farewell"
5.What happens with the Monster at the end of the story?

Discuss
1, Major Themes 2. Characters
3. Frankenstein both as a Romantic and a Gothic horror novel
4. The role of nature and sickness in this novel.
1. Knowledge: You have to be responsible for the knowledge you get .You can use
knowledge for good or bad.

2. Technology: Industrial revolution. They were afraid because there were many new
discoveries. When he tried his experiments, they made him lose his soul. They
started to put reason before religion, the enlightenment, etc (time of freud). They
started using the head more than the heart
3. Nature: possibility to put humanity back into man. When he feels bad, he goes back
to nature. It is gothic and romantic the theme (when they go back to nature: romantic.
Storm: gothic)
4. Monstrosity: not only of his appearance, but of how he was created. Victor himself is
a monster (at the end he is consumed by revenge) . The novel is monstrous as it has
a combination of different voices and texts (letters). THE BOOK IS MADE OF
DIFFERENT PARTS AS THE CREATURES.
Literary Essay - Frankenstein
Short stories
1.THE YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN ( Nathaniel
Hawthrone)
2.THE TRIAL FOR MURDER ( Charles Dickens)
3. The Fall of the House of Usher
The Fall of the House of Usher, supernatural horror story by

Edgar Allan Poe, published in Burton’s Gentleman’s Magazine in

1839 and issued in Poe’s Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque

(1840).

Summary
“The Fall of the House of Usher” begins with the unidentified male narrator riding to

the house of Roderick Usher, a childhood friend whom the narrator has not seen in

many years. The narrator explains that he recently received a letter from Roderick

detailing his worsening mental illness and requesting the narrator’s company. Out of

sympathy for his old friend, the narrator agreed to come. Aside from his knowledge

of Roderick’s ancient and distinguished family, the narrator knows very little about

his friend. Upon arriving, the narrator describes the Usher family mansion in great

detail, focusing on its most fantastic features and its unearthly atmosphere. Shortly

after entering, the narrator is greeted by Roderick, who displays a number of strange

symptoms. He claims his senses are especially acute: therefore, he cannot wear

clothes of certain textures or eat particularly flavourful foods, and his eyes are

bothered by even the faintest lights.

Within a few hours of the narrator’s arrival, Roderick begins to share some of his

theories about his family. Much to the narrator’s surprise, Roderick claims that the

Usher mansion is sentient and that it exercises some degree of control over its

inhabitants. He declares that his illness is the product of “a constitutional and a

family evil.” (The narrator later dismisses this as a cognitive symptom of Roderick’s

“nervous affection.”) Roderick also reveals that Madeline, his twin sister and sole

companion in the house, is gravely ill. According to Roderick, Madeline suffers from
a cataleptic disease that has gradually limited her mobility. As Roderick talks about

his sister’s illness, the narrator sees her pass through a distant part of the house:46

The narrator spends the next few days painting, reading, and listening to Roderick

play music. He recalls the eerie lyrics from one of Roderick’s songs, endearingly titled

“The Haunted Palace.” The penultimate stanza goes

But evil things, in robes of sorrow,

Assailed the monarch’s high estate; (Ah, let us mourn, for never
morrow

Shall dawn upon him, desolate!)

And, round about his home, the glory

That blushed and bloomed

Is but a dim-remembered story

Of the old time entombed.

Several days after the narrator’s arrival, Roderick announces the death of his sister.

He asks the narrator to help bury her. As they lay her in a tomb beneath the house,

the narrator notes that she is smiling, and her cheeks are rosy. Over the next few

days, the narrator observes a change in his friend’s behaviour: Roderick has begun to

display symptoms of madness and hysteria. He neglects his work, wandering

aimlessly around the house and staring off into the distance. Increasingly spooked by

his friend and his environment, the narrator begins to suffer from insomnia.

Late one night, Roderick visits the narrator in his bedchamber. After a few moments

of silence, he abruptly asks, “And you have not seen it?” He then throws open the
window to reveal that the house—and indeed everything outside—is enveloped in a

glowing gas. The baffled narrator blames it on electrical phenomena resulting from

an ongoing storm. He attempts to soothe Roderick by reading aloud to him from

“Mad Trist,” a medieval romance by Sir Launcelot Canning. (The romance and

Canning are Poe’s inventions.) As the narrator reads, sounds from the book

seemingly begin to manifest in the house. After a while, the narrator stops reading

and approaches Roderick, who is slumped over in a chair, rocking and muttering to

himself. For the first time, the narrator listens to what Roderick is saying. He learns

that Roderick has been hearing sounds for days. He believes they are coming from

Madeline, whom he thinks they have buried alive. As the horror of his words dawns

on the narrator, Roderick suddenly springs to his feet, yelling “Madman! I tell you

that she now stands without the door!”

At Roderick’s words, the door bursts open, revealing Madeline all in white with blood

on her robes. With a moan, she falls on her brother, and, by the time they hit the

floor, both Roderick and Madeline are dead. The narrator thereupon flees in terror.

Outside, he looks back just in time to see the house split in two and collapse.

Analysis

It is not uncommon for Poe to use first-person narration in his stories. In fact, the

majority of Poe’s short stories use this type of narration. The narrator of “The Fall of

the House of Usher,” however, is unique in that he is unidentified aside from his

gender. The story contains no descriptions of his physical features, his age, or where

he is traveling from. Apart from his boyhood friendship with Roderick, his history is

unknown. This is all intentional: Poe designed the character as a surrogate, or

stand-in, for the reader. The absence of a specific description of his character allows

the reader to easily identify with the narrator. In effect, the reader assumes the role

of the narrator and experiences the fall of the house of Usher as both an observer and

a participant—just as Poe intended. Poe sought to inspire powerful emotional

responses to his stories. “The Fall of the House of Usher” is carefully crafted to elicit

feelings of dread, stress, and, above all, what it calls “the grim phantasm, FEAR.”

In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the setting, diction, and imagery combine to

create an overall atmosphere of gloom. Death and decay are evoked at the outset. The

story opens on a “dull, dark, and soundless day” in a “singularly dreary tract of

country.” As the narrator notes, it is autumn, the time of year when life begins to give

way to old age and death. The house is as melancholy as its environment. A mere

glimpse of the Usher mansion inspires in the narrator “an iciness, a sinking, a

sickening of the heart.” Upon entering the house, the reader as the narrator navigates

through a series of dark passages lined with carvings, tapestries, and armorial

trophies. Poe draws heavily on Gothic conventions, using omens and portents, heavy

storms, hidden passageways, and shadows to set the reader on edge. The

overwhelming sensation is one of entrapment.

Whether the reader is trapped by the house or by its inhabitants is unclear. Poe uses

the term house to describe both the physical structure and the family. On the one

hand, the house itself appears to be actually sentient, just as Roderick claims. Its

windows are described as “eye-like,” and its interior is compared to a living body.

Roderick suspects that the house controls its inhabitants. On the other hand, there

are plenty of strange things about the Usher family. For one, “the entire family lay in

the direct line of descent,” meaning that only one son from each generation survived

and reproduced. Poe implies incestuous relations sustained the genetic line and that

Roderick and Madeline are the products of extensive intermarriage within the Usher

family.

In the end, both houses “die” at the same time: Madeline falls on her brother, and the

mansion collapses.
The fall of the house of Usher - (EDGAR ALLAN
POE)
TITLE EXPLANATION: The title refers not just to the literal fall of the physical house, but the
metaphorical fall of the Usher family. The narrator revealed that Roderick and his
sister were the last two alive in the family, so when they die, so dies the whole
family.