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Welcome to the British Literature Time Machine

The Begining In Brief:

Someone told a story.

Someone wrote a story.

Someone read the story.

Someone had a question.

Social Class

Innocence and Loss

Desire (Triangles of)

Power Wealth and Kingship

Sexuality

Beauty

Religion

BEowulf

Canterbury Tales

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

Henry IV Parts 1 and 2

(Early Modern/English Renaissance) ~1597 Henry Iv part II (field trip) (Early Modern/English Renaissance) 1599

Social Class: Who is it proper for the prince of England to associate with? Is it alright to throw off responsibility to fraternize with lower classes and have some somewhat harmless fun?

The play opens with Hal making irresponsible choices and not taking his position as the heir to the kingdom seriously. He hangs out with Falstaff, and drunk who likes pranks and women. It isn’t until the end of the play, when Hal has accepted his role as heir to the Kingdom that he turns his back on Falstaff to preform the role as the Highest class in all of England. Is it right to leave friends behind for the good of a nation? Is it best to fill the status as King and understand your role in society?

Innocence and Loss: Is it best to try and live a life of innocence and not notice anything around you? Or is it better to experience loss in order to realize responsibility?

Through the first novel Hal has to deal with the impending crisis in the country, but instead he is trying to live a child’s life and remain unconcerned. In the second play he comes to terms with the fact that he does want to hold the crown, and even has a moment of complete loss when his father, thinking him unworthy pushes him away. It seems Shakespeare is saying it is better to take responsibility than to stay in the dark, not matter how comfortable.

Power Wealth and Kingship: The play’s about Henry are all about power, responsibility and what it takes to rule a kingdom. A rebellion rises up because other people think they are better suited to rule the kingdom. They also believe, as in Hotspur’s case, that their heir are better suited to inherit the country. It is because of Hal’s lack of power that trouble arises. Hal struggles with the need to be a strong leader until he comes to term with it at the end of the play. He must prove to a nation that he is no longer a fool hearty child, because if he is seen as such another rebellion, just like the first will rise up to test the foundation of his leadership.

Macbeth

(William Shakespeare)(Renaissance) 1603-1607

Religion: Can religion be replaced just by fate?

The three witch sisters are representative of the Fates who appear in Greek and Roman mythology. Although, they control the plot of the book and are unnatural, they also seem to represent death. Their spells use the left over parts of dead animals or involves killing the animals to get the organs. Unlike God who is often associated with light and life, these three sisters who are fate are death. Religion is meant to be a source of hope, so fate merely is not enough.

Social Class: Why does Shakespeare choose to give voice to the porter who is the only non-royal and uneducated person?

The porter, although uneducated and not of royal blood, has an important task of watching the door of the fortress. He decides who may or may not enter; the porter controls the ideas, intelligence, and influences that will reach the lord and the lady. Therefore although he may not be important in some aspects, he is an important function to the castle.

Innocence and Loss: Once innocence is lost, does that lead to insanity?

Both MacBeth and his wife go insane after they lose their innocence in the murder of the King. MacBeth, however, should have already lost his innocence in war when he murdered hundreds of other men. Only when he broke the rules of courtesy and killed the person he was supposed to serve and protect as a lord and host did MacBeth become insane. By going against his duty, MacBeth became insane.

Desires (triangles of): MacBeth/Lady MacBeth, Duncan, the Three Sisters

Power Wealth and Kingship: What is Shakespeare attempting to say about kingship when the king is so easily removed?

Although the king is removed in the beginning, MacBeth is proven to be a tyrant and seen as an antagonist. In addition, MacBeth was given help by the “devil” represented by the three sisters, so the sovereignty had an obstacle that was set by evil and was proven o eventually overcome this obstacle by always keep faith. The kingship was returned to the right person, so everything ended up well and it was shown that the rule will always be handed to the person that deserves it.

Sexuality: Why is Lady MacBeth so worried about her sexuality when she is able to use it as a weapon?

Lady MacBeth demands to be unsexed but a few scenes later she uses the femininity to convince the guards to get drunk. Lady MacBeth is worried about the consequences of her actions and is afraid to deal with them. She does not want to feel guilty and believes that masculinity will allow her to be released from guilt. Lady MacBeth might not be seeing power in masculinity but rather freedom.

Beauty: Theme does not appear until Romanticism.

Paradise Lost

(2nd edition) (John Milton) (Restoration/Renaissance) (1674)

Religion: Why does Milton decide to choose Satan and God to represent his own experiences in revolution?

Milton chooses these two figures because the story behind them is already well-known. Therefore, readers will be more likely to look behind the story and find a parallel with Milton’s own life as a revolutionist. Satan also spends much of the text justifying his actions and appears to be the protagonist to the reader. Milton is able to voice his own thoughts through a revolutionist like himself who ultimately failed and recognizes that he could have been wrong.

Beauty: Why are the archangels described with such beauty when they are meant to be feared?

The archangels are meant to be pitied as they have just lost a cause that they fought for. However, the beauty is also paired with descriptions of immense power which causes the reader to fear them. The two contrasting views are meant to confuse the reader so that there is no real solid description of what the angels are. This allows Milton an artistic freedom with them and the angels are not set into expectations.

Sexuality (chivalry): When the rest of the angels and beings are able to be sexless why is Sin female?

The story of Adam and the Eve has set a literary tradition that Milton seems to be following. The faults of society are normally portrayed as a female character and Sin would be one of the faults. Milton is known not to be an advocate for women’s rights and therefore it seems likely that he would try to enforce the idea of a women’s guilt.

Social Class: Are social classes acceptable since they seem to exist even in heaven?

Power/Kingship/Money (bloodlines): Is it possible to distinguish between justified power and power based on tradition?

Milton appears to believe that although there is a difference between an actual justified power based on strength and a power based merely on tradition, it is not always possible to see this difference. Even an angel as smart and perfect as Satan was could not see the difference between these two powers when it came to God. Satan made the mistake and therefore humanity is meant to make this mistake too.

Loss of Innocence: Is rebellion a loss of innocence or merely a sin?

Satan’s thoughts of rebellion brought life to Sin. Once one is introduced to sin, then one’s innocence is lost. Therefore rebellion against a justified power is both a sin and will cause the rebels to loose their innocence.

Desire (triangles of): Chaos, God, Satan

Lyrical Ballads and Romantic Poetry

Pride and Prejudice

Frankenstien

Wuthering Heights

The Time Machince

Dracula

Religion

What role should religion play when in the face of power?

Religion often bows to the ranks of social classes, but once it does so religion is viewed to be corrupted and not worthy of attention. Therefore religion should be above power and social classes, but often is not

Should religion affect one’s actions?

Although religion is not placed in the main scope of attention in Pride and Prejudice, there is a respect towards religion and changes the views of the society which appears to be the most important force in the novel.

-Does God exist? Wuthering Heights seems to point out many ideas that go against Christian values. It presents the ghosts and supernatural existences of spirits as a true possibility and somehow creates the general illusion of a rather secular setting. Also, what’s the deal with Heathcliff? He seems an awful lot like the forsaken angel figure. And by forsaken angel, we mean Satan.

-Why does a stake to the heart finish off the vampire? Well as we can see with Lucy and Dracula, the only effective way to end a vampire’s life is to stake it in the heart. The Christian connotations are indubitable: they are essentially getting crucified. Dracula is pretty clearly the villain, and the reader has little doubt that he will die at the end of the novel, so it becomes the manner of his death that is truly significant.

Beauty

How does the expanse of nature work with the closure of houses?

In the film version, the two contrasting landscapes apply as a sort of balance which seems to also reflect the other powers at odds in the novel. The landscapes seem to reflect the stress in social classes: rich and the poor.

-Who plays God in this novel - Victor or the monster? Who has the power? How does beauty play into this? Typically, the narration hints towards Victor being the God figure in the novel - he attempts to create new life, but realizes his mortal limitations. The monster, on the other hand, has physical strength, but lacks the emotional maturity to understand how to live its life. These traits all relate to the inherent idea of beauty in the monster. The monster believes he is ugly, so he essentially believes that he is less than Victor. Despite anything that the monster does, ultimately all he wants is to be human. Talk about a sad reversal of mind and body: Victor doesn’t look the part, but he’s the real monster for creating something and abandoning it.

What does Heathcliff’s dark skin do? Well it separates him as a gypsy. It makes him the target of harassment. In another sense however, it sets him apart as a more beautiful and exotic person. Heathcliff is the “bad guy” that all the girls like - he may be a jerk when it comes to his relationships but he sure knows how to turn on the charm.

-Is aesthetic (seductive) or spiritual (emotional) beauty better? Let’s compare Mina with Lucy once again. Lucy is a seductive vampire mistress - her body is her primary trait. It is also clear from her multiple affairs that she has had her own good share of sexual activity, so it is probably safe to say that Lucy is representative of aesthetic beauty. What about Mina? Well she is a rather sexless female character - her strength comes from her virtues and not her appearance. Mina is not particularly described as beautiful, but it’s unlikely that she’s particularly ugly either. If Jonathan can resist the temptation of three half dressed female vampires, he must have good reason to do so. Mina’s spiritual beauty simply becomes more important for the novel.

Sexuality

What is the role of an educated female? Should females be educated?

Educated women are seen to be important in the book as both women who were smart and intelligent were raised up in society while others were made to depend on them. There did not seem to be an attempt to push further education after marriage though.

-Incestual love in Frankenstein? What a weird question. This is one of the most compelling questions that was created just as a possible thought - Victor loves his adopted sister while the monster wants Victor to create a monster wife. If we look at typical familial structures, Victor is technically the monster’s father, so to create a female monster for Victor’s monster to marry would be to allow for incestual love. It is a crazy question like this one that is even at all possible only when thinking about British Literature.

-Incest again? Heathcliff and Catherine again are pretty open about their attraction to each other with the sensational proclamations of love throughout the novel. Too bad that the love is all too often strewn with revenge and complete evilness on occasion. Well to be completely fair, the fact that it is a degree of incest probably messed with their heads at least a little.

-What about women? What gives the woman power over other characters? Well we can start to answer this highly complex and reoccurring question by highlighting the source of strength for women in Dracula. Mina, despite being assaulted by Dracula, remains a powerful source of resistance for him throughout the novel. She is easily the strongest emotionally of all the characters as we can see from her dealings with both her husband’s kidnapping and Dracula’s assault, and manages to keep her strength throughout the novel. Although the gang of guys still have to protect, they don’t do a very good job until the very end. What allows Mina to remain sexually independent and powerful at the end of the novel are the very trials she is forced to undergo. Whatever gender roles women are supposed to adopt are altered, since Mina manages to become an ideal woman. In the end, open admittance of sexuality is probably not the way to deal with things since Lucy comes off as a whorish figure; on the other hand, losing ones innocence doesn’t really take away Mina’s power, so there is probably a balance that is necessary.

Power Wealth and Kingship

Does an older sibling deserve more than the younger ones?

There is a considerable amount of competition between the siblings in the field of marriage. Both the elder sisters end up in a higher social class and the lower siblings do not seem to have much hope in their future. However, this could merely just be that the elder sister have had more experience up to that point.

Does wealth play a role in one’s future happiness?

Wealth does appear to lead to happiness when looking at the novel plotwise, but Austen does not state whether the two elder sisters are happier than they previously were after they were married.

Desires (Triangles of)

Darcy, Elizabeth, Bingley’s Sister

Wickham, Elizabeth, Lidia

-Can we really call what Heathcliff and Catherine had love or was it desire that drove them? It was probably desire. Let’s be honest here, Catherine thought Heathcliff was attractive so she decided to have a little fling here and there - too bad it didn’t work out for her (she’s dead). Heathcliff probably loved Catherine though. Guys like those manipulative and bipolar types.

Innocence and Loss

How does a loss of innocence effect one’s position in society?

Lidia experiences a loss of innocence after running off with Wickham. Her position in society dramatically changes after that as she is embarrassing for the family, but society’s attention is turned away from them just as fast.

-What compels Victor’s monster to commit acts of atrocity? When the monster is first born, its soul is as beautiful as a little contorted creature’s soul could possibly be! The monster ends up going on a killing rampage and costing many lives. What in the world could have resulted in this? Well the simple answer: mankind did. The superficiality of the society of man causes the monster to lose faith in humanity - very much the opposite of God, who always keeps his faith in humanity.

Social Class

Should the intermingling of social classes be accepted? Austen appears to believe that intermingling of social classes is acceptable as long as the intelligence and amount of education is matched up. As long as the two groups are able to commucate effectively Austen accepts the idea.

How should social classes interact with each other?

Pride and Prejudice revolves around the idea of poorer women moving up in society through marriage and therefore there is a deference to the richer people in society. Austen does not criticize or attempt to fix this social practice.

-What drives the novel to be what it is? Social Class, Power, Money or even Blood, whatever you call it, the inherent lack of all these things is what creates the most compelling character of the novel: Heathcliff. Bronte essentially takes a look at what happens when social boundaries are allowed to be broken - what happens when a poor boy with absolutely nothing falls in love with a rich girl with everything to live for?

Passage to India

Social Class

-What does Social Class function as: a barrier between races or a medium for new understanding? The difference in Social Class not only separates Indians from the British colonists, but it also causes a forced understanding. The domination of the British is the result of many years of social segregation. While this usually cuts off any communication between the two sides, Aziz and Fielding try desperately to understand the other side - the emotion of the Indian culture and the logical science that comes with English culture separate them just as Social Class does.

Religion

-What role does Christianity play? What does it do for this complex film? It’s clear that Christianity acts as not only a religious ideal that separates the British colonists and the Indians, but it allows for permeability between different groups of people. For example, Aziz dresses and acts like a British man, despite being Indian - this is possible through both his ability to speak English and, as Ronny says, “his best Sunday morning Church outfit.” Christianity may not always be present as a clear presence, but the influence of Christianity is strewn all throughout the movie.

Sexuality

Desire

-What compels Adela to accuse Aziz of raping her? It is clear that the combination of Adela falls victim to the seductive nature of India. When Aziz accompanies Adela into the caves, Adela loses herself in the swarm of sexual impulse. Her own inability to satiate her sexuality and desire create a delusion in her mind; by imagining a make believe rape scene, Adela tries to cope with the radical transfer of the neat and tidy English colonies and the tropical caves.

Mrs. Dalloway

-Why a blood sucking vampire? Well... Victorian novels are “proper” and super prudish... Why not mess everyone up by writing a novel about sexuality and eroticism? Dracula is essentially the sexual predator of the Victorian Period in writing. He brings in that nice element of horror, and does a pretty nice job of it. Just uttering his presence forces the insanity of men. He sucks blood, the very life force of man, and it is simultaneously a very sexual and taboo act that presents a radical separation from society. These things all give both Dracula the ghoulish sexual predator and Dracula the Victorian novel a general authoritative quality. Bram Stoker writes this novel with enough assertiveness to threaten a standing power in society - the idealistic subjugation of desire. Stoker’s questions its very meaning as an ideal.

  • Why do Peter and Clarrisa, if they regret the past so much, turn waway what they desire?
  • Does Clarrissa's position as a hostes really seperate her from people like Peter and Mrs. Kilman? Or is it simply and illusion based of materials?
  • Who holds the power over the lives of the characters? Is it themselves or the people around them?
  • Is it really possible to never know anyone? As Woolf seems to be suggesting through her characters?

Wishing we had more time to analyze Mrs. Dalloway, in class, we have come up with questions that we hope will continue our interest in British Literature. These questions are similar to the Themes and Ideas we have seen throughout all of our studies, and we will most likely see these themes throughout the rest of our lices.

Modern Times

Dracula: bloodsucking nobility? Also, why is everyone who resists him educated and middle class? Well, first of all, Dracula is a beast - not just literally (i.e. can transform into animals) - but also figuratively as he is constantly in both a powerful position and status. Dracula feeds on the common folk and rich folk alike - although he tends to like the blood of those fancy aristocrats more. Dracula is so powerful a force that for centuries he has remained on the prowl and unnoticed by the world and the one person who finally realizes what he’s done is a young middle class lawyer! Not only does this imply the usurping of the nobles by the middle class (nice call Stoker), but it clearly fights off any impression one might have of noble superiority. Sure, they are rich, but that does not give them the right to eat commoners for breakfast. Now that’s not to say that Stoker wants a class revolution, but we can be pretty sure a middle class Dracula probably isn’t going to pop out any time soon.

Bram Stoker

H.G. Wells

Emily Bronte

Mary Shelly

Jane Austen

1798 Wordsworth, Coleridge and many more

Romantic and Early Victorian Period

Unfortunatly, Poetry and the Lyrical ballads did not fit in our time vortext, so we're bringing you on a side journey. Poetry is another form of literature, and instead of thinking of this as a downgrade, it is more of a show of respect to the sheer amount of work has gone into poetry over it's existence, and the influence Romantic Poets hold.

Early Modern/ British Renaissance

Literature has always been based off of questions that appear through society. Authors have attempted to bring these questions to light and explain them through their writing. More often than not more questions are presented instead of answers. As Honors British Literature students, we have brought to the table some of the common categories authors ask questions about. For each text, we have attempted to find the questions the authors ask and propose a possible answer.

Since then literature has expanded.

OLD / MIDDLE

English

British Literature

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