Interpretive Questions
Aristotle says (p.227) the six elements of tragedy are (a) Spectacle, (b) Melody, (c) Diction, (d) Character, (e) Thought, and (f) Plot. He then says that of these, the most important is plot. Why?
"Peripety" is defined by Aristotle as the change from one state of things to its opposite. "Discovery" is defined as moving from ignorance to knowledge. The third part of tragedy, he says, is "Suffering" (p. 234). Does knowledge help to lessen suffering?
He says the aim of tragedy should be to arouse "pity and fear," and that the plot must be "not simple but complex" in order to arouse pity and fear. Do you agree with these stated aims of tragedy? What about the mechanism to achieve it?
According to Aristotle, these "incidents arousing pity and fear provide an outlet for such emotions." The Greek word for "outlet" is "catharsis." What does a "catharsis" feel like?
Do you agree with what Aristotle says in the section on "Delineation of Character" (p. 238) to the effect that all characters in a tragedy should be good?
In the section on "the Proper Length of a Tragic Play," Aristotle discusses the importance of magnitude of a plot. A tragic play must not only have a beginning, middle, and end, it must also have the proper magnitude, which he defines as "sufficient if the period allows the hero to pass by a series of probable or necessary stages from happiness to misfortune, or vice versa (p. 231)." How do you know when the proper magnitude has been achieved?
On p. 235 it is stated that a character's tragic fate must be the result not of any moral failing ("depravity") but of an "error of judgement." Can a depraved person have a tragic end? If there's no error in judgement but only an accidental circumstance, can there still be a tragedy?
Does Sophocles Oedipus Rex (cf. volume 1, Fifth Series, Great Books Reading and Discussion Program) fit Aristotle's criteria for a well-wrought tragedy?
Evaluative Questions
Why do we enjoy tragedy? Is it because we take solace in viewing the misfortunes of others? A voyeuristic thrill? Or to cultivate, as Unamuno put it, philosophical tragic sense of life? Why do we need art to do this, isn't there enough tragedy in real life?
What is this text for? To make tragedians better at what they do? To make us appreciate tragedy as an art form better? To show us how tragedy works?
Is there still a market for tragedy in America? If so, is it tragedy of a different nature than it was in Aristotle's time? Can you give examples?
For Textual Analysis
pages 227 to 228, from the beginning of the selection to "... admit of Spectacle, Melody, Diction, Character, Thought, and Plot."
pages 231 to 232, beginning, "It is clear from what has been said ... " to "...and they are a delight none the less to all."
pages 235 to 236 beginning "After what has been said above ..." to "... no one is slain by anyone."
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Monday, September 19, 2011
Questions on "King Lear" for September 26th
Why does Lear demand a public declaration of affection from his daughters before dividing his kingdom?
Why does Cordelia refuse to play along with her father's game?
When Gloucester attempts suicide, why does Edgar decline to reveal his true identity (Act IV, Scene Six)?
What is Lear's attraction to the "philosopher," Tom O'Bedlam? (Act III, Scene Four, pp. 175-177, Act III, Scene Six, pages 178-80)?
Why do Goneril and Regan end up in fatal competition for Edmund?
Does "King Lear" suggest that human sexuality is the root cause of all corruption?
Evaluative Questions
In Act III, Scene One, How does the storm in the open country mirror the king's emotional state?
What is the significance of the word "nothing" in the play (it appears in many places, cf. Act I, Scenes One and Two.)
What is the meaning of Edgar's lines:
Men must endure
Their going hence, even as their coming hither;
Ripeness is all
Is it possible to envisage an alternative, happy, ending to the play?
If no, is the ending the best one could hope for? Is Edgar going to be King? Will he be a better King than Lear?
Passages for Textual Analysis
A. Act I, Scene Two, pages 129-130, from Gloucester's speech beginning, "These late eclipses in the sun and moon ..." to Edmund's speech ending, "O, these eclipses do portend these divisions, Fa, sol, la, mi."
B. Compare the Fool's speeches,
1. Act I, Scene Four, pages 136-137 beginning, "That lord that counsell'd thee ..." to "All thy other titles thou has given away; that thou wast born with."
2. Act II, Scene Four, page 157 beginning, "Fathers that wear rags ..." to "daughters as thou canst tell in a year."
3. Act II, Scene Four, pages 157-58, beginning, "We'll set thee to school to an ant ..." to "Not 'i the stocks, fool."
4. Act III, Scene Two, page 168, beginning, "the cod-piece that will house ... " to "For there was never yet fair woman but she made mouths in a glass."
5. Act III, Scene Two, page 170 beginning, "He that has and a little tiny wit ..." to "This prophecy Merlin shall make; for I live before his time."
C. Act IV, Scene Six, pages 200-203 from Lear's speech beginning, "Ha, Goneril, with a white beard," to Lear's speech ending, "you shall get it by running, Sa, Sa, Sa, Sa.
D. Act V, Scene Three, pages 213-214, from Lear's speech beginning, "No, no, no, no! Come let's away to prison." to Lear's speech ending, "We'll see 'em starv'd first. Come."
Friday, August 12, 2011
Questions on "The Education of Henry Adams" by Henry Adams
Interpretive Questions
Why is this autobiography called The Education of Henry Adams? Of what does Adams consider his education to have truly consisted? What is his critique of his education?
On p. 66 Adams writes, "Supposing he had seen a New York stocklist of 1900, and had studied the statistics of railways, telegraphs, coal and steel -- would he have quitted his eighteenth century, his ancestral prejudices, his abstract ideals, his semiclerical training, and the rest, in order to perform an expiatory pilgrimage to State Street, and ask for the fatted calf of his grandfather Brooks and a clerkship to the Suffolk Bank?" What in Adams's mind, are the relative "advantages" of Quincy vs. Boston (as represented by State Street)?
Page 80: "This is the story of an education, and the person or persons who figure in it are supposed to have values only as educators or educated." This might make for a good intellectual autobiography, but does it give too narrow a portrait of its subject?
As a young boy Adams visited a slave state for for the first time. He writes (p.87, 88), "He took education politically," and "The more he was educated, the less he understood." Is the latter statement in keeping with Adams's theme of a proper education?
On page 109, Adams writes of the typical Harvard College graduate, "Afraid of serious risks, and still more afraid of personal ridicule, he seldom made a great failure of life, and nearly always led a life more or less worth living." Why does Adams have such a lukewarm view of his famous alma mater?
Does anything in this work presage Adams's future interested in politics? Will Adams regret not pursuing a high-profile political career as his illustrious relatives had?
Is Adams proud of the life he has led?
Why does Adams write in the third person if the subject is himself?
Who is the intended audience for The Education of Henry Adams?
Evaluative Questions
Adams writes (p.51) : "Politics as a practice, whatever its professions, had always been the systematic organization of hatreds." Your reaction?
Which does Adams prefer, the "unity" of medieval life or the "multiplicity" of modern life?
For Textual Analysis
1. Pages 45 to 46, the Preface
2. Pages 73 to 75, beginning, "This political party became a chief influence ... " to "... but Mr Sumner was a different order -- heroic."
3. Pages 77 to 79, beginning, "Viewed from Mt. Vernon Street" ... to "... they exaggerated the literary and the political interests."
4. Pages 110 to 112, beginning, "Inevitably and effort leads to an ambition" to the end of the selection."
Why is this autobiography called The Education of Henry Adams? Of what does Adams consider his education to have truly consisted? What is his critique of his education?
On p. 66 Adams writes, "Supposing he had seen a New York stocklist of 1900, and had studied the statistics of railways, telegraphs, coal and steel -- would he have quitted his eighteenth century, his ancestral prejudices, his abstract ideals, his semiclerical training, and the rest, in order to perform an expiatory pilgrimage to State Street, and ask for the fatted calf of his grandfather Brooks and a clerkship to the Suffolk Bank?" What in Adams's mind, are the relative "advantages" of Quincy vs. Boston (as represented by State Street)?
Page 80: "This is the story of an education, and the person or persons who figure in it are supposed to have values only as educators or educated." This might make for a good intellectual autobiography, but does it give too narrow a portrait of its subject?
As a young boy Adams visited a slave state for for the first time. He writes (p.87, 88), "He took education politically," and "The more he was educated, the less he understood." Is the latter statement in keeping with Adams's theme of a proper education?
On page 109, Adams writes of the typical Harvard College graduate, "Afraid of serious risks, and still more afraid of personal ridicule, he seldom made a great failure of life, and nearly always led a life more or less worth living." Why does Adams have such a lukewarm view of his famous alma mater?
Does anything in this work presage Adams's future interested in politics? Will Adams regret not pursuing a high-profile political career as his illustrious relatives had?
Is Adams proud of the life he has led?
Why does Adams write in the third person if the subject is himself?
Who is the intended audience for The Education of Henry Adams?
Evaluative Questions
Adams writes (p.51) : "Politics as a practice, whatever its professions, had always been the systematic organization of hatreds." Your reaction?
Which does Adams prefer, the "unity" of medieval life or the "multiplicity" of modern life?
For Textual Analysis
1. Pages 45 to 46, the Preface
2. Pages 73 to 75, beginning, "This political party became a chief influence ... " to "... but Mr Sumner was a different order -- heroic."
3. Pages 77 to 79, beginning, "Viewed from Mt. Vernon Street" ... to "... they exaggerated the literary and the political interests."
4. Pages 110 to 112, beginning, "Inevitably and effort leads to an ambition" to the end of the selection."
Henry Adams (1838-1918)
Henry Adams's Education recounts the author's life up through the year 1904. The book wasn't published until 1918, the year Adams died. It won a Pulitzer Prize for Biography/Autobiography in 1919.
Our selection this month consists of four chapters from the Education covering years he spent in four places: Quincy (1838-1848), Boston (1848-1854), Washington (1850-1854), Harvard College (1854-1858).
Adams was the great-grandson of President John Adams, grandson of Quincy Adams, and son of Charles Francis Adams, a politician and diplomat. Henry made his mark with his pen as a political lobbyist, journalist, and historian. For many years he circulated in elite circles of American politics and cultivated friendships with leading artists, scientists, and intellectuals on both sides of the Atlantic.
Adams is pictured here in his Harvard College graduation photo.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Questions re: "The Revolution in France," by Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke (1727 to 1797) was an English statesman, philosopher, and writer. He was a Whig member of Parliament for many years. In the year 1790, during the early stages of the French Revolution, he wrote an extended letter to a young Parisian acquaintance, Charles-Jean-François Depont, stating his views on the Revolution. Also intended as a rebuttal to London societies that had arisen in support of the Revolution, his "Reflections on the Revolution in France," was published in November of that year as an extended pamphlet. It was a golden age of the political pamphlet, and Tom Paine's "Rights of Man" was written as a rebuttal to Burke.
Interpretive Questions
What is a "manly, moral, regulated liberty" (p.1), and why does Burke tell us that he loves it "as well as any gentleman."
What are Burke's beliefs on meritocracy (i.e., that citizens achieve their rank through personal ability and accomplishment), and how does he react to some who came to the fore in the revolution (p. 18-19)?
On p. 18 Burke writes of hairdressers and tallow-chandlers, "Such descriptions of men ought not to suffer oppression from the state; but the state suffers oppression if such as they, either individually or collectively, are permitted to rule. In this you think you are combatting prejudice, but you are at war with nature." If Burke is against workers assuming positions of power, what would be his criteria for a suitable leader?
Why does Burke think the "principle of property" (p. 19-20) so important to the political system?
P. 20: "Some decent, regulated preeminence, some preference (not exclusive appropriation) given to birth is neither unnatural, nor unjust, nor impolitic." Do you think preference given to birth is (a) natural, (b) just, (c) politic, (d) all three?
P. 24: "What is the use of discussing a man's abstract right to food or medicine? The question is upon the method of procuring and administering them. In that deliberation I shall always advise to call in the aid of the farmer and the physician rather than the professor of metaphysics." Can there be any argument here?
What, according to Burke, caused the revolution (p. 28)?
Why does Burke say that in a government not headed by a hereditary monarch, "Men would become little better than the flies of summer." (p.32)
What is meant by Burke's use of the phrase, "the sense of mankind" (p. 36), and does it reflect on the role of philosophy in sorting out the many challenges inherent in human society? Given his earlier critique of placing reason over sentiment, is there a contradiction?
Burke at various points invokes a divine power (p. 38, "parental Guardian and Legislator", p. 30, "Master Author and Founder of society"). What role does this power play in his politics?
Why at the end of the piece does he take a dig at people who are too busy finding fault with things to try to make them better?
Based on what you know of French history, could the French truly have sustained themselves on memories of more glorious past rulers than Louis XVI and refrained from revolution?
Evaluative Questions
P. 17: "Believe me sir, those who attempt to level, never equalize." Do you agree?
Is Burke's discussion of civil society, (p. 23, "Men cannot enjoy the rights of an uncivil and of a civil state together. That he may obtain justice, he gives up his right of determining what it is in points the most essential to him. That he may secure some liberty, he makes a surrender in trust of the whole of it," etc.) a good assessment of civil society's the costs and benefits?
Is Burke's essay, in its explicit critique of the events in France. an implicit defense of the English system? Is the piece really more about England than about France?
Is this a great book or an important book? Is it both?
Passages to Discuss
Pages 3 to 5, beginning, "You will observe that from Magna Carta ... to "...for the great conservatories and magazines of our rights and privileges."
Pages 13 to 16, beginning, "Judge, Sir, of my surprise ... " to "the natural landed interest of the country."
Pages 17 to 19, beginning, "Believe me, sir, those who attempt to level ..." to "by some difficulty and some struggle."
Pages 28 to 30, beginning, "History will record that on the morning..." to "with fervent prayer and enthusiastic ejaculation."
Pages 34 to 35, beginning, "Society is indeed a contract" to "madness, discord, vice, confusion, and unraveling sorrow."
Interpretive Questions
What is a "manly, moral, regulated liberty" (p.1), and why does Burke tell us that he loves it "as well as any gentleman."
What are Burke's beliefs on meritocracy (i.e., that citizens achieve their rank through personal ability and accomplishment), and how does he react to some who came to the fore in the revolution (p. 18-19)?
On p. 18 Burke writes of hairdressers and tallow-chandlers, "Such descriptions of men ought not to suffer oppression from the state; but the state suffers oppression if such as they, either individually or collectively, are permitted to rule. In this you think you are combatting prejudice, but you are at war with nature." If Burke is against workers assuming positions of power, what would be his criteria for a suitable leader?
Why does Burke think the "principle of property" (p. 19-20) so important to the political system?
P. 20: "Some decent, regulated preeminence, some preference (not exclusive appropriation) given to birth is neither unnatural, nor unjust, nor impolitic." Do you think preference given to birth is (a) natural, (b) just, (c) politic, (d) all three?
P. 24: "What is the use of discussing a man's abstract right to food or medicine? The question is upon the method of procuring and administering them. In that deliberation I shall always advise to call in the aid of the farmer and the physician rather than the professor of metaphysics." Can there be any argument here?
What, according to Burke, caused the revolution (p. 28)?
Why does Burke say that in a government not headed by a hereditary monarch, "Men would become little better than the flies of summer." (p.32)
What is meant by Burke's use of the phrase, "the sense of mankind" (p. 36), and does it reflect on the role of philosophy in sorting out the many challenges inherent in human society? Given his earlier critique of placing reason over sentiment, is there a contradiction?
Burke at various points invokes a divine power (p. 38, "parental Guardian and Legislator", p. 30, "Master Author and Founder of society"). What role does this power play in his politics?
Why at the end of the piece does he take a dig at people who are too busy finding fault with things to try to make them better?
Based on what you know of French history, could the French truly have sustained themselves on memories of more glorious past rulers than Louis XVI and refrained from revolution?
Evaluative Questions
P. 17: "Believe me sir, those who attempt to level, never equalize." Do you agree?
Is Burke's discussion of civil society, (p. 23, "Men cannot enjoy the rights of an uncivil and of a civil state together. That he may obtain justice, he gives up his right of determining what it is in points the most essential to him. That he may secure some liberty, he makes a surrender in trust of the whole of it," etc.) a good assessment of civil society's the costs and benefits?
Is Burke's essay, in its explicit critique of the events in France. an implicit defense of the English system? Is the piece really more about England than about France?
Is this a great book or an important book? Is it both?
Passages to Discuss
Pages 3 to 5, beginning, "You will observe that from Magna Carta ... to "...for the great conservatories and magazines of our rights and privileges."
Pages 13 to 16, beginning, "Judge, Sir, of my surprise ... " to "the natural landed interest of the country."
Pages 17 to 19, beginning, "Believe me, sir, those who attempt to level ..." to "by some difficulty and some struggle."
Pages 28 to 30, beginning, "History will record that on the morning..." to "with fervent prayer and enthusiastic ejaculation."
Pages 34 to 35, beginning, "Society is indeed a contract" to "madness, discord, vice, confusion, and unraveling sorrow."
Monday, June 20, 2011
Questions about Dante's Inferno, Cantos 17-34, for June 27th
Interpretive Questions
Why do Dante and Virgil descend to Lower Hell on Geryon's back?
Does Dante uniformly show pity ("pietà") towards the denizens of hell?
Why is Lucifer portrayed as a weeping demon frozen in the center of the Earth? Why are the betrayers of Julius Caesar (Brutus and Cassius) portrayed as being as wicked as the betrayer of Jesus Christ (Judas Iscariot)?
Why must Virgil and Dante ascend through the other side of the earth at the end?
Evaluative Questions
Has Dante constructed a just hierarchy of sins?
How well does Dante juggle his roles as pilgrim, judge, narrator, and poet?
What are Dante's views on Jews and Muslims (cf. cantos IV, XXIII, XXVIII)
Speculative Questions
Who was Dante's intended audience? How was the poem disseminated? Why has the poem become so wildly popular?
Who other than Virgil might have been a good guide to hell?
For Textual Analysis
V. Canto XXVI, pages 220 to 223 : the Fate of Ulysses, beginning "So when the flame had reached us, and my guide ... " to the end of the Canto.
VI. Canto XXXIII, pages 255 to 260, Tale of Ugolino and Ruggieri.
Why do Dante and Virgil descend to Lower Hell on Geryon's back?
Does Dante uniformly show pity ("pietà") towards the denizens of hell?
Why is Lucifer portrayed as a weeping demon frozen in the center of the Earth? Why are the betrayers of Julius Caesar (Brutus and Cassius) portrayed as being as wicked as the betrayer of Jesus Christ (Judas Iscariot)?
Why must Virgil and Dante ascend through the other side of the earth at the end?
Evaluative Questions
Has Dante constructed a just hierarchy of sins?
How well does Dante juggle his roles as pilgrim, judge, narrator, and poet?
What are Dante's views on Jews and Muslims (cf. cantos IV, XXIII, XXVIII)
Speculative Questions
Who was Dante's intended audience? How was the poem disseminated? Why has the poem become so wildly popular?
Who other than Virgil might have been a good guide to hell?
For Textual Analysis
V. Canto XXVI, pages 220 to 223 : the Fate of Ulysses, beginning "So when the flame had reached us, and my guide ... " to the end of the Canto.
VI. Canto XXXIII, pages 255 to 260, Tale of Ugolino and Ruggieri.
Friday, June 3, 2011
JFK and Dante
In Canto III of "Inferno," Dante and Virgil visit the Vestibule of Hell, an antechamber for indecisive souls. According to Dante, this place is reserved for "those sad souls who lived a life but lived it with no blame and no praise."
President John F. Kennedy is reported to have admired Dante's line about "the coward who made the great refusal," which scholars believe refers to Pontius Pilate. The Vestibule is reserved for those who could not make up their minds. Dante imputes a strong element of willfulness (the "great refusal") to this condition of moral indecision. He says,
Heaven, to keep its beauty, cast them out,
but even Hell itself would not receive them,
for fear the damned might glory over them.
In other words, sometimes a decisive sinner will outshine a namby-pamby fence-sitter, and Dante won't let this happen in his moral universe.
Illustration: Fresco by Domenico di Michelino in the nave of Florence's cathedral (1465). Though banished from Florence on political grounds in his lifetime, Dante definitely made it back big time later on. Note that with his right hand he gestures to the parade of sinners, and holds his poem in the left for the world to see.
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