John Dryden: Absalom and Achitophel
Prompt 1: Satire in the Restoration Period is instructive of the nature of moral philosophy, ideal for criticism and for the double role of pleasure and instruction, concerned to hold men responsible to a high standard of honor and reasonable behavior, supporting the need for law and order: What does John Dryden, the satirist, define as “a high standard of honor and reasonable behavior?” What does he speak out against? How does he use satire to justify his purpose?
Prompt 2: The world of Dryden is divided into fools and knaves, easy prey to the designs of selfish ambition. So where do you suppose Absalom falls within this division? Is he easy prey? In your response, identify both Absalom’s weaknesses and strengths to support your argument.
John Gay: Beggar’s Opera
Prompt 1: In The Beggar’s Opera, romanticism is a resource only for those who know nothing of reality. The play itself moves from benign to vicious images, from unself-conscious, romantic, and conventional to a more cynical and analytical use of the same sort of material. At first, Polly epitomizes ignorance and innocence. As the play progresses, do you feel she changes? Why or why not?
Prompt 2: The outlaw gang are men who risk their lives for what they get. They depend upon each other for their safety, and their dependence builds a loyalty beyond the appeal of interest. How might you compare the outlaw gang in The Beggar’s Opera to that of the chivalric code? Does Gay give the reader a different understanding of the hypocrisies of the aristocratic 18th century gentleman, parodied by the outlaw gang? How has the gentleman changed from the “chivalric knight” to the modern aristocrat? Do you feel something is lost in this transition from earlier fiction we have read?
Alexander Pope: The Rape of the Lock
Prompt 1: How is Alexander Pope satirizing the common manners of 18th century British society and how is “the lock” symbolic of that society’s hypocrisy?
Prompt 2: Beauty is a common theme in Rape of the Lock. What does it come to mean and represent? How is its power limited? Consider the calm reasoning quality of Clarissa compared to the hasty, destructive behavior of Belinda?
Samuel Johnson: Rasselas, The Prince of Abyssinia
Prompt 1: Consider the role of the astronomer in Rasselas. Explain how isolation from the world leads the imagination to prey upon the mind. How is it that we can only have a productive, meaningful life by being directly involved in the living world?
Prompt 2: In Rasselas, Johnson asserts that: “Marriage is evidently the dictate of nature; men and women were made to be companions of each other, and therefore I cannot be persuaded but that marriage is one of the means of happiness.” How do these attitudes about marriage compare to Rape of the Lock?