Literature/Desire


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Weeks 1-3: Dragon Slayers

1. What genres do the following texts belong to, and how do their intended period contexts, purposes, and intended audiences differ? Voluspa, Volsunga Saga, Beowulf, The Hobbi t and  Lord of the Rings . Remember to give some examples from these texts that support your identification (for example: "Voluspa is an example of the _____ genre, as the following references to gods from the poem illustrate: "Hear my words / you holy gods' (l.1) "By Odin's Will I'll speak the ancient lore" (l.3), etc). 2. What are some possible features of residual (or "secondary") orality preserved in  Voluspa , according to the criteria Ong (1982) advances? 3. Identify a central incident that happens in at least four of the above texts, and discuss how it is both similar and different in each example (remember to cite from the original texts). 4. How did Tolkien draw on the Old Norse and Old English texts in his  The Hobbit  and  The Lord of the Rings  fanta...
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Weeks 10-12: post-/modernism

Modernism What does  The Wasteland  mean (Lol)? OK, well, let's unpack that: 1. How has it been interpreted? Use citations. 2. What are some of its key features? 3. In what ways has it been influential?? PoMo 1. What common qualities do the "Beats" share? Why were they so-named? 2. On what grounds was Ginsberg's HOWL accused of being obscene, and on what grounds was it defended? 3. In what ways are Beat poetry and rap linked? 4. How was Bob Dylan's song Master of War involved in controversy during the Bush administration? 5. What kinda protest song/rap/other media have come out in the last decade? Is there a spirit of protest anymore?
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Weeks 4-6: The Language of Seduction

conditions by which the lady is either beautiful or ugly, and the actions of the knight/king/"hero"... 2.  The Wife of Bath's Tale is considered by some critics to indicate that Chaucer may have been a feminist.  Why might they believe this?  Do you agree?  Remember to cite evidence from the text or some other source. 3.Hahn's essay (see critical reader) on The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnelle identifies the motif of the loathly lady, but argues it has a different purpose than asserting the feminine.  What does he think the function of the story is? 4. In the context of Elizabethan and Jacobean sonnets, how can we define "conceits"? 5. Discuss what you think is the most striking or outrageous example. 6. What does Revard (1997) suggest about the relationship between language, sex, power and transgression in the English Renaissance?
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