House of the Seven Gables

A few questions on Hawthorne:

• What is the significance of the names of the characters (as well as the families they belong to) in relation to their actions and characters?
• What does the novel seem to say about time and the passage of time (especially in relation to the house)?
• There seems to be a point being made in the lives of the characters about the effect of Grief and sadness. What does the novel seem to say about the benefits/detriments of this on people's lives/characters?

The Professor's house

Just thought I'd put some discussion questions out there for the Professor's house. Hope these help!

• What is the meaning/implication of the various names and titles with which each of the characters are referred to in the different situations in the novel?
• Consider how time is manipulated/represented in this novel (through the house?)
• What is the symbolism about the Professor's attempted suicide?
• What is the significance of Tom's Story in the Novel (what does Tom seem to represent in the novel/for the professor)?

Don't be shy about commenting if you have any ideas/observations :o)

Antony and Cleopatra's Clowns and courtiers

Explore the roles of the servants/courtiers in this play (Charmain, the messengers, Eros, etc.) What is their function in the play (they seem to almost act as a Chorus or the Clown figures of other plays)?

Love and marriage in Antony and Cleopatra

Explore the idea of love and marriage in Antony and Cleopatra. They seem to be mutually exclusive. Could this be because marriage is treated as a contract or treaty which is to maintain peace, and love is more passionate and almost violent, so they cannot coexist?

Antony and Cleopatra as it relates to Eden

There seems to be a relation between Cleopatra's death scene and the fall in the Garden of Eden from the Bible. What implications does that suggest to the use of snakes as a means of death/suicide? Just from other symbolism of evil that snakes carry throughout literature, what can we conclude from her comments about the snakes in this scene?

Welcome!

Welcome fellow English majors!

Per your requests, I have endeavored to establish an electronic medium of communication and discussion as we embark on approximately six weeks of collaboration in preparation for the UCCS English Senior Comprehensive Exam. If I have been successful, you should find individual posts for each of the books and or groups of poems on the reading list for this semester. Under these, I will post some discussion questions to get us started and welcome your responses as well as additional questions. I hope we will have some exciting and enlightening discussions over the next several weeks and that the result will be that we feel and are more prepared and comfortable with the material when we sit down to take the test on Oct. 17th.

Here we go!