Discussion Board 5: The Victorian Age and Modernist Age
For this discussion board, you will choose any one of the following prompts. Once you have made your selection, please draft your initial post based on the instructions below.
a. The poem, The Last Duchess” is called a dramatic monologue because it consists entirely of the words of a single speaker (persona) who reveals in his speech his own nature and the dramatic situation in which he finds himself. The dramatic monologue reveals its own place and time as it proceeds to uncover the psychology of the speaker at a significant moment in his or her life. Browning’s Duke has been labeled (despite his apparent cunning) as “witless”–why?
b. How does the matching of sound and meaning in “Ulysses,” for example, affect your understanding of the poem? Particularly consider its last stanza.
c. Does Dickens offer a coherent social program or political vision in this novel in the four chapters you read? Remember to use textual evidence to back up your answer.
d. Why does Woolf claim that, in order to write fiction, a woman must have a room of her own? How do women writers’ situations differ from those of their male counterparts?
e. Why does T. S. Eliot use so many allusions in this poem, do you think? How does he use them? What’s the effect of his using them?
f. What, if any, absurd dramatic and/or thematic elements does
Waiting for Godot possess? Why, and to what effect? Read the characteristics of the
T
heatre of the Absurd here.
Please compose your post in formal prose that obeys writing conventions, e.g., capitalize the first letter of every word at the beginning of the sentence, end sentences with periods, avoid run on sentences, use formal words, avoid language that is informal. This is an English course, and you will be graded on the basis of the proper use of the language and writing conventions.
You are encouraged to use quotations as they serve as textual evidence. Absence of quotations can compromise the quality of your response. If you choose to use quotations, please ensure that you format them correctly using the quotation sandwich method (see
Quote Sandwich Example Handout.
)
Revise, edit, and proofread before you post them here. Please cite any source you use for this post. Please do not copy and paste from the web. I will be checking for plagiarism by running your writing through a plagiarism checker. If I feel you have copied from some outside source without proper documentation, I reserve the right to give you a zero on the assignment.
As with all discussion boards, your initial response should be at least 300 words. Then reply to two (2) other posts. Your response should be of at least 100 words each. Feel free to exceed these minimum requirements. Try to pick students who do not have any comments yet. When commenting, please add to the conversation by making a connection to the other person. Please compose your post in academic prose that demonstrates clear purpose and logical organization. Most importantly, make sure your initial post comprises of more than one paragraph.
