ENG 260 Discussion Question with Responses Week 1 to 7

ENG 260 Module 1 DQ 1

"Beowulf" was originally an orally transmitted poem from pre-Christian Germanic culture. What specific elements in this poem reflect a Christian point of view? Do you think these elements are well integrated into the story? Why or why not?

Please use specific examples from the text.

ENG 260 Module 1 DQ 2

Who or what is the main character of "The Dream of the Rood," and how does this main character contribute to the main point the poem is trying to make about the crucifixion of Christ? Why do you think the author chose to look at this event from this perspective?

ENG 260 Module 2 DQ 1

In the Prologue to "The Canterbury Tales," what do you think Chaucer is saying about the pilgrims and why they are taking their journey? How would you describe Chaucer's feelings about each of the pilgrims he characterizes? Please use specific examples from the text.

ENG 260 Module 2 DQ 2

Pick a medieval lyric that discusses love. How is the beloved pictured in this poem (what things is he/she compared to)? What are the consequences of being in love? How does the concept of love perhaps differ from what you see in society today?

ENG 260 Module 3 DQ 1

What things in Utopia make it seem like nonfiction? Find specific ways that you think Thomas More was trying to heighten the believability of his story and share those examples with your classmates.

ENG 260 Module 3 DQ 2

What is the point of John Skelton's poem "Mannerly Margery Milk and Ale" and what aspect of the church is Skelton criticizing? How is it structured?

ENG 260 Module 4 DQ 1

Examine the two versions of Wyatt's poem: "They Flee . . ."/"The Lover Showeth . . ." What similarities and differences do you see here? (E. Ms. = Egerton Manuscript; Tottel = Tottel's Miscellany) Why do you think these changes might have been made between the manuscript and the published version?

ENG 260 Module 4 DQ 2

Both "The long love . . ." by Thomas Wyatt and "Love that doth reign . . ." by Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey are versions of Rime 140 by Francesco Petrarch. What is the central conceit (metaphor) of each poem? Which poem do you like more? Why? Does it make any difference that these poems are both adaptations of the same poem in Italian?

ENG 260 Module 5 DQ 1

In stanzas 14-26 of book 1, canto 1 of "The Faerie Queene," how would you interpret the Red Crosse Knight's battle with the dragon on a moral level? It might help to consider what the knight stands for and then what the dragon represents allegorically.

ENG 260 Module 5 DQ 2

In what ways is Faustus like a morality play character? How is he unlike one?

ENG 260 Module 6 DQ 1

During the opening of "Paradise Lost" what does Milton do to announce to the reader that this poem will be an epic? How is his opening different from other epics? Give examples of from least one other epic.

ENG 260 Module 6 DQ 2

Discuss Satan as he is first described in Paradise Lost. What is your first impression of him? What details give you that impression?

ENG 260 Module 7 DQ 1

Pick 40 lines in Pope's poem "Rape of the Lock." Look at them closely. What do you see? What in them reminds you of epics? Is anything especially humorous? What point is Pope making?\

ENG 260 Module 7 DQ 2

After reading Boswell's "The Life of Samuel Johnson," what is your opinion of Johnson as a person? What makes you think the way you do? What does the biography make you think of Boswell? Why?