The purpose of this study guide is not to indicate exactly what will be on the exam. The ideas below (which we've discussed in class) are intended to help you think about the works we've studied this semester and organize your studying. Use these study guide ideas with 1.) your notes and own ideas to think about the poetry and fiction we have read along with 2.) your review of the literature itself. Don't forget the Intros. to the Victorian Age and the Twentieth Century and Beyond (in addition to Queen Victoria's Empire video/PowerPoint notes) discuss many key ideas, along with the author bios.
Focus on your notes and the texts. Write out a few practice responses to previous quiz questions and questions you make up. Also, review your midterm responses. Remember the quiz and midterms examples we went over in class throughout the semester along with the in-class cards from group work.
Don't forget the pictures/art work in NA: Vols E & F. Also, don't forget to consult the Course Notes as you review/study.
Quick-read poems may help you even though they are not on the exam.
The final will focus on readings after the midterm, the second half of the
semester, beginning with "The Cry of the Children." However, there are
three
carry-over works for which you will be responsible from before the
midterm: Blake's Songs ("The Chimney Sweeper"
poems--both); On Liberty; "Ulysses."
Possible
Question types:
- Identifications: You will identify a passage (title of the work) and explain its significance. (I will not give you obscure passages.)*
- Multiple choice or fill in the blank*
- Short Answer*
- NEW: Longer essay question (1 pg) focusing on a single work or on comparing/contrasting works.
*1-3 are like quiz/midterm questions. Also, like with the midterm, you will have some choices.
Time you will have to complete the final exam: 2 hrs for thinking, writing, and reviewing.
The actual exam time will be approximately 1 1/2 hrs.
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Some Key Concepts: Literature as Action; Dramatic Monologue; The Separate Spheres Doctrine; Romance of Reason/Induction & Deduction; Imperialism & Colonialism (& Identity); Nation and language; Magical Realism
The following are some issues we have considered this semester. Expand on these and add works from our reading examples listed here. This is not an all-inclusive list. Works below are from the Victorian Age and Twentieth Century and Beyond periodsAlso, works might fit in more than one category.
- Gender - what was the position of women in Victorian England? The British Modern/Postmodern period? Were women interested in equality? In what their role(s) in society should be even given accepted differences from men? What issues were important for women--work and education? How was marriage viewed? Separate spheres doctrine in 19th century? More broadly, what qualities, characteristics, and attitudes define femininity and masculinity? Were these qualities and attitudes innate or culturally constructed? Example works to consider. Victorian: "I'm Happiest When Most Away," "Porphyria's Lover," the Stoner sisters in "The Speckled Band." Twentieth Century & Beyond: "Glory of Women" (Sassoon), women/girls in "Looking for a Rain God," Huma in "The Prophet's Hair." Masculinity can be addressed in these same works--and others we've read.
- Individual and Society. (There are numerous subquestions in this category.) Begin with Mill's notion of individualism. What defines individualism in the Victorian period? What struggles and conflicts does the individual face? How does one remain an individual AND belong to society? Is the individual always more important than society? Why is a society necessary? What are a society's responsibilities to its citizens? To what degree can the individual participate in and have an effect on society (democracy)? The role of social protest? Connected to this idea are concepts of liberty and freedom, defined in numerous ways. In Twentieh Century and Beyond, the focus on reality based on individual perceptions and impressions, the "mental life" (Gen Intro, pp 21-22). Also social class, love, and education are tied to this theme. Romanticism: Blake's Chimney Sweeper poems. Victorian: On Liberty, "Ulysses," "The Speckled Band." Twentieth Century & Beyond: "Easter, 1916," Una Marson's poem, "Looking for a Rain God."
- The Use of/Meanings of the Past. Why do some works this semester look to the past? For solutions to address social troubles in the present? To recapture a sense of what was lost? What was this past? Also, what is the "present" referenced in works we've read? Can the past function as a moral barometer? Can one recover the past? Does the past help an individual understand the present? Victorian: On Liberty, "Ulysses."
- Colonialism and Empire - What defines Englishness? What are English values? How does being part of the empire but not being considered "English" affect identity? Victorian: "The Speckled Band," On Liberty (the final page where Mill compares England/Europe with China?). Twientieth Century: "The Day They Burned the Books."
- Poetry and poetic form/writing style (**I will not ask you the scan lines of poems.**) - Consider how form and meter reinforce themes we have discussed. Victorian: "Porphyria's Lover," "The Cry of the Children." Twentieth Century & Beyond: Sassoon poems, "Colonization in Reverse."
- Victorianism and Twentieth Century - What is the relationship between Victorianism and Twentieth Century? What differences do you see in terms of specific ideas about individuals and society? Similarities? What issues are central to each period? (The NA intros will be helpful here/PowerPoint slides.) Is Modernism a reaction to/against the Victorian Age? "The Speckled Band" and "The Day They Burned the Books" (colonialism)? In terms of the Romanticism and Twentieth Century, does "Easter, 1916" show the influence of Romanticism (third stz)?
Longer essay: Begin your response with a specific, clear thesis. For a comparison/contrast essay, the thesis should link both works. Think about how what works you might compare and contrast. For example, "The Chimney Sweeper" (Songs of Experience) and "The Cry of the Children." Also, think about how stories fit more than one category. For example, "The Speckled Band": Individual and Society & Colonialism.