Table of Contents Beowulf ...................................................................................... 3 Translator Profile – Seamus Heaney ............................................................................... 3 Historical Context ............................................................................................................ 6 The Poem ..................................................................................................................... 6 Old English (Anglo‐Saxon) Period (428‐1100) ............................................................. 6 Plot Summary .................................................................................................................. 8 Character List ................................................................................................................. 10 MAJOR CHARACTERS ................................................................................................. 10 MINOR CHARACTERS: DANES .................................................................................... 10 MINOR CHARACTERS: GEATS .................................................................................... 11 MINOR CHARACTERS: OF LEGEND ............................................................................ 12 Themes .......................................................................................................................... 13 Style ............................................................................................................................... 15 A Doll's House........................................................................... 18 Playwright Profile – Henrik Ibsen .................................................................................. 18 Historical Context .......................................................................................................... 21 Plot Summary ................................................................................................................ 22 Character List ................................................................................................................. 25 Themes .......................................................................................................................... 28 Style ............................................................................................................................... 30 Poetry of Emily Dickinson .......................................................... 32 Poet Profile .................................................................................................................... 32 Historical Context .......................................................................................................... 33 Selections from Emily Dickinson's Poetry ..................................................................... 35 "Success is counted sweetest" .................................................................................. 36 "A wounded deer leaps highest" ............................................................................... 36 © 2014 HEXCO ACADEMIC • PO Box 199 • Hunt, TX 78024 • 1.800.391.2891 • www.hexco.com
Literary Criticism Notes 2014‐2015 – continued "The soul selects her own society" ............................................................................ 37 "I taste a liquor never brewed" ................................................................................. 37 "I bring an unaccustomed wine" ............................................................................... 37 "Who never lost are prepared" ................................................................................. 38 "I like to see it lap the miles" ..................................................................................... 39 "Musicians wrestle everywhere" ............................................................................... 39 "There is no frigate like a book" ................................................................................ 40 "I had a guinea golden" ............................................................................................. 40 "Before you thought of spring" ................................................................................. 41 "A route of evanescence" .......................................................................................... 41 "A bird came down the walk" .................................................................................... 42 "A narrow fellow in the grass" ................................................................................... 42 "No brigadier throughout the year" .......................................................................... 43 "The rose did caper on her cheek" ............................................................................ 44 "One dignity delays for all" ........................................................................................ 44 "I died for beauty, but was scarce" ........................................................................... 45 "Afraid? Of whom am I afraid?" ................................................................................ 45 "It was death, for I stood up" .................................................................................... 46 "I felt a funeral in my brain" ...................................................................................... 46 "I heard a fly buzz when I died" ................................................................................. 47 © 2014 HEXCO ACADEMIC • PO Box 199 • Hunt, TX 78024 • 1.800.391.2891 • www.hexco.com 2 Literary Criticism Notes 2014‐2015 – continued Beowulf Plot Summary The poem begins by describing the history of the Danish kings. The current king is Hrothgar, whose reign is happy and prosperous. He has a great army, and is successful in all he endeavors. He attends to his people by building them a mead‐hall (Heorot), where he can serve them food and gifts. The happy sounds coming from Heorot enrage Grendel, a monster in the swamps. He strikes by killing Danes at Heorot every night, and the warriors are unable to stop him. He strikes mercilessly until the mead‐hall stands empty every night, and all of Hrothgar's people live in terror of going out at night. This goes on for twelve years. The sorrowful story of Hrothgar's situation spreads, and a warrior from Geatland named Beowulf sets out with a group of fourteen men to defeat Grendel. Grateful, Hrothgar accepts Beowulf's offer and throws him a great feast. But there's always some loudmouth, and in this case, his name is Unferth. He speaks out against Beowulf, saying his reputation is greater than he actually is. Beowulf defends his reputation and regales the men with stories of his past victories. At nightfall, Hrothgar puts Beowulf and his men in charge of guarding the mead‐hall. Sure enough, Grendel comes for blood. He bursts into Heorot and gobbles down one of Beowulf's men before grabbing Beowulf. Amazingly, Beowulf fights Grendel (without weapons because he knows Grendel does not use weapons) so mightily that Grendel is afraid and tries to escape. However, Beowulf will not let go of his arm and it rips off when Grendel pulls away to get out. Mortally wounded, Grendel goes back to the swamp to die. The arm is hung as a trophy in Heorot. The next day, the Danes rejoice at the sight of the nasty arm and the trail of blood. One man compares Beowulf to a mythical man named Sigemund, who killed a dragon. (Foreshadowing, is that you?) Hrothgar is understandably thrilled and honors Beowulf as his son with a feast and lavish gifts. Spirits are high, songs are sung, and all seems well in Hrothgar's kingdom. But, not for long! Grendel's monster mother comes seeking revenge. She sneaks to where the Danes are sleeping that night, and takes Aeschere, an important advisor to Hrothgar. She also takes something else, Grendel's severed arm. More revenge is afoot as a group of warriors (including Hrothgar) head off to the swamp to find Aeschere's killer. On their way to Grendel's mother's lair, they find Aeschere's head. Beowulf arms himself for battle, and of all people, Unferth gives Beowulf a sword called Hrunting. Beowulf goes underwater and finds Grendel's mother. They fight in her lair, and Beowulf's chainmail saves him from a dagger thrust. Having given up on using Hrunting, Beowulf takes another sword he sees in the lair, and lops off her head with it. While he's there, he sees Grendel's body, so he decides to cut off his head and bring it to Hrothgar. Denmark is monster‐free! Hooray! Beowulf's reputation grows, and he becomes famous all over Hrothgar's land. Beowulf must return home, so he bids Hrothgar an emotional farewell. Hrothgar offers the young warrior sage advice about pride and prosperity, and sends him on his way. © 2014 HEXCO ACADEMIC • PO Box 199 • Hunt, TX 78024 • 1.800.391.2891 • www.hexco.com 8 Literary Criticism Notes 2014‐2015 – continued Ecgtheow Hygelac's brother‐in‐law, Ecgtheow is Beowulf's father. He is also a longtime friend of Hrothgar, whose reputation as a man of character and honor lasts beyond his death. At the time of the poem's opening, he has already died. Hrethel Beowulf's maternal grandfather and guardian after Ecgtheow's death, Hrethel was the Geatish king before Hygelac. He raises Beowulf from the age of seven. Hygd Queen of the Geats, Hygd is Hygelac's wife. Hygelac King of the Geats, Hygelac is Beowulf's uncle. He warmly welcomes Beowulf back after his feats in Denmark. When Beowulf offers to Hygelac so much of the treasure given to him by Hrothgar, Hygelac rewards Beowulf's loyalty. Wiglaf When Beowulf goes to confront the dragon, all of the warriors stay away except Wiglaf. He proves himself a true adherer to the warrior code, and his courage in the face of such danger reminds the reader of young Beowulf. Besides Beowulf's spoken wishes that Wiglaf take over for him, the parallel suggests that Wiglaf will be Beowulf's successor to the throne. MINOR CHARACTERS: OF LEGEND Heremond Heremond is a king in legend whose evil ways are offered as a contrast to Beowulf's reign as king. Sigemund Sigemund is a character in Norse mythology whose dragon‐slaying prefigures Beowulf's encounter with the dragon. Modthryth A queen in legend, Modthryth's vanity and wickedness are offered in contrast to the sweet demeanor of Hygd. © 2014 HEXCO ACADEMIC • PO Box 199 • Hunt, TX 78024 • 1.800.391.2891 • www.hexco.com 12 Literary Criticism Notes 2014‐2015 – continued A Doll's House Playwright Profile – Henrik Ibsen (March 20, 1828 ‐ May 23, 1906) Henrik Johan Ibsen was born in Skien, Norway, on March 20, 1828 to a wealthy shipping merchant named Knud and his wife, Marichen. Knud's prosperity was due in large part to the booming industry in the coastal town of Skien at the time. Henrik was the oldest of the couple's five surviving children. For the first seven years of Ibsen's life, his family enjoyed an affluent lifestyle, and then Knud's financial situation took a turn for the worse. He was forced to sell the family's home in the face of bankruptcy, and the family moved out of town into their country farmhouse. Young Ibsen took the change hard, becoming less social but pursuing his own creativity. His mother encouraged his puppet plays, and as he grew older, he read, drew, and painted. According to his reflection on Ibsen's childhood, he recalls these years as characterized by fear and sadness. At fifteen, Ibsen left Skien for another coastal town, Grimstad, where he was an apprentice to an apothecary. He wanted to eventually study medicine, and this was a good step toward that goal. He enjoyed a thriving social life in the small town, and was embraced by many of the families living there. He borrowed numerous books from friends and from the library. Although he was extremely interested in reading and literature, he remained a hard worker and eager student with the apothecary. In Grimstad, Ibsen had his first romantic stirrings‐ first with Clara Ebbel, to whom he wrote poetry. Then he became involved with Elsie Sophie Jensdatter. She was the apothecary's maid and ten years Ibsen's senior. She and Ibsen shared the life experience of having come from respectable, wealthy families whose fortunes turned. In 1846, young Ibsen fathered a child with Elsie, but the two did not marry. Ibsen and his son never had a relationship. In 1848, a series of revolutions in Europe spread through Sicily, Italy, France, Germany, and Austria. For Ibsen and his friends, these events were fascinating and inspiring. Ibsen's writing increased, and his local contacts helped him get his first work published in 1850. It was a blank‐verse tragedy about a Roman conspirator. He left Grimstad and settled in the capital of Christiana (now Oslo). In a strange move, he first went to Skien to see his family, with whom he then cut ties with the exception of one sister. In Christiana, he tested to study medicine at the university, but did not have the Greek and math skills he needed. This closed door, however, turned Ibsen to more serious literary pursuits. Ibsen made an important friend, Björnstjerne Björnson, whose literary interests were as serious as Ibsen's. The two became companions and rivals, and both became major figures in Norwegian literature. Years later, the two had a falling out that deeply wounded Ibsen. But when Ibsen's second son married Björnson's daughter, they apparently reconciled. With new friends, a new vision, and a new home, Ibsen helped launch a periodical, wrote poetry, and wrote plays that were produced in Christiana. He then secured a position in 1851 as a dramatist, producer, and stage manager at a theater in © 2014 HEXCO ACADEMIC • PO Box 199 • Hunt, TX 78024 • 1.800.391.2891 • www.hexco.com 18