English 331
Spring 2003
I. A Tale of a Tub
1. Discuss Swift's irony in "Digression on Madness." Swift's "author" is clearly not a credible figure, but how do we know when we are supposed to believe him or not? And if we are not supposed to believe what he says, what are we supposed to believe? Discuss the problems and advantages of a satire that uses an unreliable speaker to attack the objects of satire.
2. The "tale" of Peter, Martin, and Jack is an attack on various kinds of Christianity. What does Swift have against them? Is his attack fair or plausible, or convincing? Does Swift prevent readers from interpreting the story as an attack on Christianity itself?
3. The "tale" is interrupted by long and persistent digressions that constitute what Swift calls his attack on learning. What connections can you find between those digressions and the tale they interrupt? Is A Tale of a Tub really two separate works that are cobbled together, or does it have at least a degree of coherence?
4. A Tale of a Tub has been described as a "mock-book"-a book that is, in effect, a parody of a book. Discuss the satiric functions of Swift's treatment of title pages, book-lists, prefaces, dedications, notes, the conventions of printing, and book-production in general. How does all this foolery contribute to the general points of A Tale of a Tub?
II. Pope
6. In An Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot Pope defends himself, personally and publicly, as a satirist. But on what grounds? Discuss Pope as a defender of the satirist. What is the relationship between his defense of himself (Pope as satirist) and a more general defense of satire as a literary form? How would you compare his defense of himself to that of Horace in Satires 1.4?
7. Pope is generally acknowledge as one of the greatest masters of the heroic couplet. Discuss the nature and functions of the heroic couplet, as Pope uses it. Why is it a particularly effective device for writing satire?
8. Analyze in detail a coherent passage of no more than forty lines in one of the Pope poems we have read. Do not merely summarize the passage but discuss in particular Pope's handling of language, imagery, rhetorical tricks-in short poetic techniques-to make his poem satiric. Be as detailed as possible. What is the effect of Pope's technical and poetic manipulations in the passage you have discussed?
III. The Beggar's Opera and The Threepenny Opera
9. Discuss The Beggar's Opera and The Threepenny Opera as musical comedies. What
is the satiric function of introducing songs into a play consisting of otherwise realistic
speech? Compare the lyrics of the songs to the style and ideas of the rest of the play? In
what ways does the introduction of music enhance the satire? Does it undercut the satire?
10. Although Brecht began The Threepenny Opera with Elizabeth Hauptmann's translation of The Beggar's Opera, he made a number of changes, large and small. Discuss several of these changes to show how they suggest the meaning and purpose of Brecht's play. Your discussion should point to some generalizations about the difference between the two plays.
11. Specifically, Brecht cut the last scene of Act I (scene xiii, pp. 65-67) in The Beggar's Opera and wrote instead the "stable scene" (Act I, scene iii, pp. 12-26). Compare the two, especially in their treatment of the characters of Macheath and Polly. (You can, if you wish, think of your paper as a comparison of Macheath and Polly in the two plays, using these two scenes as a center for your discussion.) Here, as in the previous question, your comparison of the scenes should shed some light on the differences between the plays as a whole.
12. Had The Beggar's Opera been left as the Beggar wrote it, "'Twould have shown that the lower sort of people have their vice in a degree as well as the rich; and that they are punished for them." Both plays equate the criminal world with the governing classes of society. Discuss connections between crime and official life and morality in both plays. Do Gay and Brecht make the same connections?