Hamlet
How does Claudius allegedly kill Old Hamlet?
Pouring poison into his ear.
How does the setting of the novel's beginning/ending reflect Shelley's underlying message?
The desolate arctic landscape emphasises the consequences of excessive ambition: isolation and destruction.
In which embattled European city did Atwood write the novel?
(West) Berlin
Who is the speaker of Tishani Doshi's poem, 'The Deliverer'?
The daughter of the woman who transports children for adoption.
Which critic argues that 'It is we who are Hamlet'?
Hazlitt.
O, o, o, o.
Explain the significance of the novel's alternate title: 'The Modern Prometheus.'
Like Prometheus, who stole fire from the Gods to give to humanity, Victor defies God by experimenting with life and death. Both figures are ultimately punished for their actions.
How is Moira an important symbolic figure in the novel?
She represents overt, even violent, resistance/defiance of the totalitarian regime.
How does Julia Copus use wordplay in the title of her poem, 'An Easy Passage'?
The 'passage' can be both physical (moving through) and figurative (a rite of passage).
BONUS: How is situational irony used in the title as well?
Which 20th-century American poet described the play as 'an aesthetic failure,' likening it to the Mona Lisa?
T.S. Eliot
BONUS: What landmark poem did Eliot publish in 1922, responding to the devastation and rapid social changes of the post-war period?
Which medieval Scandinavian tale provides the original narrative content of the play?
Amleth
BONUS: Which author is responsible for the earliest recorded version of the story?
To whom is the novel addressed?
Walton's sister, Margaret Saville
BONUS: How is this feature emblematic of contemporary or traditional Western gender dynamics?
What was Atwood's father's occupation?
Naturalist/entomologist/zoology professor.
BONUS: How is his influence on Atwood clear in this novel?
What extended metaphor does Roderick Ford develop in Giuseppe?
The mermaid is a metaphorical representation of oppressed groups, victims, and, perhaps more specifically, those who suffered the atrocities of World War 2.
Explain Laura Mulvey's concept of the Male Gaze.
In her 1975 essay, "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema," Mulvey suggests that visual media is constructed from a heterosexual male perspective.
BONUS: Where can we apply this theory in one of our course texts? Be specific!
How old is Hamlet (the character)?
30 years old.
BONUS: Which character confirms this fact?
How can the novel be viewed through a 'Queer' lens? In other words: in what sense does the text explore non-heteronormative sexuality?
-Victor's fear that the female monster might reproduce
-Victor's close bond with Henry Clerval
Explain how the novel's structural features demonstrate some of Helene Cixous' concept of Écriture féminine.
-Non-linearity
-Decentralised female voice
-Narrative juxtaposition between Offred's close first-person account and the detached patriarchal tone of the historical notes
-Focus on the physical body (especially the female)
BONUS: On the other hand, how is Shelley's Frankenstein an example of the patriarchal traditions of the novel form?
How does Armitage present the power of nature in 'Chainsaw vs. the Pampas Grass'?
In the end, the pampas grass grows back, whereas the chainsaw is shut away in storage.
BONUS: How might a feminist reading be applied to the poem?
In the clearest terms possible, how does Freud interpret Hamlet's psychological state?
He argues that Hamlet is ashamed of himself because, like Claudius, he secretly wished he could kill his father and marry his mother. This shame causes him to be paralysed and unable to act.
BONUS: Which hero from classical Greek theatre inspired this reading of the play?
How can Shakespeare's inclusion of the ghost of Hamlet's father be interpreted through various Christian lenses?
Protestants would likely view the ghost as a demonic incarnation sent by Satan.
Catholic viewers of the play may see the ghost as genuine, an honest messenger from beyond the grave.
BONUS: How does this ambiguity relate to Shakespeare's Elizabethan context?
How is the narrative clearly influenced by Milton's Paradise Lost?
Like Lucifer, the monster is rejected by his creator (Victor), and pursues a path of vengeance and destruction as a result.
BONUS: Which quotation(s) from the text support this interpretation?
Explore Atwood's use of palimpsest throughout the novel.
(responses may vary)
How does Patience Agbabi explore the theme of control through structural features in 'Eat Me'?
-Strict tercets creating a sense of order and regularity
-Assonant rhyme to emphasise the uniformity of the speaker's experience
What does G. Wilson Knight argue in 'The Embassy of Death'?
Hamlet is the true source of corruption and nihilism in the play. Knight flips the traditional interpretation, asserting that Hamlet is an "ambassador of death" who brings destruction to a healthy, well-functioning Denmark governed by the pragmatic and benevolent King Claudius