Answer or discuss

1. Speak on late Victorian literature as an amazing literary phenomenon. How did several different literary trends coexist at the period? Point out the basic principles of the trends.

2. Relate the main facts of

1. Thomas Hardy’s life and activities;

2. Robert Louis Stevenson’s life and activities;

3. Oscar Wilde’ s life and activities;

4. Lewis Carroll’s life and activities.

3. In 1891, Tess of the d'Urbervilles first appeared with the subtitle A Pure Woman, Faithfully Presented. How does the author question the public morality?

4. What is the role of fate in Tess of the d'Urbervilles? To what extent is Tess a helpless victim?

5. Discuss the role of landscapes in Tess of the d'Urbervilles. How do the descriptions of place match the development of the story?

6. Prove that the novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is based on duality.

7. What is the role of potion in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

8. Do you agree with Jekyll’s statement: “… man is a primitive creature brought under tentative control by civilization, law and conscience”?

9. “There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book”, Wilde says in Preface. “Books are well written, or bad written. That is all”. Does the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray confirm this argument?

10. Discuss the role of the following characters in The Picture of Dorian Gray:

• Lord Henry;

• Basil;

• Sybil Vane.

11. What is the role of picture in The Picture of Dorian Gray?

12. How does Carroll show that life is a meaningless puzzle?

13. How does the motif of dream contribute to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

14. What is the role of poetry in both ‘Alices’.

15. What is the significance of Alice’s fluctuations in size and shape in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland?

16. Throughout both stories, there are occasional oblique references to death. What purpose do these references serve in the stories, and why might Carroll include them?