Завдання для самостійної роботи студентів

Variant 1

1. Satan is the most well-developed character in Paradise Lost (John Milton “Paradise Lost). Is he a sympathetic character? Examine one of his soliloquies and identify the character traits and poetic techniques that make him seem appealing or forgivable.

2. What makes the Houyhnhnms' society (Swift “Gulliver’s Travels”) ideal or a model for humans?

3. What is the effect of Tristram's (Laurence Stern “Tristram Shandy”) frequent addresses to his audience?

Variant 2

1. Trace the appearance of autobiographical details in Paradise Lost. How are these details important to the story? What is the identity and role of the narrator?

2. How does Gulliver change as the novel progresses? For instance, at the end of the novel, when Gulliver is spending time in the barn with his horses, do we as readers identify with him, or are we repulsed?

3. In her letters and journal entries, Pamela (“Pamela” by Richardson) often reports the compliments others give her. For example, in Letter IV (to her mother) she writes that Lady Davers "thought me the prettiest wench she ever saw in her life." Later in the novel, she reports that Sir Simon Darnford "swore he never saw so easy an air, so fine a shape, and so graceful a presence" as Pamela's and that he referred to her as ."the loveliest maiden in England." Do Pamela's frequent references to such compliments indicate that she is vain? Explain your answer.

Variant 3

1. Paradise Lost includes many characters who can be easily compared and contrasted with each other. For instance, God and Satan stand as complete opposites; Satan, Sin, and Death form an evil version of the Holy Trinity; Adam and Eve seem to be far from equally made and disposed for life in Paradise; even God the Father and God the Son have differences. Pick one of these pairs and describe their differences as well as their similarities.

2. Who is Swift making fun of and why?

3. Although there was much debate during Fielding's time about exactly what constituted a "novel," there was some consensus that it was a work of prose that charted the everyday events of people's lives. Does Tom Jones fit into such a definition?

Variant 4

1. Consider Gulliver's stated intentions in writing about his travels. What do the letters at the beginning of the work reveal about his character? What kind of a person is Gulliver? Why is he driven to the sea repeatedly even as his wife and children wait at home?

2. Fielding wrote Tom Jones at a time when people read to be instructed in questions of morality. Does Fielding advocate certain values and morals in his novel, or does he reject such an approach?

3. What is the effect of Tristram's frequent addresses to his audience?

Variant 5

1. Is Gulliver a reliable narrator?

2. Tristram suffers a series of early accidents which would be fairly trivial by any standard except his father's. To what extent do Walter's theoretical obsessions actually contribute to his son's misfortunes?

3. What do you think Fielding's actual purpose was in writing the chapters that preface each of his eighteen books in Tom Jones? How does this purpose agree with or deviate from his stated purpose?