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- How does the representation of nature change
between the eighteenth century and the Romantic
period? What is the function of nature in
poetry of each period? In what ways is it
seen as a poetic subject in its own right,
as something to be described? In what ways
is it seen as an inspiration for the discussion
of other topics? Consider Oliver Goldsmith's "The
Deserted Village" (see pages 2858–2867
in volume 1C) and William Cowper's selection
from The Task, "A landscape described.
Rural Sounds" (see pages 2875–2977
in volume 1C). Compare this to William Wordsworth's Tintern
Abbey and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's Frost
at Midnight.
- Compare and contrast Sir Philip Sydney's The
Defense of Poesy (see pages 933–954
in volume 1B) to Percy Bysshe Shelley's A
Defence of Poetry? In what ways do
these texts propose to defend poetry and
its function? How do these reflect the
differing conceptions of poetic expression
of the sixteenth century and the Romantic
period? How does Shelley's similarly
titled text respond, if at all, to Sydney's
arguments?
- Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication
of the Rights of Women (1792) predates
John Stuart Mill's The Subjection
of Women (1860) (see pages 1155–65
in volume 2B) by more than half a century,
but both address stereotypes about women's
social roles and rights. In what ways are
they addressing the same topic but proposing
different solutions? How does Mill's
text appear as a response to Wollstonecraft,
even though he makes no mention of her
in his entire text?
- How does poetry express a uniquely apocalyptic
vision in the Romantic period compared to
the twentieth century? Compare the selections
from Blake's The French Revolution and America:
A Prophesy to William Butler Yeats's "The
Second Coming" (see pages 2106–2107
in volume 2C). What inspires apocalypse and
what is its end result? How is redemption
figured, if at all, in these poems? How is
this representation of apocalypse and redemption
appropriately situated historically with
respect to relevant events in the lives of
these poets?
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