Monthly Archives: March 2018

Hi Everyone,

In light of today’s snow day, we will pushing our schedule back (yet again.)  This means that we will be finishing our conversation about Frederick Douglass on Monday, March 26th and that you will be taking your midterm in class on Wednesday, March 28th.  Please feel free to get in touch with me if you have any questions or concerns about this change to our schedule.

Enjoy this unexpected day off, and I will see you on Monday!

Professor Sylvor

1. Who do you think Jacobs envisions as the audience for her autobiography? How can you tell?
2. What does Jacobs add to the understanding of the experience of slavery we gleaned from Frederick Douglass?
3. How does Jacobs attempt to control her own destiny?
4. What is “the loophole of retreat?”

1. What is the significance of the information Douglass provides about the early years of his life?
2. What does he mean, on p.238, when he describes the first whipping he witnessed as, “the blood-stained gate”?
3. What have you learned from reading this narrative that you didn’t already know about slavery in America?
4. Explain the significance of literacy for Douglass?
5. How does Douglass feel about Southern Christianity? Why?

1. In Shelley’s “A Defence of Poetry,” he states that “poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the World.” What do you think he means by this?

2. Compare Shelley’s attitude toward nature with that of Wordsworth. What do these two Romantic poets seem to share and where do they differ in their relationships with the natural world?

3. “If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?,” the concluding line of “Ode to the West Wind” is one of Shelley’s most frequently quoted lines. What do you think it means?

Hi Friends,

Sorry for the last minute announcement, but after consulting with my colleagues and hearing from many of you, I have decided to cancel our class for this afternoon.

We will postpone our discussion of William Wordsworth till Monday and will adjust the rest of our reading schedule accordingly.  However, your essays are still due on Sunday!  Feel free to reach out to me if you encounter any difficulties or have questions about the assignment.

Again, I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.   Like many of you, I am here on campus, ready for class, but I think it’s wiser to cancel class and let people head home, rather than to have class with the few hardy souls who are likely to show up.  Looking forward to seeing you all on Monday

Take care,

Professor Sylvor

–In what sense does “Tintern Abbey” offer readers a “religion of nature”? What are some of the specific ways in which nature works as a substitute for traditional religion?
–Why do you think Wordsworth gives “Tintern Abbey” such a precise and detailed sub-title? What is the significance of this poem’s full titile?
–In the final portion of “Tintern Abbey,” the speaker turns to his “dear friend.” Who is this friend and what role does he/she play in the poem?
–“Composed upon Westminster Bridge” and “The World Is Too Much with Us” are both sonnets. Why do you think a poet might choose to work with such a highly structured form?
–Describe some of the ways in which Wordsworth’s poetry conforms to some of the features of Romanticism that we’ve discussed. What evidence can you find to illustrate this?