Part 3

Part Three

English Literature in the 17th Century

I.

1.

2.

3. Define the following terms Elegy: Poems that lament the loss of something or someone, or loss or death more generally. Assonance: The repetition of identical or similar vowels in a sequence of nearby words. Stanza: A grouping of the verse lines in a poem set off by a space in the printed text.

Stanzas are marked by a recurrent pattern of rhyme and are also uniform in the number and length of the component lines.

Hyperbole: Bold overstatement, or the extravagant exaggeration of fact or possibility. Conceit: metaphor or simile presenting a surprisingly apt parallel between two apparently dissimilar things or feelings.

Pastoral: Conventional poem expressing an urban poet’s nostalgic image of the peace and simplicity of the life of shepherds and other rural folk in an idealized natural world. Epithalamion: Poem written to celebrate a marriage.

Metaphysical poetry: Poem that deals with philosophical or spiritual matters. It is generally limited to works written by a group of 17th century poets such as John Donne. Fill in the blanks

The poems of John Donne belong to two categories: and the later

John Donne is the founder of the school of . His works are characterized by mysticism in content and fantasticality in form.

Because of the success of Paradise Lost, John Milton produced in 1671 another epic, .

John Milton’s Paradise Lost opens with the description of a meeting among the fallen angels, and ends with the departure of andfrom the Garden of Eve.

The most distinguished literary figure of the Restoration Period was John Dryden, poet, , and playwright.

Paradise Lost is a long epic. The stories are taken from the .

Choose the best answer.

In John Milton’s Paradise Lost,Adam and Eve are forbidden to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of ___.

A. Love and Hate B. Good and Evil

C. faith and Betrayal D. Sense and Sensibility

“To wage by force or guile eternal war / irreconcilable to our grand Foe.” By what means were Satan and his followers to wage this war against God?

A. By planting a tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden.

B. By turning into poisonous snakes to threaten man’s life.

C. By removing man and woman created by God.

D. By corrupting man and woman created by God.

“Areopagitica” is John Milton’s best-known___.

A. prose B. epic C. novel D. drama 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. II. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. III. 1. 2. 3.

IV.

V. Give supporting reasons for the statement: Samson in Samson Agonistes is John Milton the author himself. Samson Agonistes is a poetical drama modeled on the Greek tragedies. It deals with the story of Samson from the “Book of Judges”in the Old Testament. Samson is an athlete of the Israelites. He stands as the champion fighting for the freedom of his country. But he is betrayed by his wife Dalilah and blinded by his enemies the Philistines. Led into the temple to make them sport, he wreaks his vengeance upon his enemies by pulling down the temple upon them and upon himself in a common ruin. There is much in common between Samson and John Milton. Like Samson, Milton had also been embittered by an unwise marriage, persecuted by his enemies, and suffered from blindness. And yet he was unconquerable. Samson’s miserable blind servitude among his enemies, his agonizing longing for sight and freedom, and the last terrible triumph all strongly suggest Milton’s passionate longing that he too could bring destruction down upon the enemy at the cost of his own life. Therefore Samson in the drama is Milton himself in life. Analyze the character of Satan in John Milton’s Paradise Lost.

Satan, a conquered and banished giant, remains obeyed and admired by those who follow him down to hell. He is firmer than the rest of the angels. It is he , passing the guarded gates, makes man revolt against God.

Satan is the spirit of questioning the authority of God. When he gets to the Garden of Eden, he believes why Adam and Eve should not taste the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Though defeated, Satan prevails, since he has won from God a third part of his angels. Though wounded, he triumphs, for the thunder which hits upon his head leaves his heart invincible. Though feebler in force, he remains superior in nobility, since he prefers independence to happy servility. He welcomes his defeat and his torments as a glory, a liberty and a joy.

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