March 3 - The Rover, continued discussion - Group A

1) One aspect of the play that deserves attention is its extended treatment of foreigners vs. the English. Choose a moment in the play where you think that there’s either chauvinism, or national pride, or some combination going on. Who comes off well? Who is made fun of? Or are the relationships portrayed differently?

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2) What do you make of the public dimension of this play? One good spot is Hellena’s, “Let most voices carry it, for Heaven or the captain?” (5.1.576-77) What’s going on here, and why does the play move toward a resolution (at least of Hellena’s plot) by making reference to a larger group of people?    

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3) Make a brief comparison of the ends of the plots of Florinda, Hellena, and Angellica Bianca. Is there any rhyme or reason in all this?

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4) Discuss another part of today’s reading that seems to be in need of exploration, elucidation, or comment.

March 1 - The Rover, 2nd half - Group A

1) Angellica and Willmore have quite an exchange in 4.2 and in 4.3. See especially lines like “Pox o’this whining; my business is to laugh and love” (219), or “By heaven, there’s no faith in anything he says” (224). What is at the root of their difference here?

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2) There is more threatened violence against Florinda in 4.5, so again, feel free to skip this bit if you think it might be too disturbing. If not, you might consider what Blunt says about prostitution, and / or to what effect Florinda makes her arguments and offers her diamond ring.

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3) Act 5 is one long scene of final developments and revelations. Does anything surprise you in this scene? If so, what? Here are some potential moments for discussion:
 - “Do not let people know what despised cullies we English are; to be cheated and abused by one whore, and another rather bribe thee than be kind to thee, is an infamy to our nation.” (234)
 - “One thou hast injured, and who comes to kill thee for’t.” (237)
 - “Let most voices carry it: for heaven or for the captain?” (245)

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4) Discuss another part of today’s reading that seems to be in need of exploration, elucidation, or comment.

Feb. 25 - The Rover, 1st half - Group B

1) We get an early view of the title character, The Rover, Willmore. What is your initial sense of this character from the action in act 1? (You might pay close attention to his treatment of Hellena in disguise, for example.)

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2) The Rover deals frankly and at length with prostitution, especially with Italian so-called “courtesans.” Does anything surprise you in the depictions of the courtesans, and of the men’s reactions to them? (Pay especial attention to the plot surrounding “Angellica Bianca.”)

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3) How are prose and poetry juxtaposed in the opening acts? Scene 2.2 is a good place to look.

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4) Discuss another part of today’s reading that seems to be in need of exploration, elucidation, or comment.

Feb. 23 - Dryden, All for Love, second half - Group B

1) There are some pretty good minor character speeches in the latter half of All for Love. Take a look at Alexas’s speech at 3.430-442, or Octavia’s at 4.480-493, or Dolabella’s at 4.49-58, or at 4.211-222 and 4.231-236. Choose one of these and comment on it, particularly if it seems significant to the rest of the play.

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2) Examine the following brief quotation. Comment on its use of the natural world, regional differences (real or supposed), and degrees / hierarchy.
  Th’original villain sure no god created;
  He was a bastard of the sun by Nile,
  Aped into man, with all his mother’s mud
  Crusted about his soul.  (5.174-177)

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3) What sense of ending do we get from Dryden in All for Love? Concentrate on either Antony’s end, or Cleopatra’s. What is the nature of their tragedy, in this version?

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4) Discuss another part of today’s reading that seems to be in need of exploration, elucidation, or comment.

Feb. 18 - Dryden, All for Love - first half - Group A

1) What does Ventidius think of Antony? How does this character generate the initial motion of the play?

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2) What do you think of Cleopatra in the opening action? Take, for example, one of her early lines, “Is this to be a queen, to be besieged / By yon insulting Roman, and to wait / Each hour the victor’s chain?” (2.11-12). Or, a bit later,

I have refused a kingdom;
That’s a trifle:
For I could part with life, with anything
But only you. (2.463-466)

How do you react to these lines? … Or, what sort of Cleopatra do they seem designed to sketch out?

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3) Take a look at Dryden’s lengthy dedication and preface to the play, using the link below. What do you think of his statements about his dramatic art? For example, what do you think of his commentary on the meeting between Octavia and Cleopatra? Or his statements about the character of Ventidius? Or, in the prologue, Antony is called “somewhat lewd; but a well-meaning mind; / Weeps much; fights little; but is wond'rous kind. / In short, a pattern, and companion fit, / For all the keeping Tonies of the pit.” [Tonies = simpletons.] What do you think of this description of Antony?
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2062

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4) Discuss another part of today’s reading that seems to be in need of exploration, elucidation, or comment.