May 12 - The Belle's Stratagem, 2nd Half -- Group B

1) Act 4.1 is the masquerade scene, which is all-important to the plots. Not only is the main plot advanced, but also the sub-plot. Comment on one detail from this involved, complex scene. OR, pose a question. There’s a lot of potential confusion, so there’s no shame in posing a straightforward / practical question.

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2) In 5.2, Doricourt tells Saville that he’d offer Old Hardy the following: “the moiety of the estate which he [old Hardy] will forfeit shall be his the next moment by deed of gift.” What does he mean? Discuss this in relation to the betrothal of Doricourt and Letitia Hardy.

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3) 5.5 is the final scene of denouement, and there’s lots to talk about in this scene. Here are just a few things you could discuss:
  - Doricourt’s feigning madness (in this scene and elsewhere)
  - Letitia’s big moment: she gets to say both “know to your confusion …” (5.5.220-223) and also “This is the most awful moment of my life” (5.5.260).
  - The off-scene marriage, which happens at some point after 5.5.88 and before 5.5.168. (How exactly are we to take this?)
  - “Rapture! Transport! Heaven!” (5.5.267). Is there any way to play this sincerely? Or, conversely, maybe these lines must be played sincerely?

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

May 10 - The Belle's Stratagem, first half -- Group B

1) What do you think about the chauvinism in the early scenes of this play? (Look it up: “chauvinism” doesn’t originally or primarily mean sexism.) For example, examine what Doricourt has to say about the English, French, and Italians in 1.3.16-55, or what he says a moment later about English, French, and Italian ladies.

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2) Examine Lady Frances’s choice at the end of 2.1. What does she decide? How is her choice presented to her by Mrs. Racket and Miss Ogle? By Sir George? What about the perspective of Lady Frances herself?

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3) Letitia’s manner of speaking at 3.1.90-160 makes for a key scene in the play, and in her “belle’s stratagem.” First say what she’s doing, and then look at an example or two of her speech style in this moment. Does she get her intended reaction? How do we know?

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

May 5 - Cato - further discussion - Group A

1) Cato’s speech at the beginning of act 5 is an interesting and complex one. In part, it’s a contemplation of suicide, but a very different one from Hamlet’s. Examine one or more of Cato’s statements about suicide and / or immortality. Is it a guess? A conviction?

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2) The lines “let fierce contending nations know / What dire effects from civil discord flow” (5.4.107-8) seems to be rather prescient, given the civil wars / rebellions that occurred at the end of the 18^th century in France and the British colonies / America. What do you think this play has to say about liberty and freedom? Do you think its place in Enlightenment political thought is deserved?

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

May 3 - Cato acts 3-5 - Group A

1) Take a look at Cato’s reaction to his son Marcus’s death: “I’m satisfied” and his statement that he wants to “view at leisure / The bloody corse, and count those glorious wounds” (4.4.66, 78-79). How do you think we’re meant to react to Cato here? And how did you react?

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2) What are your impressions of the romantic plots, particularly when they come to crisis point at 4.1 – 4.3? You can comment on either what actually happens during these scenes, or on the style adopted by this play, especially in its language. Does it seem different than, say, All for Love or Oroonoko?

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3) What do you make of the epilogue? Is it consistent with the rest of the play? Or is it jarring? It was written by a different author, and epilogues are often meant to serve as a transition point between the fictional world of the play and the real world of people in the theater watching the play. Does this epilogue serve as that transition point?

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