DICKENS

·     Referring to "That Quixsotic Lady", how would London appear to an American tourist at the beginning of the 19th century?

·     Which autobiographical elements can we find in Dickens's novels?

·     What do you know about Dickens’s life and works?

·     Where are his novels set?

·     Which characteristics do the characters belonging to the working class, upper and lower middle class have?

·     Who is Dickens sympathetic with?

·     What features do Dickens’s characters present?

·     What features do his children possess?

·     What was his purpose in writing?

·     What are Dickens’s main stylistic features?

·     What would you say the pros and cons are in Dickens’s novels?

·     Comment all passages read during the school year, highlight stylistic features, character description, setting, metaphors, similes, use of vocabulary and themes.

 

ORWELL

·     What are the main themes in Animal Farm?

·     What are the characters like?

·     Are they flat or round?

·     Describe the main characters.

·     Can you briefly outline the plot in Animal Farm?

·     What can you tell me about Orwell's life?

·     What did Orwell think the task of an author should be?

·     Who is Big Brother?

·     What is a telescreen?

·     Can you briefly outline the plot in 1984?

·     Can you analyse the passage from 1984 you read?

 

PSYCHOANALYSIS AND MODERNISM

• What is censorship?
• What are condensation and displacement?
• What novelty has psychoanalysis brought about?
• How have literature, science and the arts changed since Freud's formulation of the psychoanalytic theory? 

 

SALMAN RUSHDIE

·     Who are the Tuesday women?

·     Why are they at the British Consulate?

·     How is miss Rehanna different from the rest of the women?

·     Describe the main characters.

·     Can you briefly outline the plot in "Good Advice is Better that Rubies"?

·     What can you tell me about Rushdie's life?

·     Why is the title appropriate?

 

THE VICTORIAN AGE

·     What is the Victorian compromise?

·     What are the most important discoveries which were made during the reign of Queen Victoria?

·     What are the most important reforms which were passed during the reign of Queen Victoria?

·     Who were the suffragettes?

·     What was the Crystal Palace?

·     Where were the coal mines important?

·     What was the industrial revolution?

·     How did it affect society and nature?

·     Why was coal important?

·     Why were the colonies important for the British empire?

 

OSCAR WILDE

·     Can you briefly outline the life of the artist?

·     Can you briefly outline the plot of "The Picture of Dorian Gray"?

·     What are the main themes in the Picture?

·     Who else explores the theme of the double in 19th century literature?

 

 

·       What are the main features of Aestheticism?

 

JAMES JOYCE

·     Can you briefly outline the life of the artist, his upbringing and his works?

·     Can you briefly outline the plan of "Dubliners"?

·     What are the main themes in Dubliners?

·     What is the "stream of consciousness technique"?

·     What are the main features of Joyce's works (narrator, point of view, themes)?

·     What is an "epiphany"?

·     Can you briefly summarise the plot in Eveline?

·     Can you briefly summarise the plot in Ulysses?

·     What was his purpose as a novelist?

 

  

EDGAR ALLAN POE

·       Can you briefly outline the life of the artist?

·       In which way is Poe a forerunner of Modernism?

·       Compare Poe to some of his contemporaries such as Dickens and Wilde

·       What about Poe’s style

·       What about Poe’s narrative technique?

·       What about Poe’s themes?

 

 

SYLVIA PLATH

·       Can you briefly outline the life of the artist?

·       Referring to her poems, can you point out the main themes?

·       Can you analyse her style?

·       How effective is the imagery she employs?

 

WILLIAM GOLDING

·       Can you briefly outline the life of the artist?

·       Can you summarise Lord of the Flies?

·       What does Golding think of men and women?

·       Why are men inferior to women in his opinion?

·       What about his stile and themes?

 

MODERNISM

·       What are the main features of modernism?

·       Which authors can be said to be part of the Modernist movement?

·       What are the novelties of modernism?

·       Why is psychoanalysis central in Modernism?