morning scene differ from the one in L'Allegro? What goddess is referred to in 132? Who is Sylvan? Give in detail the picture presented in 133. Is monumental an appropriate adjective? Had Milton read Book I, Canto I, stanzas 8-9 of Faery Queen? Why rude axe? Is 135 onomatopoetic? In 140, no eye profaner than whose? Explain honeyed thigh. What consort do the waters keep? Is dewy-feathered an appropriate epithet? Meaning of wave at his wings? Is the music referred to in 150-4 purely imaginary? Explain unseen Genius. Have 131-54 a parallel in L'Allegro?

LINES 155-76

Explain: due feet, studious cloister's pale, embowed roof, massy proof, storied windows, dight, service high, lines 165-6. Does Milton mean literally that in his old age he wishes to become a hermit? Does he mean that in his declining years he would study astronomy and botany? Explain 173-4. Why have 11. 167-74 no counterpart in L'Allegro?

GENERAL QUESTIONS

How old was Milton when he wrote these poems? Where were they written? What kind of life had he led previous to this time? Do you think he considered his two lists of pleasures appropriate for every one? If you were making similar lists, what pleasures mentioned by Milton would you omit, and what new ones would you add? Was Milton a typical Puritan? Was he effeminate? Was the pleasure he received from nature due mainly to his imagination? to the fact that his study of the classics had furnished his mind with myths which gave to natural objects a new value? to the fact that his eye was sensitive to the beauty of color and form, his ear appreciative of melody? Which of the two poems is the better? What are your favorite passages? What besides rhyme and meter are essential to truly great poetry? What is a lyric?

SHAKESPEARE'S MACBETH

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Scene 1. If you were arranging a stage for this scene, how would you represent a desert place? How would you have the witches enter and how leave the stage? Describe their ap

pearance and actions. Did those who witnessed the play when it was first given consider this scene serious or comic? Does the scene accomplish anything, either in starting the story or in throwing light on any of the characters? Had the rest of the play been lost, what conclusion might have been drawn in regard to the nature of the entire drama? Is the last line onomatopoetic?

Scene 2. Arrange the stage for this scene. How old is Duncan and how costumed? What impression does S. wish him to make? Purpose of scene? Did scene 1 give any idea of Macbeth's character? Had the rest of the play been lost, should you have concluded from scene 2 that Macbeth was a noble man? Why not have the battle represented on the stage? Why have the account of the battle given by two narrators instead of one? Explain lines 5, 13, 18, 19, 25-8, 37, 40, 54-5. What suggests to Ross (1. 49) that the banners flout the sky? Does 1. 30 remind you in any way of scene 1, 1. 10? Find examples of personification and hyperbole. What do you find to admire in the scene as a whole?

Scene 3. Would this scene be as effective if it began at once with the meeting between the witches and the generals? How old was the sailor's wife? How should 1. 10 be spoken? Explain: like a rat without a tail, shipman's card, penthouse lid, though his bark cannot be lost. Is the drum (1. 29) designed to startle the audience? What action accompanies ll. 32-9? Describe Macbeth's dress and general appearance. What is the dramatic purpose of Macbeth's first words, So foul and fair? of the occasional thunder? How much time has elapsed since scene 1? Which of the two generals first sees the witches? Explain in detail how Macbeth and Banquo are impressed by the witches. Do these two know that witches are in league with Satan? Had Macbeth guiltily thought of gaining the throne even before the three hails? Is the little word Stay (70) of importance in revealing M.'s character? Is M. honest in calling Cawdor prosperous? Why should he lie to the witches? Describe the manner in which the witches vanish. Is M. sincere when he says (87) Went it not so? Would this scene be so effective did the audience not know of the honors awaiting Macbeth? Describe M.'s manner of receiving his new title from Ross. Is he sincere when he exclaims

The thane of Cawdor lives? What is the purpose of asides and soliloquies? Were they more necessary in Shakespeare's day than at present? Why is M. (117) so tardy in thanking Ross and Angus, and why (129) does he thank them a second time? Why (127) does Shakespeare have Banquo draw Ross and Angus aside? What suggestion is referred to in l. 134? Is the thought the same in the two asides (143, 146-7)? To whom are 11. 153-5 addressed? If to Banquo, what is in Macbeth's mind? Had the rest of the play never been written, what would have been your opinion of M.'s character? What, viewing the scene as a whole, do you find to like? Explain: fantastical (53); present grace, noble having, royal hope (556). Try hard to picture 11. 58-9. Explain: imperfect speakers (70), earnest (104). Expand the metaphor in lined (112) into a simile. Explain the metaphor in 127-9. Explain ll. 139-42.

Scene 4. What is a flourish? Whose palace is at Forres? Is the account of Cawdor's execution necessary? What is the effect of 11. 11-12, coming as they do from the King's lips as M. enters? Is M. still dressed as in scene 3? How does he act upon hearing that Malcolm is to succeed Duncan? Is M. sincere in the statement of his motives for hastening to Inverness? Does he in this scene fully determine to murder the King? What makes the concluding line of the scene so effective? Has S. thus far made Duncan appear lovable that his murder may seem the more awful, or is it his purpose to suggest that there is a certain justice in M.'s taking the throne from a weak old king? Is a man ever guilty of a crime before he has actually committed it in deed? What do you find to like in this scene? Explain 11. 15-20, 22-7, 44, 48-9.

Scene 5. How old is Lady Macbeth? Is she tall? slender? frail? How costumed? When was M.'s letter written? For what purpose? Is Lady M. reading it for the first time? Does she read all of it aloud? Does she read slowly? pause after reading it? How much does she mean by shalt be what thou art promised? Was M. innocent before he met the witches? Had he and his wife thought, previous to the battle, of killing the king? Is Lady M.'s analysis of her husband's character one that should lead us to respect him? Is M. a coward? Does Lady M. yield to temptation instantly? Did Macbeth? What is gained, dramatically,

by having the messenger arrive before Macbeth? Explain Lady M.'s manner of saying Thou'rt mad to say it and He brings great news. Do you think more, or less, of Lady M. after the soliloquy beginning Come, you spirits? Describe the meeting of Macbeth and his wife. Explain the manner in which they begin to talk to each other. What earlier lines are suggested by Your face, my thane, is as a book, etc.? Had the rest of the play never been written, would you have judged both Macbeth and Lady M. guilty of murder? equally guilty?

Scene 6. What are hautboys? Has this short scene any purpose other than to inform the audience that Duncan has reached Inverness? In answering the question, bear in mind that Duncan now appears for the last time. Explain: temple-haunting, loved mansionry, coign of vantage, We rest your hermits (20), purveyor (22), By your leave, hostess (31).

Scene 7. Why is not the banquet scene represented on the stage? Purpose of M.'s soliloquy before the entrance of Lady M.? How many arguments against the murder do you detect in the soliloquy? Is M. a thinking man? Is his hesitation due to cowardice? What is the dramatist's purpose in showing that M. realizes the awfulness of the crime he contemplates? Why has M. left the banquet? Why has Lady M.? Has Lady M. any ground for accusing her husband of cowardice? of breaking his word? When did M. first "break" the "enterprise" to his wife? Which of Lady M.'s taunts and arguments is most effective in moving M.? Is her scorn assumed or real? Which is the more imaginative, M. or Lady M.? the quicker in wit? the more cunning? Which has the deeper moral nature? Which is the braver? Is Lady M. responsible for the king's death? Is the audience sure, at the close of the scene, that the murder will be committed? Do you respect Lady M. more, after this scene, or less? Explain in detail ll. 1-12, 17, 23, 25-8, 41-3, 44-5, 64-7, 79, 80, 81.

How much has Shakepeare accomplished in Act I? Which scene serves as an interlude between two stronger scenes? Which scene is most impressive? What lines do you like best? At what point does temptation seize M.? What incident definitely starts him on his downward career? At what point is opportunity offered for accomplishing his purpose? At what

point does he determine upon the details of the murder? Can you recall any other play in which the action is so rapid? Give the substance of each scene in a few words, employing the present tense.

ACT II

Scene 1. Purpose of dialogue between Banquo and Fleance with which the scene opens? What opinion have you formed of Banquo? What are the cursed thoughts (1.8)? Banquo's purpose in referring to the witches? Is M. sounding Banquo in ll. 22-4? Dramatic purpose of bringing M. face to face with an incorruptible man, just before the murder? Purpose of the soliloquy beginning with Is this a dagger? Does M. begin the soliloquy immediately on the departure of Banquo? In what tone of voice and with what facial expression are the words spoken? Are there any pauses, or do the words flow smoothly? Would you have the dagger visible to the audience? Is this the same M. who took such a bloody part in the recent battle? Does M. see his wife after the soliloquy and before the murder? What effect upon the audience has the striking of the bell? Any visible effect on M.? Describe his manner of leaving the stage. Do you think more, or less, of M. because of this soliloquy? Is his mind unsettled at the time of the murder? Why not let the audience see M. in the act of murdering the king? Explain the following lines: 4, 14, 17-19, 26-8, 44-5, 48, 51, 59-60, 61. What passage do you admire most?

Scene 2. What are the weather conditions? Purpose of presenting Lady M. alone at the beginning of the scene? Has she resorted to drink to keep down her better nature? Does an owl actually hoot? Why does S. make her say Had he not resembled, etc.? Describe M.'s entrance. How are the words My husband spoken-should they express affection, surprise, inquiry, terror? Describe M.'s condition. Does Lady M. say A foolish thought tauntingly? Is she alarmed at her husband's condition? what tone does she say Infirm of purpose? Does she snatch the daggers? Are the lines beginning The sleeping and the dead spoken to M.? Describe Lady M.'s manner of leaving the stage. How does the knocking at the gate affect M.? How the audience? Are the sympathies of the audience with M.? Are yours? Is Lady M.'s contempt for her husband, as expressed in