CLASSICAL POETRY

1. The Prologue By Geoffrey Chaucer

2. Paradise Lost By John Milton

3. The Rape of the Lock By Alexander Pope

4. Love & Divine Poems By John Donne

5. Poetry of Spenser and Shakespeare

1. THE PROLOGUE BY CHAUCER

1. Answer the following questions. 

(i) Define poetry.

(ii) Define alliteration.

(iii) What do you mean by accent?

(iv) What is apostrophe?

(v) How is a simile different from a metaphor?

(vi) Define humour.

(vii) Define irony.

(viii) Define satire.

(ix) What do you understand by understatement?

(x) What do you understand by Renaissance?

(xi) What is the important about the fact that 'The Prologue' is set in the month of April?

(xii) Who was St. Thomas A. Becket?

(xiii) What is Chaucer's contribution to English Literature?

(xiv) Which dialect did Chaucer use for his poetry?
(xv) What is the purpose of 'The Prologue'?
2. Answer the following questions. 

(i) What was the plan of Canterbury Tales?

(ii) How many pilgrims are making the journey to Canterbury?

(iii) Why are the pilgrims going to Canterbury?

(iv) By what devices does Chaucer reveal his characters?

(v) Why did the associated people stay at Tabard Inn?

(vi) Name some important characters in 'The Prologue'. 

(vi) List the ecclesiastical characters in 'The Prologue'. 

(viii) Name the ideal character in 'The Prologue'. 

(ix) What are some of the places where the Knight has fought? 

(x) What is the difference between The Knight and The Squire? 

(xi) What is the actual name of Prioress? 

(xii) Do you like anything special in Chaucer's description of the Prioress? 

(xiii) How many husbands has The Wife of Bath had? 

(xiv) When the Parson asks allegorically, "if gold ruste, what would the iron do?" what is he talking about? 

(xv) What song could the Pardoner sing? 

3. Female Characters in 'The Prologue'

4. Ecclesiastical Characters in 'The Prologue'

5. 'The Prologue' As a Cross-section of the 14th Century English Society

6. Irony and Satire in 'The Prologue'

7. Chaucer's Style and Narrative Skill in 'The Prologue' 
8. Character Sketch of the Wife of Bath

Notes Prepared By: Prof. Shahbaz Asghar

2. PARADISE LOST BY JOHN MILTON
9. Answer the following questions. 
(i) What is an epic?
(ii) What is a blank verse?
(iii) What is a free verse?
(iv) What is a protagonist?
(v) What does the title of 'Paradise Lost' refer to?
(vi) What is the setting of 'Paradise Lost'?
(vii) What is the subject of 'Paradise Lost'?
(viii) Who are the main characters of 'Paradise Lost'?
(ix) For what does Milton invoke the Heavenly Muse?
(x) Why Adam and Even were expelled from Paradise?
(xi) Why does Eve eat the forbidden fruit?
(xii) Is Eve to blame for the fall?
(xiii) For what sin was Satan cast out of Heaven?
(xiv) How long did it take Satan to fall from Heaven to Hell?
(xv) What demon is floating alongside Satan in the fiery lake at the beginning of the poem?
10. Answer the following questions. 
(i) What is the name of Satan's second in command?
(ii) How many days did it take for Satan to finally speak to Beelzebub?
(iii) Why is Beelzebub reluctant to continue the fight?
(iv) Give a description of Hell as depicted in 'Paradise Lost' Book I.
(v) Why did Satan plan to take revenge on Adam?
(vi) What is the attitude of Adam towards Eve at the end of Book IX?
(vii) How does Eve feel at the end of Book IX of "Paradise Lost'?
(viii) What is the difference between the Satan of Book I and that of Book IX?
(ix) What are the two mountains tops of Oreb and Sinia known for?
(x) Is Satan the hero of the 'Paradise Lost'?
(xi) Why does Satan decide to stay in Hell?
(xii) What is the aim of 'Paradise Lost'?
(xiii) How well does Milton 'justify the ways of God to men'?
(xiv) What are the major themes of 'Paradise Lost'?
(xv) What is the conclusion of themes of 'Paradise Lost'?
11. Milton's Grand Style in 'Paradise Lost'
12. 'Paradise Lost' As a Renaissance Epic
13. The Hero of 'Paradise Lost': Satan or Adam
14. Responsible Person for the Fall of Man
15. Milton's Justifying the Ways to God to Men
16. Characters of Adam and Eve

Notes Prepared By: Prof. Shahbaz Asghar

3. THE RAPE OF THE LOCK BY POPE
17. Answer the following questions. 
(i) What does the title of 'The Rape of the Lock' refer to? 
(ii) What is the setting of 'The Rape of the Lock'? 
(iii) 'The Rape of the Lock' is called a mock epic poem. Why? 
(iv) Define allegory. 
(v) What is a heroic couplet? 
(vi) What are the satirical targets of 'The Rape of the Lock'? 
(vii) What are some of the images that recur through the poem 'The Rape of the Lock'? 
(viii) Write the names of the women in the poem 'The Rape of the Lock'? 
(ix) What is Belinda's full name in 'The Rape of the Lock'? 
(x) Who was the guardian spirit of Belinda? 
(xi) What spirit does Pope call upon to help him write his poem? 
(xii) To whom does Pope dedicate the poem 'The Rape of the Lock'? 
(xiii) Who adores the 'sparkling cross' Belinda has on her neck? 
(xiv) According to Pope, when women die, their spirits live on. What are the four possible forms these spirits will take? 
(xv) What everyday feminine ritual is Pope connecting with the ancient Greco-Roman sacrifice? 
18. Answer the following questions. 
(i) What is the background behind Pope's 'The Rape of the Lock', Canto I? 
(ii) What do women of 'soft yielding minds' become after death? 
(iii) Who is Betty and what duties she does? 
(iv) What card game do the Baron and Belinda play? 
(v) What trait does the Nymph (Arabella) possess that invites 'the destruction of mankind'? 
(vi) What does the 'Adventurous Baron' long to possess? 
(vii) What does the Baron burn as a sacrificial offering to Love? 
(viii) Why was the lock of Belinda severed? 
(ix) What role does the character of Clarissa play in the poem? 
(x) What is Clarrisa's point about the chopped hair? 
(xi) How does the crown of fops and ladies react to Clarissa's sensible advice? 
(xii) How do Dapperwit and Fopling meet their deaths? 
(xiii) Pope leaves Belinda (and hence Arabella) with what comforting thought at the end of the poem? 
(xiv) How did Belinda subdue the Baron and gain her revenge upon him?
(xv) What does Belinda's hair become in the end? 
19. 'The Rape of the Lock" As a Mock Epic
20. "The Rape of the Lock" As a Social Satire
21. Supernatural Elements in "The Rape of the Lock" 
22. Reasons for the Popularity of "The Rape of the Lock" 
23. Pope's Attitude Towards Religion in 'The Rape of the Lock'
24. Character Sketch of Blenda

Notes Prepared By: Prof. Shahbaz Asghar

4. LOVE AND DIVINE POEMS BY JOHN DONNE
25. Answer the following questions. 
(i) What is John Donne considered to be? 
(ii) Define metaphysical poetry? 
(iii) What is a theme? 
(iv) What are some common themes in the poems of John Donne? 
(v) What is the difference between Donne's love poems and divine poems? 
(vi) What are the three moods of love in Donne's poems? 
(vii) How does Donne distinguish between physical and spiritual love? 
(viii) What is a cynical love? 
(ix) How is Donne's life reflected in his poetry? 
(x) How is death treated in Donne's poetry? 
(xi) What is an allusion? 
(xii) What is a conceit? 
(xiii) What is hyperbole?
(xiv) Why do you mean by elegy? 
(xv) How many elegies did Donne write? 
26. Answer the following questions. 
(i) Write the names of any two elegies that you have read. 
(ii) How does 'The Good Morrow' differ from Elizabethan love lyrics? 
(iii) What figure of speech does Donne use by referring to 'the seven sleepers den'?
(iv) What does the title 'Goe, and Catch a Falling Star' refer to? 
(v) Why does Donne question the fidelity of women in 'Go, and Catch a Falling Star'?
(vi) In which poem does Donne address to the Sun? 
(vii) Why does Donne rebuke the Sun? 
(viii) What relationship is there between the public and the private spheres in 'The Sunne Rising'? 
(ix) What are the metaphysical elements in 'The Sunne Rising'? 
(x) What are the ideas portrayed in 'The Sunne Rising'? 
(xi) Foe whom has Donne written the poem 'Sweetest Love, I do not Goe'? 
(xii) What imaginative places does Donne lead us to through his metaphors in 'A Valediction of Weeping'?
(xiii) What are the metaphysical elements in 'A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning'? 
(xiv) What does the compass symbolize in 'A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning'? 
(xv) What is the theme of 'The Expiration'? 

27. Donne As a Love Poet

28. Donne's Attitude Towards Women

29. Donne As a Metaphysical Poet
30. Donne As an Intellectual Realist

31. Use of Hyperbole and Paradox in Donne's Poetry

32. Critical Appreciation of

(i) The Sun Rising

(ii) A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning

Notes Prepared By: Prof. Shahbaz Asghar

5. SPENSER AND SHAKESPEARE
33. Answer the following questions. 
(i) Why is Spenser called 'The Poets' Poet'? 
(ii) What are Spenser's intentions in writing 'Faerie Queen'? 
(iii) What is Spenserian Stanza? 
(iv) Who is Una? 
(v) Why does Redcross Knight abandon Una? 
(vi) Which of the moral virtues does Redcross Knight represent? 
(vii) What role does Archimago play in 'The Faerie Queen'?
(viii) What is 'the house of Morpheus'? 
(ix) What is meant by a Ballad? 
(x) What is a sonnet? 
(xi) Explain the rhyme scheme in a sonnet. 
(xii) What is a Shakespearean Sonnet? 
(xiii) How many Sonnets did Shakespeare write? 
(xiv) What are the major themes of Shakespeare's sonnets? 
(xv) Who is Shakespeare's Dark Lady? 
34. Spenser As an Eminent Poet of Elizabethan Period
35. Renaissance Elements in 'Faerie Queen'
36. Critical Appreciation of Canto I of 'Faerie Queen' Book I
37. Shakespeare as a Sonneter 
38. Major Theme in Shakespeare's Sonnets
39.  Elements of Love in Shakespeare's Sonnets
40. Critical Appreciation of 
(i) When I Consider Everything That Grows
(ii) Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer Day?