.

POSTSCRIPT: 17 December 2006
--GRADED RESEARCH PAPERS & EXAMS. As promised, at noon this past Friday I left your graded research papers and final exams (together, in the envelopes you provided) in the gray box on top of the counter in Solms 211.  You may pick up your work at your convenience.  Happy trails!

PREVIEW: 12 December 2006 (Final Exam)
--EXAM INSTRUCTIONS.  The following instructions will appear on the first page of our final exam, scheduled for 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, December 12.

Answer any 14 (and only 14) of the following questions on your own (standard, 8½” x 11” lined) paper.    You may not refer to your texts or your dictionary or your notes.   You start the exam with two points just for showing up on time—if you showed up on time.  Each correct answer is worth seven points.  There are no bonus points for answering more than 14 questions.

Respond directly and specifically to each question in a clear, concise paragraph.  Please don’t waste words: don’t repeat the question, don’t belabor the obvious, and don’t try to bluff with balderdash.  Write (or print) clearly: illegible answers will be treated as incorrect answers. 

Keep an eye on the time, and don’t let yourself get bogged down on any one question.  At the end of two hours, I’ll give you ten minutes to edit and proofread your answers.  If you have run out of time by that point, list or outline any remaining points you want to make.  All papers will be collected by 6:10.

When you finish the exam, please come up to the front of the room, staple your answer sheets to this exam booklet, and leave your exam on the front desk.  Graded exams and final research papers may be collected from the gray box on the counter in Solms 211 on Friday, December 15 (or any time afterwards but not before).

Final grades for Part Two of English 3010 will be calculated according to the guidelines for “Grading, Attendance, and Participation” posted on the course syllabus.  All grading policies apply to all students in the class in exactly the same way.   You final course grade will be determined by averaging your grade in Part One of the course with your final grade in Part Two.  Final course grades will be posted on SHIP by Friday, December 15 (though when grades actually appear on SHIP will be determined by the registrar).

--SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS (with suggested answers).  Following are examples of the kinds of questions that will appear on the final.

A.    Briefly yet specifically, discuss how biographical (and perhaps also feminist) criticism might be applied to a critical reading of John Milton's sonnet "When I Consider How My Light Is Spent" (1655?):

When I consider how my light is spent,
   Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
   And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present
   My true account, lest He returning chide;
   "Doth God exact day-labor, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need
   Either man's work or His own gifts. Who best
   Bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best. His state
Is kingly: thousands at His bidding speed,

   And post o'er land and ocean without rest;
   They also serve who only stand and wait." 

In your paragraph, I'd expect you to start out by mentioning the most obvious point: that Milton had lost his eyesight by 1651, thus encouraging us to interpret the metaphor in line one as a reference to his own blindness.   From there (based on our class discussion of the poem and of Milton's life), you might challenge the implications of the biblical allusion and the hyperbole in lines three and four: because the greatest of his hits--Paradise Lost--would not appear until 1667, clearly his writing talent was far from "useless." But how he continued to write, by dictating to his wife and daughters, might alter our sympathies as well: Milton's biographers have characterized him as a "domestic tyrant" and a "misogynist."  Thus we might read the master-servant relationship described in the second stanza as an oppressive reflection of his own family life: just as he acknowledges his subservience to his Master (God), so others were compelled to serve him.   In addition, you might also mention (briefly) how Milton's anti-royalist political writings had endangered his safety; thus the poem's concluding sentiment--"They also serve who only stand and wait"--might be read as a refutation of his own political activism.  Would this biographical reading of the poem necessarily be "correct"?  Let's just say (as we might say of any single critical stance) that it would be incomplete--but if composed clearly it would earn you full points on the exam .

B.   From the perspective of psychological criticism, compose a concise critical analysis of the following speech by Goneril (in Scene 3 of King Lear):. 

By day and night he wrongs me; every hour
He flashes into one gross crime or other,
That sets us all at odds: I'll not endure it:
His knights grow riotous, and himself upbraids us
On every trifle. When he returns from hunting,
I will not speak with him; say I am sick:
If you come slack of former services,
You shall do well; the fault of it I'll answer. . . .
Put on what weary negligence you please,
You and your fellows; I'll have it come to question:
If he dislike it, let him to our sister,
Whose mind and mine, I know, in that are one,
Not to be over-ruled. Idle old man,
That still would manage those authorities
That he hath given away! Now, by my life,
Old fools are babes again; and must be used
With cheques as flatteries,--when they are seen abused.

For suggestions on how you might respond to this question, see the paragraphs composed by Breanne Lane and Heather Benton at Cracking King Lear.

C.   From the perspective of Marxist criticism, compose a concise critical analysis of the Sioux folk tale "Pretty Feathered Forehead" (a story that we studied earlier this term).

For suggestions on how you might respond to this question, see the paragraphs composed by Sarah Rauers and Robert Rockett at Annotations to the Tales.  

D.   Briefly yet specifically, discuss how historical criticism (either the old historicism or the new—or some combination of the two) might be applied to an analysis of Shakespeare’s King Lear (or a particular part of the play) with regard to the actual case involving Sir Brian Annesley and his three daughters (a case that occurred just a few years before the first production of the play).

If you've carefully read the Introduction to the Oxford World's Classics edition of King Lear (and if you've read King Lear), you should have little trouble composing a thoughtful paragraph in response to this question.

E.   The language in Shakespeare’s plays is in one of three forms, each of which is employed in the following scene from King Lear.  Name these three forms, clearly identify (by speaker and line numbers) where each is employed in the scene, and briefly comment on the specific purpose and/or effects of each form. {On the exam, I would also include the scene--or an excerpt from it.]

If you've carefully read the class handout "Reading Shakespeare: A Few Notes and Tips" (and if you've read King Lear), you should not have any difficulty answering a question such as this one.

--A FEW STUDY TIPS BEFORE THE FINAL EXAM. 
-Make sure that you understand all of the literary theories and critical approaches discussed in the course from the beginning of the semester.  See "Looking Back," the final note at the preview to classes on Oct. 24/26 (NOTES Archive B).
-Refresh your memory of assigned texts by reviewing the quick quizzes we've taken over the past several weeks. Although there will be no multiple choice or true/false questions on the final, the quizzes should help remind you of key points raised in critical readings as well as character names, plot points, and themes in the more imaginative readings. Correct answers to quiz questions have been posted here weekly.
-Review all handouts distributed in Part Two of the course.
-Review all of the previews and postscripts here on the NOTES page (including those in Archives A, B, and C), paying special attention to points raised both in class and on the web site. 
-Review all class work (i.e., exercises submitted by you and your classmates) posted to this web site, keeping in mind that some responses are more insightful and more effectively expressed than others.   

English 3010 is taught by Dr. Richard Nordquist.
Armstrong Atlantic State University
Solms Hall 211C
11935 Abercorn Street
Savannah, Georgia 31419
912/921 5991

e-mail:  metaphors@inbox.com  

                                       

17 December 2006