Survey of British Literature Midterm

English 2202 Mid-Term Examination Answers 1. What does Montagu say is the real reason that Swift wrote “The Lady’s Dressing Room”?
She says that that the real reason is that Swift had failed sexually with a prostitute. 2. What is Clarissa’s advice to Belinda?
Clarissa tells Belinda that because beauty will fade, she should use “good sense” to preserve what her beauty has gained for her. In the context of what has happened, Clarissa means that
Belinda should accept with good cheer what the Baron has done to her. 3. What does Blake mean when he says that the rose is “sick”?
The rose is “sick” because sexual desire is not acknowledged in an open way by either the rose or the worm. Blake thinks that denying or repressing sexual desire destroys life. 4. How do the Houyhnhnms change how Gulliver sees human beings when he returns home?
When Gulliver returns home, he sees other humans in the same way that the Houyhnhnms saw the Yahoos – as irrational, animal-like, disgusting. He goes to live in a stable with horses because he can’t stand to be around his wife and children 5. Why do Lepor and Astell think that women are harmed by “wit”?
They both think that a woman who shows wit will be seen as less attractive or desirable because of the intelligence that wit displays. They also seem to think that male wit makes women objects of ridicule or scorn 6. How does Gulliver react to the first creatures he sees in the land of the Houyhnhnms? Why?
Gulliver’s first reaction is a mixture of horror and fear – when one of the creatures holds out its hand, he takes out his sword and smashes the hand with the side of the sword. He has this reaction because he doesn’t recognize that they are humans. 7. What is the religious significance of music in “A Song for St. Cecilia's Day”?
The harmony of music is like the harmony of God’s creation. The joy (or awe) that the harmony of music produces is similar to the feelings that should be produced by the love and worship of
God.

8. How does Pope describe Belinda’s preparation to go out to the party?
The language used to describe Belinda choosing her clothing and putting on her make-up suggests that she is like a soldier preparing for battle. The language also suggests that her preparations have the seriousness or significance of religious rites. 9. How do Dryden and Pope, in “Mac Flecknoe” and “The Rape of the Lock,” differ in their reasons for writing a mock-heroic poem?
In “Mac Flecknoe,” Dryden writes a mock-heroic poem literally to mock, to ridicule Shadwell by showing the absurdity of seeing him as an epic hero. In “The Rape of the Lock,” Pope writes a mock-heroic poem about what has happened to Belinda to show that even trivial events can have enormous significance. In portraying the people at the party as if they were heroes, Pope is gently teasing them, but also showing the importance of the things they do and say 10. Why is Strephon shocked by what he discovers in “The Lady’s Dressing Room”?
He is shocked because he discovers that even a beautiful woman has a body that does all the disgusting things that all bodies do. 11. What does Astell think motivates men in their relationships to women?
Astell thinks that men are motivated solely by their own desires, which she calls irregular.
Women have worth to men only insofar as they are able to satisfy male desires, which can include a desire to be entertained or to become prosperous. 12. Why does Ariel stop trying to protect Belinda in the “Rape of the Lock”?
Ariel stops trying to protect Belinda because he discovers “an earthly lover at her heart.” When he looks closely at her thoughts, he sees that there’s nothing for him to protect. 13. What is “Vanity Fair” and why is it seen negatively by Christian?
Vanity Fair is a market where everything that humans want – both things that are good such as wives or children and things that might normally be seen as bad such as prostitutes – can be bought or sold. Christian sees Vanity Fair negatively because it is based on the assumption that the only things that humans want are things that could be bought or sold. There’s no room in
Vanity Fair for the love or worship of God. 14. What is Blake’s view of priests in “The Garden of Love”?
Blake sees priests in “The Garden of Love” as the enemies of love and desire. Their moral prohibitions have turned the garden into a graveyard. 15. Why does Pope think that humans should not question their own limitations or imperfections? Pope thinks that humans should realize that everything is good or right because it has been created by God. In questioning limitations or imperfections, humans are questioning the goodness of what God has created. 16. How do “Elegy Written in A Country Churchyard” and “The Deserted Village” differ in their subject matter from poems such as “Mac Flecknoe” and “The Rape of the Lock”?
“Elegy Written in A Country Churchyard” and “The Deserted Village” focus on the lives of the poor while “Mac Flecknoe” and “The Rape of the Lock” focus on the lives of people who are affluent. “Elegy Written in A Country Churchyard” and “The Deserted Village” are also written in language that is much more simple or direct than the language of “Mac Flecknoe” and “The
Rape of the Lock.” 17. What does the speaker of “The Lady’s Dressing Room” think about Strephon’s reactions to what he discovers?
The speaker thinks that Strephon is overreacting. He thinks that Strephon doesn’t understand that beauty allows us to rise above what is disgusting about ordinary human bodies.

18. Why does Astell think that a woman shouldn’t look to marriage to find satisfaction?
The aspects of women that make men desire them Astell thinks are demeaning. Women should become educated and should take satisfaction in what an educated mind can reveal, which is the worth of a spiritual life based on the worship of God. 19. How do Christian’s family and neighbors react when Christian leaves home?
Christian’s family and neighbors think that he has gone insane. They try to stop him from leaving, but they also ridicule him. 20. How do the two versions of “Holy Thursday” differ?
In “The Songs of Innocence,” the speaker of “Holy Thursday” tries to show that how wonderful it is that old rich men have helped all the poor children who are marching past them, celebrating the “songs” the children are singing. In the “Holy Thursday” in “Songs of Experience,” the speaker attacks the poverty that has produced the children who are marching, and says that the
“songs” are really cries of pain and suffering. 21. Why does Christian leave his home?
Christian leaves his home because he has read that the world he lives in will be destroyed. He can be saved from this destruction if he turns his life into a journey to salvation, but he can’t find such salvation in the familiar world of his friends and his family. 22. How is language defined by the Houyhnhnms?
For the Houyhnhnms, the purpose of language is the communication of information. They have no sense that language might be used to communicate emotions or to talk about things that are surprising or unfamiliar – such uses of language are meaningless, they only says “the thing which is not.” 23. What does Swift argue for in “A Modest Proposal,” and why does he make this argument?
Swift argues that the poor of Ireland should make money be selling their babies as food for the rich. He makes this argument to shock his readers, in part by suggesting that the failure to respond to his own reasonable proposals to address Irish poverty really comes from indifference to the effect of poverty. If you aren’t going to help people who are starving, why not sell them as food? 24. Why does Dryden think that Shakespeare’s writing can be seen as an “imitation of nature”?
It can be seen as an “imitation of nature” because that’s what all great writing is. However, because Shakespeare’s writing is so different from any previous writing, he didn’t learn to imitate nature from other writers, so he must have learned it from “within.” 25. What does the Baron do to Belinda? Why?
The Baron chops off a lock of Belinda’s hair. He does this to get power over her after she wins the game of cards. He also wants a trophy that he can add to his other trophies that mark his power over women.