Frankenstein

The letters and Walton's existence give Frankenstein more verisimilitude.
Prometheus-a Titan who is said to have shaped humans out of clay and gave them the spark of life. Victor is called "the modern Prometheus".
injunction-the act of joining together
What is the purpose of Walton's story of the Russian lady?
Why is The Rime of the Ancient Mariner a motif in Frankenstein?
Walton signs differently in all the letters he sends to his sister. One he calls himself R. Walton, another Robert Walton, etc.
Is Walton only sailing for success?
paroxysm-sudden, violent outburst
fastidious-finicky, hard to please
The frame of Victor Frankenstein being on Walton's boat makes the story in medias res because he is still running from his creation, and the creature does not come on the boat until Victor finishes his tale.
syndics-people chosen to represent a corporation, usually to carry out business
penury-extreme poverty
chimerical-wildly fanciful and highly unrealistic
tyros-novice
multifarious-having many parts
galvanism-the application of electricity to the body
progeny-descendant
Agrippa-elixir that extends life/occultist
Paracelsus-occultist/rejected Agrippa
Albertus Magnus-scholar/Catholic saint
Why did Victor read and love the work of all 3 men above if they are all so different?
chaise-open carriage for 1 or 2 people
repugnance-antipathy
pg 37: "Chance-or rather...natural philosophy." is an example of personification, like in Everyman and Doctor Faustus.
panegyric-formal and elaborate praise
mien-demeanor
pedantry-obsessive attention to details
charnel-houses-crypts
Victor began the creation of a human man with feelings of hesitation, indecisiveness, and curiosity. Did he do it because curiosity outweighed the hesitation and indecisiveness? Did he have any idea of the consequences?
Why does he make his creature bigger than him? He is the creator; he should be bigger to show dominance and ensure that his own creature can never overtake him.
He becomes God essentially by creating life from death.
incipient-beginning to appear
lassitude-weariness or pleasant indifference
Why did he get disgusted upon the completion of his creature?
He did not purposefully animate the creature, but did he intend to at some point?
palpitation-abnormally fast heartbeat
How long will his fear prevent him from telling people about his creation?
pertinacity-persistence
fetter-chain, restrain
vacillating-indecisive, hesitating
Victor shows many symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder through the entire novel.
encomiums-formal expressions of high praise
diffident-shy, not confident
dilatoriness-slowness, tardiness
acceded-accepted
perambulations-travels about
salubrious-healthful
Shelley juxtaposes happiness and grief at the end of Chapter 6 and the beginning of Chapter 7.
cabriolet-carriage made for 2 people
Shelley also uses the weather and seasons to enhance mood (pg 62).
precipices-cliffs with vertical faces
He does not consider his creation human even though it was meant to be a human.
irony in Justine's name: The word just is in her name, but she was executed unjustly, in cold blood.
exculpated-pardoned
execrated-cursed
adduced-brought forward as evidence or to support an argument
Elizabeth stands up for Justine, but as a last ditch effort, how much did she think it would help?
obdurate-unyielding
Victor considers the creature an extension of himself.
pg 75: "I wandered...to my fellow-beings." juxtaposition of good and evil within Victor
ephemeral-transitory
The poem on page 82 is Percy Bysshe Shelley's "Mutability".
satiated-satisfied to the point of boredom
maw-mouth of an animal
The creature does not speak until page 83. When he tells his tale to Victor on Montavert, it is a story within a story being told by Victor within a story told by Walton told to Margaret.
What is the symbolic significance of nature and of Victor climbing Montavert, especially alone?
Possible theme: "If our impulses were confined to hunger, thirst, and desire, we might be nearly free; but now we are moved by every wind that blows, and a chance word or scene that that word may convey to us" (82).
The creature speaks in older English. He pleads to be heard by Victor 5 times on pages 84-85.
slaked-cooled or refreshed
Is either Victor's or his creature's tale biased, and if so, how much and why?
offals-refuse or waste, especially of a dead animal
Chapter 11 juxtaposes what happens to people when they see the creature and when they don't.
Why is he so curious about the cottagers?
Why doesn't the creature have a name?
viands-foodstuffs
scion-descendant
sallies-outbursts, excursions
Does the creature want a mate so he can be like the cottagers?
The cottagers suffered from corruption of blood, a result of injustice, like Justine.
expostulate-to reason with someone so he or she doesn't do something
True love always finds a way to flourish.
Why does Shelley have the creature study Paradise Lost, Plutarch's Lives, and Sorrows of Werter? She could have chosen any books.
disquisitions-dissertations
How did the creature find Victor's journals?
The fact that the cottagers move out highlights the creature's abhorred nature.
Why did he take revenge by burning down the cottage?
imprecate-call down curses on someone
sanguinary-marked with blood
feint-a feigned appearance
How do Victor and the creature know for sure that the creature will change with the possession of a mate?
Why does Victor want to marry Elizabeth?
conjecture-the expression of an opinion without sufficient proof
treble-triple
exordium-beginning
"I was the slave of my creature" (132). His plan completely backfired, or at least completely failed.
sedulous-diligent, persevering
variegated-varied
Clerval was a real Romanticist. He is described by a Romanticist poet, Wordsworth, writing about nature.
Why do Clerval and Victor go to Perth?
The beauty and tranquility of nature brings out Victor's traumatized and shattered disposition.
environs-suburbs
What happened at Chamounix that they left so quickly?
remissness-carelessness
languid-lacking in vitality
Why does Victor always need to be alone?
sophisms-false arguments
inexorable-unyielding
promontory-part of a plateau that juts out
Like William and Justine, Victor is wrongly accused and must feel the pain that his creature caused.
augury-omen, indication
gaolers-jailers
turnkeys-the jailer in charge of the keys
Why did Mr. Kirwin take such good care of Victor in prison?
assizes-trials
Why is "homesickness" in French instead of English like the rest of the book?
torpor-sluggish activity
The book is an extended metaphor for fears and figuring out how to conquer them before they conquer us. It also gives us ideas about how to control situations beyond our control and how to keep good intentions from becoming bad actions.
Is Victor crazy because he never told anyone about his creation? The secret is ripping him apart.
consternation-panic, bewilderment
paradisiacal-like paradise
Why are Victor and Elizabeth's future children referred to as "objects of care...to replace those of whom we have been so cruelly deprived" (161)?
Interjections make us remember that this story is being told orally and was not written down and edited for Walton. Victor uses interjections quite frequently.
Why is there no description of the actual wedding?
Where did Elizabeth get the land on the shores of Lake Como if she was an orphan?
The climax is when Elizabeth is killed.
page 168: juxtaposition of law, seen in the magistrate, and unlawfulness, seen in the creature's vengeful killings
chamois-soft, pliable leather
Will the magistrate comply with Victor's demands?
"By the sacred earth...despair that now torments me" (172). Why does Victor swear to the Night instead of God?
adjuration-earnest request
extricate-liberate
page 173: juxtaposition of good and evil, reality and dream
Why are Walton's words not included within Victor's tale?
Walton and Margaret are foils to Victor and Elizabeth.
deputation-appointing a person to represent a group of people
immured-confined, enclosed
irradiation-ray of light
uncouth-awkward, unmannerly
opprobrium-the loss of respect from shameful actions
page 185: juxtaposition of Victor's, Walton's, and the creature's points of view

Gulliver's Travels

interpolator-introducer
censure-strong expression of disapproval
Moderation in government can never happen because we are too bright in a group and not bright enough alone.
Gulliver is never physically described because he represents the common people.
Strong leadership keeps us from going into anarchy.
Swift uses scatology to get some of his points across-page 18 "master Bates".
declivity-downward slope
ligatures-ties
jerkin-sleeveless, close-fitting jacket
retinue-suite of people attending a royal figure
Gulliver primarily points out the good aspects of each society, and the flaws he does point out are few and trivial.
soporiferous-bringing sleep
There is power in numbers.
Gulliver becomes an exhibit in every kingdom except Laputa, where they have no time for such matters.
demesnes-possessions of land
palisadoes-fences or stakes set in the ground
Lilliputians are obsessed with trivial matters.
Every character in every kingsom except the kings are one-dimensional. In Lilliput, they are untrusting and believe they are bigger than they really are. In Brobdingnag, they are moral and have many physical flaws. In Laputa, they are consumed by impractical mathematics and cannot converse without flappers. In Houyhnhnmland, the Yahoos are selfish and incompetent, while the Houyhnhnms are friendly and simple.
expostulate-to reason with someone against something they have done
puissant-powerful
junto-self-appointed committee, especially with political goals
diuretic-medicine made to increase urine production
Lilliputian children know no love, only patriotism.
exchequer-treasury
encomiums-formal expressions of high praise
Are the Blefuscuians as petty as the Lilliputians?
cabal-small, secret group of plotters, especially against the government
Gulliver goes from a love of England to an utter disgust of it by the end of the book. He has become aware of the vileness of the human race because of the "glorious" Houyhnhnms.
Bright does not equal good.
ague-fever
fopperies-anything having to do with an excessively vain person
Brobdingnagians, in some ways, are just as petty as the Lilliputians, especially how they treat Gulliver as a pet.
equipage-carriage
espalier-trellis for plants
varlet-servant
erudition-learning
redound-result
The Brobdingnagian king tries to make the English government look bad.
pecuniary-pertaining to money
perfidiousness-deceitful
recapitulate-summarize
panegyric-eulogy
mercurial-volatile, finicky
Gulliver tries to impose the English government on every kingdom except the Houyhnhnms because he knows they are ideal and will not receive it well.
sloop-small boat with one sail
injurious-harmful
Do Laputians think they are above everyone else, not just literally?
perihelion-point of orbit where a planet or comet is closest to the sun
effluvia-slight vapor, especially a noxious one
caprices-changes of mind
hermetically-airtight
declensions-acts of decreasing
cephalic-pertaining to the head
bolus-soft, round lump usually referring to medicine or chewed food
The Laputian method of learning parallels the typical classroom learning-taking notes from lectures, spitting out the information on a test, and forgetting it forever. Gulliver implies that students need to remember everything they learn in school.
chimeras-mythical fire-breathing monsters with a lion's head, serpent's tail, and a goat's body
licentiousness-sexual unretraint
ebullient-overflowing with enthusiasm
peccant-guilty
scrofulous-morally tainted
purulent-discharging pus
subaltern-lower in rank
obeisances-gestures showing respect, courtesy, or reverence
helot-serf, slave
calentures-violent fevers with deleriousness
pudenda-external gential organs, especially the female's
circumlocutions-roundabout ways of speaking
insuperable-incapable of being surmounted
coquette-flirtatious woman
rapine-plunder
The Yahoos closely resemble monkeys, which is poignant concerning the satire of human nature. Gulliver thinks of humans as petty, selfish creatures incapable of self-government or keeping peace after his time spent with the Houyhnhnms. 

The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus

dalliance-flirtation
vaunt-boast
Loving magic and knowledge, opposites of each other, suggests an inner conflict.
Logic is self-seeking, and the truth is always debatable.
aphorism-a saying embodying a general truth
paltry-worthless
necromantic-magic, especially that practiced by a witch
Partially because Faustus is not a virtuous Christian, he is convinced he will not go to Heaven.
The Good and Evil Angels are exact opposites and serve as each other's foils.
Faustus knows what is right but gives in quickly to sin.
staves-plural of staff
argosies-large merchant ships
licentiates-people with degrees
lechery-unrestrained sexual desire
Faustus is abnormally obsessed with acquiring knowledge.
anagrammatised-to transpose into an anagram
Duality is shown again when Faustus prays to pagan gods while mentioning Jehovah.
Faustus believes he has power over divinity and will not have life after death in either Heaven or Hell.
insolence-rudeness
Earth is so terrible that is has become Hell.
Faustus could have asked for immortality instead of only 24 years, so why didn't he?
Scene IV serves as comic relief by satirizing the deal with the devil.
Why does Wagner want the clown to serve him?
plackets-skirts
fustian-inflated language
The presence of the angels intensifies Faustus' inner conflict.
portend-signify
God keeps trying to get Faustus back from the devil.
Hell and Heaven coexist in and around Earth (5.124-126)
lascivious-inclined towards lustfulness
Will Faustus soon tire of what Mephistophilis has to offer?
Why does Faustus talk in third person about himself?
Seven Deadly Sins: Pride, Covetousness, Wrath, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, Lechery
None of the sins have normal parents if any parents are mentioned.
progeny-outcome, offspring
Even though Faustus sold his soul, he does not get everything he wants.
pate-head
Robin and Ralph are influenced by Faustus' success.
The knight thinks Faustus' abilities are a joke, and he gets the horns on his head for having that opinion.
What is so important about Wertenburg?
Faustus loves getting all the attention while Mephistophilis does all the work.
The Old Man does not know that Faustus cannot repent, creating dramatic irony (14.34-41).
dross-waste
surfeit-excess
Faustus becomes self-aware when the clock strikes 11 on his last day to live.
All of the prayers and pleading are pointless because the deal can never be broken.

Hamlet

Hamlet procrastinates until the last minute to kill Claudius, which sets it apart from other Shakespeare tragedies.
He does not have an obvious shift from unaware to self-aware like Othello did.
Claudius considers honor to be worth more than his stepson because Claudius wants to send Hamlet to England in order to protect his kingly reputation.
Gertrude longs for power, but she must have a man ruling over her in order to know what actions to take in her powerful position.
I believe Hamlet is right in his view of humanity. People are born, in then words of Locke, tabula rasa, and outside influences make them corrupt or virtuous. In Freudian terms, the id, ego, and superego are out of balance. This causes the appetitive nature to take over Ophelia, Claudius, Hamlet, Laertes, and Gertrude.
I think Shakespeare's language was difficult to understand, but it is getting easier with more exposure to it.
Why does Ophelia go insane?
Why is this Shakespeare's most famous play?
Hamlet is afraid of death at first, but he then becomes unafraid. He starts to exhibit signs of schizophrenia as the play progresses.
The play within Hamlet serves as a foil to what happened before the plot of Hamlet began. It achieves its goal of making Claudius realize the magnitude of his actions, but it prompts him to pray, which is why Hamlet does not kill Claudius immediately.

Othello Acts IV and V

Line 62: Iago says "lethargy must have his quiet course", but he will not let this happen.
strumpet-prostitute
bauble-showy and/or cheap piece of jewelry
plenteous-plentiful
expostulate-earnestly reason
Lodovico is disappointed in Othello because he has only heard good about him, but this was all describing Othello before he went mad with jealousy and anger.
Emilia insists Desdemona is honest, but Othello does not and is unwilling to believe her. If this is true, why does Othello even question Emilia?
Lines 86-88 describe Iago and his actions throughout the play using the metaphor of wind.
cogging-a person who plays a minor role in a bigger plot, for example, Montano and Lodovico.
Roderigo figures out Iago, but he continues to justify his villainous actions.
mettle-fortitude
Othello's dispute with Cassio finally gets a committee from Venice after the battle is over.
harlotry-prostitution
Iago wants to severely injure Cassio so he can gain his "rightful" position as lieutenant to Othello.
Desdemona values her relationship with Othello so much that she desires to be shrouded in her wedding sheets upon her death.
Barbara and her lover parallel Othello and Desdemona (lines 28-30).
Irony: Roderigo calls Cassio a villain even though Cassio did much less evil than Roderigo.
Othello's motive for killing Desdemona can be seen as unselfish. He does not want to ruin her "alabaster" skin or "shed her blood" (lines 3, 5). She must be killed so she does not betray any more men (line 6). Othello is concerned about the state of her soul and commands her to pray before she is killed (lines 33-34).
Othello, like Iago, justifies his murder by saying he is merciful and did not let Desdemona linger in pain (lines 104-105).
pernicious-wicked
Othello, like Oedipus, does not see the truth until it is too late. Oedipus killed Leius and married Jocasta before his eyes were opened, and Othello killed Desdemona before he realized that she was always faithful.
extenuate-to thin
censure-reprimand
Why does Lodovico get the last word in?

Othello Act III

boon-blessing, benefit

ruminate-ponder

leets-annual or semiannual court

perdition-damnation

seel-to close or blind

clime-climate

minx-flirtatious girl

importune-annoy

futurity-posterity

Cassio is convinced that Othello will forget his love and service soon, so he keeps apologizing to Othello through Desdemona in order to get his position back.

Scene II serves as a transition from Scene I to Scene III.

Desdemona remains loyal to Cassio's cause. Why does she say she'd rather die than give up his cause?

At line 100, Othello still loves Desdemona despite his illusions about her activities. By line 500, he completely believes Iago's illusions.

Line 144: Iago insists that men should be what they seem, but he is not a kind, honest man like everyone thinks he is.

Iago values his name above his money.

Lines 293-5: Othello does not consider himself a gentleman because he doesn't have "those soft parts of conversation". He presumes this is because he's black.

Iago feeds Othello's grief continuously and even swears to help Othello kill Cassio and Desdemona.

The handkerchief serves as the final piece of evidence to convince Othello of Desdemona's extracurricular activities, and Othello completely falls for it.

Desdemona values the handkerchief over her purse of gold because Othello gave it to her.

What purpose does Bianca serve? Is she someone's wife?\

Cassio tries to cover up the handkerchief's presence even though he has no secret actions to hide.

Othello Acts I and II

Iago presents himself as a two-faced character, creating much dramatic irony throughout the course of the play.

Cassio's weakness is for alcohol, and Iago uses it to his fullest advantage.

imperious-haughty

The drunken fight between Cassio and Montano is clear evidence that Iago's plan is starting to come together.

Iago gets called honest at least 3 times throughout Act II.

The storm foreshadows more conflict.

alarum-alarm

What is the purpose of Scene II?

lechery-unrestrained sexual indulgence

choler-wrath

Roderigo and Iago address each other in formal manners sometimes, using you between themselves.

Iago has no motive for being evil.

Why does Shakespeare switch back and forth from poetry to prose?