Lockdown Literature 10.2

Hi folks,

We’ve finished the content for this year. Under the circumstances, I’d say that’s a real achievement. CONGRATULATIONS!

All that really remains now is:

• reinforce what we’ve been learning about recently (TEoSA)

• revise what we’ve covered this year

• prepare for next year (esp. the coursework)

We’ll deal with the first bullet point first. I’m going to set you a mini-essay to help you develop your arguments about The Eve of St Agnes as tragedy. After we’ve done that, we’ll focus on coursework ideas ahead of the first set of catch-up meetings in school in 11 days’ time.

Here’s your latest bit of work:

1) Do this mixed recap quiz

2) Write a mini-essay (30 mins) in response to this question:

‘Far from a mere fairy-tale romance, The Eve of St Agnes is tragic and perhaps even anti-romantic.’ To what extent do you agree with this view?

I’m going to give you a week to write this mini-essay. You can use this planning sheet if you like. Feel free to send me a plan before Monday if you need help. Monday will just be a check-in to answer any queries and to make any suggestions that occur to me. I guess I’ll have a go at this question too.

Before you start planning, please read my initial thoughts on this question below:

In the past, students have found it difficult to write about this poem and tragedy; after all, at the end of the poem, the lovers escape the castle and run off to start a new life together. This question is designed to get you engaging with interpretations of the poem than suit our genre focus on tragedy, and Stillinger’s essay will be a big help.

First, it’s worth considering the key words in the question again. 

I assume you’re all okay with ‘tragic’, right? 😏💀

‘Romance’ and ‘anti-romantic’ are important though. Don’t get lulled in to the idea that ‘romantic’ in this sense means to do with love or even to do with Romanticism.

First, let’s consider what a romance is:

In Isabella, Keats says ‘O for the gentleness of old romance’, and his poems often feature medieval settings, knights etc. However, his poems usually end with pessimism and melancholy and a sense of futility. If we are going to make the argument that the poem is anti-romantic, we need to question whether Keats is rejecting romantic notions such as sentimentality, idealism, courtly love, heroism, chivalry, and remoteness from everyday life.

Here’s another useful definition of ‘romantic’, especially meanings 2, 3 and 4:

So, the negative connotations of romantic are to do with it being fanciful, impractical, and unrealistic. If we are to see the poem as anti-romantic, we need to think about whether Keats is condemning Madeline for her ‘whim’ and her ‘enchantments cold’ that lead to her being ‘hoodwinked’.

Finally, let’s look at what you considered to be the key aspects of tragedy in this poem:

Blindness seems a sensible choice as Madeline is ‘hoodwinked’ and seems unable to see it. Treatment of women also seems relevant, especially if we’re considering Madeline as a victim. There are three in there that I think are important but that haven’t received a vote: isolation, learning and moral growth (although perhaps anagnorisis works just as well) and, for me, one of the most important aspects of tragedy: LOSS. Have a think about which of these you’ll consider in your response.

So, have a go at doing a plan before Monday. That way, you will know in good time if you need more help. Feel free to share it with me if you want some feedback.

Later next week, we’ll turn our attention to coursework.

As always, let me know if you need anything. I’ll send some thoughts about the best ‘takeaways’ from Stillinger’s essay later.

Mr M