Literary Analysis: Milton, Pepys, Swift, Wollstonecraft, Shakespeare
Paradise Lost
John Milton (poet, historian) was born in London on December 9, 1608, to John and Sara Milton. He attended Christ’s College, Cambridge, graduating in 1629 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and in 1632 with a Master of Arts. He died November 8, 1674. Movement: Renaissance.
Text Analysis: Allusion
Allusion is a brief reference to a person, place, or event, or to another literary work.
Reading Strategy: Reading Difficult Texts
Use a dramatic writing style. This style features striking phrases and unusual imagery. Note the use of archaic expressions.
Reading Purpose
Learn about fateful choices made by a fallen angel.
The Diary of Samuel Pepys
Samuel Pepys was born on February 23, 1633, the son of a London tailor, and fifth of eleven children. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1650, but shortly transferred to Magdalene College, Cambridge, graduating B.A. in 1653. Movement: Renaissance.
Text Analysis: Diary
A diary is a daily account of a person’s own thoughts, experiences, and feelings. A diary is a primary source, a source of information created by a person who was present at an event being described.
Reading Strategy: Connect to History
Compare events described in a text with events in your own world.
Purpose
To find out how life in the 1660s compares to life today.
A Modest Proposal
Born on November 30, 1667, Irish author, clergyman, and satirist Jonathan Swift grew up fatherless. Under the care of his uncle, he received a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College. Most of his writings were published under pseudonyms. He is best remembered for his 1726 book Gulliver’s Travels. On October 19, 1745, Jonathan Swift died. Movement: Renaissance and Neoclassicism.
Text Analysis: Satire
Satire is a type of writing that ridicules people’s behavior or society’s institutions for the purpose of bringing about a change.
Satirical Techniques
- Verbal irony: a statement that says the opposite of what it means.
- Sarcasm: the use of a mocking tone.
- Overstatement: the use of deliberate exaggeration, rational idea.
Reading Skill: Identify Proposition and Support
Is written like a serious problem-solution essay.
Purpose
Learn how Swift ridicules his society’s treatment of its less fortunate members.
A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
Feminist writer and intellectual Mary Wollstonecraft was born on April 27, 1759, in London. Her father was abusive. In 1784, Mary, her sister Eliza, and her best friend, Fanny, established a school in Newington Green. In 1797, ten days later, due to complications of childbirth, Wollstonecraft died. Movement: Neoclassicism.
Text Analysis: Counterarguments
An argument is a speech or text that makes a claim about an issue and supports it with reasons and evidence. A persuasive technique she uses is counterargument in which she anticipates opposing arguments and refutes their claims with evidence.
Reading Skill: Use Historical Context
The social conditions that inspired the author to write it.
In 1797, their daughter Mary (who later famously wrote Frankenstein), was born. Ten days later, due to complications of childbirth, Wollstonecraft died. Think about whether the author’s observations about how women are treated are still true today.
Macbeth
He died on 23 April 1616, at the age of 52, in Stratford. William Shakespeare was an English poet, playwright, and actor. He was born on 26 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. He attended the local grammar school. Shakespeare is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world’s pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England’s national poet and nicknamed the Bard of Avon. Movement: Renaissance.