LitMUSE

Tartuffe is primarily influenced by the Enlightenment’s debate of reason versus faith. What makes Moliere’s play so renowned is his implementation of satire to convey the period’s main argument. Obviously, various ideas of the Enlightenment are represented in Tartuffe and are intertwined, but I will be focusing on the satirical effect Orgon has in the [...]

If you are in my World Literature 2 online this summer, I would like to remind you that the forum is an integral part of your grade. Many of you are doing well on the reading quizzes, but falling down in the forums. Not only are many of you not posting enough, but posting after [...]

What is Oedipus’ hamartia, or tragic flaw? Is there only one? What is Medea’s? Do they share any weaknesses?

Many consider Oedipus the King as the greatest of the Western tragedies. Even if you are not familiar with other Greek tragedy, consider the greatness of Oedipus the King from your own perspective. What themes common in the tragedy resonate for us today? Does Medea share any of these themes?

Analyze Medea’s famous speech on the subordinate position of women, ll. 229-264. What seems to be her primary concerns? Are they justified by the actions of the men in the play?

Does Medea fit the definition of a tragedy that we outlined in class? Why or why not?

In the following forum, consider one of the following for your initial thread posting. Identify and discuss a major or minor theme. What is a primary concern of the literary text? How is it identified within the text? What does the text say about this theme? Analyze a major or minor character. What is the [...]

I was struck by the excellent forum discussions from my World Literature 2 Online course this semester. In an effort to help subsequent classes and their endeavors in the forums, I felt it would be beneficial to post an example of a particularly good forum discussion. This thread was posted in response to Milan Kundera’s [...]

Folks, the Faust grades are in, and they are pretty poor. Some of the class has dropped, and others have stopped doing the forums all together. However, those of you who hope to pass the class must post in the forums each week. This means more than posting a perfunctory question. You must write in [...]

For those of you taking an online class in which there are reading quizzes to be completed, I’d like to remind you what I said the first day of class: your short answers will often be marked incorrect by the computer. Computer’s are dumb. Therefore, I double-check everything before giving you a final grade. Do [...]