For Friday's class, we'll do a quick Comprehension Exam (in name only) looking for connections between the 2005 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice (Austen's 1814 novel) and our two works in class: Sappho's poems and Aristophanes' Lysistrata. Hopefully, some of our discussion will give you ideas to help approach your first paper assignment, due on Monday (see assignment below).
Here are some ideas to consider about the connections we might discuss on Friday:
* Why is Pride and Prejudice a comedy in the same way as Lysistrata is? Obviously they have very different plots and ideas, but how are both making fun or satirizing their respective worlds?
* How are Greek women a lot like women in early 19th century England? What problems do both of them have?
* We discussed that Lysistrata is a play about fear (which makes it funny); how is Pride and Prejudice also a story about fear, particularly for the women? What are they afraid of most? How do some of their fears come true in the movie?
* How is Elizabeth Bennet similar to either Lysistrata (the character) or the voice of Sappho in the poems? What similar ideas or attitudes do both express?
* Elizabeth Bennet can't withhold sex from the men of her time, but what can she withhold from them that is equally powerful? How does she do this in the movie?
* How might some of Sappho's advice apply to the women in the movie? Which character might most benefit from it?
* Why do men and women have trouble communicating in the book? Is it at all similar to the communication problems we see in Lysistrata?
No comments:
Post a Comment