Chapter 11 Word Choice
Raymond Carver, “What We Talk about When We Talk about Love”
- Throughout this story, Carver uses colloquial expressions to create a certain tone. Find at least three points in the story where colloquial expressions are used.
- Compare the language Mel uses to that of Nick. How does their language differ and how does this difference mirror the difference between their characters?
- What is significant about the image of the beekeeper?
Edith Wharton, “Roman Fever”
- Wharton writes that Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade visualize each other through “the wrong end of” their “little telescopes.” How does this foreshadow the plot?
- Mrs. Ansley says that Babs has “rainbow wings.” What does she mean?
- Beyond the literal, what are some other figurative and metaphorical meanings for the phrase “Roman Fever” given the story’s plot?
Anonymous, “My Love in Her Attire,” e.e. cummings, “Spring is like a perhaps hand,” Emily Dickinson, [Wild Nights—Wild Nights!]
Notice that each of these poets uses capitalization very carefully. How is capitalization used to add significance and impact the meanings of these poems?
John Fletcher, [Take, oh take those lips away], Anonymous, “Western Wind,” Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey [Love that doth reign and live within my thought], Thomas Wyatt, [The long love that in my heart doth harbor], Robert Burns “A Red, Red Rose”
Locate the tropes in these poems. Why are tropes so often used in descriptions of love?
Galway Kinell, “Shelley,” Edna St. Vincent Millay, “What Lips My Lips Have Kissed,” Denise Levertov, “The Ache of Marriage,” Denise Levertov, “Divorcing,”
These poems challenge conventional and romantic notions of love. How does each poet complicate our ideas about this emotional experience?
Christopher Marlowe, “The Passionate Shepherd to His Love,” Sir Walter Raleigh, “The Nymph’s Reply to the Shepherd,” Andrew Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress,” Elizabeth Barrett Bronwing, [How do I love thee? Let me count the ways], Elizabeth Barrett Browning, [When our two souls stand up], Robert Browning “Meeting at Night,” and Robert Browning “Parting at Morning”
These poems “talk” to one another. Explain how the poets achieve that affect?
Henrik Ibsen, “A Doll’s House”
- Each of Ibsen’s characters has a particular way of speaking. Describe Nora’s speech patters and word choices. Note also that she has a way of speaking to Torvald and a way of speaking to others. How do her speech patterns and word choices change depending on her audience? What does this reveal about her character?
- Why is the title of the play “A Doll’s House”?
- How does Torvald’s way of speaking to Nora reflect his opinion of her? How do his words change when he realizes what she has done? How does this ruin Nora’s relationship with Torvald?