6. Byron.  Why is Byron called the revolutionary poet? (Illustrate, if possible, from his poetry.) What is the general character of his work?  In what kind of poetry does he excel? (Quote from Childe Harold to illustrate your opinion.) Describe the typical Byronic hero.  Can you explain his great popularity at first, and his subsequent loss of influence?  Why is he still popular on the Continent?  Do you find more of thought or of emotion in his poetry?  Compare him, in this respect, with Shelley; with Wordsworth.  Which is the more brilliant writer, Byron or Wordsworth?  Which has the more humor?  Which has the healthier mind?  Which has the higher ideal of poetry?  Which is the more inspiring and helpful?  Is it fair to say that Byron’s quality is power, not charm?

7. Shelley.  What are the chief characteristics of Shelley’s poetry?  Is it most remarkable for its thought, form, or imagery?  What poems show the influence of the French Revolution?  What subjects are considered in “Lines written among the Euganean Hills”?  What does Shelley try to teach in “The Sensitive Plant”?  Compare Shelley’s view of nature, as reflected in “The Cloud” or “The West Wind,” with Wordsworth’s view, as reflected in “The Prelude,” “Tintern Abbey,” “Daffodils,” etc.  To what class of poems does “Adonais” belong?  What is the subject of the poem?  Name others of the same class.  How does Shelley describe himself in this poem?  Compare Shelley’s “Adonais” and Milton’s “Lycidas” with regard to the view of life after death as expressed in the poems.  What kinds of scenes does Shelley like best to describe?  Compare his characters with those of Wordsworth; of Byron.  Do you recall any poems in which he writes of ordinary people or of ordinary experiences?

8. Keats.  What is the essence of Keats’s poetical creed, as expressed in the “Ode on a Grecian Urn”?  What are the remarkable elements in his life and work?  What striking difference do you find between his early poems and those of Shelley and Byron?  What are the chief subjects of his verse?  What poems show the influence of the classics? of Elizabethan literature?  Can you explain why his work has been called literary poetry?  Keats and Shelley are generally classed together.  What similarities do you find in their poems?  Give some reasons why Keats introduces the old Bedesman in “The Eve of Saint Agnes.”  Name some of the literary friends mentioned in Keats’s poetry.

Compare Keats’s characters with those of Wordsworth; of Byron.  Does Keats ever remind you of Spenser?  In what respects?  Is your personal preference for Wordsworth, Byron, Shelley, or Keats?  Why?

9. Lamb.  Tell briefly the story of Lamb’s life and name his principal works.  Why is he called the most human of essayists?  His friends called him “the last of the Elizabethans.”  Why?  What is the general character of the Essays of Elia?  How is the personality of Lamb shown in all these essays?  Cite any passages showing Lamb’s skill in portraying people.  Make a brief comparison between Lamb and Addison, having in mind the subjects treated, the style, the humor, and the interest of both essayists.  Which do you prefer, and why?