September in-class reading: Milton's Samson Agonistes

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AP English lit

Some of the initial in-class reading this year will be John Milton’s
Samson Agonistes. The nicely-annotated version read in class will come
from Dartmouth’s Milton Reading Room (http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/
reading_room/samson/drama/index.shtml), a site with a likewise well-
annotated version of Paradise Lost.

The copy provided for students’ own annotation came from Project
Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext99/pmsjm10.txt), at the
end of a long file that also includes Paradise Lost, Paradise
Regained, and other poetical works. Project Gutenberg is a very
helpful online library.

Students already ready for more may begin researching assignments on
the text from colleges or universities. Searching the following terms
(essay assignment "samson agonistes") in Google works well. Broader
results can be found with these search terms ("samson agonistes"
site:.edu). Try also adding the names of schools of interest for next
year.

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Notes from Robert M. Luscher, "An Emersonian Context of Dickinson's
'The Soul selects her own Society.'" ESQ, 30 (1984), 2, 111-116.
http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/transcendentalism/roots/legacy/dickinson/onsoul.html

Mercer, J. ENGL 4623/5653: Emily Dickinson. NSU.
http://arapaho.nsuok.edu/~mercer/4623_5653/4623%20Assignments%20S%202007%20revised.htm

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links as might be helpful

realism and naturalism
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/hum_303/naturalism.html

magical realism
http://www.english.emory.edu/Bahri/MagicalRealism.html

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Twain's The war prayer
http://www.midwinter.com/lurk/making/warprayer.html