Hum/En 5 Problem 2

Problem 2
Due before class on January 19

    Naturally we use a dictionary when we have a linguistic problem, simply to find out what a word means. In this project, though, you're asked to use the dictionary as literary critics do, to investigate the shades of meaning that a word could have suggested in a past time, and to weigh those meanings as they might add to the literary effect of a passage or of an entire poem. The standard historical dictionary we use is the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).

    Your first job is to find some words that are worth looking up for literary purposes. Although of course you're free to look up unknown words for linguistic purposes, you may also want to fish around to see whether familiar words had more meanings historically than what we know today. Anyone who wants to witness the dictionary-maker's art at its most expansive might look up the words "nature" or "body" (both as nouns).

    Specifically, you should choose one poem in Spenser's Amoretti (in English Sixteenth-Century Verse, pp. 343-415), look up two words from it, and based on what you've found out, explain how each word works in a literary way. Does one of the meanings amplify a metaphor, cause the reader to remember some other part of the poem, surprise us with an unexpected implication, make us look more closely at other words in the passage?

    In the sample problem I've made, I've reproduced Amoretti #67 for your reference, as well as my notes from the OED on the two words I chose. But you only need to note which poem you're studying, then write at least four or five substantial sentences about each of your two words. You can refer to individual OED meanings by citing their numbers in parentheses (see the sample).

    My criteria for evaluating this piece of writing are:

    -- You choose words about which there's something interesting to say.
    -- Not only do you explain which OED meanings may be relevant, you explain what difference they make to your interpretation of the poem.

    This assignment is due an hour before class, at 6 p.m., on Thursday, January 19. You can email your text (haugen@hss.caltech.edu) or bring a hard copy to my office (301d Dabney: through the double doors near the elevator).

Sample Problem 2
Oxford English Dictionary (OED)
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