Byron, Manfred

Lord Byron
Manfred (1817):

Things to consider:

The Byronic Hero
Role of Spirits (compare, for example, those in Coleridge's Ancient Mariner)
Bounds of Knowledge (Scientific and Intimate)
Power of Speech/Language
Relationship to Nature

Discussion Questions (See Part Two

):
609:

What are the characteristics of the Byronic Hero?

Act One:
634:

Describe Manfred's emotional state at the beginning of the play.

638:

What does Manfred request of the seven spirits? Why?
What can't Manfred utter (1.1.138)?

642:

Explain lines 1.2.39-45. How do these lines compare with Pope's Essay on Man?

Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,
A being darkly wise, and rudely great:
With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,
With too much weakness for the stoic's pride,
He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;
In doubt to deem himself a god, or beast;
In doubt his mind or body to prefer;
Born but to die, and reasoning but to err; (Pope 2.3-10)

Act Two:
645-46:

Confessions of a Byronic Hero: To what degree are the experiences Manfred describes in 2.2.50-83 Wordsworthian? To what degree are they not?

649:

Describe the relationship between Manfred and Astarte (the woman he describes in 2.2.105-17).

650:

What bargain does the Witch of the Alps offer Manfred? Why does he refuse it?

656:

Explain Manfred's speech to Astarte (2.4.117-50).

657:

Explain Astarte's responses (2.4.151).
Explain: “This is to be mortal / And seek things beyond mortality” (2.4.158-59).
Explain: He “makes / His torture tributary to his will” (2.4.160-61).

Other Discussion Questions:
General:

Is Manfred a sympathetic character? Explain.

Act One:
636:

Explain: What is a “tyrant-spell” (1.1.43)?

638:

What phenomenon is being described in 1.1.116-19?
Explain: “We can but give thee that which we possess” (1.1.139).

640-41:

Who is singing the Incantation?

641:

Explain lines 1.1.254-57.

642:

Why can't Manfred commit suicide?
What might the eagle represent?
Explain: “Oh, that I were / The viewless spirit of a lovely sound” (1.2.52-53).

These lines can be compared with Percy Shelley's “To a Skylark,” esp. 18-20 and 36-40, and Keats's “Ode to a Nightingale,” esp. 31-33.

643:

Explain Manfred's appeal to the avalanche (1.2.75-79).

644:

Why does the chamois hunter stop Manfred from committing suicide?

Act Two:
645:

Of whose blood does the wine remind Manfred (2.1.24-30)?
Explain: “Actions are our epochs” (2.1.52).

646:

Is Manfred's view of the chamois hunter Wordsworthian? Explain.
Explain: “My embrace was fatal” (2.1.88).

647:

Explain lines 2.2.10-12. Does Manfred seek solitude or not? Explain.
Explain lines 2.2.39-41. What knowledge, if any, is he seeking?

649-50:

Explain lines 2.2.140-50. How does Manfred compare with the Wandering Jew? Explain.

651-53:

Who are the three Destinies? What is their relationship to humans? How are they similar to the witches in MacBeth (see 653 fn1)?

653-54:

Who is Arimanes? Why have the spirits gathered before him? Why is Manfred there?

654:

Why does Manfred refuse to bow to Arimanes (2.4.37-42)?
Explain lines 2.4.46-49.

655:

What is the significance of Astarte's name (see fn)?

Part Two:
Homework Questions:
General:

Does Manfred get what he deserves? Feel free to interpret this question however you want.

Act Three:
659:

Explain Manfred's words to the Abbot: “I shall not choose a mortal / To be my mediator” (3.1.54-55).
Explain Manfred's discussion of holy men and self-condemnation in 3.1.66-78.

660:

Why does Manfred say “It is too late” (3.1.98)? Is it really? Does the Abbot agree? Explain.
Explain: “He / Must serve who fain would sway” (3.1.116-17).

662:

Who is "thou earliest minister of the Almighty" (3.2.11)? Explain.

664:

Explain the description of Nature in 3.4.3-7.

667:

Explain Manfred's words to the spirits in 3.4.112-21.
Explain Manfred's words to the spirits in 3.4.138-41.

668:

Explain Manfred's final words (3.4.151).