Anne Lock Handout

English 514

Dr. Fike

A recap of the assignment: The Collected Works of Anne Vaughan Lock, pages 4-8, 62-71, 76-78, and 187-89; Isaiah 38 (Hezekiah) and Psalm 51 (basis for the sonnets).

Groups: Everyone should do 4. I will assign 1-3 and 5 to small groups. As you work outside of class with your partner(s), Felch's introduction may be quite helpful to you.

Theme and organization:
1. What are the main themes of the dedication to Suffolke?
2. How is it organized?

2. Imagery: Figure out the imagery in the dedication to Suffolke, especially medical imagery and various types of oil. Track down the images and explain their significance.

3. Biblical allusion: How do the following passages relate to the dedication to the Duchesse of Suffolke?

Isaiah 38 (Hezekiah, p. 8); note that the sermon that begins on page 9 is about Hezekiah.
Matthew 15:21-28 (“crumbs”; cf. “diet,” p. 8; and sonnet 5) & Mark 7:24-30 (see #5 on page 63): healing through faith.
Romans 8:26: HS takes over and pleas for the soul.
Luke 16:19-31: Rich man & Lazarus
Matthew 25:1-3: parable of virgins’ oil
Scorpion’s oil: “heals its own sting”; cf. Deut. 8:15 and Luke 10:19. Also Numbers 21:4-9.
John 3:14-15: Christ as the serpent.
Good Samaritan’s oil (lines 178-84); cf. Luke 10:25-37.
I Cor. 15:55-57: death’s sting
James 5:14: Oil

These are the questions that we will deal with in our large group discussion. Everyone should prepare them

. See Lock's sonnet sequence, "A Meditation of a Penitent Sinner," pages
62ff.:

What is the relationship between the first 5 sonnets and the other 21?
How are the two groups similar and/or different? How do these segments relate to the dedication to Suffolke?
What metaphors are developed here? See especially sonnets 1-4 on pages 62-63 and sonnet 10 on page 67.
How do we know that Lock is a Protestant? See especially sonnet 3 on page 63 and sonnet 8 on pages 66-67. Do you see a connection to the dedication here? To The Faerie Queene?
What solution to despair does Lock suggest, especially in sonnet 10?
What is she saying in Sonnets 20-21?

Other segments: What does Lock say about "the afflictions of this world" in the dedication to the Countess of Warwick, the introduction to the book, and her poem "The necessitie and benefit of affliction"? How are the two dedications similar or different? If you really want to be high tech, check out the first sermon for further connections. By the way, how does the dedication reflect the situation of women in Locke's time?