Table of Contents

1 Books Promiscuously Read: John Milton's Areopagitica 9 2 The Life-Giving Power of Words: Charlotte's Web 27 3 God of the Awkward, the Freckled, and the Strange: Gerard Manley Hopkins's "Pied Beauty" 45 4 The Magic of Story: Great Expectations 55 5 Beholding is Becoming: Jane Eyre 71 6 The Only Thing Between Me and Tragedy: Tess of the D'Urbervilles 95 7 Sex, Symbol, and Satire: Gulliver's Travels 117 8 Know Thyself: Death of a Salesman 139 9 The Fate of the Romantic: Madame Bovary 159 10 Real Love is Like a Compass: John Donne's Metaphysical Poetry 179 11 Welcoming Wonder: The Poetry of Doubt 189 Discussion Questions 200