Woah was NOT expecting that plottwist. Just when I was about to exist the video, she says "The two wanted her to become a prostitute" 💀

Anyone trying to mimic Alexander Pope should just thrown in the towel - there's only one Pope. But it would be a sad world if a reader could not enjoy other poets as well - after all, variety is the spice of life.

It’s good to see you Dr Cox! I love your JA “close reads!” I hope you are well!

After you mentioned the amount of debt Wickham owed everything fell into place.

I had to read the book a few times before i liked her. I realized she is just still a teenager. You can see her growing up a bit and maturing during the book.

Just finished reading the book and it outright says the gossip likely came from the correspondence with Lucas Lodge. They had seen Jane engaged to Bingley and one engagement leads to gossip of another. That they had guessed rightly was largely luck--or it was more obvious than even Elizabeth suspected which is another mark against the pride she has in her own discernment. Letters were read to the whole family so Mr Collins would have heard the gossip the same time as Charlotte and he would be the one to tell Lady Catherine. Sometimes it's not that deep. Charlotte was a fan of the match for Lizzie the entire time even if it was largely for the practicality of the match rather than romance. She could tell Darcy was partial to Lizzie and when she herself was engaged to Mr Collins she knew it would hurt Lizzie's esteem for her and she was worried about it---just not enough to risk herself being a poor old maid forever.

Something never made sense to me about English syllabic scansion. The syllables in English don't map one-to-one with a timed beat since they vary so wildly in length. They aren't all like quarter notes in music for an analogy. For example, the time it takes to say "spawned" is substantially longer than "sat" even though they're both monosyllabic words. With such wildly varying lengths to syllables, it doesn't seem right to me to analyze rhythm in terms of syllables but rather their timings/lengths as well as natural pauses between. Without consistent time patterns, there is no rhythm. Consider this example: >> Jim had flown today. That would obviously classify as using trochaic feet if we analyze it by syllables, but it is not at all rhythmic unless we draw out the time between "JIM" and "FLOWN" to quantize "FLOWN" to a stress beat like so: >> JIMmm had FLOWN toDAYyy. Unless we read in such an unnatural and exaggerated way, it's like a horrible drummer who is sticking to a consistent kick and snare drum accent pattern, but his timing is so all over the place that it doesn't sound the slightest bit rhythmic. Read naturally, it isn't like "DA di DA di DA." It's more like, "DAA di DAAAA di DAA." It doesn't matter how uniformly sounds conform to an accent pattern if their timing is sporadic; the first and foremost thing a rhythm in sound requires is to establish consistency in timing (even more important than accents/stress to sound rhythmic to our ears). Meanwhile, consider this: >> Jimmy had flown today. This disrupts the trochaic feet by starting with a dactyl from a strict syllabic scansion. Yet it actually sounds _"more trochaic"_ to my ears, not less with this insertion of the extra syllable -- because it smooths and helps even out the timing of the stressed syllables; It evens out the length discrepancies of "JIM" and "FLOWN" as syllables and the time between them. It now becomes like, "DAAdi di DAAAA di DAA," which leave some tension at the end still but that tends to be smoothed out with the natural pause created by the period. Thinking about scansion in terms of stressed/unstressed syllable patterns seems counter-productive this way to understand the true rhythmic sound qualities of a poem or lyrical prose. I think we have to focus, above all else, on timing between stressed syllables to distribute them evenly across uniformly-timed beats -- not how many unstressed syllables there are -- or else we can create a lot of needless rhythmic tension even when conforming perfectly to a syllabic meter. I hope you'll forgive my long-windedness but focusing so much on syllables and not timing just always struck me as an incorrect way to understand rhythmic qualities of a poem. The ancient Greeks, to my understanding, did factor in the relative lengths of syllables when they came up with these metrical systems.

I confess that just after scarlett O'Hara, Emma was a piece of cake ! With flaws, ok, but very lovable.

Thank you

Dang a spoiler alert right in your thumbnail? Not cool! Thanks for ruining that for me!

Thank you for yet another great Jane Austen themed video. Giving the context about franking a letter and regency letters in general helped me to understand what Jane Austen tried to convey in her novel❤

Another brilliant explication by Dr. Cox! One might ask what makes Emma a heroine (which I believe s recognizing and improving her own folly, flaws, and foibles. She doesn't really "suffer", that is, undergo anything, really, just realization. One might also find the answer in the figure of Jane Fairfax. Jane Fairfax -- how we "rave" about Jane Fairfax! Jane Fairfax is the "perfect heroine", and my how she suffers. Jane is beautiful, musically accomplished (in the first style), restrained, intelligent, tolerant, patient, discreet and possessing of MASSIVE self-possession, self-control and self-restraint. She wins our eternal sympathy as she contemplates -- in particularly dark terms -- the life and profession of governess, analogising it as she nearly does to white slavery. Mrs. Elton as usual, rids Jane's discourse of all sublety and over-states the analogy. It is also a wonder that Knightly, so strategically named, as are all of Austen's characters, doesn't take Jane away from "that Puppy". Why exactly, Austen leaves us not sure. A more useful companion, a better educator as mother for his children, a lady of the manner that all could respect, she is. Is there, despite all issues of character, the issue of class surging to the fore? That is not indicated, but may possibly be expected to be understood. Perhaps. But no, Knightly is fixed (or fixated) on Emma. Yes, "he held her first when she was just three weeks old". One wouldn't want to put too much interpretation into that because it might begin to suggest the weird and untoward. And yes, his "strawberries" are "ripening fast", another strike of Austen's wonderfully jocular ribadlry. Thus expresses Knighlty's desire to marry and settle down most graphically. It was a surging undercurrent but now it's out in the open. Though I would not ascribe this to Austen, Knightly is almost like a Svengali, a Rasputin, a Henry Higgins, willing the woman he loves into being, creating her out of wholecloth out of "the average young lady with all her flaws, pettiness, vanity, diffidence masked by busy-body machinations. We are satisfied that Emma is at the end grown up. But are we sure of her depth? Her kindliness? There is an argument for the idea that these remain unsure, for the kindness to Miss Bates was extracted by force and her kindness to Harriet ("harried") is for the purpose of instrument, that is, exploiting though not evilly her own social superiority. Or is it? The novel presents a rather interesting dilemma, namely that Emma feels she ought to take Jane Fairfax as intimate friend, but instead takes Harriet. That too says much about Emma -- she takes the easy road. Here, even Mrs. Elton is Emma's superior. My God is Austen good! Emma's rejection of Jane does not seem to indicate jealously, but rather envy and annoyance that Jane has worked hard to fulfill all the expectation of the "modern" young lady and succeeded palpably. "I simply rave about Jane Fairfax and I am determined to do what I can...", says Mrs. Elton, herself far from the picture of an ideal pastors wife: she's loud, crass, outspoken, not particularly bright, full of her self, nothing of that which a vicar's wife should represent. Emma, Jane, Mrs. Weston, Harriet, Mrs. Elton, Miss Bates -- as usual, Austen masters for us and conveys to us an whole universe of enlightenment womanhood, and it is not always pretty. Dr. Cox always inspires us to truly think about Austen's figures, their actions, the contracts between them and, of course, the contrast of their fates. My their fates are telling. In the case of the novel "Emma", perhaps the message is that the ordinarily catty, vain, silly but not heartless or brainless or truly malicious young lady (though Emma has her moments of maliciousness) does have a chance to win the heart of a truly good (knightly) gentleman, provided he is a saint, while so-called "perfect" young ladies may fall victim to dastards, cads, roues, and villains masquerading as "puppies". Oh my! How true!

Im surprised at the comment section, not in a bad way just surprised. A felt super bad for Mr R, but it’s not his fault that he got cheated on! He treated Maria properly, he married her and didn’t waste her time , gave her the best houses in London. He treated her well. I mean he wasn’t the smartest cookie in the jar and he was blinded by looks, but he is still human and as a man and husband I find no major fault with his character other than being dumb.

Outstanding!

Off topic but I have to ask. Why would Darcy pay off Wickham's debts outright rather than obtain title to them from the people Wickham lost the money to? Can we assume that Darcy somewhere in a desk at Pemberly had the "goods" on Wickham which he could use to keep him in line? That would have kept Wickham from straying too far and seeking a better match in another (UK) country?

Thanks for such a beautiful play. Really enjoyed it.

Surely the villain is the foolish once spurned Mr. Collins. He was drawn as a caricature of obsequious servility to "Her Grace" and would have gladly cut off a toe if he thought it would please Lady de Bourgh.

Thanks!

this was fantastic and really inspired much thought on my part. lovely video

An eloquent tongue, how much it taps your foot. But with my verse and science the brutal mortal reign of death,is laid to rest instead. But your foot tapping rage,must betray your common sense ,since I am not allowed to read in the United States. Outlaw Obama has copied and dealt you this fatal blow. Robert Wheeler

Yes, he was abusing the system - but is there any evidence that JA thought this particular abuse wrong? It would have been common behaviour among people of her background. Does she refer to it in any of her other writings? It is easy to pick out all sorts of things as wrong from our perspective that are simply 'how things are' in her novels.

Wickham and Darcy grew together. Wickham know Darcy more than anybody. I think he figured out Darcy loves and wants to marry Elizabeth. He knew that Darcy would protect Elizabeth’s and her sisters’ honor and give him whatever he wants. Thats why he eloped with Lydia.

Byron had a tendency to call the kettle black... I'm writing a lesson on Ada Lovelace and I'm happy because it will give an opportunity to rant about him, haha

This is a bit off-topic but I recently watched a video where someone said that Lizzy had always kind of fancied Darcy. And I thought that was quite an assumption to make because the text doesn’t seem to suggest that at all. It made me think of how Lizzy is asking Mr. Collins to treat her like a rational creature and pay her the respect of taking her refusal of him seriously instead of interpreting it as her actually liking him. And that made me wonder if Austen in fact wrote that scene in part to warn us as readers not to go down that road with regards to Lizzy‘s dislike of Darcy, or at least to prepare us for Lizzy‘s refusal of Darcy‘s first proposal and how not to think of it. And if so, I wonder if this is in any way a reaction to contemporary novels and how their heroines‘ (chaste and shy) behavior might have been perceived or interpreted by readers. I would love to hear your thoughts on that Dr. Cox ❤

I fell in love with Keats' work while studying literature at university years ago, and have always felt a beautiful resonance when meditating on his writing (including the letters), and his all-too-short life. Your presentation here has rekindled my passion not just for Keats, but also poetry itself. I'm grateful, and feel lucky to have found your work. Thank you 🙏🏼

Thanks fraulein Cox… I loved every inch of it; pardon the pun

Mr. Collins dodged a bullet there. No slight to Mary, but she and Mr. Collins were too much alike in all the wrong ways, and she lacked both the training and the temperament to have added to Mr. Coliins' respectability or domestic comfort the way Charlotte Lucas did.

Octavia Wonderful and amazing! I enjoyed your Beautiful and informative lectures. Thanks for your effort and academic generosity.

The way it’s treated in the novel, I don’t think Jane was intending to “expose corruption” as such, because it is mentioned so cavalierly. It makes me think that maybe MPs were generally known/assumed to abuse their power by franking all their post and that this is just highlighting the thoughtless entitlement of the rich.

Instructive and clear. Brilliant!

Love love love your analysis of this novel, thank you so much!

Great analysis 👌👌

"My (Anne's) power over him (F W) was gone forever" signifies the paragraph was still all about Anne's thoughts and her own worst fears that she has permanently lost ground in his affections due to her own decisions. .

Very interesting about letters! I always assumed that the one mailing had to pay postage - like we do now. I really missed the meaning of that part of the novel. Thank you for enlightening us!

I think Lucy definitely knew about the connection and had a good idea that Elinor was a more superior person and used her goodness against her. I find Austen's approach to Edward escaping Lucy and his family a bit weak. There is a very rushed feeling to how she does it. It's very difficult to believe his family would accept Lucy the way they did. Her obvious gold digging, because that's what it amounts to, is there for all to see. What's more her history with Edward is going to cause quite a bit of gossip. And one can imagine them bending over backwards to avoid that. I think it's more likely they would ward her off with a crucifix and a pitchfork than welcome her the way they do. I was never satisfied with that plot and I really do suspect that Austen got Edward into hole that she didn't know how to get him out of. Without perhaps resorting to yet another elopement. And since young girls or wives running off with men was already prominent in her other stories she probably decided it wouldn't be a good idea to include it in S&S so that left her with few other options. Apart from a convenient death.

Do you have a video about Jane's letters to Elizabeth re: the elopement? It's interesting that she refers to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet as "my father" and "my mother" when she's writing to Elizabeth. It definitely sticks out. Since the reader of the letter is her sister, shouldn't it be "our father" or just "Father"?

Emma has always annoyed me. Mind you, so has Fanny Price.

That "bad" review makes me want to read it.

I really liked Fanny and I think Sir Thomas was the only one that saw her value as an individual. Edmond seemed to see her as a sort of pet, little sister, but Sir Thomas wanted to help her as a person. Just my thought.

Great episode!! Thank you!! I think it would be interesting to discuss the best and worst of heroine-marriages. Which of the heroine’s marries best and which marries worst? I think that Fanny Price marries worst. But maybe, if you think in terms of what she was escaping, you might be able to argue that she gained the most out of all the heroines.

Amazing to see a crossed letter!! Reading that must’ve felt insane.

@5:23 - Let him in, FFS!

This is excellent! Thank you for your hard work in producing such insightful analysis.

Brilliant thank you I would like to consider captain Benick in persuasion as being a true hero he knew the situation went worth was in and stepped in to save him imo

I feel that it is Anne's thinking all the way up to "feebleness of character." It is her self-hatred talking. In the next line, there is a shift to Frederick Wentworth's thoughts, with "he had been so warmly attached..." There is no narrator throughout the novel that describes such deep feelings and even contradictions. For example, it is said that he did think her altered, but the next sentence says that he had not forgiven her. So, is that she was really altered, or that his resentment made him say that? Besides, later in the novel, we find out that Mary cannot be trusted with conveying what people said or thought ; when Charles says Captain Benwick could not stop admiring Anne, Mary says she heard no such thing. So, we cannot be sure of what was actually said. If a narrator were speaking, he would have the complete truth. I think Captain Wentworth is depicted as a gentleman who would not say such a thing. Besides, if she were truly so altered, how is it that a few days later Mr. Elliot falls for her instantly?

Another beautiful explication!

I think that the real burden for anyone married to Mr. Collins would be having to deal with Lady Catherine for a neighbor

I never once thought it was Charlotte, I have always thought it was Mr. Collins. Thank you for sharing this.

Couldn't they just write on the back?

Whomever wrote the caption, its Austen, not Austin.