Day 1

Possession Lesson Plan

Discussion of Thought Questions

  1. 1

    How does Byatt characterize academic work and interactions between scholars in Possession?

    The novel is set in the world of English literary scholarship in the mid 1980s. Byatt characterizes this world as competitive and unforgiving. From the start, there are a number of clear academic rivalries and conflicts. Blackadder and Cropper are the leading Ash scholars, and they are fiercely protective of their own resources and contentious over their work. Blackadder believes that Ash should be studied in England by English scholars, but Cropper has the financial upper-hand and therefore more resources at his disposal. A similar dynamic is at play between Maud Bailey and...

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