Dr. Yoder
English 3330.02 Approaches to Literature
Paper 1
Due: Wednesday, Feb. 4
Length: 2-4 pages (500-1000 words)
Any long paper is made up of a series of short "papers" -- shorter discussions that define or identify a particular feature of the text and then establish the significance of that feature to the larger text or some other larger issue. Keep in mind that the define/identify element and the significance element of the discussion may be, but are not necessarily separate sections.
This assignment is intended to give you practice in writing a short, sharply focused discussion. I do not expect you to do any research; instead, I want you to read the text closely and write your discussion based on your own reading.
You should write on only ONE of the stories we are reading. You should choose one aspect of the story and discuss its role or impact on our understanding of the story. You might choose one of the following aspects, or some other aspect you think is interesting:
- one image or aspect of the setting or culture (a ghost, tv show, or restaurant, for example)
- one narrative technique (irony, for example)
- the narrative point of view (first person in "Cathedral" or third person in "The Prophet's Hair," for example)
- one aspect of a character or characterization (Robert's blindness or his beard in "Cathedral," for example, or the question of the narrator's sanity in "The Yellow Wallpaper")
Paper Assignment 2
Due: Wednesday. Feb. 25
Length: 2-4 pages (500-1000 words)
Choose any sonnet in the textbook and discuss the relationship between its "meaning" and the "poetics." Your job is not simply to paraphrase the poem, but to make a point about how the structure or imagery or meter (or some other aspect) contributes to the reader's understanding of the poem. If it is a Petrarchan (or Italian) sonnet, you might discuss the relationship between the ideas in the octave and those in the sestet; if it is a Shakespearean (or English) sonnet, you might discuss the relationship among the ideas in the quatrains and the couplet. How is the structure of the poem related to the ideas and/or imagery, etc. of the poem? How do the important metaphors work together? It is NOT necessary to define the elements of a sonnet (please!); rather, demonstrate that you understand those elements in the handling of your discussion.
You might try to imagine this as a three part discussion (plus introduction and conclusion):
Other tips:
- Define the parts of your sonnet, including some comment on the relationship between rhyme and structure,
or
Identify an image, image pattern, metaphor, problem, etc. that is important to the poem and whose relation to the structure you will discuss;
- Discuss the octave (or quatrains). What images dominate? Who is the speaker? What questions or issues are raised?
- Discuss the sestet (or couplet). Does the turn come where it is conventionally should? If not, is that change significant in some way? Do the images change? Is a new speaker introduced? Does the tone change? Are the questions, problems, issues raised in the octave answered or resolved in some way?
- Be sure to include the author's full name and the name of the sonnet in your introduction.
- Include line numbers in parenthesis after quotations or specific references.
- Have a thesis that introduces your entire discussion. Do not be afraid to give away too much in your thesis -- you still have to demonstrate and support your assertions in the body of the essay.
- Some sonnets, like Keats's "On the Sonnet," take quite a few liberties with the conventions. You might consider the relationship between these formal liberties and the content of the poem.
Final Writing Assignment(s):
You have three formal writing assignments due in the latter half of the semester. Here are the schedule and expectations.
Think of these assignments as the steps toward a single essay. You must write on either The Songs of Innocence and of Experience (any copies or combination of poems) or the novel we read in class. Beyond that requirement, you may write on any aspect of the work that interests you. Your final essay should include an introduction, a clear and arguable thesis, a clear system of organization, and your discussion should be supported by analysis, and specific references to the text. Your essay should also place your ideas within the larger context of the critical sources you consider. That is, not all (any?) of your critical sources need to agree with you; instead, you should suggest how your ideas compare or contrast with what the critics have said.
1. BIBLIOGRAPHIC ESSAY: DUE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1. For this essay you should read, summarize and assess 4 critical sources (articles, books, chapters), on the work you have chosen for your final paper. You will probably want to use more sources for your final paper, but for the bibliographic essay, 4 is the minimum. At least two of these sources must be from the last 5 years, and at least 2 must be journal articles. Cliff Notes, Spark Notes do not count; The Explicator may be useful, but it does not count as one of your sources either. You want substantial, "refereed" resources. Then you should write an essay summarizing the various issues raised by the critics, relating those issues to each other (at least minimally), with an eye toward developing the focus for your own final essay. The format for this essay might look like this: intro paragraph, 1 paragraph on each of the critical sources (organized according to some plan), a concluding paragraph, perhaps indicating promising areas of study. Be sure to introduce each source with the full title, date and authoršs full name. PROPER DOCUMENTATION FORMAT IS EXPECTED, INCLUDING A WORKS CITED PAGE.
2. CRITICAL ESSAY ROUGH DRAFT: DUE WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15 (3 COPIES). Your final essay should be 10-15 typed pages, not counting title pages. I expect your rough draft to be as close to a finished essay as possible. I shall "grade" 1 copy, and the other 2 copies will be "graded" by other members of the class. We shall be discussing these papers in class during this and the following weeks. Your essay should have an introduction, a clear and arguable thesis, and the discussion must be supported by analysis, specific references to the text, and references to outside sources.
3. CRITICAL ESSAY FINAL DRAFT: DUE MONDAY, MAY 4 BY NOON. Your final draft must be accompanied by the three rough drafts submitted on April 15.
If you want your paper returned to you, please include a stamped, self-addressed envelope with the final draft.
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