English 251 British Literature I Fall 2010 Last updated November 29, 2010

Deadlines:

Topic: Dec. 2nd

Draft: Dec. 7th

Final version: no later than 11:59 pm, Dec. 17th (early turn-ins are welcome)

 

Purpose and Instructions

This essay will give you the chance to explore in-depth a topic of interest to you. Your essay should be a minimum of 5 double-spaced pages and must present an argument—some interesting, relevant, and debatable claim about your subject. Take care that you don't produce a report or mere regurgitation of facts. You want to analyze and interpret your material, then present the results of your analysis as a developed and supported argument.

No matter what your focus may be, you'll need to do a little research. What have other writers said about the same subject, focus, thesis, issues? Do you agree or disagree with those sources? Through what critical lenses has your topic been explored? Are there any issues or approaches which you believe have been neglected? What are some recent debates concerning your topic? How does early criticism on the topic differ from very recent criticism? This isn't a research assignment, strictly speaking, but the research component is important.

Whatever your topic, please heed the following:

1. Submit your topic and thesis no later than Dec. 2nd for instructor check.
2. Use a minimum of 5 sources. Go beyond Wikipedia (though it's a good place to start) and be very wary of web material. What makes for a strong source?
3. Use your own words, paraphrase your sources carefully, and document thoroughly using MLA format. AVOID ALL TYPES OF PLAGIARISM. This is ESPECIALLY important when you are discussing literary works which have been around for centuries. Consult course materials (such as Power Point presentations) which discuss use of sources, ask questions, edit/proof your work several times, and consider scheduling a visit at the Center for Writers in the basement of the library. Do not use essays-for-purchase on the web; do not copy web material; do not use Cliffs Notes, Spark Notes, or other mass-market guides. Plagiarism is easily proven and grounds for flunking the course.
   

Finding a Topic (Subject)

I want you to find a subject you are genuinely curious about, and then develop your own idea or point about that subject. The options are really wide.

Formalist Essay

Examine how the specific parts of a literary work function and fit together, and how they work toward 1) an organically unified whole, and 2) a clear and significant human theme. Formalist criticism pays strict attention to the work itself.

Here are some sample thesis statements for such an essay:

1. An overlooked but critical theme in John Milton's Paradise Lost is the progressive nature of evil. At the beginning of the epic, that most evil of all beings--Satan himself--seems to have some redeeming qualities. But as the story progresses, we watch him steadily deteriorate, becoming increasingly evil in a series of distinct steps. By analyzing character development in this story, we gain a strong sense of how evil feeds on itself, and it is through a close reading of Satan's changes that we recognize one of the most important concerns of Miltion's epic: evil as a living and progressive--not a static--thing.
2. Shakespeare is known for his uncanny ability to realistically render characters from all walks of life, all social classes, all occupations. What is it that gives these characters such verisimilitude? An examination of language in Hamlet reveals that the various characters all speak in distinct ways, and that the poetry of their speech changes depending upon their social rank. That is, Shakespeare uses different poetic devices to give each character his or her distinctive and realistic qualities. In this essay, I will compare and contrast the use of rhyme and meter in the voices of three characters: Horatio, the Gravedigger, and Hamlet himself as he morphs from one personae to the next.
3. One of the most pronounced themes in all of our course readings is appearances vs. reality. This is clearly a subject of interest and anxiety to writers throughout the history of England. Each major work in the English canon asks its own questions about this theme: how can we know the difference between the appearance of a thing and the thing itself? when is disguise ethical and when is it not? what are the consequences to emotional or mental health of assuming a false identity? what are the limits of knowledge and what might be some alternative kinds of knowledge? how is truth ultimately "outed" in any given work? I will examine _______________, ____________, and ____________ to see how very different writers, from very different periods, handle this theme.
4. The most important passage in all of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is on p. ___, where we see ______________________. By unpacking the symbols, images, and diction of this one key passage, we can understand the entire poem more fully.
5. One of the most striking image motifs in 17th century metaphysical poetry is the bone. Bones are referenced frequently in poems by John Donne, George Herbert, and Robert Herrick, bones are often used as the vehicle or tenor of metaphors in their work, and the bone as an image occurs with startling vividness throughout the individual oeuvres of these poets. A comparison of bone/skeleton imagery in three poems, ___________, _________, and ____________ can help to illuminate the individual pieces as well as metaphysical poetry generally.

 

Culturalist Essay

What political ideologies are evident in any of the works we've read? What social views does any given work support or challenge? What "cultural work" does any particular writer do? Culturalist criticism looks at the social and political contexts of a work.

Sample thesis statements:

1. Hamlet is (isn't) a feminist work. Clearly define feminism, then analyze male-female roles in Hamlet to determine whether this play does or doesn't support a feminist agenda.
2. Every era has its own "monsters"—aberrant creatures who threaten human beings [or whatever your definition may be]. What's interesting is that, as we progress through time, the "monsters" in English literary works more and more resemble people. By the end of the 18th century, the only real "monsters" in literature are human beings themselves.
3. Though “The Miller’s Tale" has been taught in university literature courses for decades, it is in fact an overblown and obscene story which has no place in the contemporary canon.
4. The history of the Norton Anthology can be understood as a history of competing literary schools.
5. The Norton Anthology is (isn't) reactionary and obsolete in its methods. Literary Studies has undergone a great many changes since the 1970s and 80s, and yet the Norton Anthology has not kept up with those changes. Its reading selections are outdated, it omits many important works which ought to be included, and its introductory history sections rely on obsolete scholarship and theory.
6. X is an author who deserves a more prominent place in the canon. (Select any author or literary work which we did not cover this semester, and argue for why it should have been. Develop clear criteria for "good literature" and apply those criteria lucidly and consistently.)
7. Something rarely, if ever, mentioned in British Literature survey courses is the important of the coffee house on the development of a national literature in England. Coffee houses became exceedingly popular in the 1700s, and theorists now believe that caffeine actually facilitated political rebellion as well as important literary movements.
8. The "periods approach" is (isn't) the best form of literary study. Or: X is an excellent alternative to the periods approach.
9. Alexander Pope's poetry appears to be firmly humanist, but in fact offers a serious critique of humanist thinking.

 

Research Essay

Though any kind of essay will require some amount of research, you might consider doing a paper which is research-centered. You would pose an interesting and meaningful question about an author, a work, a period, etc., then do some extensive research to discover possible answers. Your essay would report on the different views you uncovered, and might argue for which you believe to be best. This kind of essay will likely require extra sources.

 

Other Ideas

• Refute what another critic has written about a work.
• Research a particular genre, such as the English elegy, and develop an interesting, debatable claim about that genre or its history.
• Conduct biographic research in order to gain insight into a particular author's works.

 

Audience

Imagine that your essay will appear in a casebook on a particular writer, genre, and/or topic in British literature. Your reader is any undergraduate college student and instructor interested in learning more about your chosen subject. This reader wants new ways of interpreting the subject, but is critical of any argument. That is, this reader is a tough sell and will question your claims, expecting ample supporting evidence, clear reasoning, details, and research. This audience also expects well-edited, lucid, and concise writing; reading it should be a pleasure.

 

Evaluation Criteria

• Your essay must be a minimum of 5 typed and double-spaced pages.
• It should include a helpful and engaging title.
• It must have a clear, debatable central point (thesis), supported and developed with plenty of detail, analysis, and research, as needed.
• Your essay should show awareness of audience expectations and needs.
• Your essay should be focused, unified, and well-organized, with appropriate paragraphing and transitions. Click here for helpful review.
• Your essay should show virtually no spelling or grammatical errors, vagueness, or awkward sentence constructions. Click here for helpful review.
• All sources should be documented according to MLA guidelines. Information on how to do this is readily available: you can consult the most recent MLA handbook in the Reference area of our library, you can use helpful websites such as http://library.austincc.edu/help/MLA/, and so on.
• Your essay should be formatted according to MLA manuscript guidelines. For manuscript formatting review, click here.
• Click here for other helpful resources.

 

Explanation of Letter Grades

An "A" paper meets all of the stated criteria and follows all of the instructions above exceptionally well, with imagination, insight, clarity, polish, and detail. It is conspicuously better than most work turned in.

A "B" paper meets most of the stated criteria and instructions very well, or all of it moderately well. It may be excellent in many respects but unoriginal, or very original but only adequate in other key ways. It's terrific but does not especially stand out.

A "C" paper meets most of the stated criteria well enough, or a minor portion of it very well. It will likely be somewhat perfunctory, uninspired, or unoriginal, as well as insufficiently developed or convincing in spots. It will probably show no "stretch." Its flaws are noticeable and detracting, but not overwhelming.

A "D" paper meets few of the stated criteria, but performs minimally well in one or maybe two areas—enough to warrant passing. Glaring flaws make any strengths difficult to spot.

 

Grading Scale

Note: I first assign a letter grade based on the explanations above, then fine-tune that letter with points. You'll see both a letter grade and a score on your paper, though the points are the crucial thing, as they are tallied at semester's end to determine your final grade.

Essay A = 22-25 B = 19-22 C = 16-19 D = 12-15

Semester 88-100 = A 75-87 = B 62-74 = C 49-61 = D

 

A Note to English Majors

During their senior year, English majors generally enroll in the English Capstone course (Engl 467), during which they assemble a portfolio containing representative written work from NDSU English courses. The English Department evaluates these portfolios to assess its undergraduate programs, analyzing how student work meets departmental outcomes. In order to facilitate the preparation of senior portfolios, English majors are encouraged to save copies of their written work (in electronic and hard copy) each semester.

 

How and When to Turn in Your Work

Essays should be posted electronically to our Blackboard Drop Box. Don't use Works, WordPerfect, or other nonstandard editing programs. Please just use Word.

If you run into Blackboard technical glitches, you may alternately email your essay to Cindy.Nichols@ndsu.edu. YOU MUST PUT CLEAR IDENTIFYING INFO ON THE SUBJECT LINE, and you must attach your essay as a Word document. Don't paste your essay into the email message box.

 

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