ENG 212: Gender and Literature

ENG 300: Foundations of Western Literature

Assignments

Assignments

General Information

Formatting Written Assignments

Written assignments must be word processed and formatted according to MLA guidelines, including a Works Cited section. Any other exceptions will be noted in the instructions for specific assignments. The font size for these assignments should not be larger than 12pt, and you should use a scaleable font, preferably Times New Roman. Essay and Homework assignments in particular should be proofread carefully and free from grammatical errors; failure to do so will affect your grade on the assignment. A Works Cited section should be included with every written assignment, but it does not need to be put on a separate page.

For more information about using MLA format, see use the resources below:

Submitting Assignments

Written, out-of-class assignments should be turned in through the Canvas course website in the Assignments section. They will be due by midnight on the due date listed on the schedule unless otherwise noted.

  1. Log in to Canvas through the University portal or using the link above
  2. Enter the ENG 212 course site
  3. Click on "Assignments" on the left navigation menu
  4. Click on the title of the appropriate assignment
  5. Add your attachment
  6. Click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the screen.

If you have any difficulties submitting an assignment, please contact me via email: sshelangoskie@lourdes.edu.

Conventions of Academic Writing

1. Do not use "you," "we," or "us." You may use "I" when you are talking about your own original argument ("I argue that..."), but don't overuse.

Instead of: "We see that the speaker is distressed because of the violence he/she witnesses."

Try: "The speaker is distressed because of the violence he/she witnesses."

Notice that in the alternate version, the emphasis is on what happens in the text, rather than on "we," as in the first version; by using "we" in a case like this, you are assuming that your reader interprets the text exactly the way you do. That assumption could create resistence in your reader--instead, your argument should persuade the reader of the strength and validity of your interpretation, so keep the focus on the text and your analysis.

Instead of: "You feel pity for the narrator when she starts creeping around the room."

Try: "The narrator is pitiful when she starts creeping around the room." OR "The narrator becomes an object of pity when she starts creeping around the room."

Notice that in the original version, you are telling your reader what he or she feels: if your reader does not agree, you have lost him or her. But, if you rephrase to make "pity" a characteristic of the character in the text rather than asserting it as the feeling of your reader, your reading is better focused and more persuasive--the alternate versions are statements that can actually be supported by evidence from the text, but you cannot provide support for an assertion about how your reader feels.

2. Keep focus on analysis of the text instead of interpretation of the reader. For example:

Instead of: "The reader notices that the wallpaper is becoming an obsession to the narrator."

Try: "The wallpaper becomes an obsession to the narrator." OR "The narrator is obsessed with the wallpaper."

Notice in the two alternate versions, the stress is on what is happening in the story instead of the reader; this is the emphasis you want to achieve to keep the focus on your analysis.

3. Remember that the author is not the same as the speaker of the poem or the narrator of the story. You can analzye the speaker and narrator, but you can never really know what the author thinks or believes.

Instead of: "Shakespeare describes his mistress with negative imagery."

Try: "The speaker describes his mistress with negative imagery."

4. Steer clear of subjective commentary: keep focus on analysis.

Instead of: "The poem does a great job with the rose of explaining what love is all about."

Try: "In the first stanza, rose imagery is used to suggest typical representations of love from the dominant discourse."

5. Don't start sentences with vague "This" or "It".

Instead of: "This shows that Aunt Jennifer is really different from the tigers she represents."

Try: "The description of Aunt Jennifer's 'terrifed hands' shows that she is not like the tigers she creates on the screen who are 'proud and unafraid'" (Rich 87)."

Notice that it's hard to tell what "this" refers to in the first version. But in the second version, there is a clear, specific argument about the difference between Aunt Jennifer and the Tigers.

6. Use appropriate diction and tone for a scholarly paper.

Instead of: "Walter-Lee gave his money to his friends to start a liquor store, but that was an epic fail."

Try: "Walter-Lee invested the money in a liquor store, but one of his friends stole the funds and the money was lost."

7. Format titles of works correctly:

Individual poems and short stories are in quotation marks: "Aunt Jennifer's Tigers," "Janus," etc.

Poems that do not have titles are titled by their first lines. These titles are given in square brackets in your textbook to indicate that it is not the author's title, but the first line of the poem. You should also use square brackets for these titles: [My life had stood a loaded gun--] or [My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun]

Full length dramas are italicized: Streetcar Named Desire, Raisin in the Sun, The Doll House

8. Commas and periods go inside quotation marks (when applicable):

Don't: In the texts "Certain Lady", "Yellow Wallpaper", and "The Jewelry"...
Do: In the texts "Certain Lady," "Yellow Wallpaper," and "The Jewelry"...

Don't: ...in Dorothy Parker's "Certain Lady".
Do: ...in Dorothy Parker's "Certain Lady."

9. Do use quotations from the text that are properly cited as evidence for your claims, but be selective. If you find yourself using many lengthy quotations, go back and trim to use the most relevant part of the quotation. If you do use a lengthy quotation (4 lines or more), you should be providing a proportionate amount of analysis of that quotation.

10. Don't leave quotations hanging:

Quoting Poetry

Remember, when quoting poetry, use " / " to indicate line breaks if you are quoting fewer than three lines:

Example:

Abuse is implied by the description of Aunt Jennifer's hands: "The massive weight of Uncle's wedding band / Sits heavily upon Aunt Jennifer's hand" (Rich 660).

If you are quoting 3 or more lines of poetry, it should be indented one inch and the line breaks in the original preserved:

Example:

In Linda Pastan's "love poem," the description of the creek uses enjambment in conjunction with a simile to create the headlong feeling of the poem:

11. Find the complete citation information for any of the texts we're using on the course syllabus:

List of Required Texts

ENG 212--Unit 1: The Basics

ENG 300--Unit 1: The Epic

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #1: Setting

Work with your group to analyze setting.

Part 1. Identify, Describe, Analyze

  1. Identify the temporal setting of the work itself.
  2. List and describe the different physical settings in the text:
  3. Explain how each setting is significant to the narrative:
  4. List and describe any significant temporal elements within the text (apart from the time period of the text)
  5. Explain how each of these elements is significant to the narrative and/or character development:

Part 2. Synthesize

After our discussion, work with your group and consider ways that the elements of physical and temporal setting are used across these texts. What similarities do you see? What differences? Identify a strong example of each to present to the class:

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #1: Narrative Traits of Episodic Epics

Part 1. Identify Narrative Structure

Describe the structure of storytelling in the readings for this week. In particular, compare stories that stand alone ([Tereus, Procne, and Philomela] pp. 134-142, [Orpheus and Eurydice] pp. 225-28, [The Island of Circe] pp. 332-34) to stories that are more tightly connected to subsequent narratives ([Medea stories] pp. 144-56, collection of [Pygmalion] pp. 232-34, [Myrrah] pp. 234-41, [Venus and Adonis] pp. 241-2)

  1. Choose a stand-alone narrative and describe/draw/diagram the structure--consider elements such as foreshadowing, strategies for generating suspense, the role of narrative point of view, etc.
  2. Repeat 1 using [Pygmalion]. Then consider the transition to [Myrrah] and ultimately [Venus and Adonis]. How do these subsequent, related stories affect the meaning of the first story in the series, [Pygmalion]? Explain.

Part 2. Analysis

  1. Based on this analysis, describe and analyze the narrative structure using episodic blocks in this text.
  2. What narrative considerations need to be taken into account in an episodic epic because of this form? Explain.

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #2: Plot Structure

Work with your group to visualize the plot structure of your assigned text. Be sure to identify the elements of plot structure discussed in class, but create a visualization that represents the contours of your plot more accurately than the idealized diagram. Note that you might have sub-climaxes as well as the main climax and even multiple plot diagrams if you have a subplot, flashback, or digression. Be prepared to share your diagram with the class.

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #2: Framing Devices in Episodic Epics

Consider the framing devices--the Forword, Introduction and Conclusion, Afterword to answer the questions below.

  1. What does the Author's Foreword suggest about the function of storytelling?
  2. What can you tell about the conventions of gender from the Author's Foreword? Explain.
  3. What is the framing device for this epic?
  4. Analyze the representation of disease and its social effects in the setup of the frame narrative. In what ways does disease erode common social structures and customs? How does the disease function as an equalizing force? What are the different strategies used by the people to avoid disease, and how are these various strategies significant?
  5. What rhetorical strategies does Pampinea use to convince the other six ladies to leave the city? Be sure to include her anticipation of various counter arguments, such as the idea that the women would be abandoning duty or violating the boundaries of propriety. Also, analyze the argument used to persuade the women to invite the three gentlemen to join their party--again, with particular attention to propriety and the threat of scandal and gossip.
  6. Analyze the representation of the group's country retreat and the establishment of authority within this retreat. How does this space function as a contrast to the city? What is the authority structure and why is it significant? What is the role of storytelling within this context, and what is the significance of its social value?
  7. Analyze the reasons given for breaking up the party and returning home. Analyze the ending: is it appropriate in the narrative context--why or why not?
  8. Analyze the representation of the implied reader in the Afterword: how is this representation, and the anticipation of criticism, significant?

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #3: Character and Point of View

Part 1. Identification and Description

Work with your group to analyze character and point of view in your assigned texts.

  1. Explain the narrative in your text
  2. Identify the characters in your text--be sure to include the speaker and implied reader if applicable
  3. Describe the characters--for main characters give support from the text to support your descriptions.
  4. Explain significant relationships between characters and why they are important.
  5. Identify the point of view--first person or third person
  6. If your poem is first person, evaluate the credibility of the speaker. If your poem is third person, determine whether the speaker is objective or intrusive. For either type of speaker, provide evidence from the text to support your claim.

Part 2. Analysis

  1. Compare the representations of relationships between men and women in the Heptameron vs. Thousand and One Nights.
  2. Describe how the expectations of men and women in romantic relationships are represented similarly and differently between these two texts.

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #3: Variations of the Episodic Epic

For this exercise, consider episodes from all of the episodic epics read so far.

Part 1. Synthesis

Several of the stories focus on adultery and deception of married partners. Analyze the representation of this trope in the "Second Tale of the Fourth Day" (Decameron), "Story 3" and "Story 30" (Heptameron), and the story of the genii's mistress (Nights pages 1776-7).

  1. What is the cultural logic of fidelity and adultery?
  2. What are the social stakes for men and for women who are cheated or cheating?
  3. In what ways does power interact with these acts of infidelity? How is this significant?
  4. Think about the stories from Metamorphoses that dealt with exceeding social boundaries for romantic attachments. Analyze the logic of romance, reproduction, and Nature, considering in particular the stories of Procne and Philomela, and Myrrha. What similarities and differences do you see between the stories from antiquity and those from the Renaissance?

Part 2. Genre Analysis

Based on our study so far, list as many traits of the episodic epic as you can:

Homework #1: Synthesis Analysis of Episodic Epics

Due: by midnight, Wednesday 9/8

Format: completed worksheet

Instructions:

Answer the questions/address prompts completely and submit to Canvas by the deadline.

Part 1

Choose one of the episodic epics we have read and identify a theme that runs through several of the specific episodes.

  1. Identify your theme:
  2. Explain how it is applicable to each episode or part of the text that it applies to:
  3. Explain why this theme is significant:

Part 2

Synthesize ideas across multiple texts.

  1. Identify a theme that applies to texts from different episodic epics we've studied (it may be similar to the theme in part 1)
  2. Explain how it is applicable to at least 4 episodes from at lest 2 different episodic epics; you may NOT reuse the episodes analyzed in Part 1.
  3. Analyze similarities and differences in how this theme is represented in the different episodes: give at least 3 specific examples of sim/diff, and consider how these sim/diff may be culturally significant.

Evaluation Criteria

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #4: Identifying Cultural Discourses

Work with your group to analyze cultural discourses in your assigned texts.

Part 1. Example--Marguerite de Navarre, Heptameron Story 3

  1. Identify the temporal setting related to the cultural moment.
  2. Identify the discourse community for this text.
  3. Based on the representations in this text, what ideas are part of the dominant discourse at the time this text is written? Give specific examples from the text.
  4. Identify moments of subversive discourse or competing discourse in this text (if applicable). How do these examples function to challenge a dominant discourse or or what strategies are used in representing competing ideas?

Part 2. Analysis

  1. Identify the temporal setting related to the cultural moment.
  2. Identify the discourse community for this text.
  3. Based on the representations in this text, what ideas are part of the dominant discourse at the time this poem is written? Give specific examples from the text.
  4. Identify moments of subversive discourse or competing discourse in this text (as applicable). How do these examples function to challenge a dominant discourse or or what strategies are used in representing competing ideas?

In-Class Exercise #4: Generic Traits of Heroic Epics

Part 1: Identification

  1. Based on our study so far, list as many traits of the episodic epic as you can:
  2. Work with your group to list as many generic traits of the heroic epic as you can. You can draw on information from the lecture/discussion as well as your own ideas about the text itself. Include both traits related to form and those related to content, for example, (and please don't use these!) "epics are long" and "epics depict graphic violence."
  3. After examining your 2 lists, explain
  1. how can you tell all of the texts read so far are epics--that is, what qualities remain consistent across both episodic and heroic epics
  2. how can you tell the difference between episodic and heroic epics--that is, what qualities are distinctive to each sub-genre

Part 2: Discourse Analysis

Choose a specific type of dominant discourse to examine--for example, discourse related to gender roles, heroic traits (what does it mean to be a hero in the culture), related to standards of hospitality or some other social practice, etc. Identify elements of the dominant discourse related to this idea in the reading from The Odyssey for today. Are there any moments of subversive discourse that challenge this idea in the text? Identify and explain if so. Finally, how is this cultural discourse different compared to today--or is it the same? Explain.

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #5: Unit 1 Concept Review

Use your assigned section of the Odysssey for the review exercise below.

  1. Identify main plot points and any other narrative structures (foreshadowing, flashback, etc) in your book.
  2. Identify as specifically as possible the characters in your book (antagonist, protagonist, flat, round)
  3. Identify and describe 2 physical settings in your Book: give some specific details
  4. Identify and describe 1 temporal setting within the Book (do not use the time period when the text is written, since that's the same for everyone)
  5. Identify the point of view as specifically as possible and give an example where the POV is significant
  6. Identify dominant cultural discourse in your book--give a specific example from the text to support your idea

ENG 300--In-Class #5: Translation

Passages

  1. Summarize the basic meaning of the passage--how would you say it in a sentence or two to explain it to someone who had not read the story?
  2. Mark the parts of the passages that are meant to represent the same ideas but convey them in different words. Mark as many as you can. If necessary, look up words that you don't know the meaning of (recommended dictionary: Oxford English Dictionary)
  3. Discuss how cultural differences at the time the text was translated are reflected in the texts; consider also the formal constraints chosen by different translators and how these affect meaning.
  4. Analyze the passage based on your work in 1-3 above, considering specific word choices and conceptual choices. Be prepared to share your findings.

ENG 212--Unit 1 Test

Format

Online test in Canvas Quizzes tool:

Due: Both parts of the test will be open from 5pm Wednesday 9/15 to noon, Monday 9/20

Description

Part 1a

This part is CLOSED book, notes, and internet and includes:

Objective Questions: Multiple choice (with rationale if applicable), short answer/fill in the blank exercises for definitions from Unit 1: The Basics (review the Unit Definitions ). Note that you may be asked to apply definitions as well as simply identify correct meanings.

Part 1b

Questions in this part are CLOSED notes and internet and OPEN book. You may review the primary literary texts listed below as you answer questions. Questions where you are allowed to consult your text will state this explicitly in the prompt. Note that this is still during the timed part of the test, so be sure to budget your time accordingly.

Short Analysis: Free response (several sentences) questions about plot, setting, character, and point of view based on these literary texts covered in Unit 1:

This part is timed and not to exceed 2 hours. Misspelling and minor grammar errors will not count against you, but you may lose points for severe errors that detract from the sense of your answer.

Part 2

This part is OPEN book and notes, but CLOSED internet

Long Analysis: Free response (solid paragraph or 2) analyzing discourse as related to specific literary elements in these texts studied in Unit 1:

Misspelling and minor grammar errors will not count against you, but you may lose points for severe errors that detract from the sense of your answer.

Using information from the internet will result in a zero for the test.

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #6: Genre Evolution--Heroic Epic

  1. Examine the invocation of the muse section of the heroic epics we've studied and discuss the framing of key ideas in the texts; then consider the differences between the ancient and the Renaissance epic.
Odyssey Divine Comedy
Tell me about a complicated man.
Muse, tell me how he wandered and was lost
when he had wrecked the holy town of Troy,
and where he went, and who he met, the pain
he suffered on the sea, and how he worked
to save his life and bring his mean back home
He failed, and for their won mistakes, they died.
They ate the Sun God's cattle, and the god
kept them from home. Now goddess, child of Zeus,
tell the old story for our modern times.
Find the beginning. 		O good Apollo, for this last task, I pray
you make me such a vessel of your powers
as you deem worthy to be crowned with bay [leaves].
One peak of cleft Parnassus hertofore
has served my need, now must I summon both [Apollo and the Muses]
on entering the arena one time more.
[the invocation comes on the entrance to Paradise, which is actually part 3 of the whole epic]
Enter my breast, I pray you, and there breathe
as high a strain as conquered Marsyas
that time you drew his body from its sheath.
O power divine, but lend to my high strain
so much as will make clear even the shadow
of that High Kingdom stamped upon my brain,
and you shall see me come to your dear grove
to crown myself with those green leaves which you
and my high theme shall make me worthy of.
  1. Examine the epic/extended metaphor or simile below: identify vehicle and tenor and explain how specific elements of the figurative comparison are significant to the character, plot, and cultural context of the epic it comes from.
Odyssey Divine Comedy

Odyssey Book 22.381-91 (p. 264)

Odysseus scaned all around his home
for any man who might be still alive,
who might be hding to escape destruction.
He saw the fallen, all of them, so many,
lying in blood and dust, like fish hauled up
out of the dark-gray sea in fine-mesh nets;
tipped out upon the curving beach's sand,
they gasp for water from the salty sea.
The sun shines down and takes their life away.
So lay the suitors, heaped across each other.

Divine Comedy: "Inferno" Canto I.15-27

I found myself before a little hill
and lifted up my eyes. Its shoulders glowed
already with the sweet rays of that planet [the sun]
whose virtue leads men straight on every road,
and the shining strengthened me against the fright
whose agony had wracked the lake of my heart
through all the terrors of that piteous night.
Just as a swimmer, who with his last breath
flounders ashore from perilous seas, might turn
to memorize the wide water of his death--
so did I turn, my soul still fugitive
from death's surviving image, to stare down
that pass that none had ever left alive.
  1. Identify as many content elements--a theme, plot event, etc.--that appears in the Odyssey and the Divine Comedy (and the more the better). List as many of these as you can:
  2. Choose ONE of these context elements to examine in more detail and analyze similarities and differences across the text. What do you think the development of this trait suggests about the evolution of the epic, for example as a literary genre, in its cultural significance/purpose, in terms of the production of this kind of work (oral tradition, copied manuscripts, printed texts; literacy, markets, changing ideas of authorship etc.)

ENG 300--Homework #2: Cultural Context Analysis of Heroic Epics

Due: by midnight, Monday 9/20

Format: completed worksheet

Instructions:

Answer the questions/address prompts completely and submit to Canvas by the deadline.

  1. Identify a dominant discourse that can be analyzed in both The Odyssey and The Divine Comedy. [Note: the discourse doesn't need to be represented in the same way-- this is just to identify a discourse that you will analyze in both]
  2. Explain how that discourse is represented in the Odyssey is represented with at least 2 support quotations (that you cite and explain)
  3. Explain how that discourse is represented in the Divine Comedy is represented with at least 2 support quotations (that you cite and explain)
  4. Compare these two representations of these related dominant discourses.
  5. Analyze how these representations reflect cultural differences.

Evaluation Criteria

ENG 212--Unit 2: Advanced Concepts

ENG 300--Unit 2: Drama

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #6: Close Reading

Work with your group to answer the questions about your assigned poems. Refer to the Unit 2 definitions to help you.

Group A:

Ovid, Metamorphoses: [Tereus, Procne, and Philomela]

1. Identify a simile in this passage; identify the vehicle and the tenor and how this comparison is significant to the meaning of the poem.

The sight of her set Tereus' heart ablaze
As stubble leaps to flame when set on fire,
Or fodder blazes stored above the byre [shed].
Her looks deserved his love... (135)

2. Explain the irony in the passage below.

Panion yields, since both his daughters plead,
And, filled with joy, she thanks him. Hapless girl,
She thinks they both have won a victory,
Though what both won will end in tragedy (136)

3. Identify and explain the synecdoche in the passage below.

And then the king drags off Pandion's daughter
Up to a cabin in the woods, remote
And hidden away among dark ancient trees,
And there pale, trembling, fearing everything,
Weeping and asking where her sister was,
He locked her, and revealed his own black heart
And ravished her, a virgin all alone... (137)

Group B:

Boccaccio, Decameron: Fourth Day: 5th Story

1. Explain the symbolic value of the pot of basil in this story.

2. Identify and explain the figurative language in this passage:

As Lorenzo did not return, Lisabetta would be forever badgering her brothers for news of him, for his long absence weighed on her heart (284).

3. Identify and explain the significance of the antithesis in this passage.

What with all the extended care she lavished on the basil and with the richness of the soil on account of the head rotting within it, the plants grew as fragrant and beautiful as could be (286).

Group C:

Marguerite de Navarre, from Heptameron: Story 3

1. Explain the difference between denotation and connotation of the words "honour" and "pleasure" in this passage:

I do not expect to be able to combine both honour and pleasure in my position. I am perfectly well aware that while I receive the honour and respect, it is she who has all the pleasure. But then, I know too that while she may have the pleasure, she does not receive the honour and respect (1081).

2. Identify and explain an example of hyperbole in this passage:

Let us, Madame, take our revenge, not in order to punish them as they deserve, but in order to do justice to our love. My love for you is unbearable. If it is not requited I shall die (1082).

3. Identify and explain the figurative language in this passage:

Unless your heart is as hard as diamond or as stone, it is impossible that you should not feel some spark from this fire that burns the more fiercely wihin me the more I try to stifle it (1082).

Group D:

The Thousand and One Nights

1. Explain the use of metonymy in this passage:

I must kill you as you killed him--blood for blood (1783)

2. Identify and explain the use of antithesis in this passage:

Life has two days: one peace, one wariness,
And has two sides: worry and happiness.
Ask him who taunts us with adversity,
"Does fate, save [except for] those worth of note, oppress?" (1783)

Ovid, Metamorphoses: [Medea and Jason]

3. Explain whether each list in this passage has a climactic or anticlimactic structure:

...you shall be hymned
On every mother's tongue in every town
Of glorius Greec--Jason's deliverer!--
So shall I sail away and leave for ever
Sister and brother, father, gods and home?
In truth my father's cruel, my native land
is barbarous, my brother still a child,
My sister shares my hopes. The mightiest god
Is in my heart!

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #7: Close Reading

Find examples of three different types of figurative language and three different formal features within these texts (you may use any/as many of the texts listed below as you wish). Cite specific passages from the text to support your claims.

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #7: Genre Traits of Drama

Part 1. Concept Review

  1. Group A: Identify the parts of the plot--be sure to provide support for your identification of the inciting incident and the climax.
  2. Group B: Identify moments when backstory is conveyed and explain how this is accomplished and what the needed information is. Identify an example of foreshadowing and explain why it is important.
  3. Group C: Identify and describe the progatonist(s) and antagonist(s) in this play. Support your identifications.
  4. Group D: Describe the physical setting in this play. Explain important elements of physica setting. Describe the temporal setting in the play. Explain why elements of the temporal setting are important.

Part 2. Genre Traits

Analyze genre traits that are distinctive to ancient drama.

  1. Group A: Explain how the Chorus functions as an element of character, including identifying character traits
  2. Group B: Explain how the Chorus functions in relation to Medea
  3. Group C: Analyze the Chorus as a vehicle for discourse: What elements of dominant discourse does the chorus convey--identify at least 1 specific example supported from the text.
  4. Group D: Analyze the Chorus as a vehicle for discourse: What competing discourse(s) and elements of subversive discourse does the Chorus debate, and how are these interactions significant--identify at least 1 specific example supported from the text.
  5. Group A: Explain how unity of place is significant in this text: give at least 1 specific example with textual support.
  6. Group B: Explain how unity of time is significant in this text: give at least 1 specific example with textual support.
  7. Group C: Identify an example of stichomythia and explain why it is significant.
  8. Group D: Explain how the ending might demonstrate catharsis.

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #8: Drama in Cultural Context

  1. Examine the first argument between Medea and Jason (pp. 14-18). Perform a rhetorical analysis of the main points each is making, and indicate some specific ways each uses ethos, pathos (which emotions are appealed to?), and logos. Then explain how these rhetorical elements are connected to discourse analysis (for example, how might a dominant discourse factor in to the logos of an argument?
  2. Describe the representation of marriage in the excerpt from Xenophon's Oeconomicus. Compare Jason and Medea's relationship to this dominant discourse and explain (with support) how their relationship diverges from this norm.
  3. Appolonius' Argonautica was written after Euripides' Medea, and is meant as backstory for the dramatic character. Analyze how the representation of Medea in Argonautica reflects on and alters the understanding of Medea's character in the play.
  4. Seneca's Medea continues the literary tradition. Analyze how the representation of Medea in this considerably later play compares to the representation of Medea in Euripides' version.
  5. Reflect on the representation of Medea as an ongoing (and changing) cultural artifact.

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #8: Applying Concepts

Part 1. Application

  1. Identify a dominant discourse relevant to the discourse community depicted represented in the first three acts of the play.
  2. Identify a competing or subversive discourse relevant to the discourse community depicted in the fisrt three acts of the play (you may need to identify the specific discourse community)
  3. Identify and explain a specific example of a formal feature in the first three acts of the play as indicated below.
  1. Group A: Analyze the use of the aside in 1.3 (approx. lines 140-165) after Banquo and Macbeth have seen the Witches. Explain how this feature is used and why it is important.
  2. Group B: Analyze the use of enjambment in Duncan's speech 1.4.39-48. How does enjambment function with meaning in this passage and how is it significant to the meaning in the context of this speech and the onstage audience who listens (Macbeth and the other soldiers)
  3. Group C: Analyze the use of the soliloquy at the beginning of 1.7--summarize the meaning of this speech, explain why it is important at this point in the play, and explain why it is significant as information shared with the audience through this convention.
  4. Group D: Analyze the use of alliteration in Macbeth's aside in 3.4.23-27 during the banquet scene. Identify the alliteration, and then explain why it is significant to the meaning and within the context of the play. You may also consider the information in this speech as an aside and why that is important.
  1. Identify all of the examples of figurative language and formal features you can in your assigned passage. Then, explain the significance of what you've found.
  1. Group A:
    Come, thick night,
    And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
    That my keen knife see not the wound it makes
    Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark
    To cry "hold! Hold!" (1.5.57-61)
  2. Group B:
    To beguile the time
    Look like the time. Bear welcome in your eye
    Your hand, your tongue. Look like the innocent flower,
    But be the serpent under 't. (1.6.74-77)
  3. Group C:
    Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
    Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
    The multitudinous seas incarnidine,
    Making the green one red. (2.2.76-80)
  4. Group D:
    There the grown serpent lies. The worm that's fled
    Hath nature that in time will venom breed,
    No teeth for th' present. (3.4.31-33)

Part 2. Theme

  1. Identify as many specific themes represented in the first three acts of the play as you can
  2. Choose 1 of them to analyze in more detail: give specific passages that illustrate the theme, and explain whether the representation of your themes changes over the course of the the first three acts.

In-Class Exercise #9: Rhetorical Analysis

Part 1. Macro Analysis

Examine the argument in 1.7 between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth about whether to kill Duncan. Identify the logos, ethos, and pathos used by each character to convey their position. Explain which elements are strongest and evaluate the effectiveness of each characters' argument.

Part 2. Detail Analysis

In Shakespeare's time, grammar, logic, and rhetoric were the three classical branches of knowledge that were formally taught to educated (male) citizens. Writers like Shakespeare and his contemporaries had formal training in rhetorical tropes that had been developed by ancient Greek and Roman writers, and rediscovered and reinvigorated in the Renaissance, so these writers deliberately used elaborate forms in their work.

Although these forms are no longer a curriculum staple, identifying them and understanding how they operate can help us understand some of the most sophistocated capabilities of English. In this exercise, analyze your assigned passage to identify specific rhetorical tropes. Use the Silva Rhetoricae to help you, and be prepared to explain the rhetorical features you find and how they function to convey meaning.

Passage A: 1.5.47-61

Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood;
Stop up the access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts,
And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,
To cry 'Hold, hold!'

Passage B: 2.1.44-61

Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes.

Passage C: 3.1.52-75

To be thus is nothing;
But to be safely thus.—Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep; and in his royalty of nature
Reigns that which would be fear'd: 'tis much he dares;
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety. There is none but he
Whose being I do fear: and, under him,
My Genius is rebuked; as, it is said,
Mark Antony's was by Caesar. He chid the sisters
When first they put the name of king upon me,
And bade them speak to him: then prophet-like
They hail'd him father to a line of kings:
Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,
And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,
Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand,
No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so,
For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind;
For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd;
Put rancours in the vessel of my peace
Only for them; and mine eternal jewel
Given to the common enemy of man,
To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!

In-Class Exercise #9: Analyzing Performance

Group A: Exposition

  1. Describe the visual tone and content of the opening scene (before the explanatory scroll text), and explain how this content frames the story.
  2. Identify and describe a specific example of blocking in the scene with the witches. Explain why your example is significant.
  3. Identify and describe a specific example of delivery in the scene with the witches Explain why your example is significant.

Group B: Rising Action

  1. Describe significant elements of setting in that frame Lady Macbeth's speech.
  2. Identify a specific example of delivery in the "unsex me" scene and explain why it is important.
  3. Identify a specific example of blocking in the conversation between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth and explain why it is important.

Group C: Climax

  1. Describe the visual tone and content of the murder scene. Explain how this content frames the murder and why this framing is important.
  2. Identify a specific example of blocking in the scene after the murder; explain why it is important.
  3. Identify a specific example of delivery in the scene after the murder; explain why it is important.

Group D: Falling Action

  1. Describe the visual tone and content of the banquet scene. Explain how this content frames the banquet scene and why this framing is important.
  2. Identify a specific example of blocking in the ghost scene; explain why it is important.
  3. Identify a specific example of delivery in the ghost scene; explain why it is important.

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #10: Analyzing Performance as Adaptation

Resolution

  1. Choose a specific example of delivery from the ending of the film: describe how the decisions in delivery are significant to meaning.
  2. Choose a specific example of blocking from the ending of the film: describe how decisions in blocking are significant to meaning.
  3. Describe the visual choices made in the ending of the film; explain how these choices function as adaptation expressing the very naturalistic reading of Macbeth in this film version.

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #10: Formal Features

Part 1. Formal Features

  1. Group A: Describe the character of Mrs. Elvsted, including her backstory. Explain how she functions as a character foil in relationship to Hedda. How is this an example of antithesis?
  2. Group B: Describe the character of Brack, including his backstory. Explain how he functions as a character foil in relationship to Tesman. How is this an example of antithesis?
  3. Group C: Explain how the setting at the villa demonstrates irony--see Hedda's comments about the new house in Act 2 pp. 206-07.
  4. Group D: Analyze the stage directions at the beginning of Act 1: describe specific elements of physical setting and explain how this setting frames the action of the play.

Part 2. Discourse

  1. Group A and Group C: Identify an example of a dominant discourse that can be illustrated with support from Act 1. Explain and give your support.
  2. Group B and Group D: Identify an example of a dominant discourse that can be illustrated with support from Act 2. Explain and give your support.

In-Class Exercise #11: Unit 2 Review

Part 1. Figurative Language and Formal Features

  1. Group A and Group C: Identify 2 specific examples of figurative language in Act 3. Explain each figure and why it is significant to the local and broader meaning of the play.
  2. Group B and Group D: Identify 2 specific examples of figurative language in Act 4. Explain each figure and why it is significant to the local and broader meaning of the play.
  3. All: Identify at least 2 examples of specific formal features in the play. Point to specific passages in the play, explain the feature, and explain the significance of the feature.

Part 2. Discourse

  1. Group A and Group C: Identify an example of a dominant discourse that can be illustrated with support from Act 3. Explain and give your support.
  2. Group B and Group D: Identify an example of a dominant discourse that can be illustrated with support from Act 4. Explain and give your support.
  3. All: Identify an example of a subversive discourse in the play. Provide textual support and explain the significance of this discourse.

In-Class Exercise #11: Genre Evolution--Drama

For this exercise, consider all of the dramas we've read in this unit.

  1. Identify differences in form in the plays studied from different time periods. Give specific examples.
  2. Analyze plot structure among the plays over time--identify and explain both similarities and differences as applicable.
  3. Analyze character in the later plays--identify and explain how the representation of demonstrates change as the drama genre evolves over time.
  4. Analyze any other aspects of the later plays that you believe demonstrate an evolution of the dramatic genre. Be prepared to present at least one element to the class.

Unit 2 Test

Format

Timed online test in Canvas Quizzes tool: allot 2 hours (continuous) to complete the test. It is recommended that you USE A NETWORKED COMPUTER or RELIABLE WiFi CONNECTION when taking the quiz.

Due

Open from 5pm Wednesday 10/6 to noon, Monday 10/11

Description

The test is CLOSED book, notes, and internet and will include the following:

Objective Questions: Multiple choice, short answer/fill in the blank exercises for definitions from Unit 2: Advanced Concepts (review the Unit 2 Definitions ). Note that you will be asked to apply definitions as well as simply identify correct meanings.

Short Analysis: Free response (several sentences) questions covering figurative language and formal features in the texts covered in Unit 2. Be sure to answer the question completely.

This is a timed quiz not to exceed 2 hours. Misspelling and minor grammar errors will not count against you, but you may lose points in essays for severe errors that detract from the sense of your answer.

Unit 2 Essay

Format

MLA format. See the section on Formatting Written Assignments and Conventions of Academic Writing above.
Length: minimum 500 words

Due

Submit your essay to the Canvas Assignments tool by midnight, Monday 10/11

Instructions

Choose 2 of the texts that have a common theme to analyze--remember, a more specific theme will be more helpful for analysis. At least 1 text should be a drama from Unit 2; your other text may be from Unit 1 or Unit 2. Write an essay using this thematic connection as a basis. In your introduction, explain your theme in detail. In the body of your essay, explain how the theme is expressed significantly in each text you are analyzing. You should support your claims using specific formal features and figurative language, including specific support quotations quotations from the text. In the conclusion of your essay, identify significant similarities and differences in how your theme functions in the texts you examined.

Evaluation of Essays

Your essay should include:

  1. a clear introduction that includes a thesis that addresses the prompt
  2. an organized presentation of your argument that analyzes the elements indicated in the prompt
  3. support from the text for your claims: direct quotations followed by your analysis to explain how the quotation functions as support
  4. a synthesis section that discusses how the elements you have analyzed function in significant similar and different ways across both texts

Additionally, your essay should conform to MLA format, including a Works Cited section. This is your chance to practice this format, so points will not be deducted if you have errors in MLA format, but if no attempt is made to use this style sheet, up to 2 points may be deducted.

Essays should be written in Edited American English and free of errors.

If you have any difficulties submitting an assignment, please contact me via email: sshelangoskie@lourdes.edu.

Essay #1

Format: MLA format; minimum length: 500 words

Due: midnight, Monday 10/11

Analyze the development of the drama. Using Medea, explain key conventions of the genre at its beginning. Then, choose one of the later examples of the genre and analyze how this later text demonstrates change in the genre. Be sure to explain how this change is significant. You might consider:

Be sure to use specific examples from your texts to support your claims.

Evaluation of Essays

Your essay should include:

  1. a clear introduction that includes a thesis that addresses the prompt
  2. an organized presentation of your argument that analyzes the elements indicated in the prompt
  3. support from the text for your claims: direct quotations followed by your analysis to explain how the quotation functions as support
  4. a synthesis section that discusses how the elements you have analyzed function in significant similar and different ways across texts

ENG 212--Unit 3: Literature and Culture

ENG 300--Unit 3: Building on Tradition

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #12: Allusion

Allusion, the reference in one literary text to another literary text or historical event, is one way that authors explicitly engage in the broader conversation of the literary tradition. In this exercise, we will learn how to understand allusions.

Part 1. The Basics

Work with the poems as assigned below.

  1. Explain the narrative of your poem
  2. Describe the protagonist in your poem--use details from the text to support your ideas
  3. Identify the tone of your poem; use specific examples of diction and, if applicable, connotation to support your identification

Part 2. Identifying Allusion Sources

  1. Identify the specific allusion in your poem and what the source text of this allusion is (in each case, we've read the source text earlier in the term)
  2. List key elements of the original story--consider plot, character, setting--any literary elements that are relevant.

Part 3. Synthesis

After we've discussed the individual poems, work with your group to consider the questions below.

  1. What parts of the original story does the modern poem emphasize?
  2. What difference does this emphasis and your knowledge of the original make to the meaning of the modern poem?
  3. In what ways is this use of the ancient story related to the meaning of the myth itself? Think in terms of cultural discourse/ how the cultural moment of each text. How are these differences apparent in the retelling of this story, and why are they important?

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #12: Allusion

Work with your group using your assigned text to answer the questions below.

Texts

For each poem:

  1. Summarize the content of your poem.
  2. Analyze the meaning of the poem, including identification and explanation of significant examples of figurative langauge and other formal features.
  3. Summarize the core allusion in your text: what elements of the mythical story referenced are important to this work?
  4. Analyze how the mythical antecedant is significant to the meaning of the poem.
  5. Analyze how the myth has been repurposed in a new cultural context--for example, what elements are emphasized? How is the myth framed in the more modern context? How are these features responsive to new cultural conventions?

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #13: Adaptation

Work with your group using your assigned text to answer the questions below.

Miller Circe cover

Text:

Part 1. Basics

1. Analyze character as indicated below. Consider the entire reading for today when answering this question.

  1. Group A: describe the character of Circe; use support evidence from the text.
  2. Group B: describe the character of Odysseus; use support evidence from the text.
  3. Group C: describe the character of Odysseus's sailors; you may discuss individual sailors, but also consider how they are described generally as a group.
  4. Group D: explain how the relationship between Circe and Odysseus changes over the course of the reading; use support evidence from the text.

2. Identify at least 2 figurative comparisons in your assigned chapter. Identify whether each is a simile or metaphor. Identify the vehicle and tenor. Explain why each of your examples of figurative language is significant to the meaning when read in context.

Part 2. Analyzing Adaptation

1. Identify the form of the original works (remember, we've read about Circe in 2 different works in Unit 1):

2. Describe the form of the adapted work read for today

  1. How is the form suitable for the new cultural context?
  2. How is the form similar to/different from the original form?

3. Analyze the content of the adapted work (consider your assigned chapter in particular)

  1. What elements of the original narrative are maintained? (Give examples)
  2. What new elements are introduced? (Give examples)
  3. Analyze the significance of at least 1 similarity and 1 difference. Be prepared to present to the class.

4. Analyze cultural discourse of the adapted work (consider your assigned chapter)

  1. identify a dominant cultural discourse from the original period that is referenced in the adaptation. Provide support from the text.
  2. explain the tone towards this dominant discourse in the adapted work: provide textual support for your response.
  3. evaluate the representation of the dominant discourse you identified in the adapted text; does this representation reinforce or critique (or both or something else?)
  4. evaluate the effectiveness of this representation for a modern audience: what might be the purpose of this kind of representation of ancient dominant discourses, based on your analysis of this example?

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #13: Adaptation and Original

Work with your group using your assigned text to answer the questions below.

Text:

Chapters 14-17 from Madeline Miller's Circe

1. Describe the form of the adapted work

  1. How is the form suitable for the new cultural context?
  2. How is the form similar to/different from the original form?
  3. One of the style characteristics of this adaptation is the use of figurative comparisons. Give 3 examples of comparisons (explain each) and then explain what you think is the significance of this stylistic choice: why include so many figurative comparisons? How might this be a significant formal element of the adaptation considering the characteristics of the epic that we discussed.

2. Analyze the content of the adapted work

  1. What elements of the original narrative are maintained? (Give examples)
  2. What new elements are introduced? (Give examples)
  3. Analyze the significance of at least 1 similarity and 1 difference. Be prepared to present to the class.

3. Analyze cultural discourse of the adapted work

  1. identify a dominant cultural discourse from the original period that is referenced in the adaptation. Provide support from the text.
  2. explain the tone towards this dominant discourse in the adapted work: provide textual support for your response.
  3. evaluate the representation of the dominant discourse you identified in the adapted text; does this representation reinforce or critique (or both or something else?)
  4. evaluate the effectiveness of this representation for a modern audience: what might be the purpose of this kind of representation of ancient dominant discourses, based on your analysis of this example?

4. Compare the 2 adaptations of the character of Circe you've read--Augusta Webster's "Circe" (from Monday) and Miller's character. How are they similar and different? How does each reflect it's new cultural moment? Explain.

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #14: Analyzing Form

Margaret Atwood uses a variety of genres in the different chapters in the Penelopiad. The use of genre functions on various levels that will be explored in this exercise.

Part 1. Identifying Elements--Example

Text: Chapters i-ii, pp. 1-6

  1. Identify the form used in each chapter.
  2. Identify and describe the point of view in each chapter.
  3. Identify and describe the implied reader/listener for each chapter. How do you know?
  4. The maids function as a chorus--list what you know about the use of a chorus in ancient dramas. In what ways does the chorus of maids conform to and deviate from this traditional function?

Part 2. Identifying Elements

Perform a similar analysis on your assigned part of the text.

Questions

  1. Identify the different forms used in your section. Explain why forms are suitable/significant for the meaning they are used to convey (explain at least 1 example in detail).
  2. Identify and describe the point of view for each section as appropriate.
  3. Identify and describe the implied reader/listener for each different segment. How do you know?
  4. The maids function as a chorus--list what you know about the use of a chorus in ancient dramas. In what ways does the chorus of maids conform to and deviate from this traditional function?

Part 3. Analyzing Adaptation

  1. How does the representation of Penelope as a narrator alter/comment on the representation of this character in the original text and myth tradition?
  2. How does the representation of the maids alter/comment on the representation of these characters in the original text--consider both the chapters where the maids themselves speak and Penelope's comments about them, if applicable in your section.
  3. How does this version of the Odyssey story acknowledge the cultural discourses from the original story? Give at least 1 specific example from your section:
  4. How does this version of the Odyssey story reflect the cultural moment of the early 21st century when it was written? Give at least 1 specific example from your section:

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #14: Adaptation as Cultural Contact Zone

In The Penelopiad, Margaret Atwood takes a creative approach to her story of the Odyssey from Penelope's point of view by having her speak from the underworld, long after the events of the Odyssey have past. Because of this situation, very different cultural moments are put into conversation.

The interaction of the ancient Greek past and North American culture of the 21st century as represented in Atwood's novel is an interesting case of what Mary Louise Pratt has called a cultural contact zone -- that is, "social spaces where cultures meet, clash and grapple with each other, often in contexts of highly asymmetrical relations of power, such as colonialism [or] slavery..." (Pratt, Imerial Eyes 34).

In this exercise we will identify and analyze the different cultural layers in this text.

Part 1. Identifying and Analyzing Cultural Contact Zones--Example

Text: Chapters i-ii, pp. 1-6

  1. Identify the details in Chapter i that set up the conceptual framing for the text.
  2. How do these elements demonstrate integration between different cultures? Identify some specific elements--for example, allusions to the original story--and how they are discussed/represented in ways that are recognizable to a modern context.
  3. How does the representation of the maids in Chapter ii represent different cultural moments and their integration?

Part 2. Identifying and Analyzing Cultural Contact Zones

  1. Examine the assigned sections of the text and identify 2 strong examples in chapters where Penelope is speaking that demonstrate cultural integration. Explain and provide examples from the text.
  2. Examine the assigned sections of the text and identify 2 strong examples in chapters where the maids are speaking that demonstrate cultural integration. Explain and provide examples from the text. Note: you may wish to consider form as well as content.
  3. Explain how these moments of cultural contact affect the text as an adaptation of the Odyssey.
  4. Explain how these moments of cultural contact affect the cultural discourse in the text.

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #15: Performance as Cultural Interface

In this exercise, we'll start to explore literature in cultural context by examining performace as a site of cultural interface.

Part 1. Identifying Difference (Fidelity Criticism)

As you watch the film clips, note any differences you see between the play and the film. Be sure to note the differences in the ending in particular.

Part 2. Analyzing Difference (Cultural Analysis)

  1. Discuss the differences you identified with your group. Choose 2 that reflect specific cultural practices and explain:
  2. In what ways does the ending of the film reflect dominant cultural discourse? Explain.
  3. Compare the cultural discourses represented in the ending of the play vs. the ending of the film. In what ways are the differences significant?

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #15: Conceptual Adaptation

  1. Shaw's play clearly references the ancient myth in its title, but does not obviously engage with the myth like an adaptation such as Penelopiad or Circe. Explain how the play does engage with the myth. Use specific examples from the film.
  2. How do the conventions of the film genre modify the presentation of content significantly compared to the play? To the story from Metamorphoses? Give examples.
  3. Analyze the characters of Eliza Dolittle and Henry Higgins in relation to their mythical counterparts. How does the modern representation function as a commentary on the myth? Is the reverse true?--explain.

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #16: Analyzing Theory

Work with your group to analyze your assigned text.

Part 1. Understanding Meaning

Work with your group to identify these key terms; be sure to consider connotation in analyzing their meaning:

Group A and Group B

Group C and Group D

2. Understanding Ideas

Explain the quotations in your own words; be sure to explain in relation to the surrounding context, the idea, not just the meaning of the specific sentence provided.

Group A:

  1. "... for man represents both the positive and the neutral, as indicated in the common use of man to designate human beings in general; whereas women represents only the negative, defined by limiting criteria, without reciprocity" (2216).
  2. "...the women's effort has never been anything more than a symbolic agitation. They have gained only what men have been willing to grant; they have taken nothing, they have only received" (2219).
  3. "One of the benefits that oppression confers upon the oppressors is that the most humble among them is made to feel superior" (2221)
  4. "[Men] cannot be blamed for not cheerfully relinquishing all the benefits they derive from the myth, for they realize what they would lose in relinquishing woman as they fancy her to be, while they fail to realize what they have to gain from the woman of tomorrow" (2222)

Group B:

  1. "[Man] thinks of his body as a direct and normal connection with the world, which he believes he apprehends objectively, whereas he regards the body of woman as a hindrance, a prison, weighed down by everything peculiar to it" (2216).
  2. "One of the consequences of the industrial revolution was the entrance of women into productive labor, and it was just here that the claims of feminists emerged from the realm of theory and acquired an economic basis, while their opponents became the more aggressive" (2220-21).
  3. "In both cases [women and African-Americans] the dominant class bases its argument on a state of affairs that it has itself created" (2221).
  4. "[Men] cannot be blamed for not cheerfully relinquishing all the benefits they derive from the myth, for they realize what they would lose in relinquishing woman as they fancy her to be, while they fail to realize what they have to gain from the woman of tomorrow" (2222)

Group C:

  1. "...it is the responsibility of the oppressed to teach the oppressors their mistakes ... The oppressors maintain their position and evade responsibility for their own actions. There is a constant drain of energy which might be better used in redefining ourselves and devising realistic scenarios for altering the present and constructing the future" (70).
  2. "By ignoring the past, we are encouraged to repeat its mistakes.... If the younger members of a community view the older members as contemptible ... This gives rise to a historical amnesia that keeps us working to invent the wheel every time we have to go to the store for bread" (71).
  3. "It is not our differences which separate women, but our reluctance to recognize those differences and to deal effectively with the distortions which have resulted from ignoring and misnaming those differences" (76)
  4. "For we have, build into all of us, old blueprints of expectation and response, old structures of oppression, and these must be altered at the same time as we alter the living conditions which are a result of those structures. For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house" (76)

Group D:

  1. "...we have all been programmed to respond to the human differences between us with fear and loathing and to handle that difference in one of three ways: ignore it ... copy it if we think it is dominant, or destroy it if we think it is subordinate. But we have no patterns for relating across our human differences as equals" (70).
  2. "...white women face the pitfall of being seduced into joining the oppressor under the pretense of sharing power... there is a wider range of pretended choices and rewards for identifying with patriarchal power and its tools" (73).
  3. "our future survival is predicated upon our ability to relate within equality. As women, we must root out internalized patterns of opperssion within ourselves if we are to move beyond the most serperficial aspects of social change" (76).
  4. "For we have, build into all of us, old blueprints of expectation and response, old structures of oppression, and these must be altered at the same time as we alter the living conditions which are a result of those structures. For the master's tools will never dismantle the master's house" (76)

3. Summary

Explain the important ideas in this theory in your own words in 2-4 sentences:

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #16: Analyzing Theory

1. Analyze the kiaros of the argument.

  1. Describe the cultural context
  2. Identify the dominant discourse related to the issue being examined

2. Analyze the logos of the argument.

  1. Identify the thesis
  2. Identify key subpoints of the argument
  3. Identify the evidence that is used for support
  4. Identify and explain the structure of the argument (inductive/deductive)

3. Analyze the ethos of the argument.

  1. Explain how the speaker establishes her authority to deal with the issue
  2. Examine the pronouns used by the speaker to refer to herself; identify and explain the significance of the speaker's identification in relation to the audience.
  3. Identify at least 2 specific passages where credibilty can be analyzed and then analyze the credibility of the speaker

4. Analyze the pathos of the argument.

  1. Who is the target audience, and how do you know?
  2. Identify any emotional appeals in the argument and explain how they function.
  3. Identify at least 2 passages designed to appeal to the audience and analyze them.

ENG 212--In-Class Exercise #17: Evaluating Criticism

Work with your group to answer the questions below for your assigned critical article.

Part 1. Identification

  1. Identify the primary source examined in this article.
  2. Where is the review of criticism--identify page numbers. Identify a secondary source used by the author; explain how it is used.
  3. Identify an example of close reading of a primary source.
  4. What is the organization of the article--deductive or inductive? Support your answer.
  5. What is the thesis of this article--identify where you found it, and then explain it in your own words.
  6. Identify key subpoints and explain the logic of the argument. Use an outline format for the subpoints to indicate the structure of your article.

Part 2. Analysis

  1. Evaluate the effectiveness of the argument: identify elements that are strong/persuasive and explain why they are so; identify elements that are less persuasive and explain why they are so.
  2. Are there any elements of the primary text that are relevant, but not addressed by the critic? Explain.
  3. How could this argument be extended or applied to other texts? Explain.

ENG 300--In-Class Exercise #17: Evaluating Criticism

Text: Moi, Toril. "Hedda’s Silences: Beauty and Despair in Hedda Gabler."

  1. Identify the thesis and state it in your own words:
  2. Identify key subpoints and explain the logic of the argument.
  3. Evaluate the effectiveness of the argument: identify elements that are strong/persuasive and explain why they are so; identify elements that are less persuasive and explain why they are so.
  4. Are there any elements of the primary text that are relevant, but not addressed by the critic? Explain.
  5. How could this argument be extended or applied to other texts? Explain.

ENG 212--Unit 3 Homework

Due: by midnight, Monday 11/8

Format:

Long analysis response to prompts below; does not have to be essay format. Use an MLA format header and provide a Works Cited section (does not have to be on a separate page).

Instructions:

Follow the steps below to complete the homework. You may want to review relevant class texts and the main ideas from your notes/past exercises.

Part 1. Adaptation

We learned about several types of adaptation: using allusion to connect a new text to a past literary tradition (e.g. poems from Week 8), creating an adaptation that retains the original characters and situation, but alters/modernizes elements like point of view, discourse, etc. (e.g. Miller's Circe, Atwood's Penelopiad), and conceptual or thematic adaptations that alter the situation but retain a recognizable thematic/conceptual connection to the original (e.g. Shaw's Pygmalion).

Think of and demonstrate your own adapation using the guidelines below:

Part 2. Identifying Connections

  1. Look back through the literary texts we read in weeks 1-10. List at least 2 correlations between literary texts and one or both of the theory texts (theory texts can be applicable to more than one literary text).
  2. Explain the correlations/connections that you see for each literary text/theory text paring.

Evaluation Criteria:

*Adaptation section may use less formal syntax and usage.

ENG 300--Essay #2

Due: by midnight, Monday 11/8

Format: MLA format; minimum length: 500 words

Instructions:

Create a thesis that makes a claim about the significance of genre related to one of the adaptations studied in unit 3. Use genre theory to support your claim and/or to provide a counterargument.

Primary Texts

Theory Text

Evaluation Criteria:

Your essay should include:

  1. a clear introduction that includes a thesis that addresses the prompt
  2. an organized presentation of your argument that analyzes the elements indicated in the prompt
  3. support from the primary text(s) and theory text(s) for your claims: direct quotations followed by your analysis to explain how the quotation functions as support
  4. clear connections between your ideas and support and among the texts used.

ENG 212--Unit 4: Final Essay

ENG 300--Unit 4: Final Essay

Topic Development Workshop

Work through the steps below to develop a topic for your final research paper. Topics will be approved by the instructor in class in Week 12.

  1. List literary texts you've read during this course that you are interested in, and explain why:
  2. Think about historical and cultural context that is related to your ideas about these texts and add this to the list (these are things you can research--think about questions you can ask and/or things you already know). You can include ideas about cultural discourses.
  3. Evaluate your list and choose the strongest/most interesting (or more than one if you're having trouble deciding--ask for help in that case)
  4. Describe as clearly as possible your topic
  5. List relevant areas to research, including some possible search terms

Research Workshop

Part 1. Researching Literary Criticism/Theory

  1. Review your list of research areas and terms
  2. Access the MLA International Bibliography through the Lourdes library databases site
  3. Search for at least 2 relevant peer-reviewed scholarly sources
  4. List a complete MLA citation* and brief explanation of why you think this source might be relevant:

*Hint: use the citation tool in the MLA database to generate your citations.

As mentioned, titles and authors are good places to start, and the "subject" field is a good way to refine your search. In a few cases, though, you may not be able to find any criticism specifically on your text. In that case, you should research related theory--ask for help if you need it.

Part 2. Researching Historical Context

You will also want to contextualize your work as appropriate historically or culturally. In this part, you may be searching for a source story for an allusion, examples from a specific time period that demonstrate dominant cultural discourse on a certain topic, or a credible historical secondary source that provides historical context relevant to your argument.

Electronic resources that may be useful are listed below. Also, keep in mind the "breadcrumb" method explained in the demonstration video.

  1. Review your list of research areas and terms
  2. Search for at least 2 credible historical/cultural context sources
  3. List a complete MLA citation for each source
  4. Write a brief explanation of how these sources might be relevant to your topic.

Resources

Research Workshop

Part 1. Researching Literary Criticism/Theory

  1. Review your list of research areas and terms
  2. Access the MLA International Bibliography through the Lourdes library databases site
  3. Search for at least 4 relevant peer-reviewed scholarly sources
  4. List a complete MLA citation* and brief explanation of why you think this source might be relevant:

*Hint: use the citation tool in the MLA database to generate your citations.

As mentioned, titles and authors are good places to start, and the "subject" field is a good way to refine your search. In a few cases, though, you may not be able to find any criticism specifically on your text. In that case, you should research related theory--ask for help if you need it.

Part 2. Researching Historical Context

You will also want to contextualize your work as appropriate historically or culturally. In this part, you may be searching for a source story for an allusion, examples from a specific time period that demonstrate dominant cultural discourse on a certain topic, or a credible historical secondary source that provides historical context relevant to your argument.

Electronic resources that may be useful are listed below. Also, keep in mind the "breadcrumb" method explained in the demonstration video.

  1. Review your list of research areas and terms
  2. Search for at least 2 credible historical/cultural context sources
  3. List a complete MLA citation for each source
  4. Write a brief explanation of how these sources might be relevant to your topic.

Resources

Thesis Workshop

Now that you've thought about your topic, researched context, and surveyed the critical conversation, you should have enough information to formulate a strong analytical thesis. A thesis is a concise statement of your topic + a clear claim about significance. It is embedded within an introduction that makes clear the text(s) and author(s) you are working with, provides some context for the claim, and creates a blueprint for the rest of your argument. Typically, the thesis will be after the context and before the information about the structure of the argument.

Be prepared to workshop your thesis by sharing it with your group or with the class.

  1. Write a concise statement of your topic:
  2. Why is this topic important? -- remember, think about this in relation to literary elements, meaning of the text, historical/cultural discourse, context, etc. Do not try to make a claim about the feelings/response of the reader or the intentions of the author (as we've discussed)
  3. Put them together:

212--Citation Workshop

Practice working with your sources.

  1. Write a sentence that makes a claim about your primary text and then integrates a well-selected support quotation from the text, including a correctly formatted parenthetical citation:
  2. Write a paraphrase of relevant information from one of your historical/cultural context sources, including a correctly formatted parenthetical citation:
  3. Write a sentence that integrates a well-selected quotation from one of your critical/theoretical articles. Your sentence should have a substantive lead in and then an illustrative supporting quotation, with a correctly formatted parenthetical citation:
  4. Switch with a partner and check each other's work. Ask for help if there are any questions.

300--Citation Workshop

Practice working with your sources.

  1. Write a sentence that makes a claim about your primary text and then integrates a well-selected support quotation from the text, including a correctly formatted parenthetical citation:
  2. Write a paraphrase of relevant information from one of your historical/cultural context sources, including a correctly formatted parenthetical citation:
  3. Write a sentence that integrates a well-selected quotation from one of your critical/theoretical articles. Your sentence should have a substantive lead in and then an illustrative supporting quotation, with a correctly formatted parenthetical citation:
  4. Write a sentence that synthesizes from two of your sources: in your own words, state the connection, similarity or difference in treating a unifying idea applicable to 2 of your sources.
  5. Switch with a partner and check each other's work. Ask for help if there are any questions.

Annotated Bibliography

Format:

MLA format citations followed by annotations

Due:

by midnight Friday 11/19 in Canvas

Description:

Create an alphabetized list of at least 4 credible sources that are potentially relevant to your paper. After each citation, write an annotation. An annotation is a description of the source, approximately a paragraph long (longer for particularly significant sources) that describes why the source is significant. Annotations are to help you, so include page references to key parts of the article, quotations (properly punctuated and cited), and commentary--notes to yourself about how sources fit with your own argument.

Evaluation Criteria

Draft Review

Format:

Essay draft reviewed during an in-person meeting in in Week 15

Due:

Variable, based on appointment day and time

Description

Each student is required to meet with the instructor for individual draft review during week 15. Meetings will take place in SAH 164. Students will sign up for appointments during class in Week 13 (11/17). Although a complete draft is not required, the more you submit for review, the more helpful the meeting will be.

Please bring/have access to:

*Note: this assignment is graded on an S/U basis where S = full credit, U = half credit, and a missed appointment = no credit. Although a complete draft is not required for an "S" grade, students who bring very little for review will receive a "U" grade.

Final Essay

Format:

MLA formatted essay, 5-7 pages

Due:

Submit in the Canvas Assignments tool by midnight, Wednesday 12/8

Instructions:

For the final paper, you will write a researched analysis of one or more primary literary texts we've studied this term (Weeks 1-10). Your analysis should include appropriate historical/cultural context (supported by at least 2 credible secondary sources) and a review of criticism related to your topic (at least 2 relevant peer-reviewed, scholarly articles). You will develop your topic, locate sources, and develop your thesis during in-class workshops during weeks 12-13.

Evaluation Criteria:

In your paper, you should:

Final Essay

Format:

MLA formatted essay, 6-8 pages

Due:

Submit in the Canvas Assignments tool by midnight, Wednesday 12/8

Instructions:

For the final paper, you will write a researched analysis of one or more primary literary texts we've studied this term (Weeks 1-10). Your analysis should include appropriate historical/cultural context (supported by at least 4 credible secondary sources) and a review of criticism related to your topic (at least 4 relevant peer-reviewed, scholarly articles). Your topic should be related to literary tradition in some way, whether using genre analysis as a method, considering some form of adaptation of a work, or putting multiple primary texts into conversation. You will develop your topic, locate sources, and develop your thesis during in-class workshops during weeks 12-13.

Evaluation Criteria:

In your paper, you should: