Again for this paper I'd like you to analyze some aspect of two works we've discussed in class, by two different authors. Remember that comparison/contrast is a technique, not an argument in itself; find a reason to put the two works together, and use the points of comparison and contrast to build your case.
The authors available for this paper are:
And the subjects may include, again, the purpose of poetry (or, more generally, art); the role of the artist--especially, perhaps, in time of crisis?; the relationship between gender and art; challenges to religious faith and poetic/artistic responses. New topics may include comparison/contrast of literary techniques--formal, metrical poetry vs. freer verse forms, for example (be very careful to develop a thesis about the meanings of these forms!); the artist's relationship with the past (literary forbears, political precursors, the weight of tradition; history); or perhaps the challenges of "English" in a post-imperial age.
Again, please e-mail me with topics and tentative thesis statements by Monday, Nov. 19; I'll try to respond before Thanksgiving break.