English 313,
Gruner
Paper #1, due
Friday, February 9
Write a
brilliant, coherent, well-organized essay in which you explicate a passage from
one of our texts. Focus first on an analysis of the style and structure of the
passage, RESISTing the temptation to summarize or "translate" the
passage; focus instead on the specific stylistic elements (figurative language,
voice, tone, diction, prosody, etc.) displayed in the text, and USE this
information to support an argument about the meaning of the passage. Then
explore the relationship between the passage and the work from which it is
taken.
You may use
any 10-20 line passage of poetry that we have read so far, though I prefer
essays on passages we have not discussed exhaustively in class.
Your primary
goal throughout is to develop an argument about the passage in question; this
requires the selection and organization of details, and may mean emphasizing
certain details at the expense of others.
Your paper
should be 2-3 typed, double-spaced pages long, and should have a
clearly-defined thesis. Please
remember to pledge your work.