Essay 1: A First Attempt at Literary Criticism
Assignment: For this assignment you will be writing about an important idea or theme found in a short story or poem of your choosing. You may focus on the content of a single work or compare ideas in two works. One of these texts, however, must be something that we have read as a class up to W 3/20/2013. This means, then, that you may also use a text outside of the course reading and content if you like.
You will trace this idea or theme's development through the author’s use of characterization, setting, and symbolism within the story (or other fictional elements) if you are writing about fiction, or you will be required to focus on the elements of poetry that we discussed in class.
NOTE: When relating events in the story use activ, present tense verbs such as, "Kenan develops the major characters in the story..." Notice the use of the active verb "develops." This is also known as “the literary present tense.” You should also note that sometimes a narrator can be directly involved in a story. Sometimes the narrator is not named and is not directly involved in the story's development.
Questions for Discovering Ideas About Fiction:
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What ideas do you discover in the story? How do you discover them (through action, character depiction, scenes, language/dialogue?)
What ideas do you discover in the story? How do you discover them (through action, character depiction, scenes, language/dialogue?)•To what do the ideas pertain? To the individuals themselves? To individuals and society? To religion? To social, political, or economic justice?
To what do the ideas pertain? To the individuals themselves? To individuals and society? To religion? To social, political, or economic justice?How are these ideas revealed in the mood and setting of the story or through the use of symbols?
•Are the ideas limited to members of any groups represented by the characters (age, race, nationality, or personal status)? Or are the ideas applicable to general conditions of life? Explain.
Are the ideas limited to members of any groups represented by the characters (age, race, nationality, or personal status)? Or are the ideas applicable to general conditions of life? Explain.•Which characters in their own right represent or embody ideas? How do their actions and speeches bring these ideas out?
Which characters in their own right represent or embody ideas? How do their actions and speeches bring these ideas out?•What ideas seem particularly important in the work? Why? Is it asserted directly, indirectly, dramatically, ironically? Does any one method predominate? Why?
What ideas seem particularly important in the work? Why? Is it asserted directly, indirectly, dramatically, ironically? Does any one method predominate? Why?•How pervasive in the work is the idea (throughout or intermittent)? To what degree is it associated with a major character or action? How does the structure of the work (formation of plot) affect or shape your understanding of the idea?
How pervasive in the work is the idea (throughout or intermittent)? To what degree is it associated with a major character or action? How does the structure of the work (formation of plot) affect or shape your understanding of the idea?•What value or values are embodied in the story? Of what importance are the values to the work’s meaning?
What value or values are embodied in the story? Of what importance are the values to the work’s meaning?•What connections do you see between the ideas found in the work of Torres and Keenan? How do the ideas of these authors provide a new perspective of each of the works? Aid you in seeing this story in varying ways?
What connections do you see between the ideas found in the work of Torres and Keenan? How do the ideas of these authors provide a new perspective of each of the works? Aid you in seeing this story in varying ways?Questions for discovering ideas about a poem:
USE THESE TO ESTABLISH A CONTEXT FOR YOUR READER REGARDING A POEM:
•Who is speaking? Where is the speaker when the poem is happening? Who is being spoken to?
•What is the situation? What has happened in the past, or what is happening in the present, that has brought about the speech? In other words, why is the speaker delivering this speech now? What is the occasion for the speech?
•Is the poem a personal statement, does it tell a story, or does it do both?
Use these questions to help you develop the content of the body of your essay when writing about a poem:
•What does the title contribute to the reader’s understanding?
•How does the poet use stylistic techniques such as assonance, alliteration, and onomatopoeia to create an emphasis on specific words? How does an explanation assist in the understanding of the poem?
•How does the poet use similie and metaphor to create words that have symbolic, underlying meanings in the poem? How does an explanation assist in the understanding of the poem?
•How is the poem structured? Is it one long stanza? multiple stanzas? How do the ideas in the multiple stanzas progress? Does the enjambment of the poem's lines create further meaning in the poem? How does an explanation assist in the understanding of the poem?
•How does the poet's use of punctuation affect the poem's tone? How does an explanation assist in the understanding of the poem?
•What is the main idea of the poem? What details make possible the formulation of the main idea? (You will use the "main idea" to develop your claim in regard to theme; this will be be placed in your essay's intro. The restatement of your claim will be placed in the conclusion of your esssay).
Purpose
In this type of paper a writer is forming an academic argument. As the writer you are arguing that your interpretation of the text is a valid - not the only interpretation - in an attempt to aid the reader in “seeing” the text in a new light or from a different perspective that perhaps may be different from their own.
Audience
Your audience is made up of academics, scholars, literary critics, professors, and students (who are academics, scholars, and literary critics). You should assume that they have read the text and are familiar with its contents. Because of this you would never merely retell the story because your audience is already familiar with it. This would also conflict with the purpose of this type of paper. You are to discuss underlying meaning, not retell the events of the story.
Because your audience is a scholarly one, your paper must be presented in a formal manner. You should use high diction and avoid first person, personal pronouns, and contractions.
Format
•Your essay should have a title. It should also be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins all around, Times New Roman Font, & 12 pt. Your essay should be a minimum of 4 FULL pages and no more than 6 FULL pages. You must include a Works Cited Page in proper MLA style, including in-text citations. Generally, an in-text citation looks like this -- (Kenan 99). Notice that the end punctuation, that is the period, generally goes after the end parenthesis. The number five indicates on what page the material is taken.
Your essay should have a title. It should also be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins all around, Times New Roman Font, & 12 pt. Your essay should be a minimum of 4 FULL pages and no more than 6 FULL pages. You must include a Works Cited Page in proper MLA style, including in-text citations. Generally, an in-text citation looks like this -- (Kenan 99). Notice that the end punctuation, that is the period, generally goes after the end parenthesis. The number five indicates on what page the material is taken.See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html for Modern Language Association variations on this style.
Please keep the following methods and techniques in mind when composing your essay:
•refer to the events of the story or poem using the present tense only
refer to the events of the story or poem using the present tense only•Discovering and focusing on a single clearly defined interpretation. Your thesis statement should not be a statement of fact, essentially your goal is to explain, evaluate, and argue your individual point of view/interpretation.
Discovering and focusing on a single clearly defined interpretation. Your thesis statement should not be a statement of fact, essentially your goal is to explain, evaluate, and argue your individual point of view/interpretation.• Your interpretation must be supported with evidence from the text(s) (quotes from the story and/or poem). For example, when writing about fiction, you must show which specific characters, events, conflicts, images, or themes prompted your response. Do not merely retell the major events of the story—your readers have already read it. Assume that your readers have read your poem(s) as well.
• You must EXPLAIN how your evidence illustrates the point/assertion that you are arguing.
• Be sure that each assertion that you make is clearly connected to your overall claim (what you have identified as the most significant idea/theme in the text).
• Remember that literary criticism is formal academic writing. The first person, personal pronouns, and contractions should be avoided.
Organization
To better understand structure/organization, click here.
Your grade for this assignment will be determined as follows:
Total Possible Points: 60/
Final Draft, evaluated on the following criteria:
Focus (15 points): Does essay have a clear purpose? Overall claim stated? Focus on a single idea or aspect of the literature?
Development (15 points): Does writer support interpretation with evidence from text? Avoid giving a plot summary? Does writer explain for the reader how the evidence supports interpretation? Does the writer include theoretical cultural concepts of other writers to illuminate some of the cultural devices found in the work and its overall theme? Does writer quote accurately from the source, including citing specific page numbers?
Organization (15 points): Do first few sentences arouse the reader’s interest and focus their attention on the subject? Are readers expectations set and clearly met? Do paragraphs have clear focus, unity and coherence? Effective transitions?
Style (5 points): Is language clear direct and readable? Are sentences clear, concise, and easily read by intended audience? Is word choice appropriate for audience? Do sentences reveal and sustain appropriate voice and tone? Does writer use the literary present tense to describe events in the story?
Mechanics (5 points): Are there obvious errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar? Are there patterns of error?
Peer Critique (5 points)
NO 1ST DRAFT ON DUE DATE (-5 POINTS)
NO REFLECTION (-5 POINTS)
NO PROCESS=NO GRADE
Grading scale:
A 54-60
B 48-53
C 42-47
D 36-41
F 0-35
