Explanation
This week, you will begin work in service of your midterm paper. Think of this work as a prewriting exercise that will help focus the scope of your project. For this assignment, you will answer a series of questions that will require you to narrow your attention on a single work, and on one or two passages within that work. These questions will also help you think about your own predispositions (what we may call a filter, screen, or lens) that incline you to read in a certain way.
For instance, Laura, in her presentation on Hamlet, focused her reading through the lens of performance and the difference between reality and representation. Phillip focused his reading through the lens of the gyre and the relation between unity and chaos. Susan, who talked about sonnets, focused her reading through the lens of gender difference; Lauren through the lens of the tragic hero; and Brittney through the lens of individual will versus preordained fate.
But, keep in mind that your lens is not synonymous with your close reading. They are two different operations. This week you will not be doing a close reading, but you will be preparing for it by identifying the text, the passage/s, your potential lens (you don’t have to be certain yet), and your potential argument (also, at this point, an uncertainty, but give it your best guess).
Method
Answer the following questions as an essay, organized into paragraphs as you see fit:
- What text do you pan to write about and why? What drew you to the text? Be specific in your explanation of why. I will assume that you find the text interesting or provocative, but go further, and tell me why it’s worth your attention. Talk about the features of the text you think are worth talking about, whether it be plot, character, the use of generic features, the formal qualities of the language, the strong visual imagery, the political and social content, etc. Each of you will have your own reasons, and these reasons could be anything, but they must be fully explained and clearly articulated.
- What passage within the text are you going to focus on and why? What was it about the passage that drew your attention? Again, explain in detail using the technical language we’ve developed over the semester. If you need help explaining, use your Bedford glossary, or any of the other resources I’ve made available on the website. This is not a close reading, just a general discussion. No need to talk about specific rhetorical effects unless you want to.
- What is your lens (see above) and how is it related to the passage/s you’ve chosen to focus on? This is really the second part of the question above, and you can answer them together. By answering this question in relation to which passage you’ve chosen, you will better understand the nature of your argument.
- Finally, what is your (preliminary) argument about the text, based on the passage you’ve chosen? This is a tricky one and, at this point in the writing process, it puts the cart before the horse since you haven’t even done your close reading yet. However, it is an important step in conceptualizing the kind of argument you hope to make. Before we make our final arguments, we always create preliminary arguments that we know will evolve as our reading of the text becomes more advanced.
- Answer the above four questions as an essay organized into coherent paragraphs. The way you decide to organize your essay is up to you.
- Your essay should be no less than 550 words.
- EMAIL ME YOUR WRITTEN ARGUMENT IN .DOC OR .RTF FORMAT
- All assignments must be emailed to me by Wednesday, 6 pm. All late posts will automatically receive half credit. If the post is not emailed to me by Friday, 6 pm, it will receive no credit.
