World literature
Writing #7 – Free Choice Paper (including 2 parenthetical citations per page and one source on the Works Cited page at the end of the paper)–
Write a 1 to 2 pages OR 20 to 40 sentences minimum essay that discusses John Donne and/or John Milton’s writings (SEE MY LINKS BELOW). You may
comment on any of the information presented in lecture or reading notes in this lesson about Donne and/or Milton. The essay can also be a
literary analysis, a literary criticism, an interpretation, a comparison/contrast, an argumentation, or a synthesis of some of these types of
writing, as you did for the paper in lesson #6. Refer to lessons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 for instructions on how to write each of these genres of
expository writing.
*****The purpose of this class is to not only show off your knowledge of early modern English literature in your weekly writings BUT ALSO to
improve your writing throughout the course. If your writing is not improving, your essay grade will drop in each module. Therefore, it is
possible to receive a “D” or an “F” in this course if you are not improving your writing skills and knowledge of early modern English lit as you
progress through each module. This is one of your goals in this course. If you have errors in the essay for module 1, you need to correct
those mistakes from the module 1 essay when you write your module 2 essay and so on.
* Your name must appear on all of your assignments for this class to receive credit.
* You must cite from the textbook or from the website provided in this course; these are your only choices.
Essays must be written in correct essay form to receive credit. You were taught correct essay form in ENGL 50 and 1A. If you do not understand
how to create an essay in correct form, ask for help.
Essay will be graded using the following rubric:
Title page
Web or outline
Genre or type of essay
Length
In-text citations from Donne or Milton reading from textbook or online source provided in this course (required complete and correct for a grade
of “C” or above)
Works Cited from Donne or Milton reading from textbook or online source provided in this course (required complete and correct for a grade of
“C” or above)
Figures of speech
Voice (formal tone of voice unless you are writing a critique)
LINKS OF WORKS IN CLASS
Reading #7— readings for this module are a variety of literary forms from the 17th- and 18th- centuries:
John Milton’s Paradise Lost (read at least one book – I suggest Book 1 or Book 5) —
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~milton/reading_room/pl/book_1/text.shtml (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Also read 4 of John Donne’s poems:
“The Bait,” “Air and Angels” (perfect example of “metaphysical poetry”), “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” “The Ecstasy,” “Elegy 19: To His
Mistress Going to Bed” (perfect example of carpe diem poetry), “Sonnet 14: Batter my Heart, Three-Personed God,” “Good Friday, 1613. Riding
Westward,” and “A Hymn to God the Father” — all at this website:
http://www.luminarium.org/sevenlit/donne/donnebib.htm (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
John Donne’s Sonnet 10 “Death be not proud” –
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so,
For those whom thou think’st thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and soul’s delivery.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.
NOTES ON STYLES OF WRITINGS TO CHOOSE FROM
A literary analysis of a piece of writing dissects the writing to show the assets of the composition. The purpose of the literary analysis is
to show off how the writer uses composition tools to create a masterpiece of writing style. Of course, these are the sorts of things that
should appear in all of the essays you write for this course as well. Writing #1 asks you to analyze someone else’s writing. It does not ask
you to interpret, or give the meaning of the writing, nor does it ask you to criticize the writing, or tell whether the writing is well done or
poorly crafted. An analysis simply looks at the writer’s style and how the writer uses language and organization and sentence structure to
create a successful composition.
This essay must be written in 3rd-person voice (they, them, their, his, himself, her, herself, them, themselves, person, people). You may not
use 1st person (see writing #1 for details) and you may not use 2nd person voice (you, your, yourself, yourselves) in this essay. The essay
must use deductive organization: an introduction paragraph, a body of several paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph.
– Critical Interpretation – Write a 1 to 2 pages OR 20 to 40 sentences minimum essay that interprets The Faerie Queene from your perspective,
your interpretation of the text or part of the text. An interpretation of a text discusses an underlying theme in the literary work that the
author is trying to address, the author’s message, what the author hoped the reader will learn from the author’s writing, subtext, symbolism (of
objects, colors, people), what isn’t said, what is implied or inferred, the moral meaning, and/or what you think it means. Do you think that
Gloriana is Spenser’s way of glorifying Elizabeth I? What religious symbolism can you find in the poem? What glorification of the male world
do you find in the poem? Choose just one topic for your interpretation of the poem or a passage in the poem, not all of the interpretations
listed above.
The paper should be broken into an introduction, body and conclusion. State your theory/interpretation of the poem in the introduction, state
your proof in the body of the paper, and close the paper with figurative language and an explanation: Use anaphora (3 consecutive
sentences/they all start the same and all end differently as in “My sister is annoying. My sister is eccentric. My sister is erudite”) or simile
(an unusual comparison using “like” or “as” as in “My sister eats like a pig”) or a metaphor (an unusual comparison of 2 nouns or 2 noun phrases
using a form of “be”/a “be” verb as in “My sister is a pig”) and then explain how the figurative language sums up your interpretation of the
poem. The figure of speech used in your essay MUST be bolded OR highlighted OR underlined. Perhaps end your essay with a poem that you wrote
that explains Spenser’s poem instead of using figurative language.
A comparison/contrast essay looks for similarities or differences or both. The purpose of this essay is to inform and explain, to shed light on
how disguises are manifested in the 2 works you have chosen to compare.
This essay must be written in 3rd-person voice (they, them, their, his, himself, her, herself, them, themselves, person, people). You may not
use 1st person (me, my, I, myself, mine, we, us, our, ourselves) and you may not use 2nd person voice (you, your, yourself, yourselves) in this
essay. The essay must use deductive organization: an introduction paragraph, a body of several paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. The
thesis is stated in the intro paragraph and re-stated in different words in the concluding paragraph.
Introduction paragraph: Names the subjects to be compared or contrasted, indicates whether the emphasis is on similarity, difference, or both,
state main point of the reason for the comparison/contrast essay, and focuses or limits the thesis and examples to be given. It is sometimes
fun to play with figurative language, so in for this essay, you must use 2 figures of speech and they must be highlighted, bolded, italicized,
or in ALL CAPS. Try starting your essay with a metaphor (a comparison between unlike things using a “be” verb like “Guns are a volcano” or “My
mother is a warm blanket) about the works of literature you are comparing OR try starting your essay with anaphora (3 consecutive sentences; the
sentences all start the same but end differently, like Guns are dangerous. Guns are frightening. Guns are deleterious). After you state your
sentences of figurative language, then place sentences are the figurative language explaining its relevance to your essay,
bridging/transitioning between the figurative language and the other material in your essay. Using figurative language is your essay writing
brings it to life, makes your writing more vibrant and unique.
Body of the paper: comparison/contrast is organized either evaluating one work of literature at a time or alternating from one aspect of the
first work of literature to the same aspect of the second work of literature and so on.
Concluding paragraph: gives the reader a new insight about the 2 works of literature compared for the reader to ponder. If you placed anaphora
at the beginning of your essay, try placing a metaphor in the conclusion of your essay. Play around with assonance, simile, alliteration or
other types of figures of speech if metaphor and anaphora are not your favorites. Your 2 figures of speech must be different types.
Argumentation/Persuasion/Position Paper (including citations or footnotes and a list of sources used at the end of the essay)– Write a 1 to 2
pages OR 20 to 40 sentences minimum essay that defends a theme or idea from one or more of the poems we have read this week. You are welcome to
relate the theme and the poem(s) from this week to other interconnected themes from other works we have read during this class (if you would
like to). Here are some thematic threads to consider:
THEMATIC CONNECTIONS IN LITERATURE WE HAVE READ SO FAR
Virtue and Vice, morality, indiscretions, Women’s issues, Religious issues, Ideal courtier in 16th century/Ideal knight in 15thcentury/Chivalry,
Ovidian and/or Petrarchan discourse, Power, sex, money, the pastoral ethic (rustic vs city life), choose something you would like to discuss
The emphasis in an argumentation/position or response paper is your response to one or more readings from this class that we have read and
discussed. You take a stance in your essay by defending a theme or issue or interpretation of one or more of the readings from this week
keeping in mind that you may discuss other works we have read this semester that fit the theme as well. You must narrow your thesis to one line
or one theme/emotional attitude or one issue in one or two of the texts we have read. The emphasis is on the primary text, not on secondary
texts/research materials nor on materials from outside this class. Therefore, this paper is a close read of the literature we are reading.
OTHER READINGS IN THE CLASS you can use if you like.
Julian or Norwich
http://d.lib.rochester.edu/teams/text/the-shewings-of-julian-of-norwich-part-1
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=videos+on+julian+of+norwich&qpvt=videos+on+julian+of
+norwich&view=detail&mid=49721F17EBCC3A78949349721F17EBCC3A789493&FORM=VRDGAR
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=videos+on+julian+of+norwich&qpvt=videos+on+julian+of
+norwich&view=detail&mid=0DF29203D30C65F38CF10DF29203D30C65F38CF1&FORM=VRDGAR
Excerpts from The Book of Margery Kempe –
http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/kempe1.htm
http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/kempe2.htm
http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/kempe3.htm
http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/kempe4.htm
http://www.ccel.org/g/gardner/cell/cell16.htm
Edmund Spencer
http://www.luminarium.org/renascence-editions/queene1.html#Canto%20I
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=edmund+spenser&&view=detail&mid=7F9C08056E3433F52E787F9C08056E3433F52E78&FORM=VRDGAR
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=videos+on+edmund+spenser&qpvt=videos+on+edmund
+spenser&view=detail&mid=53E95E81533884EAB92F53E95E81533884EAB92F&FORM=VRDGAR
