Assignments

Quizzes

There will be ten, brief, ten-item unannounced quizzes. They will consist of short answer and identification questions. They will cover the reading for that day (Shakespeare and other readings) and any terms and concepts discussed in previous classes. The quizzes will be handed out at the beginning of class and collected after fifteen minutes. Quizzes may not be made up.

Paper 1 Soliloquy Transcription and Paraphrase

In this paper, you will take one soliloquy or speech of at least twenty lines from one of the plays we have read.  First, you will create an accurate transcription of the speech.  You will then circle and define, using the Oxford English Dictionary (OED), any words with which you are not familiar.  If your text already glosses these words, you are expected to cross check that definition with the OED.  Next, you are to identify and briefly explain any literary elements (similes, metaphors, allusions, images, or symbols) that appear in the speech.  Third, using your own words, you will write a paraphrase of the speech.  This paraphrase must convey the full meaning of the original, but you cannot use any words or phrases that appear in the original.  Your paraphrase will most likely be much longer than the original. 

            This assignment is designed to demonstrate your ability to use the OED, to read and understand Shakespeare’s language, and to practice your skills in paraphrasing.

            Be sure to follow the rules of format as described above.  This course regards writing as a process.  The process of writing this paper will include a complete first draft, a side shadow, and a peer review.  Failure to complete one of these elements will result in the loss of ten points from your final score, up to a total of thirty.  On the day the final version of this paper is due, you will turn in the peer review sheet, the side-shadowed version, and the final version.

Paper 2 Character Analysis

This paper is a straightforward literary analysis.  Shakespeare’s plays frequently contain two (or more) characters that seem to have either similar or contrasting motives, goals, or beliefs.  In this paper you will identify two such characters, compare and contrast them in order to reveal something about their natures that may not be readily apparent.  The paper must have a clear thesis statement.  This thesis will be what you and your reader learn about a given character based on your analysis.  The paper should be three to four pages long and follow the format rules described above.  The paper should be entirely your own effort; you are to use no outside sources beyond your text and the OED. 

            This paper is designed to demonstrate your understanding of dramatic character, your ability to establish and support a thesis, your ability to accurately and properly use quotations from Shakespeare, and your ability to use the OED.

            As with Paper 1, the process of this paper will include an outline, a complete first draft, a side shadow, and a peer review.  Failure to complete one of these elements will result in the loss of ten points from your final score, up to a total of thirty.  On the day the final version of this paper is due, you will turn in the outline, the peer review sheet, the side-shadowed (first) version, and the final version.

Paper 3 Review

For this paper, you will write a three to four page review of the film of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.  Rather than an informative review such as found in a newspaper or magazine, this will be a formal review that presents an analysis of the interpretation of the play that the film presents.  This analysis will be your thesis statement for the review.  In order to evaluate the film’s interpretation of the play, you must first be able to identify it.  You must be able to state what the film seems to say is important about the play.  What does the film emphasize?  What does the film add?  What does the film leave out?  How does the film resolve the moments of ambiguity within the play?

In addition to establishing and supporting a thesis, the review should communicate basic information about the film, such as the release date, the director, the lead actors, and anything else that your reader needs to know to understand your review. 

            You must also locate and use (via direct quotation, summary, or paraphrase) at least three reviews of the film.  These reviews must be of the film’s initial release, not the DVD release.  They must be from a major American or British newspaper or magazine and cited in a bibliography in MLA format.

            This assignment is designed to demonstrate your ability to interpret a filmed performance of a Shakespeare play, to establish and support a thesis, to locate and incorporate useful resources, as well as those analytical skills described in papers one and two.

As with previous papers, this paper should follow all the usual rules of format.  The process of this paper will include an outline, a first draft, a side shadow, and a peer review.  Failure to complete one of these elements will result in the loss of ten points from your final score, up to a total of thirty.  On the day the final version of this paper is due, you will turn in the outline, the peer review sheet, the side-shadowed version, and the final version.

Paper 4 Argumentative Essay

In this paper, you will research one of several questions about Shakespeare that come up again and again.  The paper must provide a description of the question, a review of answers that others have proposed, and your own answer to the question.  You will need to research the question and use at least five sources, no more than two of which may be on-line.  The paper must use paraphrase, summary, and direct quotation to make use of your research.  The paper must have a bibliography in MLA format.  These questions have been posed and posed again for decades, if not centuries.  You are not expected to provide a conclusive answer.  Your paper should provide a knowledgeable, thoughtful, researched answer.

            Possible questions:

Who is the most reasonable candidate, aside from Shakespeare, for the author of Shakespeare’s plays?

What did Shakespeare do during the “lost years?”

Are Shakespeare’s sonnets autobiographical?

Is Taming of the Shrew a misogynist play?

            As usual, this paper should follow all the usual rules of format.  The process of this paper will include an outline, a side shadow, and a peer review.  Failure to complete one of these elements will result in the loss of ten points from your final score, up to a total of thirty.  On the day the final version of this paper is due, you will turn in the first version (Paper 1), the outline, the peer review sheet, the side-shadowed version, and the final version.