Overview: Academic writing values the ability to read complex texts with an eye for their
nuances and to express such complexity in lucid prose. To this end, we will spend much of our
class time this term practicing such close reading on the meaning-rich texts that literary works
provide. Writing-focused university classes commonly require the writing of interpretive essays
as a means to measure students’ ability to engage in such critical reading and to communicate its
results clearly. Here, you are asked to demonstrate such proficiency in response to the first text
we will read together, William Shakespeare’s King Lear.
Purpose: The task of this paper is to demonstrate your abilities as an attentive reader capable of:
1) understanding and responding to a prompt; 2) reading a complex literary text with care; 3)
fashioning a clear interpretive claim, or thesis, about that text; and 4) defending that claim by
way of logical argument and the effective use of textual evidence. You are to respond to one of
the following prompts, each of which identifies a complexity or contradiction in King Lear that
you are asked to resolve. Each poses a question. You are to present a clear answer (your thesis)
to that question and organize your paper around explaining the contradiction and supporting your
resolution of it, using the text itself to back up your claims.
Write a short, four-page ( double-spaced) essay on one of the following topics. Your
paper must include a list of References; both this and your quoting of texts must conform to APA
guidelines. Spelling and grammar always count, so proofread your work.
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