Read:
Overview of Medieval History and Culture
Click the link for a quick review of some essential information from
Norton publishing about ancient history and culture that is relevant for understanding
our readings this unit and last.
http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/nawest/content/overview/middle.htm
Characteristics of Medieval Literature
Click the link to a
whiteboard video providing a summary of characteristics of medieval literature.
http://www.regent.edu/admin/media/fms/vod/bcovePlayerURL.cfm?address=8000874
In Between the Lines – Chapters 1 and 2
Assignment:
Write a 750-1250 word
essay doing a literary analysis explaining the significance of a single
passage, scene, or episode in relation to the whole of one of the works of
literature (or excerpts) from the course. Talk about the whole work, but focus
on the one passage, scene, or episode to get at that.
To be clear:
1.
You
are not looking for a “lesson” to learn from this story. Some of
these literary works provide easy ways to try to give an essay sermon to the
reader, but that is not our purpose. Here, we only want to look at the story
itself. If you start writing about anything not directly related to the story,
then you are getting off topic.
2.
You
are not trying to agree, disagree, applaud, condemn, or make any value
judgments on the text.
3.
You
simply need to pick one scene or passage from your chosen work. Then you need
to explain how that one scene or passage impacts the whole work. Why is it
important to the story? You might even consider how the story would be
different if that scene was missing.
You should refer to the
story and cite the text. You should write your paper in MLA format.
If you do not
understand the above, then please reach out to me, so that I can clarify the
assignment for you.
Please do not depend on
outside resources except the Bible if you choose to use it. This should be your own close reading of the
work of literature.
Explanation:
One of the foundational
skills in reading literature is reading a text closely and drawing meaning from
that reading. For this reason, this
essay will allow you to engage deeply with a particular text. A close reading of a text “unfolds”
the text, explains in detail how the work communicates to the reader. Such a
reading will require you to understand all aspects of the work and to have a
grasp of the meaning of individual parts of the work in relation to the entire
work. You are not, however, striving to be exhaustive in your
“explanation,” but rather you should strive to be selective in
considering only those details that are significant to your own thematic understanding
of the piece of literature.
Last Completed Projects
| topic title | academic level | Writer | delivered |
|---|