Assignment

For this research assignment you will need to search the Internet and identify ten web sites where information about any of the writers or works we have studied in this course can be accessed (The writers include: Shakespeare, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Geoffrey Chaucer). For each site you should identify as fully and completely as possible what others can expect to find there; be specific and let others know if this site is a, scholarly, valuable research spot or just so much fluff.  In your summary of the value of the site, you must use a minimum of 100 words and a maximum of 200 words per site; if you do not use at least 100 words per site you will not receive full credit.

To cite websites or online databases you should include the following in this order:

• Title of the project, website, or database (underlined or in italics)
• Name of the author or editor (if given)
• Electronic publication information, including version number (if relevant and if not part of the tile), date of electronic publication or of the latest update, and name of sponsoring institution or organization.
• Date of access and network address (Available at)

Other information may be required such as the title of the article (in quotations) or the journal, newsletter, or conference (underlined or in italics); name of the computer service (America On Line, Prodigy, etc.); the volume number, issue number, or other identifying number; year or date of publication (in parentheses); and number of pages or paragraphs (if given) or n. pag. (no pagination). After this information, write the 100 to 200 words paragraph describing what is available at the site. 

Samples:

Shakespeare's Life and Time Home Page.  Michael Best. University of Victoria.  Nov. 10, 2001. Available athttp://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLT/history/henryv.html

This web site offered valuable information on the actual history accounts of Henry V and insight it may have given Shakespeare for his play.It gave some very interesting information on Falstaff, a character who appears in other scenes in Shakespeare's History plays. This character came from a man in real history named "John Oldcastle” and apparently had his name changed in the play because a descendant of John Oldcastle was insulted by the character in Shakespeare's plays. This page was very well laid out and easy to navigate.It was extremely useful in the fact that understanding what information Shakespeare used as he wrote the back round settings for the play is able to help us understand the plot and sequence of events to a greater extent

Geoffrey Chaucer Website at Harvard University-Author(s) unknown. Online-Internet. Harvard University 2004.Available at http://sites.fas.harvard.edu/~chaucer/index.html

This is a wonderful "one stop shop” resource for all this related to Geoffrey Chaucer including his life and his works. Additionally it has links to translations of his works, Middle English resources, and resources to help you understand medieval science, pilgrimages, life & manners of Chaucer's time period and courtly love. The web site does not go into great depth with some of its fields such as Chaucer's biography and medieval science but the links to his published works contain a wealth of information including summaries and analysis. One of the best links on the web page is the "Teach Yourself to Read Chaucer's Middle English” which is a great resource for those like myself that have a very difficult time reading and comprehending the language of this time period.

Nathaniel Hawthorne at Edritch Press by various authors. Online. Internet. Available at:http://www.eldritchpress.org/nh/hawthorne.html

This website itself doesn't contain any direct information, analysis or insight into Hawthorne. It provides links to web sites that have detailed information not only on Hawthorne but those who knew him (such as his wife or friends such as Thoreau) and access to the early critics of Hawthorn going back to the early 1800's). One link I thought was insightful was The Personal Recollections of Nathanial Hawthorne by Horatio Bridge in which a passage recalling Hawthorne's description as "Hawthorne, with rare strength of character, had yet a gentleness and an unselfishness which endeared him greatly to his friends. He was a gentleman in the best sense of the word, and he was always manly, cool, self-poised, and brave. He was neither morose nor sentimental; and, though taciturn, was invariably cheerful with his chosen friends; and there was much.