2 pages essay on Literature

Reading Response 1, due on Thursday, Jan 30

Please write a comparison of any two out of the three men you read about in Plutarch’s Lives (Lycurgus, Alexander, and Caesar). If you wish, you may model your response on Plutarch’s comparisons included in his work (e.g. between Lycurgus and Numa). Option 1: Your standard for the comparison is ethics. Who is the more ethical of the two men? On what definition of ethics do you base your evaluation? Based on Plutarch’s judgments about each man, is his definition of ethics the same as yours? If it isn’t, how does his definition, insofar as we can glean it from the texts, differ from yours? Option 2: Write your comparison from the perspective of an assumed persona. For instance, you could write as Plutarch, or as one of the men you are comparing (Lycurgus, Alexander, or Caesar), or as another insider (a person who played a part in the men’s lives), or an outside observer who you feel might offer a unique perspective on the two men. What, for instance, might Lycurgus have thought about how Alexander and Caesar compare had he known of them? Or what might one of Caesar’s wives, Calpurnia, have thought about how her husband compares to Alexander? Or what might Cicero have said about Caesar if he had a chance? And so on. Choosing a persona has the advantage of showing me how you understood not only the men you are writing about but also the person you are impersonating.

If you choose this option, think also about the most appropriate genre for the piece. Would a letter be a good choice (if so, addressed to whom, and why)? Or a journal entry? A news report? A poem in prose? Feel free to write your response in whatever genre and style seems best for your purpose. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To get started on some ways to critically engage with a literary text, please read Chapter 15, “‘On Closer Examination’: Entering Conversations about Literature” in Graff, They Say, I Say, pp. 187-204. This text should help you to complete not only this assignment but all subsequent writing assignments as well. Every reading response you are writing in this class, including the first one, must:

1. be minimum two full double-spaced pages in length, with one-inch margins on each page, and written in 12-pt Times New Roman or another font of similar size;

2. contain a very brief introduction (avoid summary, description, and vague or redundant generalizations—instead, state your argument), body, and a brief conclusion. This structure, however, may not be suitable for all genres, so please adapt yours accordingly;

3. be “spartan” in style: May it never be your way to waste words or to say anything which does not somehow contain a thought that repays further reflection! (Plutarch, “Life of Lycurgus”)

Please print your response and submit a hard copy in class on the due date. If, for a legitimate reason, you cannot bring a hard copy, upload your response in MS Word or PDF format to GD/“RR 1, due on Jan 30” any time before class on Thursday, Jan 30.