Pastiche & Defense Essay
alfkhomis
pastiche__defense_essay_instructions.docxPastiche & Defense Essay
Pastiche & Defense: In a nutshell, a "pastiche" is a stylistic imitation of another text. You will, therefore, choose a passage or a definable structure in one of the works we are reading, (it must be in our textbook (look at last page for the work covered in this class) -- don't use the sample I use below) and write your own fragmentary or miniature version. This need not be longer than a page or two. Also, notice that in a sense you will "copy" the original, but since you are changing content and overall form, it is not at all "plagiarism." You will have broad creative latitude in the design and direction of your pastiche.
A draft of the PD will not be necessary for a grade, as with the Bibliographic Essay. However, I will provide samples, and you can email me your draft for review.
I will not directly grade the Pastiche (imitation) itself (though it must be "sincerely attempted"). Instead, I will grade the accompanying Defense: a description of the process you followed, and of the outcome. Use these bullet points in developing your Defense (perhaps one paragraph per bullet point):
* A detailed explanation of your choice for the primary text you have imitated
* A definition of the particular elements you tried to imitate
* A description of the creative process you followed
* An account of the challenges you encountered, and how you dealt with them
* Your own opinion of the resulting imitation
* A summary of the resulting insights regarding the primary work, and creative effort in general
Put a page break (ctrl + Enter in MS Word) after your pastiche, then start the Defense on a new page. Put both in the same file. The Defense should be around 700 words, minimum.
Take a look at the sample Pastiche & Defense assignments I have provided. Most students should enjoy this assignment, and find it relatively essay; the ones who don’t get an A are those, generally, who don’t bother to write a sufficiently detailed Defense using the above bullet points. Give me more than the minimum, not less.
Name the file lastname_firstname_2.rtf.
Essentially, this is an exercise in analysis, but from a different angle. You need to identify specific formal and thematic characteristics of a text. But then, you will attempt to transfer a few of them to a text of your own creation.
Take a look at how Virgil "copies" from Homer, for starters. Also look at the lyric poems by Marlowe and Raleigh on pages 2046 - 47.
Then, look at a poem like "Those Winter Sundays" by Robert Hayden. Among many other characteristics, it presents a male speaker who tells of a father, somewhat strict and disciplined, with whom the speaker, now probably an adult and the father perhaps dead, had a troubled, uncommunicative relationship. You can create a poem that will also remember back to a recurring, that is, a habitual, experience with your father or mother, or a grandparent, or some other authority figure (you can vary the basic elements); you will perhaps try as well to capture the split consciousness: the earlier lack of appreciation, the present tone of regret; and you might also carry over some of the other, more formal devices: the use of sounds to capture some psychological aspect of the person or situation (notice the "k" sounds in the Hayden poem), or the concluding question ("What did I know, what did I know?") that also includes some key word of double significance ("office," that is partly religious and partly about the disciplined, dutiful matters the son remembers of his father. Everything else in your poem will be your own, although you might perhaps borrow elements from yet another poem or story.
But there is a great deal of flexibility (that is, creativity and responsibility) in the way you choose what elements to imitate. You could imitate, or even copy verbatim, a crucial (or concluding, or initiating) line or two from a text, but change almost everything else. From Hayden's poem, you might borrow only the memory of a recurring domestic experience, and perhaps the regretful (or other emotional) rhetorical question at the end. But your speaker might be the father, or the wife, or an outside observe -- that's up to you. We don't even need to see overt connections between your text and the primary, imitated text -- although I expect you to let me know in your defense what text you worked from. Many writers start by imitating a beloved (or a challenging, or infuriating) primary text, and end up with something no longer recognizable as a pastiche at all. All writers would most likely trace at least some aspects of their writing, and many of their works, to something they read and were struck by (positively as well as negatively).
If you work with a story, most likely your piece will be fragmentary, or at least a short-short story. You might focus on a passage demonstrated dialogue, character description, climactic confliction, interior monologue, setting of scene, or something else specific. But again, the choice is yours.
Grade Criteria: The grade will be based on how well your write, and on how fully and insightfully you present the description of your process in the Defense. You should submit the finished Pastiche and Defense as one file electronically via the "Assignments" tool on the Eagle Online web site. No late submissions will be accepted unless you communicate with me and receive approval. I recommend saving your work regularly as you work on the computer; print out a hard copy for yourself when you submit the project to me.
Work and Reading assignments below are from the class text listed below:
Textbook Used:
Lawall, Sarah et al. The Norton Anthology of Western Literature, Vol. 1. 8th ed. New York: Norton, 2006 (ISBN # 0-393-92572-2).
Week 1 (Monday, June 2 – Sunday, June 8)
Make a brief response to the Interview on the "Introductions.”
Homer, the Iliad pp. 107 – 205 (or, roughly: Book I; Books VI & VIII, excerpts; Book IX; Book XVI, excerpt; Book XVIII; Book XX: Book XXIV).
(1) For your posting (on the "Iliad" Forum) consider one or more of the following: (a) The most important conflict in the work. (b) The various relations in the poem: men/women, gods/mortals, Trojans/Greeks. What are the dominant characteristics? (c) Also, you might think about the dominant poetic patterns: repetitions, antitheses, and parallels. Finally, look at and respond to my lecture, and respond to each other's postings as well.
REMEMBER to write to or beyond the minimum required length for this and every subsequent Reading Response (see the Assignment Description above); also, REMEMBER not to plagiarize, and CITE any sources you happen to use. Week 2 (Monday, June 9 – Sunday, June 15)
(2) Post your Working Bibliography for the Bibliographic Essay on the "Bibliographic Essay Working Bibliography" Forum.
Homer, the Odyssey pp. 206– 217, 260 – 355, 403 – 442, 452 – 495 (Book I; Books V – XII; Books XVII, XVIII; Books XXI – XXIV).
For your (3) posting (on the "Odyssey" Forum), think about one or more of the following: (a) What kind of man is Odysseus? (b) How does the poet structure the poem (with geography, time, points of travel, magic, development of the hero's character, etc.)? (c) Study the use of similes. Week 3 (Monday, June 16 – Sunday, June 22)
Virgil, the Aeneid, pp. 930 – 1023 (Books I, II, IV; Books VI, Book VIII, XII, excerpts).
For your (4) posting, (on the "Aeneid" Forum) choose one of these three topics: (a) How does this epic differ from the Homeric poems we read selections from? Try to name at least three criteria. (b) How does Virgil's depiction of the underworld differ from Homer's (in the Odyssey)? (c) How does Dido compare to female characters in the Homeric epics (Penelope, Helen, Athena, etc.)? Week 4 (Monday, June 23 – Sunday, June 29)
Beowulf, pp. 1180 – 1247 (the entire work).
For your (5) posting (on the "Beowulf" Forum), please write on one of the following: (a) Compare the warrior culture we find in this poem to that of the Greek and Roman epics we have read. (b) Discuss the use of the supernatural in the poem, particular in the depiction of Grendel, Grendel's mother, and the dragon. (c) Discuss the combination of pagan and Christian elements in the poem.
OR (that is, instead of one of the above three choices):
Do some Internet research on the poem; what from Anglo-Saxon backgrounds can you find that is useful in understanding the poem? Provide citations for your work; DON'T just copy and paste -- properly quote and paraphrase. (6) By Sunday night, POST YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHIC-ESSAY DRAFT on the "Bibliographic Essay Drafts" Forum. Name the file lastname_firstname_1_draft.rtf. I will not accept it if you do not properly name the file. Also, take a look at other students’ drafts and feel free to make constructive comments. Week 5 (Monday, June 30 – Sunday, July 6)
Dante, the Inferno pp. 1465 – 1481, 1493 – 1496, 1503 – 1506, 1510 – 1513, 1516 – 1519, 1539 – 1552, 1562 – 1576 (Cantos I – V; Canto X; Canto XIII; Canto XV; Canto XVII; Cantos XXIV – XXVII; Cantos XXXI – XXXIV).
Please do your (7) posting (on the "Inferno" Forum) on one of the following: (a) What is the most vivid passage in the reading for you? Study it, and try to describe how its effects are created through language. (b) One of the more interesting structures in the poem, for me, is the frequent pairings or groupings -- of the various damned spirits, in particular, but also of images and narrative structures. Discuss how this works in at least one passage. Week 6 (Monday, July 7 – Sunday, July 13)
Note: The Withdrawal deadline is Monday, July 7.
Shakespeare, Hamlet, pp. 2409 – 2500.
(8) Two choices: (a) Post (on the "Hamlet" Forum) a summary of research into interpretations of the play. Provide citations for your work; DON'T just copy and paste -- properly quote and paraphrase.
OR
(b) Watch a film of the play and discuss how it helps understand the play on the page. Look at my lecture, and respond to each other's postings as well. BIBLIOGRAPHIC ESSAY DUE JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT SUNDAY, July 13. Submit to the "Assignments" link. There will be a two-day grace period ending Tuesday, July 15. Week 7 (Monday, July 14 – Sunday, July 20)
Milton, Paradise Lost, pp. 2555 – 2631 (Books 1, 2, 4, 8, excerpts; Book 9; Books 10 and 12, excerpts).
(9) For your last "homework" posting (on the "Paradise Lost" Forum), please write about the use of imagery in any part or parts of the poem you choose.
Submit your Instructor Evaluation. Week 8 (Monday, July 21 – Sunday, July 27)
FINAL ESSAY DUE JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT SUNDAY, July 27. Submit to the "Assignments" link. THERE IS NO GRACE PERIOD – SUNDAY IS THE ABSOLUTE DEADLINE!
