English Literature

For your first essay, you will use a passage from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and create an original thesis that is both specific and original (we will discuss this further). You will then support your point with a close analysis of the quote you’ve chosen. You may introduce other quotes from the play (you won’t be required to do this), but your main focus should be on the quote you chose initially. The length of your essay should be between 2-3 pages. You should include a Works Cited page (not included in the page count) that lists the play, but you may not use or cite any other sources. The essay and Works Cited should be formatted according to MLA Guidelines and use Times New Roman in a 12pt font. If you have questions or would like me to read a draft, you must meet with me in my office hours or arrange an appointment.

Texts: Twelfth Night, or What You Will

To do a close reading, you choose a specific passage and analyze it in fine detail, as if with a magnifying glass. You then comment on points of style and on your reactions as a reader. Close reading is important because it is the building block for larger analysis. Your thoughts evolve not from someone else's truth about the reading, but from your own observations. The more closely you can observe, the more original and exact your ideas will be. To begin your close reading, ask yourself several specific questions about the passage. The following questions are not a formula, but a starting point for your own thoughts. When you arrive at some answers, you are ready to organize and write. You should organize your close reading like any other kind of essay.

If you need HELP! getting started:

· Does an image here remind you of an image elsewhere in the play? Where? What's the connection? · How might this image fit into the pattern of the play as a whole? · Could this passage symbolize the entire work? Could this passage serve as a microcosm—a little picture—of what's taking place in the whole work?

· Are there metaphors (words that represent something else without using like or as)? What kinds? · Is there one controlling metaphor? If not, how many different metaphors are there, and in what order do they occur? How might that be significant? · How might objects represent something else? · Do any of the objects, colors, animals, or plants appearing in the passage have traditional connotations or meaning? What about religious or Biblical significance? · If there are multiple symbols in the work, could we read the entire passage as having deeper moral or spiritual meaning beyond the literal level?

What to do:

1. 1)  FormatyourpaperaccordingtoMLAstyleguidelines(seeowl.english.purdue.edu/owlifyou need help). Please remember to double space and print only in Times New Roman, black ink, 12 point font.

2. 2)  Selectapassagenolongerthan6linestoanalyze;placethisquotationatthetopofthepagein MLA Format. Include the parenthetical citation information.

3. 3)  Composea2-3pageclosereadingonyourpassageusingthedefinitionandquestionsabove.

4. 4)  Youmayusethefirstperson,butonlyonalimitedbasis.Thoughit’snotstrictlyprohibited,it

should be rare that you need to use “I” in a paper like this. Most of the time, if you’re using “I,”

you are taking up unnecessary space because the entire paper is your opinion to begin with.

5. 5)  Ifyouwouldlikefeedback,youmustmeetwithDr.Armstrongduringhisofficehoursandsetup

an appointment early enough to give yourself time to implement this discussion into your paper.

6. 6)  YouwillbesubmittingyourpaperviaBlackboard.Ahardcopyofyourthesis,andpossiblyyour

paper, will be required in class if we discuss them before the due date. Bringing drafts and lead-in

assignments to class will count as assignment grades.

7. 7)  No outside resources should be or may be used in this particular analysis.

Some Keys to a Strong Thesis

Your argument should be comprised of these elements that make up a strong scholarly argument:

1. Anoriginalideabasedonyourownparticularobservationofsomepattern,imagery, technique, piece of content, etc. in the text.

2. Considerationofwhatthismightmeanintermsofanewunderstandingofthework.Inshort: state as part of your thesis what your observation means.

3. Anacknowledgmentofwhyyourargumentmightbeimportant.Inotherwords,inherentin your argument should be a consideration of how your insights will provide a reader of the text with a new understanding of that text that the reader might not have had otherwise.