COLT 102
February 13, 2015
K. Calhoon

Essay Assignment

Write a four-page essay (printed, double-spaced) based on one of the following prompts:

• Gwendolyn Brooks’ “The Ballad of Rudolph Reed” presents a sequence of events culminating in Rudolph Reed’s death. Canto 33 of Dante’s Inferno presents a similar sequence in which the death of Ugolino’s sons and eventually Ugolino himself is described. Look at these two texts carefully. Compare and contrast the ways in which Brooks’ and Dante’s language develop this crescendo of despair. Note: We are not asking you to tell us what happens but how words work to create expectations, foster tension, etc.

• In his “Open Letter on Translation,” Martin Luther faults his detractors for their literalism. Explain Luther’s position, and discuss it in relation to Dante’s Inferno, using examples from the latter text to illustrate where the ability to differentiate between the spirit and the letter matters.

• Shakespeare’s Henry IV and Molière’s The Bourgeois Gentleman are very different plays. Both, however, are rich in comedy. Each also contains a play within a play. Compare them with respect to this particular aspect. Analyze each play within a play, and use this as an opportunity to reflect on the nature of comedy as such. Please make use of Aristotle’s Poetics as a possible guide in your discussion.

• We have dealt extensively with gesture in the course of our discussions, observing how, in plays such as Molière’s The Bourgeois Gentleman and Strindberg’s Miss Julie, gestures are used as a means of indicating one’s sense of social status. Bowing, for example, or kissing a woman’s hand, are forms of self-ingratiation, though it is also possible to express one’s social superiority through the refinement of these very gestures. The fact that such gestures are performed not only on stage but also in the course of everyday interaction suggests further that life itself is often theatrical. Compare these two plays, paying particular attention to gestures—physical and verbal—as they relate to tensions between social classes.

As you can tell, this assignment is designed to provoke thought. In order to do well, you will need to return to the readings, mull over and digest them, and find passages to compare or contrast in support of your argument. In every instance, you are expected to base your readings on specifics within the relevant texts. It is not sufficient to quote passages; you must explain how the passage quoted specifically supports the point you are making. You are likely to do well only if you surrender to the process. Please don’t wait until the last evening and write your paper from start to finish in a single draft.

This is a formal, university-level writing assignment and will be graded accordingly. Your ideas are important, but we are also looking for organization, clarity, development, not to mention correct spelling and quotation. Even though you may be addressing the use of colloquialisms in certain of our readings, please avoid using informal language or anything resembling “chat.” Likewise, avoid “fill” and needless repetition. Make each sentence count. You are best served by beginning your essay with a thesis statement. Please avoid generalizations and focus instead on the specifics of the assignment. Work at constructing a first paragraph that both contains your thesis and forecasts the overall shape of your paper. Each prompt asks you to discuss at least two readings. Make sure that you give roughly equal weight to each of the readings you discuss. If you respond to the assignment competently and write a reasonably well-constructed essay with a minimum of mechanical errors, you can expect to receive a “B.” A paper deserving an “A” will have something extra—something that makes your instructor’s pulse quicken and inspires her to show the paper to one of her colleagues and say “Look at this!” (A very poor paper could have a similar effect, of course). In practical terms, this “something extra” could be an especially effective use of a textual example, an original insight, an unexpected connection or a well-executed analysis. Your instructor will know it when she sees it. Note: An essay, however good, that does not engage the themes and issues addressed by the above prompts will be treated as if you had submitted no paper at all. If you have any doubt as to whether or not your paper is off-topic, please consult your discussion leader. She may clear you to explore a problem that deviates somewhat from the themes and issues intoned here.

Your paper should include a bibliography listing the texts from which you are citing as well as any other sources you have consulted. When quoting from one of the primary texts, you do not need to have a footnote each time. Rather, put the appropriate information in parentheses following the quotation. Cite from Shakespeare’s Henry IV by act, scene and line number, e.g., “Yea, there thou mak’st me sad, and mak’st me sin / In envy” (Henry IV, Act. 1, Sc. 1, 77-89). Cite from Dante’s Inferno using Canto and line number, e. g., “Oh Tuscan, who go living through this place
/ speaking so decorously” (Inferno, 10: 22-23). [Notice how the line-breaks have been managed in these previous two examples.] Cite from Luther’s “Open Letter” by page number. Cite from The Bourgeois Gentleman by act and scene (lines are not numbered in this play, as it is not in verse). “The Ballad of Rudolph Reed” is short enough that you need not document every citation; just give the full bibliographical reference the first time you cite from the poem. For proper bibliographical form, simply consult the syllabus, but if you’ve used different editions/translations, be sure to make the appropriate changes. There will be an automatic two-point deduction for a missing or inadequate bibliography.

Unfortunately, intellectual honesty sometimes becomes an issue. Plagiarism can take different forms, the most obvious of these being the purchase of an essay over the Internet or passages copied wholesale from books or websites. However, many students have come out of high school believing that “research” consists in cobbling together bits and pieces from various websites and presenting the result as “their work.” While this may not necessarily represent deliberate dishonesty, it fits the definition of plagiarism nonetheless. It is essential that you not represent the work of others as your own. Even if you use your own wording, it is important to indicate whenever you are making reference to someone else’s published thoughts. There is nothing wrong with consulting outside sources, but you must cite those sources. Consequences of academic dishonesty can be dire, but let us take a positive tone and encourage you to be willing to stand or fall based on your own efforts. Most likely, you will stand.

Your essay is due Friday, February 27th at the beginning of lecture. Late papers will not be accepted. We will not accept late papers. Do not turn your paper in late. Turn your paper in on time. Timely submission of your essay is required. It must be turned in as a hardcopy, single-sided, paginated (=with pages numbered), with your name, your discussion leader’s name, date and course number (COLT 102) printed in the top left corner. (Print your paper using Times New Roman, 12 pt.) Your bibliography is to be a separate page and not included in the four-page minimum. If you include reproductions of images, these should be placed in an appendix.