Essay #2

Essay 2 asks you to focus on one text and read it critically in order to argue a specific point. In writing the paper, you should develop an original, argumentative thesis. Simply answering the questions below do not qualify as a thesis. The questions are prompts only. The particular argument you decide to make must be your own.

Remember, as you draft your paper, that you must not summarize the work in any way. Summary will earn you a grade no higher than a C. Your audience is an academic one, so imagine that your reader is familiar with the text. Maintain an objective, sophisticated voice (no I’s, you’s, etc.). Jump right into the essay without fanfare (no need for broad opening sentences about humanity, or literature, or love, etc.). Finally, be kind to me, and avoid the phrase “paints a picture” and other clichés.

Make sure to quote from the text. Choose quotes wisely. Ask yourself WHY this quote is important to include, then back it up with a statement that analyzes the quote. Incorporate all quotes into a sentence.

Choose one of the prompts below to develop into a 4-6 page paper. Please type and double-space your paper. Use Times Roman or Courier 12 point font. Use MLA style. The paper is due Wednesday, November 7th.

Shakunatala and the Ring of Recollection

In Sanskrit plays, the emphasis is on mood over plot. The emotional mood of the play, or Rasa, is the goal of the playwright. With this in mind, what can you say about the relationship of erotic love to religion in this play?

Oedipus

Examine the role of the chorus in the play. What is its function? What kind of link does the chorus provide between the audience and the actors? What kind of emotional release does the chorus provide? How about the chorus’ role in heightening dramatic irony?

The Arabian Nights

The Arabian Nights can be read as a critique of masculinity (and misogyny, of course). Examine the ways this text is “subversive.” Look closely at Shahrazad to determine what seems to command a woman’s love in the story.

Poetry of Li Bai and Du Fu

Analyze the ways in which both Tang Dynasty poets adhere to their spiritual beliefs in their poetry. Li Bai, a Taoist, focused on a companionship with nature and a kind of spiritual freedom. This differs from Du Fu’s Confucian beliefs only slightly. Whereas the Taoist sought a long and serene life via quiet, passive methods, the rationalist Confucian practiced virtue for virtue’s sake. How are these belief systems evident in the poetry?

The Conference of the Birds

Think about the Sufi ideal of worship that asks its worshippers to love God so completely that the self is extinguished. Choose scenes in The Conference of the Birds that depict this consuming love. What difficulties do the birds (and the characters in the stories the hoopoe tells) face when attempting to love this way?

Beowulf

How would you resolve the apparent contradiction between the elements of Christian faith and Teutonic myth that appear in Beowulf? Consider the ways the narrator judges the characters and events in the story. You may also think about the dire predictions at the end. What literal or figurative future do they represent?