ENGL 461: Senior Seminar
Professor E. Derek Taylor
Instructions for In-class Essay 3 (Friday, Nov 20, 2015)
Read the following poems:
Then, choose one of the literary critics we've encountered since our previous essay (i.e., beginning with Harold Bloom and ending with bell hooks) and imagine how he or she would respond to at least two of the poems--or choose two of the critics and allow them to respond to a single poem.
Feel free to experiment with how best to frame your essay. You might allow the critics to exchange letters; or have them arguing in a bar; or imagine a critic writing an entry in a diary.
Daniel Tobin, "The Clock"
Maxine Kumin, "Woodchucks"
Sherman Alexie, "The Facebook Sonnet"
Langston Hughes, "Theme for English B"
Marge Piercy, "Barbie Doll"
This is indeed an open book, open note assignment, and you are encouraged to arrive with a thorough outline of your essay; feel free to conduct any background research as you see fit (but be sure to cite any specific material incorporated into your essay). The critics in question should be quick to provide quotations from the poems. Finally, however you elect to proceed, remember: be creative, but don’t lose sight of your primary responsibility--namely, to provide cogent literary analysis that develops and supports a compelling thesis.
Grading Rubric:
A: Cleanly written, logically argued, thoroughly supported, carefully organized
B: Falls short on one or more points.
C: Falls short on two or more points.
D: Falls short on three or more points.
F: Falls short on all points.
Professor E. Derek Taylor
Instructions for In-class Essay 3 (Friday, Nov 20, 2015)
Read the following poems:
Then, choose one of the literary critics we've encountered since our previous essay (i.e., beginning with Harold Bloom and ending with bell hooks) and imagine how he or she would respond to at least two of the poems--or choose two of the critics and allow them to respond to a single poem.
Feel free to experiment with how best to frame your essay. You might allow the critics to exchange letters; or have them arguing in a bar; or imagine a critic writing an entry in a diary.
Daniel Tobin, "The Clock"
Maxine Kumin, "Woodchucks"
Sherman Alexie, "The Facebook Sonnet"
Langston Hughes, "Theme for English B"
Marge Piercy, "Barbie Doll"
This is indeed an open book, open note assignment, and you are encouraged to arrive with a thorough outline of your essay; feel free to conduct any background research as you see fit (but be sure to cite any specific material incorporated into your essay). The critics in question should be quick to provide quotations from the poems. Finally, however you elect to proceed, remember: be creative, but don’t lose sight of your primary responsibility--namely, to provide cogent literary analysis that develops and supports a compelling thesis.
Grading Rubric:
A: Cleanly written, logically argued, thoroughly supported, carefully organized
B: Falls short on one or more points.
C: Falls short on two or more points.
D: Falls short on three or more points.
F: Falls short on all points.