Posted: December 4th, 2013

develop a clear, debatable argument about the role of space about poem the alter by george herbert

 OVER 
LITR 257—British Literature I Z. S. Amir
Topics for Paper #2
(1) Metaphysical geographies.
Select one (1) or two (2) of the following poems: “The Flea,” “A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning,” “The Altar,” “Easter Wings,” “To His Coy Mistress,” and “Lycidas.” Focusing on your chosen poem(s), develop a clear, debatable argument about the role of space—whether construed literally or figuratively—in your chosen texts.
Questions to consider: In what ways do these poems invoke various kinds of geographies (whether on a small scale or a large scale)? What purposes do such invocations of space seem to serve? Alternatively, to what extent can the text of a poem—the arrangement of the words on the page—become recognizable as having a meaningful geography of its own?
(2) Critiquing Britain & Europe.
Behn’s Oroonoko and Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels both draw on the tradition of travel narrative, depicting journeys to foreign lands that allow their narrators to discuss the traits, cultures, and values of the “locals” they encounter. But in what ways does the description of these travels also afford Behn and Swift opportunities to reflect on their European homes? Focusing on either one or both of these texts, formulate a clear, debatable argument about how encounters with foreign spaces and peoples make possible critiques of Britain and/or Europe.
Questions to consider: How and why does journey abroad lead to reflection on and provide insight into the strengths and failings of Britain/Europe? To what extent do Behn’s strategies for critique differ from Swift’s?
5-7 pages, typed and double-spaced with 1” margins
due Wednesday, December 4 (bring hard copy to class and upload to SafeAssign by 3:00 pm)
Paper submission requirements:
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 Check your paper for spelling and typos before you hand it in.
 Use properly formatted in-text citations to indicate the source of quotations and include a Works Cited page that gives full bibliographical information for all texts that you quote or cite in your paper. Information on the rules and regulations can be found in most writing manuals or the MLA Handbook (copies available at the library).
 Follow standard MLA manuscript format style for the layout of your paper; again, guidance can be found in in most writing manuals or the MLA Handbook.
 Papers that do not conform to these guidelines will receive a ⅓ letter grade penalty.
Some further hints:
 Make sure you build your paper around a thesis that advances a specific claim about the topic; your job is to argue for a particular reading or interpretation of the texts you’re discussing.
 Avoid at all costs observational (“Text X is like x”) theses, unmotivated compare/contrast theses (“Text X is similar to and/or different from text Y”), and evaluative theses (“Text X is better/more effective/more interesting because…”). Such theses may be true, but they don’t offer any real insight into the texts you’re examining.
 Make certain that you have supported your assertions with lots of textual evidence in the form of direct quotation. Be sure to analyze each quotation you use, explaining in particular how its details lead you to the conclusions you draw.
 And remember: the questions associated with the above topics are only intended as prompts to get you thinking about important ideas. A good thesis may emerge from addressing some, all, or none of those questions; however, your paper must clearly deal with one of the topics specified above, regardless of how many of the associated questions you address.
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