Research Essay Prompt
This project is an exploration of canon formation – specifically, the ways in which some literary works are considered “major” while others are marginalized as “minor” or even “unimportant.” You will no doubt have noticed that while there are, indeed, women writers actively engaged in their craft during the timeframe of our course, they have not generally been included in this rather sparse reading list, and they are not often accorded a major place in the so-called “canon” of literature in most anthologies of Medieval and Renaissance British literature.
Your task, then, will be to select a particular work by a woman writer from the time space of the course (A.D. 800-1774 England) and write a paper that
A) presents a brief account of the writer’s career within the context of her time (as an introductory movement; you are not writing a biography here),
B) provides a detailed analysis of one of her works in a variety of manners:
1) in relation to the social, political, and/or religious events of her time (new historicism),
2) an exploration of the literary and/or rhetorical tropes used in the work (a close, text-based analysis), and
3) an analysis via a defined literary theory of that work,
and
C) argues for its inclusion in (or exclusion from) the canon of major British works of literature.
The essay is to be a minimum of 3000 words in length, follow MLA format (heading on first page – no cover sheet), and include a works cited page and parenthetical citations, using sources to support your analysis and evaluation of the work and author. Be aware that the matter of MLA requirements (the header, the first page information, the title, and the work cited entry list, which must consist of 5-7 sources [including the primary source analyzed]), do not count toward the required length for this assignment; any particularly large quotations (especially block quotations) also are not part of the required word count.
Via email, by the deadline for submitting the research essay, you MUST have emailed to me digital copies of all source material used, with the passages / information appearing in the essay clearly marked (i.e., highlighted).
You may choose any individual work by one of the following female authors:
JULIAN OF NORWICH
MARY HERBERT, COUNTESS OF PEMBROKE
ELIZABETH I
AEMILIA LANYER
APHRA BEHN
MARY ASTELL
LADY MARY WORTLEY MONTAGU
ELIZA HAYWOOD
FRANCES BURNEY
MARY WOLLSTONECRAFT
Grade Rubric
Your submission must be an original, unique, self-produced work complying completely with MLA requirements regarding both formatting and citations It also must meet all minimum requirements. Otherwise, it earns an automatic zero; any evidence of plagiarism will result in an F in the class.
MECHANICS–You are expected to proofread effectively and accurately. Any essay submitted with surface errors will have the result of a reduction of the grade by 5 points per each instance of any error compared the grade it would have earned for content without the errors. And, yes, commas matter, even the ones before conjunctions in lists. Simply consider this class writing assignments as exercises in the correct use of the Oxford comma.
MLA– assumed knowledge at this point. Formatting (whole essay, first-page information, header, margins, quotations [block and internal to sentences corrected for grammar]), parenthetical citations, and works cited entries are all things you are expected to know how to do. Errors in MLA formatting will result in a minimum of 10 points being deducted from the overall grade of the assignment. Errors in citations and/or works cited entries will result in an automatic zero for the assignment with no option for correction and resubmission.
CONTENT
1) present a short account of the writer’s career within the context of her time (10%)
2) provide an original, three-tiered analysis of one of her works (60%)
3) argue for the inclusion or exclusion of the work from the canon of British literature (20%)
4) have a useful introduction setting up a provable thesis, transitions, attributive tags to source materials that serve the overall effort of the essay, and a reasoned and viable conclusion based upon the evaluation and analysis committed in the body of the essay (10%).
This may help with your research essay.
- A literary theory is a lens or a filter a critic uses to analyze a text. It gives the critic the filter that they can use to engage the text and parse meaning and / or significance.
- Deciding what literary theory to use requires that the reader / critic read the text first to determine what theory or theories might be fruitful when applied to the text to be analyzed.
- There is no “right” or “wrong” literary theory. It’s what the critic does with it that matters. As a starting critic, finding one that works requires thinking about what you as the reader, noticed in the text to be analyzed.
As an example, think how you would engage something like Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:
If you’re interested in how Hermione acts / speaks / is represented, you might look to something like Feminist or Gender Theory, as it might give you a way to discuss the female character.
If you’re interested in the story arc or the plot, you might look at Structuralism or Formalism, both of which allow you to engage with structural / plot issues.
If you’re interested in how the novel teaches lessons, you might look at Reader-Response Theory, as it is about what the author brings to the text and what the reader brings to the same text and how that works.
It’s the same novel, but there are a variety of potentially fruitful literary theories. Those are just a few.
Remember that context (in your essay, it’s a particular literary theory that will allow both you and your reader to contextualize the novel) is New Historicism (an engagement with the text in relation to when it was written or produced).
Your literary analysis isn’t about context; it’s about establishing a way of engaging the text to establish value and meaning.