ENGL 267 British Literature – Guiding Questions

Literary Analysis – Argument Essay

Assignment: Choose your own topic, point of interest, or area of contention to pursue in a well-developed
and substantiated essay. Make an argument. Develop an original line of thought. Arrive at an intriguing
So What? factor. Focus your essay on one work of literature: Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
The Canterbury Tales, Sidney’s sonnets from Astrophil and Stella, Shakespeare’s sonnets, Twelfth Night,
or The Faerie Queene.

Here are some topics to consider to get you thinking…

Literary anomalies. How is this work shaped by its literary makeup? Consider what makes this text
literarily
unique from other works we have studied thus far. Examples: form (epic, medieval romance,
estates satire, speech, or allegory); unique features of the text (e.g. bob and wheel, alliteration,
kennings, unconventional spellings, narrative voice, iambic pentameter or hexameter, rhyme
scheme); overall tone (is it happy, sad, nostalgic, loving, sinister?)
Theme. How does the text complicate or help explain this theme in some way?
Love, Heroism, Gender, Religion, Going on a journey or quest, Overcoming obstacles, Power,
Friendship, Loyalty, and Competition
Motif - a recurring idea or subject that has symbolic significance in the story—e.g., kiss, shield,
gold/treasure, journey, sword, armor, or attire. What symbolic significance does this motif carry
throughout the text? Does the significance of this motif change throughout the story in some way,
and if so, how?
Confusion. Where is there a moment of confusion or contradiction within the text, and what is
problematic about it? What purposes lie behind this moment of confusion? What are the
intentional or unintentional outcomes of this confusion?
Macro analysis. How does this text participate in or challenge its original historical context? How does
this work reflect the values of people of the time?
Micro analysis. Zoom in on one specific object (a sword, a piece of green cloth) or phrase (reference to
God,
Jargon/lexicon like a monk’s monastery or a nun’s habit) and extrapolate that item’s significance to the
text as a whole. What varied meanings does this item represent to the story?
Expliqué (detailed explanation or translation). Perform a close reading of a short passage. What is the
significance of this particular passage? How is this passage important to the overall work? How
might the work be different without this passage? Consider passages that perhaps we didn’t
discuss in depth in class, so you have lots of room for your own analysis. Great options to
consider: a sonnet by Sidney or Shakespeare that we did NOT read in class; one of Feste’s
songs in Twelfth Night; a character from The Canterbury Tales that we did NOT read in class
(e.g. the Summoner, the Friar, etc.).
Acceleration*. Where does the text accelerate through a moment—in other words, where does the
author gloss over event so that it takes less time to read it than it would to observe the event in
real life? What effect does that have on your perception of what is important in the text? How
does this acceleration enhance or dilute meaning?
Deceleration*. Where does the text slow down—in other words, where does the author expand the
description of an event to the point that it takes more time to read about it than it would to observe
this event in real life? What effect does this have on your perception of what is important in the
text? How does this deceleration contribute to or detract from the text?
Cautions:
__· Ensure that your writing is fresh, original, thought-provoking, and worthy of English 200-level
college writing. Avoid obvious theses (“Shakespeare was a good writer” or “The Faerie Queene is an
allegory”) that don’t inspire readers to ask How? or Why?

Requirements:

__· 4-6 pages, typed, double-spaced

__· MLA format
__· Original claim: debatable, defensible, compelling, and nuanced
__· Work Cited page
__· Minimum 2 scholarly sources (LiLI or Google Scholar)
__· Minimum 3 quotations for support (primary and secondary source material)