English 2400: Essay 2
Contents
Instructions
Write an essay on one or two of the works we are covering in the second unit of the course (Middle English). You may compare works from this section with works from the first section (Old English).
You should work on developing your own topic. To get you thinking, however, here are some possible starting points:
- The Autobiographical Self: compare the use of the first person in one or more Middle English works (e.g. lyrics, Julian of Norwich, Margery Kempe) against one or two Anglo-Saxon works (e.g. the Riddles, Dream of the Rood, some of the Exeter Lyrics, even Bede and/or Gildas might be possible). What differences or similarities do you see? One way of writing this essay is to look for a general set of differences or surprising similarities between the works in the two periods; another is to concentration on the treatment of the self in one or two works from each period and make an argument about how the specific authors involved handle autobiography.
- The Autobiographical Self in the High Middle Ages: approach the same topic as above, but concentrate solely on high medieval authors: are there important differences or similarities among two or three of the later medieval works we are reading?
- Authorial Responsibility and reputation. Compare the character of Chaucer in the General Prologue and Chaucer’s Retraction with that of Bede in the excerpts from the Historia Ecclesiastica (you might want to supplement your reading of Bede in this case with additional readings from the first and last chapter of the Historia ecclesiastica from copies in the library). Both Bede and Chaucer write of themselves as authors. What similarities and/or differences do you see? Do these similarities of difference have to do with the period in which they are working? The genre of the works they are writing? Some other reason?
- Uses of Fiction. In the first section of the course, we read a wide variety of non-fiction works, and some fiction. In this section we are reading mostly fiction with some devotional works (of course there is a lot of non-fiction written in the Middle English period, even if we are not studying it). Concentrating on the use of fictional events, characters and stories, what generalisable similarities or differences do you see in how fiction is used in the two periods? Is fiction more or less didactic in one period or the other? Is it treated more or less superficially? You may concentrate on differences and similarities among individual works instead of looking for more generalisable similarities or differences. You may also concentrate on similarities and differences among specific works from the second part of the course rather than comparing Anglo-Saxon and late medieval works.
- Humour. Discuss the purpose and function of humour in one or more works studied in this section of the course. Is humour solely entertaining? Is it pedagogical? Can it be used to raise difficult topics? Do different authors handle humour in different ways or are there common trends across the period? An alternative approach to this topic is to compare works from this section with those from the Anglo-Saxon period. What differences and/or similarities do you see? Once again you may seek generalisable differences or similarities for the periods as a whole or concentrate on similarities and differences between a couple of different works or authors.
- Irony. Discuss the question on humour above, but looking at irony instead.
- Women. There are some memorable women in the works we covered in the Anglo-Saxon period. There are many memorable women in the works we’ve covered in the Middle English period. Discuss the treatment of women in one or more works we have studies in this section of the course or compare the treatment of women in works from the later Medieval and Anglo-Saxon periods. Possible approaches (with examples of works you might consider) include women as authors/agents (Julian, Margery, Marie) or expectations for female behaviour (e.g. in Chaucer, Bede, Beowulf, Julian, Margery, the Wakefield master, etc.). Because Julian and Margery write autobiographically, you can easily compare them to female (or male) characters in other works. You can also apply many of the same questions you would to the treatment of women to the treatment of men or to contrasting the treatment of men and women. Once again, you can approach this essay looking for generalisable arguments that apply across the period and/or authors or by looking at the treatment of women/men in one or more specific works or authors.
- High and Low Style. The works we study in this section are intended for a wide variety of different audiences. Some are written for very highly cultured audiences; others for a wider range of audiences or even more specifically popular audiences. Some others tend to write in a single style. Others mix high and low, or cultured/learned and popular styles in the same work. Discuss the use of style in one or more authors covered in this section of the course or in one or more works from this section and the Anglo-Saxon section of the course.
Purpose
The goal of this assignment is to give you practice in developing and writing University-level research ideas in literature and to let you enrich your reading of early medieval literature by writing about it. As mentioned in class, essay writing is a pedagogical exercise as well as a form of assessment: this is where you get real experience in dealing with the details of texts at a level impossible to cover in lecture.
Rubric
For this essay, I will be following my standard rubric.
Dues dates, length, etc.
- Due: Sunday 8 November by 23:59 (note the new deadline). Essays are to be submitted electronically via Moodle or Turnitin.
- Format: Please follow my standard style guide.
- Length: Your essay should be between 1200 and 1500 words (± 10%). This is roughly equivalent to approx 4-5 full pages of 12pt, double spaced text with 3 cm margins.
