Overview
Choose one (1) of the following options and write a 2-page (approximately 500 words) minimum essay in response to it. Note: The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate that you have read and understood the story you’ve chosen, and are able to explain some of the important events in it and their significance in your own words. You could pretend you're telling a friend or relative about one of the readings you did for class.
Option 1: Gilgamesh. Describe the Epic of Gilgamesh by telling your reader: a) why the hero changes after meeting Enkidu, and in what ways he changes; b) the kinds of tests and trials he undergoes throughout the story; and c) the allies and enemies he meets, and how he interacts with them.
In other words, discuss what kind of person Gilgamesh was at the beginning, how he changes over the course of the tale, what happens to bring about the changes in him, and what he does as a fully developed hero-king.
You may also talk about the "lessons" the story teaches about the world. This means you should briefly summarize the most important points of the story, but then provide your own analysis as well (of how and why he changes, what are the important lessons of the story, etc.)
You should always use short but effective quotations from the text to back up your analysis, but focus mainly on your explanations of what the passages you've chosen mean. In other words, give evidence, but the most important thing is to make clear what the evidence tells us.
Option 2: The Iliad. The Iliad is famous for its portrayal of the excessive behavior that accompanies war. Make a list of five (5) examples of the main characters acting excessively. Their excesses may include extreme displays of: Anger, Cowardice or Fear, Pride, Arrogance, Vanity, Cruelty, Stupidity, Greed, Lust for Power, Revenge, etc.
The main characters include Achilles, Hector, Helen, Agamemnon, Paris, and Briseis.
List your examples 1-5 and include the following details:
- The Book of the Iliad in which it occurs;
- A description of the incident; and
- A thorough explanation of why it's excessive.
There may be more than one way to interpret how an act is excessive, or an act may be excessive in more than one way. What matters most in each example is your explanation of why it is excessive. Examples of different explanations:
- In Book XXII when Achilles drags Hector's corpse behind his chariot, it shows extreme cruelty because he knows Hector's family and the people of Troy will be shocked and horrified ...
- In Book XXII when Achilles drags Hector's body behind his chariot, it shows excessive rage, because he knows the gods will not allow such an act of desecration to go unpunished but does it anyway ...
(Where I’ve typed ... in the examples above is where you will go into more detail in your explanations to get a better grade. Note: You may not use the example of Hector dragging Achilles’ body behind his chariot, because I just did, sorry.)
Option 3: Othello. For this option, analyze the play by focusing on one of the following characters: Cassio, Desdemona, Othello, or Iago. Explore the motives, emotions and circumstances of the character you choose, and his or her relationships with all the other significant characters in the play. Try to give your reader a good sense of why things play out as they do. Each of these characters has significant interactions with all the others, and you will end up discussing them all no matter which one you choose to focus on. But try to explain what happens in Othello by following the trajectory of a single character throughout the entire play. As always, use short but effective quotations from the play to point out significant words and actions, but focus mainly on your explanations of what the words and deeds mean and why we should agree with your analysis.
To cite the text, place Act, Scene, and Line numbers in parentheses at the end of your quotation. Example: “Your quotation here” (1.3.5).
Option 4: Hamlet. For this option, analyze Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy beginning at 3.1.57 and ending at 3.1.89. Explain as fully and clearly as you can the events and circumstances he’s reacting to, as well as what his words mean. There are two parts to this assignment: Part 1: Paraphrase it. That means "translate" what he says into your own words (not No Fear Shakespeare's words or anybody else's). Make sure you capture anything and everything he may be implying or suggesting. Don't just include what he says, tell us as much as you can about what is implied, what's between the lines, where he's coming from, etc. Don't assume that what seems obvious to you is obvious to your readers. When in doubt, spell it out. Part 2: Analyze it. Explain why what he says is important for us to understand him as a character, and how it gives us insight into his reaction to what has already happened, and how it helps us to understand his actions as the play goes forward.
Some things to think about as you analyze it: What prompts him to launch into this speech? What has been happening to him, and how is he reacting to it? What is his mental and emotional state, and why is he thinking and feeling that way? What issues is he trying to work out? What ideas is he speculating on? What do we learn about his outlook, his fears, his personality? How does what he says here give us insight into his motives in events in the play that come after this speech? Give us as good a character sketch of Hamlet as you can, using this soliloquy as a guide to his mindset and actions. Feel free to psychoanalyze the melancholy young Dane, but back up what you say with evidence from the text. The better you explain what he means, why he's feeling the way he does, and how it all relates to what happens in the play, the better your grade will be. As always, use short but effective quotations from the text to point to significant words and events, but focus mainly on your explanations of what we learn from his words and actions. To cite the text, place Act, Scene, and Line numbers in parentheses at the end of your quotation. Example: “Your quotation here” (1.3.5).