1st Paper Assignment

1st Paper Assignment

• 3-4 pages, typed, double spaced
• MLA formatting
• You Must have an introduction paragraph that clearly states your thesis and outlines the main points of each of your supporting paragraphs.
• You must have a concluding paragraph that accurately sums up the points you just made.

Topic List:

1. Select one poem from Songs of Innocence AND one from Songs of Experience that we did not discuss in class. Make sure as best you can that they are PAIRED. That is, each poem discusses/presents one “side” of a concept. Then:

Compare and contrast how the poems each present the similar topic. YOU MUST GIVE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES FROM THE POEMS BY QUOTING LINES AND EXPLAINING EXACTLY HOW YOUR EXAMPLES CORRESPOND TO THE POINT YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE.

Explain how each poem exemplifies the traits of Romanticism that we have discussed in class. YOU MUST GIVE SPECIFIC EXAMPLES FROM THE POEMS BY QUOTING LINES AND EXPLAINING EXACTLY HOW YOUR EXAMPLES CORRESPOND TO THE POINT YOU ARE TRYING TO MAKE.


2. Select one poem from either Songs of Innocence OR Songs of Experience. Compare and contrast that to one of the Goethe poems we discussed in class. How are they similar and different? Discuss style, subject matter, philosophical issues. (SEE ABOVE FOR EXPECTATIONS). Then:

Explain how the Blake poem exemplifies the traits of Romanticism that we have discussed in class. (SEE ABOVE FOR EXPECTATIONS).

Explain how the Goethe poem exemplifies both traits of Romanticism and the The Age of Reason. (SEE ABOVE FOR EXPECTATIONS).


3. Your own topic covering any material we have discussed in class and/or read as home work. This can include any of the paintings we have viewed. This topic must be approved by the instructor in advance.