Choose one topic !!:
1. In Edward Taylors “upon wedlock” and Edgar Allen Poe’s “Annabel Lee” with what figures (other than the deceased) is death associated in both poems? Do the speakers of the poems express a similar or different, response to those figures? Explain, quoting from each poem
2. Discuss the role alcohol plays in “Sir toby,” “Rip Van Winkle” and the “cask of amontillado.” In which two works does its function, not just literally, but thematically seem familiar? Explain, quoting from all three works
3. it could be said that both “Annabel Lee” and “cask of amontillado” are portraits of obsession. at the core of the fixation is the sense of a speaker having been wronged. discuss how each speaker perceives that injustice, and how each seems permanently scarred by his response.
QUOTE AS MUCH AS YOU CAN!
____ No cover sheet; name, section, question #, email at upper right; 12-14 point font
_____ Title: fragment; distill thesis; author’s surname/work abbrev.; cleverness: bonus!
_____ Maximum 5 double-spaced pages, front side only; 1” margins; number pages
_____ Work Cited: text, study guides, websites; author/title/pp. (inc. Handouts): MLA
_____ Use parenthetical citations after quotes (e.g., Whitman 58)
_____ Keep intro, conclusion short, biographical data to a minimum
_____ First person “I” is ok: aim for an informal, conversational tone
_____ Thesis should be apparent by end of the first sentence, if possible
_____ Use understated language: avoid sweeping statements: no “proved,” “always”
_____ Use simple, plain language: good, clear writing is not about using big words!
_____ In A vs. B questions, never try to have it both ways
_____ Keep paragraphs to no more than ½ page
_____ Don’t confuse a character’s dialogue with what the narrator is telling us
_____ Don’t recap: get to the point; call a poem a poem, a story a story; get facts right!
_____ Quote: frequently! Not a single quotation?—automatic B- and dropping
_____ Avoid rhetorical questions, fragments, run-ons; no textspeak (use apostrophes)!
_____ Quoting poetry: use slash marks at line breaks: “Two roads diverged in a yellow
wood,/And sorry…” Use double-slash // for stanza breaks; no slash at end
_____ Quoting prose: for excerpts longer than 3 lines—center and single-space
_____ Penalized: excessive errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar, overall sloppiness
_____ Titles in quotes or italics; quotes outside commas, periods;—2 hyphens for dash