Ezra Pound and Imagism
Order Description
Write a research paper that discusses the connection of art and literature.
English 104 Research Paper
A research paper is one of the requirements for successful completion of this course. Because you are taking an accelerated version of a course offered at every university across America, your paper will not be as long or require as many sources. In all other respects, the requirements remain the same.
Think of this paper as an expanded version of the other essays you will write in this course. In addition to being longer, this paper also requires you to use as evidence not only facts from the literary text but also information gathered from other sources. Because you are writing a paper on a literary topic, your sources will be reviews, literary criticism, and /or essays written by expert authors. As always, it is important that you write from credible, reliable, and intellectually appropriate sources. (No Wikipedia, Sparknotes, or shmoop)
Please use the following as guideline for the work.
1. The paper will be at least 2000 words.
2. You will use at least four secondary sources in addition to the literary text or texts you are analyzing. For our purposes, primary sources include the actual story, poem, or play under discussion while the secondary sources are articles written about those texts.
3. All sources must be correctly documented in MLA style. Refer to your Hacker guide or the Purdue Online Writing Lab (http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/) for reference to this.
4. Your paper will include both in-text (or parenthetical) citations and a Works Cited page. This will not be included in your word count. All works you consult, including the bibliographical information for the story, poem, or play must be included. For help, please view:
In-text citations: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IK2W7QZN7RQ
(You can stop listening at 4:00).
Works Cited Page: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lF3r4T_LkQM&feature=relmfu
5. You have many options for this paper. Choose something that you find interesting and want to know more about. (Remember that at least one of your sources MUST be something we have read in this course.)
Possible approaches (you may choose your own, but clear the topic with your instructor before beginning):
ENGU 104 Research Paper Assignment 2
The best topics are those which originate in your own reading. Below are some possible approaches to the research paper assignment. You may use any fiction, poetry, or plays you have read in this class to complete this assignment. If you wish to write about a different topic, please consult with your instructor for approval before beginning to make sure you are fulfilling the requirements of the assignment.
1. A reading of a work based on an outside philosophical perspective.
(Ex. How would a Humanist read “Everyday Use”?)
2. A study of a literary response to a particular work.
(Ex. Compare Charlotte Bonte’s Jane Eyre with Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea or Daniel Stern’s ”Twice Told Tales: Stories” (1989); ”Twice Upon a Time” (1992); or ”One Day’s Perfect Weather: More Twice Told Tales” (1999) in which he creates his own stories out of those originally written by Hemingway and Frost).
3. An analysis of a specific image occurring in several works.
(Ex. How is ______ imagery used in certain plays, poems, or novels.)
4. A study of a particular author which goes beyond biography.
(Ex. Using several of her poems, explain why Emily Dickinson was not more widely published in her lifetime).
5. A “deconstruction” of a particular work.
(Ex. Identifying and explaining an underlying critique of the medical profession in Wit).
6. A reading from a political perspective.
(Ex. How would a Marxist read Susan Glaspell’s “Trifles”? How would a feminist read Hemingway’s “Hills Like White Elephants”?)
7. A close analysis comparing a film or stage version of a literary work.
(Ex. Margaret Edson’s Wit and the film version with Emma Thompson. What editorial changes were made? How do they affect the reader or viewer’s experience of the work?
8. The connection of art and literature.
(Ex. Ezra Pound and Imagism)
9. A study of the social, political, or economic context in which an author’s work was written — how does the context influence the work?
ENGU 104 Research Paper Assignment 2
(Ex. The medical profession in Wit Billy Collins’ protest of death as “the” subject for poetry in “On Turning Ten,” The Old South in Faulkner’s work, Emily Dickinson’s protest of (or struggle with) traditional religion, Tennyson’s comment on the battle represented in “Charge of the Light Brigade”, etc.)
Adapted from the Purdue OWL, located at: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/618/02/