Last night one of you asked me if I were planning to post essay topics online. All I can say is: oops! I handed essay topics out to the class a couple of weeks ago; I neglected to post them here. So here they are:
English 3I06 / The Age of Elizabeth I
Essay 1 Topics
Due date: June 12
Value: 15% of final grade
The completed essay should be 6-7 pages doublespaced. I will accept essays running between 5 ½ pages to 8 pages. If you are significantly under the 5 ½ page mark, I will deduct a percentage from your essay grade (based on the number of words you are underlength). If you have written more than 8 pages and they are less than totally brilliant, I will stop reading and grade what I have read up until that point. I encourage course participants to adapt topics or create their own. If you choose to adapt a topic or create your own, please you must do so in consultation with me.
1. One way to gauge a culture’s values is to consider where it draws the line between the natural and the cultural, artificial, unnatural, or supernatural. Choosing one or more of the course texts we have read so far, discuss the use of the terms “nature” and “natural” in them.
2. Consider the role of humour (i.e., satire, parody, statements intended to induce laughter) in one or more of the texts we’ve read so far this term. What sorts of things do 16th century authors hold up as amusing to their audiences? How is humour strategically used within a work? What does 16th century English humour indicate about English culture?
3. Analyse the role of self-presentation in one or more of the texts we’ve read so far this term. How do individuals strive to align themselves with, or break, social codes in this period? If you would like to look at portraiture or visual art as well as the readings, please do so.
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