catfish19's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Um, okay. Just one question... how does one write an essay of less than 2000 words when the essay topic itself takes 594 words to explain? This is the outline I was given... "Essay Two (due Friday 29 April, by 5pm) Word limit: approx. 1,500 words "The correct meaning of a work of art is the meaning intended by its author." What are some of the problems with this theory? Then write an additional page summarising and commenting on the similarities and differences between your conclusions in this assignment and your conclusions in your first assignment (on Oscar Wilde). You are encouraged to make use of the materials in the "General" section of your Coursebook, as well as the texts relating to Sylvia Plath. Tips on the second topic You should treat the word limit as the minimum length for the whole piece including the additional page of comparative analysis of your two essays. About the content of the essay: Considering the following questions may be helpful in constructing your essay: What relation do the reviewers assume; for example, that a poem can be correctly interpreted by knowing what Plath's actual experiences were at the time the poem was written? or that using such knowledge is to miss the point of the poetry and fiction because Plath did not intend her writing to have herself as its main subject? What relation does Ted Hughes assume; for example, what makes his poem "The Rabbit Catcher" different from hers? Treating all the different writers as readers, what do you think they are looking for in her writing? Do their views/readings agree? If not, are there clear differences of approach which several writers share? Do you agree with one more than another of these writers? What might such agreements tell us about interpreting literature? In general, how does knowing anything about Plath's life contribute to an understanding of her poetry and fiction? What happens if that knowledge is very selective, as in the repeated use of her suicide as a perspective from which to interpret her writing? Do you think her life history is treated as the factual basis for accurate interpretations, or is it used selectively to support arguments that her writing has to mean one thing rather than another?
There are two main points of comparison that are likely to be operating between your two essays. 1. Your arguments, or the position you take on them may have changed. Where this is the case your comparison would usefully focus on the ways in which your position has changed and some assessment of what has led to this development. 2. The differences in the situations of Wilde and Plath may lead to different conclusions about the relationship between author, text and reader. In this case you might want to reflect on the ways in which these relationships are situational, or differently responsive to contextual differences such as time, place and personality. It is quite likely that your analysis could combine a combination of these two angles." 2:04 p.m. - 2005-04-25 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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