Instructions: You may select one of the following projects. The argument in the essay will consist of 5-7 pages for a research paper around the proposed topic or choose one of your own from the material covered in the Middle Ages. The length of the essay obviously affects the grade. Five full content pages are the minimum.
1. Apply Joseph Campbell’s three part notion of the hero’s journey, departure, initiation, return, to the Wife of Bath’s prologue, considering whether her multiple journeys alluded to in the “General Prologue” are successful or not.
2. Apply the notion of the journey to Beowulf, focusing on his fulfillment of cultural expectations over his own happiness.
3. Examine “Caedmon’s Hymn” as it appears in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, comparing what appears as Caedmon’s heroic journey culturally, exploring whether, in fact, his journey liberates or constrains him.
4. Trace the evidence and surprising effect of the hierarchical structure of Medieval England on the unnamed Nun’s Priest from his description in the “General Prologue” and into his prologue to his tale, the tale itself, and through the epilogue to the tale.
5. Examine and evaluate the effect of Medieval misogyny in the Canterbury Tales through the “General Prologue” the “Nun’s Priest’s Prologue and Tale” and the “Wife of Bath’s Prologue and Tale.”
This is a 5-7 page, primary sourced paper that includes at least 3 secondary academic sources. There must be a thesis wherein you take a position and advance an argument on one of the topics. The starting place for your grade will be dependent on the length and depth of your essay. The essay should include a personal link to the material under consideration. How does this distant material relate to who you are now.
The essay must use MLA for formatting and documentation as it explores its specific and significant argument on one of those listed or one you choose. It must be academic and formal in tone.
The apparatus (works cited) does not fall into the page count, and no added spacing to make it appear longer. I look at the word count as well as the physical length.
Acceptable sourcing means no encyclopedias, no dictionaries, no newspapers, no TV, no student sources, no college websites, no blogs, no Masterplots, no YouTube, no unnamed source, no save my grade sorts of cites, no source that doesn’t directly relate to the material under consideration. Your task is to locate academic sources that speak to your topic. If your source does not have an author, it’s not a source.
The essay must be formal, well considered, well written, and grammatically correct. Please review the rubric in the course.
Here’ are sample thesis statements with an analysis of the component parts
1. The juxtaposition of the information providedin the 1 ) “General Prologue,”2 ) the “Wife of Bath’s Prologue,” and 3 ) her tale proper reveals the real narrative underlying the wife’s failed journeys.
(The position [the argument] is underlined; the supports are numbered.)_______________________________________________________________________
2. The Wife of Bath on her multiple journeys illustrates her inability to mature as is evidenced in the lengthy and illogical prologue to her tale, her physical demeanor and choice of dress, and the naivete of the Arthurian tale she chooses to wishfully and incorrectly mirror her personal narrative.
Description: This is a primary sourced paper that includes a minimum of three secondary sources in addition to the primary source or sources and a thesis wherein you take a position and advance an argument on one of the posted topics in roughly 5-7 pages. There must be clear evidence of close reading of the assignments made in conjunction with the selected text. This includes quoting from the primary text (the Wife of Bath’s prologue or tale, or Beowulf are primary texts) to support your argument and evidence of a close reading of secondary sources (academic research with academic authors in articles or books) as well. If you work with Chaucer, be sure you do not use a translation, but work with Middle English. Since it’s a poem, you’ll need to review how poetry is cited in MLA.
Remember that you need to be careful concerning your secondary sourcing, as well. If, for instance you use Joseph Campbell you may not use as a source someone saying what Campbell says; you must go to The Hero with a Thousand Faces and quote Campbell directly.
The essay must use MLA formatting and documentation as it explores its specific and significant argument on one of those listed or one you choose. It must be academic and formal in tone.
The apparatus (works cited) does not fall into the word count nor does the heading that goes only on the first page, not each page throughout the essay, nor the pagination with your last name and the page number in the upper right corner.
Acceptable sourcing means no encyclopedias, no dictionaries, no newspapers, no TV, no unauthored material, no college sites, no student sites, no textbooks, no blogs, no Masterplots, no Shmoop, no sourcing that doesn’t directly relate academically to the material under consideration and have an author. Solid academic research is a requirement. This should not be a problem, however, since I have provided sources in my course and online research engines.
The essay must be well considered, well written, formal in tone, and grammatically correct, with a clear thesis and topic sentences that direct coherent and well developed paragraphs.
Here’s an example of a works cited entry for a primary source collected in another volume, in this case, the text for the course:
Chaucer, Geoffrey. “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale.” The Canterbury Tales. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. Vol 1
Ed. Greenblatt, et al. 9th Edition. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2012. 326-342. Print.
