Thus far you have learned to analyze literature by thinking about setting, theme, characterization, and genre, considering these aspects one by one by writing about how they function in individual works. It likely comes as no surprise, however, that these four things work together. The fact that the Knight’s Tale is set long ago and far away and features knightly protagonists, both typical aspects of the genre, demonstrates immediately that these things are related, for the location of the setting, as well as the types of characters we might expect to encounter, are somewhat built into the definition of the genre itself. Indeed this is what makes the Miller’s Tale work so well as a humorous follow-up to the Knight’s Tale; much of its humor derives from the fact that if you pluck courtly characters from long ago and far away places and put them in everyday life, they end up looking ridiculous, like Absolon.
For your final writing assignment, you will discuss how all of these elements work together in King Lear. Please write a five-page essay that does the following: 1) Briefly define Shakespearean tragedy (opens in new window), the genre of King Lear (using Wikipedia for this is fine); 2) Then explain how King Lear fits this definition; and 3) Discuss how setting, themes, characterization, and genre work together in a mutually supporting way. (We have also learned about imagery; you are not required to discuss that in this paper, but are welcome to do so if it seems relevant to your main point.)
Tips for getting the best grade: 1) Spend most of your time on item 3 above. King Lear is a very clear and definitive example of Shakespearean tragedy, so you should be able to define the genre and show how King Lear fits that definition in about one page. 2) Make specific, concrete claims and back them with evidence from the text. This essay prompt tends to invite some students to make very fuzzy claims that don’t mean much – e.g., “The characterization really helps to move the plot and themes along.” You want to avoid this. How exactly do these aspects fit or work together? 3) Refer to moments in the plot as needed, but don’t spend time summarizing the plot. If you say “the scene in which Gloucester is blinded,” I will know exactly what and where you mean. There is no need to tell me the plot leading up to that moment or to repeat in detail who does what. (Note, however, that if you are conducting a close analysis of the language or events of a scene, a longer quote from the text is warranted; just avoid long quotations that only document the plot, which you can assume your reader already knows.) 4) Avoid lengthy sections explaining that Shakespeare was a great author who really knew how to handle plot, characterization, and so forth. We all agree on this point. smile
You are not required to use external sources other than your text and the links provided above; if you choose to do so, however, you are required to cite those sources (failing to do so constitutes plagiarism). As always, your writing will be graded not only for how well you fulfill the instructions, but also for the quality of the writing itself, including clarity, grammar, and mechanics. Please see the “Writing Guidelines” document at the top of the main Moodle page for tips.
