For this assignment, you will write a 3-to-4-page analysis of one of the four acts in The Seagull. In writing your analysis, answer this question: how does a theme, character, or setting emerge from the dialogue, plot, and/or symbolism in the act? Make an argument about what a theme of the act is, what a character desires or represents, how a character changes, or what the function of the setting actually is. Limiting the focus of your essay to a single act will help you to produce an essay of a manageable scope and length. Although you are not prohibited from mentioning other parts of the play, you should focus your writing primarily on the act you have chosen.
In this essay, you are required to incorporate at least one quotation from either the Pavis or the Stanislavsky articles that we read as a class. To incorporate this quotation well, you should consult Reading and Writing About Literature pages 43-46. Use the quotation to advance your argument, to provide a counterpoint to argue against, or to add something to your essay that would not be present otherwise. You may use more than one quotation from the secondary source you have chosen, if you choose to do so. Preview the “Sample Research Paper” on pages 167-172 for examples of how to incorporate secondary sources into literary argument.
Reading and Writing About Literature also contains several sample essays that will aid you as you write this assignment. On pages 70-73 you will find an analysis of a poem that contains a strong argumentative thesis. On pages 135-138, you will find an analysis of a one-act play titled Trifles.
You will need to use MLA format for this essay. Reading and Writing About Literature discusses how to implement in-text citations on pages 155-158. It also discusses how to prepare your list of works cited on page 155-167. The format that you will use for both the primary text and the secondary text will be a work in an anthology or compilation on page 161. Remember to include translator and editor information, as necessary.
One of the purposes of this assignment is for you to demonstrate that you have paid close attention to your instructor’s comments on your previous submission. Demonstrate revision on this assignment through addressing problematic issues in your Analysis Assignment 1.
Other requirements for this assignment
You need several (probably 4-8) body paragraphs that set out systematically to prove your thesis statement. These paragraphs should have clear and concise topic sentences.
You need a conclusion that restates your thesis statement in an interesting way and leaves your reader with the feeling that you have written something important.
You should use quotations, formatted and cited in MLA, but not so many that they become a space-filling strategy. A quotation should be analyzed so that it’s clear how it supports your argument. Each quotation should be part of a complete sentence, i.e. introduced or integrated. [Frost writes, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall” (203). OR “Something” sends a “frozen-ground-swell under it,” writes Frost (203).]
You must use at least one quotation from the Pavis or Stanislavsky articles in this essay. You are not to use any sources for this assignment besides the play and the secondary text that you choose.
You need a works cited page (for the play and the secondary source that you choose) and properly formatted first page (in MLA format). See Reading and Writing About Literature pages 167-172 for an example of exactly how to format these items. See also the discussion of manuscriipt form on page 50.
The length requirement for this essay is three to four pages, double-spaced, Times New Roman. If you write less than three pages, then you must have gotten done the entire job of the essay without the need for more supporting material. If you write more than four pages, then your essay must be as concise as possible, free of any filler.
