Use the poem “This Lime-Tree Bower My Prison,” by the poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge and, using the library’s databases, locate two scholarly journal articles on a subject related to it. Note: the articles you select must be peer-reviewed journal articles from the 21st century. I will not accept any sources taken from outside the UConn databases. Be sure the articles you choose are in PDF format (not HTML) and thus include all necessary identifying information (title of article, journal title, volume number, issue number, date, and pagination). And be sure the two articles are written on the same subject: nature in “Tintern Abbey,” hope in “The Darkling Thrush,” the imagination in “To a Skylark,” etc.… Do not choose two articles on different subjects. There are many poems in the anthology on which you might not find any direct scholarship. Be sure to choose a poem on which scholars have published journal articles.
In a ten-page essay, write a critical response to the articles in which you identify each critic’s central claim and then assess which claim is more compellingly argued. Directly address the question of which argument is more compelling and argue why you think so.
In doing so show a robust engagement with both critics and the primary text.
Basic Template (in crude form that you might need to modify):
Smith’s claim is more effective than Jones’s because _____.
Then prove your assertion through close reading, compelling analysis, and insightful evaluation. Please feel free to communicate with me before you begin drafting this paper. (860) 227-5589
(25 points)
Guidelines
Use the MLA paper template
The articles you respond to must be peer-reviewed
PDF format only (no HTML)
Locate article(s) from the twenty-first century
Do not use The Explicator (because the articles are not peer-reviewed and they are too short and insubsubstantial)
Look carefully at the paper rubric
When writing about literature, assume the reader is familiar with the text
But do include a brief overview of the poem in your introduction
Be sure to engage the poem thoroughly through quotation, deduction, paraphrase, analysis
Engage the critics through paraphrase, analysis, and deduction, quoting sparingly from their articles.
Avoid the use of 1st person (I, me, mine, we, us, ours)
Therefore, do not say “I believe,” “I suggest,” “In my opinion,” etc.. . Instead, state your ideas as though they are factual and then support them with an appeal to the text. This is much more compelling rhetorically.
Avoid the use of 2nd person (you, yours). This is too informal.
Use semi-formal language free of slang
Use fresh language, not clichés
Try to be objective and thus avoid your personal reaction to the text (how it affected you)
The paper should be structured with a compelling introduction, body paragraphs in which you engage in thorough close reading, and an effective conclusion
Be sure to show a thorough understanding of figures of speech, distinguishing accurately among metaphor, simile, personification, and metonym
Demonstrate having read and understood both journal articles. Identify the central claims of each critic and the supporting ideas they use to defend their arguments
Give yourself ample time when writing this paper. Before you begin drafting the essay, be sure to engage in some prewriting, organizational activities such as brainstorming, outlining, identifying quotations, etc.
Give me the BEST paper you have ever written. No pressure!
Ten full pages. Works cited on the 11th page.
