Research Paper
write a 2500-word research paper that analyzes course text(s) of your choosing within the context of a specific literary period or literary trend. You must select one or more readings from the course syllabus, determine the significance of the text(s) within a specific literary period or trend, and then support your findings with research and close readings of the primary texts. Possible angles of analysis (Feel free to get creative and develop your own angles of analysis):
• In what ways does religious tension surface in early medieval texts like The Dream of the Rood and Beowulf?
• How are societal values and aspirations figured through the character of the knight? (Think of both Sir Gawain and the nameless knight in “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”).
• In what ways are 15th century social classes and social codes questioned through Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales? • Research the sonnet form and the various ways it has been appropriated by different poets. •
Compare and contrast the different manifestations of the Renaissance. How does the English Renaissance, and humanism in particular, affect the way writers like More viewed the world? Research Requirements: Essay must be 2500 words (not including the Works Cited page). Works Cited page is required and must, like the rest of the essay, follow MLA format. At least four (4) sources are required. These sources must be either books or scholarly journal articles. Credible and scholarly web sources may supplement, but not take the place of, library sources