Paper Assignment
Prof. Williams
E321
Spring 2010
Paper Assignment
This semester, we are exploring the literature from the years 1913 and 1922 in order to think about the ways in which WWI changes, disrupts, challenges, enforces, etc., the trajectory of literary Modernism. Another way to think about this is, what is the center of Modernism? Was 1913 a false start and 1922 is a better exemplary year? Or is 1922 the logical outcome of the ideals and aesthetics announced in 1913? In order to answer this question, you will write a 10-12 page paper in which you make a claim about the relationship between 1913 and 1922, and prove it using texts we have read from both years. To facilitate your writing of a longer paper, we will break down the paper into 3 component parts, as described below.
All assignments are due at the beginning of class on the dates lists. Papers should be typed, double-spaced, printed double-sided, and use MLA format.
Papers incur a one-third letter-grade deduction when late, with additional one-third deductions for every 24 hours past the deadline.
Part One: How would you characterize the relationship between 1913 and 1922?
Since there are all kinds of literary features we might use to answer this question, for our first stab at thesis, we will focus on voice. Be sure to look up “voice” if you do not know what that refers to.
1. Draw a diagram that maps the relationship between 1913 and 1922. This is essentially your thesis and should be on the top of the paper that you turn in. You may use one of the diagrams we discussed in class.
2. Construct an argument in which you answer the question above. Use a section from T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land and any one of our 1913 texts, and analyze the ways in which voice changes to prove your claim about the relationship.
4-5 pages.
Due: Friday, March 19
10% of final grade
Part Two: How does World War I impact the form of the literature of “High Modernism”?
We will now try to deepen and revise the analysis from part one by attending to issues of form.
1. Construct an argument in which you answer the question above. Use one section from one chapter of Ulysses and a poem by a trench poet, and analyze the ways in which form changes in response to WWI. Use your analysis in order to prove your claim about the effect of WWI on form.
2. Since Ulysses is a modernist retelling of The Odyssey, and The Odyssey is a poem about the aftermath of the Trojan War, select one article from a list of articles I will provide in order to help you frame Ulysses as a war novel. Write an annotation for that source and turn it in with your paper.
4-5 pages
Annotation of one article
Due: Friday, April 23
15% of final grade
Part Three: How would you characterize the relationship between 1913 and 1922?
Does your thesis from part one still hold?
1. Draw a diagram that represents the relationship between the years 1913 and 1922. This is essentially your thesis/claim. This diagram can be a revision of your first diagram, the same diagram, or a new one altogether.
2. Go back over the writings we’ve done already. Add one more poem/work from the texts we read in our “Backwards Glance” section. Use analysis of the texts you used from the previous papers, plus the new addition, to prove your claim. Your analysis should attend to both voice and form. You do not need to focus equally on all five texts.
3. Since a good argumentative paper should also respond to the arguments of others, do a short annotated bibliography of 4-5 articles. The fact that you have read these articles should be reflected in your final paper as well.
Mechanics for an Annotated Bibliography:
1. Come up with a list of about 30 articles from within the last 5-10 years that are related to your paper.
2. Read the first and last paragraphs of these papers.
3. Cull out about 6-8 articles that you think will be most useful for your paper.
4. Write annotations for 4-5 of these articles.
10-12 pages
List of 30 articles due Friday, April 30
5% of final grade
Annotations for 4 articles due Wed, May 3 10% of final grade
Final paper due Monday, May 7 60% of final grade
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