ASSIGNMENT

Choose a literary text that we have read this semester and focus on a particular issue within that text that has sparked significant critical attention.

First and foremost, you should state YOUR interpretation of the topic using specific evidence from the text to support your ideas. Then, conduct research in which you will find at least FIVE secondary articles that address your chosen work in a significant way. Next, write an analysis in which you synthesize the various points that critics have made about your chosen text. Finally, you should state YOUR interpretation of the topic using specific evidence from the text and the secondary evidence you have found to support your ideas. As you work on your literature review, you will want to keep the following guidelines in mind:

-For beginners, you need to establish clearly the various topics that the secondary criticism explores. For example, what topics do critics typically address when discussing your chosen work? What are the various opinions on these topics? If you are writing your synthesis of critical interpretations of The Aeneid, for example, you might find that many critics interpret the function of the gods in the story differently, OR you might observe many different interpretations on the fate of Aeneas and Dido in Book IV.

Which interpretation is most persuasive to you? What is your argument on the chosen passage? Ultimately, these are the kinds of issues that you will want to address for this assignment.