“Phaedra is a great choice for this first paper. However, you do need to pair your reading of the tragedy with another text we have read this semester. I love the way you focus on her past and family history. I think it could be interesting to pair that with a reading of Voltaire’s Candide. Phaedra is haunted by her history, by her mother’s shameful curse, by her connection to the minotaur and Ariadne. She conceives of herself in those terms and appears incredibly self-aware in that sense. She talks of her monstrous lineage (her references to her mother). She seems to understand the source of her love (divine punishment). She identifies increasingly as a monster. She’s aware of the shameful nature of her desires but nevertheless she is perhaps the bravest and most honest. You’ll want to make sure you focus on those moments. The scene of her avowal when she talks about the labyrinth will be important for you. Unlike Phaedra who is “filled” and entire constituted of her family’s past – Candide is a blanks slate. Candide very specifically doesn’t have a father. He’s a bastard. The text tells us this in the first chapter. Good nature but kind of simple, he is forced into the world against his will. He never truly intends to make his own way in the world. He is simply forced to. Along the way, he simply encounters others and adopts, at least for a time, a bit of their philosophies – until perhaps he finds his own?”
Length and Goal:
First, let’s about the length. Why I am asking for such a short paper? 3 pages! Simply, I often find that longer papers lack focus and lack a careful reading of the “primary sources” (the literary texts you’ve chosen to write on).
The goal for this first paper is to develop a well-focused thesis and textual analysis that will bring new meaning and insight to the texts you’ve chosen. The point of this paper is not to explain all the artistry of Racine entire tragedy or Moliere’s comedy. It would be impossible to do that in 3 pages. Instead, I’d like you to focus on one aspect of the texts that intrigues you, inspires you, provokes you. Then, you should focus on showing your reader a specific pattern or idea so that your work will help them become a better-informed, more enlightened reader of that particular text.
The texts we’ve read this semester are incredibly rich. Your paper’s strength will come from having read and re-read a small part of the works with enormous care so that you can identify at least one strategy the writer has used to make it great. Look for patterns, or even for violations of patterns, recurring themes, specific language, images, etc… and trust your intuition to develop an original thesis. That is all you can do in three pages if you support it with sufficient textual evidence.
Treat the three-page limit on the body text as an opportunity to write small and to write well. I will not penalize you if the paper’s body goes over three pages by a few lines or a paragraph. Do a small job of literary analysis and do it well.
hoose one topic and two texts to work on (Tartuffe, Phaedra, Candide, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman). Your two texts should be chosen judiciously and dialogue with one another. What insight can you offer by doing a close reading of these two texts?
Your paper should be typed, double-spaced, and 3 pages in length.
Do not use any outside sources. Only your chosen text.
