Richard III Literary Analysis Paper



Richard III Literary Analysis Paper

In this paper you are to provide, along with the analysis of the play, the analysis of at least one academic article. Your research for that academic article will include your own development of a question you would like to answer. You may, for example, be interested in the term “sanctuary,” and therefore you might be interested in how this term plays a part in the action of the play and in the study of the time within which the play was written. On the other hand, you might be interested in how Richard III should be understood as a character: is he a villain or is his presentation in this play an attempt by Shakespeare to support the Tudor monarchy in power as he was writing the play. You may, also, be interested in how women are portrayed in this play. You might want to argue that Shakespeare marginalizes women, or that he actually gives them a subtle, though prominent place in the play. Essentially, you will find your idea for your thesis in your research of appropriate academic articles. We will set aside time in the library to have you take advantage of various resources. You will be expected to offer a précis of one academic article. Following your précis of the articles, you will be expected to generate a thesis and outline for your essay. The final essay must be at least two typed pages including analysis of at least one academic article and analysis of specific lines from the play. The dues dates are listed below:

1) Precis of academic article: 2/19/13 (submitted to Dropbox before 10:00 P.M.) 30 pts.

2) Generated Thesis and essay outline: 2/25/13 (pdf hard copy submitted in class) 20 pts.

3) Final Essay 2/28/13 (submitted to before 10:00 P.M.) 50 pts.

This assignment will serve as a culminating assignment for our Richard III unit. No late submissions for any of the assignments will be accepted. You can expect that all items, specifically the précis and the final paper, will follow all MLA guidelines.

A challenge of this assignment is that you need to come up with the specific argument you wish to pursue. Part of the planning process should include a refining of this thesis as you continue reading both the play and academic articles and actively engaging in classroom discussions.

Richard III Academic Article Precis assignment:

PRECIS: a severe abridgement of the principal ideas or arguments advanced in a much longer work, retaining the order of the original. (Note: a précis is neither a paraphrase nor a summary of the work.) When writing a précis of literary criticism, the student should be sure to include 3 – 4 original points presented by the critic. Your précis must be typed and submitted to your “Dropbox” no later than Tuesday, 2/19/13 10:00 P.M. Late submissions will not be accepted.

1. First paragraph: an objective summary or abstract of the article. This paragraph should present the information as objectively as possible. You’ll have a chance to critique the argument in the second part of your précis. You should not use the abstract published with the journal article. The first paragraph should contain the following information:

1. The overall argument that the author is making, including the author’s thesis, the logical thread of the argument, the kinds of support provided, and so forth. If the author invents or uses special terms to argue the case, mention and define them.

2. The context for the argument. What critics or points of view is the author attempting to refute? Where does the author’s argument fit into the larger critical discussion of the issue? Is the author attempting to overturn certain assumptions about the work, and, if so, what are those assumptions?

2. Second paragraph: a critical analysis of the article. In this paragraph, you’ll assess the strengths and weaknesses of the article and discuss the implications of its reasoning for future study of the work. These questions may help you get started:

1. What parts of the article were especially strong or insightful, and why?

2. In what parts of the essay (if any) did the author make claims that were not supported by the evidence? Were there any flaws in the logic of the piece?

3. In what ways is this article useful for understanding the novel? How significant is it?

You may use more paragraphs if you need to, but you should follow this basic format.

GRADING CRITERIA FOR PRECIS:

• Precis 30 points

--Must have a thesis statement, written in your own words and 3 – 4 points of insightful information gleaned from article, supported with quotes

--You are to read one academic articles that you have researched in a resource like the MLA Bibliography

• You are to provide a minimum one page typed précis for your article following MLA format for title page and citations with through, grammatically correct, analysis 30pts

-- Minor error(s) in format and/or grammar/less developed analysis/ – minus 20-25 pts

-- Major error(s) in format and/or grammar/poor analysis – 10-20pts.

-- No submission or very incomplete submission 0-9 pts

Richard III Literary Analysis Paper Outline

Please access the following:



Print out and submit a hard copy pdf of your outline to me, in class Monday, February 25th, 2013

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