Writing Week
IMPORTANT!
No tutorial this week, instead, you have two tasks:
(1) Take a look at Week 8's prep work, and make a start. There is a group-work assignment which will demand some time.
(2) This week, during the tutorial hour, make your way to the library, or chosen writing spot in the nearest cafe, or wherever you write best, and write a timed essay.
Set aside exactly 60 minutes to write an essay on one of the questions given below. You may refer to any play or plays covered so far, and consult your copy of the plays in question, as well as other critical material. You may also plan out your essay in advance. The essay itself, however, should be written in one 60-minute span. If you type it on a computer, email it to me at the end of the hour. If you want an exam-like experience and write it by hand, drop it off in my dropbox (to the left of my office) at the end of the hour. Essay should be roughly 1500 words (4-5 hand-written pages), with full bibliographic citations. If you are not sure about citations, look at the 'Referencing Guide' under 'Learning Resources' on the module page on VITAL.
(1) 'Within each play, it is not only the characters that develop, but also the form. Farce turns tragic, and vice versa: two dimensions suddenly acquire a third.' How far does this statement inform your understanding of Shakespearean drama? [Use your reading on genres for this. You could examine just 1 comedy, tragedy or history play, or a pairing within or across genres to compare and contrast.]
(2) Write about the relationship between any one of Shakespeare's plays and its source material or generic tradition. [Again, use your reading -- 'Pyramus and Thisbe', for instance, or generic expectations from comedy or tragedy, or a specific tradition like the Elizabethan revenge tragedy if you want to write on this week's play.]