(Please remember that the following represent subjects; its your job to find a “topic” within one of these ideas, which means limiting your focus to a particular: a scene, event, action, speech, etc. These serve as more general ideas that need refinement for a short paper.) Poetry: Explicate a poem we’ve looked at this
semester. For information on how to explicate, see the example in the “Sample
What effect has a prose poem that differs from that of one with rhythm, one in verse, etc.? Drama: Euripides: The Bacchae Consider the importance of masculine vs. feminine in the play What irony exists in Pentheus’s punishment at the hands of his mother? How does “Faculty Psychology” enter into this play? Does Pentheus have a choice? What fate does Pentheus answer to: personal or “written”? (recall moira and anauke)
Shakespeare: Macbeth What effect has the male/female principles in this play upon a reader? Would you argue that Lady Macbeth acts on her own, or do you ascribe to the argument of “possession”? If the latter, how could witches, who do not
achieve the level of the supernatural on their own, do that to her? Investigate the scene you believe represents the “passing action” between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth In what manner does Macbeth behave like a male witch? Why would that be important? What aspect of the Gospel of Nicodemus best fit with Shakespeare’s play? To what effect? Consider one of the thematic, imagistic, or
recurring motifs in the play: focus on a scene, action, event, and How would you describe, or argue, the importance of Ross in the play? The third murderer: who and why would this be of importance to the play? What effect has the internalizations of Macbeth—that he’s “rapt”? Consider the suggestions of doubling to the play and thematic considerations
Calderon: Life Is A Dream How does free will figure into this play (narrow this idea down considerably, to a scene, an event) What do Segismundo’s actions when first he “awakens” as king say in this play? Consider focusing on Plato’s idea of the cave and shadows, comparing some aspect of that idea with Calderon’s drama Compare Calderon’s play and Shakespeare’s use of theatrum mundi: how do they importantly compare or remain distinct? Compare Segismundo’s soliloquy (at the end
of Act 2) with that of Macbeth’s realization of life’s end (Act 5)—do the What role does a concept of “honor” play in the drama? (Consider Rosaura and Astolpho) What does the subplot do, or fail to, for the main plot? What element does Segismundo’s interior thoughts, doubts, etc. do for the work? What does the role of Clarin do for the play? How is Segismundo a realization of mankind’s “lost condition,” one in which a spiritual awakening remains his only hope?
Ibsen: Hedda Gabler Consider one of the many symbols in the play as a means for adding to the drama’s “feel” or concept of character What contradiction or opposition seems most
important? Or, consider a minor thematic opposition and how it “supports” How does Ibsen use his minor characters to shed light on the more important ones? Consider Hedda’s psychological make-up: what helps or hinders her? Would you define this as her “fate” or her willfulness? How is passion considered in the play? Does it seem a means to creativity or to destruction? Two characters never appear in the drama, yet their influence continues to be of importance: how? How do the physical objects of the drama—the house, stage properties, etc.—contribute to characterization?
Synge: “Riders to the Sea”: Discuss one of the thematic “ironies” of the play and its importance What topos remains most important and why? Discuss any topos in the play and how it functions as a leitmotif to the more significant themes or “commonplaces” in the work What aspect of this play seems most Greek? What role does fate play in the drama, and why is that important?
O’Neill: Desire Under the Elms: What function does the animal imagery or references serve? What psychological purpose does the dead mother serve, and why is that important? Consider the house, the room of the dead mother, the elms: what importance do they, or one of them, serve? How important is biblical imagery to the play? How does the play relate to Euripides’ Hippolytus? Contrast the “soft” elements with those of “hard” in the drama How satisfying is the end of the play? Does it serve “fate” or “choice”? How much free will do these characters have? Are they servants of their own will or determinism? Contrast imagery in the work as a means of understanding characterization Is Cabot or Eben the more willful character, the “harder” and more determined character?
[more ideas to come ….] |
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