interpretive argument about one or two works of literature, and to offer te

In these essays, you will make a specific, interpretive argument about one or two works of literature, and to offer textual evidence in support of your interpretation in the context of current, relevant research (five credible, academic secondary sources). Possible Topics/Questions

Your essay should respond to one of the following questions. Consult me before choosing an alternate topic, or I will not accept your essay:

Tartuffe

How does Tartuffe portray The Enlightenment conflict between reason and passion?
Discuss the controversy concerning Tartuffe and explain how the play attacks religious hypocrisy.

Romantic Poets

Analyze the poet’s personification of natural elements in one or more of the poems we’ve read.
Discuss the concept and use of cycles in one or more of the poems that we’ve read.
In “To Autumn,” what is special to Keats’ speaker about Autumn? What associations does he draw from the season beyond the natural surroundings and the time of year?
Wordsworth once said that his great theme was “the wedding of man and Nature.” How does Wordsworth make use of natural imagery in “Tintern Abbey”? What functions does it serve? What conflicts does it highlight? How does it function as a medium for unification?
In what ways does “Tintern Abbey” offer readers a “religion of nature”? In what ways does nature serve as a substitute for traditional religion in this poem?
The three stages of what M.H. Abrams has called “The Greater Romantic Lyric” are 1) description of the scene; 2) Analysis of the scene’s significance with regard to the problem articulated; and 3) affective resolution of the problem that has been articulated. How would you apply Abrams’ formula to “Tintern Abbey”?

The Death of Ivan Ilyich

Why does Tolstoy present the story through the eyes of an omniscient narrator? What is the effect of this presentation
Discuss the significance of the title. If the work professes to be about Ivan’s death, why is it almost entirely dedicated to Ivan’s life?
How is the fact that Gerasim is a peasant important to understanding his character and worldview?
Why is Ivan’s method of dealing with life’s unpleasantness ultimately unsuccessful?
According to the text, why is it important to acknowledge one’s own mortality?

A Doll’s House

Is Nora a victim or does she bring her trouble on herself?
What social message might Ibsen support through this play?
What elements of either Romanticism or Realism do you find in the play?
How could the submissive, selfish and silly Nora of the first two acts transform herself into an independent woman by the end of the last act? Is the transformation realistic?
How do different characters use the words “free” and “freedom”? How does the use of these words change throughout the play?
“The Yellow Wallpaper”

1. How do specific images chart our narrator’s descent into madness?

2. Discuss the biographical origins of the story with regard to the author’s life.