For this assignment, you will select one word that you find especially significant to Aphra Behn’s The Rover. The word can be from the Prologue or the text of the play. The question that this short paper will answer (or begin to answer) is what is the significance of that word to the poem? Another way to phrase this question is: what does your chosen word contribute to the overall meaning of the poem? Why did the author use that word and not a synonym for the word? The answer to this question will be your thesis/hypothesis, which you will state in the introduction. You will support your thesis with evidence from your close reading analysis.
Here are a few hints and questions to guide your close reading analysis:
- Word choice is everything here. Select a word that you feel has weight in the text, that is heavy with meaning. Your word should also lend itself to thinking about a theme or idea in the poem. Words that are part of figurative language can work well, but so can any word depending on the text. When I use this strategy in my own writing, I tend to look for words that are figurative or a pun, words that are unique and highly descriptive, or words that seem very odd to me.
- Is this word repeated? If so, how many times and in what scenarios/instances? Do you notice any patterns in the repetitions?
- What other words in the text are related to your word? In what contexts do they appear? Again, you’re looking for patterns.
- Look up your word’s many meanings in the Oxford English Dictionary. Here is the link to this resource in our library: http://www.oed.com.libproxy.scu.edu/. Do any of these meanings relate to or enlighten thoughts about your poem? If so, how?
- If it is part of a poem, where does your word fall on the line? Does it occur in a place of emphasis on the page, such as the start or the end of a line or stanza? Does it appear toward the beginning, middle, or end of the poem? What might its position on the page say about its significance?
- Is your word part of a rhyme, and if so, what does it rhyme with?
- What happens when you take this word out and/or replace it with another one?
- What other words could the author have used? How would they have changed the meaning?
Technical details:
Due: Thursday, January 24, by midnight
Turn in: on Camino, upload to the assignment as a .docx or .doc. Assignment folder in Camino is called “Close Reading Essay.”
Length: 3 pages, double spaced
Polish level = high. In other words, because this is such a short assignment, I expect it to be beautifully written and well-edited.
Font: 12 pt., Times New Roman or Garamond, 1-inch margins (standard formatting)
Number of sources: You can only use The Rover and the OED, if you choose. Both must be cited according to MLA style in your paper. See the Purdue Owl for MLA guidelines rules. (I use the OWL when I need to make my own citations!)
Grading Rubric:
Your essay will be evaluated on the following criteria. Be sure to follow the essay directions above.
- (25%) Argument / Thesis statement: is it a specific claim that can be reasonably argued against? (Make sure that you are not simply discovering/noticing a feature of the text that cannot be disputed reasonably. Also be sure to avoid confusing a list of traits with an argument about why those traits matter.)
- (25%) Close reading evidence: How well do you support your argument using evidence from the language of the text?
- (25%) Organization of paragraphs: Each paragraph should have a topic sentence followed by supporting evidence and analysis. Paragraphs should have a clear organization within themselves, and together they should create an easy-to-follow narrative throughout your short essay. In other words, they should tell the story of how you support your argument.
- (25%) Editing and citing: How well written and edited is your essay at the level of the sentence (e.g., grammar, punctuation, spelling, clarity)? You will only use 1 primary text and maybe also the OED for this assignment. Do you cite these properly according to MLA guidelines?
British Women's Writing of the Long 18th Century 