The Tragedy is the Thing

Each of the four tragedies we have read so far (Agamemnon, Oedipus the King, Medea, or Hamlet, Prince of Denmark) presents complex moral questions. Some of these questions we debated in class: Was Clytemnestra the villain of Agamemnon? Can Medea’s crimes be defended? Others we discussed or you wrote about in your reading responses: Was Oedipus a victim of fate or of his own mistakes (free will)? Why does Hamlet hesitate so long to get revenge?

Choose one of the four tragedies we have read so far and make an argument about one of these ambiguous moral questions. You can come up with your own question, or use one of the ones above – but your essay must have an original thesis.

Your essay should also consider some of the following factors:

– performance context (when and where, for whom, by whom)

– dramatic irony (What makes the play suspenseful? What does the audience know that the characters do not know?)

– the tragic plot (Is there a moment of recognition and a moment of reversal? Does the play end in a spectacle of violence that arouses our pity and fear?)

Due dates and details:

1. Essay Topic Proposal (50-100 words), due on Thursday, November 16^th (11/16):

 

2. First draft due uploaded to website on Tuesday, November 28^th (11/28):

5-6 pages/ 1500 – 1800 words. Double-spaced. CEA Style.

3. Second (final) draft due by email on Friday, December 15^th (12/15) at 10:00pm:

5-6 pages/ 1500 – 1800 words. Double-spaced. CEA Style. MLA format. Title.

Send your essay to: [email protected]

If you don’t receive a confirmation message, then I did not receive your essay.

Cover Letter Draft #1

What were you were hoping to prove. What was the central thesis you arrived at? Where in the essay (on what page) did you best manage to make this main point? How did your ideas develop? What do you think you need to work on as you revise?

Cover Letter Draft #2

Describe your revision process. What advice did you get from others that you tried to follow? Point to specific places in your draft where you followed someone else’s advice. Was there advice you didn’t follow? Why? Where do you feel your revision succeeded? Where did it fail? What would you have liked to continue working on?

Essay #2 Grading Rubric

 

1. Depth of analysis (150 points)

How closely did the student analyze the text? Did they discuss the specific words of the quotations? Were the quotations developed into complex arguments? Did the student discuss performance context, dramatic irony and the form of a tragic plot?

 

2. Thesis / Theme (75 points)

Did the student develop an original thesis? Was that thesis found in an introductory paragraph? How thoughtful and complex was the thesis? How closely were all of the arguments connected to the essay’s overall thesis? Did the conclusion of the essay return to the original thesis, and transform, reimagine or contradict it?

 

3. CEA (75 points)

Did the student write complete body paragraphs in the CEA format? Were quotations used correctly? Were all quotations preceded by introductory claims, and followed by analysis? Were there final claims, transition sentences?

 

4. Organization Presentation (50 points)

Did the essay have an original title? Did the essay have two cover letters? Did the author use MLA format? Page numbers? Works Cited?

 

5. Depth of Revision (50 points)

To what degree did the student develop upon early drafts to turn their paper into a finished, complete, satisfying essay? How much did the argument and the style develop between drafts?