Length 3-4 typed, double-spaced pages (750-1000 words, but can be longer if you wish)
February 7: Typed rough draft due in class
Content is very important, but good organization, sentence structure, and editing skills are also important. Citations and the Works Cited page should follow MLA format. More guidelines for turning in papers in this class are here: http://public.wsu.edu/~campbelld/format.htm. You can find good information on citing sources online here: http://bcs.bedfordstmartins.com/resdoc5e/RES5e_ch04_o.html
These topics are broad and are meant to suggest ideas to you; you should think about developing your own ideas using these as guidelines.
1. Your own topic. Please check with me (via email) about your topic. The only firm requirement is that you must discuss at least one of the works we’ve read in class.2. Choosing one of the selections in the Household Book of Poetry or another such 19th-century source, compare a poem from a lesser-known but popular poet with a poem on a similar subject by Dickinson. What characteristics would make these poems popular or well-regarded during the nineteenth century (if that's true)?
3. Analyze one or more of Twain's early pieces of writing and compare it with either (1) a story in the tradition of Southwestern Humor or (2) one of his late stories.
4. Choose a story by Twain or Freeman that was published in a magazine or newspaper and discuss it in the context of the other pieces with which it was published.
5. Briefly analyze one work by Dickinson or Freeman that challenges the ways in which women were perceived in the nineteenth century. Make sure that you analyze the work closely.
6. Using the versions of Dickinson's poetry available in facsimile editions in the library or in the Dickinson archives, explore the versions of a poem or sequence of poems to determine the ways in which the meanings change through the poet's revisions.
7. An author's letters and interviews can be revealing, especially about the ways in which they see their own work. Analyze a story or work by Freeman, Twain, or Dickinson and, using their comments about it, discuss the ways in which their views about it may differ from our own.