Consider one of the following topics in an essay that is thoughtfully conceived, intelligently organized, energetically argued, and gracefully written. Each topic presents you with a starting point. In each case, you’ll need to define your topic further in accordance with your own ideas, and develop a clear, specific, and argumentative thesis. Your essay should draw closely on the texts (both the critical texts and the more conventionally literary ones) to support that thesis.

Your essay should be three to four pages long, double-spaced, in a standard font. Follow MLA guidelines for format and acknowledgments; see Hacker’s Rules for Writers for details.

DUE:  Monday, October 17 by 4 pm in my mailbox in Barnard 417.

1. Consider the role of the poet in Shakespeare’s Sonnets and/or Sidney’s Astrophil and Stella in light of Sidney’s "Apology for Poetry." To what extent do these sonnet series reflect the positions which Sidney articulates in his essay? You may also want to draw on the discussion of the Renaissance in The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms to help you frame your essay. Be sure to support your argument with close readings of both the sonnets and the essays. Bear in mind, though, that you’ll need to be selective. You won’t be able to present close readings of all the sonnets and of the entire essay.
   
   
2. Consider the excerpts we’ve read from Johnson’s Preface to Shakespeare in relation the Shakespeare texts that we’ve read for this class. To what extent do Johnson’s comments on Shakespeare reflect neoclassical preoccupations in contrast with those more typically associated with the Renaissance? To answer this question, you might compare Shakespeare’s treatment of particular themes or issues with Johnson’s. Again, you’ll want to work closely with both literary and critical texts, and you may want to draw as well on discussions of relevant periods and terms in The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms.
   
3. Consider one or more of the assigned poems by Wordsworth in light of his "Preface to Lyrical Ballads." To what extent do these poems reflect the positions that he articulates in his preface? How do these positions differ from those articulated by Pope and/or Johnson? You will probably want to draw on Pope’s Essay on Criticism as a basis for comparison, both of the authors’ critical assumptions and of their poetry. You will also want to draw on discussions of relevant periods and terms in The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms.
   
4. Design your own topic within the following parameters:
   a) You must focus on texts and criticism from the Renaissance, the eighteenth century, tthe Romantic period, the Victorian period and/or the modern period.
   b) You must use one or more critical texts to explore and illuminate one or more literary texts (or, conversely, you may use one or more literary texts to explore and illuminate one or more critical texts).
   c) Your essay must involve close reading of both critical and literary texts.
   d) If you choose this option, you must consult with me on or before October 10.