Due: March 5
Manuscript Requirements: Three typed, double-spaced
pages.
Use parenthetical citation of page numbers in the text. No
secondary
sources should be cited.
Directions: Choose one of the passages from The Scarlet Letter, "Self Reliance," or Walden listed below and write a close analysis of the passage according to the directions following the list.
1. Chapter 12, "The Minister's Vigil" from The Scarlet
Letter,
from
the point at which Hester and Pearl join Dimmesdale on the scaffold to
the end of the chapter
2. Chapter 10, "The Leech and His Patient," from The Scarlet
Letter, the final six paragraphs of the chapter
3. Chapter 8, "The Elf-Child and the Minister," from The
Scarlet
Letter, from the point where Governor Bellingham indicates he
intends
to take Pearl from Hester to the point where Hester appeals to
Dimmesdale
for aid.
4. The "Whoso would be a man . . ." paragraph from
"Self-Reliance,"
pp. 552-3.
5. The "Society never advances" and "The civilized man has built
a coach" paragraphs from "Self-Reliance, pp. 565.
6. The third and fourth paragraphs from Walden, p. 869.
7. The paragraph that begins "In the savage state every family
owns a shelter" from Walden, pp. 883.
Or write a detailed interpretive analysis of any poem by Dickinson you wish.
Your analysis must include:
a. A brief introduction that puts the selected passage in a context
and summarizes it. This will serve as a lead-in to the
thesis
statement (your major claim in your interpretation of the
passage/poem).
b. An explication of the passage/poem that shows what language is key
to interpreting its significance
c. A textual interpretation: How does the passage relate to the
work as a whole (or to other poems by Dickinson)?
Your analysis may include:
d. Inter-textual interpretation: What links can be drawn to
history,
culture, or other literature?
See the Criteria for evaluation attached to your syllabus.