The overall objective for this paper is to reinforce close-reading skills, and begin to see how noticing small, descriptive details can lead you to a research question, and then a clear and specific argument. (instructions for Draft 2 and 3 coming soon!)
All Papers should be:
In 12 pt. Times New Roman font
With 1 inch or 1.25 inch margins
Double-spaced
Stapled
At least the minimum number of words assigned
Carefully edited and proofread for typos
Paper 1 Draft 1: Gathering Data Due Friday, February 2
Step 1: Initial Close-Reading of Text (60-90 min)
Do a preliminary reading of Songs of Innocence and Experience in order to decide which poem you want to discuss. You can choose any poem in the collection, whether we are reading it in class or not (except the “Introduction” to Innocence, which is my example attached to this assignment). You will be spending some time with it, so it’s best if you can pick a poem you find interesting/strange/confusing in some way.
Once you’ve chosen a poem, copy it out by hand on paper (or you can do this on the computer if you prefer).
Then, take out your Close Reading Worksheet, and go through the steps listed on it.
Look up the definitions of any words you do not know (or words you think might have multiple meanings) using the Oxford English Dictionary (oed.com) – keep in mind that these poems were published ~1800, so definitions after that date won’t be relevant.
Summarize the literal meaning of the poem, and write it down.
Write out your descriptions of all the following categories: Speaker/Narrator, Imagery, Language, Line-breaks, Rhyme, Structure, Chronology, using the guiding questions on the handout. (see my example attached)
Step 2: Initial Close-Reading of Image (60 min)
Now, find the corresponding plate for your image using the William Blake Archive (click on one of the copies at the bottom of the page)
Free-Write for 15 minutes about the image. What do you see? What is interesting to you about it? What is ambiguous, confusing, or unclear about it? Describe it as fully as you can, thinking of Clark as your model.
Now, go back to the William Blake Archive and click through several different versions of your plate/poem. Do you notice any interesting changes between different plates? What’s interesting about those changes? Jot down any significant differences, and why you think they’re suggestive.
Free-Write for 15 minutes about the relationship between the image on the plate and the poem itself (keeping all the implications of the formal features you noticed in Step 1 in mind). Think of the image as additional data, as if it’s another category in the “Steps to Close Reading” handout. How does the image contribute to the meaning of the poem – does it clarify or complicate anything about the poem? Do changes among plates suggest different readings of the poem?
In order for this assignment to be considered complete, you must turn in the following at the beginning of class on Friday:
Answers to the “Steps to Close Reading”: Summary and Descriptive Categories (see example)
15 minute free write about Image
Notes about differences between plates (listing which plates they are, so that I could find these plates if I clicked through the Archive)
15 minute free write about the relationship between the image(s) and the text
Paper 1 Draft 2: Sorting Your Data and Drafting Due Friday, February 9 Now that you have done some preliminary reading and noticing of your poem, it is time to sort through your data, come up with a topic, and begin to explore it. To sum up, here is the method we use to get to a paper:
detail/form/ambiguity/strangeness --> central topic of poem ---> detail/form
Review Your Data (30 min)
Read through my feedback to you.
Read back over the poem, noting anything that stands out to you in this reading.
Read back over your initial close-reading, and - thinking of both what you noticed in this reading and responding to my feedback - add additional notes in the margins.
Ranking (20 min)
Now, ask yourself: Which three details or formal features of the poem are most interesting or strange?
Do a 15 minute (or longer!) free-write answering the following question for each feature:
Why you find these this aspect of the poem one of the most interesting?
How does this detail change the meaning of the poem?
What else in the poem seems related to this detail?
What else in the poem seems opposite, unrelated, or contradictory to this detail?
(you can also think of details of the poem in relation to the larger Songs of Innocence and Experience, but stay as close to the text as possible)
Write down questions that attention to this detail brings up as they occur to you. Whenever you don’t know what to write next, prompt yourself with one of the questions above. (see my example attached)
Figuring out your Topic (15 min)
Now, your goal is to abstract up from your free-write to a central topic of the poem. Read back over your free-write and come up with a list of “umbrella topics” by underlining any major themes that come up.
Here’s a sample list of umbrella topics that emerged from my free-write:
the relationship between piping and writing
the relationship between writing and the natural world
the relationship between the speaker and his audience
Pick the umbrella topic that seems most fruitful and interesting to you. Write it at the top of a new page in the form of a question: “What does this poem suggest about __________?” or “How does this poem express _____________?”
Drafting your Paper (2-3 hrs)
Read through my attached example (See "Sorting your Data example" above).
Read back through the poem and your notes, thinking through all the data that might be relevant to your question.
Write at least 800 words (can be more, but don’t go too crazy) thinking through this question in relation to the poem. You should exhaust this question with everything that could possibly be related to it.
At this point, you should NOT be trying to prove an argument. You should simply be working through this question in writing, thinking of all the possible evidence you could use to address this question, and all the possible things that the poem could be suggesting about it based on the evidence in the poem (not on mere speculation).
The paper should follow a clear-ish logic (be able to prove the things it’s saying with examples from the text), but does not have to be polished or formed in any way.
Guidelines to Keep in Mind:
QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE QUOTE. I cannot say this strongly enough. Every point that you make needs to be shored up in quoted evidence from the poem.
Remember, your goal is not to summarize what the poem says, but to explore how it says it. Our goal is not to state literal meaning, but to have our eyes and ears open for AMBIGUOUS, CONFUSING, CONTRADICTORY meaning that comes from how the poem says it, and then attempt to THINK THROUGH THE IMPLICATIONS not to simply explain the poem. There is no one right meaning to a poem. Your job is to think of as many meanings as possible.
We are not arguing about authorial intent or biography. We’re talking about what the poem – not Blake – expresses. Refer to the narrator of the poem as the speaker.
We are also not offering judgment – what is “good” or “bad” about the poem. Keep in mind instead the adjectives “interesting” and “strange,” and then attempt to think through what makes aspects of the poem seem interesting or strange.
Keep these transitions in mind as you write: “And yet,” “But,” “Even so,” “On one hand,” “On the other hand.” Your goal is to push beyond the literal meaning of the poem to new readings it could suggest.
In order for this assignment to be considered complete, you must turn in to me:
Your copy of Paper 1 Draft 1 with additional notes written in (in the margins)
Your 15-minute Ranking Free-write
Your list of topics
Your (at least) 800 word draft
Paper 1 Draft 3: Forming an Argument Due Friday, February 16
Paper 1 Draft 3
After all of this writing, we have finally made it to the last draft of the assignment! (unless you choose to revise it, that is – see additional projects). Your task is to create an argumentative essay of at least 1,000 words.
Step 1: Annotate Your Essay (30 min)
Read back through your draft of your essay.
Underline any moments of your reading that indicate a problem, tension, or ambiguity in the poem. In the margins, describe that tension.
In the margin of each paragraph, write the main point that you’re making.
Step 2: Write Your Introduction (30-60 min) see Thesis Workshop for example
Open a blank document or get out a blank piece of paper. At the top, write your question.
Beneath your question, begin to write your introduction. Your introduction should follow this format:
1. Initial Survey: Introduce your poem and topic, based on how it would appear to the most superficial reading.
2. The Turn: Unsettle this reading by describing how closer examination of your topic actually introduces a question, tension, or problem in the poem.
3. The Thesis: The thesis is your specific, argumentative answer to this question, tension, or problem. HOWEVER, your thesis should be the last part of the paper that you write or revise. For now, in the place where your thesis will go, put in brackets a “working thesis,” or, if you do not yet have one, put your initial question.
Step 3: Write Your Paper (? min – depends on your draft)
You do not have specific introductions for this step. Hopefully, you will already have a good portion of your paper written from your draft. Here are some guidelines:
Remember that your introductory paragraph introduces a question, tension, or problem in the poem, and your thesis answers it. Your paper should walk us through how you get to that answer. It should not repeat the same point over and over again so much as show us a mind in movement on the page, working through a question. Throw out any leftover conception of the 5-paragraph essay from high school. Really.
Every paragraph (other than the introduction and conclusion) should have at least one close-reading.
You should have a clear and argumentative thesis. That doesn’t have to mean taking “one side” of an argument – you shouldn’t ignore evidence that is difficult to incorporate into your argument, but attempt to account for it instead.
Step 4: Line-Edit Paper (30-45 min.)
We will be talking a lot more about structuring and editing papers over the course of the semester. For now, I want you to take just two steps in editing:
1. Read your paper aloud, slowly and clearly. Listen for any moments where the prose sounds awkward. Revise them.
2. Read your paper one more time, silently, for typos.
Step 5: Labor Reflection (45-60 min)
Write a labor reflection of at least 400 words answering the following questions:
Describe one moment of engaging labor over the course of writing this paper – what made it engaging?
Describe one moment of labor that wasn’t engaging. Why wasn’t it engaging? What obstacles do you think got in the way (think not only of the actual task, but where or when you were doing it)?
Grades are usually described as an incentive to work hard on something. How motivated do you feel to work on your writing? What motivated you? What do you think you have lost or gained by not having a grade?
What does it feel like to move through multiple steps of an assignment, rather than just being assigned something in one go?
For this assignment to be considered complete, you must turn in to me:
All drafts of this paper (1, 2 and 3) paperclipped together. Draft 2 should include the annotations described in Step 1.
Paper 1 Draft 3! Hooray!
Your Labor Reflection
You must also upload Paper 1 Draft 3 and your Labor Reflection (as one document) to our bcourses site.