Instruction
For this assignment, you will write a 3-5 page essay based on one of the prompts below.
Your essay should include:
• a clear thesis
• specific details (including examples and direct quotes) from at least two separate course readings (Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, and/or Othello) to illustrate each of your points (Remember that these details must come from the works themselves, not from the introductions or supplemental materials.
• information from at least two of the resources I have provided about the literature in each week’s lessons or two resources you found through your own research (In other words, this is also a research essay! Back up your points with outside information in addition to direct quotes from the readings.)
• proper MLA-style citations of any information used, whether you use direct quotes or not. This includes in-text citations and a Works Cited page formatted according to MLA guidelines.
DO NOT COPY AND PASTE FROM PREVIOUS ASSIGNMENTS. While you might discuss some of the same ideas you’ve discussed in previous assignments, this essay should be a completely new piece of writing.
Prompts:
1. Based on two of the works you have read so far this semester, how was marriage seen in early Britain? What was the role of the man in marriage supposed to be? What was the role of women? How do ideas about marriage change over time?
2. Compare and contrast ideas of the military and heroism in Beowulf and Othello. How does each text define what it means to be a (military) hero? How does this idea change from Beowulf to Othello? What do the similarities and differences between the ways the two texts present heroes tell us about the changes in British society over time?
3. Based on what you have read so far this semester, how was religion viewed in early Britain? How did views of Christianity or other religions change over the time period we’ve read so far?
Remember that these essays must be your own original work and writing. If you use information from any other source, be sure to quote and cite it according to MLA guidelines. Otherwise, the assignment will be considered plagiarized and you will receive a "0." I will be using the general essay rubric to grade this assignment.
This essay will count as 25% of your final course grade.