Critical Essay Assignment
Choose one of the three critical essays listed below. For each of the two following instructions, write two or three paragraphs in response
(about a page to a page and a half for each response). Use double-space lineation in your answers. Assignments that exceed three pages of writing will not be
accepted. Your responses will be evaluated for accuracy, insight, and expression (i.e., good writing). Include a list of Works Cited in MLA
format. The assignment is due on May 31; the seven-day extension applies. The assignment does require submission to Turn It In.
1) Summarize the main argument of the essay and any secondary arguments. Include the main points the essay makes and a description of the
methodology the author uses for supporting the main argument. Indicate how the essay represents a new way of thinking about the poem it treats.
Do not quote from the essay.
2) Assess the value of the essay. How convincing is the essay? How does the essay represent a valuable contribution to our understanding
of the poem? What are the main weaknesses in the argument of the essay? Avoid talking about minor weaknesses in the style or presentation of
the essay. Note: you are not reviewing the essay, but assessing its scholarly importance.
- Carpenter, Margaret Ann. “Marvell’s ‘Garden.’” Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900 10.1 (Winter 1970): 155-69.
- Clair, John A. “Donne’s ‘The Canonization.’” PMLA 80.3 (1965): 300-02.
- Levitt, Paul M., and Kenneth G. Johnston. “Herbert’s ‘The Collar’: A Nautical Metaphor.” Studies in Philology 66.2 (1969): 217-24.