{"id":297,"date":"2017-10-05T14:11:10","date_gmt":"2017-10-05T20:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briancroxall.net\/f17dh\/?page_id=297"},"modified":"2017-11-01T08:59:13","modified_gmt":"2017-11-01T14:59:13","slug":"puzzling-out-duffys-poetry","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/briancroxall.net\/f17dh\/assignments\/puzzling-out-duffys-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"Puzzling Out Duffy’s Poetry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rationale<\/h2>\n

As we saw in a letter to her publisher, Carol Ann Duffy felt that her fifth book, The World\u2019s Wife <\/em>(TWW), \u201cis not a \u2018normal\u2019 poetry collection by me\u2014it\u2019s close to popular entertainment.\u201d Here, then, is a real research question: is she right?<\/p>\n

The Nitty Gritty<\/h2>\n

You will write a six-page-minimum (more is fine!) paper that examines TWW in relation to Duffy\u2019s first collection, Standing Female Nude<\/em> (SFN). In a sense, your argument will be to agree or disagree with Duffy\u2019s assessment: are TWW and SFN similar to one another or are they radically different? Either is an equally valid choice, and since I haven\u2019t ever tried this before I don\u2019t have a preconceived notion of the \u201canswer.\u201d To orient your writing, you could think of this as a \u201ccompare and contrast\u201d paper. Make sure that you do not simply summarize what happens in the poems; instead, focus on one theme or aspect of the two books to make your argument.<\/p>\n

It is important to remember that you are making an argument<\/strong>, something that you will need to persuasively demonstrate. You should draw your evidence for this argument via \u201cclose reading,\u201d an analysis of the language and techniques present within the poems and volumes. Again, it\u2019s not enough to consider the overarching themes or organization of the two volumes. Instead you are required to examine the language of at least one poem from each <\/em>volume<\/strong>. These details will comprise the evidence for your argument.<\/p>\n

You not only need an appropriate amount of evidence but you must also spend an appropriate amount of time demonstrating and explaining<\/strong> how your evidence adds up to your interpretation. Help your reader understand how the dots connect in your argument. What this means is that when you use quotations from the text (and you must)<\/strong>, you must also take the time to make clear how that quotation relates to your larger argument. This is not as simple as it sounds.<\/p>\n

You are not<\/em> required to use external sources for this assignment, although you may do so if you would like. Whether or not you use external sources, you will need a Works Cited list<\/strong> in correct,<\/strong> MLA 8th<\/sup> edition style<\/strong>. Feel free to use EasyBib<\/a> to make this process easier.<\/p>\n

Papers must be emailed to me as PDFs by the beginning of class on Tuesday, 31 October<\/strong><\/span><\/span> Thursday, 2 November<\/strong>. Please name files in the following format: [last name]-duffy.pdf (e.g., croxall-duffy.pdf)<\/span><\/span>[random 6-digit number]-duffy.pdf (e.g., 634891-duffy.pdf). The papers must be in 12-point Times New Roman font and double-spaced. It must have a title and 1\u201d margins on all sides.<\/p>\n

Grading<\/h2>\n

I will grade these papers simply with letter grades. A+ = 100; A= 95; A- = 92; B+= 88; etc. I will focus on a few discreet things in grading:<\/p>\n