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ENG 102: Willard

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102 Drama Assignment

Due Date:  April 28, 2010

Assignment: Select a prompt below and write a 5-6 page, MLA documented essay. You must have a minimum of three sources. One is the original play. One must be a critical review about the play, not about the movie, by an expert in the field of drama.

Ø When the curtain comes down on the conclusion of some plays, the audience is left to decide exactly what finally happened. State your interpretation of the conclusion from one of the plays in your textbook. Don’t just give a plot summary; show what you think the conclusion means.

Ø From a play in your textbook, choose a passage that strikes you as difficult, worth reading closely. Try to pick a passage not longer than about 200 words, or twenty lines. Explicate it, working through it sentence by sentence or line by line.

Ø Take a single line or a sentence from a play—one that stands out for some reason as greatly important. Perhaps it states a theme, reveals a character, or serves as a crisis (or turning point). Write an essay demonstrating its importance—how it functions why it is necessary.

Ø Compare and contrast two plays—a play from your book and another play by the same author—with attention to one element. Consider: Independence, Symbol, Allusion, Fantasy; Dreams

Ø Write an essay in analysis, in which you single out an element of a play for examination—setting, dramatic irony, tone, language, conventions, motif. Try to relate this one element to the play as a whole.

Titles to chose from:

o *A Doll’s House, page 812

o Andre’s Mother, page 755

o Los Vendidos, 1076

Plays you may choose, but are not in your textbook. Some titles may be available online, but you’ll have to look. Check the libraries. Visit Barnes and Noble.

o *Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

o *A Raisin in the Sun, by Lorraine Hansberry

o *The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, by Shakespeare

o *The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice, by Shakespeare

o The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams

* will watch these films in class

Sparknotes.com can help you understand the play, but you must cite from the original play. NEVER CITE FROM PAGES LIKE SPARKNOTES OR WIKIPEDIA in a serious essay.

Guidelines:

· Length: at least 5 complete pages and onto the sixth

· Give your essay a meaningful, original title

· Document your quotes and you must use quotes from the play

· Information that must be included in the upper left corner of the first page: Your name, assignment, English 102: hour, date.