Diana Solomon English 10 Paper
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[edit] Diana Solomon: English 10
[edit] Topics for Paper 2
Directions: Choose one of the following topics and write a 4-5 page essay. The essay should be based around a thesis statement that is clear and controversial, and the body of the essay should be focused around proving the thesis. **Include your notes and previous drafts, like last time.
Choice 1: Pick a passage of approximately 15-45 lines from either Lysistrata or The Country Wife. Analyze it as you would a poem, paying attention to figurative elements. Include a copy of the passage. Develop a thesis statement about the passage's meaning(s). Finally, consider what larger issues of the play the passage represents?
Suggested passages from The Country Wife:
- III, ii, lines 591-646 (the "breeches" scene)
- IV, ii, lines 100-189 (Margery's letter to Homer) -IV, iii, lines 198-262 (the "china" scene)
Choice 2: What is funny, and why? Choose either Lysistrata or The Country Wife, analyze the comic elements, and then develop a thesis statement about the nature of the play's comedy. What purposes does the comedy seem to serve?
Choice 3: Homer arranges for people to engage in sex, whereas Lysistrata arranges for sex to be withheld. How does each gain the ability to influence a large number of characters, in order to wield this type of power? Choose a quotation or two from each play, and do a close reading of the quotations in order to determine how Homer and Lysistrata obtain their power. How are their methods different, and are they at all similar?
