Midterm Exam and Scheduling

We are a little off schedule.  That is OK.  Here is how it is going to impact you:

1.  We will skip Johnson and Boswell and 18th Century Newspapers.
2.  We will discuss The Beggar's Opera on Monday, February 7th. 
3.  Read Pope ("Rape of the Lock" and "Essay on Man")for next week.

On to the Midterm.  This will be due on Wednesday, February 9th.  I suggest beginning work on it this weekend.  On Monday I will pass back explications and we'll talk about a few issues that should help you to finish the Midterm successfully.  Please remember that Midterms should be typed and formatted in MLA style (and also cited according to MLA guidelines).

You have two choices.  Please answer one of the following questions.  I expect that answers will range from about three to five pages.  But there are no minimum and no maximum page requirements.  You will have to decide how long it will take you to adequately answer the question you have chosen.

1.  Milton, Swift, and Gay all exhibit some uses of humor in the pieces you have read, although, one could argue, in very different ways.  Identify a passage in each text that could be considered humorous, witty, absurd, or even laugh-out-loud funny.  Write a short description/summary of each passage, then compare and contrast 1) the kind of humor being used (what makes it funny?  how would you characterize the humor?  what might you compare the humor to?) and 2) the purpose of the humor (what significance does the humor have to the work as a whole?  what work gets accomplished in the passage?  how does the author's sense of humor help readers understand the author or the work better?)  You might also wish to consider whether the humor is at the EXPENSE of any particular person/group of people and what that might indicate. 

If you are feeling bold, adventurous, and in need of extra credit, you may ALSO consider the humor in Pope's "The Rape of the Lock."  But don't do so in place of any of the other three texts.  Be sure that you have covered the required material first and thoroughly.

2.  If I were to give you unidentified passages from Milton, Swift, and Gay, you would likely be able to tell me who had written them, given the fact that the three are writing in different genres, use language in very different ways, and seem to have different purposes for writing in the first place.  Characterize these writers based on the texts you have read.  If it helps, think about how you might describe or represent each writer to someone who had not read any of these texts before.  (Milton is the ________________ writer.  Or Swift is the writer of _______________ and _______________.)  Then, support your characterizations with evidence that touches on all three elements of genre, language, and purpose.  Use quotation and summary to make your characterizations clear and understandable.  

If you are feeling bold, adventurous, and in need of extra credit, you may ALSO consider Pope's "Essay on Man."  But don't do so in place of any of the other three texts.  Be sure that you have covered the required material first and thoroughly.

**Please remember that, in either case, you need to 1) make a clear and consistent interpretative argument in answer to the question posed and 2) use direct evidence from the texts (quotation, paraphrase, summary), in order to write a successful midterm.

**You may contact me with questions or concerns about this exam, but you MAY NOT receive help from anyone else--do not discuss the exam with classmates and do not take the exam, or your answer, to the Tutoring Center.  Part of the purpose here is to ascertain if you have read and how well you have read these texts.  Also, please note that both of these essays can be written without the use of any secondary sources.  If it helps, you may use the introductions and notes from your texts (please cite them correctly if you DO use them), but please restrict yourself to these resources and the texts themselves.  Googling and wiki-ing will likely muddy the waters, in this case.