Paper

Choose one of the four plays we’ve read this semester, either the play itself or a cinematic interpretation of the play that we watched.  

Paper​​2​ ​assignment​ ​instructions

Quick​ ​overview:

● compare/contrast​ ​at​ ​least​ ​two​ ​sources,​ ​at​ ​least​ ​one​ ​of​ ​which​ ​must​ ​be​ ​a​ ​film
● 5-7​ ​pages,​ ​double-spaced

Goals​ ​of​ ​this​ ​assignment:

● identify​ ​and​ ​explain​ ​similarities​ ​and​ ​differences​ ​between​ ​two​ ​sources​ ​in​ ​order​ ​to​ ​support
a​ ​claim​ ​about​ ​one​ ​or​ ​both​ ​of​ ​them

● practice​ ​using​ ​the​ ​language​ ​of​ ​film​ ​analysis
● develop​ ​an​ ​argument​ ​supported​ ​by​ ​logical​ ​and​ ​demonstrable​ ​reasons​ ​and​ ​concrete

evidence

● demonstrate​ ​an​ ​understanding​ ​of​ ​audience​ ​needs​ ​(your​ ​audience​ ​is​ ​me​ ​and​ ​your
classmates)

● engage​ ​critically​ ​with​ ​Shakespeare

Important​ ​dates:

● draft​ ​or​ ​detailed​ ​outline​ ​due​ ​in​ ​hard​ ​copy​ ​Friday​ ​12/1​ ​for​ ​peer​ ​review
● final​ ​polished​ ​paper​ ​due​ ​in​ ​hard​ ​copy​ ​12/11

Detailed​ ​instructions:

Choose​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​four​ ​plays​ ​we’ve​ ​read​ ​this​ ​semester,​ ​either​ ​the​ ​play​ ​itself​ ​or​ ​a​ ​cinematic
interpretation​ ​of​ ​the​ ​play​ ​that​ ​we​ ​watched.​ ​Compare​ ​and​ ​contrast​ ​this​ ​text/film​ ​to​ ​another​ ​film.
The​ ​second​ ​film​ ​may​ ​be​ ​one​ ​that​ ​we​ ​watched​ ​in​ ​class,​ ​but​ ​does​ ​not​ ​have​ ​to​ ​be.​ ​You​ ​may​ ​choose
to​ ​compare/contrast​ ​e.g.​ ​two​ ​versions​ ​of​ ​​Hamlet​,​ ​or​ ​Olivier’s​ ​​Hamlet​​ ​to​ ​Brook’s​ ​​Lear​,​ ​or
Kozintsev’s​ ​​Lear​​ ​to​ ​the​ ​original​ ​play.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​use​ ​a​ ​play​ ​not​ ​read​ ​in​ ​class,​ ​or​ ​compare​ ​a
source​ ​from​ ​class​ ​to​ ​a​ ​non-Shakespeare​ ​film,​ ​talk​ ​to​ ​me​ ​first.​ ​As​ ​with​ ​paper​ ​1,​ ​you​ ​should​ ​be
conscious​ ​of​ ​what​ ​theory​ ​or​ ​theories​ ​you​ ​are​ ​using​ ​to​ ​make​ ​your​ ​interpretation,​ ​whether​ ​or​ ​not
you​ ​discuss​ ​it/them​ ​explicitly.

​ ​In​ ​your​ ​paper,​ ​you​ ​may​ ​focus​ ​on​ ​how​ ​the​ ​films​ ​use​ ​cinematic​ ​and​ ​narrative​ ​techniques​ ​to
emphasize​ ​themes,​ ​develop​ ​characters​ ​and​ ​their​ ​relationships,​ ​and/or​ ​re-envision​ ​Shakespeare’s
text.​ ​You​ ​might​ ​examine​ ​cinematic​ ​techniques​ ​in​ ​terms​ ​of​ ​editing,​ ​comparing​ ​how​ ​the​ ​films’​ ​cuts
draw​ ​parallels​ ​between​ ​particular​ ​characters,​ ​or​ ​in​ ​terms​ ​of​ ​setting,​ ​examining​ ​how​ ​the​ ​films​ ​use
public​ ​and​ ​private​ ​space.​ ​You​ ​should​ ​address,​ ​however​ ​briefly,​ ​why​ ​these​ ​two​ ​sources​ ​should​ ​be
put​ ​in​ ​dialogue​ ​with​ ​each​ ​other.

General​ ​guidelines:

● be​ ​aware​ ​of​ ​what​ ​theory​ ​or​ ​theories​ ​you’re​ ​using.​​ ​It​ ​will​ ​serve​ ​as​ ​the​ ​frame​ ​of
reference​ ​for​ ​the​ ​questions​ ​you​ ​ask,​ ​the​ ​evidence​ ​you​ ​privilege,​ ​and​ ​the​ ​grounds​ ​for​ ​the
comparison​ ​you’re​ ​making.​ ​Often​ ​your​ ​professors​ ​will​ ​tell​ ​you​ ​what​ ​approach​ ​they​ ​want
you​ ​to​ ​take;​ ​in​ ​this​ ​case,​ ​I’m​ ​leaving​ ​it​ ​up​ ​to​ ​you.

● have​ ​a​ ​thesis​ ​expressing​ ​a​ ​relationship​ ​between​ ​your​ ​two​ ​sources.​​ ​It​ ​should​ ​be
more​ ​specific​ ​than​ ​something​ ​like,​ ​‘While​ ​​Romeo​ ​and​ ​Juliet​ ​​and​ ​​West​ ​Side​ ​Story​​ ​initially
seem​ ​very​ ​different,​ ​they​ ​actually​ ​have​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​similarities.’​ ​That’s​ ​a​ ​fine​ ​-​ ​and​ ​useful​ ​-
starting​ ​point,​ ​but​ ​the​ ​thesis​ ​should​ ​be​ ​a​ ​claim​ ​about​ ​the​ ​significance​ ​of​ ​one​ ​or​ ​more​ ​of
those​ ​similarities​ ​or​ ​differences.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​a​ ​thesis​ ​like​ ​‘Whereas​ ​the​ ​use​ ​of​ ​nature​ ​in
Brook’s​ ​​Lear​​ ​emphasizes​ ​the​ ​nihilism​ ​of​ ​the​ ​original​ ​play,​ ​Kurosawa’s​ ​​Ran​ ​​uses​ ​nature​ ​to
suggest​ ​the​ ​possibility​ ​of​ ​redemption’​ ​does​ ​explicitly​ ​compare​ ​the​ ​two​ ​texts,​ ​but​ ​it​ ​draws
a​ ​specific​ ​and​ ​concrete​ ​distinction.​ ​​ ​On​ ​the​ ​other​ ​hand,​ ​a​ ​thesis​ ​like​ ​​ ​‘While​ ​​West​ ​Side
Story​​ ​focuses​ ​more​ ​on​ ​societal​ ​and​ ​systemic​ ​problems​ ​than​ ​a​ ​doomed​ ​individual​ ​love
affair,​ ​both​ ​the​ ​movie​ ​and​ ​the​ ​original​ ​play​ ​comment​ ​on​ ​the​ ​redemptive​ ​nature​ ​of​ ​love’
acknowledges​ ​key​ ​differences​ ​between​ ​the​ ​two​ ​texts​ ​but​ ​highlights​ ​an​ ​important
similarity.

● have​ ​an​ ​organizational​ ​scheme.​​ ​There​ ​are​ ​several​ ​ways​ ​to​ ​organize​ ​a
compare/contrast​ ​paper,​ ​but​ ​two​ ​of​ ​the​ ​most​ ​common​ ​are​ ​text-by-text​ ​or​ ​point-by-point.
A​ ​text-by-text​ ​essay​ ​would​ ​provide​ ​a​ ​discussion​ ​of​ ​one​ ​text​ ​and​ ​then​ ​the​ ​other,​ ​and​ ​bring
them​ ​together​ ​in​ ​the​ ​conclusion.​ ​A​ ​point-by-point​ ​essay,​ ​on​ ​the​ ​other​ ​hand,​ ​would
discuss​ ​the​ ​texts​ ​together​ ​in​ ​terms​ ​of​ ​specific​ ​points​ ​of​ ​contact​ ​or​ ​disjunction.​ ​This​ ​is
often,​ ​though​ ​by​ ​no​ ​means​ ​always,​ ​a​ ​more​ ​sophisticated​ ​approach.

● use​ ​clear​ ​signposting​ ​to​ ​keep​ ​your​ ​reader​ ​oriented.​​ ​​All​ ​argumentative​ ​papers
require​ ​you​ ​to​ ​link​ ​each​ ​point​ ​in​ ​the​ ​argument​ ​back​ ​to​ ​the​ ​thesis.​ ​Without​ ​such​ ​links,
your​ ​reader​ ​will​ ​be​ ​unable​ ​to​ ​easily​ ​see​ ​how​ ​new​ ​sections​ ​logically​ ​and​ ​systematically
advance​ ​your​ ​argument.​ ​In​ ​a​ ​compare-and​ ​contrast,​ ​you​ ​also​ ​need​ ​to​ ​make​ ​links​ ​between
the​ ​sources​ ​you’re​ ​comparing​ ​in​ ​the​ ​body​ ​of​ ​your​ ​essay​ ​if​ ​you​ ​want​ ​your​ ​paper​ ​to​ ​hold
together.​ ​To​ ​make​ ​these​ ​links,​ ​use​ ​transitional​ ​expressions​ ​of​ ​comparison​ ​and​ ​contrast
(​similarly,​ ​moreover,​ ​likewise,​ ​on​ ​the​ ​contrary,​ ​conversely,​ ​on​ ​the​ ​other​ ​hand…​)​ ​and
contrastive​ ​vocabulary.

Keep​ ​in​ ​mind:

● you​ ​should​ ​have​ ​a​ ​bibliography,​ ​even​ ​if​ ​it​ ​is​ ​only​ ​two​ ​items​ ​long.​ ​Use​ ​MLA​ ​formatting.
● this​ ​should​ ​be​ ​a​ ​critical​ ​analysis,​ ​not​ ​a​ ​subjective​ ​evaluation​ ​-​ ​i.e.,​ ​you​ ​should​ ​make​ ​an

argument​ ​about​ ​the​ ​sources,​ ​not​ ​about​ ​whether​ ​or​ ​not​ ​they’re​ ​good,​ ​or​ ​which​ ​one​ ​is
better

● have​ ​a​ ​title!
● feel​ ​free​ ​to​ ​use​ ​screenshots​ ​or​ ​images​ ​to​ ​illustrate​ ​your​ ​point​ ​-​ ​make​ ​sure​ ​you​ ​caption

them​ ​with​ ​brief​ ​descriptions,​ ​and​ ​refer​ ​to​ ​them​ ​in​ ​the​ ​body​ ​of​ ​the​ ​text​ ​in​ ​some​ ​consistent
way​ ​(e.g.,​ ​Figure​ ​1,​ ​Figure​ ​2…).

● when​ ​writing​ ​about​ ​literature​ ​and​ ​film,​ ​use​ ​the​ ​present​ ​tense:​ ​Hamlet​ ​​is​​ ​losing​ ​his​ ​mind
in​ ​the​ ​present,​ ​Lear​ ​​is​​ ​banishing​ ​Cordelia​ ​in​ ​the​ ​present,​ ​Juliet​ ​​is​​ ​deceiving​ ​her​ ​parents​ ​in
the​ ​present.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​use​ ​secondary​ ​sources,​ ​these​ ​should​ ​be​ ​discussed​ ​in​ ​the​ ​present​ ​or
simple​ ​perfect:​ ​As​ ​Helene​ ​Foley​ ​​has​ ​shown​…,​ ​Brantley​ ​Bryant​ ​​demonstrates
convincingly…​ ​(NB​ ​this​ ​convention​ ​does​ ​not​ ​hold​ ​for​ ​fields​ ​like​ ​social​ ​and​ ​hard​ ​sciences,
which​ ​discuss​ ​scholarship​ ​and​ ​many​ ​sources​ ​in​ ​the​ ​past​ ​tense.)