GUIDELINES: Answer all three questions.
Do not retell the story. Do not use the framework of the story as your topic sentences. For example, if you begin a paragraph (topic sentence) by stating, “After Hamlet kills Polonius, he ….” you are using the story as the framework of your essay.
To avoid the problem expressed in #1 above, use a clear thesis statement, make all your topic sentences refer back to the thesis statement, and use the quotations you selected from the literature to prove your thesis and topic sentences. For example, if your thesis statement is to prove that Hamlet’s harmatia was that he was indecisive, your topic sentence might state: “Hamlet’s indecisiveness, his harmatia, is demonstrated when he ….”
For each question, use a minimum of five quotations from the literature to prove your point, and follow each quotation with a page reference inside parentheses: “…” (367).
In explaining quotations, it is often wise to incorporate a key phrase or word from the quotation so that the reader knows exactly what you are referring to.
Write in essay form; do not make a list.
QUESTION I—
Select ONE of the following 10 options A through C:
For each question, use a minimum of five quotations from the literature to prove your point, and follow each quotation with a page reference inside parentheses: “…” (367).
OPTION A
For Option A, use the definition below and select Option A1 OR A2
MEDIEVAL ROMANCE DEFINED: A medieval romance is a narrative, written in prose or verse, centered not in a heroic age of tribal wars but in a courtly and chivalric age; its plot is one of quest and adventure undertaken by a single knight; its central interest is courtly love, together with tournaments fought and monsters slain for a damsel’s sake. It stresses the chivalric ideals of courage, honor, mercifulness to the opponent, and exquisite and elaborate manners. It delights in wonders, marvels, supernatural events, and the mysterious effect of magic, spells, and enchantments.
Option A1: Demonstrate how Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a medieval romance. Use an example from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight for each of the key elements bolded in the definition. Do not make a list; do analyze and discuss the significance of what you are proving.
Option A2
Discuss the significant symbols (the animals, the colors, the shield of Gawain, etc.) in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and analyze how they relate to the central theme of this medieval romance. Do not make a list. Analyze and discuss the significance of the symbol and how it relates to the theme. Be sure to identify the theme at the beginning of your essay.
OPTION B: For Option B, use the definition below and select Option B1, B2, B3, or B4
EPIC DEFINED: An epic is a long, narrative poem on a great and serious subject, related in an elevated style, and centered on a heroic figure on whose heroic actions depends the fate of a tribe, nation, or the human race. The epic involves an ample setting, superhuman deeds in a battle in which the gods and other supernatural beings take a part, and a grand style, which includes invoking the Muse, beginning in medias res, using epic similes and epithets, extended speeches, and cataloguing.
Option B1:
Analyze how Beowulf is a traditional epic and how it depicts the Anglo-Saxon culture. For each of the underlined key elements in the definition above, use an example from Beowulf.
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Option B2
Analyze how Dante’s Inferno, The Divine Comedy is a traditional literary epic and how it depicts the culture or life of the Middle Ages. For each of the underlined key elements in the definition above, use an example from The Inferno, the Divine Comedy.
Option B3
Analyze how Shahnameh is a traditional epic and how it depicts the culture and life of Persia (present day Iran). For each of the underlined key elements in the definition above, use an example from Shahnameh.
Option B4
Analyze how Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande People is a traditional epic and how it depicts the culture or life of the Manden people in West Africa. For each of the underlined key elements in the definition above, use an example from Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande People.
OPTION C:
For Option C, use the definition below and select Option C1, C2, C3 or C4
HERO DEFINED: Joseph Campbell, who has written many books on the subject of heroes, describes the hero as a very powerful human being who goes on a quest and overcomes many obstacles in the process of his quest. The purpose of his quest can be to win a war, to slay a giant, to gain some mystical object such as the Holy Grail, to gain immortality, or to gain an understanding that is beyond his reach. He often returns to his homeland with greater wisdom and self-knowledge.
Option C1: Analyze how Beowulf in the epic of Beowulf is a traditional epic hero. For each of the key elements in the definition above, explain how Beowulf does/does not fulfill the definition.
Option C2:
Analyze how Dante in The Inferno, Divine Comedy is a traditional epic hero. For each of the key elements in the definition above, explain how Dante does/does not fulfill the definition.
Option C3:
Analyze how Rostam in Shahnameh is a traditional epic hero. For each of the key elements in the definition above, explain how Rostam does/does not fulfill the definition.
Option C4 Analyze how Sunjata in Sunjata: A West African Epic of the Mande People is a traditional epic hero. For each of the key elements in the definition above, explain how Sunjata does/does not fulfill the definition.
QUESTION II
Select ONE of the following 8 options D through K:
For each question, use a minimum of five quotations from the literature to prove your point, and follow each quotation with a page reference inside parentheses: “…” (367).
Option D
In Dante’ s Inferno each group of sinners is condemned to a part of Hell in which the punishment symbolizes the sin. Identify five types of sinners, the part of Hell to which they are condemned and the number and name of the Canto; describe the punishment assigned to these sinners; analyze how it symbolically reflects the sin, and identify one or two of the infamous literary or historical figures who are condemned to this part of Hell and explain briefly why they are there.
Option E
Discuss how the characters in “The Prologue” to Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales reflect the society of the Middle Ages and how in many cases the discrepancy between appearance and reality makes these portrayals quite ironic. Discuss at least five characters from “The Prologue” and demonstrate how the character does or does not reflect the behavior one expects. If the character does not reflect the expected behavior, explain the irony. Select at least three characters whom Chaucer portrays ironically.
Option F
Discuss Rumi’s poetry and explain the power of his poetry, his focus on the spiritual and mystical as well as the physical. In addition, although Rumi is a poet of Persia (present day Afghanistan) and Konya (present day Turkey) and he lived in an Islamic culture, his poetry seems to have transcended the borders of the Middle East to be enjoyed by readers in the West and to have been inclusive of many religions. Using at least two of his poems and providing at least 5 quotations which you explain, discuss the power of Rumi’s poetry and his universal appeal.
Option G
Discuss how The [One] Thousand and One Nights reflects the culture of the Middle East and how Shahrazad, a courageous woman, saved the lives of many other women through the art of storytelling. In your discussion, be sure to include at least two of the stories that she told and explain why they are significant.
Option H
Discuss and analyze how Confucius’ Analects and/or Li Bo’s poetry reflect the culture of China. Identify aspects of the Chinese culture and use at least five quotations from the Analects and/or Li’s Bo’s poetry and explain how these quotations demonstrate aspects of the Chinese culture.
Option I Discuss and analyze how the poetry of Wang Lei and/or Du Fu reflects the culture of China. Identify aspects of the Chinese culture and use at least five quotations from Wang Lei or Du Fu’s poetry and explain how these quotations demonstrate aspects of the Chinese culture.
Option J Discuss The Conference of the Birds: explain the spiritual journey of the Sheikh, identify the demands of the Christian woman with whom he fell in love, explain why these demands were odious, explain why the Sheikh’s wise friend chided his other friends for not joining the Sheikh in Christianity, and explain how both the Sheikh’s return to the Muslim Faith and the Christian girl’s desire to become Muslim reflect the idea of the author, Attar, indicated in the Norton Anthology that “all paths that are paved by love are paths to the Friend [God]” (368). The Norton Anthology also suggests that “Sufism enables Attar to present the Sheikh’s all-consuming love for the Christian woman as not a path away from God but a path toward him” (368).
Option K Discuss the framework device used in The Canterbury Tales, The Thousand and One Nights, and The Decameron and explain how the framework does or does not contribute to the effectiveness of each of these three pieces of literature.
QUESTION III:
Select ONE of the following 4 options: M, N, O, P
For each question, use a minimum of five quotations from the literature to prove your point, and follow each quotation with a page reference inside parentheses: “…” (367).
Option M
Aristotle defines the tragic hero as “a person of high estate (usually a king, queen or member of the royal family), who is neither superlatively good and just not wholly vicious and depraved, but who is brought low by some error of judgment or shortcoming (harmatia).”
Using the key elements in the definition above, analyze how Hamlet is/is not a tragic hero. In addition, identify the harmatia (tragic flaw) of Hamlet and show this tragic flaw as it is revealed in several parts of the play by using specific examples.
Option N
Identify a central theme in Hamlet. And prove this is a viable theme by citing and explaining passages and/or events in the play. (Remember a theme must be written as a sentence, not as one word. For example, the word love cannot be a theme, but – obsessive love can be destructive – could be the theme of a literary work. This example is not a theme in Hamlet.)
Option O
Compare Hamlet with Laertes and Fortinbras, analyzing their characters traits and their ability to take action.
Option P
Analyze the character of King Claudius, his killing of Hamlet’s father and his attempts through Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and throufktgh Laertes to kill Hamlet.
