British Literature

Answer ONE of the following questions for British Literature Term Paper:

[1] Discuss the depiction of history and distant places in one or two works from the course reading list. Is there any sense in which things are anachronistic or out of place?
Why might this be? What kind of role do the history and geography play in this work or works?

[2] Discuss and compare the role of plays, masques, or other kinds of displays (but not of the tales within the Canterbury Tales) within one or two of the texts on the course. What do these performances or displays do in the text? What function do they have with respect to the plot as a whole? British Literature research papers have been written by literature experts. We can produce a custom written project following your guidelines.

British Literature Texts

[3] "It is through a man's acts that one shall know him." Judith Butler writes that "identity is performative", alerting us to the fact that identity can be seen as a series of masks that we present to the exterior world, which hide the self within. Discuss the twofold public and private nature of personal identity in one or more of the texts we have read.

[4] John Burrow writes of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: 'The hero, caught in some impossible predicament where he cannot conceivably reconcile his various obligations, perseveres with the course of conduct dictated by whichever course of action that the author regards as "higher." This demonstrates in a striking way his dedication to some important virtue.' Consider Burrow's comment in relation to all or some of the following
texts: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur; The Spanish Tragedy.

[5] Texts such as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Le Morte d'Arthur, and The Spanish Tragedy articulate an intense interest in the workings and nature of human law (positive law). Discuss the effectiveness, or otherwise, or human legal systems in these texts in comparison with Divine Justice (natural law).

[6] Chaucer's January describes women thus in his fantasye of marriage:
"And herke why, I sey nat this for noght, That womman is for mannes helpe ywroght. The hye god, whan he hadde adam maked, And saugh him al allone, bely-naked, God of his grete goodnesse syde than, Lat us now make an helpe unto this man Lyk to hymself; and thanne he made him eve.
Heere may ye se, and heerby may ye preve That wyf is mannes helpe and his confort" (Merchant's Tale).
Discuss the position and role of women (in terms of the culture, the narrative, etc.) within TWO OR MORE of the texts that we have read this year. You may wish to focus on a small group of characters (eg. Innogen in relation to Posthumus, Cloten and Giacomo; Bel-Imperia, Horatio, Lorenzo and Balthazar; or Alisoun, John, Nicholas and Absolom), or you may wish to compare female roles across different texts. What is masculinity and femininity like in the text? What are the relationships between the genders like?

Requirements for British Literature Term Paper:

1. The paper is to be approximately 1500 words in length (eg: 6 - 7 pages)
2. must be presented and referenced in accordance with a conventional documentation style (MLA, Chicago, etc).
3. Be sure to document all your research in a thorough manner.