COMPARISON OF TWO WORKS

COMPARISON OF TWO WORKS

Comparison of two works from the syllabus, one of which must be selected from the Term 2 syllabus. Your analysis will be based on both shared elements and points of contrast between the texts, and as with the first essay, requires a strong thesis. A successful analysis will begin by locating what aligns the two works and also identifying where they differ, but the strength of its case will rest on the grounds of your chosen comparison. How might we compare Ibsen’s A Doll’s House with Brecht’s Mother Courage? What connections can be said to link Rimbaud’s “A Drunken Boat” with Apollinaire’s “Zone,” or with Césaire’s Notebook of a Return to the Native Land? Can we legitimately read Lu Xun’s “Diary of a Madman” alongside Conrad’s Heart of Darkness? [unique_solution]A weak comparison might restrict itself to pointing out the obvious in terms of character or theme; a stronger one will explore the stakes of each work as a response to shared problems of subject matter, form, genre or address – as varying responses, that is, to aspects or contradictions of modernity as a common condition. In this essay, you’ll be developing your argument with reference to secondary sources on the two works you’ve chosen to compare. Don’t worry about covering each source from your annotated bibliography within the essay itself; focus on selecting a particular point or argument from your research to ‘enter into the critical conversation’ on these works. Build your argument by extending, critiquing or otherwise developing what critics have said about either (or both) of the works. mla citation.