ENGL 497

Senior Seminar
Prof. G. Steinberg

Short Paper

Choose one of the theorists that we have read so far this semester (up to and including Eliot or Woolf).  Consider that theorist's conceptualization of what literature is, what its value is, how it is created, and/or how it is experienced.  Then, write a short paper (4-5 pages) that argues how either Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner or Mary Shelley's Frankenstein fits (or does not fit) your chosen theorist's conceptualization of literature.

To write the paper well, you will need to explore in detail the conceptualization of literature presented by the theorist you have chosen, setting out what seem to be the most important, salient points in the theorist's understanding of literature and of its value and impact.  At the same time, you will need to examine the literary text you have chosen (Coleridge or Shelley) in detail to show how that particular piece of literature affirms or contradicts the most important, salient points in your theorist's theories.

This paper is meant to be an opportunity for you

1. to look more closely at one of the early theorists from this course,
2. to clarify and deepen your understanding of that theorist's theories (beyond what was possible in the limited timeframe of class),
3. to become more aware generally of the problems inherent in defining and defending literature, and
4. to clarify and develop your own ideas about the nature and value of literature.

My hope is that, by writing this paper, you will learn more about the theorist you have chosen but also, more importantly, that you will reexamine and develop your own answers to the question of what literature is, what its value is, how it is created, and how it is experienced.