Select one of the following paper topics, or develop one of your
own in consultation with me.
1. The Victorian Web contains a section on the various structures of In Memoriam. These structures help to bring order and pattern to the “wild and wandering cries” of this long poem. We discussed one of these patterns--the Christmas sections--in class, and you worked on another--a particular image--in the first web assignment. Write a paper that analyzes the poem using one of the other suggestions in this section: the nine “natural groupings” identified by Tennyson himself; the four-part division of despair, doubt, hope, faith; or a different image. As in the web assignment, the goal is not to construct a list or catalogue, but to write an argument about how the function and characteristics of a particular grouping, emotion, image, etc. develop over the course of the poem, what trajectory they help to present in the speaker’s emotional state and/or intellectual views. Your paper should contain careful, close readings of individual sections rather than discussing the poem in general terms. As on the web assignment, you may need to look at sections of the poem not contained in the Norton. The entire poem can be accessed online. Note: if you write on the nine natural groupings, you must discuss all nine of them.
2. In The Victorian Web’s section on “Style, Genre, and In Memoriam,” George Landow writes that the poem both “aligns itself with” and “challenges” the traditions of the pastoral elegy. Using Landow’s explanation of the pastoral elegy’s characteristics, write an essay that tests and elucidates his claim. In what ways does Tennyson follow the tradition of the pastoral elegy? modify or update it? challenge it? In addition or as an alternative, you may compare and contrast Tennyson’s version of the pastoral elegy with Milton’s “Lycidas,” Percy Shelley’s “Adonais,” or Matthew Arnold’s “Thyrsis” (Milton's poem is in vol. 1 of the Norton Anthology; Shelley’s and Arnold’s are in the volume we are using). Indeed, if you are not familiar with these poems, it would be helpful for your thinking about In Memoriam to read them, especially “Lycidas.”
A draft of at least 4 typed pages is due on October 6. Bring to
class
a copy for me and one for each group member. Critiques of your group
members’
drafts are due back on October 13. A finished paper of 5-7 pages
is due on October 20. Advice and guidelines on how to draft, critique,
revise, and format are available in Writing
a Literature Paper. I expect you to familiarize yourself with that
material and to follow the guidelines it contains.