Write a paper of between one and two pages in length, in which you interpret a work in its context. These works will be chosen from the approved lists below. These papers must be submitted in correct

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Write a paper of between one and two pages in length, in which you interpret a work in its context. These works will be chosen from the approved lists below.  These papers must be submitted in correct MLA format; font and size, margins, headers, etc., must all conform to MLA specifications.  Sources used for this paper must be academically-appropriate for a college-level assignment. You must include at least one direct quotation (not just a paraphrase). All sources must be properly referenced with both in-text citations and a Works Cited list. Note that failure to cite sources at all will result in a zero.

Literary Works

  • Swift: “A Modest Proposal” 

Format of the Paper (separate paragraph for each section)

I. Description of the work (four to six sentences):

  1. Type of work (architecture, sculpture, painting; prose, poetry; instrumental music, chamber music, orchestral music)
  2. Size and scale of work (This is relative to medium. Thirty square feet would be tiny for a building, but quite large for a painting. A one-hundred-page novel is fairly short, but a one-hundred page poem would be quite long.)
  3. Formal properties (symmetrical or asymmetrical; highly organized or chaotic; number of divisions, parts, or sections)
  4. Sensory properties (if a painting, what kinds of colors are used; if a musical work, what kinds of instruments and sounds; if a literary work, what rhyme, meter, tone, etc.)

II. Context of the work (four to six sentences):

  1. Socio-historical context (What was going on in the world in which the artist lived? What important political events, conflicts, or social issues inform the work?)
  2. Biographical context (What details of the artist’s own life experience helped shape the work? NOTE: Do not engage in lengthy biographical summary—this should be a sentence or two at most.)
  3. Stylistic context (How was the work influenced by other works? How does it represent or react against an established style or movement?)
  4. Philosophical context (How does the work reflect the worldview of its time?)

III. Interpretation of the work (four to six sentences):

  • Using the descriptive and contextual information you supplied in sections I and II, interpret the work—discuss its meaning, its impact, its quality.
  • Support your interpretation with clear references to the work itself.
  • Refer to the “Principles of Interpretation” for guidance (see the Writing Assignments module).
  • Important: If you are writing about a literary work, do not summarize the plot. Plot summary is not interpretation.

https://www.readwritethink.org/sites/default/files/resources/30827_modestproposal.pdf