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For your second essay, you will choose either William Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar or The Merchant of Venice; then you will write at least a one-thousand-word argument on it. As with the previous essay, you will create a thesis statement that reflects your opinion about what you think Shakespeare is saying about the topic you choose. I have topics listed below. You may choose one of them, or you may choose your own topic. However, if you choose your own topic, please clear it with me first.

Your essay will then support the argument put forth in the thesis. For a thesis to be sound, you should be able to answer "yes" to the following question: Could a reasonably intelligent reader familiar with the play logically disagree with what you are arguing? Remember also that the thesis must be an opinion of what you believe Shakespeare is saying about the topic, not your views about the topic. Use incidents and lines from the play to support your argument. When you quote lines from the text, document them according to these guidelines:

Introduce the quotation by letting your reader know who is speaking and to whom.
Use present tense verbs in your introduction. Remember that the play is always with us.
Example: In the play Julius Caesar, Caesar reveals his suspicion about Cassius when he says "Yon Cassius has a lean and hungry look. / He thinks too much. Such men are dangerous" (1. 2. 195-196). The numbers in parenthesis represent act one, scene two, lines 195-196. The / indicates where one line ends and another begins.
If you choose a quotation of longer than four lines of poetry, then separate the quotation ten spaces from the left margin of your text. You should not use quotation marks for a long quotation. The indentation tells the reader that you are quoting. Such a quotation would look like the following:

In the play Measure for Measure, the Duke explains to the Friar--and to the audience--the moral laxity from which Vienna has suffered under his rule:

We have strict statues and most biting laws,

The needful bits and curbs to headstrong weeds,

Which for this fourteen years we have let slip,

Even like an o'ergrown lion in a cave

That goes not out to prey. (1. 3. 19-23)

But be sure to doublespace everything in your essay, including the above sample quotation.
A maximum of 15 % of your paper should appear in quotation marks, and keep your long quotations to a minimum.

If you have trouble understanding what I mean by a thesis, then check out the link on my website dealing with the thesis statement.

The above form of documentation is referred to as in-text documentation. To complement it, you will also have to include a works cited page at the end of your paper. I showed you how to do this in class--and for the previous essay.

Of course, if you use any source that influences your essay--whether through direct quotation, paraphrase, or summary--you must give credit to that source, in the text of your essay and in the works cited page. For further information about how and what to document, and how to avoid plagiarism, visit my website on documentation.

1. In his book Shakespeare the Thinker, A. D. Nuttall argues that Shakespeare creates the characters of Julius Caesar and Marcus Brutus as alter egos of each other. (There is even a background story that Caesar is the natural father of Brutus.) Using evidence from the text of the play, argue that Nuttall is right in his observation.

2. In her critical study Shakespeare After All, Marjorie Garber states that there are two Julius Caesars in the play that carries his name: the first is the man; the second is the myth. She says that the conspirators are able to kill the man, but they are not able to kill the myth. What do you think Garber means by this? Once you have answered that question, argue that she is either right or wrong about her observation.

3. In William Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice, Antonio, the merchant of the play, and Shylock, the man forced to renounce his religion (and Antonio’s antagonist), ironically have characteristics in common. Explore these common characteristics, and then argue what you believe Shakespeare’s motive was in creating these parallels.

4. Using the courtroom scene as a touchstone, critics often view The Merchant of Venice as a dramatization of the Old Testament’s eye-for-eye justice, as represented by Shylock, in contrast to the New Testament’s ideal of mercy, as represented by Portia’s statement at the trial. Instead of taking this rather traditional approach to the play, argue that Shakespeare actually wrote The Merchant of Venice as a dramatization about hypocrisy.

5. Since 1879, when Henry Irving played Shylock as a tragic figure, The Merchant of Venice has become Shylock’s play. Using a substantial literary source, provide a definition of tragedy, and then argue that, despite its being a comedy, The Merchant of Venice is a tragedy, with Shylock as its tragic figure.

I will read rough drafts of your essay, so don't hesitate to show me what you're working on; however, once you turn in your essay, you may not rewrite for a different grade. Also, it would be prudent to show me the thesis of your essay before you hand it in. The due date for the essay is on your syllabus.