Prompts+Used+for+Timed+Writings+2009

Rubric for Timed Essays

Hamlet Papers

[|Topics for Saturday], May 1st -- 1st one on 2001 and two (not poetry) on 2007

TOPICS used in class

2007. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

Some works of literature use the element of time in a distinct way. The chronological sequence of events may be altered, or time may be suspended or accelerated. Discuss your choice novel and reference After Dark showing how the authors’ manipulation of time contributes to the effectiveness of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

First: Choose a passage of 5-10 lines from Heart of Darkness. You are given 4 minutes to choose and consider the passage and to stare into space. Topic: Write a literary interpretation based on the close reading of diction and syntax. Connect your passage to EITHER theme or symbol within the work. Recommendation: Spend 3-5 minutes outlining the essay and creating a working thesis.

First: Choose a passage of 5-10 lines from Heart of Darkness. You are given 4 minutes to choose and consider the passage and to stare into space. Topic: Write a literary interpretation based on the close reading of diction and syntax. Connect your passage to EITHER theme or character within the work. Recommendation: Spend 3-5 minutes outlining the essay and creating a working thesis.

Part III -- Essay worth 25 points

(Suggested time is 40 minutes. I also suggest a quick outline before starting. This will be graded mostly according to the standard rubric. Remember, a short intro with more content to the essay is preferable.)

Read the following soliloquy said by Hamlet after the play. In an well-developed essay discuss how the language and message of this passage further develops plot, theme, character, and/or mood.

Tis now the very witching time of night, (380) When churchyards yawn and hell itself breathes out Contagion to this world: now could I drink hot blood, And do such bitter business as the day Would quake to look on. Soft! now to my mother. O heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever (385) The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom: Let me be cruel, not unnatural: I will speak daggers to her, but use none; My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites; How in my words soever she be shent, (390) To give them seals never, my soul, consent!

shent = violently berated

Timed Essay Examples