Close Reading Odyssey

This is a 500 (min)-600 word (max) formal essay. It should be typed, double-spaced, 12pt. Times New Roman font. You should have a brief introduction, an arguable claim, and a logical progression of evidence. The paper must have a compelling title and follow MLA format, including in-text citations and a works cited page. This paper should demonstrate your comprehension of the material we’ve covered in class related to The Odyssey and your ability to close read a passage of the text. You should refer to the exercise in passage analysis you did for homework as a pre-writing exercise. You will select one key passage from the text (between 15-30 lines), which you will utilize to illuminate the larger meaning of that work. Your argument should grow out of observations made from the text (i.e. work from the inside out, not the outside in). Please resist the urge to merely summarize the material instead of providing an in-depth analysis of its formal elements. For this paper you may choose from one of the following passages or select one of your own: Book IV: 358- 376; Book VIII: 214-245; Book XI: 471-504; Book XVI: 285-304; Book XVI: 507-527; Book XVIII lines 164-187; Book XXIII: 236-258. This analysis will require you to explicate the how your selected passage works. Notice and comment on the imagery, structure, patterns, and any other features or devices that indicate how language is being used to create a meaning or meanings. Then, and only then, comment on how this small part of the text may help readers contemplate from The Odyssey contribute to an understanding of the epic poem as a whole. What themes or motifs resonate? Make sure you have an argument and draw conclusions for your reader. Some points to consider: What does this passage explicitly say? Is there a meaning beneath or beyond the explicit message? How does the style, imagery and choice of language create or intensify meaning? What patterns, if any, do you discern? What is the effect? What theme(s) running through the book are evoked explicitly and implicitly in this passage? What are the points of tension or conflict? What questions does the passage raise about the story being told? What conclusions can be drawn from this passage about the text? What you should NOT do: Copy and paste the entirety of the passage into the paper before you begin your close reading. Use language like “I Think” or “I Feel” or “Maybe it’s the case…”; it is evident (or needs to be) to the reader that you are presenting your own critical interpretation of the selected passage. You need to make solid, definitive claims. Expectations: –You will select a relevant passage and work closely with the text, analyzing its formal and rhetorical features and avoiding speculation –You will introduce the text and the author at the outset, and provide a succinct (very short) summary to set up your paper. Situate the reader in the circumstances around the passage –You will state a clear claim(argument/thesis) out of your observations of the text –You will follow a logical progression of ideas that develop from your argument –You will support your statements with specific examples, and quotes, from the text and avoid generalities. You will cite quotations properly –You will utilize proper grammar, punctuation. Your work will have been proofread.