English 345.01 Critical Summary Response Assignment

Due in class on Thursday February 13, 2003

 

Write a Summary/Critical Response that presents a focused summary (Part One, 250 words) of a critical perspective from one of the essays contained in the two collections on library reserve that are devoted to analyzing The Merchant of Venice, and a reflective, question -and problem-posing critical response to that perspective (Part 2, 350 words).

 

In Part 1 you should present a straightforward, selective account of what you consider to be the article/essay's primary, most important or engaging ideas and points of argument and interpretation. After reading the essay closely at least once--perhaps making marginal notes or separate notes as you go to identify questions or reflect on why you consider a particular passage or concept important (for example, is it a major or new point in the argument, a significant piece of support, a summary of the opposition)--you might then explore your initial approach to the summary and to the response by determining to what extent and how the reading has influenced your views and understanding, by determining points of agreement or doubt, by determining significant questions raised by your experience with this essay, by determining the most important ideas you "take away" from the reading, and by reflecting on what you might "say back" to the author in sharing your perspective on the essay and on the play.

 

As you write the summary, work from your sense of the essay's structure and content, and it may be helpful to have written the gist of each paragraph--its function or purpose and a brief summary of its content (what it "does" and what it "says," usually a response to an implicit question)--to produce material to consider for the summary.

 

Your summary should strive to represent the original article--or an important aspect of it--accurately and fairly. Be direct and concise, take an "objective" stance and tone, except for brief quotes use your own words to express the author's ideas, use attributive tags (such as according to Newman or Newman argues that) to keep the reader informed that you are expressing another's ideas, and focus the summary to produce a cohesive and coherent account. You might begin the summary by identifying the question or the problem that the reading addresses, then state the article's purpose or thesis and sumarize its argument point by point.

 

Part 2 should express your understanding of the original essay's rhetorical strategies and premises, and the effectiveness and significance of its argument. You may also choose to extend the essay's critical perspectives by explaining its potential relevance to other aspects of the play, or you may also read "against-the-grain" of the original argument to present a different or opposing perspective and argument based on your reading of the play, on other critical perspectives, and on your own understanding and reasoning. Your response can be both reflective and persuasive in its emphases and aims, and our discussions and reading (including McEvoy Ch. 6 esp. 142 ff. and Maus's Norton headnote, for example) may inform your views. You may find it effective to compose a thesis for your response that maps out for readers the challenging, engaging, important points that you want to develop and discuss. Finally, include a complete bibliographic citation to note the author, essay title, place of publication, publisher, date, and page numbers for the article.

 

On library reserve:

 

The Merchant of Venice, William Shakespeare. Ed. Martin Coyle. (New casebooks). New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998. There are ten different essay/chapters in this collection; if you choose to summarize and respond to one of these chapters, it may also be helpful for you to read Coyle’s "Introduction" to the collection, in which he comments on the range of perspectives and premises represented in the collection.

The Merchant of Venice: New Critical Essays. Eds. John W. Mahon and Ellen Macleod Mahon. New York: Routledge, 2002. Many essays to choose among, including an essay by Drakakis on "Jessica," and an essay by Szatek on the politics of commerce.