ILIAD ESSAY ASSIGNMENT.
DUE ON OR BEFORE MONDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2007.
NO LATE ESSAYS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
Students will turn in essays to Dr. Levine, or to Dr. Levine's mailbox in Kimpel Hall 425 (Foreign Languages) before 12:30 on Monday, 1 October.
Choose one of the following:
1) Helen in Troy.
Re-read all of Iliad Books 3, 6, and 24, paying particular attention to the contexts in which Helen appears. Read these books carefully.
Imagine that you are Helen, the wife of Menelaus and Paris, and write three letters to your daughter Hermione, who is back home in Sparta. The first letter is to be set after the action of book 3, the second after book 6, and the third after book 24.
In each letter, tell your daughter what has happened to you and the people who are important to you. Tell her what you have done, how you feel about the events you have experienced and the people you have interacted with. Tell her your hopes and fears about the future.
Be sure that you show that you have learned something from your reading of the epic. All work will be typed; no assignment may be longer than 10 pages, double spaced, with 12 point type.
Work will be graded on how well you understand what is going on in the story, how well you use proper English grammar, spelling, and vocabulary, and how well you show the appropriate reactions of the characters.
Be creative, but do not stray too far from character and plot.
It is permitted to use contractions in this essay, if you think that Helen would use them.
2) Andromache's Tragedy.
Re-read all of Iliad books 6, 22, and 24, paying particular attention to the context in which Andromache appears. Read these books carefully.
Imagine that you are Andromache, Hector's wife. You have no living relatives (because Achilles has killed them all). Write three letters to your son Astyanax, who is still a child. These letters are for him to read when he grows up -- if he grows up (please add an appendix to your letters to tell the reader what 'really' happens to Astyanax, if you can bear to write it). The first letter is to be written after the action of book 6, the second after book 22, and the third after book 24.
In each letter, tell Astyanax what you have done, and what has happened to you and to the people who are important to you. Tell him how you feel about the events you have experienced and the people with whom you have interacted. Tell him your hopes and fears about the future.
Be sure that you show that you have learned something from your reading of the epic. All work will be typed; no assignment may be longer than 10 pages, double spaced, with 12 point type.
Work will be graded on how well you understand what is going on in the story, how well you use proper English grammar, spelling, and vocabulary, and how well you show the appropriate reactions of the characters.
Be creative, but do not stray too far from character and plot.
It is permitted to use contractions in this essay, if you think that Andromache would use them.
Students will turn in essays to Dr. Levine or Dr. Levine's mailbox in Kimpel Hall 425 (Foreign Languages) before 12:30 on Monday, 1 October.