In this final paper, compare one character, poem, author, etc. to the periods that came before. This paper is to be thesis-driven, making a clear argument concerning what this comparison means or communicates about the Restoration and Eighteenth Century. You will be required to at least be familiar with the works beginning with John Bunyan and ending with Lady Mary Wortley Montague.

An example would be to look at a poet like Alexander Pope and compare his work “The Rape of the Lock” to something like The Faerie Queene. What does it mean/show when we encounter something like a mock epic, predicated on a genre like the epic we see in The Fairie Queene? Why is this comparison important? What does it demonstrate about the era? Do we see such conventions elsewhere in the era? What work do they do for the poet?

A further example would be to look at a character, such as Mirabell in Congreve’s Way of the World, and make an argument concerning what other characters came together to make someone like him possible. Do we see his character elsewhere in English Literature in the period leading up to 1798? If we do, who are those characters and why are these similarities important? What do they show about the enduring qualities of characters?

A final example might be to choose a theme that arises in the Restoration and Eighteenth Century and make an argument concerning why such a sentiment is indicative of the period. For instance, Rochester’s “A Satyr Against Reason and Mankind” might capture a particular misanthropic sentiment traceable throughout many of the pieces we covered up to Defoe.

You may use the weekly reflection papers as a guide to help shape your argument, but you will be required to expand on those ideas, deepen them so as to demonstrate your grasp on this portion of the class. You will also be asked to complete some outside research for this paper (at least four additional sources) and will be expected to quote directly from both primary and secondary sources.

Requirements:

-MLA Formatting for in-text citations, Works Cited Page, and body of the paper (12-pt, Times New Roman Font)

-Three to four pages in length (not including Works Cited)

-At least four critical sources cited

-Thesis-driven and supported by both outside research and also material from the literature we have covered (i.e. direct quotes from the readings)

-Clear introduction and conclusion