Victorian Era

This will be the second of four assigned essays this semester. This is one of three that are worth 15% of your
grade and will cover the Victorian Period.
Expectations
Consider the Victorian literature on our syllabus for this class. Select one of the prompts below and write your
essay in response to it. You must quote directly flom the works we’ve read thatyOu chose to discuss and cite
your quotations using NILA style.
Each essay should contain an introduction which concludes with a strong thesis statement. This thesis should
be explored and defended in several well-developed body paragraphs and the essay should end with a
comprehensive conclusion.
Please choose one of the three prompts below and write a 750 word essay in response. It is expected that you
will write the essay in a word processing software and turn it in via the appropriate Dropbox. Your essay should
meet the following criteria:
Assignment Requirements

1. All essays must be typed. They should be double-spaced on 8.5” x 11” with one-inch margins and 12
point font.

2. All essays must be written according to MLA style guidelines.

3. Title and paginate the first page according to NILA style.

Prompt

1. Romantic poetry gets tons of attention, but Victorian poets were innovative in several ways. If you had to
sum it up, how is Victorian poetry different from Romantic poetry? In the case of Tennyson, it doesn’t
seem that different. Is he innovating in ways that aren’t obvious? Or should he, straight up, be grouped
with the Romantics? (If you choose this prompt, you don‘t have to write about Tennyson. Those are just
some questions to get your mind working.)

2. Tennyson’s “Ulysses” and Browning’s “My Last Duchess“ are both dramatic monologues. A single speaker
speaks throughout. Even if questions are asked, no other speaker replies. Compare these two poems and
the motivation the poets may have had for presenting them in this form. Additionally, what differences do
you see in presentation and theme. You have a lot of freedom here; there is nothing specific that I am
looking for, other than a well-argued discussion of these two poems that share the same form.

3. Select a Victorian piece that we read for class and examine it in light of the time it was written. Consider
social and economic changes that were taking place. How does the work you chose reject or endorse the
changes taking place? If the work completely ignores real life changes in the world, what might the author
be offering his reader in terms of an opinion on society?

If in reading these topics you come up with a similar, but slightly different idea for your essay, I’m open to that.
Just email me (Richardsonggglonestar.edu) and run it by me first.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.