Instructions:
Due: March 28, 2017 You must: 1) upload the essay to Turnitin on Moodle, and 2) hand in a paper copy in tutorial (printed double-sided); essays will not be accepted by email. Length: 8-10 pages (2400-3000 words), Times New Roman 12-point font, double-spaced.
Format and citation: MLA Consult the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers by Joseph Gibaldi (available at Scott library) and/or Purdue University’s excellent site on MLA style: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/ Sources: You are expected to rely on course plays and theory and you must cite these according to MLA standards. Likewise, any other secondary sources must be cited. Only scholarly websites will be meet the academic requirements of the assignment.
Essay Topics
The objective of this assignment is to consolidate and apply the knowledge you have gleaned from the comedies
and comedy theory in this course. To that effect, you are expected to write on two plays and to use at least two
theory articles to support your arguments. Re-reading and re-writing is fundamental to the academic process so
you may build on the plays and topics analysed in the first essay assignment, if they are relevant to the ones
listed below.
1. Examine the comic situations brought about by cross-dressing in Twelfth Night, Cloud Nine and/or Good
Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet). Use the ideas on comedy of the following writers to support your
thesis: Kronenberger, Frye, Meredith, Bergson, Langer, Zupančič, and/or Žižek.
2. Discuss physical comedy in two of the following plays: Twelfth Night, Tartuffe, Cloud Nine, alterNatives,
Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), and/or The Shipment. Make connections with the concepts
outlined in Peacock, Bergson, and/or Langer.
3. Consider wit in The Country Wife, The Rover and/or The Importance of Being Earnest with support from
Congreve, Bergson, Freud, and/or Langer.
4. Issues of class, race, and/or gender are central to The Importance of Being Earnest, Cloud Nine, Good Night
Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), alterNatives, and The Shipment. Choose one issue and discuss the comic
approaches employed by two of the playwrights with support from Freud, Bakhtin, Bruns, Zupančič,
Žižek, and/or Langer.
5. Analyse the comic potential of the female characters in two plays by female playwrights on the course
syllabus: The Rover, A Bold Stroke for a Wife, Cloud Nine, Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) and
The Shipment. What, if any, is the significance of the playwright’s sex? Support your argument with
comedy theory.
6. Discuss comedy as a literary genre and the staging of comedy in two of the following plays: Twelfth
Night, Tartuffe, The Country Wife, and/or The Importance of Being Earnest with the support of theatre
videos and two theory readings of your choice.
7. Consider a different play by one of the course playwrights and use two comedy theory readings to
analyse a central theme or aspect.
Be sure to: • have a strong, clear thesis on the first page • explain how you will defend your argument • support your assertions with examples from the plays and theory readings • cite lines from the plays correctly • express your ideas clearly and concisely • provide transitions to ensure your paper has continuity • use correct grammar and spelling • italicize play and book titles; article titles should be within quotes • number your pages • include word count on last page • proof your paper For concise and compelling writing, read William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White’s The Elements of Style when preparing your essay
Content:
Name
University
Course
Instructor
Date
Comedic Essay
Introduction
Comic Situations Brought About by Cross-Dressing in Twelfth Night and Good Night Desdemona
Twelfth Night is one of the numerous plays that were written by Shakespeare. The protagonist character in Twelfth a night is a female whose dressing style resembles men`s clothing. Twelfth Night is a comedic play and the cross-gender is specifically used to bring out comedy in this play (Suzuki 123). Another play that largely borrows from Shakespeare`s plays Othello and Romeo and Juliet is called Good Night Desdemona that was written by a Canadian lady who is a playwright called Ann-Marie MacDonald. Both Twelfth Night and Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet) are comic in their settings (Scott 28). Most importantly to note is that for one to understand Good night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), the person should read all of the three books together for him or her to understand the comedic situations that are highlighted in this play.
This essay examines comedic situations brought about by crossing dressing in Twelfth Night and Good Night Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet).
Comic Situation Brought about By Cross-Dressing in Twelfth Night
What normally captures the attention of the most modern audiences of the Twelfth Night is the fact that the protagonist character that is presented as a female by...