First Essay Assignment

Assignment:

Write a brief essay, 4-5 pages, on one of the lyrics or pairs of lyrics listed below. Your essay should have a thesis that expresses the purpose or meaning of the lyric (or lyrics) and then should support that thesis with three or four main points, each developed in a paragraph in which you explain how specific details of the poem contribute to that point. Among the specifics that you might deploy to support such a point are the lyric’s structure, word choice, imagery, and rhyming words. You may find helpful information about word choice in The Oxford English Dictionary, available online through the Library’s subscription (go to www.library.ucsb.edu, then the “research” tab, then “electronic books,” then “Oxford English Dictionary”).

Due May 16, the beginning of class. Worth 20% of your grade in the course.

Choices:

• “Love me broughte” (219),
• “I am Jhesu that cum to fight” (220) paired with “Swete Jhesu, king of blisse” (92) or “Louerd, thu clepedest me” (93),
• "Where beth they biforen us weren?" (12),
• "Winter wakeneth all my care" (13),
• "While thou hast gode and getest gode" (14),
• “I sing of a maiden” (181),
• “Now shrinketh rose and lilie-flour” (193) alone or with “At a springe-well under a thorn” (192),
• "When the turuf is thy tour" (232) paired with “Whanne mine eyhnen misten” (234).