Research paper topic sheet

All of the following topics are approved; if you think of another one that you would like to do, you must email me to approve it before you begin. When you have chosen a topic, take a look around for your sources (I recommend the Literature Resource Center databases in the BPPC library) and then post a prospectus of your paper here by uploading a Word document. What do I mean by a prospectus? Just put your topic choice in a Word document followed by your possible thesis statement and your plan (not necessarily a formal outline).

Some of these topics are comparisons and although they may include very long works, you may limit your approach to the excerpts/selections in your textbook (which you will then cite as an anthology). Make sure that you know the basic requirements (minimum length and number of sources, etc.) that are shown on the syllabus and the format and structure requirements (on “Paper Guidelines” document in External Links).

Here are some topics to get your brains started thinking about the paper. Many of these would be appropriate for a longer paper, so you may narrow it down for this class:

The importance of reputation in Le Morte D’Arthur or Beowulf.

The motif of the dragon/monster-slayer in Beowulf. (One approach would be to research the dragon as a symbol in Anglo-Saxon literature and speculate about how those cultural ideas are conveyed in BW)

The conflict between Christian ideals and the warrior code in BW. (The other Anglo-Saxon poems in the text could be brought into the discussion.)

The code of chivalry in Le Morte D’Arthur as a more “civilized” warrior code. (In my humanities class, students look at how that code still works today; in this class we need to focus more closely on the literature, but making interesting connections to the present can be part of a thesis on this topic if that interests you.)

Camelot as a symbol of the civilized world (a.k.a. “civilization” with laws, codes of behavior, etc.) versus the Dark Forest that borders it, inhabited by the tricky fairy folk (Green Knight?), witches (like Morgan le Fay), wizards (like Merlin). This is often where the questing knight is tested (where Gawain must go) and where, in The Wife of Bath’s Tale, the knight learns a valuable lesson ironically about proper behavior.

A comparison of the sanctuary of the mead-hall in BW and the court of Camelot (presumable also a “great hall”) in Le Morte.

The role of women in BW or Le Morte or Sir Gawain.

Alfred the Great as the “ideal king” and his contribution to literature. This is more of a historical paper, which could make it dangerously Wikipedia-like (you need to be careful about that). What makes Alfred so great? How does he compare to the legendary King Arthur?

Arthur as the ideal Christian king in Le Morte or Idylls of the King by Alfred Lord Tennyson.

Research Arthuriana in the Victorian Romantic tradition, focusing on Tennyson.

Compare Gawain to Beowulf (the characters and their heroic traits). This topic may also involve an examination of the definition of the heroic journey (see the diagram in Lessons and External Links).

The pattern of the heroic journey in any of the works in the class.

Symbolism in the Prologue and/or one of the tales in The Canterbury Tales (TCT).

The metaphor of “the journey” and “the game” (of life) in TCT.

How the descriptions of the clothing (garments) of each character in the Prologue of TCT help to define them and also set up their tale that is to follow.

What are the characteristic Arthurian themes—courtly love, chivalry, heroic journey/quest, fairy interference—in The Wife of Bath’s Tale in TCT.

Women in TCT. This could be narrowed down to focus on either The Wife of Bath’s Tale or the female pilgrims in Prologue and/or their tales. (This is a feminist approach to criticism.)

A close examination of The Wife’s Prologue and how her life and her perspective is related to the theme of her tale. (This is basically a character analysis.)

An examination of how the characters who have religious occupations reveal the corruption of the Church that was prevalent in the late fourteenth century.

The character of Satan in Paradise Lost (PL) as a promethean figure or not.

Milton’s imagery of Satan and his army compared to Tolkien’s Sauron and the orc army.

The idea (which began in the middle ages) of how sin deforms one’s physical appearance represented in an examination and comparison of literary characters of your choice: Satan in PL, Gollum in The Lord of the Rings (LOTR), Dorian in The Portrait of Dorian Grey (by Oscar Wilde), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (by R.L. Stevenson), Dracula (by Bram Stoker), and characters in English gothic novels from the seventeenth century.

How satire and humor develop and thrived in the seventeenth century literary culture, focusing on a few examples. (More of a historical perspective, giving literary examples)

Symbolism, irony, and satire in “The Rape of the Lock.”

Irony and satire in Jonathon Swift’s works (or a work).

The criticism of industrialism in several Romantic works or in the works of one poet (or author, like Mary Shelley).

The works(or a work) of Charlotte Smith and the proto-Romantic elements of her poetry.

Ann Radcliffe and her influence on the rise of the Gothic genre.

(All of the following topics about Romanticism should focus on one poet or author and cite specific literary examples. )

The fascination with deviant behavior in the Romantic period.

The cult of Nature in Romanticism.

The fascination with the past (both antiquity and medieval) in Romanticism.

The reasons for the rise of Realism as a counter to Romanticism.

The influence of Darwin and/or Marx’s works on a British writer (or writers).

Realism: the works (or a work ) by Charles Dickens as social criticism of industrialization and urbanization.

British poets like W.B. Yeats and Wilfred Owen and the catastrophe of WWI on their lives. (Tolkien also started his mythology for Britain while recovering from shellshock.)

An analysis of “The Wasteland” by T.S. Elliot as a metaphor for twentieth-century culture.

The resurgence of Arthurian themes, including the wasteland motif, and the heroic journey pattern in the twentieth-century literature. Obvious examples are LOTR and C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but also the Harry Potter books and many others. (Remember though, it must be a British writer.)

Note: where it says “works” or “a work,” it means that you have to decide whether you want to focus on details of one literary work or discuss several, and cover a broader scope of the topic in making your argument (thesis). This is part of the process of figuring out what you have to say based on the length requirement of the assignment. Most of these could easily be a much longer paper, so you should not have trouble getting your length, but if you do, you can always expand your topic to discuss more literary works.