Papers on Homer: 1000 words minimum, 1500 maximum.
Your paper should explain the most important aspects of the short
(at most 1 page) passage you have chosen as they relate to the genre
of the work (i.e. how does the passage fit or not fit the norms
of the genre?). The "genre" is "Homeric Epic" and the "norms"
of the genre are what is typical of Homeric epic, what makes
it readily identifiable as such. You are, in other words, being
asked to explain why and how the passage you chose really belongs to
Homer's work. Research is not required, but if done, normal citation
and bibliography rules apply. What is expected is a close reading
and analysis of the passage. The passage should be at most one page
of our text, not more.
Your paper will be graded on:
- choice of passage (is it amenable to the assignment?): maybe
15%
- basically, if you choose a passage that is not amenable to
this assignment, the rest of these criteria will not work.
- you must choose a passage and talk primarily about that
passage: it must be the focus of your paper
- identification of several elements in the passage that are
typically Homeric: maybe 25%
- evidence to back up your claims : maybe 25%
- use citations of other passages in Homer to prove every
claim you make about what is typical about the passage
- cite those passages by book and line number
- explanation of how the passage fits into the regular
patterns of its genre: maybe 25%
- show understanding of the conventions of the genre and apply
them well? this is the meat of the paper: how what you
identified and gave evidence for in the last two bullet
points all ties together into an argument that the passage
you chose is Homeric.
- adherence to the norms of standard English prose usage: maybe
10%
- for example, it should have a clear beginning, middle, and
end
- it should be well written, proof-read, and sophisticated
- it should be formatted nicely
- it should look like a quality product of someone who
cares
- depending on your strengths, you might want to get help
from others to polish your work
Another way to think of the paper: Answer this: "If you just
stumbled on this passage, what aspects would tip you off that it
is Homeric and not some author's work? and how can you prove that
with evidence?
If you are not using Lombardo's translation, the one ordered for
the class, you must identify which one you are using, so that we
can verify your evidence.