Deepening and Broadening Claims through Keyword Analysis

Description / As with our first assignment, you will be developing a close reading; unlike our first assignment, you will be expanding the scope of your evidence.By focusing on and analyzing a repeating trope or a single keyword in The Burial at Thebes, you will develop an argument about that trope/word’s meaning and relation to greater themes of the play.
I still want to see you close-reading skills, but I will also expect a deeper understanding of what distinguishes a claim (argument or thesis) from an observation about the text.
Task / In his book Keywords, Raymond Williams argues that words carry histories with them, accruing complexity as their meanings change across time. You will choose one keywordthat you think is crucial(in its literaland figurative uses)to Seamus Heaney’s translation of Antigone.
blood / dark / hand / house
law / light / stand / wind
Look for the possible homonyms, homophones, related/alternate forms, or opposites of your word, and consider all of its definitions, even if they conflict. Make a claim that attempts to prove how your chosen keyword is defined, why it is defined that way, and what its effects are on the total work. Consider which characters use it, and in what context.How does this word reveal an unwritten assumption, attitude, or condition of the text?
In three to four pages, answer the following question:
How does this keyword function as a central image in the text?
Object / In addition to the criteria from A1 (Close-Reading, Process), I will also grade based on:
  1. Claim/Evidence: Make sure your point is debatable, supportable,something you’re convinced of.
  2. Paragraphing: Guide your reader through your thoughts as you try to convince them of your keyword’s significance.
  3. Early Gestures to Intro/Conclusion: They don’t have to be perfect, but an excellent A2 will at least attempt them.

Schedule / Tutorials: Bring a tentative thesis, function outline, a list of your word’s occurrences, and a copy of the word’s OED definitions
October1: Final A2 due via Dropbox by 11:59 p.m.

Things to Consider

Idea Generation /
  • Start by going back through the play and looking for characters’ discussions, arguments, and ruminations about your word, paying close attention to the details of the text.
  • Look for words that seem to indicate characters’ attitudes.
  • Look for synonyms and antonyms as well as words that look or sound similar to yours.
  • “Scene” here refers to a dramatic exchange between two characters, or between a character and the Chorus, or an extended monologue by one character. The uttermost limit of text for this assignment is 100 lines.
  • Pick a scene that seems to be rich in possibilities, even if you’re not exactly sure where you’ll end up in your analysis—in fact, you shouldn’t be sure of anything yet.
  • Close-read the scene again, actively noting its details and coming up with some observations and claims.
  • Other ways to think about the “function” question: “What purpose does the word serve in the scene?” or “How does the abstract concept that the word represents operate?”

Writing /
  • Avoid plot summary. You may want to frame the immediate scene, but only in the context of your argument. Assume I know the characters and am familiar with the plot, but not the details.
  • You must stick to one scene, but not necessarily to the order of that scene. It may make more sense to start with the last part and then go the first, and then the middle. Let your own organizing principle be your guide.
  • Pay particular attention to the way you use textual evidence—are you simply restating what is already said, or shedding new light on the text?
  • Remember that this is your first real essay, which means you’ll need a title, an introduction, a thesis, and a conclusion.

Tutorial Preparation / For your tutorial (on 9/27 or 9/28), please bring the following:
  • Your copy of Burial at Thebes
  • Your graded A1
  • Yourtentative thesis, function outline (2 copies typed), a list of your word’s occurrences, and a copy of the word’s OED definition(s). Your function outline should include a detailed description of the evidence you will use to back up each paragraph’s points.