Shakespeare’s Women–EN326
Prof. Re Meyer Evitt
FINAL EXAM DESCRIPTION

Pick up your copy of the exam cover sheet from Donna Gianarelli (Armstrong 245) on Tuesday, May 14, between 9:00 a.m. and noon. You need to return the exam within 24 hours (i.e., if you pick it up on Tuesday at 10:45 a.m. you must to return it by Wednesday, 10:45 a.m.). I’ll be out of town, but Donna will keep track of your exams and see to it that I get them at the end of the week. If you want your graded exam mailed to you after the block, please include a self-addressed stamped envelope when you turn the exam in.

EXAM PARAMETERS:

1) The exam is a timed, three-hour exam. You have 24 hours in which to complete the exam.

You can divide those three hours into increments or write the exam in one sitting. Do what works best for you.

You need to keep track of how much time you’ve spent on the exam. Your honor code signature on this exam cover sheet assures me that you’ve spent the agreed upon time (and no more) on the exam.

2) The exam is closed book. However, you may use one 8½" x 11" sheet of paper (front and back) of notes. You must turn in your sheet of notes with your finished exam.

If you have quotes you want to cite, include them on this note page.

If you’ve made an outline of your essay you’d like to consult, include it here.

If you’ve identified concrete examples or close readings you want to use to build your argument, include them here.

3) You may use a word processing program to write your exam, however:

You may not write the essay (or any section of the essay) in advance.

You may not transcribe your answer or copy it during the exam from previously saved computer files.

THE QUESTION:

Identify two of Shakespeare’s female characters–one from a tragedy, one from a comedy–and write a critical essay in which you compare these two women. Explain why you’ve paired these characters. You should compare the cultural and personal forces that shape their identities. As part of your comparison, you may want to discuss:

>their social class;
>their marital status;
>what kind of public roles/responsibilities they have;
>how they fit into the narrative structure of their respective plays;
>the way the genre of the play they appear in does (or doesn’t) shape their roles;
>what kind(s) of language they use;
>the extent to which these characters resist (or don’t)/critique (or don’t) the normative social and gender expectations of their cultures.

Don’t simply write a descriptive essay. You need to make a critical argument. Explore the "SO WHAT?" of your comparative observations. Be sure to organize your essay around a thesis; argue your thesis with ample close reading, concrete evidence.