Assignment details:
As discussed in your syllabus, a typed two-page response for a play/movie you’ve seen is required for this course.
The paper should be typed, double-spaced, with one inch margins and no larger than 12 -point Times New Roman font and should include a brief synopsis of the production (no more than one paragraph and less than a quarter of the paper’s length) as well as a critical response discussing areas and ideas covered in class. The paper should be no less than two full pages in length.
Please proofread your paper to insure proper grammar and spelling and that your thoughts are clear and comprehensible. All responses should be submitted to the D2L dropbox in .PDF format on or before the due date.
MORE GUIDELINES FOR PLAY ANALYSIS PAPERS:
The German romantic playwright, philosopher, and critic Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 -1832) offered a simple formula for play analysis that has been used for hundreds of years.
- What is the artist trying to do? This question will help determine the direction of your analysis. If you understand the intention of the artist, you will understand the reasons for his or her choices.
Put aside your opinion of the play and identify the artist’s purpose. What is the artist trying to say? What is the artist’s goal?
Can you explain why the artist chose to bring this particular work into being?
- How well has the artist done it? By answering this question, you judge the degree of success the artist has achieved in achieving the goal you identified in answer to the first question.
How do the artist’s techniques, methods, and talents help to achieve the goal? How effective is the play in fulfilling the artist’s intention?
- Is it worth doing? The final question is whether the finished work of art was worth the artist’s and the audience’s time and effort.
Does the play have new, interesting ideas?
Will it help us understand the world, or understand it in a new way? If it didn’t communicate to you, did it communicate to anyone else?
For example, a standard response should follow this outline: –
Paragraph One: Introduction –
Paragraph Two: What is the playwright trying to say?
Why this title?
What are the themes?
Is it realistic? If not, why choose to tell a story this way? If so, how does it tell the story?
GIVE EXAMPLES –
Paragraph Three: How well is the playwright doing it?
Give at least three specific examples of moments in the play. -Paragraph Four: Was it worth writing / reading?
Give at least three specific examples of moments in the play. -Paragraph Five: Conclusion
Here is a list of movies that were plays originally. Any one on this list is approved.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_stage_plays_or_musicals
If there is a movie that is not on the list, please contact me with the name of the
movie for further approval.
You can get this anywhere from Netflix to YouTube. Watching this video will be
necessary in writing your final review.