ENG111 -- Introduction to Literature: Beholding Violence in Drama and Film

Prof. Eileen Joy

Summer 2011

FINAL EXAM

Figure 1. Ric Stultz, History of Violence (gouache and mixed media on paper, 2007)

Reflect upon the thematic aspects of this course and also upon some of their interrelations:

• betrayal and revenge
• violence
• tragedy
• murder
• rage
• passion/emotions
• images & depiction of violence
• tragic beauty/wonder [see Sachs HERE]
• "human" versus "monster"
• power
• enjoyment of violence
• fear [see Sachs HERE]
• pity [see Sachs HERE]
• tragic catharsis [see Sachs HERE]
• justice
• moral ambiguity*

*ambiguity = uncertainty, doubt, hesitation over choosing which way to go, possessing more than one possible (and even contradictory) meanings

Devise an essay that explores the relation of TWO of these thematic aspects through a reading of TWO of the works from our syllabus (this includes the films, but at least one of your works MUST be one of the plays we have read: Agamemnon, Medea, Titus Andronicus and/or Macbeth). It is entirely up to you to decide what you want to write about, but you must have a pointed thesis (a main and specific point that you want to argue that is not vague nor something that is so obvious anyone would agree with it), and your thesis should be supported throughout the essay with close analyses of specific details (gestures and actions of characters in specific scenes, staging/framing of scenes, etc.) and the language (dialogue, speeches, etc.) of the works under consideration. Your essay should be approximately THREE typed, double-spaced pages (give or take a few sentences under or over that page length).

Your exam essay should be saved as a .doc or .docx [Microsoft Word] file and sent to eileenajoy@gmail.com as an email attachment by Saturday, August 6th, at midnight.