1. Cleanth Brooks (American Formalism/New Criticism) wrote that paradox was the language of poetry. Make an argument about the functions and effects of paradox(es) in Edwin Arlington Robinson’s “Richard Cory”. [Your paper must reference Brooks’ essay “The Language of Paradox”]
Your work must cite the required readings for the class that pertain to the theory and the literary work you are discussing. The required readings include the Dobie textbook, the Comley, Scholes, and Ulmer textbook, any additional assigned readings, and the course modules (which I wrote). You must also include at least two outside sources (in other words, sources that have not been assigned to the class). At least one source should be about the literary theory you chose to use. A collection of literary theory texts is available here.
In the prompts below, I cite specific scholarly texts you must reference; each text does count as an outside source for the purpose of this paper. However, you probably should consult another outside source about the theory that contextualizes and helps to explain the theory work. The other outside source should be about the literary work you chose to study. In some rare cases involving obscure works, there may not be any published scholarship. If so, indicate the lack of published scholarship about the work in your paper. The works you choose to cite must be scholarly works; in other words, they must be from scholarly journals, books, or websites. You may cite other, non-scholarly works, but do not do so exclusively.