Teaching <title level="m">Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay: Writing Short Papers Effectively Writing Short Papers Author Helen Ostovich Conversion and Remediation LEMDO Team Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada McMaster University Poculi Ludique Societas University of Waterloo University of Toronto Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies University of Victoria Friends of the ISE

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Writing Short Papers Effectively: The Hand-Out

The short papers are due at the beginning of the class on the day we begin discussing the play on which you’re writing. Topics are posted, and you must narrow down the topic to a specific application. You must hand in no more than two pages typed and double-spaced, with 1 inch margins all around, on a very specific concrete issue in the play under discussion for that week. Title your paper appropriately. Quote minimally. Late papers cannot be accepted. You will be penalized for not using the class Style Guide.

What topics are acceptable in a short paper? Find a scene with a strong emotional impact, or a strong representation of a key idea in the play, perhaps in a strongly worded speech which you might analyze; or the recurrent focus on a single character; the treatment of a female character, a symbolic role, or an important stage property in the play. Consider how the play was originally performed and how it held its audience. The important thing is to narrow your choice to something specific and concrete, and develop a thesis you can support in a 2-page argument.

Expected Structure State your thesis in 2–3 sentences in your first paragraph. Your last sentence in this paragraph should make your thesis very clear and concrete. Do not generalize. Your next paragraphs in the body of your essay should each explain a step in the logic of your argument to prove your thesis is accurate. Link the paragraphs carefully. Quote only a word or a phrase to contexualize your argument. Your last paragraph should not simply repeat the initial thesis. It should offer at least one other application to demonstrate that your argument works consistently: refer to another scene, another character’s experience, or another play, in order to establish that your idea has merit and will work in a variety of ways to help interpret the play.
Topics for the Short Paper Consider magic as invested in a material object: (a) Bacon’s magic mirror: how does this prop develop key ideas in the play? or (b) the Brazen Head: what is its symbolic influence in the play and what is it supposed to do for the magician? or (c) a devil or spirit (scenes 2, 6, 9, and 15). What does the play have to say about scholars and intellectual life through these material magical presences? Focus on one key scene for your choice of magical item. Does magic always mean the power to destroy? The play’s treatment of Margaret of Fressingfield: has she escaped one abusive lover to become victim of another? Consider Margaret’s strength in scene 8. Consider more specifically the whole idea of testing the woman in scenes 10 and 14. What is the play’s attitude to promises, and what does social class have to do with it? Focus on one scene but don’t ignore the others. The role of the fool: choose one, either the licensed fool Ralph Simnell (especially in relation to the Prince) or the student/servant Miles (especially in relation to Bacon). Is the role ironic? Does it provide essential commentary? How does the fool help define either the role of a prince or the role of a scholar? The treatment of the foreign: Why does this play have major concerns about foreign royalty? To what extent is the power of a king invested in the power of the magician he employs? What comment is made about foreign power in the defeat of Vandermast? Compare to the treatment of foreigners in The Three Ladies of London or The Masque of Blackness: is the idea about foreigners the same?You will see in the two sample final essays that these topics influenced the performers, particularly in assessing the brazen head (#1), the role of Miles (#3), and the treatment of the foreign (#4). These ideas developed out of lectures and tutorial meetings, as well as small group meetings and independent research.