Beyond the Five Paragraph Essay

The Five Paragraph Burger, adaptations mine.

From Cal State LA: Going beyond the 5-paragraph essay (which is not a bad thing in itself, but perhaps just time to think differently):
http://www.calstatela.edu/centers/write_cn/fivepara.htm


So, what to do then?

1. Begin with your thesis.

Example: i will use Pr.Lupton's from class today, that the violence in Botticelli's Primavera (she was talking about the rape of Chloris by Zephyr, the wind god) leads to consent.

2. Ask yourself: what is the first thing I need to show in order to start?

Example: that there is violence

3. What is the next step in the argument that i need to show?

Example: that then there is consent

4. What do I need to show next in order to demonstrate my interpretation?

Example: that in some way (and showing how might be several other sub-steps) violence has caused or changed into consent

AND SO ON.....
last you might consider: (What in the text challenges or presents a problem for my interpretation? What other passages/aspects of staging or interpretation do I need to consider in order to develop and complexitize my interpretation? ) ThIS step is somewhat arbitrary--could be conclusion, etc...

Example: that consent also involves "agreeing" or giving into the violence (this might redefine violence, etc....)

2 important notes:

• the STEPS, as I am calling them, are logical steps--certain parts of the argument might take more space, more text, more evidence to demonstrate, and therefore might take more than one paragraphs. so there might be SUB-steps, or something of the like. Steps do not have to equal paragraphs, but they also can.
• Along the way, you will need to consider how you have developed and been able to draw new conclusions about the thesis idea with which you began. These developments will lead to the conclusion.

Please post your thesis statements below as comments with questions, if you have them.

Making Theses

Below is the sample thesis I read to you in class. We talked briefly about the concepts/themes that the thesis deals with--power struggle, control, unruly masses, the role of the leader, authority... You might notice that 1) that the thesis also provides you with an interpretation of the play and of the scene and that 2) it refrains from mentioning language and staging elements at this point.

Of course you can think anything you would like in relation to the thesis, but here are some questions you might consider. Please post in the comments if you have things to say or questions.

• What does it tell you instead?
• Is there an argument or a claim yet?
• Can you imagine how the author will be able to move towards making a more specific claim during the drafting and revision project?
• What things do you expect to find a discussion of in the essay?

The sample:

"MSND shows us on many different levels the exercise of power by a single male authority figure in a community -- and that community's resistance or reservations. We see Theseus, Oberon, and Egeus exerting their power in different ways, and the difficulties they experience. In Act One, Scene Two, the authority figure in control is supposed to be the director, Peter Quince, but he has his difficulties, too. My staging will emphasize his efforts to control his unruly cast." [from Vivian Folkenflik, sample thesis]

Ideas-ing for Essay #4

You might consider this humorous version of Shakespearean restaging:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/unconventional_director_sets

and here is a site that contains reviews of difference performances of Shakespeare's plays by someone who is trying to see them all. Scroll down to see A Midsummer Night's Dream--there are several stagings reviewed:

http://www.osmond-riba.org/lis/shakes.htm