English 2122 critical response topics, spring 2025
Remember from the syllabus that you are required to address five critical responses over the term, so you need not do every topic assigned.
Critical responses have a 200 word minimum (in the body of the response, excluding name, date, header, etc.): responses shorter than 200 words cannot pass. Avoid plot summary or straightforward retelling of "what happens" in the work—see nugget 1.
Format your response according to MLA guidelines for margins, spacing, name, date, etc., headers, etc. as outlined on my "simple stuff" page. Works cited pages are unnecessary for critical responses; do still follow the MLA conventions for documenting quotations as explained in Q1-4 on my quotations page.
1.2 Due Saturday, January 25: address one topic, not two or all three:
a) Explore Wordsworth's central ideas about nature in "Lines Written a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey," including at least four meaningful quotations to illustrate your claims; also note how any of these ideas are borne out in any of the poems we're reading in this unit, following MLA style for citing poetry outlined in Q4.b) Discuss common beliefs or ideas shared in the poems we're reading by Wordsworth and Coleridge. Include at least two quotations from each poem you mention, following guidelines for citing poetry outlined in Q4.
c) Comment on one or two of the key points in Wordsworth's "Preface to Lyrical Ballads," noting how they are illustrated in any of the Wordsworth poems we are reading. Include at least two quotations from the "Preface" and two from the poetry (see Q4).
On deck:
1.3 Due Saturday, February 1: address either option:
a) Open assignment: respond to anything that strikes you as interesting or significant in two or more of the Shelley poems we're reading (be analytical, avoid summarizing). If you're stuck: you might consider which of the first-generation Romantics Shelley seems to have the most in common with, or you might consider Shelley's view of nature or his evident radicalism. Include at least three quotations from the poetry, following MLA guidelines outlined in Q4.b) How does the Keats poetry we're reading differ from the other poetry we've explored thus far? How is Keats "Romantic" (reread "Romanticism")? Quote two or more poems at least twice in your analysis, following the MLA guidelines in Q4.
Previous critical response topics—no longer valid for submission:1.1 Due Saturday, January 18: address either topic, not both:
a) Can you relate closely to any of the Blake poems we're reading? How so? Include quotations from each poem you discuss (minimum of three quotations total). For the mechanics of citing poetry, see Q4.b) Is Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication of the Rights of Woman entirely dated? Do some of her ideas still apply to women today? Quoting the text at least three times to support your claims, discuss the potential relevance of her argument to our American society in 2025.