English 2122 critical
response topics, summer 2026
Recall from the syllabus that you need to submit five critical responses over the term, so you need not do every topic assigned. But then you don't want to wait until midterm to get these things rolling either. . . .
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.
1.3 Due Sunday, June 21st: Do one, not both:
a) Open assignment on Elizabeth Barrett Browning: respond to anything that strikes you as interesting or significant in one or more of the E.B.B. poems we're reading (be analytical, avoid summarizing). An obvious topic would be her progressive and/or feminist views (probably not in the sonnets). Include at least three quotations from the poetry, maybe more. See MLA conventions for quoting and citing poetry in Q4.b) Doing your best to avoid repeating comments from others' discussion posts, discuss Tennyson's portrayal of loss in any two of his poems we're reading this week, quoting each at least twice following MLA conventions for quoting and citing poetry as indicated in Q4.
On deck:
1.4 Due Sunday, June 28th: TBA
Previous critical response topics—no longer valid for submission:
1.1 Due Saturday, June 6th: address one topic, not both:
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 other poems we're reading in this unit, following MLA style for citing poetry outlined in Q4.b) Discuss beliefs or ideas that Wordsworth and Coleridge appear to have in common in their poems we're reading. Include at least two quotations from each poem you mention, following guidelines for citing poetry outlined in Q4.
1.2 Due Sunday, June 14th: address either option (not both):
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.