Assignment: One aspect of poetry that we have discussed is the movement from an unstable antecedent scenario to a stable conclusion that allows the piece to reach a stable conclusion. Consider the poems that introduce and conclude Horace’s first collection of Odes, Books 1-3. After conducting close readings of Odes 1.1 and 3.30 as outlined in Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About a Poem But Where Afraid to Ask... and in reference to the Glossary of Terms for the Analysis of Literature, analyze and compare these poems in respect to this movement. What issues, posed in Odes1.1, are resolved by Odes 3.30?

In your paper, you may want to consider some or all of the following questions: What similarities of theme can you identify? What differences in tone and subject are evident? Has the character of the narrator changed? What about the relationship/dynamic between the narrator and his audience (both primary (the addressee of the poem, if any) and secondary (the reader)? What different poetic devices does Horace employ in the different poems? Are there any allusions that link the poems?

While the focus of your paper must be on Odes 1.1 and 3.30, feel free to refer to any of the other poems in Odes 1-3 to illustrate your argument.

Due Date: Before 3pm, Friday, March 28th @ Knapton 119 (My Office)
NOTA BENE: I will not accept papers from students who do not attend class on the date due. The afternoon submission time is to allow you ask final questions before/after class and then allow for a final polish without compromising your preparation for the day’s class.

Formalities: 4-5 pages double-spaced; Times 12 pt.; top and bottom margins: 1”; side margins: 1.25” (“MS Word default”); footnotes (not endnotes); attach a completed Checklist for Papers; Follow the style guidelines (for quotations, citations, footnotes, etc.) in The Chicago Manual of Style. Note – a 4-5-page paper must include 4-5 pages of your writing; footnotes, title page, and bibliography do not count towards this figure. Conversely, do not pile information that is critical to your argument into footnotes in an attempt to squeeze your paper down below the page limit.

Reminder: Take time to carefully and clearly organize the evidence and you argument. Clearly state your thesis from the outset and use the body of your essay to explain how you arrived at that position. In an essay of this length, you cannot treat all factors or each of the points listed above; you must make a judicious selection of evidence that best advances your thesis in a balanced yet persuasive manner.