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Welcome to the School House Books Online Services Public Recommended List of Plays with The Open Question Essay Prompts and Links |
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Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead 2004 Open Question: Critic Roland Barthes has said, "Literature is the question minus the answer." Choose a novel or play and, and considering Barthes' observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author's treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary. Choose a scene or character in one of Stoppard's plays that awakens "thoughtful laughter." Then write an essay in which you show why this laughter is thoughtful and how it contributes to the meaning of the work.) The Invention of Love; Arcadia; Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Write a well-organized essay that analyzes how the meaning of this poem is enhanced by sustained allusions to myths, the Bible, or other works of literature. In this play, a character who appears briefly, or does not apppear at all, is a significant presence. Write an essay that shows how this character functions in this work. You may wish to discuss how the character affects action, theme, or the development of other characters. |