English 462                                                                                                                    
18th-Century Literature                                                                                                        
Dr. Morillo

Due: Friday, October 29, as a file via email send, or if you prefer, on paper in folder on Tompkins 270. Either way the paper is due by 3pm that Friday
Length: 2-4 pages

Choose any author and write either an imitation of that author's style or a parody of that style. An imitation captures the essence of the style but remains serious, or at least matches the tone of the original work(s) being imitated. A parody is meant to be funny and often exaggerates a particular feature of a style for comic effect. As the neoclassicists knew, to imitate well is to show real mastery of a subject,  and as the satirists realized, to parody well is to demonstrate genuinely critical understanding--an appreciation of the distinctive colors and shapes, strengths, and weaknesses of a writer's characteristic style and chosen subjects.

If you do, say, a sonnet or shorter lyric poem, since that can only take up a page, use the second page to discuss what you found distinctive about the style and if you think you succeeded in imitating it.

ENG462 syllabus