Paraphrase Exercise |
We’re going to begin our first close reading of a literary work with a paraphrase; essentially, when you paraphrase, you reword the language of the original text. We’ll talk more about the definition of paraphrase when we begin working on research, but for the time being, we’re looking at restating the language of a work of literature in order to achieve a more complete understanding of the meaning of that work. This exercise is particularly useful when reading a text that uses a pattern of language unfamiliar to the reader.
For class today, first please click on the link here to read a description of a paraphrase
Once you’ve carefully read the definition of a literary paraphrase, you’ll begin to work in small groups to write a paraphrase of Robert Browning’s poem, “My Last Duchess.” Once your paraphrase is complete, we’ll come back to the full class to discuss those paraphrases, and to begin to interpret the poem.
Each group should elect a leader, who will submit the group’s completed paraphrase by email on the date indicated on the syllabus. Please be sure to include the names of each member of your group in the message, and to copy the message to each group member as well.
This page copyright 2000-2007 by Lisa Hammond | last update 15 January 2007