ENGL 2332 | Dual Credit (TWCPHS)

Framed Tale Visual Research Project (2 Major Grades)  

In your groups, you will conduct research over a particular topic pertaining to a Framed Tale. You will choose one of the tales listed below, then create a question over your topic that will allow you to explore how it is presented in the tale as well as its importance in the culture.

You should explore the historical context of your topic and describe the way this context manifests in either A Thousand and One Nights or The Canterbury Tales. You should use this as a background for a discussion on the importance of your chosen topic and not just what it reveals about the text but about the society as well.

Tales to choose from: (No more than 2 groups per portion of the text - first come, first serve)

• A Thousand and One Nights (textbook) - pp 1094-1108
• The Canterbury Tales - “The Miller's Tale” - PDF
• The Canterbury Tales - "The Wife of Bath's Tale" - pp 1152-1160
• The Heptameron - "Story 8" - pp 1514-22
• Don Quixote - pp 1540-48; 1565-79

Consider the historical/cultural, sociological, or gender perspectives as you create your question and begin your research: science; the humours (significance of colors); political and religious climates; roles of men/women; class systems; feudalism; literacy and education; characteristics and events of the time period (Medieval time period aka the Dark Ages); impact on the future (literature and historically); the poet’s/author’s background, etc.

Possible Topics (You are not limited to this list.) 

In conjunction with your topic, you can explore the setting of the story, the characters, type of story they tell, theme, conflict, symbolism, allusions, literary devices, satire, and any variety of literary elements that appear in the stories. Consider formal, psychological, archetypal, and/or reader's response perspectives.

Sample Research Question & Thesis 

How does the Mesopatamian people’s view of death and the afterlife manifest in Gilgamesh?

Thesis: Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality highlights the Mesopatamian people’s belief of an afterlife where people exist as powerless ghosts in order to emphasize the lack of hope prevalent in their religion.

With this question, the writer would need to research the Mesopatmians religious belief, particularly in connection with death and the afterlife, then look at the poem. So, the fact that Mesopatamians believed in an afterlife where the deceased are powerless ghosts, it could have spurred Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality.

This project will be completed in 2 parts. See details in tabs below.