AP English Language and Composition
All the King’s Men Research Essay
In a well-written, organized, and compelling essay, explore a rhetorical insight into the
novel.
As Mr. Padilla advises, “This essay adds to the usual requirement of close reading and
careful consideration on your part an element of thoughtful research and a weighing of
others’ ideas on All the King’s Men. As always, the heart of the essay lies in your
evaluation of the novel and your claims regarding plot, character, and theme. You do,
however, need to be aware of how others have read the novel since its publication; taking
these readings into account should help you refine and focus your own argument.
Beware: Do not simply reproduce what someone else has to say.”
Utilizing five outside sources, write a 5-8 page essay. Your argument must be your own.
Also, close textual analysis is expected. In other words, your essay should not simply be a
casual discussion of theme; you should deconstruct/explicate passages from the text.
For support, find criticism on the novel in Contemporary Literary Criticism, Twentieth
Century Literary Criticism, or any other volumes on reserve in the library. You may not
use any internet sources other than databases to which the library subscribes.
Robert Penn Warren: A Collection of
Critical Essays
RPW & the American Imagination
RPW: A Study of the Short Fiction
A Southern Harvest
RPW's Modernist Spirituality
20th Century Interpretations of
All TheKing's Men
Web of Being
All the King's Men: The Search for a
Usable Past
RPW & History
RPW
Lonelier Than God
RPW: A Biography
The Poetic Vision of RPW
Conversations with RPW
RPW Talking: Interviews 1950-1978
Be sure to use proper MLA format in documenting your sources. This means including
parenthetical documentation as well as a “Works Cited” page at the end.
Due Dates:
Thesis
Library
Annotated bibliography (7 sources)
Work on essay in class
Final draft with works cited (5 sources)
Apr 18
Apr 23, 24
Apr 25
Apr 30 and May 4
May 7