English 111
Essay 1
Write a paper in which you discuss the relationship between form and content in The Piano Lessonl.
Criteria for a Successful Paper
A successful paper will:
 Discuss the form of the play. This can mean many things, including:
 Narrative structure (the order in which events are told, the information that is included or left out,
how the sequence of events follows a certain pattern, etc.)
 Choice of characters
 Symbols (physical objects, events, people or places that represent some larger idea)
 Motifs (images, words or phrases, or other elements that repeat throughout the story)
 Style (choice of words, sentence structure, rhythm)
 Dramatic features, including staging, lighting, division into acts and scenes
 Relate form to content, especially theme (the abstract ideas or deeper meaning of the story)
 Give specific examples drawn from the story that illustrate the form and how it relates to the content
 Explain how the examples work (how they support the theme being described)
 Have a thesis—a single, unified point about the relationship between form and content, to which every
part of the paper relates.
 Be between 1,100 and 1,500 words. I am more lenient toward papers that are over the maximum than
those that are under the minimum, for the simple reason that a short paper is less likely to say much.
Possible Topics or Questions
There are many, many ways to approach this assignment. The examples below are provided to illustrate the
kind of thing I want you to be writing about, and to stimulate your own thinking. You are not required to
use any of them, but you may if you find yourself without ideas.
 How does the play’s narrative structure reflect or express some of the key themes in the play?
 How does the play use different characters to bring out a single idea and reveal different angles or
perspectives on that idea?
 How does music function as a motif or symbol in this play?
 How do ghosts function as a motif or symbol?
 Is there a pattern to the way that people speak or their style of speech, such as length of sentences,
choice of words, imagery, who they speak to, the emotional quality of their speech (such as anger,
humor, etc.)? What does this pattern say about any of the themes the play addresses?
Format
Your name
The paper should:
ENG 111
 have your name, the class, the date, and the number of words single-spaced in the
11/14/06
upper right corner of the first page
1132 words
 be double-spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides
 use a standard 10- or 12-point font
 have a title that succinctly expresses the main idea—something specific and unique. The title
should be on the first page (no title page), centered above the first paragraph.
 be stapled