LITR 4232: American Renaissance

UHCL, spring 2002

Student Research Proposal

Sheri O'Rourke

I have been fascinated with, and curious about Poe since my junior college days (which was a long time ago); however, we did not study him on the level that we are studying him now. I found then, and still find that his work holds a sublime fascination for me.  He is both dark and beautiful at the same time. I am curious about a person that could write Annabelle Lee and The Bells.  I would like to learn more about his life and how it may have influenced his work.  My essay will explore the idea of the human mind in general, and Poe's in particular as a gothic area.  I would also like to examine how his heavy use of the gothic, coupled with his beautifully romantic language results in a sublime piece of literature.  I plan to use as my primary texts, selected pieces from our textbook, as well as The Bells. Do you agree that Poe produces sublime literature?

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Dear Sheri,

I enjoyed reading this but am still not sure exactly where it's going. Without forcing you in any way, would you like at least to consider doing a journal on Poe? The reason I suggest it is that your interests are rather broad and diverse (the proposal is rather heavy on the "also's"), and overall it sounds as though you mainly want to know and understand more about him--all of these purposes are served by a journal. You could always switch back to an essay if your interests began to cohere along a single track of thought or purpose. Anyway, all of the elements you mention above could be covered by a journal. So if you want to make the switch, just review what you've written and start making a list of what you'd like to find out--of course all this could include research on the poems you mention.

Well, again I'm not meaning to tell you what to do. If you want to write an essay, just resolve more clearly what you're about, which of course you can do.