Beowulf’s Heroic Qualities
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This 5 page report discusses “The Adventures of Beowulf” and how it presents characters of epic and heroic proportions. Heroism such as that presented by Beowulf have shaped human ideals throughout the centuries regarding what it means to be a hero and how heroic action is personified. Beowulf is all that could be asked for in a good warrior -- bold, powerful, and loyal, as well as smart, expressive, courteous, and, above all, committed to serving his people. He is, in many ways, the ultimate hero. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Filename: BWwulfro.wps

Bergsonian Criteria: Why Does Lysistrata Make Us Laugh?
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5 pages in length. Laughter, according to Bergson, is an ever-changing entity – such a strange metamorphosis that it requires "something more flexible than an abstract definition." The extent to which laughter is an inextricable component in potentially every aspect of life is both grand and far-reaching; indeed, Bergson's comment "in laughter we always find an unavowed intention to humiliate and consequently to correct our neighbour" speaks to mankind's ability to shadow its otherwise obvious intent with the mask of subtlety. Such is precisely the case with Aristophanes' Lysistrata. Bibliography lists 4 sources.
Filename: TLCLysisLaugh.rtf

Biblical and Classical References in “The Wife of Bath’s Prologue” in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Canterbury Tales”
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A 3 page paper which examines how Dame Alice (the Wife of Bath) uses biblical and classical references in an attempt to justify her lifestyle. No additional sources are used.
Filename: TGbathpro.rtf

Biography as Personal Exploration
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The philosophies of three biographers, James Strassmaier, Catherine N. Parke, and Jean Edward Smith, lend themselves to the creation of biography. It is the observance of shared lessons learned by others that appeals to the contemporary mind, but also the art of storytelling, that maintains the age-old desire for exploring biography. Exploration includes Plutarch and Thomas Carlyle. Bibliography lists 6 sources. jvBiog.rtf
Filename: jvBiog.rtf

Boccaccio’s Decameron: Trickery and Wit
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A 3 page paper which examines the use of trickery and wit in Boccaccio’s “Decameron.” No additional sources cited.
Filename: RAbocc.rtf

Book 11 of Homer's Odyssey:
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This 5 page paper discusses Homer's Odyssey. This particular chapter references Hell and many specific quotes are used to support information presented in the paper. Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Filename: GSSumOdy.

Book I: Paradise Lost
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A 5 page paper which analyzes the author, Milton's, objectives in the presentation of Book I of "Paradise Lost." The paper focuses on the character of Satan as an object which allows us to better understand Milton's objectives. The objectives of Milton are argued to be those which address mankind's ability to be evil, the necessity of evil in God's world, and the power of free will which would allow Satan to live and mankind to be influenced by him. Bibliography lists 3 additional sources.
Filename: RAprdbk1.rtf

Canterbury Tales
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This 6 page paper discusses Estates Satire and how Chaucer uses it in his poem.
Filename: HVChaucr.rtf

Canterbury Tales “Wife of Bath” and Hamlet
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A 3 page paper which examines how Chaucer’s “Wife of Bath” from Canterbury Tales and Shakespeare’s Hamlet summarize and illustrated Medieval thought. No additional sources cited.
Filename: RAhambth.rtf