Protagonist Study: the anti-hero

English 122

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroAssignment

A comparative essay.

This essay will compare Heathcliff from Emile Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and Macbeth from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroCriteria

You must compare and contrast both characters through Coleridge’s “Byronic Traits”.

All of your claims/ideas/points must be

supported with evidence from Wuthering Heights and Macbeth.

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroFormat Your final draft will be double spaced. You must include a works cited page. Your publishable essay will be submitted

electronically; this does not have to be double spaced, but it must include a works cited page.

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroPlagiarism

If you are caught taking information from sources that you did not discuss with me, you will receive a mark of zero on your assignment.

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroEvaluation

This essay is worth 70 marks, and here is the breakdown:

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroIdeas You approach your essay in a meta-

narrative or theme based manner. Your ideas are supported through quotations

and paraphrasing. Each “Byronic Trait” is discussed.

/10

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroOrganization Your ideas flow from one paragraph to the

next. Each paragraph has an introductory

sentence, supporting detail, and a closing sentence.

Your entire essay consists of an introduction, body, and conclusion. /10

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroVoice You vary your sentence length. You move beyond listing, and show a

command of your ideas through original and engaging language.

/10

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroWord Choice You avoid repetition. Your command is such that your word choice

strengthens your ideas. You avoid needles self reference (ex: I

believe … I feel … in my opinion).

/10

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroSentence Fluency You use transitional devices to move from

one idea to the next. Punctuation is grade appropriate – you

demonstrate proper use of colon, semi-colon, and comma.

/10

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroConventions There are no spelling errors. You show command of capitalization. Citations are in the correct format. Works Cited is in correct format.

/10

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroPublishing You upload an electronic copy of your essay

to my wikispace. You include a title and your paragraphing is

clear.

/10

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroDue Date I must receive your final draft by May 7th. You will have time to work on your essay in

class on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, but all other work must be completed on your own time.

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroMini-Lesson

The Comparative

Essay

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroIdeas: you have a choice

A and B equally weighted.

One as a lens to look at the other.

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroOrganization: you have a choice Text by text Point by point

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroPoint by Point: constructing a paragraph

using the “gloomy” trait

Well, Macbeth says…“Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player

that struts and frets upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot” (5,5,19-30).

…wow, what a gloomy dude.

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroPoint by Point: constructing a paragraph using the

“gloomy” trait

And, how does Heathcliff react to his lover’s death?

“She’s dead!” he said; “I’ve not waited for you to learn that. Put your handkerchief away – don’t snivel before me. Damn you all! She want none of your tears!” (162)

Hmm, is this gloominess?

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroTopic Sentence

Well, I can compare and contrast their reaction under the umberela of the traits? That gives me an idea for my paragraph…

Protagonist Study: the anti-heroBuilding up Ideas

Heathcliff and Macbeth show different Byronic Traits after their lovers die. For instance, the morning after Catherine’s death, Heathcliff says, “She’s dead! . . . I’ve not waited for you to learn that. Put your handkerchief away – don’t snivel before me. Damn you all! She want none of your tears!” (162). This bizarre reaction shows that he is jittery and on edge.

On the other hand, Macbeth reacts much differently. He says, “Life is but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot” (5,5,19-30). This monologue shows utter despair and gloominess, a much different reaction than Heathcliff.

Protagonist Study: the anti-hero What are some reasons for the different

reactions between Heathcliff and King Macbeth? If this question is to be asked, another must follow: who is more responsible for their lover’s death? Here, Heathcliff actions make him guilty, and, consequently, this could explain his brutal response to Nelly. While Lady Macbeth was equally responsible for her depression, Heathcliff helped to prolong Catherine’s illness.