The idea of “will” with all the connotations of choice, action, and self determination in the plays Taming of the Shrew and Romeo and Juliet

For this short paper, you can choose to write on any one of the plays we have read thus far, or to compare aspects of two plays. This is not a research paper (you’ll be writing one of those later): the focus of this paper should be on close work with the language of the text and on developing that close reading into a strong argument. Each paragraph should have its own point, related to the thesis but moving it forward; the topic sentence of each paragraph acts as a mini-thesis for that particular paragraph. The analysis in each paragraph should depend on your close reading of the text. You should use textual details to push your argument forward, so that your conclusion does not simply repeat your introduction’s thesis, but develops it to a new place.
If you like, you can incorporate a consideration of performance and/or criticism into this paper, but you are not required to do so.
I have suggested some possible topics, but you are welcome to develop your own, provided that you discuss it with me, on Zoom or over email, by ten days before you plan to submit it (Thursday 3 October for the earliest deadline).
 
Some useful advice:
Your paper must have a clear and precise thesis that represents your argument about the text and not a summary or paraphrase of either the lines you are considering or the plot of the whole. This means assuming a reader who is already knowledgeable about the text and is interested in your interpretation of its language and presentation of theme.
 
To avoid plot summary, repetition, and mere listing of separate observations, remember that every sentence of your paper should be part of a developing argument. If any reader of the text(s) you are analyzing would, without the benefit of the paper you are going to write, already know or believe what you are about to claim, then it stands to reason that the paper you have in mind is not worth writing until – and unless – you develop it further.
 
Please ensure that you have provided adequate textual evidence to prove your argument. You should base your paper in close reading: this means that you must quote and analyze the text in every paragraph of your paper (with the possible exceptions of the introduction and the conclusion).
 
Prove your case by citing specific incidents, images, and/or other details from the text in question. Please don’t make a claim that you cannot possibly prove – such as a generalization about the way people “are” or used to be “back then.”
 
If your final paragraph merely repeats your first paragraph, then your paper will seem to have gone nowhere. Think of yourself as working toward your final paragraph; save a point for the end of the paper that will allow you to draw together your argument while also shedding new light on it.