English Master's Degree Assignment, July 2024/January 2025

MEG - 05 MASTER’S DEGREE IN ENGLISH (MEG) ASSIGNMENT (For July 2024 and January 2025 session) LITERARY CRITICISM & THEORY: MEG - 05 School of Humanities Indira Gandhi National Open University...

MEG - 05 MASTER’S DEGREE IN ENGLISH (MEG) ASSIGNMENT (For July 2024 and January 2025 session) LITERARY CRITICISM & THEORY: MEG - 05 School of Humanities Indira Gandhi National Open University Maidan Garhi, New Delhi – 110 068  ASSIGNMENT FOR MASTER’S DEGREE IN ENGLISH Literary Criticism & Theory (MEG – 05) Programme: MEG Course Code: MEG - 05 Dear Student You are required to do one assignment for the elective English course entitled Literary Criticism and Theory (MEG - 05) of the Master’s Degree in English Programme. This is a Tutor Marked Assignment (TMA) and carries 100 marks. This assignment covers the entire course of MEG - 05 (Blocks 1 – 8). Aims: This TMA is concerned mainly with assessing your application and understanding of the course material. You are not required to reproduce chunks of information from the course material but to use the skills of critical appreciation that you may have acquired during the course of study. This assignment aims to teach as well as to assess your performance. Please ensure that you read all the texts prescribed in the course. Let me repeat: you must read all the texts/ critical essays prescribed. Do make points as you go along. If there is anything you do not understand, please ask your Counsellor at the Study Centre for clarification. Once you are able to do the assignment satisfactorily, you will be ready to take the exam with confidence. Instructions: Before attempting the assignment, please read the following instructions carefully. 1. Read the detailed instructions about the assignment given in the Handbook and Programme Guide. 2. Write your enrolment number, name, full address and date on the top right corner of the first page of your response sheet(s). 3. Write the course title, assignment number and the name of the study centre you are attached to in the centre of the first page of your response sheet(s). The top of the first page of your response sheet should look like this: ENROLMENT NO: ……………………… NAME: ………………………………….. ADDRESS: ……………………………………………………………… COURSE TITLE: ……………………….. STUDY CENTRE: …………………….. DATE: ………………………………… 4. Use foolscap / A 4 size paper for your response and tag all the pages carefully 5. Write the relevant question number with each answer. 6. You should write in your own handwriting. 2 7. Submission: The completed assignment should be sent to the Coordinator of the Study Centre allotted to you by 31st March 2025 (if enrolled in the July 2024 Session) and 30th Sept 2025 (if enrolled in the January 2025 session). 8. Please read the instructions given in your Programme Guide. Now read the following guidelines carefully before answering questions. GUIDELINES FOR TMAs You will find it useful to keep the following points in mind: 1. Planning: Read the questions carefully. Go through the units on which they are based. Make some points regarding each question and then rearrange these in a logical order. And please write the answers in your own words. Do not reproduce passages from the units. 2. Organisation: Be a little more selective and analytic before drawing up a rough outline of your answer. In an essay-type question, give adequate attention to your introduction and conclusion. The introduction must offer your brief interpretation of the question and how you propose to develop it. The conclusion must summarise your response to the question. In the course of your answer, you may like to make references to other texts or critics as this will add some depth to your analysis. Make sure that your answer: (a) is logical and coherent; (b) has clear connections between sentences and paragraphs; (c) is written correctly giving adequate consideration to your expression, style and presentation; (e) does not exceed the number of words indicated in your question. 3. Presentation: Once you are satisfied with your answers, you can write down the final version for submission, writing each answer neatly and underlining the points you wish to emphasize. You may be aware that you need to submit your assignments before you can appear for the Term End Exams. Please remember to keep a copy of your completed assignment, just in case the one you submitted is lost in transit. Good luck with your work! 3  MEG - 05 Literary Criticism & Theory ASSIGNMENT 2024 - 2025 Based on Blocks (1 – 8) Max. Marks: 100 Answer all questions. 1. Explain and discuss Aristotle's view of literature as imitation. 20 2. Do you think that Wordsworth establishes a new poetic theory? What are the main features of his theory? 20 3. Write short notes on the following: 4 x 5 = 20 a) Rasa (b) Catharsis (c) Postmodernism (d) “Woman as other” 4. Show how literary criticism and theory have developed a materialistic dimension based on Marxism. 20 5. Draw out the ideologies set forth by Mary Wollstonecraft and Virginia Woolf as pioneer feminists. 20 4