Question

I'm researching sonnet 19 by William Shakespeare for a research essay comparing and contrasting the aforementioned poem and John Donne's holy sonnet 10. Does anybody have any great sources from which I can research? So far, the ones I've found aren't free.

Answer 1

Does your school offer an electronic database?

Answer 2

Nah, not really.

Answer 3

Well, I think google is your best friend at the moment. Try using google scholar?

What is your topic?

Answer 4

It's just a research paper in which I compare the two sonnets through what scholars, PhDs, and generally educated people have said about them in published content. Google only goes so far, although I haven't checked out Google Scholar yet.

Answer 5

Do you have an argument?

Answer 6

What do you mean?

Answer 7

Normally, research papers have arguments. I could do a research paper on why the SATs are horrible and should not used, while another person can state the importance of SATs and explain why SATs are important.

That's only a random example.

I think your first step is to find a topic first, not an argument. How do these two sonnets relate to each other? What themes relate to each other? Any sort of comparisons?

Answer 8

Well, see, that's exactly what I'm looking for. I need to understand how these two relate specifically through the research I do. At a very superficial level, I know that both poems are attempting to fight against a concept, as Shakespeare argues against time in sonnet 19 and Donne against death and time in holy sonnet 10. So I guess that would be my topic. All I know is that the research I've done so far hasn't given many results.

Answer 9

Now you have a large topic: time. what questions can you ask about time?

Answer 10

Well, I know that Shakespeare is referring to time and how it will eventually "carve" and destroy the beauty of his lover, and that he's begging death to not take away from his beauty. Still, and I don't mean to offend, because I truly appreciate the time you're putting in, shouldn't I be just focusing on the research now and what has been said about that specific sonnet instead of time in general?

Answer 11

the problem is that there needs to be some sort of topic to research on before you go research. I could probably type in "criticisms of Richard Wright's 'Black Boy'" into a search engine and get a ton of overwhelming results. By picking a topic first, you can concentrate the keywords more closely. Instead of typing "critisisms of Shakespeare's Sonnet 19," a clear topic about time can give you a more specfic critisism or article or something that is more relevant to your topic.

Answer 12

Hmm, alright, I'll try that. Do you happen to have any suggestions?

Answer 13

What did your teacher talk about?

Answer 14

Not much, we didn't do these sonnets in class. He just basically said "Write a research paper comparing/contrasting either two shakespearean sonnets or one shakespearean sonnet and one Donne sonnet

Answer 15

I haven't studied Shakespeare in college, so i don't know much. (Next semtester, I am studying a lot of brit literature.)

What did your teacher talk about in class?

Answer 16

Nothing, really. I think the point is that we're sort of on our own and we need to figure it out.

Answer 17

....i've been tapping into a lot of stuff about love...

Answer 18

http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/2870777

http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=AJP.045.0176A

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=dBW-wU3hHnAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=Shakespeare%27s+%22Sonnet+10%22+love&ots=Bn5BsI3nwH&sig=EvpXQiJ7oZU_w7k_DaL9Oo9l6r0#v=onepage&q=Shakespeare's%20%22Sonnet%2010%22%20love&f=false

since you are pretty early with your paper writing process, you can change topics if needed...

Answer 19

let me see if i can find stuff about time

Answer 20

http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/985840

http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/2870707

http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=P-Qos7JwVaEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=Shakespeare+%22time%22&ots=5n01Jd6TmV&sig=aro9yiDgKav0JtVhWCQ6V1ONfmk#v=onepage&q=Shakespeare%20%22time%22&f=false

Do you have access to jstor? If not, I can toss some links at you, and you can see if it is what you need or not.

Answer 21

No, unfortunately, I don't, although my teacher did make sure to highlight it as being one of the best resources out there. Would you happen to know how to get access, because I tried making an account to do exactly that, and it didn't seem to make a difference.

Answer 22

do you have a school website? link me to it?

Answer 23

Sure, but I doubt you'll find anything: http://www.fasny.org/index.cfm

Answer 24

when is your essay due?

Answer 25

Monday

Answer 26

With electronical databases, you need to pay for those. Do you know if your school is signed up with any sort of electronical database?

Answer 27

I sincerely doubt it. We're a very small school, and I'm sure my teacher would've mentioned it.

Answer 28

Has your teacher talked about how to do research? He should have.

Answer 29

Yeah, he has. In fact, he gave us a document that I could give you if you'd like. It's digital.

Answer 30

Cool. :)

Answer 31

What type of teacher do you have? I think his language is really unacceptable. D:

Answer 32

I also find this doc to be VERY confusing...

Answer 33

Haha, no no, don't worry about it. Trust me, he's a smart guy. He went to an Ivy league school. He's actually just in his mid 20s, and I think that the way he writes reflects his youth. Actually, I like the informality of his writing; it helps students beat through the normally tough vocabulary that makes how-to sheets hard and connects

Answer 34

Really? How so?

Answer 35

"What are they focusing on? What questions are they asking? For primary sources: what are you noticing? What are your thoughts? What are your questions? Do secondary sources help answer them?"

Rather vague questions. Normally a prompt would be more specfic than this. Let me pull something up from my flashdrive...

Answer 36

Thanks, I would appreciate that

Answer 37

This is from Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.

Think about Marlow in the novel. Why is he so enigmatic, and why does he tell such an enigmatic
story? In addressing this question, pay attention to the wider themes of the novel and/or its
philosophies of meaning. As one aspect of this, you might also consider how Marlow’s narrative
reflects some of the central concerns surrounding modernism.

Answer 38

This is a little more specfic. This question is asking me to recall the themes within the text. Additionally, it is questioning me to discuss why Marlow is so puzzling (the novel is very puzzling, on purpose).

Answer 39

...I don't think your prof preped you enough to write this.

Answer 40

Back in my hs there was a process we underwent to write a paper like this. We did brainstorming (the step you are on now), research (not only finding it but evaluating whether or not the text is legit or not..) ... aha!

I still have my senior hs stuff! :D

Answer 41

I don't know, I try to avoid blaming teachers because that can easily be the easy way out of feeling responsible for one's failures. Besides, I'm sure I'll do fine with your quality assistance.

Answer 42

Just save it on ur comp and i'll explain the files...

Answer 43

Alright, I've downloaded and opened all of them, so you're safe to do that. Thanks a lot for this, and I think I'm going to delete my posting of my teacher's document

Answer 44

okay let's go to the pdf first

Answer 45

You don't have to fill this out, but i'm going to use this to show how not all sources are perfect...

Answer 46

Alright, listening

Answer 47

so the first part deals with the text of the page, these questions are basic questions that articles should have....

Answer 48

Part two deals with content. I don't know much about shakespeare criticism, but if there is anything within the 2000-2012 range, you should definately use it. Use sources that are more recent than old, because new arguments may counter older ones.

Answer 49

Part 3 deals with authority. Who wrote this piece? If we have a politician writing a criticism about shakespeare, then we know that the author is not a good source to go to. Try to find the background of the author, as much as you can.

Answer 50

This pdf only applies to websites that are not in electronic databases. Anything within an electron database or in print is trusted, and we don't need this pdf.

Answer 51

To the notes form! As you read this, you will probably need to take notes. Why? You need to write down ideas that seem peculiar, awkward, strange, or even interesting, fascinating. Make sure you have the ability to capture significant quotes and such. Definately fill the top part, for it will help with your works cited page. You don't need to fill all of it, for web you use the 3rd row and for publisher you use the 4th row. For MLA, (the citing guide for Humanities / Fine Arts), you don't need URLs anymore...

Remember that any time you refer to the text, you must cite your information to the person that wrote it.

This link may help with citing as well.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Answer 52

To the colored outline! Have you seen outlines like the one on page two?

Answer 53

Also, I'd show that doc that your teacher gave you to your parents, and see if they can understand it. That piece of paper doesn't cover the whole of writing at all. D:

Answer 54

Outlining: You really don't have to be this specfic due to your time constraint, but try to do a free write where you type down ideas down on a document. All essays have an intro and a conclusion. What happens in the middle is up to whatever you are arguing. It would be nice to come up with some sort of thesis statement tonight, then tomorrow do some research and come up with some arguments and the such...

Answer 55

Sorry, but it's starting to get late for me, but if you need help, I'll come back again tomorrow night to see what progress you made...

Answer 56

Hey, no problem, you've been really great. Don't let me keep you from your sleep. I really want to stress, before you go, how thankful I am of your help. Seriously, I think you made this research paper that much less abstract, achievable, and manageable for me.

Answer 57

And I hope that, by tomorrow night, I'll be able to link you my full essay

Answer 58

If you're willing to help, of course. I don't want to impose.

Answer 59

What "time" are you available tomorrow? I have to study for some finals coming up.

Answer 60

Oh, that's right, you college students have finals now. Then forget it, just get studying. I don't want to be a burden; you've done more than enough.

Answer 61

Just remember, that time is how we form relationships. We take the time to know each other by talking and communicating with each other. :D

Good night.

Answer 62

Haha, yeah, I'll try to incorporate that in my research paper :P. Thanks again, and sweet dreams.