The School for Scandal
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General Instructions: As published in the Reading Syllabus for ENG 1 03, by class time on November 22, 1999, I am to receive a critical essay of about four pages on Sheridan's The School for Scandal.
The essay must reach me both as a traditional paper copy and as a Macintosh document in Microsoft Word 98. I have developed a Style Sheet, outlining the specific document conventions you need to observe when producing a printed, not typed, document, for your convenience. Be forewarned, you'll probably have to forget a few of the rules your old typing teacher taught you: the Mac is not a typewriter, and we should take advantage of its ability to reproduce the standards of the traditional print shop! Failure to meet all terms will result in a penalty, unless I can be persuaded to modify the terms. For additional information on revising papers, my grading policies, etc., click here.
The Facts: In The School for Scandal a contrast between persons who are controlled by modish social conventions and standards as they interpret them and persons who surrender to the dictates of their hearts is at the core of the comedy. Lady Teazle, the young wife of Sir Peter, has abandoned her country mores ands demeanor and is trying to meet the expectations of a woman of mode in London. As a result, Sir Peter's sanguine expectations of a happy marriage with his wife are not met. The couple constantly fights over everything, it seems. Only when Lady Teazle finds herself on the brink of disaster, does she realize the folly and danger of trying to ape the ways of her London acquaintances, and vows reformation of conduct. She confesses her love for her husband, as he does his for her, and they foresake the haunts of the School for Scandal and return to the country. Do we become concerned about their future as a couple, and should we?
The Challenge: In a critical essay of ca. four pages based on Sheridan'sThe School for Scandal,try to sort out the evidence you can discover in support of the two contrasting attitudes I referred to above, showing how the world of the libertine Restoration comedy transforms into the new comedy featuring the Man/Woman of Feeling. . Remembering why precisely Sir Peter chose to marry this particular young woman, do we wish the Teazles well, and do we believe they have made the havbe both learned their lessons? Advice: In order to succeed with the assignment, your essay needs to support all general claims with sufficient concrete evidence from Etherege's comedy. Claims will persuade me, your reader, only to the extent that they are supported with specific data that reflect the preponderance of evidence from the text of Etherege's play.
If you have questions or simply want to check out your ideas before you commit them to 'paper,' feel invited to see me. It usually helps a lot to start such a critical essay early.----Good Luck,cpb
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