Paper #1
The minimum word limit for this paper is 1000 words,
the maximum 1500 words. Please type and double-space all drafts and
the final version of the paper. No type smaller than 10-point, or
greater than 14 point, please.
Option 1
You are the casting director for a short film based on Browning's
dramatic monologue, "My Last Duchess." As the Duke carries so much
of the action and dialogue, you need to find a first-rate actor to
fill the role. In your essay, you need to convince the skeptical director
that the actor you have chosen will fill the role perfectly. But you
have a problem.
You have worked with this director before and you
know he has a habit of going straight to the script and finding lines
to prove that your choices of actor will not work. You need to include
in your essay as much relevant and convincing quotation as you can
to underpin each argument you make in favor of your choice of actor.
Option 2
You are the director on this same project. Using only Browning's
dramatic monologue, "My Last Duchess" as your script, you are trying
to develop a visual, action-rich treatment for the short film. Use
your essay to plot out, scene by scene that visual treatment, always
using relevant, succinct quotations to justify each scene you choose,
and each scene change you envisage. Pay particular attention to the
opening scene (which will need to hook your viewers into the story)
and the final scene (which will need to conclude the story and leave
the viewers with a strong visual image).
Option 3
You are the actor chosen to play the Duke and you have to
prove to the same skeptical director that your character study of
the Duke is correct. Using the terminology we have recently discussed
and detailed quotation from the text, prove that your interpretation
of the Duke, and the acting choices you have based on it, will create
the strongest possible character at the center of the film.
