Midterm Exam

Coverage, Format

The midterm will cover readings, discussions, lectures, technical terms, background (myth & history, timeline), starting with the opening class of the semester and through Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus.

• You won't be required to know exact dates, but a basic grasp of chronology of plays, and of how that chronology relates to certain key historical events, will be important for, for instance, political themes in various plays.

Outside texts, issues, etc. I am sometimes asked if you can discuss texts, concepts, or issues not dealt with in our class. Well, sure, but the focus of your writing must still be on texts, concepts, and issues you have explored for this class.

Format. In terms of format, the midterm will be a take-home exam. The exam paper (the the part that I write) will be shared via myCourses announcement the morning of 24-Mar. No blue books: you will type your responses into a document saved in word format (.doc, .docx, .rtf — you can use Word, Google docs, etc. to create your document). Please mark clearly the questions/prompts to which you respond.

Submission of your work. You will upload the document you create via the marked Turnitin link on myCourses. Do that by, at the latest, noon (12pm) on Wed, 25-Mar, when the link disappears.

Grammar, style, spelling. I don't expect quite the same level of writing that I would on a formal paper, but this is a take-home exam — pretty close. Please proof-read for grammar, style, spelling (including ancient words and names), and clarity. Arguments should make and need to be defended with evidence. You must cite the texts (title, author) you are discussing, with the exception of the materials I supply, study guides and so on. These last you don't need to cite.

The open-book aspect. As you take the test, you may certainly pore over the texts you've purchased, downloaded, or other accessed for the purposes of completing assignments.

What you may not do is use additional reference materials (other than those assigned or that form part of the Bingweb or myCourses sites). And you certainly may not use someone else's words or ideas without citing. Advice: stay away from everything third-party.

For clarity on the academic-honesty dimension this exam, I quote the following from the Syllabus:

These are the types of questions/prompts you should expect to be tested on:

1. Shorter answer, requiring 100 or more words of your writing. Focused mostly on factual matters (know your plays, know your terms). Questions/prompts like this:
   • What is a [term]. In what scene of what play might it have been used? How would it have been used?
   • The [term] is an important part of any tragedy. What is it, how does it function? Name a tragedy in which one does not appear?
   • [character's name] appears in which three plays that we have read? Identify and define what "job" that character has in each of those plays.
2. Longer essay: "What is tragedy?"
   • No, I'm not asking you to define tragedy. I'm asking you to think about what others have said tragedy is/does/can do, that as you work toward your own understanding of it
   • You'll pick from one of two questions/prompts to respond to. You'll discuss "lenses" (ones we've studied; I'll ask you to address two or more) through which to view multiple plays. You'll write 600 or more words. (If you go above 1,000, I might stop reading)
   • I will probably ask you how two or possibly more lenses enrich your experience of the plays. One of those will be Honig. You'll probably choose at least four plays like so: 2 from column A, two from column B
     • Know your lenses! (Some of this covered primarily in lecture, some in readings):
       • Honig
       • Herington's "ancient law of hybris and ātē" (I often call it the "tragic formula")
       • Herington's Aeschylean epiphany (or so I've termed it)
       • Aristotle's Poetics (review the whole reading)
     • Know your plays!

Suggestions for Studying, Test-Taking

In studying, don't re-read every play. Rather, . . .

• Note down on a study sheet the authors, titles, characters/speakers (from plays), main issues. Quiz yourself on those
• Scan through your texts and try to recall important passages, points, etc.
• Read through the notes you've taken on those assignments
• Read through your journal responses
• Go through study guides for further guidance to important themes, issues, concepts, etc.
• Ditto for PowerPoints
• Study terms below

As to taking the test itself, whether you feel prepared or not, enter the room in a calm state of mind: adrenalin won't necessarily help. That sort of cold-blooded, couldn't-care-less attitude can often get us over our nerves and give of the courage to trust our recall.

Whatever you do, don't break down, don't fail to write something. Keep your pens and pencils moving.

GRADING CRITERIA: Provided I can read your writing and make sense of your sentences, I will grade on content alone. BUT I MUST BE ABLE TO MAKE SENSE OF YOUR SENTENCES. SPELLING: Spelling of authors' names, titles, names of characters, technical terms counts! Otherwise, I will be fairly flexible about grammar and spelling. Again, the important thing is: KEEP WRITING!

Terms/Concepts Relevant to Material to Be Tested

Review the following terms for the upcoming midterm. (For definitions, see "Terms")