WORLD LITERATURE PROGRAM
FINAL EXAM SAMPLE
Write a well-developed essay (4-6 pages) discussing the nature, significance,
and contributions of the literature written by women which we have studied this
semester (e.g. Sappho, Li Ch'ing-Chao, Marie de France, Marguerite de Navarre,
etc.). In your essay you may want to discuss some of the following:
- how women's literature offers unique perspectives
- how it addresses or criticizes the problems of the cultures where it is
produced
- how it relates to its historical and cultural contexts
- how it relates (similarities or differences) to works written by male authors
- what messages, ideas, or themes it conveys
- similarities or differences between works by women of different historical
periods
- what our culture may be able to learn by reading women authors of the past
- how women's experiences may determine or inform the nature and content of
their writings
- how the works of women may be uniquely useful in defining the nature of
literature
- the similar positions/motivations/experiences of women and of artists in
general
- the ways in which the insights of women authors could be useful in the articulation
of the values of a new, global culture
- the ways in which women's literature deals with the problems of power, oppression,
and violence
- the ways in which women's literature deals with the issues of human sexuality,
desire, pleasure, and the human body
- the nature of the genres, styles, and language of women authors
- what human life and society would be like if we lived according to the values
and visions implicit in the works of women
In your discussion, make sure to offer evidence, details, and specific examples from the texts studied this semester. Offer full explanations, careful analysis, logical statements, and explore the implications of your arguments and observations.