Carpe Diem or Not

This essay requires that you explain and support your position on a question. It is a question that cannot be answered absolutely using factual information, and so must be argued. We have read and discussed the two poems “The Passionate Shepherd to his Love” and “The Nymph’s Reply.” The poems express opposing points of view about what the best way is to live one’s life. The “Shepherd” poem espouses the philosophy of carpe diem, while the “Nymph” poem opposes it, for two reasons that are stated in the poem.

For this essay you must take a position: which philosophy of life most represents how you live your own life and what you think is the right way to live?

The essay has a 700-word minimum length and will be turned in on the wiki page you created, as with Essay 1. There will be no graded revision – what you turn in will be the one that determines the grade. You may use photos or videos but don’t have to. Please read the requirements carefully. The essay can appear on the wiki page in any form you like as long as it fulfills the requirements given above about length and topic, and below about specific contents.

For this essay:
1. The opening paragraph must introduce the topic you are writing about, but must not mention the two poems by name or indirectly. The opening must be about the ideas and issues, not the poems. You will discuss the poems after the first paragraph;
2. You must have a thesis that appears somewhere in the essay, and the thesis must state clearly your position and overall arguments for holding that position;
3. You must include a paragraph in an appropriate place that explains what the poems are and what the issue is that you are taking a position on. This is where you must show that you understand what the poems are saying;
4. Your body paragraphs must be organized and focused on the points you are making;
5. Your arguments for why you hold your position must be explained and supported – how you explain and support your position will be the main content of this essay;
6. Your essay must include one relevant use of an outside source to support your position – the source must be something that can be cited, such as a book, speech, video, news article etc. The essay should include a “WORKS CITED section at the end in which this source,and any others you use, will appear. The Works Cited material does not count toward the overall word count;
7. The essay must not include any dictionary definitions or Wikipedia citations anywhere;
8. The essay must be proofread and edited sufficiently to make this the final draft of an essay for this course, at this level, in the time given.