Assignment 1 is due at the beginning of class in week 4, Jan 31, 2024, on paper.

You must write a brief essay of 2 pages, no less than 600 words. Essays should be formatted with 1 inch margins, double spacing, and 12 point type.
Write clearly. Choose the right words, shape your ideas into meanginful sentences, and structure your argument into cohesive paragraphs. Make sure you say EXACTLY what you mean, not something almost similar to what you thought you might like to say. Be brief and get to your point directly, without lengthy introductions or digressons. Express your insights. Demonstrate that you have given some consideration to the ideas you are expressing and that you understand how these ideas relate to other ways of looking at the topic.

The specific assignment is this:
Read Alexander Pushkin's "The Bronze Horseman" available on our course quercus files at: https://q.utoronto.ca/courses/335173/files?preview=29573520

Write a short essay exploring how Pushkin depicts Falconet's monument to Peter the Great in the poem. This is a famous poem and many people have written a great deal on this topic. In your assigned reading, Svetlana Evdokimova suggests Pushkin fuses two diametrically opposed interpretations of the statue. You may accept, reject, or ignore that suggestion. Your essay should be a personal interpretation of how the statue appears in the poem. Do not research what other people think. Do not give a catalog of the opinions of other people. Give your own interpretation, supported by details from the poem. Do not waste time describing the monument or its background, or aspects of the poem not related to the monument and your interpretation. Do not re-tell the story line in the poem. Discuss only how the monument is presented in the poem, not other aspects of the poem. Bear in mind that there is no correct answer to this question. The best essay is the one that expresses your interpretation clearly and convincingly.