Commentary Paper Assignment – English

This assignment is based on a text, where you then have to write up a commentary paper where you focus on one part/passage of the whole text to zoom/concentrate in on. The text/poem you will be focusing on is “Caedmon’s Hymn,” which is a short Old English poem originally composed by Cædmon. It translates old English into the English language we use today.

I will link the reading as a pdf attachment file here for your reference. you must read it fully, and closely to be able to understand what exactly the poem is stating — the deeper meaning it is trying to get across. Once you have fully read it and understood it, you must write up a commentary paper based on one specific passage/moment in the text that stood out.

Each commentary is a 300-500-word explication and interpretation of a short passage from the reading. A good commentary: a) focuses on a passage that is particularly interesting and/or problematic and clarifies why it is so; b) pays close attention to the variant possibilities of meaning and interpretive difficulties the passage presents; and c) demonstrates an understanding of the passage in light of other texts and contexts. A bad commentary: a) merely reacts or responds to a passage without analyzing the text as such; b) stays within the realm of what is obvious or generically true about the passage; c) summarizes or paraphrases the passage without generating a critical, interpretive perspective on it.

Please read the full directions above and include all the components that make a good commentary paper strong and knowledgeable.

As a file attachment, I have uploaded a sample commentary paper that is exactly what I expect. Notice how the passage in question is pasted first and then directly underneath it is the explanation of it and how you interpreted it. Do the same format.