Comparative essay to two works of art

  Evaluate your knowledge of the skills necessary for performing a visual and contextual analysis of two works, one visual and one literary, and to measure your application of these techniques as you relate the works chosen to real-world relevance, popular culture, ideas, or concepts.   Introduction A. For each work, identify the author/artist, the name or title of the work, the date, the cultural origin or period of creation, and the current location or physical setting. B. What is your main argument/idea about the relationship between your selected works and their shared theme? II. Historical Background A. What is the relationship between each of your chosen works and culture of origin? B. How did cultural traditions and ideologies influence/shape the two works you have selected? Use examples to support your response. III. Similarities/Differences A. In what similar ways do your selected artist and author approach the shared theme found in their respective works? Provide specific examples to support your response. B. In what different ways do your selected artist and author approach the shared theme found in their respective works? Provide specific examples to support your response. C. How does each work express its specific cultural and historical setting? Provide specific examples to support your response. D. How have the similarities and differences you identified come to represent the culture in which these works were created? Provide specific examples to support your response. IV. Modern Influence A. What impacts or influence have your two selected works had on a modern or contemporary expression of the identified shared theme? B. How has each work continued to influence or define contemporary culture? Use examples to support your response. C. What can we learn today from the works selected and their culture, taking into consideration the idea that history tends to repeat itself? Provide specific examples to support your response. D. Identify examples of modern and contemporary events or ideals that echo the theme of the works you have selected to discuss. Provide a rationale for your choices. For example, Ajax and Achilles Playing a Dice Game illustrates two soldiers as they compete in a dice game and mentally prepare for war. Based on this, one could ask, “How do we prepare today’s military for battle both physically and mentally?” E. How have the works you selected come to serve as archetypes for the theme you have identified as a commonality? Provide examples to support your response. F. What parallels do you see between the contemporary world and the culture that produced the works you selected?