“So does this make sense to everyone?” asked Professor McGregor, a somewhat crotchety-looking old man with thin white hair and a white beard. Despite his outwardly appearance, he was actually quite with it and an engaging teacher. “You’re going to partner up with someone else in class and focus on completing this research and essay project together.”

“And the due date?” asked a student, raising his hand but not waiting to be called on before he spoke up.

“It’s in the syllabus,” said McGregor, looking down at his notes through the lenses on his face. “Two weeks from now.”

Looking over at Kai, I could tell he had a question and was about to ask it. The two of us locked eyes for a moment, causing me to quickly look away and Kai to put his hand up.

“Yes?” said McGregor in Kai’s direction.

“Is it fine to do a comparison analysis of two texts?” asked Kai.

“Yes,” said McGregor. “However, don’t just simply compare, say, the Hamlet folio and the Hamlet quarto, or the first and second quartos, on a purely text-based observation,” he said, then clearing his throat. “There are plenty of papers that already do that. I would be looking for more of a structural analysis and how it informs interpretation of the text.”

“Got it,” said Kai.

“This is an honors English class,” said McGregor. “So I expect a higher level of analysis, not just summary or a plot outline. Feel free to work with any of the Elizabethan texts we’ve discussed in class or even those that we haven’t. Shakespeare, Marlowe, Ben Jonson. It’s all applicable.”

“One more question,” said Kai, again lifting his hand up as he spoke.

“Yes sir?” said McGregor.

“Would a comparison analysis of, say, Hamlet and Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy be a good topic?” he asked.

“Just so long as it’s not a superficial analysis,” said McGregor. “Those two texts indeed have a lot in common but I would looking more for something that demonstrates their similarities, yet interprets how those similarities, say… differently inspire the tragic elements of either play.”

Kai nodded along as McGregor spoke. As they went back and forth about this assignment, I suddenly felt woefully underprepared for this kind of project. Perhaps I hadn’t been paying close enough attention in class, my mind preoccupied with my romantic life, my studies taking a bit of a backseat as stuff became more complex with Lisa. Or maybe I just wasn’t as well-versed in English literature as I previously thought.

“So partner up and come up with your thesis,