Writing Assignment

Hist 101 Writing Assignment #1 The first writing assignment will be based on a watching a documentary on King Louis XIV of France. Go to the Canvas Home page and scroll down to the “Writing Assignments” module and you’ll see the YouTube documentary under the title: “Building Versailles: A King’s Obsession for Magnificence.” Or you may access the documentary directly on YouTube by typing in the same title. After a careful viewing of the 59 minute video, answer the following five questions with insight, clarity and effective examples from the documentary. Type your responses with your name and date in the upper hand corner along with a simple center heading “Writing Assignment #1.” Then write down the number of the question followed by your response. Single or double-spaced is up to you. Proofread your answers for spelling and grammatical errors. Each question will be graded on a five (5) point scale and a solid one-three paragraph response for each question should suffice. Submit your responses on a Word or PDF file (no Pages or Google Docs) to Canvas Assignments under “Writing Assignment #1” and I’ll grade it through SpeedGrader. 1. The documentary emphasizes aspects of Louis XIV’s love life and relationships with his mistresses and wives. What insight into Louis’ character and passions are revealed with these relationships? How did he appear to treat women and how did they appear to treat him? You may use the insights and observations from commentators Lisa Hilton and Lady Antonia Fraser to build your response. 2. How does the documentary portray Louis overseeing the building of Versailles Palace? In other words, what kind of “project manager” does he appear to be? Active? Passive? Hands on? Providing much input or not at all? Write out and support your observations. 3. How does the documentary portray the life and hardship of the workers during Versailles’ construction? What kind of dangers and working conditions did they face? In the little that is revealed, did Louis seem concerned about the workers’ welfare? 4. Provide a description of noble (courtier) life at Versailles. According to the documentary, how did the nobles spend their time? What kind of activities they pursued? What methods did nobles utilize to curry favor from the king? Incorporate examples from the documentary and note the words used by some commentators like “claustrophobic” and “a networking center” to describe noble life at Versailles. 5. Describe how the documentary portrays the last years of Louis XIV’s reign especially with his health and foreign wars. Why according to Lisa Hilton did Versailles now seem like a “dreary” place? Lastly, comment on why you believe the documentary’s commentators called Louis XIV the “essence” or “identity” of France. Do you agree or disagree with this statement?