1. Introduction
Hook/Interest
Works for Consideration
Thesis (main idea)

2. People often refer to courage as one having the heart of a lion but ignore the subtle and troubling nature of bravery itself: how does one achieve this proverbial heart, or what happens when one falls short of this distinction? Little light penetrates this deeply. However, T.S. Eliot, William Shakespeare, and Lord Alfred Tennyson all seek to address these daunting questions. In their works, they explore the very boundaries of human bravery: the heights of heroism and the desolate depths of hopelessness.

3. Body Paragraph Topic Statement Textual Evidence (What? – You Moment)
Analysis of the Text (Why does it Matter?)
Concluding Statement

4. Ultimately, these authors all view bravery through the lens of a journey, an exploration of our limits on both sides of the spectrum. For Eliot, he sees men teetering on the edge of a river to their personal Hell, sightless and voiceless. In this moment, cowardice robs such men of choices and destiny; their journey is the work of drudgery and acceptance. Gathered in their shared failure, they can only await their turn for hollow judgement, as the spineless have nothing to say and nothing to do. They wait. This stands in stark contrast to Tennyson’s “Ulysses” and Shakespeare’s Henry V. Indeed, Ulysses aches to begin his journey “to seek a newer world.” He stands on the precipice of age and must decide to act or relinquish, and his heart drives him on in spite of his age and circumstances. He longs for this journey, and fears not death, only time. The brave, thus, must view their lives as a continual search for the thing that they are. To pause, even for a moment, is to undo their hearts and resign to the emptiness that must come with rust and lack of use. Similarly, Henry asks his men to move “[o]nce more unto the breach” in search of victory and honor. It is a trek that they must make together or not at all. To fail is not to lose in battle. Indeed, to fail is to never try. They fight for King and Country, but they, like all men, fight mostly for themselves. In those moments they discover their worth: in themselves and in each other. This is a lifetime in a moment – a moment in which life and death are secondary to the experience and its weight: stand sightless and voiceless or be fulfilled. There is no area in-between.