AP English 12
Dr. Busonik
November 9, 2014
Essay on Hamlet
Length: three to five typed pages
Due Date: Wednesday, November 12.
Write an essay in which you analyze one of Hamlet’s five soliloquies:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Folger
Ed. Page
Numbers
p. 29
p. 31
p. 117
p. 119
p. 127
p. 129
p. 167
p. 169
p. 203
p. 205
From/To
Beginning/Ending line
1.2.133
1.2.164
2.2.576
2.2.634
O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt
But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.
Hamlet: Now I am alone.
Hamlet: Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of a
king.
To be or not to be—that is the question.
And lose the name of action.
Now I might do it pat, now he is a-praying.
This physic but prolongs thy sickly days.
How all occasions do inform against me.
My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!
3.1.64
3.1.96
3.3.77
3.3101
4.4.34
4.4.69
The fourth soliloquy is
excluded from this
assignment.
One way to approach the soliloquy you want to examine will be to consider it an instance of
what Stephen Greenblatt calls Shakespeare’s “epochal breakthrough”: represented inwardness
(298). Each of these soliloquies of course evinces highly polished poetic expression and serves,
ultimately, a dramatic purpose. But somehow, in addition, it is cast in speech that is lacks the sort
of self-consciousness that characterizes public discourse. Each is closer to pure thought than
anything Shakespeare had written previously.
Your ultimate goal will be to relate the soliloquy to the play’s action. How does the soliloquy
function? That is, how does is contribute to 1) the establishment of the exposition? 2) the
complication of the rising action? 3) the intensity of the crisis? 4) the ironic inevitability of the
catastrophe? or 5) the cathartic resonance and emotional depth of the dénouement?
But to get to that level of significance, you must first analyze the soliloquy through close
reading. Instead of “writing an essay,” begin with an interrogation. Once you’ve interrogated the
soliloquy, you will be in a position to think about its function relative to Hamlet’s plot. Yes, I’m
asking you to write your thesis last. Remember, though, that your final draft needn’t—indeed
shouldn’t—include discussion of every line item in the interrogation guidelines, only of the ones
that yield insights that ultimately contribute to the soliloquy’s larger significance.
Rubric
1. Textual analysis
2. Significance
3. Organization
4. Thesis
5. Style
6. Conventions
7. Spelling
8. Format
Attention to textual details of the soliloquy and your insights into
the passage’s contribution to action of Hamlet
Relationship of the soliloquy to the plot of Hamlet
The clear and orderly arrangement of your ideas
The general point you’re making, distilled down to a sentence or
two. A good thesis is arguable and provocative. It takes the form
x is y because z.
Attention to the syntax, diction, prose rhythms, and imagery that
make writing expressive, persuasive, compelling, and generally
worth reading. Style includes the effectiveness of your
introduction and your conclusion.
Observance of the grammar and usage items we have covered so
far. Note that this requirement is cumulative throughout the year.
Correct spelling (in context) as well as apostrophes
Correctly formatted document, parenthetical citations and
Works Cited page (Use the style sheet on my Web site at
www.rchsenglish.org.)
20%
20%
20%
10%
10%
10%
5%
5%
100%
The Rough Draft
Your rough draft should be an interrogation of the soliloquy. Using the interrogation rubric,
generate as much information as you can about Meaning, Imagery, Ideas, and Affect as you can.
Then interrogate your interrogation, as a way of developing perceptions into insights (trust the
process, and it will happen). Then think about the last item on the rubric, Significance. Your
insight into the soliloquy’s significance will be your thesis.
The Final Draft
Develop and compose your rough draft (the interrogation) into a formal essay in which you
argue the dramatic purpose of the soliloquy.