AP English Literature and Composition 12 Semester One 2015 Name:__________________________________ Synthesis and or Research Essay: Assigned on November 9th Due on December 16th. Choose a passage or quote from Hamlet that resonates with you. This quote should allow you to focus on an issue that interests you. In your essay, you must refer to Hamlet and one other major source from any book, movie, media, and or current event. Here are some examples taken from issues addressed in Hamlet that might give you some ideas of what to explore. Character Polonius Ophelia Gertrude Claudius Laertes Hamlet Horatio Issues/source (s) o Building trust o Helicopter parents o Parents and hypocrisy o The nature of truth o Rights of parents and children o Obedient children o Women’s rights o Double standards o Insanity o Post traumatic stress o Grief o Family wishes o Parents influencing children o Power imbalance o Weak people and evil people o Resentment o Personal denial o Relationships o Guilt o Dishonesty o After the crime o The nature of sin and evil o Manipulation o Selfishness o Karma o Brothers and sisters o Leaving home for school o Peer pressure o Depression o Suicide o Guilt as a weapon o The nature of conscience o Friendship o Education o Giving and winning loyalty o Earning trust Suggested Research Topics:
1. Conflict is essential to drama. Show that Hamlet presents both an outward and inward conflict.
2. How do Hamlet's soliloquies reveal his character (select any two)?
3. Is Hamlet primarily a tragedy of revenge?
4. Discuss Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude.
AP English Literature and Composition 12 Semester One 2015 Name:__________________________________ 5. How important is the general setting of Denmark to the overall play.
6. Of what significance is Ophelia to Hamlet? Was Hamlet truly in love with Ophelia?
7. The character Claudius has been compared to Macbeth. How similar are these two characters? In what ways
are they similar?
8. Compare and contrast the characters of Hamlet and Horatio.
9. In Act 5, scene 2, Hamlet remarks, "His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy." Explain Hamlet's motivation
behind this comment. Is it true?
10. Compare and contrast the characters of Hamlet and Fortinbras. Is Fortinbras a valuable character in his own
right or does he serve only to highlight aspects of Hamlet's personality?
11. Select one of Hamlet soliloquies (preferably not "To be or not to be. . .") and by a detailed attention to the
poetry discuss the nature of Hamlet's feelings as they reveal themselves in this speech. What insights might
this speech provide into the prince's elusive character? Confine your attention strictly to the soliloquy you
have selected.
12. Discuss Hamlet's treatment of and ideas about women. How might these help to clarify some of the
interpretative issues of the play? You might want to consider carefully the way he talks about sexuality.
13. Discuss the importance of one of the following: (a) Ophelia, (b) Rozencrantz and Guildenstern, (c) the ghost
of Hamlet senior, (d) Polonius, (e) Fortinbras, (f) Gertrude. Do not just write about what these people do.
Discuss how an attention to them illuminates issues of central importance to the play as a whole (i.e., deal
with matters of importance to the thematic or character development in the play, not with matters of the
plot).
14. Discuss the importance of appearance and reality in Hamlet (strong hint: Why is Hamlet so interested in the
players?).
15. Is something rotten in the state of Denmark? If so, what precisely is it? Is anyone in particular responsible or
is the rottenness simply a condition of life?
16. Select a particular scene in Hamlet (preferably a short one) and discuss its importance in the play. How does
this particular part of the action contribute significantly to our response to what is going on? What might be
missing if a director decided to cut this scene (e.g., Claudius at prayer, the scene between Polonius and
Reynaldo, the gravedigger scene).
17. Write an essay defending one of the following options. "Hamlet is a noble prince who suffers from a corrupt
world that is not suitable to his sensitive moral nature; or a true poet.
18. The structure of drama is sometimes based on the principle of action followed by reaction. Cite examples in Hamlet of a character’s own actions backfiring or reacting against him—a pattern that the Greeks called nemesis. 19. How can Hamlet be considered a “Tragic Hero”? What is his “Tragic Flaw”? AP English Literature and Composition 12 Semester One 2015 Name:__________________________________ 20. Next to Hamlet, arguably the most complex character in the play is Claudius. Write an essay that considers the complex and often contradictory nature of Claudius’ character. This essay must look beyond the fact that Claudius is a murderer (or not-­‐depending on your perspective) who has usurped his brother’s throne and married his brother’s wife. It must also consider his effectiveness or ineffectiveness as a political figure, and determine at precisely what point Claudius makes the transition from one to another 21. How does the question of appearance and reality affect the meaning of the play? 22. As is so often the case with Shakespeare’s works, the women of Hamlet wind up being portrayed in a less than positive light, and certainly meet with a less than desirable end. Write an essay that examines the way(s) in which either Gertrude or Ophelia as characters are portrayed by Shakespeare. More specifically, you must make inferences on the ways in which this portrayal may be a reflection of the author’s view towards women and their role in the social construct of the 17th century. Finally, you should consider in what way(s) a modern reader’s view may or may not have changed over the course of the last 400 years. 23. Emotion, reason and fate (i.e. time and accident) are key aspects of what happens in the play. Discuss how these elements interact to create tensions in the play and the role each plays in determining events in the play. 24. There are political and ethical dilemmas in the play; some apply only to Shakespeare’s time, but many others are universal. Discuss the dilemmas and why they belong only to the Renaissance or why they belong to all times. 25. Discuss the leitmotif (recurring imagery) of nature in the play and how the constant references to nature and to blemished (faulty) nature enhance the meaning of the play. 26. Is the stratagem of feigned madness necessary to Hamlet’s purposes? If you are of the opinion that the “madness” is not necessary to Hamlet’s purposes, why then did Shakespeare add the element of feigned madness to the play? 27. Comparative Literature: Compare the dramatic conclusions of other tragedies by Shakespeare or compare Hamlet’s plight with another literary figure. 28. Think about Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia. Does he love her? Does he stop loving her? Did he ever
love her? What evidence can you find in the play to support your opinion?
29. Consider Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s role in the play. Why might Shakespeare have created characters
like this? Are they there for comic relief, or do they serve a more serious purpose? Why does the news of
their deaths come only after the deaths of the royal family in Act V, as if this news were not anticlimactic?
Is it acceptable for Hamlet to treat them as he does? Why or why not?
AP English Literature and Composition 12 Semester One 2015 Name:__________________________________ 30. Analyze the use of descriptions and images in Hamlet. How does Shakespeare use descriptive language to
enhance the visual possibilities of a stage production? How does he use imagery to create a mood of tension,
suspense, fear, and despair?
31. Analyze the use of comedy in Hamlet, paying particular attention to the gravediggers, Osric, and Polonius.
Does comedy serve merely to relieve the tension of the tragedy, or do the comic scenes serve a more serious
thematic purpose as well?
32. Suicide is an important theme in Hamlet. Discuss how the play treats the idea of suicide morally,
religiously, and aesthetically, with particular attention to Hamlet’s two important statements about suicide:
the “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt” soliloquy (I.ii.129–158) and the “To be, or not to be”
soliloquy (III.i.56–88). Why does Hamlet believe that, although capable of suicide, most human beings
choose to live, despite the cruelty, pain, and injustice of the world?
33. Discuss the theme of death, disease, and decay.
Assigned on November 9, 2015. Have Hamlet read on or before November 23rd. Your finished paper: ü 800-­‐1000 words ü Introduction plus three body paragraphs and a conclusion ü 6-­‐8 integrated quotations in the body paragraphs ü Complete with citations and a bibliography (APA, or MLA) ü Based on three sources; Hamlet plus three outside sources ü Title page, running head, and paginated ü Class time will be designated during the week of November 30th and December 6th for drafting and teacher student conferencing ü Typed and emailed ü Submitted on or before December 16th