Explication of a Passage from Hamlet - 40 pts.
Choose one of the passages listed, cut to between 30-40 lines. Read it several times to
become very familiar with it. Also read the entire scene around the passage so you fully
understand its context. Write a paraphrase of the passage before you begin to explicate it
– you will include the paraphrase with your explication when you hand it in.
Now begin your explication work. Your essay should be fairly structured, with an introduction that indicates the speaker, the audience, tone, context, and the purpose of the
passage within the context of the scene and the play as a whole. How does it reflect
characterization, plot development, themes or motifs?
The body paragraphs should pay close attention to style, tone, and rhetorical and literary
devices, as they are utilized for the passage’s purpose. Organize your essay by breaking the
passage into smaller “chunks” and then using a line-by-line analysis, noting any shifts, rises
or falls in intensity or tone.
Elements to consider as you explicate:
-
diction: specific/general, concrete/abstract
-
grammar and syntax: phrases, punctuation (remember that complexity of
syntax indicates complexity of thought
-
rhetoric: parallel construction, repetition, questions, comparisons or contrasts
-
figurative language: metaphor, simile, personification, symbol, allusion,
oxymoron, paradox, understatement or hyperbole
-
sound devices: alliteration, assonance, euphony, cacophony, onomatopoeia
-
meter and rhyme: note any short lines, rhyming couplets, stressed syllables
Always look at the relationship between the rhetorical element and the meaning of the
passage, and explain that relationship. It’s not just enough to note that a line contains a
metaphor. What picture does the metaphor evoke? Why did Shakespeare use it at this
point rather than simply describe the situation literally? For example, when Hamlet refers
to himself as a “whore” in the “Rogue and Peasant Slave” soliloquy, the word connotes not
just someone who would sell himself for a fee, but a very degraded low-life who operates in
seedy surroundings. Shakespeare chose that comparison to reveal how disgusted Hamlet
is with himself, beyond simple frustration or disappointment.
In your conclusion, make a final statement about the passage’s strengths and what it contributes to our understanding of the character, action, and themes. Does it foreshadow
upcoming events? Build on a motif? Echo or parallel an earlier scene or situation?
Introduce a new plot or character twist? Add to the rising or falling action?
To see how an explication works, you can access a sample I wrote on a poem by going to
the Poetry page on the Wiki. (Note: Since the poem is not a part of a larger work, that
element is missing in the explication; however, I did work to tie the poem to the poet’s life
and the arc of her work.)
Aim for 2 pages, double spaced. You will have 2-3 lab days in class to work.
Grading:
Paraphrase: 5
Intro/Conclusion: 10
Use of important details: 10
Ties to meaning and purpose: 10
Organization, clarity, correctness: 5