For this assignment, students are asked to choose one of four film versions of
Shakespeare’s Hamlet and to write a researched critique of the movie that has a sound basis in literary criticism.
The four versions of Hamlet students may critique for this assignment are:
Laurence Olivier’s
Hamlet (1948)
Franco Zeffirelli’s
Hamlet – the Mel Gibson version (1990)
Kenneth Branaugh’s Hamlet (1996)
The Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet by the BBC (2010)
As there are innumerable additional productions of Hamlet , students wishing to write about a film version of the play that is not listed above need only ask the teacher ahead of time in order to get it approved.
The objective of writing this paper is two-fold. First, it will encourage students to conduct detailed research into literary criticism, which will prepare them for college level
English classes and second, it will encourage students to view film productions of novels and plays with a more critical eye.
Students papers should be typed, double spaced, use Times or Times New Roman font, and have standard margins. All papers should be at least four pages in length. Papers that do not meet these simple guidelines will risk losing one or more letter grades.
Students will be graded on the following criteria:
The student references specifics from the film regularly during the course of the paper.
The student quotes and properly cites at least five sources, including at least three critical essays.
The student’s paper has used MLA formatting, with few or no errors in those conventions.
The student organizes the paper in a manner that matches the content of their writing.
The paper is a demonstration of the student’s best work and has accurate spelling, grammar, an accurate use of AP vocabulary, and smooth transitions.
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Total ____/100