ENG3U Seminars on Hamlet
Name: ___________________
Presentation Date:________________
Task:
In groups of four or five, you will be responsible for presenting a seminar to the class on
a topic relevant to the play Hamlet. You will need to work as a group to prepare your
seminar, create a handout, and present your group’s topic to the class.
Seminar Requirements:
1) Seminar Planning Sheet
 Fill in the sheet provided and submit for approval.
2) Handout- must be one page typed and handed in on the morning of your
presentation. Be sure to include:
A thesis statement
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AT LEAST 3 criteria
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AT LEAST 9 quotations proving your thesis (3 quotations per criteria)
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A closing statement
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**Refer to the sample as well as the template shown in class**
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3) Presentation
 Approximately 20 minutes in length.
 Each group member must present an equal amount of material.
 Be sure to state and prove your thesis.
 Present the topic in the same way an essay is written. Refer to essay writing
handouts.
 You may be creative and may use media to enhance your presentation (ex.
videos, overheads, powerpoint, poster, songs etc.).
 Create a ‘warm up activity’ that will help the class to focus on your topic (this may
be done through the use of media as well), make sure you develop some type of
class discussion centering around your topic ex. prepare questions to ask your
classmates.
Possible Topics:
1. Unbalance is certainly evident in the citizens of Denmark. Psychoanalyze ONE
of the major characters in the play; (in other words, examine his/her psyche – the
unconscious reasons that he/she acts as he/she does).
2. Imagery is of major importance in developing the themes in this play. There are
many images and motifs used: nature, disease, biblical imagery, and more.
Examine one motif and discuss its importance in Hamlet.
3. Is Hamlet a hero? Discuss why or why not.
4. Hamlet, the man, is considered to be one of the most elusive characters in
literature; despite the number of his soliloquies, his true nature is difficult to make
out. Is he cowardly? Sensitive? Cruel? Pious? In love with his mother? Identify
ONE key trait of Hamlet (not necessarily one of the above) and argue that this is
why Hamlet is unable to complete his revenge.
5. “Most women have no character at all” – Alexander Pope. Discuss
Shakespeare’s depiction of women in general, or of Ophelia or Gertrude
specifically in Hamlet.
6. Hamlet believes that “[s]omething is rotten in the state of Denmark”. What is it?
7. “The world is a comedy to those who think a tragedy to those who feel.” –
Horace Walpole – Examine Hamlet’s use of humour in the play.
8. Does Hamlet truly love Ophelia? Consider.
9. There are many seemingly minor characters in Hamlet who enter only briefly into
the text – Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the ghost, Fortinbras,
Gertrude, Laertes, etc. Discuss the importance of one of these minor characters
to one of the themes in the play.
10. Examine the theme of action versus uncertainty in the play. What impact does
this have on the plot?
11. Examine revenge in the play. Who is most deserving or entitled to revenge:
Laertes, Fortinbras or Hamlet? Consider: why they seek revenge, how they seek
revenge and what are the results.