Assignment: Write a 3-5 page MLA style research paper (complete with works cited page and in-text
citations), citing a minimum of 2 sources on William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Use Kentucky Virtual Library to find scholarly articles to support your ideas. Username/Password only
required for at home access: warren0001, kitsch93
Time Frame: You will be given 3 days in the lab to find sources and incorporate them into your paper.
Due Dates: Thursday, Feb 28 – a rough draft of YOUR IDEAS!!!!
Monday, Mar 4 – Paper due to Ms. Medlock
Topic Ideas for a Research Paper on Shakespeare's Hamlet (From the minds of Randy Rambo, Dr. Shane
McConnell’s “Excellent” Resources, and Ms. Christy Medlock.)
1. Deception / Appearance and Reality - Hamlet has been called a "claustrophobic" play because of the ways
the different characters spy on one another, but "spying" is only one form of deception in the play. There is also
Claudius, the incestuous fratricide, playing the part of the good king, and Hamlet himself decides to "put an
antic disposition on" (1.5.189). In a way, it is Hamlet's job to see through all of this deception and to discover
the truth, although, to discover the truth, Hamlet himself must use deception. What point is Shakespeare trying
to make by introducing all of the deception, lying, and false appearances into his play?
2. Melancholy, Madness and Sanity - Hamlet tells his mother that he "essentially [is] not in madness, / But
mad in craft" (3.4.204-205) and claims to "put an antic disposition on" (1.5.189), but does he ever cross the line
between sanity and insanity in the play? To complicate matters, the world of Hamlet seems insane: the king is a
murderer; the queen lusts after her dead husband's brother; friends spy on friends; and one character (Ophelia)
really does go insane. Could Hamlet really be sane in an insane world? And what about Hamlet's melancholy?
From the beginning of the play, Hamlet is depressed, and he considers suicide several different times. What is
the real cause of his melancholy? Does he ever break out of his melancholy?
3. Passion and Reason (Renaissance View of Humanity) - As Hamlet says, "What a piece of work is a man!
How noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving how express and admirable, in action how
like an angel, in apprehension how like a god!" (2.2.286-289). At the same time, though, we are sometimes
ruled by our passions (lust, greed, gluttony, etc.). We are capable of greatness and nobility, but we are also
capable of behavior fitting a beast, so Hamlet asks another "pregnant" question (a question loaded with
meaning) when he asks Ophelia, "What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven?"
(3.1.128-129). All of the characters in the play are "crawling between earth and heaven," but some are drawn
more to earth by their "beastly" behavior. How does the theme of passion and reason apply to some of the main
characters? How does the issue of passion and reason help to determine Hamlet's views of some of the other
characters and of life in general?
4. Theme of Decay and Corruption - "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (1.4.98). In fact, many
things are rotten in the state of Denmark, and images of decay, corruption, and disease are common throughout
the play. Following the conventions of tragedy, many of the characters become corrupted in some way, and, by
the end of the play, all of the corrupt characters must be eliminated so that Denmark can once again be set right.
Many characters in Hamlet die. In what ways is each of these characters "corrupt"? What images in the play
suggest decay, corruption, or disease? For a twist, analyze the flowers in the play as well. Find examples
and explain how the three sets of images are connected.
5. Analysis of Hamlet's Character - Hamlet is one of the most complex characters in literature, and
Shakespeare created in Hamlet a character that defies easy explanation. What aspects of Hamlet's character are
admirable? What are Hamlet's weaknesses or flaws? And what about Hamlet's mental state? Hamlet has been
called the most intelligent character in all of literature. Why? And how do his melancholy and feigned (or
unfeigned) madness add complexity to his character? Does Hamlet see the world lucidly, or is his perception of
the world too clouded by his melancholy? And why does Hamlet take so long to kill Claudius?
6. How Should One Live? What is the Purpose of Life? - In her madness, Ophelia brings up an important
theme of the play: "Lord," she says, "we know what we are, but know not what we may be" (4.5.43-44). Both
"what we are" and "what we may be" are problems that Hamlet struggles with throughout the play. Should one
lead an active life or a passive life? Does God help to direct our actions? Is the world nothing more than a
prison? Is there a meaning to life? Are some of Hamlet's views on life too pessimistic, or are his views
supported by the world of the play? Is Hamlet an idealistic and therefore disappointed by the realities of life?
7. Be Original! - One student in an earlier class wrote a 12-page research paper on Ophelia. The student was
interested in the character, so she did some research, came up with an original thesis, and ended up writing an
excellent paper. Another student focused her entire research paper on the Ghost in Hamlet. Remember, you can
write on almost any topic that you find interesting and that you think will help readers better understand the
play. If you are not interested in any of the topics above, you might read a few articles on Hamlet and see if any
issues that the critics brings up could be developed into a research paper. You should not use someone else's
thesis, but writers developing an interpretation often touch upon a variety of ideas that they do not explore in
much depth. You could take one of these ideas and develop it into your own paper.
7. “Why in the world did not Hamlet obey the Ghost at once, and so save seven of the eight people?” critic
A.C. Bradley questioned. Why indeed did Hamlet wait so long to avenge his father's murder? Support or
defend Hamlet’s delay in achieving revenge. Survey the critical response to this basic question that has
concerned critics for four hundred years. Conclude with a judgment about which interpretation seems
to be plausible to you based on your interpretation of the play.
8. Compare and contrast Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1967) with the
play. Is Stoppard "retelling" the story of Hamlet through the eyes of two minor characters or is Hamlet
incidental to the plot of Stoppard's play?
9. How does each of Hamlet's seven major soliloquies reveal the stages of his eventual downfall? IS
indecision Hamlet's "tragic flaw"?
10. Research one of the seminar basic questions: (1) Is Hamlet troubled more by his father's murder
or by his mother's hasty marriage to Claudius? (2) Is Hamlet mad? (3) Does Hamlet love Ophelia?
11. In film: Begin with the A & E "Biography" (1994) of Hamlet, a survey of the most famous actors
who have played Hamlet during the last one hundred years. Why have these actors all found this
play so difficult to interpret and perform? Why do these actors regard playing Hamlet as a crowning
achievement of their careers?
12. Analyze the importance of religious beliefs in Hamlet.
13. Compare and contrast any of the following characters: Hamlet and Laertes, Gertrude and
Ophelia, or Claudius and Polonius.
14. Analyze the Elizabethan attitude toward women. Find out what rights women had in
Shakespeare’s day. Could women select their own husbands? Could they get divorced? Could
they keep their own money and possessions after marriage? Etc.
15. Research the theory that Ophelia was indeed pregnant with Hamlet’s child. Find evidence in
the play suggesting this as well as support from other sources.