Shakespeare’s Legacy Through Imagery
Term 3: Interdisciplinary Project
College English 12H
Mr. Brennan
William Shakespeare was a master of words. His ability to create images in our mind’s eye (a term Shakespeare invented)
through the use of vivid imagery and literary devices is found throughout his vast body of works. William Shakespeare's
legacy is his mastery, command, and dominance of the form and style of the English language that will never again be equaled
in Western civilization. His words have endured for 400 years, and still reach across the centuries as powerfully as ever.
This assignment will have you attempt to solidify your legacy through the use of the English language. Throughout Hamlet,
Shakespeare uses imagery to enhance the meaning of the play and its themes. For this project, you will select a line (or set of
lines) in Hamlet that you find particularly powerful and full of vivid imagery. You will then create a poem and a collage in
Photoshop that represents your line(s).
Step 1:
Choose a line from Hamlet that you find particularly powerful and that contains vivid imagery.
Example: “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (I.iv.22).
Step 2:
Create a brainstorm web in Word or Inspiration for your line by asking yourself the following questions:

What words come to mind when you hear these words?

What do the words mean - how would you define them?

Do the words have any connections to the Bible, mythology, or history?

What colors, smells, tastes, sounds, and sights come to mind when you hear these words?
Example:
Tastes sour
Murder
Blood
Serpent
Smells Foul
Red
Claudius
Adam and Eve
(Eden)
Decaying
apple
Brown and
mushy
King
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Not Specific
Unclear
What is rotten
in Denmark?
State of mental
being
Country
Vague
Troubled
Government
Control
Corruption
Destroying
innocence
Step 3: Write a poem using your selected line as inspiration. Your poem must be a minimum of 15 lines and should contain an
allusion to your selected line(s) or include the line(s) directly. Your poem should also contain an abundance of vivid imagery
and literary devices (look to the variety of the words you were able to generate within your brainstorm web). To ensure your
poem has a central focus, try to connect the associations together within your brainstorm web to see if a general theme,
character, or situation emerges. Let your imagination take control! Poems must be typed in Word using a font appropriate to
the tone of your piece and should be saved as > firstinitialLastname_hamlet_poem (i.e. mBrennan_hamlet_poem)
Step 4: Create a collage in Photoshop that represents your line(s) using the words and images that you included in your
web. Be sure to save your completed PSD file as a JPEG before submitting it. Images should be saved as >
firstinitialLastname_hamlet_image (i.e. mBrennan_hamlet_image)
Step 5: Reflect on your final product (150-200 words):

How did your word web help you understand the meaning of the line(s)?

How does your image reflect a theme (or themes) of the play? For example, “Something is rotten in the state of
Denmark” reflects the theme of corruption in Hamlet. In the play, nothing is at it seems and even characters who may
seem good-intentioned ultimately commit wrongs or acts of violence (i.e. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spying on
Hamlet; Ophelia breaking off her relationship with Hamlet to obey her father and lying to Hamlet in the process;
Hamlet being driven to rash acts of violence, etc).

Reflection should be saved as > firstinitialLastname_hamlet_reflection (i.e. mBrennan_hamlet_reflection)
The following are lines that contain vivid imagery in the play. You may choose from this list or find your own.
“Foul deeds will rise,
Though all the earth o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes” (I.ii.14).
“The undiscover’d country from whose bourn
No traveler returns” (III.i.53).
“A violet in the youth of primy nature,
Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting,
The perfume and suppliance of a minute,
No more.” (I.iii.15).
“God hath given
you one face, and you make yourselves another” (III.i.55).
“The serpent that did sting thy father’s life
Now wears his crown” (I.v.24).
“I will speak daggers to her, but use none” (III.ii.68).
“This most excellent canopy, the air, look you , this brave
o’erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted with
golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to me than a
foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.” (II.ii.42).
O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven
It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t,
A brother’s murder” (III.iii.69).
“Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them.” (III.i.53).
“My words fly up, my thoughts remain below.
Words without thoughts never to heave go” (III.iii.71).
“For in that sleep of death what dreams may come” (III.i.53).
“Nay, but to live
In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed,
Stew’d in corruption, honeying and making love
Over the nasty sty—” (III.iv.75).
Your project is worth a total of 100 points and will be assessed in to the following categories:
1. Poem (40 points): poem has a minimum of 15 lines, includes an allusion to selected line(s) or the line(s) directly,
contains an abundance of vivid imagery and literary devices, in addition to showing originality and creativity.
2. Collage (20 points): collage enhances meaning of the quote; shows creativity and attention to detail
3. Word Web (15 points): word association connects to the five senses; traces connections between the quote and
characters in the play, themes and/or other works of literature
4. Reflection (15 points): reflection is thorough and thoughtful; demonstrates understanding of how Shakespeare’s
imagery connects to themes in the play
5. Grammar (10 points): grammar and spelling are accurate; work shows evidence of proofreading
Due date: Your Word Web, Collage, Poem, and Word Web must be saved in the correct file format with the requested
file name and emailed to matthewtbrennan1@gmail.com by Wednesday, March 14