English 4: Guidelines for the Hamlet Paper
Due Jan. 10, regardless of intervening schedule changes. The latest you can submit this
paper without penalty is Jan. 10. If Jan. 10 is an A day, the paper’s still due the 10th. It
must be typed, double spaced, Times New Roman. Papers submitted in any other format
will be docked at least 10 points and returned for reformatting. If the paper is submitted
after the 10th as a result of a formatting issue, it will lose an additional 20 points per
business day.
Papers that fall short of the five page minimum will be penalized according to the
percentage that is missing. A four-page paper will start with a grade of 80%.
Choose one of the images listed below. Write a clear, well organized paper of five to six
pages in which you discuss, convincingly, how this image illustrates a theme (one theme
only). Include a treatment of the way the image lends meaning to events in the play and
enhances our overall understanding of the action. Use at least five of the examples
provided below in your supporting evidence.
The paper must argue a point. Support your points with direct citations from the play. In
other words, every point you make should be supported by a quote from the play, citing
the act, scene, and line(s) in parentheses, like this: (5.1.25) for Act 5, Scene 1, line 25.
Remember: the assignment is not simply to write on a theme. That’s too broad, and
there’s too much tempting Internet commentary available on themes. The assignment is
to show how imagery illustrates a theme. You must go beyond a simple catalogue of
examples and show convincingly how the images contribute to the meaning of the work
as a whole. At the end of each paragraph, ask yourself, “So what?” What new insights
do you get as a result of your examination of the imagery?
Be as specific as possible. Narrow your focus. Do not try to cover too much ground, and
do not get too creative and base your paper on a theory you cannot support.
Also, take care not to confuse images with events. A death is not the same as a death
image.
If you need help, I am available B days at per 5. Start early. Glad to help in any way I
can, but don’t wait until the last minute.
Important Note: the lines and line ranges below are from a different edition of Hamlet,
and are inaccurate for your text. They will help you find the image in the scene, but do
not indicate the exact location of the image.
Do not, under any circumstances, consult outside sources for information.
Hamlet: Imagery citations
Poison (Consider the literal and metaphorical poisons.)
1.5.61-73
4.5.72
3.2.259
4.7.142-150
3.2.294-305 (King’s reaction to play)
4.7.160-163
3.2.326
3.4.167-170 (recalls King Hamlet’s poisoned body)
4.1.41-45
Flowers and Gardens
1.2.134-137
1.5.32-34
1.5.36--What is the significance of a
serpent in a garden?
1.5.59
1.5.76
1.5.87-88
3.1.168
3.2.290
3.4.42-43
3.4.151 (compare to 1.2.134-137)
4.5.41-44
4.5.153
4.5.173-186
4.7.168-181
5.1.282-302 (“maiden strewments” are
flowers strewn on a grave)
Death, Decay, Disease, and Corruption (The list below is by no means thorough.)
1.2.87-106
1.2.129-134 (Hamlet’s deathwish)
1.3.39-42 (a “blastment” is a withering blight)
1.5.64-74 (leprous effect of poison)
1.5.701-2
1.5.189-190 (with pun on setting a broken bone or “joint”)
3.1.84-85 (disease)
3.2.343-347 (medical language)
3.2.365-66 (Hamlet’s diseased mind)
3.3.36-71 (full of images of stench, decay, corruption)
3.4.64-65 (decay)
3.4.96 (Hamlet as physician)
3.4.144-149
4.1.20-24
4.2 -- the whole thing
4.3.17-43 (compare 34-36 to 5.1.256-258 and 261-270)
4.4.58-66
4.5.89-92
4.5.160-163
4.5.191-200
4.7.93 (Lamord is a play on the French word for death: “la mort”)
4.7.124 (disease)
5.1 (pretty much the whole thing)
The big idea here is that Claudius’s corruption has infected everything-from personal
relationships to the state of Denmark itself. Also consider:
 Anything with the Ghost
 Most of Act 5: Ophelia’s funeral and the gravedigger scene. Note the olfactory
images.
 The slighting of funerals--King Hamlet’s, Polonius’s, and Ophelia’s are all hasty,
abbreviated, or diminished in some way. Only Hamlet (5.2.438-42) has a hero’s
funeral. What can we infer from this?
 Hamlet uses a lot of medical terminology--as though his role in the action is
doctor to the diseased kingdom.
Opposition between Appearance and Reality
A word of caution: Don’t try to cover too much ground if you choose this topic. Focus
on one character or a series of related images. You might, for instance, concentrate on
language. Cite specific images that convey the theme in your paper.
1.2: Claudius’s speech. Consider the duplicity in his words. You might also think about
the duplicitous nature of Hamlet’s speech. His constant punning and sarcasm reinforce
the difference between the way things seem and the way they are. For example, look at
his treatment of Ophelia.
1.1.58
1.2.76-86
1.2.109-112
1.2.116
1.2.176-188
1.2.212 and other uses of the word “like”
1.4.69-73
1.5.107-108
1.5.169-179
2.2.26-28
2.2.96
2.2.172
2.2.699-704
Any instance of Claudius’s feigned concern
All the attention to acting in the play
Anything with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
3.1.8
3.1.46-54
3.3.60-70

4.3.59
4.5.143-148
4.7.108-110
5.1.309-340 (Hamlet’s ticked because he
believes he loved Ophelia more than
Laertes, even though Laertes has jumped
in her grave.)
5.1.324-327
Spies and Spying
1.2.116 (ironic)
2.1
2.2.166
2.2.699-707
3.1.32-35
3.1.171 (ironic)
3.2.94-101
3.3.28
3.4.22-24; 30-33
4.5.74
Clothing
1.1.60-64
1.2.85-86
1.2.147
1.3.70-74
1.3.117-120
1.5.39
2.1.78-85 (compare this to Ghost’s
appearance)
2.2.407
2.2.450-451
3.2.148
3.3.54 (crown)
3.4.114
3.4.134
3.4.161-165
3.4.214 (“prating” is childish talk; goes
with 2.2.450)
4.5.25-35
4.7.78-83
4.7.183-185
5.2.80-212 (Hamlet calls Osric a
“waterfly” because of his flashy clothes.)
Consider references to clothing in light of Hamlet’s world as world of surfaces, where
things are not always what they seem and deception is the order of the day.
Ears and hearing
1.1.32
1.3-68
1.5.4-7
1.5.22
1.5.34
1.5.36
1.5.63
2.2.449
2.2.662
3.1.201-202
3.2.293
3.4.21-24
3.4.64
3.4.94-95
3.4.130-133
4.1.8
4.2.30-31
4.5.84-90
4.6.21
Sleep/Dreaming
1.2.21
1.3.3
1.5.35
1.5.59
2.2.667
3.1 -- soliloquy
3.4.117-119
4.4.34
5.2.4-11
5.2.401-2
Advice/Advising
Ghost’s advice to Hamlet in 1.5
1.2.68-72
1.2.87-107
1.3 all
3.4.157-170
3.4.181-188
3.4.212-215 (Hamlet’s ironic use of “counselor”)
Read through Hamlet’s soliloquies (1.2, 1.5, 2.2, 3.1, 3.3, 4.4) for instances in which he
advises himself.
Animals
1.2.163
1.4.5.40-50
3.4.106
Themes
Corruption
Revenge
Identity
Action/Inaction
Uncertainty or Truth
Death (Hamlet is obsessed with it, and it
connects to questions of certainty and
revenge.)
Helpful citations
Identity
Soliloquies are at 1.2, 2.2, 3.1, 3.3, and 4.4
Note that the first two lines of the play deal with identity.
Also:
1.2.153 (compare to 5.1.346-7)
3.2.419-432
1.5.189-90
3.1.126-13
3.1.167-172 (Hamlet as people saw him
before his father died)
Foils
Fortinbras only appears briefly, but he is a determined character and in the end is
rewarded with the kingdom. Is it foolish to go to war over principle? Read 4.4.
Ophelia goes mad and commits suicide at the loss of her father. How does her madness
offset Hamlet’s? What are Hamlet’s views on suicide? Why do you think Ophelia
succumbs?
Phyrrus is a man on a mission in Act 2.
The conflict with Laertes begins at 4.5.94. Note especially the mother reference at 113116.
4.5.128 (How is he different from Hamlet here?)
4.7.108-130 (Note the irony at 116-124)
5.2.77
5.2.295-299
Justice
all references to revenge--see 1.5
3.4.31-35
3.4.174-179
3.4.201-210
4.7.129
5.2.354-370
Providence/Fortune
1.4.90
1.5.189-190
2.2.248-261
3.1.56-59
3.4.173-175 (suggests Hamlet sees
himself as God’s agent)
5.2.8-11
5.2.47-50
5.2.259-266