Hamlet
Final Assessments (ACC)
Assignment Shakespeare’s Hamlet is one of the most referenced, if not the most referenced play in
Summary:
the English language. It has been analyzed for centuries for themes, characterization,
use of language, etc. Therefore, one may say there is “nothing new under the sun to
say about Hamlet.” However, each reader can bring her own interpretation to the text.
For this assignment, you will select a narrow topic and discuss it using your perspective
and the text (and nothing else).
See topics
Writer’s
Purpose:
To inform the reader of your interpretation and findings on a narrow topic regarding the
play
Writer’s
Role:
Audience:
Yourself
Your audience is comprised of teachers, students, and anyone who has read Hamlet.
You are not summarizing as your audience is knowledgeable about the text.
Form:
2 to 3 pages (maximum- nothing over 3 pages will be read)
size 12, Times New Roman, double-spaced
do not use 1st or 2nd person (no I, we, you)
Focus
Correction
Areas
Procedure:
FCA #1 Content: Effectively integrate references to the primary text 3 times (30pts)
For a paper of this length, you may not use any quotation over 3 lines.
FCA #2 Content: Arguable, precise thesis and clear topic sentences
(10pts)
Bold your thesis and each topic sentence.
FCA #3 Content: Analytical, sound, supported commentary
(50pts)
You need to expand and elaborate.
FCA #4:Overall product (judgment reserved for teacher)
(10pts)
Style, grammar, and other elements of writing.
1. Select your topic.
2. Write an arguable thesis.
Your thesis should not be an idea that is immediately obvious and needs no proof: “In Shakespeare’s
Hamlet the character Hamlet procrastinates.” Instead, it should be an idea that lends itself to critical
analysis and that is, in fact, arguable: The Fortinbras plot is essential to fully understanding Shakespeare’s play,
providing significant parallels and foils in both characterization and plot development to make a key point about the
path and price of honor.”
3. Select your evidence to prove your thesis.
4. Balance your evidence with your own commentary.
5. Write your paper, read aloud to yourself to proofread.
6. Submit paper to Turnitin.com by _______ on _________________________.
Any student who uses an outside source will not receive a grade.
Choose one of the following essay topics and write a well-developed position paper in which you argue
for a particular position (your thesis).
Essay Prompt #1: Throughout the play, Hamlet claims to be faking madness, but his portrayal of a
madman is so intense and so convincing that many readers believe that Hamlet actually slips into insanity
at certain moments of the play. Did grief push him over the edge or is he pretending? Is Hamlet truly
mad or is he merely play-acting insanity?
Essay Prompt #2: Analyze and explain one of the following motifs in Hamlet: 1) Decay/ sickness 2)
ears/ eavesdropping. With specific examples from the play, explain how the motif is developed and
contributes to the interpretation.
Essay Prompt #3: Poison is an important motif in the play, not simply because it is the method by which
many characters are killed, but also because it is a symbol for corruption. Viewed thus, death by poison
becomes an important metaphor for what is happening to Denmark throughout the play. Support the
following statement: All of the characters who die in Hamlet are poisoned by the corruption of the Danish
Court.
Essay Prompt #4: Who is responsible for the death of Ophelia? Claudius is responsible for King
Hamlet’s murder. Hamlet kills Polonius. But who do we hold accountable for the grief that leads Ophelia
to take her life?
Essay Prompt #5: How does Hamlet’s personality evolve during the course of the play? After reading,
write an essay in which you compare his state of mind early in the play to his state of mind late in the
play. Support your discussion with evidence from the text.