Hamlet
by William Shakespeare
If you're reading this page, you've chosen to read the play Hamlet. It's one of the most famous plays in literature, and educated people are generally expected to have read it. This is your chance!
Task 1. Read Hamlet
There's an online version of Hamlet by MIT that you may use. It may be read online scene by scene, and unfamiliar words are linked to a glossary. If you wish to print it, you may want to use the "Entire play on one page" version at the bottom of the same page. (Be warned that it's quite long! One student reported that it was 134 pages long, so you may wish to get a copy from the library.) You may use any copy of Hamlet you have or wish to buy.
There are a number of resources you may find
helpful in understanding and writing about this play. You are free to use
them or not.
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Task 2. Listserv Assignment Compare and Contrast Essay: Once you've finished reading the play and posting your answers on the forums, then rent a video version of Hamlet. (Two recent productions star Mel Gibson and Kenneth Branagh. Notes about each of these are linked to the Hamlet site we're working from, but you may view any version you wish.) As you watch, note differences between the movie production from the play you've read and (hopefully) come to love. In an informal essay state your opinion of the movie version of Hamlet that you chose to watch. Be sure to identify the production you viewed.
Then email your critique to the drama listserv.
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Task 3.
Essay Thesis
This is your first essay in this class. I'd like you to write about the theme of William Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, and the words he wrote and the choices he made in creating his play to convey that theme.
To decide on your thesis, consider some of the choices the author made as he wrote the play, choices about setting, characters, plot, conflicts, and themes.
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He could have decided to begin the play with the murder of the king.
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He could have chosen to have Hamlet confide his plan to Ophelia and enlist her help in carrying it out.
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He could have placed Hamlet and Gertrude on the stage with the king's ghost.
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He could have made Gertrude a willing participant in her husband's death.
Consider how these and other changes would have altered your reading of the play. When you begin to see the author's choices, you can sometimes begin to understand the idea he's trying to communicate through her work.
The first step in developing your essay is to write and post your thesis statement on the Discussion Board for Hamlet. Please make sure that it meets the criteria for thesis statement in the Checklist. Do not proceed to Task 4. until I've approved your thesis statement.
Please note that I am not looking for a particular thesis or idea; I am checking to make sure that it contains the elements required for a good, argumentative thesis about the theme of a literary work. Without one, it's impossible to write a good essay.
The success of your essay is not judged on whether or not I agree with your thesis, but whether you have supported it well. Do not spend time trying to guess what I believe the theme to be because there is no one right answer.
Task 4.
Draft Essay
Write the first draft of your essay on Hamlet with a word-processing program.
Do not write your draft on Blackboard.
Before posting your draft on the Discussion Board, review the checklist for essays and make sure that you have met the requirements as well as you can. If your essay meets the criteria on the checklist, copy and paste the first draft of your paper on the forum, "Hamlet" as a reply to the thesis statement you posted earlier. (Label it "Draft.")
Task 5.
Draft Comments
Read the drafts of other students and then comment on two of them.
Please include the
following items in your comments on each of the two papers:
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Task 6.
Final Draft
After I have posted comments on your paper, revise your draft and post a final version of it on the same Discussion Forum, "Hamlet."
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Leaving the Listserv |
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Before leaving this unit, please send a final message to the listserv. Tell the group that you are moving on and give them a tip on how to succeed in the drama unit, a summary of what you learned from the unit, or some encouraging words. Now, unsubscribe to the drama listserv at https://lists.vccs.edu/lists/listinfo/nova-eng112 Just follow the directions at the bottom of the page to unsubscribe.
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Now go on to Unit 2: Fiction.