Hamlet Essay Topics

Choose one of the following prompts to write on. Your essay must be at least 4 pages and be written in MLA format. Have a topic chosen by Monday, January 7th.

1. Next to Hamlet, arguably the most complex character in the play is Claudius. Write an essay that considers the complex and often contradictory nature of Claudius’ character. This essay must look beyond the fact that Claudius is a murderer who has usurped his brother’s throne and married his brother’s wife. It must also consider his effectiveness or ineffectiveness as a political figure, and determine at precisely what point Claudius makes the transition from one to another.

 

2. Characters who parallel yet contrast one another are said to be foils. Authors often use foils to clarify character traits as well as issues in stories and plays. Discuss Shakespeare’s use of foils, focusing on the parallels and contrasts of any one of these pairs of characters: Hamlet and Laertes, Hamlet and Horatio, Hamlet and Fortinbras, Hamlet and Ophelia, Laertes and Horatio, Claudius and Hamlet’s father, Gertrude and Ophelia, Polonius and Claudius, Polonius and Hamlet. What do Shakespeare’s uses of foils accomplish in telling the story of the play?

 

3.      The Silent voice of women in "Hamlet" Gertrude and Ophelia. How would you compare and contrast their role of women in Hamlet, their purpose, the statement they make or lack of statement they make. What do their portrayals say about women politically, intellectually, socially, emotionally and economically? (You can start by comparing their roles in the castle along with their respective deaths).

 

4. “If you be sick, your own thoughts make you sick.” Ben Jonson.

Throughout Hamlet there are references to real and imagined mental illnesses as portrayed by Shakespeare’s characters. What part does madness-real or feigned-play in the tragedy of Hamlet? Contemplate whether or not Ben Jonson’s quote maintains validity in Hamlet, then take a stand and write about to whom this accurately applies.

 

5.      What are the hopes and despairs of the characters you encountered? In a solidly written essay, report how at least three of the characters you select from amongst family units (Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, Gertrude, Hamlet, Claudius, and Fortinbras), would respond to August Napier’s comment, “In each family a story is playing itself out, and each family's story embodies its hope and despair.” One approach might be to select Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras--all sons without fathers—to ascertain the similarities and differences between each one’s aspirations and despondency's. Or, examine the hopes and despairs of Danish court members Polonius, Laertes, and Ophelia, using evidence to call to attention to the family’s story of desires, and how court events may cause them grief and suffering.