For the final exam in AP English, you will write three essays in 2 hours.
The first essay will be a standard style analysis from an old AP exam and will have no relation to Hamlet.
The second essay will require you to analyze a passage from Hamlet that I have selected.
The final essay will be one of the four below. Brainstorm, make an outline, and choose your quotations ahead of time so that you have time to write more during the exam. Please be prepared to write on one of the four below:
1. Write and essay analyzing Hamlet’s sanity during the play. Is Hamlet really crazy during the play? Or is he just depressed? Does his sanity change? What do you think Shakespeare is trying to say through Hamlet and his ambiguous sanity? Be sure to discuss the concept of acting (both meanings). Give specific examples to support your point.
2. Which do you think is the most important conflict in the play: Hamlet v. Claudius, Hamlet v. Gertrude, or Hamlet v. Hamlet? Explain your opinion and use direct quotations from the play to support your opinion.
3. Do you think Hamlet is mostly about corruption, loyalty, love, revenge, family, or soul? Choose one or two and then argue your point using direct quotations from the play.
4. Analyze Hamlet through the frame of Oedipus Rex. What issues are dealt with in both plays? How is the structure of each play similar? Discuss the most significant similarities and differences. Use specific examples and direct quotations from the play.