Goals:
Develop a particular interpretive point of view.
Read closely
Recognize different possible interpretations
Define and support an original interpretation of the play
Enter the critical conversation.
Understand the difference between primary and secondary sources
Compare attitudes found in literary criticism with one's own point of view
Synthesize the views of various critics into a new whole, using MLA format
Why Hamlet?
1. It is a play constructed of questions: Who's there? (1.1) What is your affair in Elsinore? (2.2) What is this quintessence of dust? (2.2) To be or not to be? (3.1) And am I then revenged? (3.3) What is a man? (4.4) What is't to leave betimes? (5.1) These questions confront the existential mysteries of the universe. This is what Hamlet is struggling with.
2. The play itself is about interpretation: "There is nothing either good nor bad but thinking makes it so" (2.2.39). Hamlet is engaged in the same interpretive process as we are. No easy answers: Every Hamlet, every scholar, must find his/her own solutions.
LITERARY ESSAY:
Develop a thesis that defines your attitude toward Hamlet the character. To what extent is he admirable, noble, heroic? Your thesis should be a complex sentence. Write a 3-5 page paper supporting your views through text. .
REVISION:
Read at least 3 critics' interpretations of the play. Summarize and respond to two of them. Then integrate the critics' views into the argument in your literary essay: how do the most provocative theories you have read about Hamlet affect your thinking on the play? What does the play add up to for you now? A minimum revision adds at least two substantive paragraphs.
COME TO TERMS: Refine one of your ideas, using at least one point a professional critic makes. How does it push your idea further?
COUNTER: Address an argument that a critic proposes, one that apparently contradicts your view. Where does the critic get Hamlet wrong? How does that show something further about your own ideas?
Ebsco is a database of articles from periodicals. login ID S8568981 ... password: password
To find literary criticism: Ebsco Host Web.... Academic Search Premier... ADVANCED SEARCH, type Hamlet in search box,click full text, click scholarly, and under Document Type choose Literary Criticism. Click Search.
You have to hear this episode of This American Life: Act V. It's stunning, and contains lots of insight into the play.