These final essay topics will encourage your students to explore the complexity of all the principal characters of the tragedy, not only Hamlet. Designed for junior or senior high school students.

Essay Test on Hamlet

Write an essay on one of the following topics (with a clear introduction that lays out your thesis, two paragraphs of development, and a conclusion).

1. As with many of Shakespeare's villains, Claudius is a strong figure whose talents have been perverted to evil ends. Discuss.
2. Ophelia is the victim of Hamlet, a character who suffers through no fault of her own. Discuss.
3. Four centuries after they were first uttered, Hamlet's soliloquies retain their power because they address some of the most fundamental questions of human life (why should we live? how should we live? how are we different from the animals? what is our relationship to others?). In discussing this statement, draw especially on your understanding of the soliloquy that you memorized. [Students had previously selected one of Hamlet’s five soliloquies to memorize.]
4. Although a loving mother who is unaware of Claudius' treachery in killing her husband, Gertrude bears some responsibility for the tragedy that unfolds in Elsinore. Discuss.
5. What strengths and weaknesses of Laertes are revealed in the closing scenes of the play? How does he exemplify both the positive and negative qualities of the courtier?
6. Actors who have played the role of Hamlet say that its main fascination lies in its representation of the mysteries and dilemmas of youth (the search for identity; relations with parents, friends, and girl/boyfriends; the assumption of adult responsibilities; etc.). To what extent is Hamlet's situation similar to that of all young people? To what extent is it different?

[Three of these topics were given to each of my two sections of Senior English.]