I have two ideas that I am stuck between.
My first idea is to write about Ophelia and her madness. However I have not narrowed it down yet, but I would like like to mainly focus on Act 4, Scene 5. This is when Gertrude reports that she is in fact mad, and she sings about death and portrayal. I could explain the songs meaning in my paper and interperate the lines to better understand. Then I could incorporate, this to the idea of Shakespeare's portrayal of women.My other idea is wither or not Hamlet's madness is real or feigned or both. When I was watching the movie, at one minute I thought Hamlet was definitely mad. At other times I thought he wasn't, or he was just faking it. I think it would be cool to find the different scenes that fit in both categories and explain them. Then at the end of the essay state wither he is mad or it is feigned.
Emily,
ReplyDeleteBoth topics would work well (it's up to you to choose, and you should let your own interests motivate that choice). In either case, you need to go back to the text, reread key passages that relate to your topic, and figure out for yourself just what Shakespeare's larger meaning is. With regard to Hamlet's madness (real or feigned), check out my comments on Dale's post above. I actually like the idea of exploring the root of Ophelia's madness (as a way perhaps of addressing the broader issue of Shakespeare's portrayal of women), but I think we covered that during our discussion in class today. Again, both topics would work well. I look forward to learning which one you choose!