There are simply hundreds of Essay topic that could be written about Hamlet. It was a hard decision choosing what I wanted to write about. I thought about the treatment of women or Hamlets madness. I wanted a topic that I could maybe use both of the others so I decided.....
-What is the significance of suicide in Hamlet, and what impacts does it have on the main characters?
-Suicide is a very important theme in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Hamlet constantly questions whether or not he should be living or not.
-I will discuss how suicide was viewed in the setting, socially and religiously.
-And how in the Christian religion it is viewed as a sin.
-I’m going to use the two soliloquies “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt” and “To be or not to be.” These are the two quotes that really show evidence of Hamlets contemplation of suicide.
-I will probably also bring in how madness is a key factor in his contemplation of suicide and if he was really mad from early on or how acting mad really drove him to true craziness
-I will discuss why humans, very capable of suicide, choose to live even in the cruel, and injustice world.
-Ophelia will also be analyzed in my essay and how the death of a loved one can make people insane and drive them to suicide.
-And I will analyze the mystery of her death.
-I will also depict the conversation between the two gravediggers discussing whether she should have a proper Christian burial or if she actually did commit suicide.
I like how you include religion into this. It makes it well rounded and includes something that was very important during that time. And using the two soliloquies definitely keeps it narrow without overwhelming the readers with a bunch of information. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteKira,
ReplyDeleteThis will be a challenge combining these two topics (though Ophelia's suicide, which clearly seems driven by despair) offers you an opening. Just be sure to root your argument in the text. In addition to the two soliloquies, you'll probably want to reference both Hamlet's speech about Alexander (during the graveyard scene) and his disquisition on worms to Claudius (which he delivers right after rashly killing Polonius (which, not incidentally, is what leads to Ophelia's death).
Hope you have some fun with this! I look forward to seeing your first draft).