For the essay on the play Hamlet, by William Shakespear, I was planning on writing about how having a close relative murdered leads to madness. In the beginning of the play, Hamlet loses his father. Hamlet goes mad after he finds out that his father was murdered. Then Ophelia's father is murdered by Hamlet. She goes mad and commits suicide. Ophelia's brother Laertes comes back to Denmark when he hears of his father's death. When the King tells Laertes that his father was murdered, Leartes goes mad and plans to kill Hamlet.
To prove that Hamlet goes mad, we can look at act 5 scene 2 when Hamlet is talking to Laertes before he has the fencing fight with Laertes. Hamlet says "What I have done that might your nature, honor, and exception roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness."
To prove Ophelia's madness, we can look at when she was running around the castle singing songs in act 4 scene 5. She first sings of he father's death and about Saint Valentine's day.
To prove that Laertes has gone mad, we can look at act 4 scene 7 when he is talking to the King about how they are going to murder Hamlet.
I like this!! Sounds like you have good ideas for your paper. I would definitely dissect each speech that you are going to use to show this idea to further show why you think that the murders led to the ultimate madness in the book.
ReplyDeleteAlso how the madness between Ophelia and Hamlet are similar but different, which would also be another good idea to discuss.
I think this is a good idea. What might be beneficial when writing your paper is saying how the grief of loosing ones loved one leads to madness. I feel using this statement will allow you to write a solid paper and make the process easier as well.
DeleteRyan,
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Griffin and Jessi in that this seems a well-focused and pretty unique topic (I'm not sure I've had any students every make this connection between the death of a 'close relative' and one's sanity. One thought: you might include Laertes in this (his sister dies, after all--and the effect arguably is to drive him made enough to agree to Claudius' ridiculous scheme to take out Hamlet). Again, this looks to be a good topic, and I'm anxious to see a draft!