Paper 2: Drama
William Shakespeare's HamletThere are millions - literally - of resources available online. You just have to search. Some will be added to this page and if you find anything else that is excellent, let me know so I can add it here for the whole class. More resources will be added almost daily, so keep checking this page.
Below are the slides used in the introduction lesson to Othello. They are worth looking at again. Harold BloomBloom is probably the most well known and influential critic in our time. This is his lecture at Yale University. Do also see his book Shakespeare: the Invention of the Human. This is a little dull visually but bear with.
Work for DATE
There are a great many questions that can be asked about the play. Some of these are listed below. One of them could be the starting point for your discussion on Wednesday and Thursday.
1. Did Hamlet feign madness so well that he did eventually go mad in reality? 2. Why does Hamlet delay his revenge on Claudius? 3. Did Hamlet really love Ophelia? 4. Does Hamlet hate women? 5. Was Claudius a good king? 6. How old is Hamlet? 7. What makes the play a tragedy? 8. Why are the minor characters relevant? 9. Why are there so many questions throughout the play? 10. What is Hamlet’s view of humanity? 11. Does Hamlet have an unresolved Oedipal Complex? Task Prepare to lead a discussion on one of the above topics. Not one of the questions has a clear and unambiguous answer. (Eg. The answer to 6 is 30 but to what extent does the gravedigger give us an honest answer? What evidence points to a different answer?) In your discussion, you need to take the lead. You need to develop a thesis, quote from the play and maybe from a secondary source too. You also need to deal with counterarguments, maybe suggested by your fellow students. You may wish to work with a partner and take opposing points of view. Eg one of you can argue that Hamlet really did turn into a mad lad while the other can argue that he remained a sane Dane throughout. A good starting secondary source is AC Bradley. The button on the RHS will help. Another starting point could be to use Shakespeare Navigator - AC Bradley. Again, the button on the RHS will take you there. As an extension, if you have time, look through the slides below. This is what we will look at on Wednesday. Alternatively, download and read what Bloom has to say on Hamlet. See the button on the RHS as usual. RHS means "right-hand side" of the screen, by the way. I have visions of coming back into class tomorrow and someone will say, "I spent ages on the website of the Royal Horticultural Society and found nothing about Hamlet. It was all about the Chelsea Flower Show and some stupid seed bank at Kew." Introduction to PsychoanalysisHere are the slides used in class to summarise Freud and Lacan with some application of their ideas to the play Hamlet. See also Sian Evan's book entitled Through the Literary Looking Glass and the essay entitled "Hamlet Psychoanalysed" which is downloadable as a pdf via the button in the RHS column.
Structuring your Paper 2 essay.Your overall structure could be thus:
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The button above opens a YouTube clip which summarises Hamlet.
Critical TextsThe buttons below will be referred to in class. They will open another window/tab with a critical text for you to read. Your assessment involves using critical texts to inform your understanding of an aspect of Hamlet.
The button above takes you to Purdue University's online writing lab. There are dozens of very useful resources.
The full text version might be more useful for some people because it is searchable for key words. Eg. searching "Gertrude" will take you to the very bit Bradley discusses her.
The button above will allow you to download a pdf of a critical essay called "Hamlet Psychoanalysed" Some bits have been highlighted for you and they can be used as a starting point. This is especially useful if you are taking a Freudian or Lacanian interpretation.
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Your essays must be an integrated argument.
There are a number of things that you can integrate:
There are a number of things that you can integrate:
- quotations from the dialogue
- quotations that are stage directions
- quotations from or references to secondary sources. Start with the introductions to your plays.
- analysis and discussion of the connotative value of those quotations
- mise-en-scene - the stage set, lighting, music
- a sentence that highlights how the director can mediate this scene for the audience
- a sentence that highlights how the actors can mediate this scene for the audience
- a sentence about the historical context
- intertextual references (eg refer to another play such as Hamlet or a relevant work such as HD Thoreau’s Walden or John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government)
- critical theory - Freudean, Lacanian, Marxist
- Multiple readings - Stuart Hall: preferred reading, oppositional reading, negotiated reading
- the experience of the audience
- cultural context - the American dream, the Declaration of Independence, The US Constitution
Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
Here is the slideshow we used in class. It won't embed into this page for some unfathomable.
Revising tragedy |