Writing a Hamlet Research Paper
Possible Topics for Hamlet Research Papers
When you get to write a paper, such as a Hamlet research paper, about the Bard’s greatest works, then you are a truly lucky student. English and literature majors in particular should enjoy an assignment like this, if only because Hamlet is one of Shakespeare’s most interesting plays. It is full of betrayal, love, passion, sex, murder, treason, and intrigue. Everyone important is dead by the end of the play, what more could you possibly ask for in a writing assignment? Bearing that in mind, why don’t we take a look at some very provocative topics you could use when writing a paper on Hamlet?
The first thing you have to realize is how many interesting research paper topics there are when you are asked to write a Hamlet research paper. The entire play is interesting. It is like the modern day version of a juicy murder mystery, but beautifully written and full of twists and turns. Hamlet, melancholy and eager to avenge his father’s death, is one of the most thought provoking and intriguing protagonists in all of English literature.
As with a Macbeth research paper, there are many sub plots to consider when choosing a topic. You will find few English research papers more fun than one based on the Bard, who knew better than perhaps any other playwright how to keep his readers always on the edges of their seats. That being said, one possible topic involves focusing on Hamlet’s foils. You have several choices here, namely Horatio, Fortinbras, Claudius, and Laertes. By comparing – and contrasting – Hamlet with each of these characters, you will better be able to understand the personalities and traits of each.
We have mentioned the prince’s melancholy. That itself makes an excellent topic for a Hamlet research paper. For instance, do you think he was too melancholy? It certainly interfered with his ability to act, to confront Claudius, at least in the beginning of the play. Indeed, his deep seeded melancholia even plays a part in the watery death of sweet, mad Ophelia, his beloved. It is his tragic flaw, and many critics and readers believe that it is what led to his ultimate demise. Exploring that idea can make for a great research paper, as long as you know where to look to find the evidence needed to back up that claim.
The prince’s own madness also makes an interesting topic for a Hamlet research paper. Throughout the play, he claims to be faking his madness, yet there is a very real sense of insanity pervasive in his character. A good literary research paper considers everything, both the seen and the unseen, the obvious and the points which are only hinted at in the subtext. The best essays and research papers, no matter what they are based on, consider every angle. That is what makes Hamlet the perfect subject for a paper. From researching whether his love for Ophelia is genuine to turning your attention to the intriguing but short lived characters of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, there are no wrong choices. Shakespeare gives you so much from which to work that the prince’s world is your oyster. Something is unquestionably rotten in the state of Denmark; it is simply up to you to find out what it really is.
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Tags: English research papers, Essays and research papers, Hamlet research paper, interesting research paper topics, literary research paper, Macbeth research paper
