The Shakespeare Paper Assignment An
Argument, or Critical Analysis: The following are
some guidelines for your paper, with some suggested subjects.
These are only suggestions, and you should feel free to choose your own
topic. Your paper should be a
critical analysis that reflects your own point of view, argued by a specific
thesis that is demonstrated in a focused, narrowly defined approach.
A subject is only a beginning; you must then concentrate on finding a
topic (your idea considerably narrowed down: Hamlet's treatment of Ophelia, for
example, is a subject, whereas a topic might be ["I intend to argue
that"] Hamlet is responsible for Ophelia's death because he unfairly judges
her and fails to understand her frail nature, even though he has evidence of her
duplicity").
Focus
on a limited amount of material; never consider all of the play: To help narrow down
your idea, concentrate on one scene or one event within a scene, or compare two
scenes, two characters, or several events within one act--don't write on the
entire play or everything a character does.
Or you may wish to compare two scenes or characters from different plays. Use
secondary sources sparingly: Pick something that
interests you--a work from the syllabus--and keep secondary sources to a
minimum; remember, secondary sources are only a springboard to your own ideas.
Avoid generalities and the obvious.
A good paper should tell you, and the reader, we'll hope, something you
didn't know before. Your paper should not summarize or retell the plot, nor
should it merely reflect class notes or discussion. Framing
the thesis: You may want to check with
me on your topic idea: write down your thesis--if it helps, phrase your
sentence, "I intend to argue that ______, because _____."
That way I have something specific to help you with.
(Note that the "because" of the above sentence adds the
specific to your argument and keeps you from being too general or vague in your
thesis.)
The
form for poetry citations: A word on citing
quotations: poetry or prose that is more than four lines should be set off from
the text (indent 10 spaces from the left margin), as in this passage from
Hamlet:
To be, or not to be: that is the question:
Whether
'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The
slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or
to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And
by opposing end them. To die, to
sleep --
No
more. (3.1.56-61) But keep large
passages at a minimum and don't cite more than is germane to your discussion.
Quotations should follow a developed argument as an illustration--they
illustrate (argue) something that you have already established.
Quotations that are set off from the text are by definition quotes, so
they are not placed in quotation marks. Note
too that the Act, Scene, and line numbers come after the period (skip two
spaces). Cite in a note the edition
of the play from which you take the quotation--use only one edition throughout
the paper. The above quotation from
Hamlet is an example: as an endnote I might write, "This and all subsequent
quotations are taken from the New Arden Shakespeare, gen. ed. Richard Proudfoot."
Or, I could merely add it parenthetically after my first quote:
(3.1..56-61; New Arden Shakespeare, ed. Richard Proudfoot). If you cite three
lines or less, make the citation part of the sentence: Hamlet asks the
preeminent question of the play when he contemplates his own mortality and the
incorruptibility of the soul: "To be, or not to be, that is the question. /
Whether 'tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, / Or
to take arms against a sea of troubles..." (3.1.56-58).
Note
here that the / mark indicates where the poetry line ends in your text. The ellipsis at the end of the quote is only because the
quotation did not have a period at this point.
The quotation should fit your sentence: that means that while you quote
the words exactly, the punctuation at the end of your sentence depends on
whether the idea is a complete sentence. In
other words, don't use an ellipsis before a quote; nor should you use it at the
end of your sentence if you have a completed thought--use a period.
Also note that when you give a quote within a sentence, the parenthetical
citation is part of your sentence; thus the period (or semicolon or colon) comes
after the parenthesis while all other punctuation comes before.
The
form for Prose citations:
Prose
is cited differently than that above. Hamlet
apparently finds the answers to his questions on mortality asked in Act 3 when,
handling the skull of the former court jester Yorick, he says, " Where be
your jibes now? Your gambols, your songs, your flashes of merriment that were
wont to set the table on a roar?" (5.1.191-93).
Style
Manual: Be faithful to the
edition of the text you are using when citing, break poetry or prose according
to the editor's decisions. When
quoting from Shakespeare or a secondary source, your guide should be the MLA
Manual of Style, 1985--or later--edition, located in the reference section of
the library, PR 3521. Requirements: Obviously, the
requirements for this or any class may change from one semester to another.
But this material is standard for my classes.
Type your paper, 4 to 5 pages for two papers, 6 to 8 pages for one.
Double space the paper, including off-set quotes.
Please do not put your paper in a folder or add a cover sheet.
Put your name and date in the upper right hand corner of the first page;
put your last name and page number on all subsequent pages; give your paper a
specific title, centered on your first page, that reflects your thesis idea; use
a paper clip or staple your pages. Handwritten
or late papers will not be accepted.
Proofread
carefully and revise your work: Be Specific.
Proofread your paper carefully, but do more than merely reread it: revise
your work. Revision is a major part
of writing--one of the easiest problems to spot in reading student papers is the
lack of revision, which usually indicates haste, laziness, or indifference.
Writing is a skill that takes effort, patience, and the willingness to
improve it, so start early.
Please
don't ask me what to write on; that decision is part of the assignment. You are not limited to any of these ideas, but you must
restrict yourself to the works that we have--or will--study this semester.
If you get stuck, spend time reading what others have said (introductions
to different editions, collections of essays, or the essays included in your
Signet or Bantam ed., for example), which may give you an idea of your own or
help you to narrow down your topic. But remember: it's your ideas I'm
interested in. If you elect to do two papers, please pick two different
works. Feel free to ask me questions or even submit a draft before the
paper is due.
Suggested Writing Subjects for
Shakespeare
The
following represent some writing subjects for papers. Please note that these are subjects, not topics:
a topic is a much more narrowly-defined idea, which represents your specific
approach (thesis). I recommend that
use the “scaffolding” of “I intend to argue that _______, because
________.” Put that into your
paper—if you can’t fill in the specifics, in one sentence, you don’t have
a good thesis. You can always drop
the scaffolding and simply state the argument without the exact wording above,
but it helps to write the paper with the use of that sentence in order to keep
focused. You may wish to look at
the example paper—“Hamlet’s Dilemma With Women”; or, look at a bad
paper—“Hamlet”—because sometimes it helps to see what not to do.
Remember too, that the following suggestions represent but few
possibilities and are not meant to be exhaustive.
Tragedies:
Titus
Andronicus family relationships and
pride imagery of death, burial,
earth, etc. relationship between
language and action (gesture) Aaron’s evil—typical
stage villain? compare Iago of Othello
to Aaron compare to the Roman
tragedy of Seneca (Thyestes, especially) the failure of Titus—what is his “error”? Why have some editors
refused to see the play as Shakespeare's? Romeo and Juliet
the role of the advisers Mercutio's function as a
mocker of love, honor, or familial duty. the relationship of time to
fate the transformation of the
character of Romeo the function of imagery or
thematic idea the association of
eros and
thanatos
Julius
Caesar what are Antony’s
motivations? whose play is it?
Where is our focus; who is the protagonist? compare the orations of
Brutus and Antony for sincerity and effectiveness if the “fault is in
ourselves,” why are there so many portents, dreams, etc. in the play? Brutus as a complex,
divided character the state, or mob, vs. the
individual the importance of the minor
characters, especially the women how does the character of
Caesar—his fame as opposed to what we see—set up other
action or characterizations in the play? Hamlet action vs. inaction the character of Hamlet:
traditional avenger vs. Renaissance gentleman the relationship of the
self to the world thematic material in
relation to the "feel" or tone of the play: drunkenness; unnatural
growth, corruption; fathers/sons; appearance vs. reality madness, sanity, effective
reason the Ghost as divine agent;
the Ghost as satanic imagery and its
effectiveness: disorder, darkness, prison, poison, disease, playacting, Troilus
and Cressida
(Note: some scholars classify the play as a comedy) analyze Ulysses speech on
order (1.3) the importance of time in
the play: are the characters “fixed” in time as the action The importance of hierarchy in establishing "stability" is the play a comedy or a
tragedy? how important is pride in a
play that depicts antiquity and war? compare Hector and Achilles reason vs. emotion Parallels: poetry and prose combined Oppositions of characters, emotions, scenes, etc. for dramatic affect--dualities of characters, events, or poetical statements The duality of characters: fools, prophets, armies, primary heroes, "objects" for combat, etc. Othello the distinctions between a
"domestic" tragedy and Macbeth or Romeo and Juliet Othello's jealousy as
character trait an argument that Othello is
not by nature jealous the relationship between
martial skill and language the paradoxes of
hero/villain; the significance of Othello's blackness instinct vs. reason
animal imagery and its
significance
King Lear the effects of
"feigned" and "real" madness clothing imagery the Fool as an alter-ego of
Lear order and authority the obsession with
"unnatural" sexuality different views of nature parent/child relationships the role of the gods and/or
God thematic reasons for the
double plot The Nature of Humanity and the nature of the environment/world
Macbeth the function of the opening
scene to the rest of the play the relation of the Porter
scene to the rest of the action a consideration of free
will vs. predestination in the witches' prophecies guilt and its expression in
Lady Macbeth's sleep-walking scene the natural/unnatural
inversion in Macbeth Macbeth as tragic figure the third assassin
possession or human evil? Antony and
Cleopatra
discordia
concors in character types or poetic expression
staging
difficulties
the tragedy as
morally neutral
the theme of
decay and metamorphosis
"young
love" of Romeo and Juliet compared to "mature" love of A & C
philosophic
oppositions
foregrounding:
thematically important opening (cf. Hamlet)
metatheatricality
(perhaps compare to Hamlet)
imagery of
magnificence and grandeur
baroque images
of Venus and Mars, and confusion of sexual roles
Comedies:
The
Taming of the Shrew "depth" imagery references to death the importance\irrelevance
of the "induction" Kate's "lesson" Comparison of the women and their desires animal imagery The Tamer and the "tamed" relevance of the subplot madness (or the appearance)
and love the parody of
"instruction" the different attitudes
toward love
A
Midsummer Night's Dream the purpose of the clowns,
Bottom, Quince, et al., to the main plot of the play Puck as one of
Shakespeare's "wise fools" and commentators on humanity the possible reasons for
the death and sickness imagery in Act V. the roles of Theseus and Hippolyta in a play about "imagination" The natural world and its magic, illusion, regenerative properties Plots within plots for dramatic affect: different perspectives of similar events Love's unpredictable effects and desires The
Merchant of Venice Shylock’s character as
cultural villain Shylock as “stage
villain” Shylock as sympathetic
character Belmont vs. Venice:
thematic differences Antonio as Christian hero
word puns and their
effectiveness, such as “pound” (flesh; money) father/daughter
relationship of Jessica and Shylock the values of mercy,
forgiveness, loyalty, or love in the playi is the play allegorical,
satirical? importance of the casket
scene (you might wish to see what Freud wrote about it) As
You Like It the pastoral vs. court the role of the confidante Jacques as pessimist: a
balance to the “sweetness” of love? Compare
Jacques to compare
the various love pairings is there a difference
between romantic and physical love in the play?
analyze
Jacques’ famous “All the world’s a stage” speech for its imagery,
symbolism, consider some of the
contradictions and paradoxes of the play (the court vs. forest, the
Twelfth Night the importance of the
subplot (the household of Olivia) on the main plot the theme of self-deception the relevance of carnival,
food, disguise, music water imagery the role of the clown;
contrast to Bottom madness and music discrepancies in plots:
fantasy vs. “reality”
Measure For
Measure the Duke as demigod or
dramatist the relation of the final
scene to the rest of the play the function of the prison
scenes the conflict between fairy
tale and reality Lucio's "unpardonable
sin" disease or corruption
imagery All’s
Well That Ends Well the fairy-tale plot and
expectation men vs. Women in the play Parolles as picarogue
figure—how do we respond to him? the bed trick: how
satisfying is this device in resolving the conflict? Bertram as male hero: what
are his failings? How are we meant to respond to him? old vs. New virtue: how do we compare a
woman’s with a man’s? symbolism: drums, war,
rings,
Histories: Richard
II the importance of music
imagery in the final soliloquy the use of rhetoric in
defining Richard's character the function of the
gardener's scene Bolingbroke's function in
the play in developing Richard's character, (especially in the Richard as tragic figure tragedy vs. pathos The Gardener and his lessons of "planting, choices, and nurturing" as related to the king who over-hears him Earth imagery as illustrative of the strength of England and the fall of Richard Loyalty and rebellion, traitors and believers in God's hierarchy
1 Henry IV the function of puns in the
play the purposes of the
clothing imagery disease imagery
Falstaff as a vice figure
from the morality plays relationship of fathers to
sons metatheatricality: tavern
and court duty or honor vs. family
Henry V
the
"success" or "failure" of the wooing scene
spiritual
importance to the play
the case for
war as necessity/"rightness"
Henry as ideal
king
the use of the
Chorus
the
significance of the recounting of Falstaff's death Romances: The Winter's Tale
art vs. nature time: its effects and
representations Leontes' jealousy reconciliation: its
importance and meaning the renewal that comes from
time and journeys an allegorical
interpretation thematic importance for the
"feel" of the play: resolute womanhood; justice and personal conventional vs.
non-conventional characterization The statue of Hermiones as illustrative of static love, reawakened desires, and "haunting memories" The duality of double-casting and its affects upon the audience Love, jealousy, and desire: differences and influences with regard to Faculty Psychology
The Tempest the importance of
reconciliation nature vs. art the importance of magic:
"white" magic vs. "black" magic social significances of the
characters, esp. Caliban the Old World vs. the New Prospero as stage manager,
as providential figure |
|
This page maintained by Wayne Narey; suggestions and comments appreciated--please contact wnarey@astate.edu |