Shakespeare Essay Prompt
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Shakespeare Essay 2000-3000 words DUE NOVEMBER 30
(11am in class, hard copy, accompanied by you. Plan ahead.)
Option 1
Analyse a film of any play on the syllabus. You are looking at production as interpretation. You are not reviewing the films. Both pure films and performance records are eligible. The production histories in the back of the Signet editions may suggest the kind of thing to say and in some instances may comment on the films you have seen. The films must constitute a performance of Shakespeares text, not just his plot. The film must constitute a performance of Shakespeares text in Shakespeares words, not just his plot. One exception: Akira Kurasawas adaptations have a considerable interest as cross cultural views of Shakespeares narratives by a director of genius.
Confirm your choice with me.
Option 2
Psychological approaches to Hamlet. This project requires a review of psychological approaches to the play and a judgment about what is most helpful.
Option 3
Look at the commentary on class and gender in one of the comedies on the syllabus and construct an analysis of the particular stance of the play. You will need to use some of the other plays as context. Analysis of this kind is abundant, but you will need a strong body of textual evidence and a more sophisticated understanding of the context than “In days of yore, women had no rights.”
Remember that this is a formal paper and thus requires citation. That of course means that a Works Cited page is included.
Document sources of quotations and ideas in MLA format.
Your easiest first access to incisive scholarly work is through the selections in the Signet Editions. These essays will give you an idea of the level of sophistication that is useful in a literary essay. The internet is not often a useful source for an essay of this kind and often tempts the weak to folly.
Preserve line endings in verse quotations of three lines or more and quote the plays by act, scene and lines, not page number.
The essay should make its point, not just promise to do so.
No “This paper will discuss..”
No “In order to discuss this topic, it is first necessary to”