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Cranston High School West Library: Jones - Hamlet

Hamlet Research Paper Topics

Analyze one of the following topics through the text of Hamlet and research outside sources to provide evidence for your well-developed thesis.

1. Death and the decay of Denmark

  • What is the cause?
  • What are the effects?
  • Determine Shakespeare’s use of the “ripple effect” and how it results in tragedy.

2. Passion vs, reason

  • Incestuous desires
  • Passion of young love
  • How does passion result in lack of reason in the character’s choices throughout the play?

3. Deception: Appearance vs. reality

  • Characters who spy
  • Characters who put up phony deception and behavior
  • Lying and manipulation
  • Shakespeare’s use of deception force the downward spiral of Denmark

4. Existence – how should one’s legacy come to be?

  • Hamlet’s constant questioning of one’s role on the Earth
  • “To be or not to be”
  • Gravedigger scene questioning all walks of life
  • How should we value life when we are all mortal?

5. HAMLET

  • Explore his complexity
  • Analyze his flaws and shortcomings
  • Analyze his intelligence
  • Is Hamlet admirable?

Feel free to analyze another topic of choice to be approved by teacher

MLA Format for Parenthetical (In-Text) Citations for Plays

The format for parenthetical (in-text) ciatations is as follows:

(Name of Play Act number.scene number.line numbers)

(Hamlet 5.1.5-12)

My Bib

MyBib Instructions

Directions for creating a Works Cited page in MyBib

  1. Create or log into your account
  2. Start New Project
  3. Name the Project
  4. Add Citations (+Citations)
  • Website
  • Copy and paste URL
  • Click on website result
  • Try to find missing or incorrect information in website article
  • Click “Save”
  • Book with one Author
  • Click Book Tab
  • Type in ISBN number
  • Click on correct title
  • Click “Save”
  • Chapter in a Book
  • Find under “More”
  • Choose “Book Chapter”
  • Fill in information
  • Click "Save"
  • Database/E-Book articles
  • Copy formatted citation from database
  • Find under “More”
  • Choose Write/paste
  • Paste
  • Click “Save”
  1. When you are finished adding all citations 
  2. “Download Bibliography”
  3. Download to Google Drive
  4. Copy and paste the Works Cited page into your paper

Youtube Video - MLA format with Google Docs

Hamlet Research Books in West Library

Hamlet ISBN

9780134354590

Bloom's Literature

No login needed from school. Off campus? Email sevje@cpsed.net for password.

Literature Resource Center

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Off campus? Email sevje@cpsed.net for password.

 

Gale eBooks

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Off campus? Email sevje@cpsed.net for password.

Psychology Collection

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Off campus? Email sevje@cpsed.net for password.

 

EBSCO Databases

No login needed from school.

Off campus? Click here and scroll down for EBSCO.