HAMLET ESSAY ASSIGNMENT on Different Speech Patterns for Different Characters
Due date for final, revised essay: Sun. Nov. 6 uploaded to Turnitin.com
Essay Question:
To what extent does Shakespeare give different characters in Hamlet different speech patterns and what are the advantages to the actors, audience, and themes? Compare and Contrast the speech patterns of two different characters (or one character in private vs. in public).
Write a 3 to 5 page essay on how different speech patterns are given to two different characters in Hamlet. This assignment requires that you intensely focus on language, which you will analyze microscopically and discuss precisely for patterns: repetition of words or types of words, predominance of certain parts of speech (command forms of verbs, questions?), patterns of syntax (how words are ordered), compliance to iambic pentameter—minute details of patterns of language. These careful analyses of language are to be used as direct evidence to support a clear, fresh, bold claim about how and why Shakespeare gives two different characters two different types of speech. (Also, how is this differentiation of language between characters useful to actors, to the audience, and to the play’s themes?)
Hamlet
How do Hamlet’s speech patterns reflect the way he thinks (about life, suicide, his parents, revenge, etc.)? What specific features of his language show the equivocation and indecisiveness he feels? How is his language a window into how he thinks? Do the language patterns change as the play proceeds? Does Hamlet have different speech patterns in his soliloquies versus in his conversations with Claudius or Horatio? What patterns show up when he is performing for others? What patterns does he use when acting mad? When engaged in wordplay? When speaking to women? Can you reveal two sides to his character that are reflected in language? Narrow your focus. Analyze examples. (Hint: Frame your own narrow question.)
Claudius (What speech patterns reflect Claudius’s character: Ruthless ambition, authoritative, dominating, self-serving, self-absorbed (“we ourself”), at times vulnerable and feeling guilty). Can you reveal two sides to his character that are reflected in language (as when praying)?
Gertrude (What characteristics does Gertrude have and how are they borne out in her words?)
Polonius (What are his dominant characteristics and how are they reflected in how he talks? Does he alter his speech patterns when with Claudius versus with his children?)
What vs. HOW: Part of this assignment is also to investigate the link between ‘What is Said’ (content) and ‘How it’s said’ (Language). Consider how a paraphrase of a speech is not a good substitute. (You can use this as an example in your essay.) Explain that the “How” (or Style) actually influences our understanding of the “What” (or content).
Questions to get started:
1. How is Hamlet’s language different when alone or with others? What does this provide the actor with?
2. How is Hamlet’s language different from Claudius’s language? What does each reflect about the inner person? About legitimacy to be king?
3. How do different language patterns give the actors an advantage even before they start working on the lines? How does it help enhance the characters and the themes for the audience?
PLAN BEFORE YOU WRITE
[] 0. Start Early! Don’t begin the day before. Work a little every day. Make a plan, an outline, and a rough draft. Go to the Writing Lab for feedback.
[] 1. Choose your two characters (or one with two sides to him or her). List personal characteristics of each that may be reflected in the way each talks or thinks. Does either character have two modes of speaking?
________________________________ _________________________________
[] 2. Find representative language for each character and analyze the best passages in some detail. What does the language suggest about who they are? (see 3 below)
___________________________________ _________________________________
[] 3. How do you think the language reflects the personality of each of your chosen figures?
_______________________________ _________________________________
[] 4. Craft a title and a thesis statement. Experiment with the following format: “While at first it might appear that X and Y speak ___, close examination reveals that each uses speech that reflects _____.” Consider tacking on a very short second thesis to clarify the long one that begins “In short.”
___________________________________ _________________________________
[] 5. Begin writing your outline, introduction, and topic sentences so that when you sit down to type, you are well begun.
[] 6. As you continue writing, look at how each example can do more than just supply evidence, but rather can help you develop new insights that develop your thesis claim.
[] 7. Save plenty of time to proofread, use proper MLA documentation, change words, etc.
Notes on writing essays:
- Opening: Be direct. Introduce your topic quickly. Catch our interest.
- In your thesis say something surprising.
- Analyze quotes, don’t just quote them. Integrate quotes into your prose
- MLA header: No page number on page 1, last name, space, page number starting page two in the header
- Use a two-part title with a catchy phrase, a colon, and the name of the work or author mentioned. Give away your best idea in the title, your main point.
- Don’t underline or italicize your title, only the novel’s.
- Use proper MLA punctuation” (Smith 22). Period after parenthesis, quote marks before, no comma or “p” before page number.
- Develop your main idea: don’t just repeat it and give examples of it. Say more about your ideas as the examples are discussed.
- Narrow your topic or main idea: cover less territory in 3-5 pages, but more in depth.
- Topic sentences: first sentence of paragraph makes a claim (not an example) that predicts the main topic for the entire paragraph.
- Use paragraphing effectively.
- Make closing sentences of paragraphs sum up the paragraph’s main idea or link back to the developing thesis idea or transition to the next paragraph’s idea.
- Write a conclusion that reminds us of your best ideas and examples but also goes beyond, hinting at some of the implications of what you’ve shown us.
- Avoid comma splices, they join two sentences by a comma.
- Agreement (of noun and verb, or noun and pronoun: reader/their)
- A sentence fragment.
- Don’t space differently between paragraphs
- Don’t use a comma between subject and verb.
- Ellipsis is made by spaced periods. . . .
- Period after page number” (27).
- Use two hyphens--to make a dash.
- Try this structure: “At first it would appear, but. . .”
- Shorten your quotes: only use the words from the text you need to repeat.
How to Tell a Strong Thesis Sentence from a Weak One
Create a strong, arguable Thesis Statement; it is your essay’s claim, main point, or argument. Don’t write an over-general thesis statement. Instead, write an interesting and debatable claim—that is specific, not vague or general. Avoid the shotgun approach of listing several possible topics or merely announcing the topic. Narrow the focus and revise the thesis to fit what you say in the body of the essay
Show your conclusions about a subject in your thesis. (Don’t save your concluding ideas for the end.) a. A strong thesis takes some sort of stand. b. A strong thesis justifies discussion. C. A strong thesis expresses one main idea.
Readers need to be able to see that your paper has one main point. If your thesis expresses more than one idea, then you might confuse your readers about the subject of your paper. d. A strong thesis statement is specific. A thesis statement should show exactly what your paper will be about, and will help you keep your paper to a manageable topic. (See www.indiana.edu)
PLAGIARISM: Always remember: Browsing the internet or Spark Notes or Wikipedia for an overview of your text or topic can lead to intentional or unintentional plagiarism, which are treated the same way. As seniors, if caught, you would need to report suspension for academic dishonesty to your prospective colleges. Next year in college, you could be expelled from the university or put on academic probation. Rather than that, it’s always better to do your own work, even if you feel it’s not your best or you feel rushed.
When using another person's words, to avoid plagiarism one must always do both of the following: 1. provide a parenthetical citation in the text and 2. either enclose their words inside quotation marks. (Note that the intent of a plagiarist is irrelevant. It is no defense for the plagiarist to say "I forgot." or "It is only a rough draft." or "I did not know it was plagiarism.") College rules for student conduct sometimes say that plagiarism is an academic offense, not a legal offense. That statement is not completely correct. Colleges certainly have the authority to punish plagiarists in various ways, including expulsion from the college or revoking a degree earned in part by plagiarism. But plagiarism is also a legal issue. Michael Hand "earned" a Ph.D. in counseling psychology at New Mexico State University in 1982. In the Fall of 1987 an anonymous tipster sent to the University a copy two scholarly sources that Hand had plagiarized in his dissertation. In April 1988, the University rescinded the Ph.D. it had awarded to Hand. “Having someone help you write a paper (peers, tutor, writing center) is allowed as long as their contributions are not to the extent where they could reasonably be listed as a co-author. Not knowing the correct way to attribute sources is not an excuse for submitting improperly cited papers.” (from USC’s website)
