Monday 8 November 2010

Proposed essay title and planning

Opening section, to include the following:

Title:
How does Hamlet's sense of timing contribute to the tragedy of the play?

Introduction: Opening paragraph outlining the aims of the essay (In this essay, I will be examining ect.), noting 3 - 4 'key points' that I will pay particular attention to. 50 -100 words.

Middle section. To include the following:

Possible points to cover: Look at 3-4 'key points' that will be used as example evidence and to justify my answer to the question. Using one paragraph per point. 1000 - 1200 words for this section, with 300 - 400 words per point/paragraph. Some examples of 'key points' that could be included in the essay are as follows:
  • Constantly delaying his plans to kill Claudius - is this wise? or tragic because he always finds excuses?
  • Sudden decision to kill Polonius, without hesitation - the outcomes of this? does not look good for Hamlet... (act 3 scene 4)
  • Decides not to kill Claudius when he has a clear opportunity right in front of him - wise? or being scared? (act 3 scene 3)
  • the Ghost has to re-appear to remind him of what he should be doing - because he is being sloppy with the task he set for him? (act 3 scene 4)
  • "That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain". Hamlet wants to wait until he has evidence he can use against Claudius before murdering him. Does not know if the ghost is being truthful. Should he have just gone ahead and killed Claudius asap? Should he just accept the fact that the ghost is his farther? Is he being wise by waiting for evidence? (act 1 scene 5)
  • (Act 2 scene 2) King's summary on Hamlet's madness "Something have you heard of Hamlet's transformation...More than his father's death, that thus hath put him so much from th'understanding of himself I cannot dream of" - suggests some time has passed and Hamlet is still behaving madly, long enough for the King to start suspecting something - this puts Hamlet in trouble?
Throughout this section, I will also offer how each key point is relevant to my question with justification (e.g. this is shaping towards tragedy because ect.).

Conclusion:

Offer my overall answer to the question. Use points covered and quotations to support this. Using the final sentences, give an overall summary to the question (e.g. But looked at through this way, it was clear that his timing ect.). 200 - 300 words.

1 comment:

  1. Good planning. With the new title you can now begin to closely apply these ideas and develop them in your answer.

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