Coming Up With Interesting Term Paper Ideas On HamletÂ
If you have been tasked with writing a term paper on Hamlet, you may be a bit unsure of how to begin deciding upon a topic. For starters, you can review the example topics below. You can write on any of the following topics:
- Compare or contrast Hamlet’s character to other characters like Claudius or Horatio. Write about the different challenges they face and how they each respond to those challenges.
- Some people criticize the plot and state that the inability of the prince to act is really his tragic flaw which leads to his demise. Do you agree with this point of view of the plot or do you think another possibility for the outcome of the play might be plausible given the situation and the character of Hamlet?
- There are claims that Hamlet is faking his madness throughout the play, and yet his portrayal is convincing for many readers. Do you believe that he actually slips into insanity or that he was faking it? Provide examples to support either decision.
Whatever you choose, you want it to be something you are passionate about, and ideally, something you already know a bit about. If you already know a bit about the topic, you will save yourself a great deal of time trying to research rudimentary information for your background portion of the final piece. If you are passionate about your topic, it will show through your writing. You will find that the research and organization of your paper becomes decidedly easier and that you actually enjoy writing on the topic.
You should review your textbook and look over any particular notes you have from your class so that you can find something that was interesting to you during the course of your lecture but what you were unable to really expound upon or learn more about it the time. Think back to any news articles you have read or any magazines that you have read recently for information about your class or something relevant to your topic.
For more suggestions, look over writing guides which contain samples of each type of essay you will encounter during the course of your academic career. These might have sample topics on Hamlet that you can use. In some cases you can check these books out of your school library and bring them home so that you have them as a resource while you work. In other cases you cannot check them out but you can still photocopy the necessary and relevant pages so that you have a tangible copy on which to take notes at home.