Hamlet Paper Topics                 Back to Literature Links

    These topics are great places to start, but they are still only suggestions. Hamlet is so rich and diverse that you could spend years coming up with new things to say and write about it. In all cases, though, no matter what you decide, you MUST QUOTE LIBERALLY. Papers about this play that only summarize are nearly useless. Unless you can show where your ideas come from and what they're based on, we have no reason to believe you.

1. Is Hamlet "mad"?

   This is a risky topic because it's been done so many times before. However, should you choose it, you should know that you will have to dig deep to avoid the obvious. His scene with Polonius and his statement to Horatio are just the tip of the iceberg. Should you limit yourself to such superficial areas as that, you are assured a poor grade. Lots of research and careful looking around should yield riper fruit, though.

2. The "timelessness" of Hamlet

    This play has been performed and filmed almost without break for nearly 400 years. It is Shakespeare's most enduring play, and it has been set in every time and place from 10th century Denmark to 20th century corporate America. What is it about this play that keeps audiences coming back year after year, seeing new things in it with every generation? Film and stage review might be very helpful here.

3. Appearance vs. Reality

    Every time "Hamlet" steps on stage he is an actor. Yet the character is fascinated with actors and with performance. The players who show up are actors playing actors, who in turn play a king and queen in a performance for Claudius and Gertrude, who are actors playing a king and queen. Hamlet makes references to "acting mad," and there are plentiful references to makeup that change who we are or appear to be. Explore this fascinating and complicated topic.

4. Revenge of Fortinbras, Hamlet, and Laertes

   Each of these three is a son who loses a father. Each has a different motive for revenge and a different way of going about it. Compare the three revenge themes that they present and draw some conclusions about how they are alike and different. We need quotes here, not just dry summaries!!

5. Revenge Plays in general and Hamlet in particular

    The revenge play is an ancient and frequently done form. Seneca, whom Polonius mentions, worked in this genre, and when audiences watched Hamlet they were well aware that this type of play had a set format and formula. Research what the classic revenge play was all about and compare Hamlet to the type. In what ways does it fit and not fit the mold?

6. Presentation of women

   The only two women in this play, Ophelia and Gertrude, are distinctly different personalities. Their roles in relation to the men, however, are fascinating and complex. Study whether these two women are realistic, whether they are independent and strong or whether they define themselves entirely in terms of the men in their lives, and what their relationship to each other is. Getting the opinions of some feminist critics will be very helpful here.

7. Hamlet's view of women

    Hamlet has some powerful scenes with Ophelia and with Gertrude. In other scenes he talks about them at length. Pick either or both of these women and analyze Hamlet's relationship with her (them), concentrating on whether HIS opinion and expectations are realistic or based on something else entirely.

8. Deep analysis of a key scene

    Many of the scenes in this play are crucial to the whole structure of the work. Such scenes are Hamlet's confrontation with Ophelia in Act III, the play within a play in Act III, and the gravedigger scene in Act V. There are, of course, others. Pick one of these critical scenes and analyze carefully what's going on, how the characters are developing, and how this particular scene is important to the development of the story as a whole. You will NEED to do some outside research on this, and if you merely write a summary of the action, you will get a C or a D.

9. Effects of and reasons for the comic scenes

    Most of Shakespeare's great tragedies contain at least a little comic relief. But Hamlet is FULL of comic scenes. Polonius is very often the source of laughter, and there are clever and joking scenes throughout--notably the gravediggers and Osric. Examine Shakespeare's use of comedy, the TYPE of humor he favors here, its placement in the play, and its function in the scene where we find it. Is there a pattern, or is Shakespeare just adding humor?

10. Hamlet in performance

   This play has been produced, staged, filmed, performed, read, etc. thousands of times. In the 20th century alone, over 80 filmed versions of it have been made. Get hold of as many performances on video as you can and compare the performance, staging, gestures, costumes, etc. of one major scene. Explain through this scene how the actors conceived of their characters, whether one was more realistic or better than the others, etc. Film review would be very helpful here!

11. Ophelia + Laertes = Hamlet

   Some have said that Ophelia's dreamy introspection and tendency to go mad combine with Laertes's powerful revenge motive and grand physical actions to create the character of Hamlet. Examine what characteristics the prince shares with these two, and decide if this theory has some merit or if it is just so much hot air.

12. Horatio--the rock

   Horatio is by far the most stable character in the play. Analyze his role, both as an actor and as Hamlet's friend. Examine how he is a constant in this play, and note particularly that he appears in both the first scene of the drama and the last. Is this an accident?

13. "Something's rotten in the state of Denmark"

   Something is indeed rotten, but is it what Hamlet thinks it is? Examine the idea that the entire country is diseased and that there is one individual who is poisoning the nation. It obviously is Claudius--the poisoner of the dead king. But is it perhaps Hamlet? Could Claudius be right when he characterizes Hamlet as a "hectic in [his] blood"? Is Denmark better off with one or both of these men?