ENG 102 Drama Assignment
Prof. Connell • Department of English & Humanities • June, 2006
The Drama Assignment--the second evaluation listed on your Syllabus
Pick one--and only one--of the following questions and write a short paper which is three pages, typewritten or word processed, double spaced, according to the format in your syllabus. Use the information gathered in class discussion and quotes from the text to illuminate your presentations. This assignment is due on the date listed in they Syllabus, unless I change it in class.
• To thine own self be true. How can Hamlet be true to himself and remain true to the ghost's wishes? Use the information gathered in class discussion and quotes from the text to illuminate your presentation. Does Hamlet follow his bliss? If he follows the ghost's wishes, will he be living the programmatic life? Is Hamlet "ready" for this adventure?
• Integrity in Hamlet. Most of the characters in the play, except Horatio, are eventually either seduced or "bought out" by Claudius (and his minion, Polonius) to spy upon Hamlet. Images of corruption, spying, and decay multiply as the play goes on. Everybody is working for Claudius, it would seem. What does this mean? "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." If you were Hamlet, who would you trust?
• The death of love in Hamlet. Hamlet's love for Ophelia is strangled in the cradle by the poisoned atmosphere of the Royal House of Denmark? What happens in the play to kill it? Illustrate Shakespeare's uses of spying, lying, and madness to show how love cannot thrive in this corrupt atmosphere. You may want to mention Claudius and Gertrude as "role models."
• The role of fate in Oedipus the King. Is Oedipus a self-made man? Where does he make you think that? What does he think of fortune-telling and destiny. what does Jocasta think of oracles? Where do they both say things that show how they feel about this? Does Oedipus have free will? How can he be free and still be subject to the dictates of fate? Is he responsible for his actions?
• Tragic blindness. In Oedipus the King, Sophocles uses images of blindness and unseeing to create an ironic (and even sometimes funny) mystery. Discuss where and how these are most effective.
• "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." The play, Hamlet, becomes more imbued with images of corruption, madness, and decay as it progresses: dirty jokes, Ophelia's madness, the absurdity of existence, images of death and rottenness, the political corruption of the court. The corruption seeps from the top downward. Claudius' murdering of the old king begins a chain of events that dooms his kingdom. This is especially evident in the Branagh version of the movie. Illustrate these with choice quotes or scenes and discuss their significance.
• The self-made man. In the 21st Century, "self-made" is a compliment. During Sophocles' and Shakespeare's times, self-made men could be pushy upstarts who didn't know their place. Both authors view the "new" man, or the "self-made man" as the vehicle of disruption. Claudius and Oedipus may outshine lesser men with their political dexterity or ability to solve riddles, but they have upset the balance of things, and no matter how likeable or pitiable they are, the order of the universe has to be restored. Besides, Oedipus wasn't really "self-made," or was he?