Argumentative thesis statements for hamlet

Assignment Requirements

Shakespeare’ Hamlet

Requirements:

· Must be a three-point enumeration paper

· Must be in MLA format

· Must be third-person pronouns (no second-person “you” or any of its forms. Do not use first-person pronouns, for example I, we, us, etc.) If you do not know your pronouns, look them up.

· Must be free of grammar and spelling mistakes. Pay attention to your spell and grammar check.

· Must have a central, controlling idea (argumentative thesis) and three main points that you will elaborate upon in the essay.

· Must be fully developed ideas

· Must use quotes from the play to support your points.

· Must have at least two outside sources to support your position/points, in addition to the quotes from the text itself.

· You may follow the example that I posted for the short story. It is a three-point enumeration also.

Hamlet Essay Topics

Below are possible essay topics that you might find helpful. You do not have to use these, but they may help you if you are struggling with finding a topic. Please remember that this is a three-point enumeration essay, and you need two outside, scholarly sources to support your argument, along with quotes from the text.

Topics:

I have posed the following topics in the form of a question because your response to the question will be the thesis statement. You would then find three points in the play that support your argument and develop those within the body of the essay.

· Does Hamlet’s inability to act and tendency toward melancholy reflect a tragic flaw that leads to his demise?

· How does Horatio’s steadfastness and loyalty contrast with Hamlet’s variability and excitability, although they both love learning, reason, and thought? Does this help define Hamlet’s personality for good or bad?

· How does Claudius’ lack of morals and ruthless ambition contrast against Hamlet’s always searching for the moral high ground before ever reacting to a situation? Would Hamlet’s moral character help make him a better king?

· Throughout the play, Hamlet claims to be feigning madness, but his portrayals of a madman is so intense and so convincing that many readers believe that Hamlet actually slips into insanity at certain moments in the play. Do you think this is true, or is Hamlet merely play-acting insanity?

· Think about Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia. Is he justified in his ill treatment of her? Does he love her? Does he stop loving her? Did he ever love her? What evidence can you find in the play to support your opinion?

· How does Hamlet’s friendship with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern compare to his friendship with Horatio

· Analyze the use of descriptions and images in Hamlet. How does Shakespeare use descriptive language to enhance the visual possibilities of a stage production? How does he use imagery to create a mood of tension, suspense, fear, and despair?

· Analyze the use of comedy in Hamlet, paying particular attention to the gravediggers, Osric, and Polonius. Does comedy serve merely to relieve the tension of the tragedy, or do the comic scenes serve a more serious thematic purpose as well?

· Death is a constant presence in this play. Does Hamlet's speech to Yorick's skull represent a philosophy of death? How does his attitude toward death differ from that of the gravediggers?

· Does the text hold up to a Freudian reading of Hamlet's relationship with his mother? How does Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia support, complicate or work against an Oedipal interpretation of the play?

· "To be or not to be" is the famous question that Hamlet poses in Act Three, Scene One. Explore this speech. What does he mean by this famous question? What events of the play prompt this speech?

· Can a healthy state be presided over by a corrupt ruler? Shakespeare draws frequent comparisons between the moral legitimacy of a leader and the health of a state. Is Denmark's monarchy responsible for the demise of the state in this play?

· Compare and contrast the characters of Hamlet and Fortinbras. Is Fortinbras a valuable character in his own right or does he serve only to highlight aspects of Hamlet's personality? Will he be a better king than either Claudius or Hamlet?

Requirements - - once again:

Requirements:

· Must be a three-point enumeration paper

· Must be in MLA format

· Must be third-person pronouns (no second-person “you” or any of its forms. Do not use first-person pronouns, for example I, we, us, etc.) If you do not know your pronouns, look them up.

· Must be free of grammar and spelling mistakes. Pay attention to your spell and grammar check.

· Must have a central, controlling idea (argumentative thesis) and three main points that you will elaborate upon in the essay.

· Must be fully developed ideas

· Must use quotes from the play to support your points.

· Must have at least two outside sources to support your position/points, in addition to the quotes from the text itself.

· You may follow the example that I posted for the short story. It is a three-point enumeration also.

· You may also refer to this web link to Purdue University’s owlatpurdue link. It shows a correctly formatted MLA style essay. https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/

Hans Christian Anderson’s The Little Mermaid is a tale of woman trying to become something she is not and can never be. The Little Mermaid wants to become human and to do so, a witch tells her that a human man must fall in love with her so that his soul would then cover hers. The price the witch requires her to make to become human is for the Little Mermaid to lose her beautiful voice. Not only does the Little Mermaid sacrifice her voice, but at the end when the prince falls in the love with another, she sacrifices her life. Although Anderson was unaware of what he was doing since feminist criticism did not exist during his time, he, nevertheless reinforces the concept of the 19th century’s ideas of femininity, which was that a woman’s worth was tied to her being married, silent, and also self-sacrificing. Comment by Computer Services: Hook Comment by Computer Services: Background Comment by Computer Services: thesis (argument) Comment by Computer Services: point one Comment by Computer Services: point two Comment by Computer Services: point three

II. First Point: (second paragraph)

1. Restate your point: A woman’s worth is determined by her being married.

2. Develop your idea in your own words.

3. Find a quote from the story and outside resource to support your idea. (You

may bring the quotes in where they are needed in the paragraph.)

4. Conclude and wrap-up your point.

III. Second Point: (third paragraph)

1. Restate your second point: A woman must be silent

2. Develop your idea in your own words.

3. Find a quote from the story and outside resource to support your idea. (You

may bring the quotes in where they are needed in the paragraph.)

4. Conclude and wrap-up your point.

IV. Third Point: (fourth paragraph)

1. Restate your second point: A woman must be self-sacrificing

2. Develop your idea in your own words.

3. Find a quote from the story and outside resource to support your idea. (You

may bring the quotes in where they are needed in the paragraph.)

4. Conclude and wrap-up your point.

V. Conclusion

Tie up your points and thesis by restating them in a different way.

*By following this outline, you can write your essay and stay focused. Remember that the thesis paragraph is the roadmap of your paper. After you write your essay, reread it to make sure that your thesis paragraph and your essay match. If not, it is easier to change and adapt your thesis paragraph than rewrite your essay.