There are three options for your Final Paper, which is due on Tuesday, December 17 at midnight (submitted by e-mail to kwalsh36@fordham.edu).

1. The "Hamlet in Adaptation" assignment described below.

2. A 5-7 page paper on Hamlet on a topic of your choice.  Please consult with me before taking this route.

3. A 5-7 page paper on a topic of your choice related to the course in some way (ie. it doesn't have to be about Hamlet at all).  Again, please consult with me before taking this route).

Essay Assignment: Hamlet in Adaptation

Your assignment: Write an essay of 5-7 pages tracing one significant theme from Shakespeare’s original play into an adaptation of your choice.  For instance, you might write about how the theme of marriage is re-worked in Hamlet 2, or how the theme of friendship is shown in a new light in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.  What do you think the creator of your adaptation is trying to say about this theme? 

Some of the themes you might consider include (but are not limited to) the following:

            Revenge                      Madness                      Marriage                      Misogyny                Religion

            Theatricality                Acting                           Fate & Free Will         Friendship

            Fathers and Sons         Mothers and Sons       Fathers and Daughters               Mourning

You may choose an adaptation of Hamlet in any genre.  An adaptation might be a film version of the play, or it might be a work that spins off from Hamlet in some way, such as the movie Hamlet 2.   Some examples of good choices include (but are not limited to):

Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (you should have a copy of the play, and the entire film is available on Youtube.  Remember, of course, that the play and the film are different works of art, so you may write about either one of them as Hamlet adapations, or write a comparison of the two of them as Hamlet adaptations, but please do remember that they are not synonymous with each other).

Andrew Fleming, director, Hamlet 2 (on reserve at Walsh library)

Laurence Olivier, director/star, Hamlet

Franco Zeffirelli, director, Hamlet (starring Mel Gibson) (on reserve at Walsh Library)

Kenneth Branagh, director/star, Hamlet

Michael Almereyda, director, Hamlet (starring Ethan Hawke) (on reserve at Walsh Library)

The BBC/ Royal Shakespeare Company Production (starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart) (on reserve at Walsh Library)

Please remember: if you are using a particular adaptation, you will need to watch it closely and make references to specific scenes and quote specific lines.  It won't be sufficient to simply draw on memories of having seen an adaptation.  Some of the versions, as noted above, will be available on Reserve at Walsh Library. If you would like to write about a different Hamlet adaptation, one that is not on reserve, you will be responsible for obtaining a copy of it.  Of course, you are also welcome to write about Tom Stoppard's play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, which you should all have a copy of.  Let me know if you have any questions about obtaining adaptations, or if a work you have in mind "counts" as an adaptation of Hamlet.