S/LI/292. Kate Chopin's Ophelia in "The Awakening"

The paper analyses the novel "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin comparing its main character Edna to Shakespeare's Ophelia, from "Hamlet". The theme of suicide by drowning in both heroines is examined arguing that in spite of the difference of their personal characteristics both are victims of hypocrisy and the double system of morality.

S/LI/148. Compare the cinematic treatment of the same scene in two or more different filmed versions of a Shakespearean play. What can be learnt from such a comparison?

This paper examines the various methods adopted by film directors as they attempt to adapt Shakespeare to the screen. By exploring the cinematic treatment of Romeo & Juliet in the Baz Luhrman and Franco Franco Zeffirelli adaptations of the play the essay seeks to question to what extent the camera is able to capture the essence of the play. It highlights the cinematic techniques involved in the filmmaking process to illustrate two different versions of the play can be fashioned.

P/LI/73. Shylock: portrayal of outsider in ShakespeareÌs comedies

The paper analyses the genres within ShakespeareÌs comedies focusing on attitudes to the ËoutsideÌ characters ranging from contempt to sympathy and thus balancing between comedy and tragedy. The intricate character of Shylock in ËThe Merchant of VeniceÌ is analysed discussing his ËothernessÌ among the Christian characters of the play.

S/LI/134. Explore the Dramatisation of Love and Courtship in As You Like It

This essay discusses Shakespeare's exploration of Love and Courtship in his pastoral comedy, 'As You Like It'. It examines the main character, Rosalind, and her rejection of the stereotypical Elizabethan heroine prototype. As well as studying certain relevant areas of the text in greater detail, the essay discusses rhetoric, juxtaposition and common beliefs of the time.

S/LI/127. What does it mean to turn politics into theatre in Shakespeare's drama?

This paper examines Shakespeare's approach to depicting politics. It compares the plays Julius Caesar and King Richard II, highlighting the essential theatricality of political rhetoric in the former (as representation of a democracy), whilst underlining the inherent difficulties in making theatre out of the non-democratic (as represented by the militaristic Richard II). Particular emphasis is placed on the funeral scene in Julius Caesar. The essay illustrates that literature depicting the politics of an 'advanced' society must paradoxically be blatantly theatrical if it is to be realistic. Critical work by Greenblatt and Bakhtin is cited.

S/LI/125. With reference to at least two Shakespeare plays, discuss the representation of the relations of gender, power, authority and violence in Shakespearean drama.

This paper aims to discuss the representation of gender, power, authority and violence in Shakespeare’s plays, The Taming of the Shrew and Much Ado about Nothing. It uses specific extracts from both plays mentioned in order to support the ideas expressed. The paper focuses mostly on the two main protagonists of the Taming of the Shrew, Petrucio and Katherina. It also explores the comedic yet confusing relationship between Much Ado about Nothing's main love plot characters, Benedict and Beatrice.

P/LI/68. Characters’ identity in Shakespearian comedies

The paper examines the theme of characters’ identity in early Shakespearian comedies, i.e. ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, ‘The Comedy of Errors’, etc. discussing the outcomes of attributing the same identity to more than one character, the process of personal maturation through the confirmation of identity, etc.

S/LI/121. What is the role of the Fool in King Lear?

This first-class essay examines the role of one of Shakespeare's most intriguing characters - King Lear's 'The Fool.'This essay offers an in-depth analysis of the character itself as well as wider reference to the play as a whole. The character is a voice of truth, rationality, and satire within the tragic world of Shakespeare's greatest play. This essay elucidates the role of this enigmatic character, and facilitates an understanding of the complex nature of 'King Lear.'

S/LI/120. ‘It is the interplay not of people but of abstract with concrete which is the life of Shakespeare’s Sonnets.’ Discuss.

This essay analyses Shakespeare's treatment of key poetic themes in his Sonnet collection - Time, love, (im)mortality - as well as exploring their complex interplay. The focus is on the poetic style and technique utilised to highlight the collection's endemic abstract qualities. This essay is also placed within the relevant socio-historical context - the Elizabethan / Jacobean era.

S/LI/113. How do Shakespeare’s history plays demonstrate the politics of authority?

This essay explores the intricate relationship between authority and theatre, focussing on Shakespeare’s history plays and on their social context. The essay makes reference to Renaissance politics and theatrical context, as well as paying close attention to Shakespeare’s language and the staging of the plays.

S/LI/112. Discuss the emergence of Shakespeare’s romance plays

This essay examines Shakespeare's romances or tragicomedies, such as 'The Tempest', 'The Winter's Tale', 'Cymbeline' and 'Pericles'. The essay explores Renaissance generic divisions and the influence of Italian dramatists such as Guarini.

S/LI/111. Explore Shakespeare’s use of language in the tragedies

This essay focuses on the language of Shakespeare's tragedies. Is there such a thing as 'tragic language'? What is the critical context of the idea of 'tragedy' and of 'tragic language'? This essay references a number of critical sources, including Aristotle and Sidney, and pays close attention to formal aspects of the plays.

S/LI/110. ‘Great tragedy is that which resists history, and retains humanity.’ Assess this quotation in relation to Shakespeare's tragedies

Are Shakespeare's tragedies best understood as historical accounts or stories of real people? This essay compares the historical sources with Shakespeare's tragedies, and assesses the importance of humanity and human elements such as family. The essay also examines what makes a tragedy, and whether Shakespeare's more 'human' tragedies, such as 'Othello', deviate from Holinshed's idea of tragedy.

S/LI/109. Why are the ‘problem plays’ problematic and is it possible to make sense of them?

This essay examines Shakespeare's so-called 'problem plays' - their mixture of tragedy and comedy, their metatheatricality, their similarity to other Shakespeare plays, and their refusal to conform to generic expectation. The essay also explores the critical context of theatre and genre theory, both Renaissance and contemporary.

S/LI/108. How do Shakespeare’s history plays demonstrate the politics of authority?

This essay examines the relation between theatre and political authority in Shakespeare's history plays. It assesses the rise of the chronicle history play during the reign of James I, and explores the relationship between the questioning of monarchical authority on and off stage. The essay also examines the portrayal of leadership in the history plays, with close textual reference.

S/LI/107. How can we understand the generic divisions and deviations of Shakespeare’s plays?

This essay examines Renaissance genre theory in relation to Shakespeare's plays, and assesses Shakespeare's use of genre, albeit rebellion against generic divisions or metatheatrical awareness of genre. The essay references the Folios, the sources of Shakespeare's plays, and a wide range of contemporary and Renaissance critics. It also examines the social and theatrical context in which the plays were produced.

P/LI/63. Interpretation of Shakespeare’s ‘The Tempest’

The paper analyses the Shakespeare’s play The Tempest focusing on the characterization of slaves and masters, the theme of inter-dependency, etc. The interpretations of the play’s ambiguities and The Tempest rewriting are discussed.

S/LI/78. ‘Shakespeare has the disturbing power to solicit our complicity and sympathy with sentiments and personalities that are corrupting and vicious.’ Discuss

This paper discusses Shakespeare's ability to create complex multi-faceted characters, focusing mainly on his villainous types, namely Iago from 'Othello' and Shylock from 'The Merchant of Venice'. It also makes reference to Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and Prospero from the 'Tempest' briefly. It explores how and why we as an audience sympathise with rather than abhor Shylock and Iago and furthermore illustrates our complicity in the sentiments they perpetrate such as vengeance and manipulation. In conclusion, Shakespeare's characters are truly human and so confuse and compound our own moral matrices.

P/LI/55. Images of monarchs in Shakespearian plays

The paper examines the theme of monarch power in Shakespeare’s plays focusing on the images of Richard II and Henry IV. Shakesperian Richard’s obsession with ‘royal conduct’ and Henry’s rejection of ‘old order’ are analysed and examined in historical context.

P/LI/44. Women in Shakespearian and modern times (socio-literary analysis)

The paper analyses the play “The Merchant of Venice” by William Shakespeare comparing it to the play “Shylock” by Arnold Wesker along the lines of the female protagonists. The differences between the role of women in Elizabethan England of the 16th century and the role of women in the 20th century are discussed.

P/LI/39. Marriage in Shakespeares comedies

The paper discusses the issues of marriage reflected in Shakespearian comedies analyzing its place in the development of the plot and comic structures. Opinions are reviewed on the nature of mens and womens desires, social and romantic functions of marriage, and other topics raised by Shakespeare arguing whether he created new values for the society.

S/LI/34. Write a detailed analysis of one scene in Henry V and comment on how Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh interpret the scene in question.

This essay looks at Act IV, Scene 7 of Shakespeare's play Henry V, and considers the difference in interpretation (stylistically, politically, etc) by both Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier's film versions.

S/LI/33. Staging the court scene in Shakespeares The Merchant of Venice (IV.1)

This essays looks at the court scene in Shakespeare's play The Merchant of Venice, considering issues of characterisation, race and gender and the various interpretations performers and directors have chosen in the play's staging history.

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