Topics for the Research Project

When you are asked to do a research paper for a class there is a natural tendency to write on a work that you have read and discussed recently.  After all, it's easier to write on something you know about.  The danger with that, of course, is that everyone in the class will then write on the same topics, all the useful books will disappear from the library, and your teacher will get bored reading the same paper over and over again. If you choose to write on a play (as opposed to biography, theatrical history and the like), I encourage you to write on one(s) that come later in the semester.  Remember, by the time you get to the serious work of researching and writing the class may have covered or is covering your play.  Remember, too, that the purpose of doing research is to learn about something that you know little or nothing about.  Use this project as an opportunity to strike out into uncharted territory and learn something new.   Possible topics: Theater history of the representation of a single character (for example, Petruccio, Don John, Beatrice and Benedick, Henry V, Henry VIII, Bertram, Parolles, King Lear, Cordelia, the 3 witches, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Imogen, Prospero, Caliban). Theater history of the representation of a single critical episode in a play (for example, Katherine's speech on marriage at the end of Shrew, the rejection of Hero, King Henry V meets the three soldiers, King Henry V meets Katherine, Helena cures the King, King Lear and the Fool, the banquet in Macbeth, the masque in The Tempest).  Source analysis of a single play or character, especially Shrew, Henry V (character and play), The Tempest, R&J, WT, Errors, Lear .  Colonialism in The Tempest. Boy actors on the stage. Patronage and the economics of plays. Costuming. Anti-theatrical discourse. Drama as literature; what is the "function" of drama. The profession of acting The profession of playwrighting Who was Shakespeare's audience The Shakespearean play and political spectacle Acting styles in Shakespeare's day The wild man in The Tempest. The clown in 2Gentlemen, Errors, 1H4, AYLI, 12N, Lear, Ado, M for M, Tempest. Brothers not playing nicely together (Much Ado, Hamlet, Tempest, As You Like It, Richard III) Plays within plays/ metatheatrical elements (i.e., how is life like a play?).   Especially good for Shrew, Dream, 1 Henry IV, Hamlet. Representation of women. Representation of kings. English nationalism (consider not just the histories, but also Lear, Macbeth, and Cymbeline) Fathers and daughters (esp. Shrew, AYLI, Mer., Othello, Hamlet, Tempest, Cymbeline, Pericles, WT, Lear) . Daughters and suitors. Tension between social responsibility and personal interest (e.g., being a soldier vs. being a lover): 1 and 2H4, T&C, Othello, Tempest, AWEL, M for M, A and C. Representation of Shakespeare in film. Friendship vs. love (Mer, 2Gentlemen, MND, LLL, Ado). The Great Chain of Being/ the Idea of Order (Shrew, all history plays, Lear, Macbeth). The Shakespeare authorship question The presence of comedy in a play largely tragic or historical. The presence of tragedy in a play largely comic. Genre study: how is one of these plays typical or atypical of the tragedies, comedies, or histories of the period. Festive Comedy (MND, 12N, 1H4, LLL, Mer, AYLI) The influence of the idea of monarchy and rule Some aspect of theater history (e.g., representation of women, the clown tradition).   As you can see, there are lots and these only a few of the many possible topics.   Pick one (or more) and run them past me asap and we'll work out a plan.

 

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