Parts I and II: Why Hamlet?

I chose to do my I-Search paper on teaching Hamlet to a high school class. I chose this topic because I know that most schools require English teachers to teach at least one Shakespeare play throughout the year. My favorite play is Romeo and Juliet, but I feel that Hamlet invites a stronger sense of analysis between scenes and I feel that this will broaden students' ideas and create a better class discussion. Although I studied this play in both high school and college, I feel that there is a lot more that I can learn about it. I feel that I need to know more about the scenes and analysis of this play because I would love to teach it in my class one day. I think that there is a possibility for many interesting projects and paper topics involved in the analysis of this play. One key thing that I thought was very interesting throughout the play was the ghost scene. This scene is particularly interesting to me and I would love to see what students think about it through discussion and final projects. Also, I feel that my research will help me learn more about the characters and how to relate to them to my students. This play contains a very diverse group of characters that I feel many students can relate to, so I would like to take this topic to the next level with my students by connecting it to personal experiences.

I feel like I need to write about this idea because it will be very helpful in my future classroom. The research I do now will help my broaden ideas for lessons and units. Also, I feel that the area of Shakespeare is very interesting. I love the language, the bawdy hidden jokes, the hidden meanings, and the complex ideas present throughout Shakespeare's writing. Also, throughout my research, I hope to find answers to my own personal questions about Shakespeare and Hamlet especially. I hope to find not only new information and ways to understand the literature, but also many new ways to teach it in my classroom. I want to find new interesting projects for the end of the unit, as well as ways to get my students involved throughout the reading, other than just picking people to read the lines. I need to know many things about this topic before I begin teaching it. Not only about the play, genre, history, and writer, but also about the things involved in the writing that most people don't recognize. In order for a teacher to teach something, they genuines need to know what their topic entails and I feel that that is where my research begins.

As I mentioned, I have studied this play in both high school and college, but never studied it in as much depth as I would have liked to. I know about the language of the play, as well as Shakespeare's life, but there is so much about these topics, that I could never be a master in it. I have also learned some of the analysis about specific parts of the play and characters, but not about every aspect. As a high school student, I thought that Shakespeare was boring and hard to understand, but I want to teach my students that it is the exact opposite of that. I want to teach them that Shakespeare can be entertaining, as well as informative about the 1600's. I would love to give them examples of how to connect it to their lives and how they can create a modern version of it. I feel that recent movies and stories that are modern versions of Shakespearean plays are not always true to the plays, so I want to be sure that students understand this connection also.

Overall, through this paper and research, I want to broaden my ideas on the information and ways to teach Shakespeare in a high school class. With the connections to modern day life, analysis of the various characters and scenes, and lifestyle of the 1600's, Shakespeare is a wonderful playwright that creates interesting works that all students should have the chance to study in high school and I would like to make this a meaningful experience for them.