Need help solidifying my English EE topic (Shakespeare)

[Shannon]

So I'm trying to come up with a topic for my English EE. I'd like to write about Shakespeare and I have a few ideas, but I really don't know if they're any good for an EE.

Here are my ideas. If you could critique them or comment on them for me, I'd really appreciate it.

- Dreams/Visions in Shakespeare's plays

- "Fool" or "Trickster" Characters in Shakespeare's plays

- Sleep in Skaespeare's plays

- The influence of Greek mythology on Shakespeare's plays (or maybe just on one of his plays if that's too broad)

What do you think? Are these English EE material? Thanks in advance.

[Peachez]

You need to pick specific plays that you will be talking about.

But the ideas listed sound pretty good.. well, a little vague for now since you don't have exact plays that you will be talking about, but its good.

[sweetnsimple786]

Okay I wrote a whole lot of stuff, but the tab closed and I can't figure out how to get it back on internet explorer [silly IE!] anyways, I wanted to say something that my English teacher told me. You don't have to do an EE on a work you might normally study in class. If you pick a work that you do in class, you might not be able to explore as much and be as original. But if you're really interested in Shakespeare and it's not related to the fact that it's so well-known as a good literary work, then don't let me deter you!

I really like the first three the most They're good topics, but they do need to be narrowed down. I don't know how common they are. If you've discussed them in class, then there's a good chance that the examiners have picked up on it, and in this case, you should only write about them if you think you have something significant to add, whether it's a perspective that you bring to the reading or some details that you've noticed that you don't think others have. The more insignificant they seem, the better =) G'luck.

[Shannon]

Thanks so much for your replies. We've never discussed the first three topics in class, so my ideas will be original. And I really do love Shakespeare. If I were to pursue one of those topics, about how many plays do you think I should examine? Would it be best to focus on one, or to compare two or three or several?

[Matthew Sinclair]

I would suggest that you only do two plays (three at the max). Maybe your topic could be something like: the effects of dreams and illusions on ...(illustrating the guilt of the characters? in ________ (state works)). The more specific the better!! Remember, 4000 words isn't that much when you think about it Always ask your supervisor to be sure though

[sweetnsimple786]

If you like doing comparisons, then do it. If that's not really your niche, then stick to one. If you do a comparison, pick two plays that you feel you can talk about in depth for hours and hours [not literally!]. You can explore two works better than three within the word limit, like Matthew said. =)

[Shannon]

Okay, thank you all for all your help. I'm also a little bit confused about sources for this paper. This may sound like a silly question, but if I were to do an English EE, would I use quotes from only the books/plays I'm talking about, or am I supposed to use outside sources?

[Asheee]

I'm pretty certain you just use the quotes from the plays you are studying

I really like the idea of the fool/trickster characters as an essay topic, because they have quite an important role in the plays. They all sound interesting though! Especially the dreams/vision topic, that'd be awesome for Macbeth!

Good luck!