hakespeare’s tragedy has inspired literally centuries of disagreement about what the playwright really had in mind when he wrote it for an early 17th-century audience. But even today, readers and viewers feel that it was somehow written for them. In David Tennant’s documentary Uncovering Shakespeare, actor Jude Law says that every actor feels that “[t]his particular role is a sharing of one’s soul”—meaning that every actor feels that it is really about him, and in performing the role, he is revealing his own secret hopes, fears, and insecurities. Why do we feelthat Hamlet is about us? And although, according to Tennant, “It was written a long time ago [and] shouldn’t be relevant or contemporary,” why is this play “woven into the fabric of our lives”?Imagine that Hamlet was written yesterday, instead of centuries ago. If it were a fantasy written about a Danish prince—but meant to be relevant to today’s young readers—what would you say that Shakespeare was trying to teach us about us?Answer this question in an essay of about 1000 words, supporting your “reading” with evidence from the play–paraphrased, summarized, and quoted—and expert analysis from at least FOUR of the videos and/or articles. You may argue against an expert’s interpretation or use his/her analysis to support yours. Make sure that you use plenty of quotations!Here is the list of expert sources (called “secondary” sources) that you can use to write your essay.

<link is hidden> Eliot: <link is hidden> />
Stephen Greenblatt: <link is hidden> />
Jennifer Kosmas (CSCC library, Academic OneFile–you will need your CSCC username and password to access): <link is hidden>|A227788675&v=2.1&it=r&sid=AONE&asid=fbe9edc

Meghan O’Rourke: <link is hidden> />
Kiernan Ryan: <link is hidden> />
“Act V”: <link is hidden> />
You must use MLA manuscript format for your essay, and you must use MLA-compliant documentation (in-text citations and a Works Cited page) for quotations from the play and for material quoted, paraphrased, or summarized from the article.