The following annotated bibliography is meant to provide students with an example of spacing and indentation conventions. You'll notice that the citations were produced with an older version of MLA. You'll also notice that the first annotation is very good, but subsequent annotations need improvement. The second annotation offers a strong summary but does not offer an evaluation of the source. The third annotation offers a poor summary and a limited evaluation. The fourth and fifth annotations are unacceptably poor
Student’s Name
Teacher’s/Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Hamlet:
An Annotated Bibliography
Bloom, Harold. “Introduction.” Modern Critical Interpretations: William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1986. 1-10. Print.
Bloom deals
with Hamlet (as the hero), Horatio (as the audience's surrogate), the source of the play, and
introduces the other works in his anthology. He discusses how Hamlet has changed by the end of the play and claims that Hamlet uses “wise passivity” in
waiting for Claudius to act. He also talks about Hamlet’s
disinterestedness, which he calls a positive characteristic. Bloom also
claims Shakespeare himself is great because he is so original; he says that critics can trace his
influences but not his genius back to precursors. Bloom has a command of the play's themes and nuances but
does not always support his claims with convincing supporting detail.
To establish ethos Bloom seems to rely upon the audience's recognition of the Yale professor as
one of the foremost literary critics of the second half of the twentieth
century. He is one of the most respected critics in the field of literary
studies. This source provides an excellent introduction to the major concerns
of the play and prepares the reader for future explorations of Hamlet. Perhaps most interesting, however, are Bloom's unorthodox assertions, such as his claim that Hamlet's passive delay is "wise," which directly contradicts the view of the actor, Mel Gibson, who played Hamlet in Franco Zeffirelli's film adaptation; Gibson believes that Hamlet's failure to act, particularly when Claudius seems to be praying, triggers the play's tragic events.
Bowers, Fredson. Hamlet as
Minister and Scourge and Other Studies in Shakespeare and Milton. Charlottesville,
VA: University Press of Virginia, 1989. Print.
This book more
than any other helped me to understand Hamlet. Bowers explains the difference
between a minister—an agent of God—and a scourge—someone so evil he is already
condemned to Hell, and suggests that Hamlet wants to be a public minister,
bringing evidence against Claudius to an open court, but fears he has been
chosen by the ghost to “revenge [his] foul and most unnatural murder” because
he is already so sinful that he is past redemption. He argues for the
Closet scene as the climax of the play (rather than the Mousetrap scene) and
especially the killing of Polonius, since that act alone brings Laertes back
from France, and it is only Laertes’ plot of the poison on the tip of the foil
that actually kills Hamlet at the end of the play. He discusses how
Hamlet has changed by the end of the play.
Goddard, Harold C. The Meaning of
Shakespeare. Vol. 1. Chicago: Phoenix Books, 1970. Print.
The chapter on
Hamlet discusses the play-within-a-play, the Christian view, revenge, Hamlet as
ultimate Shakespearean hero, anti-Freudian views, the ghost, Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern, Ophelia, the players, the Mousetrap scene, Prayer scene,
Ophelia’s death, the duel scene. Goddard’s displays a comprehensive, masterful
understanding of the text itself. His ideas are also accessible to non-scholars
(in other words, the general reader).
Holland, Norman. The
Shakespearean Imagination. Bloomington, IN: Indiana, 1964. Print.
This article is
one of the best works on Hamlet so far. Holland discusses Hamlet’s delay,
the ghost, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, parallels, Horatio and Fortinbras, the
Players, Ophelia, Polonius, Gertrude, disease, food, nunnery speech, Pyrrhus
speech, nationalities, revenge.
Wilson, J. Dover. What Happens in Hamlet. Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1935. Print.
Wilson gives a
good explanation about the ghost and about Hamlet’s madness. He also
analyzes Gertrude, the Mousetrap scene, the turning point of the climax of
Hamlet, the funeral of Ophelia, and the source for the players.
**********************
This annotated bibliography is
adapted from the following source:
Barkley, Chris. "Hamlet Annotated Bibliography." English 250. 25 Jan 2006. Palomar
College. Web. 1 Jun 2006.
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