Phase One- Exploring New Waters

For my Shakespeare research paper, I am required to document my research and writing process. During my exploration of a topic, one name kept coming to my mind: Ophelia. While listening to the play, besides being annoyed with the audiobook, I thought, "Hmm, Ophelia is an interesting character." Then, I read the Manga version of Hamlet, and I loved the way it was set up and the visual representations of Ophelia's character. In fact, the pictures used for Ophelia's suicide intrigued me, and I showed them to my roommates, opening up a discussion about her character and other visual representations of Ophelia. That is when it struck me, "Why not write a paper on Ophelia?!" The answer was so simple. While looking at other sources of information for Hamlet, I had found a common belittlement of Ophelia's character. This led me to the idea of exploring Ophelia's story between the lines in Hamlet, proving her as more than just a symbol or a tool for other characters in the play. As I explored different passages in the play, I found ways to support my ideas. Ophelia was not just a symbol; the story could be completely written with her as the main character, and it would still be an intense and dramatic tragedy. I also began my search for sources through social networking and exploring the Internet. I opened up discussions on Facebook and Goodreads. Then I searched for people writing about Hamlet online and found a personal website of compiled essays specifically on Shakespeare. Then, I found scholars who have written about Ophelia and discovered ways to contact them.

For the next phase of research, I plan on exploring different media forms of Hamlet, such as play performances, movies, and pictures, to hopefully discover new insights on Ophelia. I will complete an annotated bibliography of my sources so far, as a way to remember the information I have gained from each of them, as I contact them through means of e-mail. I will prepare for these interactions by reading the papers they have written and learn more about their research in the area of Shakespeare and women in literature.

Once, I have gathered my information. I will form my final "Tweethis" statement, post a first draft, and begin to refine my paper and use the information I have gained to hopefully help my fellow students.