Homework & Understanding

Can HLAS help me with my homework?

If you want discuss your homework with us, you're more than welcome here. By this we mean, you've actually read the work in question (you might have some trouble understanding it all, but, hey, you're trying), and you offer ideas of your own instead of simply asking for the ideas of others. If you want to post a rough draft of your paper on HLAS, you'll be sure to get some useful and constructive comments on it (if you don't want your essay preserved in the Internet's eternal amber, simply post a notice that you'd like your paper critiqued, and ask those interested to e-mail you directly).

But if you're looking for someone to write your essay for you, go elsewhere. No one generates as much irritation on HLAS as a student who simply posts the question as it appears on a course syllabus and waits for us to respond with a complete answer. Do not ask us to summarize a plot for you (some of the above recommended web sites do have plot synopses). Though the regulars of this group may vehemently disagree on many issues, we'd all agree that Shakespeare is important enough to be worth some investment of time and effort on your part in order to understand his work. You will be amply rewarded if you do, long after you've forgotten the letter-grade you received on your paper.

Another way to use HLAS is to access past posts via the newsgroup search engine Google.
Type in the name of this newsgroup, and then the play or topic of interest on the subject line. In many cases, your question has already been answered and/or debated in depth by HLAS in the past.

And a last warning for those of you looking for homework help via HLAS: Trust, but verify. Some posts are opinion presented as fact, and others may contain factual errors.

Help! This passage in Shakespeare doesn't make sense!

Let's say that you're unable to make heads or tails of a particular passage in Shakespeare, and you've got that essay due by 2 p.m. Tuesday. There are several approaches you could take - you might try:

1. Reading the passage aloud, trying to get a sense of the sound and meaning of the words. As you read, ask yourself a few basic questions about the passage:
   • What is happening? (is it action or speech? is it violent and confrontational? romantic? trying to give a sense of atmosphere? etc.)
   • What is the difference between the situation at the beginning and the end (has someone been persuaded? argued their point of view? explained something? etc.)
   • Who is speaking? (someone all alone? an argument between two lovers? a king and his servants? a father and a daughter? etc.)
   • What is happening with the technical aspects of the language? (is it in rhyming couplets? blank verse? i.e. iambic pentameters, de der, de der, de der, de der, de der; prose - i.e. no rhymes and disjointed syntax.)
   • What does this tell you about what is being spoken? (e.g., blank verse - smooth and measured, with a regular rhythm; or disjointed prose - often spoken by comic characters, or characters who are mad or unbalanced.)
   • Basically it's best to say what you see - start out by saying what is happening in the passage, then say what kind of effect is being produced, then say how it is being produced - e.g., if two friends are arguing in a lighthearted way. The tone is of witty debate, emphasized by the repetitive rhyming couplets.
2. Get a good glossary or a well-annotated edition of Shakespeare, that will help identify some of the unfamiliar words and references (our recommendations appear in the "books" section of this FAQ).
3. Try to attend a performance of the play in question, watch a film version, or listen to a recording. [See also the section about Shakespeare and film.] Hearing and/or seeing a skilled actor recite the lines can be very clarifying. But remember that some performances take rather extreme liberties with Shakespeare (recent film versions of Romeo & Juliet and Richard III are cases in point).

Specific questions about the plays: Why did Hamlet delay in avenging his father's death? Was he mad? What was Iago's motivation? Etc. etc.

One of the reasons that Shakespeare has maintained his popularity across the centuries with scholars, actors, and the general public alike is the level of depth and complexity he breathes into his characters. One method that he uses to achieve this effect is by not spelling things out for his audience (as opposed to, say, George Bernard Shaw, who always provides elaborate commentaries with his plays to explain just exactly what his characters are about).

For example, while Shakespeare offers many tantalizing hints and clues, he never explicitly states the reasons for Hamlet's hesitation. Many theories have arisen to explain this delay (e.g., Hamlet was too sensitive and poetic a soul to deal with life's harsh realities; he was clinically depressed and/or manic-depressive; he feared that the ghost was sent to deceive him and had to arrange for proof; his unresolved "Oedipus Complex" caused him to identify with Claudius and thus prevented him from acting, etc. etc.); but it is really up to the individual reader/actor/viewer to decide which interpretation makes the most sense.

Because of this multi-dimensional quality of Shakespeare's characters, we can argue over the motivations of, say, Cordelia, Macbeth, Iago, etc., much as we might argue over the actions of "real" people.

So if you're looking for an answer to some specific question about a particular play: the resources listed previously - web sites, DejaNews, books, etc. - should give you the tools you need to reach an answer. A Yahoo search will guide you to web sites devoted to specific plays. Seeing different actors and directors interpret the plays can also lead to fresh insights. However, while viewing a performance can help you understand a play better, you should by no means assume that what you've seen is the "correct" version. So, the best strategy is to use these resources to assist you in finding your own answer.