I am suppose to be writing an essay on Hamlet and how I see him as the "flawed and unique individual" that is expressed throughout the play, what devices win my sympathy for Hamlet and whether or not I think that Shakespeare thinks Hamlet can make a difference. I think it safe to say that Hamlet might be the most picked apart man of literature. For that, I almost feel sorry for him. Here he is, grieving for his father, cannot believe the audacity of his mother marrying his uncle-which is gross, and there are people spying on him at every turn. And there's a ghost. I might go a little mad as well, both real and feigned. Hamlet does pull at my heart strings and poor Ophelia is caught in the middle not knowing where she really stands with this man whom she loves to the point of madness. Her own father is killed accidentally by Hamlet and she is then left alone because her brother left for France near the beginning of the play and Hamlet is shipped off to England to be killed (which uncle dearest plotted).
So, instead pulling all my loose thoughts together for this essay (which I will probably end up writing over the differences between Catholic Baroque and Protestant Baroque in the end) I am trying to force my poor lax brain into controlled creativity. By the way, this 6-7 page essay is due on Sunday.
I use my brain all day in the library answering all sorts of questions but it's not the same as critical thinking for writing. I even put my bookkeeper hat on this week and created some invoices. I put my 10-Key skills to use and that was fun. However, that's not the same as critical thinking for writing either. Not that this little writing exercise here is very critical and minimal on the thinking part as well, but I'm stringing words together to form sentences and paragraphs that I hope in some way makes sense.
I need to focus. I need to decide on which essay I'm really going to write and begin planning it. I have to work tomorrow so that's 8 hours I won't have to write, but if I know what I'm going to write about I could research. Think. Think. Think.
