Hamlet Part B Essay Plans

These essay plans cater specifically for Part B of Question 1 in the Drama and Poetry pre-1900 OCR A Level English Literature exam. They cover the eight major themes in Shakespeare's "Hamlet": revenge, corruption, masculinity, familial relationships, uncertainty, madness, loyalty, and women. These themes have a broad range so can be easily 'twisted' on the day of the exam to the exact question. (For example, the question I got was on 'justice and morality', so I incorporated paragraphs from both my 'revenge' and 'loyalty' plans, meaning that I scored the full 15 marks on that section, and an A* overall!). Each essay plan provides a structured approach to discussing the theme, incorporating key quotes, character analysis, textual evidence and links to other productions/interpretations. I would recommend using the blurting technique to revise these plans, and on the day of the exam to think of the essay as a jigsaw puzzle which is made up of different paragraphs from the essay plans! Students from other exam boards may also find these notes useful, although different exam boards might require historical context etc.