The document details an essay assignment for an ENG4U course focused on Shakespeare's 'Hamlet', asking students to analyze the tragedy of characters other than Hamlet, specifically Polonius, Laertes, or Ophelia, and identify one as the more tragic hero according to Arthur Miller's definitions. Students are instructed to incorporate direct quotations from both Millers' essay and 'Hamlet' while structuring their arguments around specific criteria of comparison. Additionally, guidance on writing, rubric criteria, and the concept of tragedy is provided to assist students in developing their essays.

1. ENG4U ESSAY- HAMLET
Essay Question: To what degree is William Shakespeare’s
Hamlet a play about the tragedy of characters other than the
title character Hamlet? Choose two of the following characters,
as your focus: Polonius, Laertes, or Ophelia. Explain, in a
well argued essay, how one of these two characters might be
considered to be the more tragic hero (in Miller's sense of that
term) in the play Hamlet. Make sure you use direct quotations
from both Arthur Miller's essay and the play Hamlet in
supporting your argument. Take a close look at the rubric
before going too far with this!
WHAT TO DO:
Introduce the concept of Shakespearean Tragedy (Renaissance
Tragedy) and Arthur Miller's notion of 'Modern' Tragedy. Read
the essay "Tragedy and the Comman Man" (attached) to prepare
for this session: http://yrdsb.adobeconnect.com/p57x89h45k5/
Step Two: Choose two characters from Polonius' family and
write your Comparison Essay
Essay Question: To what degree is William
Shakespeare’s Hamlet a play about the tragedy of characters
other than the title character Hamlet? Choose two of the
following characters, as your focus: Polonius, Laertes, or
Ophelia. Explain, in a well argued comparison essay, how one
of these two characters might be considered to be the more
tragic hero (in Miller's sense of that term) in the play Hamlet.
Make sure you use direct quotations from both Arthur Miller's
essay and the play Hamlet in supporting your argument. Take a
close look at the rubric before going too far with this (see
attached) and listen to the Flipped Lesson on Writing a
Comparison
Essay: http://yrdsb.adobeconnect.com/p119tyicbpb/
Some key paragraphs from "Tragedy and the Common Man" to

2. consider:
The quality in such plays that does shake us, however, derives
from the underlying fear of being displaced, the disaster
inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and
who we are in this world. Among us today this fear is as
strong, and perhaps stronger, than it ever was. In fact, it is the
common man who knows this fear best.
The possibility of victory must be there in tragedy. Where
pathos rules, where pathos is finally derived, a character has
fought a battle he could not possibly have won. The pathetic is
achieved when the protagonist is, by virtue of his witlessness,
his insensitivity, or the very air he gives off, incapable of
grappling with a much superior force.
No tragedy can therefore come about when its author fears to
question absolutely everything, when he regards any institution,
habit, or custom as being either everlasting, immutable, or
inevitable. In the tragic view the need of man to wholly realize
himself is the only fixed star, and whatever it is that hedges his
nature and lowers it is ripe for attack and examination. Which is
not to say that tragedy must preach revolution.
There is a misconception of tragedy with which I have been
struck in review after review and in many conversations with
writers and readers alike. It is the idea that tragedy is of
necessity allied to pessimism. Even the dictionary says nothing

3. more about the word than that it means a story with a sad or
unhappy ending. This impression is so firmly fixed that I almost
hesitate to claim that in truth tragedy implies more optimism in
its author than does comedy, and that its final result ought to be
the reinforcement of the onlooker's brightest opinion of the
human animal.
Graphic Organizer:
For those of you who like using a graphic organizer you might
want to reproduce something like this to help organize your
thoughts.
Paragraph
Structure
Content
Introduction
*Thesis Paragraph
Topic Sentence
*Introduce Tragedy as an archetypal plot pattern
Harnessing Sentences
Contrast Aristotle’s Tragic Hero with Miller’s tragic hero
(revisit Adobe Session if you are having trouble)
Thesis
What does Miller say about tragic heroes as “common” people
that might be applied to characters other than Hamlet? Identify
your two characters here.
Direction
Identify the three criteria for comparison, making sure that you
finish with the criteria that differentiates one character from
another as the “more tragic”.

4. Body Paragraph One
Topic Sentence
Introduce first criteria and connect to thesis
Statement / Example / Explanation of significance
Connect criteria to thesis by developing a specific examples for
BOTH characters. Use appropriate terminology. Quote from
Hamlet and perhaps even from Arthur Miller
Second Statement/ Example/ Explanation of Significance
Repeat above
Concluding Sentence
Summarize main idea
Body Paragraphs Two, Three (perhaps four)
Repeat above with different criteria. Be sure to finish the
essay with criteria that distinguishes one character as MORE
tragic than the other character.
Repeat above
Conclusion
*Restate direction
Review the 3-4 criteria you explored
*Connect to Thesis
Restate thesis (rephrase) – connection of two characters to
critieria
*explain significance of this argument
You might return to Arthur Miller and Aristotle here

5. ENG4U: Essay: Hamlet
Name: ___________________
Category / Criteria
Level One
Level Two
Level Three
Level Four
Knowledge: Subject-specific content acquired in each grade
(knowledge), and the comprehension of its meaning and
significance (understanding
Knowledge of content
*identification of elements of the tragic archetype
*ideas developed and supported with insightful use of
terminology
*ideas introduced, developed and supported using the
comparison essay framework
– demonstrates
limited
knowledge of
content
-demonstrates some knowledge
of content
-demonstrates considerable knowledge of content
-demonstrates thorough knowledge of content
Thinking - The use of critical and creative thinking skills and/or
processes
Critical /Creative

6. Thinking
Essay:
*supports major points with suitable quotations and examples
*develops argument with effective details and sophisticated
explanations
*makes insightful and appropriate use of references to Arthur
Miller’s essay
-essay organization and structure develops and sustains thesis
throughout
– uses
critical/creative
thinking processes
with limited effectiveness
– uses
critical/creative
thinking processes
with some effectiveness
– uses
critical/creative
thinking processes

7. with considerable effectiveness
– uses
critical/creative
thinking processes
with a high degree
of effectiveness
Communication - The conveying of meaning through various
forms
Expression and
organization of ideas and information
(clear expression, , paragraph organization, use of transitions
--expresses and
organizes ideas
and information
with limited effectiveness
*limited or no use of transitional paragraphs
--expresses and
organizes ideas
and information
with some effectiveness

8. *transitional paragraphs are used with limited effect
--expresses and
organizes ideas
and information
with considerable effectiveness
*effective use of transitional paragraphs
--expresses and
organizes ideas
and information
with a high degree
of effectiveness
*powerful and effective use of transitional paragraphs
Use of conventions
(e.g., grammar,
spelling, punctuation,
style, usage,
vocabulary, and
terminology)

9. – uses
conventions,
vocabulary, and
terminology of the
discipline with limited
effectiveness
– uses
conventions,
vocabulary, and
terminology of the
discipline with some
effectiveness
– uses
conventions,
vocabulary, and
terminology of the
discipline with considerable
effectiveness
– uses
conventions,
vocabulary, and

10. terminology of the
discipline with a
high degree of
effectiveness
Application - The use of knowledge and skills to make
connections within and between various contexts
Application of
knowledge and skills in familiar contexts
*accurate integration of quotations
-establishes context
-uses appropriate punctuation and sentence structure
-establishes significance
-Application of M.L.A. Structure
*MLA format with 3 part title
*Works Cited page
– applies
knowledge and
skills in familiar
contexts with
limited
effectiveness

11. – applies
knowledge and
skills in familiar
contexts with
some
effectiveness
– applies knowledge and
skills in familiar
contexts with
considerable
effectiveness
– applies
knowledge and
skills in familiar
contexts with a
high degree of
effectiveness

12. COMMENTS: