Possible Research Paper Topics

NOTE: The research paper needs to be 3-5 pages double-spaced (should be longer if in size 14 font). Please, no title pages! That 3-5 pages is not counting the separate Works Cited page, which should always go as the last page of the paper, with at least 3 sources including online Encyclopedia Britannica. You should type research papers in Times New Roman font, size 12 or 14! Use MS-WordPad, MS-Word, MS-Works, Corel Word-Perfect, OpenOffice.org, or whatever you like, as long as it is printed out clear and readable for my near-sighted eyes. You should have someone else read through your first draft to check for minor errors. Check with the LRC for how to use Smarthinking proofreading. Whichever draft I receive, I will grade and mark for you to revise.

Anything related to Shakespeare’s life, times, and/or plays is fair game:

1. Other poets and/or dramatists around the 1500’s-1600’s.

2. The history of the 3 Globe Theatres (1599, 1614, and 1997).

3. Shakespeare’s family (ancestors and/or descendents).

4. The Burbage family and/or “The Lord Chamberlain’s Men”/”The King’s Men” theatrical troupe.

5. Queen Elizabeth I.

6. King James VI of Scotland who became King James I of England.

7. The translation and publishing of the “King James Bible” in 1611.

8. The history of the Church of England (Anglican Church).

9. After Shakespeare’s death, the “Republican Commonwealth” British government under the control of Oliver Cromwell.

10. After Shakespeare’s death, why did Oliver Cromwell, other “Puritans,” and “Republicans” dislike Shakespeare’s plays so much? Why did they shut down the theaters in the time when they controlled England? (The 2nd Globe Theatre was shut down in 1642 and demolished in 1644.)

11. Analysis of the fairies, spirits, etc. in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (see this article here and read #13 below).

12. Other similar research papers are also possible, just give me a suggestion. As long as it is related in some way, it would probably be acceptable.

13. Another research topic would be to compare and contrast this story with UFO abduction stories. See the following editorial commentary for some background information. I have seen this basic plot before: the humans go into the woods, where they encounter strange beings who do experiments on the humans; then, the beings let the humans go. Why does this sound familiar? This has some similarities to the basic plots of several supposedly-true “alien abduction” stories (see the Travis Walton movie & book Fire in the Sky, the Barney & Betty Hill story, the Fourth Kind movie, and others), as well as several science-fiction movies. It also has similarities to the “Rip Van Winkle” story here written down by Washington Irving (summary & analysis here) as well as to several Native American stories of people “going off to travel with the spirits” who return home many years later. Shakespeare copied most of his stories (probably including this one) from other sources, but it is still curious to find so many similar stories from different times and cultures. If someone goes to Google Advanced Search, and searches using This Exact Wording or Phrase function on “Fairies and UFOs” (or “UFOs and Fairies”), someone can find the article titled “The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, & Fairies,” quoted and adapted below:

The Europeans of the age thought all invisible beings can be divided into four classes: the angels, the gods of the ancients; the devils or demons, the fallen angels; the souls of the dead; and the elemental spirits, which correspond to Reverend Kirk's "Secret Commonwealth" (see Walker Between Worlds: A New Edition of the Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns and Fairies, 1991, Element Books). Vallee: "In the fourth group are the gnomes, who inhabit the earth and correspond to mine-haunting fairies, goblins, pixies, korrigans, leprechauns, and the domovoys of Russian legends, and the sylphs, who inhabit the air" (Vallee, Op. Cit., p.66). To subdivide these visitors is obviously extremely difficult, and you might find yourself running in circles. However, I believe it is imperative we try. Concerning the Elementals, Reverend Kirk of Aberfoyle says they are of an elastic semi-material essence, ethereal enough so as not to be detected by physical sight, and may change their forms according to certain laws (see Passport to Magonia: On UFOs, Folklore, and Parallel Worlds by Jacques Vallee, 1993, McGraw-Hill Contemporary).

Another related article on the same website is “Fairies and UFOs?” Also, there are some interesting references at the bottom of the page of the Wikipedia article about “Alien Abduction” (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_abduction). However, you should not quote directly from Wikipedia since it is not considered reliable. Another article here lists the various types of Elves, Fairies, etc., and compares Fairy encounters with UFO encounters.

TO BE CONTINUED

Revised 24 March 2010.