Hamlet! Get ready to take notes!

Tragedy: Play =  Main Character (protagonist) – Heroic, noble, high status, wonderful – Tragic flaw = weakness or negative trait Causes bad decisions, which combined with… Bad luck… Causes the hero’s downfall or destruction. – We are supposed to feel first admiration, then pity and then fear.

Tragedy: Circumstances (setting, time period, political events, etc.) – Unhappy, bad luck, chaos (war) – Social order (the way things are “supposed” to be) Disrupted (law corrupt, govt. dysfunctional) “unnatural” events Becomes Hero’s job to restore the social order. BUT…Hero has to go outside the law to do so. In the end, the social order is restored, but… …any character who went outside the law must be punished. Including our hero!

The Plot of Hamlet: Mom Dad Uncle (dad’s brother) Me

The Plot of Hamlet: Mom Dad Uncle Me

The Plot of Hamlet: Mom Dad Uncle Me

The Plot of Hamlet: Mom Dad Uncle Me

The Plot of Hamlet: Mom Dad Uncle Me

Tragedy: Circumstances (setting, time period, political events, etc.) – Unhappy, bad luck, chaos (war) – Social order (the way things are “supposed” to be) Disrupted (law corrupt, govt. dysfunctional) “unnatural” events Becomes Hero’s job to restore the social order. BUT…Hero has to go outside the law to do so. In the end, the social order is restored, but… …any character who went outside the law must be punished. Including our hero!

Tragedy: Circumstances (setting, time period, political events, etc.) – Unhappy, bad luck, chaos (war) – Social order (the way things are “supposed” to be) Disrupted (law corrupt, govt. dysfunctional) “unnatural” events Becomes Hero’s job to restore the social order. BUT…Hero has to go outside the law to do so. In the end, the social order is restored, but… …any character who went outside the law must be punished. Including our hero!

The Plot of Hamlet: Mom Dad Uncle Me Hamlet

The Plot of Hamlet: Mom Dad Uncle ME Hamlet Old Hamlet

The Plot of Hamlet: Mom Dad Uncle ME Gertrude Hamlet Old Hamlet

The Plot of Hamlet: Mom Dad Uncle Me Gertrude Hamlet Old Hamlet Claudius

The Plot of Hamlet: Mom Dad Uncle Me Gertrude Hamlet Old Hamlet Claudius

The Plot of Hamlet: Mom Dad Uncle Me Gertrude Hamlet Old Hamlet Claudius Ghost of Old Hamlet Woooooo

Hamlet Historical Background: Set in 1050 (ish). Countries involved: – Denmark (Hamlet family) – Norway (Fortinbras family)

Hamlet Background: 30 years before the play begins Old Hamlet = DenmarkOld Fortinbras = Norway

Hamlet Background: 30 years before the play begins Old Hamlet = DenmarkOld Fortinbras = Norway War! There is a piece of land both countries think belongs to them.

Hamlet Background: 30 years before the play begins Old Hamlet = DenmarkOld Fortinbras = Norway War! There is a piece of land both countries think belongs to them. Old Hamlet kills Old Fortinbras in a duel. The winner of the duel gets the piece of land.

Hamlet family Fortinbras family Elsinore Castle (setting of the play)

Hamlet Background: 30 years before the play begins Old Hamlet = DenmarkOld Fortinbras = Norway Brother Norway When Old Hamlet kills Old Fortinbras, they both have infant sons. Old Fortinbras’s son is obviously too young to be king, so Old Fortinbras’s brother takes the throne.

Hamlet Background: 30 years before the play begins Old Hamlet = DenmarkOld Fortinbras = Norway Brother Norway When Old Hamlet kills Old Fortinbras, they both have infant sons. Old Fortinbras’s son is obviously too young to be king, so Old Fortinbras’s brother takes the throne. Old Hamlet’s son is Young Hamlet. Old Fortinbras’s son is Young Fortinbras.

Hamlet Background: Old Hamlet = DenmarkOld Fortinbras = Norway Brother Norway When Old Hamlet kills Old Fortinbras, they both have infant sons. Old Fortinbras’s son is obviously too young to be king, so Old Fortinbras’s brother takes the throne. Fast Forward 30 years. Young Hamlet and Young Fortinbras are both 30. Young Fortinbras has been angry at the Hamlet family for 30 years for killing his father. He is ready for revenge!

Hamlet Background: Old Hamlet = DenmarkOld Fortinbras = Norway Brother Norway When Old Hamlet kills Old Fortinbras, they both have infant sons. Old Fortinbras’s son is obviously too young to be king, so Old Fortinbras’s brother takes the throne. Now, Young Hamlet’s father has also been killed, and he’s ready for revenge too! This whole play is just many many layers of revenge.