Hamlet William Shakespeare 1564-1616

The Tragedy of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark First performed between 1600-1601 First published 1603 Most widely staged production Famous actors considered serious when they perform Hamlet Sir Laurence Olivier Mel Gibson Jude Law Christopher Plummer Ian Hawke Ralph Fiennes Kenneth Branagh Edwin Booth Sarah Bernhardt

Others William Shatner Andy Griffith South Park Simpson’s The Wire Gilligan’s Island

Shakespearean Tragedy Story of a man of high station Results from a combination of outside forces and a tragic flaw in the protagonist, usually ending in death(s) Affecting the lives of an entire nation There is comic relief, unlike…. What is Hamlet’s flaw? We will consider this.

Tragic Elements Exposition: elements that set the tragedy in motion Rising Action: Protagonist controls the action Climax: incident occurs which causes Protagonist to lose control Falling Action: opposing forces control the action

Other Considerations Psychological Political Religious Families Revenge

Motifs A conspicuous recurring element, such as a type of incident, a device, a reference, or verbal formula, which appears frequently in works of literature Rotting and decay Poison Acting

Foils A character that serves by contrast to highlight or emphasize opposing traits in another character. Example: Oedipus and Creon

Setting 12th Century Denmark Denmark has recently been at war with Norway; Denmark was the victor, but skirmishes continue Denmark has also been at war with England in the past

Characters Hamlet: prince of Denmark King Hamlet: his father; appears as a ghost Claudius: current King of Denmark; Hamlet’s uncle Gertrude: Hamlet’s mother; Claudius’ wife Horatio: Hamlet’s friend Polonius: Advisor to Claudius

Characters continued Ophelia: Polonius’ daughter; loves Hamlet Laertes: Polonius’ son Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Hamlet’s close friends Fortinbras: Prince of Norway Other minor characters

Locations/places Elsinore: Royal Castle Wittenberg: location of Hamlet’s college

Requirements/Assessment You must have a version of the play with line numbers; this will assist in identifying passages and quotes There will be a quiz after Acts I and II Test after Act III Quiz for IV and V Test for Entire play We will watch the Kenneth Branagh version of the movie after each Act

Assessment Quiz will include multiple choice, True/False and quote identification Tests will not have T/F Quotes/Multiple Choice/Short Answers Study guides for each Act Analysis of Hamlet’s soliloquies A monologue spoken by an actor at a point in the play when the character believes himself to be alone. The technique frequently reveals a character's innermost thoughts, including his feelings, state of mind, motives or intentions. The soliloquy often provides necessary but otherwise inaccessible information to the audience.

Soliloquy A monologue spoken by an actor at a point in the play when the character believes himself to be alone. The technique frequently reveals a character's innermost thoughts, including his feelings, state of mind, motives or intentions. The soliloquy often provides necessary but otherwise inaccessible information to the audience.