Hamlet By William Shakespeare

Topics of Discussion n History n Aristotle’s Definition of a Tragic Hero n Appearance vs. Reality n Language n Apollonian vs Dionysian n Riddles

History n The Play Itself n The Issue of the Silent Majority n The Renaissance n The Reformation n Old Fortinbras (Norway) and Old Hamlet (Denmark)

Aristotle’s Definition of a Tragic Hero n Must Be of Noble Birth n Goes from Happiness to Misery n Not Totally Virtuous or Just n Not Steeped in Vice or Baseness n Flaw in Character n Error in Judgment n Inspires Pity and Fear

Appearance vs. Reality n Hamlet’s vs. Claudius’s Mourning n Polonius behind the Arras n Hamlet’s Audience for his Rants n The Ghost n Friendship of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern n Hamlet’s Sanity

Language n Word Order n “Oh that this too, too solid flesh…” n “To be, or not to be…” n Honest vs. Fair n “Get thee to a nunnery…” n “Goodnight, sweet prince…”

Apollonian vs. Dionysian n Apollonion: Based in Thought n Dionysian: Based in Action n Milton’s “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso” n Need for balance

Riddles n The Role of the Fool in Literature n “A little more than kin and less than kind…” n “I am but mad north northwest…” n St. Valentine’s Day Song