THE TRAGEDY OF HAMLET a revenge play By William Shakespeare

Names to Remember Elsinore – The palace Hamlet lives in Wittenberg – Hamlet & Horatio’s university Denmark – The country Hamlet is prince of

Soliloquy A soliloquy is a word taken from Latin and it means ‘talking by oneself.’ It is a device that dramatists – especially Shakespeare– used to allow a character to communicate his or her own thoughts directly to the audience. A soliloquy is essentially a speech in which the character is thinking, rather than actually speaking to anyone.

Monologue A monologue is a speech made by one character to another character(s). It is not a dialogue, but rather more like a speech. Shakespeare’s plays are full of monologues. Among the most famous is Marc Antony’s ‘Friends, Romans and countrymen, lend me your ears’ speech in Julius Caesar, where Antony is addressing the Roman crowd after the assassination of Caesar.

Foil A character who serves to contrast or emphasize opposing traits in another character, usually our main character. Hamlet has two foils in this play.

Iambic Pentameter IAMB- A unit or foot of poetry that consists of a lightly unstressed syllable followed by a heavily stressed syllable. Some words in English naturally form iambs, such as behold, restore, amuse, arise, awake, return, Noel, support, depict, destroy, inject, inscribe, insist, inspire, unwashed. PENTAMETER- When poetry consists of five feet in each line, it is written in pentameter. Each foot has a set number of syllables.

Iambic Pentameter

TEAM HAMLET HAMLET – THE PRINCE OF DENMARK HORATIO – HAMLET’S BEST FRIEND FROM COLLEGE KING HAMLET’S GHOST – HAMLET’S DECEASED FATHER

TEAM CLAUDIUS KING CLAUDIUS – THE NEW KING OF DENMARK, THE GHOST’S BROTHER, HAMLET’S UNCLE, HAMLET’S NEW STEP-FATHER QUEEN GERTRUDE – QUEEN OF DENMARK, HAMLET’S MOTHER POLONIUS – KING CLAUDIUS’ LORD OR ASSISTANT, OPHELIA’S FATHER LAERTES – STUDENT, POLONIUS’ SON, OPHELIA’S BROTHER ROSENCRANTZ & GULDENSTERN – HAMLET’S CHILDHOOD FRIENDS

NEUTRAL CHARACTERS OPHELIA – HAMLET’S LOVE INTEREST FORTINBRAS – PRINCE OF NORWAY, SERVES AS A COMPARISON TO HAMLET THE GRAVEDIGGERS – COMIC REFIEF, GIVE AN UNBIASED OPINION OF HAMLET REYNALDO – POLONIUS’ SERVANT

Map of Characters / The Simpsons Do Hamlet

ACT I, scene i There is one main plot introduced in the first scene as well as a second, sub-plot.  Main Plotline: Hamlet, the King of Denmark has recently died.  Sub-Plot: King Hamlet was involved in a war with Norway. In this war he killed King Fortinbras and took his land.

Act I, scene ii I. A funeral and a wedding for the Hamlets II. Prince Fortinbras wants his father’s land back (We meet Cornelius and Voltimand) III. Laertes ask permission to leave IV. Hamlet & Claudius talk death (and we realize Claudius and Gertrude are real jerks) V. Hamlet tells the audience how he’s feeling VI. Horatio tells Hamlet some freaky news

Act I, scene ? Characters in scene: ___________________ ____________________________________ Key Facts: __________________________ ____________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Draw Photo Here

Breakdown of Act II, scene ii Part 1 – Convo between King Claudius and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern 1) How have R&G come to Elsinore? 2) What does Claudius ask them to do?

Breakdown of Act II, scene ii Part 2 – News from Norway from V&C 1) What message do V&C deliver from Fortinbras? What is he asking of King Claudius?

Breakdown of Act II, scene ii Part 3 – Polonius, Claudius, and Gertrude discuss Hamlet’s “madness” 1) What does Polonius say has caused Hamlet to go mad? 2) What has he brought to Claudius as proof? 3) What plan do Polonius and Claudius devise?

Breakdown of Act II, scene ii Part 4 – Hamlet & Polonius have a heart to heart 1) What does Hamlet warn Polonius in regards to Ophelia? 2) Hamlet’s tone towards Polonius can best be described as what? 3) Does Polonius realize this? (referring to answer to #2) What does he still believe Hamlet’s behavior is due to?

Breakdown of Act II, scene ii Part 5 – Hamlet talks with his old friends R&G 1) Do R&G admit to Hamlet why they have come to Elsinore? 2) How does Hamlet’s mood change here? 3) Whom do R&G announce is coming to Elsinore and how does Hamlet react to the news?

Breakdown of Act II, scene ii Part 6 – Hamlet talks to the traveling actors 1) What play does Hamlet tell the players they will be performing? 2) What does Hamlet say he will add to the play?

Breakdown of Act II, scene ii Part 7 – Hamlet reveals his PLAN 1) What is the scene Hamlet wrote about? 2) What is Hamlet’s motive behind adding the scene? 3) What does Hamlet say a “guilty” reaction could be?

Halfway through Hamlet Test Character Identification: Hamlet The Ghost Gertrude Claudius Polonius Laertes Ophelia Horatio Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Voltemand & Cornelius Fortinbras Marcellus & Bernardo Location Identification: Elsinore Wittenberg Quotation Identification: (May include any lines we have discussed thus far) Literary Terms: Soliloquy Monologue Foil Personification Iambic Pentameter Dialogue Stage Direction

Women in “Hamlet” How are the female characters portrayed in this play? What major similarities do Ophelia and Gertrude have? What major differences? What affect do the female characters have on the male characters?

Foil Foil – a character who is used to emphasize another character’s shortcomings or weaknesses. Which character do you believe is Hamlet’s foil and why? Compare and contrast Hamlet and this character.

Tragic Hero What is a Tragic Hero? Explain how Hamlet can be considered a Tragic Hero.

Themes Secrecy Madness Revenge Mortality Come up with the best example for each of these in the context of the play.

Symbols Ophelia’s flowers Yorik’s skull The Ghost Tapestries Poison

Sane or Insane, THAT is the question. After reading the play, decide whether you believe Hamlet was merely acting insane, or truly had gone insane. Supply one piece of hard evidence for your response.

Before finishing Act III… What affect do you think the performance is going to have on King Claudius? Do you think Hamlet will reveal the truth about his father’s death to Gertrude during their meeting in her closet? Do you feel bad for Ophelia at this point of the play? What else do you feel for her character? Polonius has already foreshadowed his own murder. Whom do you think will be his murderer and why do you think this person kills Polonius?

Conclusion of Act III This scene is the climax of the play for several reasons. What are they? Gertrude has a choice to support Claudius or Hamlet after this intense scene. What do you think Gertrude is going to do next? What is your opinion of Hamlet’s mental state at this point in the play?

At this point… How will Hamlet avenge his father if he is going to England? Will Hamlet go to England and be killed, or will something or someone stop him? Where has Ophelia been? How’s she doing? Has Laertes heard of his father’s murder yet? Where is Fortinbras and his army?

Act IV, scene 4 Where does this scene take place? Who has arrived in Denmark? How many are there? What does the Captain tell Hamlet the army’s mission is? What revelation does Hamlet have about himself based on what the army is about to do? Do you think this will affect Hamlet going to England? Explain

Act IV, scene 7 What do Claudius and Laertes learn from Hamlet’s letter? How can Claudius “use” Laertes’ desire for revenge to his own advantage? What plan do Claudius and Laertes develop to take down Hamlet? What has happened to Ophelia? How is this going to affect Laertes’ actions?