The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark General Information –Date of Publication –Genre –Setting (TIME) –Setting (PLACE) 1603 Tragedy Late Middle Ages Denmark 3 Modern Movie Adaptations of the Play from Mel Gibson, Kenneth Branagh, and Ethan Hawke

General Information –Protagonist –Antagonist –Major Conflict: Hamlet Claudius Hamlet faces self- doubts and obstacles as he weighs whether or not to avenge his father’s death by killing his uncle Claudius Hamlet watches on as his mother marries his uncle

Background Information –Renaissance Movement –Humanist Movement Influenced by Histoires Tragiques by Francosi de Belleforest Focused on interests in the human experience and optimism about the scope of human understanding A reaction to the Renaissance: –Explored the limitations of man’s understanding –Hamlet must correct an injustice he will never fully understand At its core, Hamlet is a play about the difficulty of humans having to live life in a world with so many unanswerable questions

Conflicts and Themes Impossibility of Certainty Corruptive Nature of Power Revenge Self Doubt Action vs. Inaction Loyalty vs. Selfishness Inevitability of Death Madness Hamlet is constantly battling self-doubt; he looks inward for answers, but rarely finds any certainty

Symbol –Yorick’s Skull Every human—great or small—meets the same end. Representative of the destructive nature of death: “Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft.”

Shakespeare’s Influence: Enters into almost all mediums of entertainment

Personification –Denmark Denmark is described throughout the play in terms of being a human body With King Hamlet, Denmark was healthy and strong With King Claudius, Denmark becomes weak and corrupted

Famous Quotations from Hamlet "This above all: to thine own self be true” “Frailty, thy name is woman!” “Though this be madness, yet there is method in 't.” "What a piece of work is man. How noble in reason. How infinite in faculty. In form and moving how express and admirable. In action, how like an angel. In apprehension, how like a God. The beauty of the world. The paragon of animals. And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust. Man delights not me. "Murder most foul, as in the best it is, But this most foul, strange, and unnatural." "To be or not to be-that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And, by opposing, end them." "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.“ "A little more than kin and less than kind.”

OVERVIEWKing Hamlet’s ghost visits Hamlet and tells him his Uncle Claudius murdered him; he orders Hamlet to avenge his death Claudius has also married Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, further complicating matters Hamlet becomes confused, hesitant and even loses his mind a little as he tries to summon the will to avenge his father

OVERVIEWPart of Hamlet’s confusion stems from needing absolute proof of his Uncle Claudius’ guilt. He uses actors to recreate how he thinks his father was murdered If Claudius reacts to the scene he is guilty If has no reaction, he is innocent Claudius does react, but, again, Hamlet hesitates killing him because he is in prayer when he goes to confront him –Hamlet fears he will send the king to heaven if he kills him during prayer The Play’s the Thing! Hamlet Hesitating to Kill his Uncle in Prayer

OVERVIEWLater Hamlet tries to kill the king again, but mistakenly kills the Chamberlain instead Fearing for his life and seeing Hamlet’s madness grow, Claudius plots against Hamlet, both by poisoning his goblet and poisoning Laertes’ sword –Laertes’ father was the man mistakenly killed by Hamlet! During Hamlet’s fencing contest he refuses to take any drinks, but instead his mother drinks from Claudius goblet and expires Hamlet killing the Chamberlain Laertes preparing to fence Hamlet

OVERVIEWHamlet is wounded by the poisonous sword Hamlet then learns that Claudius has killed his mother with poison and successfully wounds the king forces him to drink the rest of the goblet before also dying The entire royal court lays dead

Characters –Hamlet Protagonist Son of Gertrude and the dead King Hamlet; nephew of Claudius Melancholy, bitter and cynical Feels hatred toward Claudius and detests the Queen’s sexuality Indecisive and hesitant one moment and rash and impulsive at other times

Characters –Claudius The king of demark, Hamlet’s uncle, King Hamlet’s brother and the plays antagonist Calculating, ambitious politician driven by sexual appetites and lust for power Sincerely loves Gertrude

Characters –Queen Gertrude Hamlet’s mother. Marries Claudius after the death of the King Loves Hamlet but is more concerned with selfish desires than discovering the truth about her deceased husband

Characters –Polonius The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius’s court Father of Laertes and Ophelia Pompous and conniving Murdered by Hamlet

Characters –Ophelia Polonius’s daughter and Laertes’ sister Intimate with Hamlet Sweet and Innocent Succumbs to madness and death after her father is murdered

Characters –Laertes Polonius’s son and Ophelia’s brother Passionate and does not hesitate to act Plays a foil to Hamlet’s more contemplative self

Characters –Horatio –Fortinbras Hamlet’s best friend Loyal and Helpful to Hamlet The Young Prince of Norway. His father was killed by Hamlet’s father. A foil for Hamlet, who is seeking to avenge his father’s honor by conquering Denmark.