1. 1. Tonight’s HW: Discussion Board Post - Summary of Act 5 is due this weekend meaning you HAVE TO READ HAMLET 2. Weekend HW: Fully drafted essay is due Tuesday, April 26 th Today we will finish Hamlet Act 4 and 5! Introduction – Hamlet is a play (not a book). What can you teach Raike, what can you synthesize (show deeper understanding) from this Hamlet unit? Body 1 Body 2 Body 3 Conclusion

2. Hamlet is responsible and is the most villainous character The ghost is the reason for Hamlet’s madness – goes from fake to real madness How Hamlet connects to today emotionally and physically The relevance of Hamlet today to young audiences Hamlet needs absolute evidence to kill Claudius because Hamlet is not simple-minded (he gets in his own head about every action) Neither Hamlet, nor Claudius are the most villainous – they’re actions are equal Hamlet is clearly the most villainous because he causes all the deaths Hamlet is both responsible and a victim of his circumstances and such is life.

3. Claudius is the ultimate villain in Hamlet Hamlet is a coward – he does not follow through with plans and wastes time beating around the bush Polonius is the ultimate villain in Hamlet Hamlet knows what he’s doing and is responsible for his own problems The main characters in Hamlet are relevant to us today The most villainous character in Hamlet is Queen Gertrude Everyone around Hamlet is a villain in their own way and impacts his being (thinking/ reasoning) Are Hamlet’s suspicions valid?

4. Why Hamlet is not worth reading – it’s a sad story and Shakespeare is not the best playwright Hamlet is undeniably the most despicable character in the play People should not feel sympathy for Hamlet because he is a life ruiner/destroyer of lives Horatio is vital to Hamlet’s existence Secrets and miscommunication are the root causes of conflict and revenge Hamlet is irrelevant to modern times because times have changed Hamlet is the greatest literary enigma of all time and we need as many minds thinking about it as possible Hamlet’s delay for taking revenge was smart and necessary