1. Hamlet
William Shakespeare

2. The Tragedy of Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark
First performed between
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

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

4. 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.

5. 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

6. Other Considerations Psychological Political Religious Families
Revenge

7. 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

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

9. 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

10. 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

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

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

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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.