1. By William Shakespeare
HAMLET
By William Shakespeare

2. shakespeare Baptised 26 April 1564 – Died 23 April 1616
Widely regarded as the most famous English writer and playwright
He wrote 38 plays; 2 long, narrative poems; 154 sonnets.
He lived in Stratford Upon Avon with his wife Anne Hathaway and their children, Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet.
He went to London for work, beginning first as an actor with Lord Chamberlain’s Men and later working as primarily a playwright for The King’s Men (King James I).

3. Elizabethan theatre
Originally, plays were performed in courtyards of estates or in ballrooms.
Before Shakspeare’s time, a man named James Burbage built one of the first theatres in England – called The Theatre.
Later, the more famous Globe Theatre was built.
Both were referred to as “A Wooden O” because of their shape.
The Globe could hold up to 3,000 people – king on stage, “groundlings” on the floor, other people in the seating along the walls.
These structures provided for more dramatics – costume changes, special effects, a clear way to end and begin scenes, etc.

4. Basic terminology
Aside – statement made under a character’s breath or privately between two characters
Meter/Rhyme v. No Meter/Rhyme – common people use prose; nobility speak in poetry – unless the nobles are insane or have a diminished intellect
Couplet – two rhyming lines at the end of each scene, act – used to serve as “the curtain”
Clipped words – th’, oft’, etc. – like a contraction, these words employ an apostrophe to denote missing letters
Monologue- a character speaks for many lines without anyone responding
Solioquy- a character speaks ALONE on the stage

5. History
The story of Hamlet is over 700 years old and did not originate with Shakespeare.
The most direct source for the play was probably a work written by Thomas Kyd called The Ur Hamlet, which was written and performed about years before this version.
However, the original source is a 9th century Norse poem.
It was told as a play for the first time approximately 70 years before Shakespeare’s version emerged.
This is important because all attendees of Shakespeare’s play would already have known the story.

6. FREYTAG’s PYRAMID Act One: Exposition Act Two: Rising Action
Act Three: Climax: Point of No
Return
Act Four: Falling Action
Act Five: Resolution / Denouement

7. tragedy
1. Tragedies are about nobility or people high in stature. The actions of the “hero” affect others because of their high position.
2. The plot is focused on a tragic fall
3. The tone is dark.
4. Outside forces, or antagonists, contribute to downfall
5. Devilishness, deceit are usually elements.
6. A series of events lead to a catastrophe/tragic resolution. Tragic elements cannot be averted, like a snowball they absorb and ruin all in their path
7. Shakespeare usually employs comic relief around the time of tragic circumstances and restores order at the conclusion of the play.
8. The ending will be horrible – with massive death and destruction.

8. Tragic hero from Aristotle’s Poetics
The hero must be important in society, and thereby have somewhere to fall.
The hero must have a tragic flaw or error in judgement(hamartia) – the most popular is excessive pride(hubris), but that does not mean that is Hamlet’s flaw!
The hero experiences a reversal of fortune (peripeteia) brought about because of the hero's error in judgment.
The hero has a realization (anagnorisis) that the change in fortune (or downfall) was brought about by the hero's own actions
The character's fate/suffering must be greater than deserved.

9. TRAGIC HERO (con’t)
Eventually the Aristotelian tragic hero dies a tragic death, having fallen from great heights and having made an irreversible mistake. The hero must courageously accept their death with honor.
Hero must be noble in nature, but imperfect so that the audience can see themselves in him.
Hero must understand his doom, as well as the fact that his fate was discovered by his own actions.
Hero must be physically or spiritually wounded by his experiences, often resulting in his death.
The hero must be intelligent so he may learn from his mistakes.

10. Revenge tragedy 1. Ghost calling for revenge 2. “Insane” revenger
3. Postponed revenge – b/c it’s a sin
4. Revenger who dies – b/c of their sin
A well-known art-form of the Rena.
Examples include the work of Roman playwright Seneca, plays like Medea, and the most famous one of the Rena. Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy.

11. allusions It is THE most often performed play.
It is the most often quoted of all works
of literature (other than The Bible)
“To be or not to be . . .”
“To thine own self be true . . .”
“Neither a borrower or a lender be.”
“The play’s the thing . . .”
“The lady doth protest too much methinks”
A guy holding a skull and talking to it in a graveyard, “Ah, Yorick, I knew him well . . .”

12. Why study it? It is a play about YOUTH.
It is a play about RELATIONSHIPS.
It is a play about KINGSHIP, POWER, and JUSTICE (like Antigone)
It is a play about DEATH.
It addresses the concept of FATE.

13. THEMES
The day has come for you, students, to figure out theme without me spelling it out for you!!!
SO, as you read, THINK HARD!
Remember that a theme should be a complete, stand-alone statement about life or humanity. It should be similar to a moral – what can we learn from the play?
You will be asked to support your chosen theme(s) in your writing!

14. Ticket Out What is one thing from the notes that you already knew?
On a half sheet of paper answer EACH of the following in COMPLETE SENTENCES:
What is one thing from the notes that you already knew?
What is one thing from the notes that you learned?
What is one thing from the notes that you want to know more about?