1. HAMLET AP REVISED (2016)

2. This isn’t Jerry Springer. This is Shakespeare.

3. The Tragedy of Hamlet: Background

4. The Tragedy of Hamlet -- 1602
Shakespeare’s longest play (1,530 lines)
Often considered his greatest achievement

5. Translated and performed more than any other play in the world
Requires from 4 ½ to 5 hours to perform

6. Has inspired 26 ballets, 6 operas, 45 film adaptations, and a “Simpsons” episode

8. “To be or not to be” – the most quoted phrase in the English language

9. Style this ain’t your mama’s revenge tragedy
Shakespeare's Hamlet was a revolutionary departure from contemporary revenge tragedies, which tended to graphically dramatize violent acts on stage, in that it emphasized the hero's dilemma rather than the depiction of bloody deeds.

10. Oh so quotable!

11. Shakespeare’s Audience
Belief in ghosts and in Purgatory
Belief in the power of
confession
Purgatory- where one would “work off” sins not confessed or atoned for before death
Power of confession- absolution through acknowledgement and remorse

12. Who’s who?

13. Family # 1 – The Royals Prince Hamlet Claudius Gertrude
Ghost of King Hamlet
Prince Hamlet – university student (Wittenberg in Germany) and son of the newly deceased King Hamlet of Denmark.
Claudius – brother of Hamlet’s dead father; Hamlet’s uncle; assumes the throne after marrying his brother’s widow
Gertrude – Hamlet’s mother, widow of former king; marries Claudius just 2 months after the death of King Hamlet
“Frailty, thy name is woman!”
Ghost of King Hamlet

15. Family # 2 Polonius Ophelia Laertes
Polonius – Lord Chamberlain of the court and Claudius’s chief advisor; Father of Laertes and Ophelia
Ophelia – daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes; courted by young Hamlet before the action of the play begins
Laertes – son of Polonius, brother of Ophelia; Hamlet’s childhood friend presently fighting for Denmark in France

16. The Usurpers King Fortinbras Prince Fortinbras
King Fortinbras – King of Norway, longtime enemy of old King Hamlet
Prince Fortinbras – Prince of Norway, on the move against Denmark as the turmoil unfolds

17. The “Friends” Horatio – the BFF
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern – the “frenemies”
Horatio– Hamlet’s most loyal friend; the first to reveal the news of the Ghost to Hamlet
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern – boyhood friends of Hamlet; commissioned by Claudius to spy on Hamlet; now synonymous with betrayal

18. The Plot 11th-century Denmark, castle at Elsinore
Bloody, barbaric plot serves as a backdrop for the unhappy young modernist who is Shakespeare’s hero
Revenge tragedy: Unless there is a reason why the revenge is delayed, the play is over in one act. Young Hamlet, an intellectual and a dreamer, lives in the world of thought; he is torn between action and contemplation

19. Hamlet’s Private Tragedy -- Indecision
Appearance vs. Reality
“Acting” vs. Honesty
Love vs. Hate
Self vs. State
Death vs. Life
Loyalty vs. Selfishness
Lust vs. Love

20. Essential Questions Is Hamlet insane? Does Hamlet really love Ophelia?
Why is Hamlet among the most frequently quoted works of literature ever written? Is it still relevant today?
What are the themes, symbols, and motifs in Hamlet? How do they affect our reading of the play?

21. Let’s get literary! aside chorus comedy foil prologue revenge tragedy
soliloquy
tragedy
monologue
aside a line delivered to the audience while other characters are on stage
chorus narrator
Comedy drama that is light and funny, usually happy ending
foil contrasting character (Hamlet and Laertes or Fortinbras)
prologue introduction
revenge tragedy a drama in which the primary motive is revenge for a real or imagined injury
soliloquy character speaking alone on stage, revealing innermost thoughts
Tragedy a drama where someone important experiences a downfall (usually death)