1. How does one know when it is appropriate to take action? Is it important to have all the information and take some time to think about the various choices available? Is it possible to have too much information? Or to overthink something? Have you ever been in a situation where you were forced to make a choice by the answer was unclear and the information incomplete, resulting in a state of paralysis? Do-Now Tue, Jan. 7, 2014

2. AGENDA Review: “That Within Which Passeth Show” Mini-Lesson: Shakespearean Tragedy & Themes of Hamlet Reading: Critics on Hamlet HOMEWORK Golden Quotes: After reading the six critiques on Hamlet, identify one quote from EACH critic that you believe best summarizes his or her opinion on the character of Hamlet

3. Willia m Born 1564 during reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603) Actor and playwright, between 1592 and 1611 he wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets Built the Globe Theater Died: 1616

4. Shakespeare’s Tragedies Though Shakespeare wrote comedies and histories, we have focused on his TRAGEDIES at TBA. What elements have you noticed in common among: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Othello?

5. Conventions of a Tragedy Often concerned with the harshness and injustices of life Story of one person, the tragic hero …who experiences external/internal conflict which brings about his own downfall (i.e. fatal flaw) The suffering is usually extreme and exceptional to inspire greater emotion in the audience. Will include: – abnormalities of the mind (i.e. madness, hallucinations) – the supernatural (i.e. ghosts, witches) – chance, accident, or fate will influence the action

7. Hamlet : Movie Trailer What do you notice? What does the trailer suggest the play (or movie) will be about?

8. Origins of Hamlet Written: c. 1598 – 1602 Plot elements borrowed from other legends and sources: Saxo Grammaticus’ History of the Danes (c. 1200) – Corresponds with legendary Danish figure: Amleth Francois de Belleforest’s Histories Tragiques (1576) – Collection of tragic tales Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy (Ur-Hamlet) (c. 1580) – The most famous revenge tragedy of Shakespeare’s day – …before Hamlet, that is!

9. 21 st Century Hamlet Imagine your name is… umm… let’s go with: HAMLET You’re away at college. It’s your junior year. Life is good. Monday Night: 2AM. Mom texts you: “CALL ME WHEN YOU GET THIS!” Half asleep, you call her. Her sobs are loud and you can barely understand what she is saying. Finally she blurts out: “YOUR FATHER IS DEAD!” TWEET #1 (in 140 characters or less) your reaction/response…

10. 21 st Century Hamlet Unfortunately, this semester you are taking microeconomics and your professor is a robot. When you tell him about what happened, he says you still need to take the final next Friday or retake the course. He forces you to miss you father’s funeral TWEET #2!

11. 21 st Century Hamlet Finals end. You pass; barely. It’s time to go home. It’s been two weeks since your father’s death and you’re devastated. You load up the car and drive home. When you get home, you hug your mother and sense a strange vibe from her. She’s not upset. Or not upset enough. Then you notice she’s wearing a wedding ring. A new wedding ring! TWEET #3!

12. 21 st Century Hamlet Mom tells you she has some news: “I have remarried your father’s brother, Uncle Claude.” You never liked Uncle Claude. He always… –seemed jealous of your father for taking the family business. –complained about his own job. –looked at your mom in a way that creeped you out. TWEET #4!

13. 21 st Century Hamlet One night your father’s ghost comes to you in a dream. He tells you he was murdered by your Uncle Claude. He wants you to avenge him. Was the dream real? Will you kill your uncle? TWEET #5!

14. Origins of Hamlet In the stories referenced earlier, a Danish prince fakes madness in order to take revenge on his uncle, who had killed the prince’s father and married his mother. Shakespeare chose to approach the story from a completely original point of view, focusing mainly on Hamlet's deep emotional struggle. Hamlet doesn’t just feign madness; he seems at times to actually be crazy! Can you think of a classic Disney film inspired by Hamlet? The Lion King

15. "The very essence of Hamlet is that we could never understand him.” “You can play it and play in and still never get to the bottom of its box of wonders” HAMLET Play of Questions

16. a tragedy of UNCERTAINTY Appearance v. Reality Can we ever really know a person or ourselves? How do disguise and deception affect our ability to know? Every character is constantly trying to figure out what the other characters think, as opposed to what those characters are pretending to think. Characters try to figure each other out by using deception of their own, such as spying and plotting

17. a tragedy of WILL Action v. Inaction What keeps us in a state of paralysis? Why are we often unable to exert our will? Is it possible to overthink something? Hamlet fits in a literary genre: the revenge play, in which a man must take revenge against those who have wronged him. Yet Hamlet, the man seeking revenge, can’t actually bring himself to take revenge.

18. a tragedy of DEATH The Nature of Death What becomes of us after we die? How does our perception of death affect the way we live? Denmark is described as poisoned, diseased, or corrupt. Hamlet argues that death is the one true reality, and he seems to view all of life as “appearance” During Shakespeare’s time, death was viewed as a punishment for sin; therefore, something to be feared. Of the 11 principle characters, one is already dead (the ghost), 8 die during the play, and one is responsible for the death of thousands.

19. a tragedy of EXPECTATIONS Tradition v. Skepticism How do humans deal with the conflicting elements? What do we do when loyalty toward family, self, friends, and country are at odds? In Hamlet, the codes of conduct are largely defined by religion and an aristocratic code that demands honor and revenge if honor has been soiled. But as Hamlet begins to pursue revenge, he discovers that the codes of conduct on which society is founded contradict, reasons for revenge and the idea of justice become confused

20. Hamlet Essay

21. Critics of Hamlet