HamletBy William Shakespeare

Think about a time when you or someone you know coped with an injustice. Answer the following questions under your response to the question above:

What was the injustice?How did it happen?How did you (or the person you know) feel after it happened?How did you respond?

Did you seek redress, a correction, or compensation?Did you want to get revenge for the injustice?Did you try to get even?Did you forgive and forget?

How did you feel after you responded?

Do-Now Why do people seek revenge?

AgendaHamlet Movie Trailer Shakespeare Biography and TimelineShakespearian Tragedy Hamlet Origins21st Century Hamlet Hamlet: A Play of Questions (Themes) Context

Hamlet : Movie Trailer• What do you notice? _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________• What does the trailer suggest the play (or movie)

will be about?________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

William ShakespeareBorn in _________ in ________________, EnglandActor and playwrightBetween ________ and ________ , he wrote:

37 plays and 154 sonnetsFounded the King’s Players acting company Built the _______________Died in ________ in Stratford

Historical Timelinec. 500 – Time of _________________________

c. 1000 – ___________________ is written (our version)

1558 – ______________ becomes Queen of England (English Renaissance)

1584 – ___________ founds the first colony in Virginia1602 – ____________________________ is produced1603 – _______________________________ dies1607 – the colony, Jamestown, Virginia, is founded

Shakespeare’s Tragedies

Though Shakespeare wrote ______________ and _____________, we’ve focused on his _____________at TBA.What elements have you noticed in common among the plays we’ve read: Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Othello?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Characteristics of a TragedyOften concerned with the harshness and injustices of lifeStory of one person, the _______________Suffering is usually ______________________________ to inspire greater emotion in the audience.Will include:

_________________________________________Madness, hallucinations, epilepsythe ______________________________

Ghosts, witches______________, ______________, or ______________ will influence the action

usually a person _______________________________brings about his own downfall through a _______________

Othello’s flaw?_______________________________

Macbeth?_______________________________

experiences ________________________ with antagonistsexperiences ________________________ – typically related to the fatal flaw

Characteristics of a Tragic Hero

Tragedy of Hamlet: OriginsWritten: c. _________________________

Plot elements borrowed from other legends and sources:

Saxo Grammaticus’ ________________________ (1200)Corresponds with legendary Danish figure: ____________

Francois de Belleforest’s ________________________ (1576)

Collection of tragic talesThomas Kyd’s __________________________ published in 1580s

The most famous revenge tragedy of Shakespeare’s day…before Hamlet, that is!

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 _________ ______________________________________________.

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? __________________________________

Hamlet: Origins

Hamlet: A Play of ________________

"The very essence of Hamlet is that we could never understand him." David Stark

Shakespeare’s most complex and most produced playOne of the most problematic texts in all of literature. With the exception of the ________, no work has produced such a continuing and lively debate on it’s meaning/interpretation We’re not going to arrive at a firm consensus on what the play is about and how we should understand it; in fact, we may end up with more questions than answersWe must wrestle with the text and reach our interpretation!

Hamlet: A Play of _______________The themes of the play we will address various

philosophical questions

“You can play it and play it and

still never get to the bottom of its

box of wonders”

A Tragedy of Will________________________ vs.

_________________________ 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.

A Tragedy of Uncertainty ________________________ vs.

_________________________ Can we ever really know a person or ourselves? How do disguise and deception affect our ability to

know others?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 ______________ and ________________.

A Tragedy of Uncertainty

Hamlet not only investigates others, he also peers into his soul to ask philosophical and religious questions about life and death. His obsession with what’s real has three main effects:

he becomes so caught up in the search for reality that he ceases to be able to actin order to prove what’s real and what isn’t, Hamlet himself must hide his “reality” behind an “appearance” of madnessthe more closely Hamlet looks, the less real and coherent everything seems to be

A Tragedy of Class & Gender ________________________ and

________________________ How do class/gender affect the ways we interact with others?

Hamlet’s view of women is decidedly dark. In fact, the few times that Hamlet’s pretend madness seems to veer into actual madness occur when he gets furious at women.Hamlet believes women are _________________, that their beauty is a cover for deceit and sexual desire, and are living embodiments of appearance’s corrupt effort to eclipse reality. Women’s social position and its association with powerlessness is a defining characteristic. Gertrude’s quick marriage to Claudius, though immoral, is also her only way to maintain her status.

A Tragedy of Expectations______________, ________________, and

_________________ How do humans deal with the conflicting elements? What happens when we

allow our passions rule our lives? (When) Is the pursuit of revenge a worthwhile endeavor? What do we do when loyalty toward family, self,

friends, and country are at odds? In Hamlet, the codes of conduct (rules of how to act/behave) 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

A Tragedy of Death & Decay______________, ________________, and

_________________ How do humans deal with the conflicting elements?

______________is described as poisoned, diseased, or corrupt. Hamlet doesn’t limit himself to Denmark; he talks about all of life in these disgusting images. Hamlet argues that death is the one true reality, and he seems to view all of life as “appearance”During Shakespeare’s time, _______________ was viewed as a punishment for sin and therefore something to be feared. Death pervades the play Hamlet. 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.

ExpectationsShakespeare's plays were meant to be performed!

• Scene Presentations

• Soliloquy Presentations

Scene Presentations As groups, you will be assigned acts and asked to create a “modernized” version through the art of rap/rhyme.You will have to re-read assigned scenes, and decide what is being said and what is most important about the scene in relation to the whole play. You will want to figure out the perspective of each character involved and what their tone will be. Then you will write the scene again, using our form of English and a modern setting. You will need to write a script with stage directions and a setting described. Members of your group will then perform the piece in front of the class. The performance will also be videotaped to be later edited into our final movie version of Hamlet.

Soliloquy Presentation Each of you will become "experts" on your assigned soliloquy. You will:

read, annotate, interpret an assigned soliloquy, and prepare to explain its diction and imagery

discuss the characteristics and state of mind of the character speaking

memorize the soliloquy and present it to the class**depending on the assigned soliloquy, you may be asked to memorize a portion of the soliloquy

Soliloquy Presentation Act 1, Scene 2, pg. 10 O, that this too, too sullied flesh (2)

Act 1, Scene 5, pg. 25 O all you host of heaven! (2)

Act 2, Scene 2, pg. 42 I will tell you why (2)

Act 2, Scene 2, pg. 49 Now I am alone (4)

Act 3, Scene 1, pg. 53 To be, or not to be (2)

Act 3, Scene 2, pg. 57 Speak the speech (1)

Act 3, Scene 2, pg. 68 ‘Tis now the very witching time of night (1)

Act 3, Scene 3, pg. 70 Now might I do it (1)

Act 4, Scene 4, pg. 85 How all occasions do inform against me (2)