1. A Play by William Shakespeare
Hamlet
A Play by William Shakespeare

2. Key Facts Full Title: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Author: Will Shakespeare
Type of Work: Play
Genre: Tragedy, revenge tragedy
Time and Place Written: London, England ( )
Date of Publication: 1603
Protagonist: Hamlet
Setting (Time): late medieval period
Setting (Place): Castle Elsinore, Denmark
Tone: Dark, ironic, passionate, desperate, violent

3. Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy Formula
Revenge play popular in English theater from late 1500s to early 1600s.
Can be traced back to Roman dramatist Seneca
Seneca drew the line of action and his ability to drench the stage in gore
This appealed to the Elizabethan audience
Hamlet= intense emotion and physical violence
Through characters and actions Shakespeare probes the nature of death, fate, and madness.

4. The Formula 1. A ghost who demands revenge
2. Hero disguises himself to get info to justify his acts of revenge
3. Female character goes mad due to grief
4. Scheming politician, king, or military leader murders for lust and power
5. Some circumstance delays the consummation of his plot
6. The act of revenge demands the death of the revenger

5. Shakespeare’s Tragedies
Most powerful studies of human nature and literature
Will’s plays stand as the greatest achievements of dramatic artistry
Hamlet, most famous play
There are 9 tragedies

6. All the World’s a Stage The Globe Theater Built in 1599 Capacity 1,200
Performances held only in the day
Scenery minimal
Very few props
Burned in 1613 due to canon in the production of Henry VIII
Rebuilt in 1614
Burned 30 years later by Puritans
1997 rebuilt

7. Royals and Rich sit here
Some with money sit here
Commoners and Peasants stand on ground for 2 pence

8. Not Totally Original, But…
Play based on story of Amleth, 9th century Danish prince
French story (1576) by Francois de Belleforest
Some scholars believe Shakespeare most influenced by a play about the Danish work
Play is lost
How much of Hamlet is really original?????
Shakespeare’s characters more thoughtful and dynamic
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s most intellectually engaging play

9. The Players
Cast of Hamlet

10. Hamlet
Protagonist
Son of Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet, nephew to present king
Student at the University of Wittenberg
30 years of age
Prone to rash and impulsive acts

11. Claudius Antagonist Villain of the play Newly crowned king of Denmark
Ambitious politician driven by sexual desires and a lust for power
Does show signs of human feeling
Love for Gertrude seems sincere

12. Gertrude Queen of Denmark Hamlet's mom Loves Hamlet
Weak, needs affection
Cares more for status then truth and morals

13. Ophelia Polonius’s daughter Hamlet’s off-again-on-again girlfriend
She is sweet and innocent
Obeys the men in her life
Dependent on the men to tell her how to behave and what to think

14. Horatio Hamlet’s best friend 30 years old
Studies with him at the university
Loyal and helpful to Hamlet throughout the play

15. Polonius Lord Chamberlain of Claudius's court
Ophelia and Laertes’ father
Conniving and pompous old man

16. Laertes Spends much of the play in France
He is passionate and quick to action
Serves as a foil to Hamlet

17. Ghost Ghost of King Hamlet, Hamlet’s father
Not sure to trust the ghost
Hamlet suspects that it might be there to trick him into murder
Why and where it comes from, never resolved

18. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Think…Harry and Lloyd from Dumb and Dumber
Former friends of Hamlet from Wittenberg
Summoned by Claudius and Gertrude to discover cause of Hamlet’s behavior

19. Fortinbras (Prince) Prince of Norway
King Hamlet killed King Fortinbras
Prince wants revenge
Wishes to attack Denmark
Foil to Prince Hamlet

20. Themes and Motifs 1. The Impossibility of Certainty- Hamlet questions:
Certain knowledge about ghosts
Ghost- is a friend or a foe
Certain crime facts if no witnesses
Can he know the state of Claudius’s soul by watching his behavior
Can we know if our actions will have the consequences we want them to have
The play shows us how many uncertainties our lives are built upon

21. Themes 2. The Mystery of Death-
Hamlet obsessed with death after his father’s death
Death tied to themes of spirituality, truth, actions and uncertainty
Will death bring answers to Hamlet’s deepest questions
Death both cause and consequence of revenge
Hamlet contemplates suicide- is it morally legit action in a painful world?

22. Motifs Recurring structures, contrasts, or lit devices that help develop and inform the texts’ major themes
1. Incest and Incestuous Desire
Claudius and Gertrude
Laertes and Ophelia
Hamlet and Gertrude
2. Misogyny
Gertrude’s marriage causes Hamlet to become cynical about women
3. Words and Language
Hamlet’s difficulty in getting the truth comes from the slipperiness of the language
Words can be used to distort truth and manipulate people (men use words to enhance their power)

23. Save Room For…. Ophelia Syndrome Fratag’s Chart
Garden of Evil Reference