1. Do Now: Hamlet: Scholar vs. Man of Action. Hamlet is waiting for more proof before he definitely acts. Is this wise? What if he never gets definitive proof? Consider the following: “Doubt can be a bond as powerful and sustaining as certainty.” HW: Read Act 3 Scene 1. What do you make of Hamlet’s famous soliloquy? What is he asking in that first line? What does Hamlet term the undiscovered country?

2.   Images:  “this most excellent canopy the air”  “majestical roof fretted with golden fire”  “foul and pestilent congregation of vapors”  With this last line, how does Hamlet summarize the sky?  “Man delights not me”  Why is Hamlet so disappointed by man? By the world around him?  Existentialism – How does this speech further explore Hamlet’s existential angst? “What is this quintessence of dust?”

3.   Faced with an actor who can cry at the imagined torments of a fictional character in a play, Hamlet reproaches himself for his own lack of action. However, according to Hamlet’s soliloquy, what IS stopping him from acting?  Hamlet’s Moods – His emotions range from guilt, to self-deprecation, to regret, to condemnation, to resolution, to motivation. “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!”

4.   Sydney Bolt argues that the soliloquies in Hamlet can be read as involving at least three speakers—(1) a passionate avenger, (2) an ironic critic, and (3) an actor considering his part.  Can you break down the monologue into these 3 parts? How would the delivery of these 3 parts change? How would you indicate the shift? – Work in groups of 3. Simplifying Hamlet’s Moods

5.   Is theatre as powerful as Hamlet claims? Can it move an audience, or incite demonstrations, violence or other actions? Can you provide examples? Can it move a criminal to confess?  Reality vs. Appearance  Which characters would fall under this theme? “The play’s the thing”