1. Hamlet Review of major items for the exam

2. Major Characters The Ghost 1. Supposed to be the ghost of Hamlet’s murdered father in an earth-bound purgatory 2. Purpose of the ghost is never revealed clearly enough to conclude whether it is good or evil. 3. The ghost carries the theme of uncertainty and that things are not always what they seem. 4. The ghost also serves to expose Hamlet’s problem with inaction, as Hamlet struggles to fully trust and act upon the ghost’s information and demands.

3. Major Characters (cont.) Claudius New king of Denmark Master of deception and great political strategist. Driven by ambition, power, lust, although he does show some signs of guilt at times. Absolute foil to the King that he murdered. Claudius is responsible for the moral imbalance in the play.

4. Major Characters (cont.) Hamlet (General) 1. Prince of Denmark 2. Is a student more than a soldier and lets his intellect and analysis often override his ability to act. 3. Although indecisive and calculating, Hamlet acts on his emotions often and commits impulsive acts as the play goes on. 4. Although faking madness early in the play, Hamlet does, at times, seem to actually lose his mind via emotions.

5. Major Characters (cont.) Hamlet (Complexity) Hamlet’s Shakespeare’s most complex character because he’s so open to interpretation. His soliloquies carry some of Shakespeare’s most resonant observations on the human condition. Hamlet’s problems, in an arguable sense, are all of our problems.

6. Major Characters (cont.) Hamlet (Death) 1. Hamlet often contemplates the ongoing motif of death. 2. He considers his father’s death, his own suicide, the murder of Claudius, and also what lies in the afterlife. 3. He is arguably responsible for the death’s of six characters, as well.

7. Major Characters (cont.) Gertrude 1. Her motivations are somewhat unclear. 2. Gertrude raises so many questions that it is hard to decide if she’s moral or immoral. 3. Regardless, she does base herself off of men of position. 4. She also seems to be a survivor in this sense also. 5. She arguably chooses position over family, which make many criticize her. 6. Shakespeare might also be raising questions about the role of woman, in general, through Gertrude’s dubious nature.

8. Major Characters (cont.) Ophelia 1. Through the entire play, Ophelia is perhaps the most innocent character. 2. Loyal to her brother, her father, and to Hamlet. 3. Perhaps the reliance on men, however, does lead to Ophelia’s displacement, madness, and demise in the play. 4. Shakespeare might also question the position and roles of woman through Ophelia.

9. Major Characters (cont.) Polonius 1. Father of Laertes and Ophelia. 2. He’s the “yes man” of the play. 3. His role as servant to the king leads to his befuddlement, cuckolding, and demise. 1. All of this comes through Hamlet, as well. 4. Shakespeare seems to question a value- less, contradictory, blindly subservient man when he writes Polonius into the play.

10. Major Characters (cont.) Laertes 1. Serves as a foil for Hamlet in many ways. 1. He leaves Denmark to return to school. 2. He loses a father but acts quickly and directly in response. 3. He attempts to openly defend the honor of both his father and sister.

11. Major Characters (cont.) Fortinbras 1. Utlimate foil for Hamlet 1. His father of the same name dies. 2. He avenges his father’s death convincingly and with absolute resolution. 3. He does not hesitate to act. 4. Hamlet notes Fortinbras’ forceful action to the point of jealousy.

12. Major Characters (cont.) Horatio 1. Hamlet’s closest friend throughout the play. 2. He does not budge in his loyalty or reliability with Hamlet. 3. He is the one responsible for the entire play, for he’s the only one left to tell the story.

13. Major Characters (cont.) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern 1. Almost one and the same. 2. These two raise the question of loyalty in friendship and loyalty to the king. 3. Although one can be sympathetic to these doomed characters, one can also be critical of them.

14. Themes 1. Things are not always what they seem 2. The frustrations and paralysis of existence and action in life 3. Corruption and compromised values will ultimately lead to evil and demise 4. Madness can plague anyone and can be used tactfully 5. The roles of women in a world based upon and ruled by men 6. What makes a man? 7. Revenge is served in many different ways. 8. Love, family, honor, and friendship can all be betrayed. Social naturalism.

15. Motifs 1. The ear and hearing 2. Poison 3. Death 4. Incest 5. Suicide 6. Murder

16. Symbols 1. Poison in the ear (poison in general) 2. Yorik’s skull 3. The play within the play (The Mouse Trap) 4. Ophelia’s flowers 5. The ghost 6. Spying

17. Major Quotes “To be or not to be” “Frailty, thy name is woman” “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” “To thine own self be true” “Brevity is the soul of wit” “Get thee to a nunnery” “When sorrows come, they come not as single spies. They come as battalions.”

18. Practice Prompt for the Essay 2004, Form B. The most important themes in literature are sometimes developed in scenes in which a death or deaths take place. Choose a novel or play and write a well-organized essay in which you show how a specific death scene helps to illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

19. Sample Introduction: The final death scene in Shakespeare’s Hamlet involves the deaths of many characters: Hamlet, Claudius, Gertrude, and Laertes. It is with these deaths that Horatio is left to tell the story of what’s happened, essentially to tell the story of Hamlet. Fortinbras, a foil to Hamlet throughout the play, decides, upon hearing Horatio’s story, to honor Hamlet by having him carried away like a soldier. It is Hamlet who’s honored at the end of the play, not any others. It is through the deaths of Laertes, Gertrude, and Claudius, that Shakespeare reveals his theme that one cannot compromise his/her honor or family. Although a dubious character throughout the play, Hamlet’s legacy surpasses these others’ because he does not compromise his honor or family.