Hamlet Introductory Notes

There are three major forms of Shakespearian drama: 1. Tragedy: this form of drama involves a serious moral struggle by the protagonist (“tragic hero”) who is doomed by  Fate  overwhelming circumstances; the actions of others  A personal flaw (“tragic flaw”)

Tragedy… Aristotle’s precept : the protagonist must be an admirable but flawed the audience able to understand and sympathize with the character. capable of both good and evil. Shakespeare always insists on the operation of the doctrine of free will; the (anti)hero is always able to back out, to redeem himself-- but, they move unheedingly to their doom.

3 forms of drama cont… 2. Comedy: from Real to Ideal in its Elizabethan usage, had a very different meaning from modern comedy. A Shakespearean comedy is one that has a happy ending, usually involving marriages between the unmarried characters, and a tone and style that is more light-hearted than Shakespeare's other plays.

The Histories (Politics) Shakespeare wrote about the lives of English kings in this collection. Some include: King John Richard III The “Henry’s”

Drama Term: foil A foil is a character who sets off another character by contrast. Shakespeare used this drama technique to heighten the contrasts between characters. Ex: Lady Capulet and the Nurse Young Hamlet and Young Fortinbras

Drama Term: protagonist The protagonist of a drama (or in literature) is the primary or main character. In a Shakespearean tragedy, the protagonist is called the “tragic hero” Tragic heroes are neither all good, nor all bad. They have both traits—like all of us.

Drama Term:antagonist The antagonist in a drama (or work of literature) is the counterpart to the main character and the source of a story’s main conflict. The person may not be “bad” or “evil” but he/she opposes the protagonist in a significant way.

The Play’s the Thing! Most Shakespearean plays typically follow a traditional plot line and development and contain 5 Acts. Act I: Exposition--introduces background information; sets up the conflict Act II: Conflict and rising action; subplots are also introduced as are more characters. Act III: Climax—the turning point in the story at which the end result becomes inevitable, usually where something suddenly goes terribly wrong; the dramatic high point.

Act IV: Falling Action– here the subplots being to be resolved Act V: Resolution—this final act brings together all of the plot strands and characters. Any mysteries are solved or revealed. In a tragedy, it usually ends with lots of people dying. In a comedy, there is usually a wedding! Shakespeare likes to have servants or minor characters reveal all at the end.

Starting/Ending Discord to Harmony Shakespeare usually starts his play out with a fight scene or chaos of some sort (remember the opening scene, Act I of Romeo and Juliet?) He almost always ends things, though, with harmony being achieved. The characters learn their lessons, as do the audience members. Mysteries are resolved. The kingdom will go on with a rightful (or at least, good, ruler). All that was wrong will be set right and made good again for those who remain.

The Divine Right of Kings This concept was popular in the time of Shakespeare (also called the “Elizabethan Era” or the “Renaissance”). Commoners believed that it was God who ordained the king or queen. If the proper monarch was on the throne, all was well. If the wrong monarch is in charge, all kinds of things go badly in the kingdom! (“Something's rotten in the State of Denmark…”)

Love that Latin! “cide” The Latin root “cide” means “to kill” Define the following terms based on their Latin roots: homicide (homo=“human being” or “person” from homo sapien) suicide (sui=_____________________) regicide (regent= _________________) genocide (genus= _________________) fratricide (fraternity= ______________) sororicide (sorority= _______________) matricide (mater=_________________) patricide (pater=__________________) filicide (fili=______________________) Insecticide, pesticide, herbicide, what others can you think of?

Claudius Claudius is the evil uncle in Hamlet. Like Scar in Disney’s The Lion King, he kills his brother (Hamlet Sr.—the rightful King of Denmark) to take his throne and marry his wife. What three “cide’s” would Claudius be guilty of committing?