1. Hamlet (Characters and relationships)
Write down these key words to describe the man and offer you own.
Compelling, decent, sensitive, righteous, intelligent, erudite (smart), rash, procrastinator, noble, self-absorbed, heroic, cruel, reluctant avenger, suicidal, self-obsessed, reckless, honourable, confused, Scholar

2. Objectives:
Know what you need to be able to discuss the character Hamlet.
Have quotes to be able to do so.
Understand said quotes.

3. Quick note 1 “That I, the son of the dear murder’d,
Promted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words”.
“That I, the son of the dear murder’d,/ Promted to my revenge by heaven and hell,/ Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words”. (Act 2, scene ii)
“That I, the son of the dear murder’d, promted to my revenge by heaven and hell, must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words”.
Some people group it.
Some use ///
Majority just stick it in.
my advise, mention where the quote came from in the paragraph

4. Quick note 2 – the question.
Questions include
Hamlet’s soliloquies tell us a lot about him.
He is a good / anti-hero/ crazy /interesting character who we should feel admiration, sympathy, random word towards. Agree/disargee?
His relationship to the villain, the women, the world.

5. Hamlet Character Plan.
The next several slides will have the following headings. This is what you need to be able to discuss the character of Hamlet:
His state of mind.
His Madness
His delay / procrastination
His nobility
A tragic hero or anti-hero
His relationship with Claudius
His relationship with women

6. Hamlet’s State of Mind – note this down
His very first soliloquy displays his grief and indicates he is suicidal:
“O that this too too solid flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fix’d His canon ‘gainst self –slaughter!” (Act 1, scene ii)
(Key words: resentful, vulnerable, sympathy, pity)
(It is important to consider that some character questions specifically mention soliloquies and what they reveal. Also, it makes structural sense to discuss the characters starting position first.)

7. His Madness
Is Hamlet’s “antic disposition”, as he calls it, an act or real? If an act, it is a clever ploy. He can say what he wants and move around in a world of false appearances.
“To be honest as this world goes is to be one man picked out of ten thousand” (Act 2, scene ii)
(key words: guise of madness, express bitterness and anger, confusing enemies, deception, unpredictable).
(If arguing that he is not mad, focus on his actions and tactics. If arguing otherwise, look at his soliloquies as there is no point faking there.)

8. His Madness
While not mad, he may lose control. Horror and disgust at his mother’s behaviour spread and deepen to include all life.
“What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason, how infinite in faculty And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” (Act 2, scene ii)
(Means the pure concentrated essence)
(Key words: tortured soul, rejection, sanctity of life)
(This leads to Yorick’s skull ‘to be or not to be’. Referencing that quote is a must in ANY Hamlet question.)

9. His Delay (procrastination)
Hamlet is a reluctant avenger who’s burden becomes heavier and heavier.
Hamlet delays because of his fear of intimacy with his mother. (Oedipus)
He is disgusted with his own inaction.
“That I, the son of the dear murder’d, Promted to my revenge by heaven and hell, Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words”. (Act 2, scene ii)
(Key words: relatable, self-doubt, Scholar not a fighter, finds his resolve.)
(This is in the third soliloquy, ‘Hecuba’s soliloquy’)

10. His Nobility (His 4th soliloquy)
Hamlet considers the human condition and comes to the belief that the ends control our behaviour. Nobility is rewarded and evil is punished. This is why we behave.
“To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune Or to take arms against a sea of troubles For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause”
“Thus conscience does make cowards of us all” (Act 3, scene i)
(Key words: climax, human nature, karma, Machiavellian or ambitious,
(Cladius – being King justified the deed in his mind)
wanting to
further his
career)

11. A tragic hero or an anti hero.
This is a coming-of-age story. Hamlet is sensitive, intelligent, loyal and perceptive, and a great thinker and scholar. He is not suited to be an avenging hero but wants to be a man of action, like Fortinbras:
“blessed are those Whose blood and judgment are so well commingled, That they are not a pipe for fortune's finger” (Act 2, scene ii) (passion and reflection, action and thought)
(Key words: complex, determined, Tunnel vision, desires)
(You could also argue he has been tainted by association, with Claudius, his mother or a world he should not be in.)
(His sole focus is revenge, which you could argue excuses his behaviour.)

12. His relationship with Claudius.
Hamlet and Claudius are closely related, through blood, through marriage and through proximity. His hesitation in killing Claudius (besides morality) could simply be because he loves him. Hamlet seeks out excuses not to kill Claudius:
“now a is praying, And now I’ll do’t.....A villain kills my father, and for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send To heaven” (Act 3, scene iii) (Belief that those who prayed were forgiven by God).
(Key words: spellbinding, providence (God) will plan everything – ordained, fate)
(Claudius is a man of action. He is smart, charming and shares many other charactistics with Hamlet. Why wouldn’t Hamlet like his uncle on some level?)

13. His relationship with Women.
Confused by his emotions, Hamlet lashes out at the women in his life. Ophelia can be seen as a victim of Hamlet’s inaction. Only when she is gone does he say:
“I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers Could not, with all their quantity of love, Make up my sum.” (Act 5, scene i)
Gertrude’s betrayal also causes Hamlet to lose faith in all women:
“God hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another”
(Key words: Before Freud, devastated, adulterous affair, no brother sister embrace in play).
(The women, though weak, dependent and passive in the play, are good and loyal however. Gertrude doesn’t tell Claudius of Hamlets “antic disposition”, she realises her mistakes and feels remorse and they seem to know Hamlet the best; how he feels and thinks.)
(One of most emotional scenes is Hamlet pleading with his mother (Act 3, sc. iv))

14. Claudius
Skilled diplomat, devious, clever adversary, scheming, cunning, repulsive, bestial, pragmatic, calculating, shrewd, sly, astute, cruel, inhuman, anti-hero, multi-faceted, Machiavelian.

15. Introduction.
The villain is the most interesting part of a Shakespeare play and is asked about a lot in the exam. If he shows up, the question is more likely to be like:
Much of the appeal of the play is the villain.
There is no Hamlet with Claudius.
Why is Claudius so great, admirable ?
As such, we can prepare a more detailed plan for him 

16. Introduction. Points to consider -- remember to use the question given though
Compare to villains in movies today – you don’t care about them because they’re pure evil, they’ll obviously lose and there’s no emotion therefore. But Claudius is different (smart, skilled, affectionate).
Or the opposite – he is a murderous psychopath who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He is the ultimate manipulator and is so appalling that the audience is forced to hang onto his every word.
Perhaps he is both. Perhaps he starts good and the increasing threat of exposure makes him do ever increasingly disgusting things.

17. Start of play (Your approach will increase the importance of the underlined words)
At first, Claudius appears to be a good king. He claims his marriage will cancel out the pain of the late kings death. He averts war with Norway. Most importantly, he recognises Hamlet as the heir:
“You are the most immediate to our throne, And with no less nobility of love Than that which dearest father bears his son Do I import towards you.” (Act 1, scene ii)
(key words: skilled politician, diplomatic, a pragmatist and realist.)
(Appearance versus reality here. Does his past or future taint the present?)

18. Shock horror
The manner in which King Hamlet died is described in gory detail. The act is that of a metaphorical snake of absolute evil, as the Ghost describes:
Sleeping within mine orchard, My custom always in the afternoon, Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole With juice of cursed hebona in a vial, And in the porches of my ears did pour The leperous distilment....” (Act 1, scene v)
(key words: a satyr, half-man, half-beast, incestuous, drunk pervert)
(Never use foul language or slang - urbandictionary)

19. Soliloquies are like cheatcodes
It is strange when Claudius confesses his sins and prays for the courage to repent. He wants forgiveness but is unwilling to part with his ill-gotten gains. If anything, he gets worse after this soliloquy:
“O, my offence is rank! It smells to heaven. It hath the primal eldest curse upon’t, a brother’s murder. Pray can I not My crown, mine own ambition, and my Queen. May one be pardon’d and retain th’offence?” (Act 3, scene iii)
(Key words: Insight into character, praying saves his life, a clear intelligence here)
Claudius loves no one more than Claudius – ego.

20. Evidence of Claudias’ cunning nature
Claudius has sharp instincts and uses those around him well. He welcomes ‘dear Rosencrantz’ and ‘gentle Guildenstern’ to Elsinore, using Hamlet’s friends to spy on the protagonist. He uses Laertes in a plan which will ensure that he himself is not connected with the death of his troublesome nephew.
“And for his death no wind of blame shall breathe” (Act 4, scene vii)
He also spies on Hamlet himself, figures out he is in danger and does NOT arrest him for Polonius death for fear of an uprising.
(Key words: Shrewd, judge of character, unscrupulous (no morals))
Big mistake students make is spending several paragraphs complimenting a character and not having it mean anything more – what is the effect on the audience or you?)

21. How evil again?
Claudius is shown to have a conscience. The play has a clear effect on him: “Give me some light Away”. He knows he may escape the justice of this corrupt world but still fears divine retribution:
“In the corrupted currents of this world, Offence’s guilded and may shove by justice... But ‘tis not so above. There is no shuffling, There the action lies In his true nature” (Act 3, scene iii)
(Key words: fascinating but disgusting, credible, ambition)
He also shows sympathy for Ophelia (may be fake for Gertrude’s benifit)
THIS IS LINKED TO ‘TO BE OR NOT TO BE’ .

22. Conclusion Answer the question given
Hamlet never really outwits Claudius. Claudius is just too clever for his own good. Not satisfied with manipulating the sword, he throws the poison pearl into the chalice, sealing his own fate. The tense moment when Claudius could save his wife, but doesn’t, is one of the best dramatic moments of all time.
You could also twist the knife by adding how quickly Claudius’ world falls apart as everyone flocks to Hamlet’s side at the end.

23. Ophelia
A chance she could be the character question. It would be no bad idea to find 5-6 quotes of hers to be prepared.
If any other character shows up..... Pray 