1. Hamlet Theme Discussion
Kate Winslet as Ophelia and Richard Briers as Polonius.

2. Remember the 6 traits of theme statements?
Theme should be expressible in the form of a statement with a subject and a predicate.
The theme should be stated as a generalization about life. Specific characters, locations and dates are unnecessary
Be careful not to make the generalization larger than is justified by the terms of the story
Theme is the central and unifying concept of a story. It must account for all major details of the story, not be contradicted by any details in the story, and cannot rely upon supposed facts.
There is no ONE way of stating the theme of a story.
Avoid any statement that reduces the theme to some familiar saying or cliché that we have heard all of our lives such as “You can’t judge a book by its cover” or “love is blind.”

3. Possible Themes of Hamlet?
Think about the following to get started:
Death
Revenge
Madness/Insanity
Others?
What about these possible ideas is important or central to the play?
Go through each idea, citing what is important – make a list on the board

4. But We’re only to Act II!!
How do you identify a theme so early in a story?
Start looking for patterns in character behavior or thoughts.
Pay attention to relationships between characters.
Look for foreshadowing clues and make predictions about plot development.
Remember that even if your predicted theme doesn’t end up being an actual theme – no harm done! You learned!
In partners – look for patters, relationships and clues
Share with the class

6. Let’s try one together! Start with the concept of revenge.
Where do we see it in the play?
Hamlet avenging his father’s death
Fortinbras avenging his father’s death
Do either of these events drive the plot forward?
How?
Predict an outcome for each event:
Hamlet?
Fortinbras?
What about revenge is important to the story?
Don’t resort to “Revenge is sweet.”

7. Tie Theme to Characterization
Which character best supports the theme related to revenge?
How?
Find 2 references in the text that prove that this character supports the theme.
What did you come up with?
Further Practice:
As you continue to read, look for further support of various possible themes. Look at events AND characters.
Also- begin looking at a possible theme regarding indecision, inaction or paralysis of action.
Give students time to locate 2 references in the text that support the theme.