Hamlet An introspective view of the play with critical passages studied & explained

Hamlet
An introspective view of the play
with critical passages
studied & explained
Basic Background Information
• 1600-01 first performed
• 1603 first printed
• The plot of the play is not
complex. It progresses in a linear
fashion, with all events happening
in chronological order.
Detailed Background Information
• Loosely based on Danish history, the
play most likely has its origins in
Histoires Tragiques, written by BelleForest in 1570; much of Belle-Forest's
information is drawn from the Historica
Danica, written by Saxo Grammaticus
in 1208.
• In Belle-Forest's version of Hamlet, it is a known
fact that Claudius, the King's brother, murders
him and takes the throne. Claudius then tries to
find reason to have Hamlet, the Prince of
Denmark, put to death in order to ensure his
retention of the throne.
– Realizing her error in marrying Claudius, Hamlet's
mother begs forgiveness from her son and acts with
him to seek vengeance on Claudius.
• During a banquet, Hamlet sets fire to the dining
hall and beheads his uncle, the guilty King of
Denmark. Hamlet is then crowned King.
Dramatic Structure Overview
Basic Plot Structure
• The basic structure of the plot of
Hamlet is remarkably simple; a
wrong occurs and the hero seeks
revenge to make it right. In the
process, everyone is destroyed.
Basic Plot Structure
• Shakespeare develops the plot of his
"revenge" tragedy in classical form.
– Act I is largely expository in nature, introducing
the main characters and the conflict.
– Acts II, III, and IV contain the rising action of
the plot as the conflict develops, largely in
Hamlet's mind.
– Act V contains the climax, a short period of
falling action, and the denouement, or
conclusion, in which Fortinbras takes control
of Denmark to bring order to the country once
again.
A closer look at the genre…
• The genre of "revenge tragedy" was
immensely popular among English
Elizabethan dramatists.
– In typical revenge tragedies, such as Hamlet,
the plot arises largely out of a situation for
which the hero is not responsible.
– Additionally, even though the hero may have
a tragic flaw that contributes to his downfall,
he is usually undone by circumstances over
which he has no control.
A closer look (cont.)…
• Accordingly in Hamlet, the crime that
calls for vengeance has already been
committed before the play begins.
– The real cause of the tragedy is the evil
and intolerable situation surrounding
Claudius' murder of Hamlet's father, the
King. As Hamlet tries to find a way to
avenge his father's death, murder,
madness, and ghosts are all brought to the
front of the stage, creating interest and
tension in the audience.
Motifs& ?s to focus on:
• The Theme of Vengeance
• Appearance vs. Reality
• Some things to consider:
– Is Hamlet Crazy?
– Does Hamlet Hesitate?
– Is life worth living?
... What is a man,
If his chief good and market of his time
Is but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more. -- Hamlet
Multiple approaches taken
• Over the years there have been a variety
of approaches to the play Hamlet (both on
stage and in the analysis of).
– Hamlet Seen Solely as the Victim of
External Difficulties
– The Romantic Interpretation
– The Psychoanalytical Approach
– The Historical Approach
Hamlet Seen Solely as the Victim
of External Difficulties
• the simplest approach to the play
– With his father dead and his mother remarried
to his enemy, Hamlet has no one to turn to for
help; therefore, he is totally a victim of
circumstance.
– The critics further argue that the external
situation prevents him from taking swift action.
• After all, Claudius is an extremely powerful man
now that he is King; any person would have faced
enormous difficulties in scheming against him.
• They excuse Hamlet's lack of action, and in so
doing, make him a much less interesting character.
The Romantic Interpretation
• The Romantic critics of the nineteenth century,
led by Coleridge, were more interested in the
character of Hamlet than in the plot construction
of the play. For them, Hamlet was one of the
greatest artistic creations ever.
• They saw Hamlet as an individual torn apart by
doubt and fearful of taking action. As an idealist,
Hamlet was unable to deal with the harsh
realities of life; as a result, he paid a tragic
penalty. These critics often quoted Hamlet's own
words in support of their interpretation.
The Psychoanalytical Approach
• The psychoanalytical approach focuses on
the neurotic tendencies of Hamlet and judges
him to suffer from an Oedipus Complex.
• The psychoanalysts believe that Hamlet's
possessiveness towards his mother proves
his Oedipal Complex; they defend their
arguments in specifics from the play. Hamlet
explicitly urges Gertrude not to have
intercourse with Claudius; moreover, he
advises her to curb her desire to have sex as
well.
The Psychoanalytical Approach
• The psychoanalysts then argue that Hamlet's
repressed Oedipal Complex prevents him
from killing Claudius. They feel that Hamlet
procrastinates because, in his subconscious,
he does not really want to murder the man
who killed the father that he so envied.
• They also argue that it is Oedipal Complex
prevents him from committing himself to
Ophelia.
The Historical Approach
• The historical approach holds that only
those theories prevalent in
Shakespeare's time should be utilized
to interpret his texts.
– Supporters of this school of thought argue
that the clue to Hamlet's madness and his
hesitancy in killing Claudius lies in his
melancholic disposition.
The Historical Approach
• Indeed, Shakespeare calls Hamlet the
"melancholy Dane." The malady of
melancholy was well known in the Elizabethan
age, and several treatises were written on the
subject.
– Shakespeare had probably read or heard about
these treatises, which state that the primary
characteristics of melancholy are sadness, fear,
distrust, doubt, despair, and diffidence.
• Sometimes the negative feelings are
interrupted by a false laughter or sardonic
humor.
Passage Explications and
commentaries
Activity #1 - 1.1.1-80 Analysis
– Who are these people? Where are they, and what are they doing?
– What information does Shakespeare provide about the physical
setting?
– What atmosphere/mood is created by this setting?
– What do the physical aspects of the setting suggest about the
characters behavior?
– What does the opening question “Who’s there?” imply about
Barnardo and about the situation?
– Does anything in the conversation between Barnardo and Francisco
reinforce these implications?
– What additional information do we gain about Barnardo and
Francisco from their conversation?
– Shakespeare wrote into the body of the play many signals and
directions What do the commands and questions in lines 1-20
suggest about staging this scene?
– What inferences can be drawn about Horatio’s character? About his
relationship to the guards?
Activity #2 - Character Analysis
• Character Analysis
– Sign up for specific characters.
– Work in pairs or small groups with scenes that apply to
your characters.
• Identify a specific scene that is pivotal and/or could be
interpreted differently by different directors.
– Explain the difference in interpretation of the passage based upon
the language in the text and support from the rest of the play.
» You should demonstrate the difference in how the passage
would be performed and the connection to the language and
style used.
• Homework: Choose a passage from Hamlet (40
lines or less) and print it out.
Activity #3 - Commentary
• Commentary #1 for Hamlet – a teacher
selected excerpt for students to critique
using an IOC Detailed Outline appraoch
– 20 minutes to prepare for on IOC
– 25 minutes to write the detailed analysis
Activity #4 • Commentary #2 for Hamlet – A Practice
IOC of student generated passages
– 15 minutes to prepare an outline
– Present IOC to other students (8 minutes
without interruption + 3 min Q&A)
– HW in CB: Reflection (of your own IOC)
Activity #5 - Jigsaw
• Break into six groups in the class (assigned by teacher)
and review all 8 questions within the allotted time frame.
• Questions of focus and Time allotted
– 1. Discuss Shakespeare’s use of humor in the gravedigger’s
scene as (a) a reflection of or comment on the major themes of
the play; and (b) an illustration of dramatic irony. (5 min)
– 2. Analyze Hamlet’s development, the changes in his nature, in
the following three soliloquies: “O that this too too sullied flesh
would melt…” (I, ii); “O what a rogue…” (II, ii); and “How all
occasions do inform against me…” (IV, iv). Define the evolution
of his emotional state from solitary despondency through his
subsequent encounters with the visiting players and then with
the forces of Fortinbras. (8 min)
– 3. Describe, with reference to the text, Hamlet’s relationship with
women. (6 min)
Activity #5 – Jigsaw (cont.)
– 4. Compare the function and purpose of the madness of Ophelia
and Hamlet. (6 min)
– 5. Examine the ways in which Shakespeare uses the secondary
characters Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Horatio and
Fortinbras to reflect the concerns of the main plot and themes of
the play, and Hamlet’s own development. ( 8 min)
– 6. Relate Shakespeare’s use of mythology to the major themes
of the play. ( 8 min)
– 7. The nature of love (lust, passion, sex) seems to play a
dominant note in the melody of Shakespeare’s tragedies.
Discuss the concept of love in Hamlet. Trace it throughout the
whole play. (10 min)
– 8. Study the following remarks by the Polish writer and drama
critic, Jan Kott, from his book Shakespeare Our Contemporary,
and then give your own response to his ideas. (12 min)
Activity #5 – Jigsaw (cont.)
• #8 continued:
– …I do not regret all the other Hamlets: the moralist, unable to draw
a clear-cut line between good and evil; the intellectual, unable to
find a sufficient reason for action; the philosopher, to whom the
world’s existence is a matter of doubt.
– I prefer the youth, deeply involved in politics, rid of illusions,
sarcastic, passionate, and brutal. A young rebel who has about
him something of the charm of James Dean….No doubt he is more
primitive than all previous Hamlets. Action, no reflection, is his
forte. He is wild and drunk with indignation….He does not yet
experience deep moral doubts, but he is not a simpleton. He wants
to know if his father has really been murdered. He cannot fully trust
the Ghost, or any ghosts for that matter. He looks for more
convincing evidence, and that is why he arranges a psychological
test by staging the crime that has been committed. He loathes the
world, and that is why he sacrifices Ophelia. But he does not flinch
from a coup d’etat. He knows, however, that a coup is a difficult
affair. He considers all pros and cons. He is a born conspirator.
“To be” means for him to revenge his father and to assassinate the
king; while “not to be” means—to give up the fight…
Activity #6 - Conflict Project
• Conflict Project - Identify and explore the
significance of various conflicts in the novel.
– Identify a conflict, determine the breadth of its
connections and repercussions and analyze
specific passages that allow for an exploration of
the depth of the conflict from syntax and style to
overarching plot.
• Show these connections on a large sheet of butcher
paper.
– The emphasis is NOT on the artistic aspect but on the
depth of their analysis.
Works Referenced
• Pinkmonkey Notes
http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/monkeynotes/pm
Hamlet02.asp
• Phelps, Katherine. Having a Climax, the single climax
dramatic structure. 1997.
http://www.glasswings.com.au/Storytronics/Tronics/plot/s
ingle8.htm
• Images:
– http://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/exhibits/enchant/images/hamle
t-gill1.jpg
– http://celebrating-humanity.wikispaces.com/file/view/hamletgill2.jpg/30404793/hamlet-gill2.jpg
– http://etc.usf.edu/clipart/5800/5805/hamlet_8_lg.gif