By William Shakespeare

y The Story of Hamlet

is at least 700 years old

y Hamlet first appears

as Amlethus in the Historia Danica in the 12th century

y Shakespeare s version of

Hamlet is based on a French story published in 1576

y It was called Histoires

Tragiques by Francois de Belleforest

y A Danish Prince named Horvendile married

Queen Geruth and had a son named Hamlet

y Prince Horvendile is murdered by his

brother who then marries Queen Geruth

y Hamlet seeks revenge on his uncle by

cutting off his Uncle s head

y Under Elizabeth I,

England became the center of commerce and culture y It s dramatists and poets were the leading literary artists of the day

y Due to the Queen s love for the arts,

Shakespeare s career was able to thrive

y Spirits unable to rest

because they have unfinished business on Earth

y The Devil disguised as

the dead trying to trap the living

y A sign of evil

y There were strict religious rules against

suicide and they forbade the burial of a person who died of suicide in holy ground
y There were also strict rules

against the marriage of family members

y They also believed that a person s soul

would be condemned to hell or purgatory if he had not had a chance to confess his sins before he dies
y This also reflects the belief that

God would forgive this sins of a person who sincerely repents

y During the

Renaissance Era, the ideas of the church and the scientific world were colliding. y Formerly, one could only believe in one or the other.

Theocentric Geocentric (Ptolemy ( Catholics belived believed that the God was the center of Earth was the center the Universe) of the universe) (Spiritual) Pope Bishop Priests The Faithful (Temporal (Earth life)) King Nobleman Merchants/Craftsman Peasants, Serfs

Animals, Plants and Inanimate Objects

y The Great Chain of Being meant that there

was a place for everyone and everyone had their place

y Any violation of any par t of the Chain of

Being was a destructive act that could impair the whole

y Therefore, violence done to a king could set

the universe in chaos!!!!!

Brother of the Late King Hamlet Married to King Hamlet s Widow, Queen

Gertrude (Hamlet s Step-Father) Clever, Majestic, and Manipulative

y Widow of the late King Hamlet y Remarried to her brother-in-law, Claudius y Weak and guilt-ridden about Hamlet s

unhappiness

y The son of late King Hamlet and

Queen Gertrude y Very popular amongst the commoners y Sensitive and intelligent y Unhappy about his mother s quick remarriage

y Father of Laertes and Ophelia y Has Morals, but meddles in the affairs of

others y Frequently directly or indirectly spies on people

y The two met at Whittenburg School y Is respected as a scholar when asked to

confront a ghost y Is very loyal to Hamlet throughout the play

y Brother to Ophelia y Easily manipulated by other characters in

the play

y Sister to Laertes y Is portrayed as sweet, innocent and obedient y Is having a secret relationship with the

Prince

y Appears to demand Revenge and tell the

truth about his death y Dies before the book begins

y Wants to regain control over the land of

Denmark which King Hamlet previously conquered

y Guards at the Castle Elsinore y The first people to see the Ghost

y Hamlet s childhood friend s Are sent for in order to cheer Hamlet up by

the King and Queen

y Where the story

takes place
y Serves as an

oppressive and menacing backdrop for the story

Descriptions that appeal to our senses The play is filled with images dealing with disease and decay Reinforces the Theme Corruption

y References to historical,

literary, or mythological persons or events y Shakespeare alludes to Greek and Roman myths

y Shakespeare used the

technique of blank verse poetry with out rhyme in iambic pentameter

y Also contains wordplay

called puns to create humor throughout the play

y A play on the multiple meanings of words that

sound alike but have different meanings y Example: A little more than kin, and less than kind (1.2.65)
y Hamlet is stating that Claudius is both his uncle

and stepfather, therefore twice related to him y Claudius is neither his kin(family) or kind at all
y Shakespeare was one of the greatest punsters of

all time
y Used to create comic relief within the play

y Situational Irony

occurs when what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected to happen y Examples:
y Hamlet s Wordplay y The Play-Within-A -

Play

y Speeches made by characters

on stage who are alone which convey their inner thoughts

y Hamlet has more than any

other Shakespearean character

y Claudius has a soliloquy too

y Lightens up the tragic

effect of the play

y Especially obvious in

the grave digger s scene in which two clowns trade amusing riddles and jokes while digging a grave

It s all about Me!

Oh geez, not another soliloquy!

y In Hamlet, each of the characters speaks from

the first person point of view which allows us to get a glimpse into the character s thoughts and enables us to share their experiences and emotions

y The stage directions were not

penned by Shakespeare and are written in third person point of view y They were added later by various prompters or readers who cue actors into remembering their lines y They may also have been added as an aid to acting and understanding the play

y King Hamlet supplies the audience

one during his personal account of his death

y Tragedy is a term

broadly applied to any literary and especially dramatic representation of serious actions that turn out disastrously for the main character

y Tragedy began with Aristotle s classic

analysis in Poetics

y Must be written in poetic language y Must be dramatic rather than narrative y Must also contain incidents arousing pity

and fear to accomplish a catharsis of emotion

y Usually wins some

self-knowledge and wisdom, even though he suffers defeat, possibly even death.
y May also suffer a

change in fortune from happiness to misery

y An error in judgment or a weakness in

character y Critics believe Hamlet s flaw is his hesitation to act he thinks therefore he hesitates

y A theme is a main

idea, moral, or message, of a book. y The message may be about life, society, or human nature. y Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and are almost always implied rather than stated explicitly.

y Vengeance, at least on the stage,

was a pious(having great respect for religion) duty laid on the next of kin y It is Hamlet s duty to kill his father s murder y The old law claimed an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth y Vengeance required both eyes, a jaw full of teeth, and exquisite torment of the body and mind

y Then the victim should burn

everlastingly in hell-fire y The disorder in Hamlet's world is a reflection of disorder in a larger universe(The world in corrupt!)

y Most revenge plays were written according

to a common pattern y Required a crime, invariably murder Duty of vengeance was placed on next of kin The discovery of the murderer by the avenger was often difficult The acts of revenge A triumphant ending where the murderer is destroyed!

y Definition: The state of being human (Alive) Throughout the play, Hamlet will grapple

with his own mortality As teenagers, we often think of ourselves as invincible never having to think about dying. y Hamlet s soliloquies touch on this theme in his contemplation of suicide.

Appearances being at odds with reality y Hidden corruption, spies, eaves dropping and trickery consume Denmark y Things are not as they seem in the world y A King may be a murderer? y A Widow seems to mourn her husband? y A ghost appears in the shape of a loved one? y The prince seems to being mad?
y

y We see that the world of Denmark is corrupt

from the beginning of the play y Ghost walks cannot move on until his death is avenged y Widow remarries brother-in-law with unseemly haste y There is a lot of spying going on amongst the players

y Not Sane y Hamlet s antic behavior after he sees his

father s ghost y Hamlet will pretend to be mad to further on his revenge y Hamlet pretends but another character will go off the deep end

y Hamlet is having many trust issues y Hamlet doubts the loyalty of his friends,

family and subjects y He also doubts his own actions which makes it difficult for him to make decisions y (Act vs. decisiveness) y Soliloquies help him to express his inner ponderings

ySexual Intercourse with a

family member yIt was a popular topic during the Renaissance era

y In 1534, Henry VIII

decided that since he and Catherine of Aragon had not produced any male heirs, he would go look for a new wife y Because divorce wasn t easily obtained, Henry had the marriage dissolved on the grounds it was incestuous

y Before Catherine was married

to Henry, she was married to Henry s older brother Arthur y Arthur died soon after the two were married y To keep the alliance with Spain, Henry was given special permission from the church to marry Catherine y She claimed she and Arthur never consummated the marriage

y Eventually, Henry drew up a bill An Act

Concerning the King s Succession based on a biblical passage

y For this cause (matrimony) shall a man leave

his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh (Ephesians 5:31) (Part of the marriage ceremony)
y It forbid mother/son, father/daughter,

Uncles/Aunts, Sisters and Brother-in-laws, etc. to marry

y Hamlet is tormented by the incest between

Claudius and Gertrude y At the time of writing Hamlet, the laws had only just been changed in Elizabethan England y Some say this conflict in the story is Shakespeare voicing his own strong Roman Catholic views about incest