Hamlet Since “brevity is the soul of wit.” - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

Hamlet

Since “brevity is the soul of wit.”

Slide2

Hamlet

Permeates

our

culture:

T

he Simpsons

episode,

The Lion

King, etc.

Origins

of the

play:

Source =

Ur-Hamlet-

lost play. Popular in London in the 1580s.

Based on 9

th

century Saga. Pre-Viking Prince named

Amleth

[Move the “h” to the beginning of the word]

Recorded by

Saxo

Grammaticus, a 9

th

century Danish monk

It is a Revenge

Tragedy

Slide3

Revenge Tragedy

A drama of retribution in which an evil is avenged and often the vengeance is repaid in a series of bloody and horrible deeds.

The form of a revenge tragedy dates back to classical Greek drama.

The theme of a r.t. is the revenge of a father for a son or vice versa. Other traits include

Hesitation of the hero

The use of real or pretended insanity, suicide, intrigue, and evil scheming villain

Philosophic soliloquies and the sensational use of horrors. (the horrors are murders on the stage and exhibition of dead bodies on the stage.)

There are supernatural visitations.

Slide4

Characters

Denmark

Norway

King Hamlet/ Ghost

Queen Gertrude

Hamlet / Prince of Denmark/ college student

Claudius: new King/ brother of King Hamlet

Horatio: Friend of HamletGuards: Marcellus, Bernardo, Francisco,7. Polonius: adviser to the king of Denmark8. Laertes: his son/ college student9. Ophelia: Polonius’s daughter/ “girlfriend” of Hamlet10-11. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: childhood friends of HamletOld Fortinbras = King of Norway/ Old NorwayYoung Fortinbras / Prince of Norway

Slide5

King Hamlet

Queen Gertrude

King Claudius

Hamlet

Polonius

Laertes

Ophelia

Norway

Fortinbras

Young Fortinbras

Denmark

Courtesy of Mr.

Pugliesi

Slide6

Why is the ghost dressed for battle and why doesn’t he speak?

Make

a list answering: What is the mood AND how is it established in the first scene of the play?

Answer

: What is the purpose of the opening scene, based on the movie and the play?

I.i

Slide7

Hamlet

I.ii

What must Claudius do in the speech?Is he successful in promoting the image of a competent leader? Explain.

What advice about mourning does he give to Hamlet?

What conclusions about Claudius’s character can you draw based on his speech?

How should Hamlet behave upon the recent death of his father?

He must…

Slide8

SWBAT

Discuss the DN/M;

Note what Claudius must do in the speech; read it to discover what he does, and analyze it to see if he is successful in promoting the image of a competent leader.

ID/note the advice about mourning he gives to Hamlet;

make conclusions about Claudius’s character based on his speech;

Answer: how should Hamlet behave upon the recent death of his father?

Slide9

SWBAT

complete

the above DN/M and share responses; continue reading, acting and discussing I.ii;

Answer: how do you think H. will react to the news Horatio and Marcellus bring him?;

Note Hamlet’s humor, his reaction to the news of the ghost;

Answer the aim and the SGQs;

Where would you expect the next scene to take place? Do you think the ghost will be meeting with Hamlet in

I.iii? Explain your answer.

Slide10

Hamlet’s first soliloquy:

“O, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt..”

For what does he wish in lines 133-138?How does he view the world now?

Explain the metaphor of the

unweeded

garden.

Explain the comparison b/t KH & KC? Why is it made?

[note: Allusions to Greek mythology]To whom does Hamlet compare himself? Why?What do we learn about Hamlet’s feelings toward his father? Include line numbers.With whom is this soliloquy most concerned with? How do you know? Give line numbers.What is the author’s purpose in writing this soliloquy?Hamlet wishes for death; suicidal in regards to wanting to be with his fatherHe wishes that god, the supreme being, had not made it a religious law to not commit suicide.To Hamlet, the world is dead, dull, and boring. Nothing succeeds in making him happy. The world is like an unweeded garden, where the weeds are choking the living plants. The weeds represent corruption, which destroys an orderly garden.He compares his father to the sun titan Hyperion and his uncle to a Satyr.Hamlet compares himself to Hercules. Claudius is as weak to old king Hamlet as Hamlet is to Hercules.It appears as Hamlet idolizes his father as he compares him to the sun god.The soliloquy is focused on his mother, Gertrude, as he believes she is a weak for marrying a lesser man so quickly.Show us Hamlet’s current state of mind: Depressed, and infuriated with his mother.

After you’ve answered the Q’s, remove this box.

Slide11

As you watch the movie:

I.iii

Laertes talks to his sister, Ophelia.What does he caution her about?

Why does he do it? / Are his concerns valid?

[focus on Hamlet’s responsibilities and ability to make choices]

How does Ophelia respond? What does this tell us about her personality?

List all the pieces of advice Polonius gives his son as he goes back to college. Are they valid?

Explain the irony of: “To thine own self be true”.Summarize the conversation b/t Polonius and Ophelia

Slide12

As you watch the movie…

I.iv

:ReunionsWhat Danish custom are Hamlet / Horatio ashamed of? Why?

Why is it important to know if the ghost is a good ghost or a bad ghost? (l. 70-86)

Marcellus says, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” Prove he is right.

What does the ghost tell Hamlet? Summarize the whole speech: 49-98. ID the religious issues (ex: no confession b4 death)/ Mention of Gertrude.

Explain what Hamlet is saying by “O, my prophetic soul!”

What concern does Horatio have about the ghost?Why does Hamlet swear them to secrecy?

Slide13

SWBAT

Elizabethan

belief that ghosts could be representatives of Satan sent to lead one astray;

Begin analyzing

I.iv

, noting Denmark’s reputation for drunkenness and Horatio’s concerns about the ghost’s intentions

.

Answer: Why should the ghost’s intensions concern Hamlet and Horatio?

Slide14

Act I: The Advice Act

Polonius gives advice to Laertes-dress nicely, don’t loan or borrow money, value your true friends, avoid fights, be true to your self

Laertes gives advice to Ophelia -- stay away from hamlet he can’t marry you.

The ghost advises Hamlet to

Slide15

More advice

Claudius tells hamlet every one loses a father get over it.

Gertrude tells hamlet to stop wearing black and stop grieving over your father.

Horatio, Bernardo, and Marcellus realize the ghost wont talk to them and decide to go tell hamlet.

Slide16

SWBAT

SWBAT:

discuss the DN/M and share responses; Id/note the requirements for a revenge tragedy; Read, act, and analyze Hamlet’s exchange with the ghost, noting the repetition of “hear” and its purpose;

Discuss why the marriage of Gertrude and Claudius is incestuous and why it is Hamlet’s duty as Prince to rectify the situation for the good of the people;

Note the manner in which the king was killed;

ID/note what Hamlet has been asked to do and how he plans to do it.

Slide17

Act II

Aim:

Prove that Denmark is rotten.Do Now/M:

With a partner, create a list events that show corruption in Denmark and that show how appearances can be deceiving.

NOTE: Act II is the act of the spies.

HW: Take notes on the scene (while watching the movie)

Slide18

SWBAT:

Complete and share responses to the DN/M;

Continue reading II.i:Discuss why Polonius is sending Reynaldo to spy on L. and spread stories about him;

ID/note why does Polonius think Hamlet is acting strangely;

Why does Hamlet behave like a lovesick boy?;

Identify the reasons Ophelia would report H’s behavior to her father;

Discuss the 2 reasons H’s “madness” is plausible.

Add to the “Denmark is Rotten” list.

Slide19

Aim:

How do Gertrude and Claudius show their concern for Hamlet’s well-being?

HW: Take notes on today’s reading.

Slide20

SWBAT:

Complete and share responses to the DN/M;

Read/act/ discuss II.ii: noting the arrival of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; ID the way they are greeted,

what they are asked to do, do they have a choice?;

note Voltemand’s news re Fortinbras;

that loose end is seemingly tied up;

note how H “proves” to P that he is crazy b/c of O;

discuss connotations of fishmonger.

Slide21

Aim:

How does H treat his friends when he first sees them and what does this tell us about what Hamlet was like before his father died?

Slide22

SWBAT

Complete and share responses to the DN/M;

read/act/ discuss II.ii:noting the shift from verse to prose and ID reasons for this change (H has realized R&G are spies);

note the parental spying in the text (P & L, C & H);

H reveals his emotional state but not its true cause [he takes no pleasure in this world];

ID/note the entrance of the players;

discuss the significance of Aeneas, Dido, and the death of Achilles (son’s revenge for father’s death);

note Hamlet’s request to the player.

Slide23

Aim:

Why has Hamlet postponed his task?

Do Now/M: Give advice to Hamlet in a letter.HW: Take notes in the rest of this act.

Study for the test on Act II: Tuesday

Slide24

SWBAT

Complete and share responses to the DN/M;

Read/act/ discuss II.ii:by completing yesterday’s discussion; and finishing the act by analyzing the rogue and peasant slave soliloquy: what does Hamlet do in it and what is the purpose of it?

Discuss “catharsis” and Aristotle’s idea of what a tragedy must do.

Review for the test.

Slide25

What is Tragedy?

Aristotle

Shakespeare

Miller

Classic definition:

Unity of time/ place

Hero must be of great stature

Hero’s fall is due to a flaw in his nature

Must produce

catharsis:

A purifying or figurative cleansing of the emotions, especially pity and fear, described by Aristotle as an effect of tragic drama on its audience.

A release of emotional tension, as after an overwhelming experience, that restores or refreshes the spirit.

Renaissance = rebirth of classics

Writers modeled their works on classic works, but wanted to make them better

They modified Aristotle’s #1 and kept 2, 3, and 4 the same.Modern definition:

A common man can be a tragic heroModified A’s 1Might do A’s 2

A’s 3 not imp.Hero still has a flaw, but it’s produced by society, etc.

Slide26

Aim: 1. Who are the foils to Hamlet and Gertrude in

II.ii

?2. Why has Hamlet postponed his task?Do Now/M: What is a foil? Give an example.

HW:

Answer SGQs for the rest of this act.

Study for the test on Act II: tomorrow.

Slide27

SWBAT

Complete and share responses to the DN/M;

Foil: a person or thing that makes another seem better [or worse] by contrast.

Read/act/ discuss II.ii:

by completing yesterday’s discussion;

discuss the significance of Aeneas, Dido, and the death of Achilles (son’s revenge for father’s death);

note Hamlet’s request to the player.

and finishing the act by analyzing the rogue and peasant slave soliloquy: what does Hamlet do in it and what is the purpose of it? Discuss “catharsis” and Aristotle’s idea of what a tragedy must do.Review for the test.

Slide28

Aim:

How sincere are the feelings of Hamlet for Ophelia?

Act III

Slide29

SWBAT:

Complete and share responses to the above

Watch and read along with the encounter b/t Hamlet and Ophelia, discuss the sincerity of their feelings,

Analyze what he says to her: are you honest/ get thee to a nunnery. Etc.

What does Ophelia’s soliloquy reveal to us about the man Hamlet used to be and would have continued to be if not for recent events

How does Claudius feel he should solve his Hamlet problem? Will this work?

What does Polonius offer as another way to find out what’s troubling Hamlet? Why do you think he does this?

Slide30

Aim:

How was the performance of the players meant to be a turning point in the play?

DN/M: What happened in the banquet scene in

Macbeth?

What do you think will happen in a similar scene in

Hamlet

?

Slide31

SWBAT:

Complete and share responses to the DN/M;

Watch and read along, note, explain and analyze The direction Hamlet gives to the players [parallels Shakespeare’s directing of his plays = inside joke]. They show he is not insane.

What Hamlet thinks of Horatio and why he needs an impartial party at the banquet.

the relationship between Priam and Hecuba; connect to Gertrude and King Hamlet.

Discuss Hamlet’s erratic behavior and the reasons for it.

His conversations w/Polonius, Claudius, Gertrude

His obnoxious and inappropriate behavior and speech with Ophelia.

Slide32

Aim:

Why is the play called the “mousetrap play”?

Do you think Claudius will reveal his guilt while watching the play? Explain your response. DN/M:

What is your worst missed opportunity? Why did you miss it? What did you learn?

HW:

Why does Hamlet miss his opportunity to kill Claudius?

Slide33

SWBAT

Complete and share responses to the DN/M;

Discuss the plot and purpose of the mousetrap play; Analyze the king’s reaction to it: is it realistic or not

Discuss and debate: should Hamlet even be considering killing Claudius?

Is he god’s minister or his scourge?

Read, note, analyze Claudius’s soliloquy

Why can’t he pray?

Why doesn’t Hamlet kill him when he has the chance?His missed opportunity is a result of his tragic flaw. Identify it: procrastination [and additionally here, the need to send Claudius to hell. This was not part of the ghost’s request. This make Hamlet God’s scourge]

Slide34

Aim: Explain the purpose of the encounter between Hamlet and his mother in her rooms.

Do Now/M: Why do you think the ghost reappears in this scene where Hamlet and Gertrude are in her rooms?

Slide35

SWBAT

Complete and share responses to the DN/M;

Discuss what Polonius is doing and why he is doing it.Read, note, analyze the bedroom scene b/t Hamlet and his mother

Discuss why Polonius is killed

Explain the points Hamlet tries to make to his mother. What is her reaction to them? Are they believable responses?

Discuss why the ghost reappears and why only Hamlet can see him this time

What does H ask his mother to do? Is this a reasonable request?

What is the purpose of their encounter?

Slide36

Aim: How is Claudius a hypocrite?

DN/M: To whom does the following apply?

“How dangerous is it that this man goes loose!” (IV.iii.2)

Slide37

SWBAT

Complete and share the above

Begin reading/watching Act IV.

Slide38

Aim: : How and why does Claudius use Laertes’s anger for his own purposes?

DN: Copy HW/Aim

Complete the foils chart on the next slide.

HW: Answer the SQGs for what we read today in class.

Act IV

Slide39

SWBAT:

Complete and share responses to the above

Discuss: complete the foils chart: Hamlet: Fortinbras; Hamlet: Ophelia; Hamlet: Laertes

Madness scene: Ophelia speaks of men betraying women, bawdily.

How is Opehlia’s madness/fate believable?

Create a chart of instances in the play when appearance and reality are at odds with each other. Explain why this is so.

Answer: what purpose does Ophelia’s madness serve? (notes on foils in the play);

Draw conclusions about characters based on this information; Analyze Laertes’s return & the way Claudius manipulates him; Discuss the issues over Ophelia’s death; Analyze Hamlet’s letter to Horatio.

Slide40

Foils of Hamlet

All make an appearance in Act IV

Hamlet

Laertes

Fortinbras

Ophelia

Father murdered by a loved one

Vows to …

Slow to act

Wants to catch killer when …

Feigns madness

Talks of suicide

Father murdered

Vows to …

Quick to act

Will kill even if …

Father murdered

Vows to …Quick to act

Father murdered by a loved one

Goes mad?

Slide41

Foils of Hamlet

All make an appearance in Act IV

Hamlet

Laertes

Fortinbras

Ophelia

Father murdered by a loved one

Vows to avenge death by killing murderer

Slow to act

Wants to catch killer when he’s sinning

Feigns madness

Talks of suicide

Father murdered

Vows to avenge death by killing murderer

Quick to act

Will kill even if he has to cut his throat in the churchFather murdered

Vows to avenge death by waging war on enemy countryQuick to act

Father murdered by a loved oneGoes mad

May have committed suicide

Slide42

Act IV Notes

Ophelia: mad

Laertes returns: wants vengeanceHamlet was jealous of L’s excellent swordsmanship

Claudius and L plan a “friendly” duel b/t L and Hamlet. Cl. will place a bet that H. will win and not check the swords:

1 will be unbated [Cl’s plan] and envenomed [L’s plan]

Then Hamlet will be thirsty or a toast will be made to Hamlet: drink will be poisoned, too.

Hamlet returned to Denmark alone, via a pirate ship!

Ophelia has drowned.

Slide43

Act V

Aim: What is the purpose of the gravedigger scene?

DN: Copy HW/Aim 2. discuss the purpose of humor in Shakespeare’s tragedies.

HW: Answer the SGQs for what we read in class.

Pirate scene extra credit due next Friday.

Slide44

SWBAT

Complete the above and share their responses with the class;

Note the end of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern: Hamlet’s action. He’s no longer inactive.

Begin reading Act V:

identify the gravedigger’s philosophy toward death;

discuss Ophelia’s death and Hamlet and Gertrude’s reactions to it;

discuss this scene as foreshadowing.

Slide45

Act V: Notes

After a scene of intense emotion, Shakespeare provides 1 of comic relief:

the gravedigger scene: full of malapropisms, riddles, and a discussion of Christian burial: Ophelia is not receiving one b/c her death is a suicide.

Hamlet and Horatio discuss the bones being dug up and who they belonged to

Yorik: King Hamlet’s jester: philosophical question about what happens to all after death: Alexander the Great’s remains could stop a whole in a barrel, etc.

Gravedigger brings up the problem with Hamlet’s age.

H & L grapple over Ophelia’s grave. [H seemingly has forgotten why L should be angry with him]

H and L also discuss the sealed letters H found on R & G: Cl demands Eng’s king kill H. Hamlet rewrites and reseals the letters.

Slide46

Aim: How will Claudius and Laertes put their plan into action?

Slide47

SWBAT

Complete the above/ share responses;

Recognize the inevitability of Hamlet’s death; Understand the melodrama in the final scene;

Discuss the purpose of Osric;

Understand the wagers placed on the outcome of the sword fight.

Discuss the revenge theme and whether or not Hamlet’s revenge comes at too high a price

Whose death does Hamlet ultimately avenge? His father’s? His mother’s? Or, his own?

Fortinbras is to become the new king and has the last word of the play.

Slide48

SWBAT

Complete the above/ share responses;

Recognize the inevitability of Hamlet’s death; Understand the melodrama in the final scene;

Discuss the purpose of Osric;

Understand the wagers placed on the outcome of the sword fight.

Discuss the revenge theme and whether or not Hamlet’s revenge comes at too high a price

Whose death does Hamlet ultimately avenge? His father’s? His mother’s? Or, his own?

Fortinbras is to become the new king and has the last word of the play.

Slide49

Aim: : Whose death does Hamlet avenge?

Slide50

Victim

Killer

Weapon

King Hamlet

Polonius

Ophelia

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern

Gertrude

Laertes

Claudius

Hamlet

Slide51

SWBAT:

Complete and share responses to the above

Discuss the catastrophic conclusion of the play [using the notes on the slideshow handouts]

Discuss themes and conflicts

Appearance vs. reality

Rottenness in Denmark

Deception/Betrayal

Review for the Final:Day 1: Hamlet essayDay 2: College “composition” & How to write a research paper.

Slide52

1/14/09 Wednesday

Aim: To conclude discussion of

Hamlet.

DN: Work in a group to create a theme from these topics

Appearance vs. reality

Rottenness in Denmark

Deception/BetrayalIdentify examples of the following conflicts: man v. man man v. self man v. society explain how they help us better understand characters or themes.HW: Study for tomorrow’s final exam.Pirate scene extra credit due Monday.Novels project due 2/13/09