English a level - AO5 hamlet

AO5 critics for Hamlet part b

what does Stephen Greenblatt argue about Hamlet’s fate

Hamlet knows and we know Hamlet is a "dead man" from act 1

what does Justin Champion say about how the ghost can be interpreted

4 ways: the devil, projection of imagination, a wandering soul, collective delusion

what does Johnathan Bate argue about loyalty and tension in Hamlet

we never know who is on each side: "this is a court full of intrigue"

who’s betrayal does Tennant suggest Hamlet is most hurt by

his mothers

argument from Ernest Jones supporting a psychoanalytic reading of Hamlet

Hamlet is more angry about Claudius’ relationship with Gertrude than his murder of old Hamlet

what does Lawrence Oliver's film adaptation (1948) focus on the whole production

the philosophical and intellectual aspects of the play

how does Lawrence Oliver's film adaptation (1948) portray Ophelia

as an innocent and fragile victim

does Lawrence Oliver's film adaptation (1948) present Gertrude as innocent or guilty

innocent

how is Ophelia presented in Tennant’s Royal Shakespeare Company (2009) version

a pawn in other character’s games

how is Gertrude masculinised in Tennant’s Royal Shakespeare Company (2009) version

she smokes and drinks

how does Tennant’s Royal Shakespeare Company (2009) version focus on paranoia and surveillance

Hamlet films Claudius’ reaction to the play, Hamlet looks for security cameras when his interaction with Ophelia is being spied on

how does the Russian film adaptation directed by Kozintsev (1964) portray Ophelia

like a doll, highlighted by her puppet-like dancing in act 1 scene 3

how does Scott’s version portray Hamlet’s relationship with Gertrude

psychodynamically; incestuously

how is secrecy and spying conveyed in Scott’s version of the play

Polonius reports what he hears into a microphone in act 2 scene 2, and then Hamlet mocks his obvious spying by pretending to do so in “except my life”

quote from John McRae about performance in Hamlet

"Hamlet is playing all the time"

How does John McRae describe Laertes and Hamlet

"mirror images of each other all throughout the play"

does John McRae argue Hamlet resets order by the end of the play?

yes

how does John McRae compare the second soliloquy to the first one

a “huge step forward” since the ghost has given Hamlet something to live for

quote from Clist when discussing Hamlet and The Handmaid’s Tale

“if everything is only symbols and signs, and nothing real, then no action has meaning or consequence and the result is a kind of madness”

quote from Jeremy Collier (1698) on Ophelia’s fate

“since he [Shakespeare] was resolved to drown the lady like a kitten, he should have sent her a-swimming a little sooner”

quote from Hazlitt (1838) on Ophelia’s fate

“her love, her madness, her death are described with the truest touches of tenderness and pathos”

how did Betterton (preromantic) play Hamlet?

a heroic avenger: energetic and admirable, cutting his cruellest moments

criticism of Hamlet from Johnson (preromantic)

the play is too original, failing to adhere to neo-classical rules

3 arguments from Coleridge (romantic) on Hamlet as an everyman

Hamlet is a new kind of hero

his mind is introspective at the cost of the external world

“I have a smack of Hamlet myself”

quote from Schlegel (romantic) on Hamlet’s introspection

“he loses himself in a labyrinth of thoughts”

does T.S. Elliot (modernist) suggest Hamlet is an everyman? why/why not?

no, his emotions are too profound to be understood

argument from Juliette Dusinberre (late 20th century feminist reader) on Ophelia’s vulnerability

Ophelia is stranded in a male centred system: she has “no chance to develop an independent conscience”

how does Carol Thomas-Nelly (late 20th century feminist reader) describe madness in the play

“gender-specific”: Ophelia loses control while Hamlet is “fashionably introspective”

argument from Phillip Edwards (late 20th century new historicist reader) on Hamlet’s relatability

“it is hard for us in the 20th century to sympathise with Hamlet and his mission”

which time period is preromantic (regarding criticism of Hamlet specifically)

1603 (first published) - end of 1700s

what time period is romantic

first half of 1800s

what time period is modernist

1900s-1965

what time period do critical theories become prevalent in

post-1965

quote from Richard Vardy looking at Hamlet’s inaction in a political-criticism way

“The problem isn't with Hamlet's inability to act. The problem lies with Denmark”

how does Richard Vardy interpret Polonius

not as a “tedious old fool” but a cunning “secret police” who represents “ruthlessness, surveillance, and secrecy”

how does Richard Vardy describe Polonius’ control of Ophelia

“(ab)use”

Director of 2009 RSC version Hamlet starring Tennant

Gregory Doran

Director of 2018 version of Hamlet starring Andrew Scott

Robert Icke

how does the 1996 version directed by and starring Kenneth Branaugh portray Hamlet in the nunnery scene

aggressive and threatening

quote from Katy Limmer on Horatio and Hamlet’s compatibility

“Horatio is Hamlet's alter ipse: his other self”

quote from Katy Limmer on R&G’s dishonesty

“This betrayal of one of the basic tenets of friendship justifies Hamlet's distrust and rejection of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern”

quote from Katy Limmer on R&G’s role as two false friends

symbolises “the wider, but necessarily weaker, tiers of political friendship”

quote from Elaine Showalter on Ophelia’s narrative

“Deprived of thought, sexuality, and language, Ophelia's story becomes zero”

how does Elaine Showalter interpret Ophelia’s nonsense speech/elegy in Act 4

represents how Ophelia signifies nothing in a patriarchal court

argument from Sean McEvoy on Claudius’ leadership

he’s a good ruler because he cares about the security of Denmark, avoids threat of Fortinbras, and attempt to keep Hamlet under control

quote from A.C Bradley criticizing Gertrude

she is “very dull and very shallow”

argument from Clare Gunns on Gertrude’s choice between wife and mother

she ultimately prioritises being a mother as she drinks the poisoned chalice in act 5

2 quotes from Dr Nick Walton on tragedy

“tragedy is all about breaking bonds”

“at the end of a tragedy there are no second chances”

where is the 2025 RSC version of Hamlet directed by Rupert Goold set

The Titanic, highlighting the inevitability of tragedy

2 quotes from Rob Worrall on the meaning of the play Hamlet

“Hamlet is about being human”

“the play-within-a-play of Hamlet proves, once and for all, that drama is not escapist relaxation; it is a careful construct of the lives we live”

quote from Rob Worrall on Hamlet’s grief

“his grief for his dead father seems to be more nostalgia than true loss”

2 quotes from Rob Worral on Polonius

“chief Machiavel”

“Polonius is such a political animal that he can no longer distinguish between politicking and paternity”

quote from G. Wilson Knight (1900s) on Claudius

he has “admirable common sense”

quote from Richard Altick (mid-1900s) on Claudius

the “lecherousness of Claudius’ evil has corrupted the whole kingdom of Denmark”

how does Stephen Siddal interpret R&G

manipulators and agents

quote from Alice Morgan on R&G

there is no “conclusive evidence that R&G acted from any motives other than those of pure friendship”

2 quotes from Jacox on Horatio and Hamlet

“the opposites of each other” but they “resemble each other in moral purity”

Hudson quote on Horatio

“one of the noblest… of Shakespeare’s characters”

2 quotes from Magnus on Laertes

“fiery, self-assured, and impetuous (meaning rash)”

“much colder and more distant than his soulful sister”

quote from Prosser (20th century) on Laertes

“Laertes is like a hurricane. He rushes into the palace in an uncontrolled rage”

quote from Chan on Laertes

“becomes a naïve and willing tool of Claudius”

quote from Chan on Laertes

“becomes a revolutionary, a disorder force, against Claudius”

quote from Smith (183) on Gertrude

a “soft, obedient, dependent, unimaginative woman”

argument from Mabillard (2008) on Gertrude

it is her sexuality that turns Hamlet against her

quote from Heilbrun (1991) on critical interpretations of Gertrude

other critics “fail to see Gertrude for the strongminded, intelligent, succinct, and sensible woman that she is”