Hamlet

ACT 1:

• Hamlet is William Shakespeare’s longest, most famous play

• Original Title: The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

• Hamlet is a tragedy

The Tragic Hero

• a person of noble stature usually with some kind of greatness to them

• they have a fatal flaw

• their own destruction is for greater cause/ principle

Setting:

• Country: Denmark

• Town: Elsinore

• Elizabethan Era

• Sometime during the 1500s

Literary Terms from Drama

• Soliloquy: a speech addressed to the speaker themself made when the character is alone on stage (ie talking to themselves)

  1. Reveal the mood of the speaker and the reason for it

  2. Tell us their opinion of another character

  3. reveal the future motives and plans of the speaker

  4. Create suspense

• An Aside

  1. A brief comment made by an actor on stage

  2. meant solely for the audience

  3. often a joke or mock made about someone on stage

Themes:

• revenge

• religion

• love and friendship

• madness and melancholy

• appearance vs. reality

• fate vs. free will

• patriarchal power

• death

Symbolism

• skulls

• the ghost

• gardens/ nature/ flowers

• costumes

• the mousetrap

The Supernatural

• Ghosts bring messages with their appearances

• Horatio serves as a messenger between soldiers, spirit, and Hamlet.

• Ghosts can only speak the message to whom the message was intended

Purpose

• Introduce the audience to ghosts/ the supernatural

• explains how King Hamlet is dead and Prince Hamlet is alive which is strange

• An introduction to revenge - the ghost is connected to revenge

Family Drama

• Gertrude marries Claudius less than 2 months after Hamlets father passes away

• Claudius calls Hamlets grief “unmanly”

• Horatio interrupts Hamlets soliloquy

Hamlets emotional state

• Appearance vs. reality

  • Claudius says Hamlet '“seems” upset

  • Hamlet says he “is” upset marriage

    • his clothing matches - all black

Hamlets emotional state mimics the state of Denmark (Personification)

• both are in shambles

• both have a general sense of unease

Hamlet and Ophelia

• Laertes cautions Ophelia against falling for Hamlet

  • he says Hamlet is moody and has a duty to his country

• Polonius gives Laertes fatherly advice and bids him farewell

• Polonius tells Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet

  • claims Hamlet will cheat

First Impressions

• Ophelia

  • trusting

  • naive

• Laertes

  • protective of his sister

• Polonius

  • protective of Ophelia

  • not as protective of Laertes

How are women and men depicted:

• women are more weak - their worth is tied to men

Who has the dominant voice

• men are given the dominant voice

Polonius gives Laertes advice but gives Ophelia orders

Claudius’ Party

• Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus keep watch

• Hamlet calls the noblemen “swinish: for participating in the celebrations within the castle

Appearance vs. Reality

• Claudius’ festivities hide his corruption

Hamlet is passively suicide, not caring if he dies. All he wants is to speak to his father once more.

“There’s something rotten in the state of Denmark.”

Foreshadowing to corruption (appearance vs. reality)

Dramatic irony:

• the characters don’t know it yet but Marcellus is correct in this quote.

The truth about King Hamlets death

• context, speaker, and significance: the ghost of King Hamlet said this to Hamlet, asking him to take revenge against Claudius for adultery and his murder. Hamlets father refers to Claudius as a snake.

• Citizens of Denmark were not given much detail about the kings death due to it being overshadowed by the wedding. They are unaware the king was poisoned by the usurper that now sits upon the throne. They were informed he was bitten venomous snake

• The reality of the situation (appearance vs. reality) is that Claudius poisoned the king, manipulating the citizens of Denmark to gain power and control. He murdered Hamlets father and married Gertrude to draw attention away from his ploy.

• Snake is a biblical allusion to the garden of Eden

Hamlet’s Revenge Plot

• Hamlet curses his father - due to grief - and his mother

• Hamlet plans to feign insanity

• as soon as reality is revealed, Hamlet hides behind the appearance of insanity - uses an aside

ACT 2:

• Sends Reynaldo to give Laertes money and letters to check up on him. (appearance vs reality)

Quote Identification

• Ophelia says this to Polonius, referring to Hamlet. After speaking with his father, Hamlet pretends to be insane which is evident in this quote by his disheveled state. His disheveled state reflects the current state of Denmark. This ties into the theme of appearance vs reality, grief, revenge, madness because Hamlet appears to be mad with grief following his fathers death however it is all a ploy to get revenge.

Hamlets Strange Behavior

• Hamlet held Ophelia’s wrist, sighed, then left without a word. (Madness vs. Sanity) (Appearance vs. Reality)

Action vs. Inaction

• Hamlet vowed to avenge his father (Action)

• So far the only thing he has done is feign insanity (Inaction)

• Polonius says Hamlet has gone mad with love (Madness)

  • concludes it is because he forbade Ophelia from speaking with him (Rejection)

    • he does not apologize to Ophelia (Patriarchy)

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern

• summoned by Claudius and Gertrude to spy on Hamlet and discover the root of his depression (appearance vs. reality)

• Fortinbras is still a looming threat. - Hamlets life parallels the politics.

• Gertrude believes Hamlets madness comes from his fathers death and hasty marriage

  • she may be unaware Claudius murdered the king

• Claudius and Gertrude agree with the theory Hamlet is lovesick

• They plan to use Ophelia as a prop to understand Hamlet

• Polonius treats his daughter like bait; is dismissive of her feelings, viewing her as another emotional woman (Patriarchy)

• Hamlet says Denmark is a prison

• He speaks of women as though they were objects

Hamlets Plan (Revenge)

• Hamlet is intrigued by the actors; asks one to act out the speech The Murder of Gonzaga & asks if he can add a few lines

  • His plan is to have the actors act out Claudius murdering King Hamlet

    • “The play’s the thing wherein Ill catch the conscience of the king.”

  • He plans to watch the reaction of Claudius to identify if he murdered his father.

    • he does fully believe the ghost. he is suspicious that it may be a demon sent to influence him

• Hamlet is upset with himself for not avenging his father yet (Action vs. Inaction)

Act 3:

• act 3 is the turning point

• Claudius and Gertrude hope that Hamlet’s disposition is improving (appearance vs reality)

• While Hamlet is searching for evidence about whether Claudius killed King Hamlet, Claudius is seeking evidence about what is troubling Hamlet

• Hamlet is very emotion driven

• Polonius believes he knows everything and is very intelligent however he is not as smart as he thinks (appearance vs reality)

• To be or not to be - whether to live or not

• Hamlet tells Ophelia to go to the nunnery

  • basically saying she’s a sinner and needs to go to church to cleanse herself of sins

• Hamlets dislike of women is evident. He feels that they hide who they really are being masks of makeup (patriarchy)(appearance vs reality)

• Claudius plans to send Hamlet to England (Action vs Inaction)

  • concludes Hamlet is not in love or insane

  • believes Hamlets brooding is dangerous to him

• Polonius believes Hamlet loves Ophelia (Appearance vs. Reality)

  • Polonius is more concerned about confirming his theory than consoling Ophelia (Patriarchy)

• Hamlet tells Horatio his plan (recall) (Appearance vs. Reality)

• As he arrives, Hamlet tells Horatio he is going to act insane (Appearance vs. Reality)

  • Claudius asks how he “fares,” Hamlet substitutes the word food & says he’s eating air

• Mocks Polonius for acting in Julius Caesar at university

• Harasses Ophelia with sexual puns

• He makes bitter comments at Gertrude for marrying Claudius

The Mousetrap

• the play begins with a dumbshow, then with the full play

• Gertrude and Claudius becomes uncomfortable

• Hamlet mocks them & continues throwing sexual puns at Ophelia

• Play within a play

  • When the villain pours poison into the king’s ear, Claudius jumps from his seat, calls for a light, exits the room

• R&G tell Hamlet Gertrude wants to see him

• Hamlet reveals he knows they are spies (cant play him like a flute)

  • Appearance vs. Reality

    • R&G use the appearance of friendship to spy on Hamlet. Hamlet is aware of the reality - deceit

Hamlets rage

• Polonius repeats that Gertrude wants to see him

• he feigns madness and gets angry

• Claudius is guilty and Hamlet has no reason to delay revenge now. He is angry

Quote:

• Drink hot blood - his blood is boiling with rage

• The soul of Nero - a Emperor known for killing his mother

  • Hamlet will not kill his mother but he does not appreciate her behavior

• Hamlet is a danger

• Polonius is still stuck in the old plot while new plots are already developing

• Hamlet enters with his sword drawn

  • he decided not to kill Claudius

  • Irony: Hamlet does not want to kill Claudius because he was repenting meaning he would go to heaven. Claudius is not apologetic and plans to repeat his sins meaning if Hamlet were to kill him he would still go to hell.

• Appearance vs Reality

  • Claudius appears to be repenting but in reality he does not plan to better his actions

• Revenge

  • Hamlet decides not to take revenge on Claudius yet

• Action vs. Inaction

  • Hamlet does not take Action (inaction)

Quote 1:

Appearance vs Reality

Morality

Polonius got stabbed several times like Julius Caesar - Foreshadowing because Polonius acted as Julius Caesar in university

Polonius waits with Gertrude in her room

• Polonius does not realize his spying is pointless because Claudius already knows Hamlet has found him (Appearance vs. Reality)

• Gertrude says Hamlet offended his father (Claudius) while Hamlet says Gertrude offended his father (King Hamlet)

Turning point

• Hamlet stabs Polonius (He thinks it was Claudius)

Action vs: Inaction

• Hamlet- king of procrastination himself - does not hesitate to act here

Appearance vs Reality

• Hamlet is in Gertrude’s room and hears a man - He believed it was Claudius - In reality it was Polonius

Quote 2:

• Hamlet is not remorseful

• He is becoming more and more insane and lacks morality

• Associates Claudius crime of murder with Gertrude’s ‘crime’ of marrying Claudius

• Polonius got what he deserved

• Hamlet makes Gertrude uncomfortable by describing their love making in an uncomfortable way

• The Ghost appears and reminds Hamlet to focus on revenge

  • Hamlet asks if he has come to reprimand him (Action vs. Inaction)

• Gertrude can’t see the ghost, thinks Hamlet is insane (Madness)

  • ghost may be a hallucination

• The Ghosts reminds Hamlet to comfort Gertrude

  • His rage for Gertrude overshadows his quest for revenge

Hamlet begs Gertrude

• to repent/ confess her sins

• To avoid sleeping with Claudius

• to keep his feigned madness a secret

Gertrude promises to honour his requests

Hamlet exits dragging Polonius’ body

• Gertrude agrees to keep quiet

  • possibly out of fear

  • possibly because she believes him

  • possibly because of pity

Nature Imagery: Quote 3

• Hamlet tells Gertrude that her failure to repent for marrying Claudius will lead…

Act 4:

• Gertrude tells Claudius Hamlet was acting insane and killed Polonius (Appearance vs. reality)

  • Claudius realizes he was the target

  • Weaponizes the murder to send Hamlet

    • Claudius is very cunning and manipulative

    • he likes to take immediate action

• Hamlet calls R a “sponge” because Claudius uses him to clean up messes and is brainless

  • R is doing this to gain favor with the king

• Hamlet sees Claudius but races away

Claudius’ dilemma

• Claudius debates how to deal with Hamlet

  • Decides Hamlet is too dangerous to remain in Denmark

  • Citizens of Denmark love Hamlet. How can he send him away quietly? (Appearance vs. reality)

• Claudius’ first concern is always about politics and keeping the appearance of a respectable, honorable king.

• Fortinbras arrives in Denmark, tells the Captain to alert the King of his arrival

• Tells the Captain to tell him 2 things:

1. He seeks authorization to march his army across Denmark

2. If the king needs anything, it is Fortinbras’ duty to grant it to him

Hamlet Considers the Situation (another soliloquy) (Action vs. Inaction)

• Astonished by the thought that a bloody was could be fought over something insignificant (land)

  • Hamlet marvels that human begins are able to act so violently and purposefully for so little gain

Ophelia’s grief

• Ophelia has gone mad with grief (sings)

• Claudius shows sympathy and compassion for her; seems to understand grief can cause strange behavior

  • Irony

    • Never had any compassion for Hamlet

Hamlet’s foil - Laertes

• Laertes is informed of Polonius’ death, sees Ophelia’s madness firsthand

• Instantly thinks of Revenge (Action vs. Inaction)

  • Hamlets Foil

    • Laertes and Hamlet are both driven by grief but Hamlet was quicker to act on it

Foil: character that shows qualities that are in contrast with the qualities of another to highlight the traits of the other

• Claudius is manipulating Laertes into wanting revenge against his fathers killer. His killer is Hamlet and Claudius is using that to his advantage.

• Peasants want Laertes to be king

Hamlet taken by pirates

• Horatio receives a letter from Hamlet

  • their ship was attacked, Hamlet boarded their ship in exchange for a favor (they bring him back to Denmark)

The Pirates

• Deus ex machina

  • an unexpected power or event saving a seemingly hopeless situation

Laertes Learns the Truth

• Claudius tells Laertes Hamlet killed Polonius

Reasons why Claudius cannot execute Hamlet:

1. Gertrude loves Hamlet

2. The people love Hamlet

The New Plan: (Major plot point)

Hamlet has always wanted to fight Laertes and his famous sword

1. He will invite Hamlet to a duel

2. Laertes will place poison on the tip of his sword

3. It will kill Hamlet on contact

• backup plan? Poison his drink

What happened to Ophelia?

• Gertrude announces Ophelia committed suicide/ fell in the lake (drowned herself)

• Laertes is heartbroken

Nature/ Unweeded Gardens - symbolism

• Claudius’ soliloquy, moral corruption

  • “O my offense is rank. It smells to heaven”

• Images of rotting weeds overtake nature (poison it), something that should be beautiful and pure

• Biblical allusion: Garden of Eden

Quote: “How much I had to calm his rage. Now fear I this will give it start again.”

• Speaker is Claudius - speaking to Gertrude - about Laertes

• Gertrude informed Laertes Ophelia drowned. Laertes leaves the room upset. Claudius just spent time calming Laertes down and now he is upset and no longer easy to control.

• Appearance vs. Reality

  • Claudius cares about what people think

  • Claudius just finished riling up Laertes

• Action vs. Inaction

  • Claudius is taking action

Act 5:

• Skull imagery in this act

  • Yorick

    • Jester for king Hamlet

    • Skull is the one Hamlet was holding

• Hamlet & Horatio in the churchyard where men are digging a grave (religion)

• Hamlet and Horatio observe the funeral procession

  • Dramatic irony - person who died was Ophelia - Hamlet is being blamed for Ophelia’s death

• Random person laid to rest. In reality that person was Ophelia (Appearance vs. Reality)

• Gravediggers appear to be clowns but are actually wise (Appearance vs. Reality)

• The clowns make a profound statement (Appearance vs. Reality)

  • “It must be se offendo (Latin for killing someone), it cannot be else. For here lies the point: if I drown myself wittingly, it argues an act, and an act has three branches: it is an act to do and to perform. Argal, she drowned herself wittingly.”

Hamlet vs. Laertes

• Hamlet follows Laertes into Ophelia’s grave and they fight.

  • Hamlet is upset Laertes defiled Ophelia’s grave while joining him

Irony + Hamlet’s Costumes

• Hamlet says he loves Ophelia so much that 40000 people like Laertes could not match his love

• Hamlet rewrote the letter

The duel

• Hamlet must make peace with Laertes; will “court his favor”

• Horatio has a bad feeling (Foreshadowing)

• Hamlet is willing to accept his fate, whatever it may be

Rules of the Duel (appearance vs. reality)

• best of three hits

• Claudius will put a “jewel” into a cup for each hit Hamlet lands (the jewel is poison)

Poison

• Gertrude is excited Hamlet will win and takes a celebratory drink

  • Dramatic irony; Fate vs. Free will

    • Readers knew the cup was poisoned but Gertrude did not

• [Aside} It is the poisoned cup. It is too late - Claudius

• Laertes wounds Hamlet with his poisoned sword BUT their swords get their swords get exchanged (Dramatic Irony) (Appearance vs. Reality)

  • Hamlet wounds Laertes with the poisoned sword

• Laertes will die by his own treachery (Irony)

  • Before he dies, Laertes says “the king’s to blame”

• Hamlet kills Claudius with his own poison (Irony)

  • Claudius calls for help but no one comes to his aide

• Hamlet finally takes action. He has known Claudius is to blame all along, why does it take him so long to avenge King Hamlet?

• Dying Laertes asks for Hamlet’s forgiveness; releases Hamlet from any blame for his/ Polonius’ death

• Horatio wants to join Hamlet in death but Hamlet stops him

  • wants his story told

• Fortinbras arrives to find everyone

• England’s ambassador reports R&G to be dead

Irony

• Hamlets actions have killed his entire family (and Polonius, Laertes, and Ophelia)