Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

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Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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Act I, scene i

1. What time is it? Where are we? Whats the
   weather like?
2. Who do we meet in this scene and what is their
   status?
3. Write down any descriptions of Denmark
4. What does Horatio tell us about Fortinbras?
5. What effect does the ghost have on the
   characters? On the audience?

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Start identifying patterns/motifs

• Motif recurring imagery and/or symbolism, a
  recurrent thematic element
• Rottenness, decay, sickness
• Perception vs. Reality It was like the king
• Playacting, theatre, pretending to be someone
  youre not
• Cosmetics
• Ears
• Following
• Memory

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Foil definition

• One that by contrast underscores or enhances the
  distinctive characteristics of another a
  character whose qualities or actions serve to
  emphasize those of the protagonist (or of some
  other character) by providing a strong contrast
  with them.

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The Origins of Hamlet

• The Ur-Hamlet 1560
• Political Drama, not same character names,
  clearly different lines of dialogue
• King usurped by brother
• Shakespeares Hamlet less political, more
  domestic

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The Soliloquies

• Soliloquy a character alone on stage expressing
  his/her innermost thoughts and feelings directly
  to the audience.
• The soliloquies are as deep as the soul of man
  can goand as sincere as the Holy Spirit itself
  in their essence.
• Each represent the stages of Hamlets
  psychological progress. Exploration of
  conscience.

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Horatio

• Horatio is omnipresent.
• We are Horatio.
• Hamlets perpetual audience.
• Without Horatio, we are too distanced from the
  bewildering Hamlet for Shakespeare to work his
  guile upon us.

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Hamlet

• The first truly modern man
• What is Hamlets tragedy?
• The tragedy of a man ___________.

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Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

• Throughout the play, the ongoing border disputes
  and political machinations amongst Denmark,
  Norway, and Poland serve as a backdrop for the
  action in the Danish court (I.ii II.ii IV.iv
  V.ii). Prince Fortinbras, whose father was killed
  by Hamlets father, is a man of action, and his
  character serves as a foil to the contemplative
  Prince Hamlet.

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Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

• Most of the action of play occurs in and around
  the castle at Elsinore in Denmark. King Hamlet is
  dead, and Prince Hamlet has returned to Denmark
  from school in Wittenberg, Germany, only to
  discover that Queen Gertrude, his mother, has
  married his Uncle Claudius. Claudius has had
  himself crowned king.

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Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

• Hamlet is informed that what is apparently the
  ghost of his dead father has appeared to the
  palace guards (I, ii). When he later confronts
  the ghost, Hamlet learns that Claudius murdered
  his father and hastily married Queen Gertrude (I,
  v).

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Something is rotten in the state of Denmark

• Polonius (Lord Chamberlain), his son Laertes and
  daughter Ophelia are also important characters in
  this drama. Polonius and Laertes are concerned
  about Ophelias romantic involvement with Prince
  Hamlet and caution her against such a
  relationship. Polonius also provides fatherly
  advice to Laertes as he leaves for Paris (I, iii).

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3 - Soliloquies / Monologues

• I.ii.133 O that this too too sullied flesh
  Davis, Hennessey, Hogan
• II.ii.316-334 I will tell you why (m) Gomes,
  Ozuna, Weingarten
• II.ii.485 O what a rogue - Thompson, Rebboah,
  Rousselot
• III.i.64 To be or not to be - Karr, Reed,
  Carnesecca, Jones
• III.ii.1-47 Speak the speech (m) - Americano,
  Cognetta, Pahl
• III.iii.78 Now might I do it -Ng, Self,
  Ramirez
• III.iv.63-98 Look here (m) - McFeeley,
  Wedekind, Miller
• IV.iv.34 How all occasions - Antes,
  Jorgensen, Fontanilla,

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Soliloquies / Monologues Branagh film time codes

• I.ii.133 O that this too too sullied flesh -
  1835
• II.ii.316-334 I will tell you why (m) -
  11300
• II.ii.485 O what a rogue - 12640
• III.i.64 To be or not to be - 13330
• III.ii.1-47 Speak the speech (m) 144
• III.iii.78 Now might I do it - 209
• III.iv.63-98 Look here (m) - 214
• IV.iv.34 How all occasions - 235

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3 - Soliloquies / Monologues

1. I.ii.133 O that this too too sullied flesh
   Charron, Chun, Pace
2. II.ii.485 O what a rogue - Carlsson, Meceda,
   Walke
3. III.i.64 To be or not to be - Castillo,
   Hidde, Suppes, Mattu
4. III.ii.1-47 Speak the speech (m)- Castillo,
   Musci, Taliaferro
5. III.iii.78 Now might I do it - Pham,
   Puhalrajan, Yin
6. III.iv.63-98 Look here (m) - Chavez,
   Fontanilla, Paradis
7. IV.iv.34 How all occasions - Glucksman,
   Karnik, Yadegar

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Soliloquies / Monologues

• Analyze the imagery, structure, word choices and
  rhetorical devices. How does Shakespeare write
  it? Divide up the speech beat by beat.
• How does this speech relate to a theme of the
  play?
• Why does Shakespeare include this speech?
• What can we learn about ourselves/humanity?
• Perform speech in your own wordsbe creative!

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Nunnery

• Hamlet consigns Ophelia to a life of pious
  chastity.
• Yet, in effect, he is murdering Ophelia, and
  starting her on the path to suicide.
• Hamlets lack of sympathy shown here (and in
  Poloniuss murder, and his killing of RG).
• Hamlet is violent with them, especially
  OpheliaHamlets failure to love? He does not
  want or need lovelonely life.

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the plays the thing

• It is a play about playing, about acting out
  rather than avenging.
• Notice how many references there are to acting,
  actors, plays, theatre, pretending to be someone
  else, tricksters deceit, plays within plays,
  etc.
• No other drama is so overtly audience-aware.
• Shakespeare himself played the Ghost and the
  Player King
• Hamlet practically raised until the age of 7 by
  Yorick (V.i.185-189), the royal trickster (hence
  great wit, very theatrical)

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To be, or not to be (III.i.56)

• Not merely a meditation seriously contemplating
  suicide.
• The question is, what is the power of Hamlets
  mind over a universe of death, or a sea of
  troubles?
• The sea of death must end consciousness
  (conscience).
• Consciousness (or being) is given the choice
• Suffer stoically, or
• Take arms against the sea, and thus end sooner.
• 2 grand metaphors
• The shuffled-off mortal coil (everything we shall
  lose)
• The undiscovered country (the land of death from
  which no traveler returnsexcept for King Hamlet)
• Thus, its about Hamlets will. He cant will
  himself to action, but perhaps the true nature of
  action is in the mind.

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The Grave-digger

• One of the great clowns (drunken Porter from
  Macbeth, Cleopatras asp salesman)
• The Gravedigger is the reality principle,
  mortality, while Hamlet is deaths scholar.

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Hamlet

• A meditation upon human fragility in
  confrontation with death (Bloom 3)
• Central question How did Hamlet develop into so
  extraordinarily ambivalent a consciousness?

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Themes

• What is Shakespeares message?
• A meditation on death and how we react to the
  inevitable
• When playing becomes deceit, the theatricality
  of life, and how theatre holds the mirror up to
  ourselves.