‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare (1564-1616). ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare Most famous of Shakespeare’s 36 plays Written 1599 – 1601 Plot borrowed from

‘Hamlet’

by

William Shakespeare

(1564-1616)

‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare

• Most famous of Shakespeare’s 36 plays• Written 1599 – 1601• Plot borrowed from at least two other source

stories• Revenge Tragedy:1. hero met by a ghost asking for revenge2. scenes of madness3. a play within a play4. a graveyard scene5. physical violence and death

Cast of Characters Hamlet’s family

• HAMLET, Prince of Denmark, a student at Wittenburg University

• CLAUDIUS, King of Denmark, Hamlet’s uncle and brother to the dead King Hamlet

• GERTRUDE, Hamlet’s mother, now married to Claudius, following her husband’s death

• GHOST of OLD HAMLET, the former King

Cast of CharactersAt Court

• POLONIUS, chief adviser to CLAUDIUS

• LAERTES, son of Polonius and a similar age to Hamlet

• OPHELIA, daughter of Polonius and Hamlet’s ‘love interest’

Cast of CharactersOther Young Men

• HORATIO, also a ‘scholar’ at Wittenburg University and Hamlet’s closest friend

• ROZENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN, Hamlet’s schoolfriends

• OSRIC, a courtier

• FORTINBRAS, Prince of Norway and son of Old Fortinbras

Themes and Images

• Revenge• Madness• Deception• Family/Sexuality

Our Focus:

• Corruption and Decay

‘Hamlet’

Scene Summaries

Act 1 Scene 1A gun platform on the battlements of Elsinore Castle

• Barnardo and Marcellus take over the guard from Francisco.

• Barnardo and Marcellus tell Horatio about the Ghost that has been seen.

• The Ghost appears. It resembles the late King Hamlet, in full armour.

• Horatio questions the Ghost but it doesn’t speak.• The men decide to tell Prince Hamlet what they

have seen.

Act 1 Scene 2The Great Hall of Elsinore Castle

• Claudius, the new king, addresses the court.

• Hamlet is disgusted by the new king (his uncle) and Queen Gertrude (his mother).

• The watchmen tell Hamlet about seeing the Ghost, and they plan to watch again at midnight.

Act 1 Scene 3Elsinore, a private room

• Laertes warns Ophelia about Hamlet and her sexuality.

• Polonius gives his departing son advice on how to conduct himself.

• Polonius orders Ophelia to reject Hamlet unless he offers more than he has already.

Act 1 Scenes 4 and 5The gun platform on the battlements of Elsinore

• (These two scenes are continuous.) • Hamlet joins the watch with Horatio and

Marcellus.• The Ghost appears and signals to Hamlet to

follow him.• The Ghost tells Hamlet that he is the spirit of his

father, and orders revenge on his murderer, Claudius. He also orders him to spare his mother, who will be judged by God.

• Hamlet accepts his instruction and vows his friends to secrecy. He plans to act mad (‘put an antic disposition on’) in order to achieve his goal.

KEY TURNING POINT

Act 2 Scene 1A state room in the castle

• This scene takes place some weeks after the events of Act 1.

• Polonius sends Reynaldo to France to spy on his son, Laertes.

• Ophelia reports Hamlet’s strange appearance and behaviour to Polonius.


• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive to spy on Hamlet.

• The king allows Fortinbras to march his forces across Denmark.

• Following Polonius’s advice, the king plans to spy on a meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia.

• Hamlet taunts Polonius.• Hamlet forces Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to

confess they were sent for by the king.• The first player delivers the Hecuba speech.• In his third soliloquy, Hamlet berates himself and

plans to use the play to confirm Claudius’s guilt.

Act 3 Scene 1(The Nunnery Scene)

The Great Hall of Elsinore Castle• This scene takes place the next day.• Hamlet’s madness is discussed. Claudius

reveals his guilt to the audience.• Claudius and Polonius eavesdrop on

Ophelia and Hamlet’s conversation which breaks up in bitterness.

• Ophelia expresses her despair.• Claudius resolves to deal with Hamlet by

sending him to England.• Polonius volunteers to spy on Hamlet

during another meeting he will set up, this time with Gertrude.

Act 3 Scene 2(The play-within-a-play)

The Great Hall of Elsinore Castle• This scene happens some hours later.

• Hamlet makes preparations for the play, with which he will test the truth of the Ghost’s story.

• The play is performed. Hamlet and Horatio observe the king’s guilty reaction to it.

• Hamlet is summoned to the queen’s room.

Act 3 Scene 3(The Prayer Scene)

The king’s private chapel

• Claudius tries to pray for forgiveness.

• Hamlet has Claudius at his mercy but does not kill him because his soul would go straight to heaven.

KEY SCENE – HAMLET’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

Act 3 Scene 4(The Closet Scene)

Gertrude’s private room (closet)

• Polonius prepares to eavesdrop on Hamlet and Gertrude’s conversation.

• Hamlet kills Polonius, believing him to be the king.

• Hamlet chastises his mother.• The Ghost reappears to sharpen Hamlet’s

‘almost blunted purpose’.• Gertrude promises not to reveal Hamlet’s

secret.

Act 4 Scene 1Gertrude’s private room

• Gertrude informs Claudius of Polonius’s murder.• Claudius decides that Hamlet should be sent

away to England.

Act 4 Scene 2A corridor in the castle

• Hamlet has hidden Polonius’s body and will not tell Rosencrantz and Guildenstern where.

Act 4 Scene 3A state room

• Claudius confronts Hamlet about Polonius.• He tells Hamlet he is sending him to England for his own

safety.• Once alone, Claudius reveals his plans to have Hamlet

killed in England.

Act 4 Scene 4The sea coast near Elsinore

• Hamlet meets Fortinbras’s army.• Hamlet delivers his final soliloquy: ‘How all

occasions do inform against me’


• Ophelia has been driven mad.• Laertes returns to avenge the death of his

father.

Act 4 Scene 6A room in the castle

• Hamlet has escaped from the ship that was taking him to England.

• Horatio receives a letter from him, asking Horatio to join him.

Act 4 Scene 7A state room in the castle

• In a letter, Hamlet informs Claudius of his return to Denmark.

• Claudius and Laertes plot Hamlet’s death.

• Gertrude describes Ophelia’s death by drowning.

Act 5 Scene 1A graveyard near the castle

• Two gravediggers discuss Ophelia’s drowning.

• Hamlet and Horatio contemplate the mutability of all things.

• Ophelia’s cortege arrives; Laertes’ display of grief for Ophelia enrages Hamlet and the two men fight by her grave.

Act 5 Scene 2• Whilst at sea, Hamlet arranged for the deaths of

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.• The king arranges a fencing match between Hamlet

and Laertes.• During the bout, Laertes scratches Hamlet with the

poisoned sword and is in turn fatally wounded by it; Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup prepared by Claudius for Hamlet.

• The dying queen and Laertes accuse Claudius; Hamlet, knowing he is dying, takes his revenge and kills the king.

• Hamlet nominates Fortinbras as his successor and begs Horatio to tell his story ‘aright’.

• Young Fortinbras orders a soldier’s funeral for Hamlet and assumes power in Denmark.

Drama Critical Essay QuestionsAnswers to questions on drama should address relevantly the central concern(s)/ theme(s) of the text and be supported by reference to appropriate dramatic techniques such as: conflict, characterisation, key scene(s), dialogue, climax, exposition, denouement, structure, plot, setting, aspects of staging (such as lighting, music, stage set, stage directions, props [properties]…), soliloquy, monologue…

• Choose a play in which a central character experiences not only inner conflict but also conflict with one (or more than one) character…• Choose a play in which a central character is heroic yet vulnerable. Show how the dramatist makes you aware of both qualities…• Choose a play which has a theme of revenge, or betrayal or sacrifice…• Choose a play which has a definite turning point or decisive moment. Explain briefly what happens at that point or moment and go on to explain why you think it is so important to the rest of the play.• Choose a play in which the conclusion leaves you with mixed emotions but clearly conveys the dramatist’s message…• Choose a play in which the dramatist creates a sense of mystery at or near the beginning of the play…• Choose a play in which there is a scene involving intense emotion…• Choose a play in which a character keeps something hidden or pretends to be something he or she is not. Explain the reason(s)…

The Character of Hamlet• Is Hamlet’s journey a descent into madness

or the journey to manhood?• Is Hamlet a hero or a villain?• Is he a character we can sympathise with?• What causes his delay in avenging his

father’s death?• Is his death at the end of the play an

inevitability or a fitting end because of his crimes?

Context Quote Analysis

Act 1:2 – Claudius addresses the court post his brother’s death and his claim to the crown and queen.

‘A little more than kin, and less than kind.’

‘Tis not alone my inky cloak good mother, . . . . . That can denote me truly.’


Act 1:2 – Claudius addresses the court post his brother’s death and his claim to the crown and queen.

‘ ’tis unmanly grief.’

Act 1:2 – Hamlet’s first soliloquy

‘O that this too solid flesh would melt,Thaw and resolve itself into a dew,Or that the Everlasting had not fixedHis canon ’gainst self slaughter.’



’Tis an unweeded gardenThat grows to seed; things and rank and gross in naturePossess it merely.’

‘Hyperion to a satyr.’



’Why, she would hang on himAs if increase of appetite had grownBy what it fed on, and yet, within a month – By what it fed on, and yet within a month – Let me not think on’t; frailty, thy name is woman –’

‘She married. O most wicked speed, to postWith such dexterity to incestuous sheets!’



‘But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.’

Act 1:2 – Hamlet alone once Horatio has informed him of the ghost.

‘My father’s spirit, in arms! All is not well;I doubt some foul play.’


Act 1:4 – The ghost visits Hamlet

‘Angels and ministers of grace defend us!Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damned, . . . . .Be they intents wicked or charitable,’

Act 1:5 – The ghost speaks to Hamlet

‘I am they father’s spirit,Doomed for a certain term to walk the night, . . . . . .Till the foul crimes done in my days of natureAre burnt and purged away.’



‘If thou didst ever they dear father love - ……Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.’

‘The serpent that did sting they father’s lifeNow ears his crown.’



‘Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s handOf life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched.’

‘If thou hast nature in thee, bear it not,Let not the royal bed of Denmark beA couch for luxury and damned incest.’



‘Against thy mother – aught – leave her to heaven.’

Act 1:5 – Hamlet’s 2nd soliloquy

‘Adieu, adieu, Hamlet. Remember me.’

‘So, uncle, there you are. Now to my word:It is ‘Adieu, adieu, remember me’.I have sworn’t.’


Act 1:5 – Hamlet swears Horatio and the guards to secrecy

‘To put an antic disposition on - ’

‘O cursed spite,That ever I was born to set it right!’


Act 2:2 – Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive at the request of the King and Queen. Those around him notice the changes in Hamlet

‘My too much changed son.’

‘Into the madness wherein he now raves,And we all wail for.’


Act 2:2 – Hamlet’s 3rd Soliloquy (post the arrival of the players)

‘O what a rogue and peasant slave am I!’

‘But I am pigeon-livered and lack gall.’



‘That I, the son of a dear father murdered,Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell.’

‘The spirit that I have seen May be the devil, and the devil hath powerT’assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps Out of my weakness and my melancholy.’



‘The play’s the thingWherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.’

Act 3:1 – Hamlet’s 4th Soliloquy

‘To be, or not to be – that is the question.’


Act 3:1 – Hamlet’s interaction with Ophelia

‘Get thee to a nunnery.’

‘God has given you one face, and you make yourselves another.’


Act 3:2 – Hamlet’s 5th Soliloquy (post the play and his believed admission of guilt by Claudius)

‘Now could I drink hot blood,And do such bitter business as the day.’

‘I will speak daggers to her, but use none.My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites - ’


Act 3:3 – Hamlet has the opportunity to kill Claudius and enact revenge

‘Now might I do it pat, now he is praying.And now I’ll do’t. . . .A villain kills my father; and for thatI, his sole son, do this same villain sendTo heaven’

‘Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hint. . . . .Then trip him that his heels may kick as heaven,And that his soul may be as damned and blackAs hell, whereto it goes.’


Act 3:4 – Hamlet speaks to Gertrude as Polonius spies on them.

‘A bloody deed – almost as bad, good mother,As kill a king and marry with his brother.’

Act 3:4 – The ghost visits Hamlet in Gertrude’s chambers.

‘Do you not come your tardy son to chide,That, lapsed in time and passion, lets go byTh’important acting of your dread command? O, say!’


Act 3:4 – The ghost visits Hamlet in Gertrude’s chambers.

‘Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose.’

Act 3:4 – Hamlet to Gertrude post Polonius’ death.

‘I must be cruel only to be kind.’

‘That I essentially am not in madness,But mad in craft.’

Documents

‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare (1564-1616). ‘Hamlet’ by William Shakespeare Most famous of Shakespeare’s 36 plays Written 1599 – 1601 Plot borrowed from