1564-1616 | What are Shakespeare’s birth and death dates? |
Stratford on Avon, England | Where did Shakespeare live? |
1600-1601 | When was Hamlet written? |
Elizabeth I | Who was the monarch during this play? |
Possible interpretations of Hamlet’s Character | 1. Hamlet, the victim of external difficulties -Claudius is too powerful2. Hamlet, the Sentimental Dreamer -too much thinking, not enough action3. Hamlet, the victim of Excessive Melancholy -clinically depressed, mentally unstable |
Possible Interpretations of Hamlet’s Character | 4. Hamlet, the victim of an Oedipus Complex -has an unhealthy love to his mother (FREUD)5. Hamlet, motivated by ambition -will do anything to be king6. Hamlet, misled by the Ghost -not an honest ghost, revenge |
Major Themes found in Hamlet | Justice and RevengeDestiny and Purpose of LifeMadness and SanityAppearance vs Reality Role of WomenRights and Duties of KingshipPoison and Corruption (Decay and Disease) |
Elements of a Shakespearan Tragedy | Revenge MotiveInternal and External ConflictsComic ReliefTragic Hero/Flaw/MistakeSupernatural ElementChange Happenings |
1. murdered King Hamlet2. married Queen Gertrude | 2 Steps Claudius has taken to gain the throne |
Wittenburg, Germany | where did Hamlet go to college? |
1. Hamlet 2. Gertrude 3. Claudius 4. Polonius 5. Laertes 6. Ophelia 7. Rosencrantz 8. Guildenstern | Name all 8 of the people dead by the end of the play |
how Ophelia dies | Drownssignificance- she allows herself to be taken away by the current of the river, just like how she has lived-manipulated by Laertes and Polonius |
how Polonius dies | Hamlet stabs him while spyingsignificance- he thinks spying is always the answer but it leads to his demise. |
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern | Hamlet forges a letter to England telling England to kill ______?? |
Hamlet to himself | Who Says to whom….”A little more than kin and less than kind” (act 1) |
Polonius to Laertes | who says to whom…”To thine own self be true” (act 1) |
Ghost to Hamlet | …..”The serpent that did sting thy father now wears his crown” (act 1) |
Polonius to King and Queen | …”Brevity is the soul of wit” (act 2) |
Hamlet to himself | …”The play’s the thing” (act 2) |
Hamlet to Rosencrantz | …”What a piece of work is man, how noble in reason how infinite in difficulty” (act 2) |
Hamlet to himself | …”To be or not to be” |
Ophelia to Hamlet | ” to the noble mind rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind” |
Queen to Hamlet | “The lady doth protest too much methinks” |
Hamlet to Guildenstern | “Why look you now how unworthy a thing you make of me. you would play upon me; you would seem to know my stops; you would pluck out the heart of my mystery” |
Hamlet to himself | “I will speak daggers to her, but use none” |
Claudius to himself | “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below” |
Hamlet to Gertrude | “I must be cruel only to be kind” |
Queen to Ophelia’s corpse | “Sweets to the sweet” |
Elsinore | name of the castle |
the ghost | which role did Shakespeare usually play |
1. avenge his death2. leave Gertrude to heaven3. take care of yourself | 3 requests of the ghost |
recorder | what instrument does Hamlet want Guildenstern to play |
when Hamlet doesn’t kill Claudius in the chapel | what is the climax? |
1.don’t sleep with Claudius2. don’t tell anyone that Hamlet isn’t crazy | what 2 things does Hamlet ask of his mother |
to take more action | after seeing Fortinbras’s army, what does Hamlet promise to himself? |
by a pirate ship | how does Hamlet come back into Denmark |
1. Queen loves him2. people love him | 2 reasons the king can’t prosecute Hamlet |
1. poison the tip of Laertes’s sword2. poison the wine | 2 ways to kill Hamlet |
gravedigger scene | what is the comic relief |
the court jester | who is Yorick |
Ophelia might have committed suicide | why won’t the Priest carry out the funeral? |
Gertrude | who drinks the poison wine first? |
stabs himmakes him drink the wine | how does Hamlet kill Claudius |
1. Horatio must stay alive to tell the truth2. Fortinbras should be the new king | 2 decisions when Hamlet is king |
Fortinbras’s army invades and carries Hamlet’s body out like a king | how does the play end |
Hamlet Review
September 1, 2019