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Hamlet

Hamlet. William Shakespeare. History. Written 1599-1601 Inside a series of comedies in the last decade of the transition years between 1500 and 1600s. Midsummer Night’s Dream - 1595 Merchant of Venice - 1596 Much Ado About Nothing - 1598 As You Like It - 1599 Twelfth Night - 1601

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Hamlet

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  1. Hamlet William Shakespeare

  2. History • Written 1599-1601 • Inside a series of comedies in the last decade of the transition years between 1500 and 1600s. • Midsummer Night’s Dream - 1595 • Merchant of Venice - 1596 • Much Ado About Nothing - 1598 • As You Like It - 1599 • Twelfth Night - 1601 • Also came on the tail of his first major forays into tragedy with historical/political themes. • Julius Caesar - 1599 • Henry IV Parts I and II - 1596/1597 • Henry V - 1599 • First performed in 1603

  3. Sources? • Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus wrote the story of Amleth, Prince of Denmark, in the late 1100s. • Ur-Hamlet in England, a decade before Shakespeare's Hamlet. • Ur is German for primordial • Vague references made to it in playbills and other documents from the time. • No known written copies or evidence.

  4. Setting • Denmark

  5. Characters • Hamlet • Prince of Denmark • Student at University of Wittenburg • A well respected school at the time, also the alma mater of Dr. Faustus. • Indecisive • Prone to violence • Brooding

  6. Polonius Claudius • Slow-witted, long-winded. • The head of the royal court. • Father to Ophelia and Laertes. • The new King of Denmark. • After his brother (Hamlet’s father) died, Claudius married his then-sister-in-law. • Scheming, murderous, wiling to do whatever it takes for power. Laertes (LAY-air-TEES) • Also a student • Over-protective brother of Ophelia • Meant to be compared to Hamlet

  7. Gertrude Ophelia • Mother of Hamlet, Queen of Denmark • Not the best mother, for a few reasons. • Sweet, innocent and beautiful. • Long-time love interest of Hamlet. • Used by her father, brother and Claudius. Not, I repeat, NOT a strumpet. Kind of a strumpet, at least to Hamlet

  8. Supporting Cast • Fortinbras (FOR-tin-BRAZ) • King of Norway • Close to Hamlet’s age. • Son of Fortinbras, who was killed by Hamlet Sr • Hamlet killed Fortinbras, so now Fortinbras wants to kill Hamlet. • Wants to avenge his father’s death • Horatio • Hamlet’s best friend and friend from University. • Hamlet Sr. aka “The Ghost.” • Urges Hamlet along a path of revenge.

  9. The comic relief • Rosencrantz and Guildenstern • Friends of Hamlet that end up working against him. • Stock characters • Mercutio and Benvolio • C3PO and R2D2 • Timon and Pumbaa • Jay and Silent Bob • The Weasley twins

  10. Themes • Familial duty • Action vs. Inaction • Sanity • The body as a metaphor for a nation.

  11. Familial Duty • Hamlet has a duty to his father’s memory. • Gertrude has conflicting duties • To her son • To her dead husband • To her new husband • Ophelia has a duty to her father and brother • Polonius has duty to his family and his king. • Laertes has a duty to his father and sister.

  12. Action vs. Inaction • Early in the play Hamlet is set on a course of revenge. • Although he has several opportunities, he constantly waits for more and more evidence. • He ponders revenge, suicide, love, life, death. • Hamlet admires people like Laertes and Fortinbras who are able to act on their feelings and desires.

  13. Sanity • While not to the same degree as Othello, several people lose their minds in the course of the play. • Or do they? • Hamlet acts on the urges of a ghost. • Or does he? • Just as indecisiveness is a battle between planning and doing, we see a battle between sanity and insanity in both Hamlet and Ophelia. • Again, the story lies in the middle ground.

  14. The body as a metaphor for the nation • As Hamlet and others get sicker (in the head) and actions become more depraved and dangerous, we see Denmark falling apart. • And Fortinbras and the Norwegian Army wait in the wings…

  15. Lasting Legacy • To be, or not to be… • Alas Poor Yorick, I knew him Horatio… • Brooding heroes with inner demons • Young men with kingdoms seeking to avenge their fathers’ deaths.

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