Hamlet work-9 hours-500-700 words
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Hamletintropowerpoint1.pptxHamlet
By William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
Why Hamlet?
Critic Harold Bloom calls it “one of the summits of Western literature.”
Although written more than 400 years ago (circa 1600), actors and producers still stage it. Each new theater season brings countless new productions of the play all over the country and even the world.
Reason: Hamlet the main character one of the first truly realistic characters on the English stage. Has psychological depth and complexity – a true inner life.
Hamlet the basis of thousands of adaptations. Has anyone seen Disney’s The Lion King?
Contains many original phrases that have become part of the English language. Example: “to thine own self be true.”
Shakespeare the man.
Born in a London suburb (Stratford on Avon) in 1564.
Father a humble glove maker. Young William not of royal blood, and received no special education that we know of. How he came to write the greatest, most enduring plays in the English language remains a mystery.
Church records show he married Anne Hathaway (no, not that Anne Hathaway) at the tender age of 18 in 1582. Daughter Susanna born in 1583, twins Judith and Hamnet in 1585.
Unexplainably left for London soon thereafter. For the next twenty years or so enjoyed a successful career on the London stage at the Globe Theater as part of the theater’s home troupe.
Over the course of his membership in the theater company, wrote 37 plays for the company to put on in a variety of genres: histories, comedies and tragedies.
Also wrote some great poetry (mainly sonnets) more than 150 in all.
Gained enough financial prosperity over his career to buy a large house in Stratford, to which he returned upon retirement to live out his last few years. Died in 1616 at 52.
Ongoing controversy about the authorship of plays. Some critics believe a member of Queen Elizabeth’s court wrote them; preferred to remain anonymous; put Shakespeare’s name on scripts
Elizabethan England
A very different world from ours.
Not a democracy; no belief in equality.
The world was seen an orderly hierarchical structure ordained by God. Just as lions were the king of beasts and earth the “king” of heavenly bodies and planets, society had its own rightful structure, from kings down to peasants and beggars.
Any violation of the proper order of things was considered unnatural and a threat to the very stability and health of the society – like pulling out a card from under a house of cards.
Hamlet the play
The tragedy takes place not in 1600 England, but some centuries earlier in Denmark.
Based loosely on historical chronicles Shakespeare had read, but mostly a made-up tale.
Shakespeare’s longest play at more than 4,000 lines (twice the length of Macbeth). No act and scene divisions in original script. Amazingly, was played straight through without intermission in 3-4 hours. And no modern rest rooms!
No female actors. Men played all the female roles.
The entire play is a poem! It is written in blank verse (i.e., unrhymed iambic pentameter).
Some themes and motifs in Hamlet
Appearances vs. reality. In other words, things are not always what they seem. Can we trust our eyes? Associated motifs (recurrent images in the play) include numerous references to eyes, tears, etc. Another related motif is reference to stage acting, roles, masks, etc.
“Nature” – more specifically order vs. chaos. (See slide #4 above.) In Hamlet’s world, nature means the proper order of things – not trees and rivers as we think of it. Associated motifs include numerous references to garden and plant imagery. So, for example, a reference to an “unweeded garden” stands for a kingdom out of order.
Words vs. actions. When is it appropriate to stop thinking and talking and take action? (Note how Hamlet loves to play with words.)
Human mortality. What does life mean if we just die and turn to dust? Hamlet struggles with this issue after the death of his dad.
Now read and watch.
For Lesson 7, read all of Act 1 of Hamlet. You may read any version you can find in a book store or online. But I recommend a helpful version called NoFear Shakespeare: Hamlet, published by Norton and Co. that costs only $5.95. Available at our WCC bookstore or at any Barnes and Noble, this version includes modern day translations alongside the Shakespearian text for those who find the old-fashioned version hard to understand.
For your convenience, I have also uploaded a link to an online version of the full text of the play in the “Web Links” area of your Blackboard screen.
Finally, in the Web Links area, you will find a link to an excellent film version of the play that I want you to watch as we go through it over the next five weeks. It is the version directed by Kenneth Branagh, widely available if you prefer to obtain and watch a DVD.
After reading and watching Act 1, go to the Discussions Forum to see your writing assignment.
