hamlet william shakespeare. history written 1599-1601 –inside a series of comedies in the last...
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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
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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.
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Shakespeare famous for his hit song “I’m bringing Saxo back.”
Setting• Denmark
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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
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Claudius• 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.
Polonius• Slow-witted, long-
winded.• The head of the royal
court.• Father to Ophelia and
Laertes.
Laertes (LAY-air-TEES)
• Also a student• Over-protective
brother of Ophelia• Meant to be compared
to Hamlet
Ophelia• Sweet, innocent
and beautiful.• Long-time love
interest of Hamlet.• Used by her father,
brother and Claudius.
Gertrude•Mother of Hamlet, Queen of Denmark•Not the best mother, for a few reasons.
Not, I repeat, NOT a strumpet.
Kind of a strumpet, at least to Hamlet
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.
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The comic relief
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern– Friends of Hamlet that end up working
against him.
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–Stock characters•Mercutio and Benvolio•C3PO and R2D2•Timon and Pumbaa•Jay and Silent Bob•The Weasley twins
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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.
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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.
• 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.
Sanity
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…
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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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