3. REVENGE
What are the side effects of revenge? What happens to someone as a result of
revenge? What about the people around them? Is it self destructive? Why? Who
gets hurt?
4. The Opening Scene – Act 1 Scene 1
What is the mood and
atmosphere?
What language
techniques have been
used to create this
atmosphere?
What is the purpose of
this scene and what has
it been used to
establish?
Look at the purpose of the
ghost here. Does the ghost
foreshadow anything? What is
the ghost’s attire?
Also, explore what Horatio brings to
the scene?
5. –
Claudius Addresses the
Court
OBJECTIVE:
UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE IN THE ATMOSPHERE BETWEEN
THE FIRST TWO SCENES OF THE PLAY
DISCUSS WITH THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU FOR 2 MINUTES THE
FOLLOWING THINGS AND BE READY TO DISCUSS AS A CLASS:
- HAVE COMPARED THE FIRST TWO SCENES
- COMPLETED A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS STATEMENT
6. Act 1 Scene 2
Scene 2 is set in the Great Castle of
Elsinore. It is bright, colorful and loud.
- What are the key points of this scene?
7. ‘By our late dear
brother’s
death/Our state
to be disjoint’
The first scene hints at the widespread concerns that
exist in Denmark, but this scene reveals exactly how
‘rotten’ the state is. Claudius’ corruption is a sign that
Elsinore is vulnerable.
8. Claudius – First
impressions
Discuss with the person next to you for 2
minutes the following things and be ready to
discuss as a class:
. Include key quotes
-Gertrude
-Hamlet
- Denmark
9. ‘O that this too
too sullied flesh
would melt’
Shakespeare reveals Hamlet’s thoughtful personality
through his analysis of grief and his struggle with
the morality of suicide.
Hamlet's loss of faith and the question of whether
suicide can be justified are major themes
throughout the rest of the play.
10. Hamlet – the solitary thinker
How has Shakespeare presented Hamlet?
- Appearance
- Attitude
- What others say to him
11. Compare the two families:
Claudius
Gertrude
Hamlet
Polonius
Laertes
Ophelia
Look at how the members of the family react and respond to
the respective heads of the family, Claudius and Polonius. Can
you sense any genuine love or concern in either family?
12. Polonius, Laertes
and Ophelia
Discuss with the person next to you for 2 minutes the following things
and be ready to discuss as a class:
- Polonius's language and wordplay
- Laertes language when speaking to Ophelia
- Ophelia’s submissiveness
13. Discuss, with the person next to you for 2
minutes, the following things and be ready to
discuss as a class:
:
- SCENE 4
- THE DANISH CUSTOM OF DRINKING
- WHY HAMLET IS NOT AFRAID TO GO WITH
THE GHOST
- SCENE 5
How the Ghost compares himself to Gertrude
and Claudius
14. THE GHOST IN HAMLET NO DOUBT PERFORMS AN
IMPORTANT DRAMATIC FUNCTION. WHATEVER MAY HAVE
BEEN SHAKESPEARE'S BELIEF ABOUT GHOSTS HE UTILIZES
THE POPULAR CONCEPTION TO HIGHLIGHT WHAT IS IN THE
MINDS OF HIS CHARACTERS. THE GHOSTS OR WITCHES
THAT APPEARED TO MACBETH SPOKE OUT ONLY WHAT
WAS IN HIS MIND, AND REVEALED HIS INNER THOUGHTS
TO THE AUDIENCE BETTER THAN ANY WORDS OF HIS
COULD DO. IN THE SAME WAY, THE GHOST IN HAMLET
DISCLOSES TO US THE SUSPICIONS ALREADY IN THE MINDS
OF HAMLET AND HIS FRIENDS. WHEN HAMLET SEES THE
GHOST AND HEARS ITS REVELATIONS, HE VOICES THIS
THOUGHT BY SAYING, "OH MY PROPHETIC SOUL!" (I. V. 40.)
AND THE FACT THAT IT FIRST APPEARS TO THE FRIENDS OF
HAMLET SUGGESTS THAT THEY SHARED HIS SUSPICIONS
AND PERHAPS EVEN ANTICIPATED THEM, THOUGH NO
WORD HAD BEEN SPOKEN. THE INQUIRY OF MARCELLUS
ABOUT THE CAUSE OF THE WARLIKE ACTIVITY AND HIS
LATER REMARK ABOUT THE ROTTEN CONDITION OF
DENMARK SEEM TO IMPLY A SUSPICION THAT HE IS
ENDEAVORING TO VERIFY OR TO DISPROVE.
15. THE SKEPTICISM THAT ALL AT FIRST SHOW CONCERNING
THE GHOST SEEMS TO INDICATE THEIR UNWILLINGNESS TO
PUT FAITH IN THEIR SUSPICIONS. THEY DO NOT WILLINGLY
THINK EVIL OF THE KING, AND THEY ALL WANT SOME
UNDOUBTED PROOF, NOT ONLY OF THE FACT OF THE
GHOST'S APPEARANCE, BUT OF THE TRUTH OF HIS WORDS.
HORATIO HESITATES TO TAKE THS WORD OF BERNARDO
AND FRANCISCO, AND IS CONVINCED ONLY BY THE ACTUAL
SIGHT OF THE GHOST. HAMLET, APPARENTLY THE LEAST
SUSPICIOUS OF ALL, FOR HE IS THE LAST TO SEE THE
GHOST, SEEMS RELUCTANT TO BELIEVE THAT HORATIO AND
THE OTHERS HAVE SEEN IT. TO CONVINCE HIM, HORATIO
ASSURES HIM WITH AN OATH OF THE TRUTH OF HIS
REPORT, SAYING,
"AS I DO LIVE, MY HONOR'D LORD, 'TIS TRUE."
(I. II. 221.)
HIS DOUBTS ARE NOT FINALLY REMOVED UNTIL THE
16. Madness
Revenge
Memory
Complete the three sections looking
closely at Act 1 Scene 5.
Discuss with the person next to you for 2 minutes the following
things and be ready to discuss as a class:
17. Ophelia and the status of
women
Unlike some of Shakespeare’s other female characters (Juliet),
Ophelia is not a developed character. She gives into the
demands from the men in her life.
“I was the
more
deceiv'd.”
~Ophelia, Act
III, scene 1
18. The Ghost
appears to
Hamlet
This mirrors the first scene.
There is a contrast
between the carefree
nature inside the castle
and the looming threat
outside.
19. - Suspense before the ghost arrives
- The sound of the trumpets
- The feeling of both the old king and new king
- What is further revealed about the state of Denmark
How does Shakespeare show a contrast in this scene between
the carefree nature of the court inside and the danger that is
looming outside of the castle?
20. Hamlet – ‘I do not
set my life at a pin’s
fee’
Discuss, with the person next to you for 2 minutes, the following things
and be ready to discuss as a class: Focus on how Hamlet is in a desperate
state – he does not care about his life. Also look at his references to fate
and destiny.
21. Act2 Scene1
1. Polonius sends someone to spy on his son, Laertes
2. Ophelia reports Hamlet’s strange appearance
22. Shakespeare lightens the tone by
making Polonius appear
ludicrous. Full of his own
importance and intoxicated words
, he has the tendency to lose the
thread of “what was I about to
say?/by the mass I was about to
say something.”
24. Key Info
Hamlet knows Ophelia
will tell her father what
she has seen .
Feminist critics comment
that Ophelia seems to
have no scope for
following her own
wishes. Others,
contrasting her with
Juliet, accuse her of a
complete lack of spirit.
27. Using Act 2 Scene 2
as a starting point,
analyze the
importance of
deception in
Hamlet.
Deception
Discuss, with the person next to you for 2 minutes, the following things and
be ready to discuss as a class:
28. ‘to be or not to be’
Hamlet’s most unique soliloquy
The dramatic
purpose of
this episode is
to establish
Hamlet as a
characteristica
lly detached,
reflective,
analytic,
thinking and
moral.
Abstract
reflection.
29. – “to be or not
to be”
READ THROUGH THE SCENE AND WORK THROUGH
THE FOLLOWING STEPS:
1. WHAT ARE THE KEY MESSAGES OF THIS
SOLILOQUY?
2. WHY IS THERE NO MENTION OF THE
GHOST/CLAUDIUS/GERTRUDE?
3. WHAT DO YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE TONE AND
TEMPO?
4. WHAT DOES THIS SHOW YOU ABOUT
HAMLET’S STATE OF MIND?
30. The calmness of the soliloquy
is in direct contrast to the
passionate exchange which
follows…
‘Get thee to a
nunnery’
31. Reversal of Roles
- Gertrude’s allegiance
-Ophelia’s betrayal
EXPLORE
Hamlet’s reaction to Ophelia
before she speaks.
- How he refers to her
- Language used Hamlet’s rage once Ophelia
starts talking.
- How does he refer to her
now?
- Language he uses
32. Play within a Play
What are the key moments of the scene?
42. What do we make of
Hamlet’s spontaneous
reaction?
43. “Act 3 Scene 4 proves that
Gertrude is just an innocent
victim”.
To what extent do you agree with
the statement?
Editor's Notes
The ghost of the King of Denmark tells his son Hamlet to avenge his murder by killing the new king, Hamlet's uncle. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates life and death, and seeks revenge. His uncle, fearing for his life, also devises plots to kill Hamlet.
