This above all to thine own self be

“This above all: to thine own self be true. ” “Frailty, thy name is woman. ” “Doubt thou the stars are fire, Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love. ” Hamlet “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. ” “To be, or not to be, that is the question. ” “The lady doth protest too much, methinks. ” “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t. ”

Table of Contents • William Shakespeare • The Globe Theatre • “The tragedy of an audience that cannot make up its mind” – Hamlet Introductory Questions • Map of Denmark • Iambic Pentameter • Guiding Theme Quotes • Dramatis Personae Vocab • Character Map • Act 1 Actors • 1. 1 Interpretation Activity • 1. 2 “Translating” the King’s Monologue • Ghost Questions • Act 2 Actors • Act 3 Actors • Act 4 Actors • Act 5 Actors • Final Essay Assignment

William Shakespeare “The remarkable thing about Shakespeare is that he really very good – in spite of all the people who say he is very good. ” -Robert Graves

�April 23 1564 – April 23 1616 �Born in Stratford, England �His father was a glover and local politician and his mother was a prosperous farmer’s daughter. �Had four brothers and four sisters

�Married Anne Hathaway when he was 18 and she was 26 �In his will, he left her his second best bed �They had three children.

• • Shakespeare was well-known and fairly wealthy when he died He was buried in Stratford at the Holy Trinity Church.

The Globe Theatre • Built in 1599 by the playing company, (the Lord Chamberlain’s Men) that Shakespeare worked for • It was destroyed by a fire in 1630 during a performance of Henry the Eighth. A theatrical cannon misfired. “According to one of the few surviving documents of the event, no one was hurt except a man whose burning breeches were put out with a bottle of ale. ” • It was rebuilt the following year. • The theater was closed down in 1642

“Shakespeare’s Globe” opened in 1997 approx. 750 feet from the site of the old Globe

Hamlet “the tragedy of an audience that cannot make up its mind” • Why does Hamlet delay avenging the murder of his father? • How much guilt does Hamlet’s mother bear in the crime? • How trustworthy is the ghost of Hamlet’s father? Is vengeance morally justifiable in this play, or is it to be condemned? • What exactly is the ghost, and where has it come from? • Is Hamlet’s madness feigned or true, a strategy masquerading as reality or a reality masquerading as a strategy? • Does Hamlet love Ophelia? Final Writing Assignment

Iambic Pentameter Pairs of unstressed/stressed syllables 5 iambic feet (feet are groups of syllables) clip from Kenneth Branagh’s Love’s Labour’s Lost: http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=ba-RKUsq. RRo

Write the quote and whether you agree or disagree. In a few bullet points, describe why. 1. “Siblings should never date each others’ ‘exes. ’” 2. “Having a clear goal, and the ambition to achieve it, is honorable. ” 3. “Power eventually corrupts the people who have it. ” 4. “Revenge is sweeter than forgiving and forgetting. ”

Write the quote and whether you agree or disagree. In a few bullet points, explain why you agree or disagree. 5. “A person’s intelligence is largely based on his/her economic class and educational background. ” 6. “One must take a stand against injustice, even if the personal cost is great. ” 7. “A woman’s primary concern should be her child – if she has one. ” 8. “Moral courage is more difficult to accomplish than physical courage. ”

Dramatis Personae Vocab 1. Dramatis personae – Latin for persons (or characters) of the drama 2. Lord Chamberlain - one of the chief officers of the royal household; generally responsible for organizing court functions 3. courtier – a person frequently in attendance at court; could include nobles, clergy, soldier, clerks, secretaries, agents, and middlemen of all sorts who had regular business at court

Character Map First Generation King Claudius Lord Polonius Reynaldo Queen Gertrude Ghost Second Generation Hamlet Horatio Laertes Lucianus Marcellus Bernardo Francisco Prince Fortinbras Ophelia

Act 1 Actors Scene i Bernardo Francisco Horatio Marcellus (Ghost) Scene ii King Claudius Cornelius Voltemand Laertes Queen Gertrude Hamlet Horatio Marcellus Bernardo Scene iii Laertes Polonius Ophelia Scene iv Hamlet Horatio Marcellus (Ghost) Scene v Ghost Hamlet Horatio Marcellus

1. 1 Interpretation Activity Directions: 1. Skim through Act 1 Scene 1 and make a list of the most important things that occur in the scene 2. In groups of three, write an interpretation of scene 1 Use your lists to guide your scene Use your own words What should you consider about the original text as you write your interpretation? :

1. 2 “Translating” the King’s Monologue Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death The memory be green, and that it us befitted To bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom To be contracted in one brow of woe, Yet so far hath discretion fought with nature That we with wisest sorrow think on him Together with remembrance of ourselves. Though yet of Hamlet our dear brother’s death the memory be green, and that it us befitted to bear our hearts in grief, and our whole kingdom to be contracted in one brow of woe, yet so far hath discretion fought with nature that we with wisest sorry think on him together with remembrance of ourselves.

Who is the Ghost in Hamlet? (And from whence has he come? ) 1. What were the two religions involved in the Religious Reformation of the time? 2. Identify the three beliefs about ghosts prevalent at the time. (complete sentences) 3. What was purgatory, according to Catholic belief at the time? Explain in your own words. (complete sentences)

4. Find a quote from Act 1 that could represent each of the three beliefs about ghosts. See: scene i: When Marcellus, Bernardo, and Horatio are conversing before Horatio sees the Ghost. scene v: Beginning when the Ghost enters to just before he describes his death to Hamlet. Pay particular attention to Hamlet and the Ghost’s lines. (pgs. 30 -34)

Act 2 Actors Scene i Polonius Reynaldo Ophelia Scene ii King Claudius Queen Gertrude Rosencrantz Guildenstern (attendants) Polonius Voltemand (Cornelius) Hamlet (4 or 5 players) First Player

Act 3 Actors Scene i King Claudius Queen Gertrude Polonius Ophelia Rosencrantz Guildenstern Hamlet Scene ii Hamlet (2 Players) First Player Polonius Rosencrantz Guildenstern Horatio King Claudius Queen Gertrude Ophelia (Lords) Player as Prologue Player King Player Queen Player Lucianus Scene iii King Claudius Rosencrantz Guildenstern Polonius Hamlet Scene iv Queen Gertrude Polonius Hamlet (Ghost)

Act 4 Actors Scene 1 King Claudius Queen Gertrude (Rosencrantz) (Guildenstern) Scene 4 Fortinbras Captain (Soldiers) Hamlet Rosencrantz (Guildenstern) Scene 2 Hamlet Rosencrantz Guildenstern Scene 5 Queen Gertrude Horatio Gentleman Ophelia King Claudius Messenger Laertes Danes Scene 3 King Claudius Rosencrantz Hamlet (Guildenstern) (Attendants) Scene 6 Horatio Servant First Sailor Scene 7 King Claudius Laertes Messenger Queen Gertrude

Act 5 Actors List Scene 1 First Clown Second Clown Hamlet Horatio Laertes Priest Queen Gertrude Scene 2 Hamlet Horatio Osric Lord King Claudius Laertes Queen Gertrude Fortinbras First Ambassador

Hamlet Final Writing Assignment A critic once described Hamlet as “the tragedy of an audience that cannot make up its mind. ” Why? In order to get you thinking analytically about the play, you are going to develop your own prompt for the final writing assignment. Your prompt will be in the form of a question about the play. How might you formulate a question about the play? How might you word or develop a question in order to make it good essay-writing material? Where might you find the answers to your question?

1. How might you formulate a question about the play? As we read, be thinking about an interesting or puzzling Character Setting Theme Event (Examples)

2. How might you word or develop a question in order to make it good essay-writing material? • What is the difference between a question that begins with the word “should” and a question that begins with the word “does”? • What is the purpose of writing an essay about literature? • How should textual and other types of support or evidence be used in an essay? Question Development Outline

Audience In academic writing you assume that your audience knows the general plot of the text, but nothing really specific about characters, scenes/events, etc. Why?

Goal of the essay To show your reader a logical progression of events (from the text) and thoughts that show and why you reached your answer

Mathematical Representation of the Essay Prompt = Your Question Intro + Conclusion = Your Answer Thesis Statement + Body Paragraphs = “logical progression of events and thoughts”

Goal of the Support Outline To identify what specific information your reader (audience) needs in order to understand how and why you reached your answer In other words, to identify each individual element of the “logical progression of events and thoughts” that lead to your answer. Support Outline