Hamlet: Prince of Denmark

1. Hamlet: Prince of Denmark English IV, AP

2. Warm-up: Monday, October 22nd. • Do not write on the handout. Write the sentences correctly on your paper. Underline the subject of the sentence and circle the verb. • Turn in your writing folders if I did not sign off on them on Wed/Thurs. LAST DAY!

3. English Literature’s Most Famous Play --After learning of his father’s death, Hamlet returns to the Danish court from the university. --He finds Claudius, his dead father’s brother, ruling Denmark and newly (and quickly) wedded to his mother --The hasty marriage has left Hamlet disillusioned and completely suspicious of Claudius. --When his father’s ghost appears, Hamlet is confronted with having to avenge his father’s death --Generally considered to be one of the most problematic texts in all of literature.

4. Revenge Tragedy • Hamlet would have provided a familiar plot for English audiences • The revenge tragedy was a well-established genre going back to Greek and Roman plays, particularly through the playwright Seneca • The basic plot is this: • A murder has to be avenged by the relative of the victim • Typically the victim’s ghost appears to demand revenge • Madness of some sort descends onto the play, ultimately resulting in the deaths of the murderer, avenger, and a number of other characters. • Characterized by crime, madness, poison, anguish, overheard conversations, and conspiracies • Incest is also a common occurrence—notice how much of a “fuss” Hamlet makes over his mother’s marriage to his uncle.

5. The Masterpiece • Hamlet embodies the basic characteristics of the revenge tragedy, but also transcends the conventions of the genre. • Hamlet • Contemplates not only revenge, but also suicide • Agonizes over the meaning of life and the corruption surrounding him • Faces not only a diseased social order but also conflicts within himself due to his indecision • Forceful, attractive, highly intelligent, equipped with shocking wit • Through images and metaphors he creates a view of the world that is both satiric and profoundly painful • He is perplexed by his own alienation from life (as are the people around him) • His self-awareness is both agonizing and liberating • Retains his dignity as a tragic hero despite the painful issues with which he is faced • Fortinbras labels him the most “noble” of them all.

6. Shakespeare’s tragic protagonists • Like Greek tragic heroes, Shakespeare’s protagonists are exceptionally human; their stature makes their misfortune/fall all the more dramatic • Characters are remarkable, possessing unique qualities • The characters pay a high price for their actions • Hamlet’s agonized conviction that “time is out of joint” leads to irreversible results (think about him in relation to Oedipus or Medea)

7. The Legend • Hamlet was a story familiar to the Elizabethan audience • Based on the Norse legend by Saxo Grammaticus written around 1200 A.D. • In this version, the King places his trust in two brothers, Orvendil and Fengi. Fengi kills his brother due to his longing for power and his lust for his brother’s wife. • Orvendil’s son, Amleth, avenges his father’s death and becomes king • Amleth pretends to be mad in order to escape being murdered by his uncle as her pursues his revenge

8. Chaos and Order: The Great Chain of Being • One of the most important continuities of the classical age was the Great Chain of Being. • It’s major premise was that everything had a place in a divinely structured pattern. • An object’s place depended on the proportion of “spirit” and “matter” it contained—the less spirit and the matter, the lower it stood on the chain. • Possesses political and moral implications. It was a crime and a sin to go against the prescribed order of the universe.

9. The Chain of BeingEntity Characteristic • God • Angels • Human beings • Animals • Plants • Minerals • Spirit: “unchanging/permanent” (Being) • Straddling the border of spiritual beings/physical creation (realm of being) • Living thing—no spirit (realm of becoming) • Lifeless

10. Diagram of the Great Chain of Being • For Medieval and Renaissance thinkers, humans occupied a unique position on the Chain of Being, straddling the world of spiritual beings and the world of physical creation. • Humans were thought to possess divine powers such as reason, love, and imagination. Like angels, humans were spiritual beings, but unlike angels, human souls were "knotted" to a physical body. As such, they were subject to passions and physical sensations—pain, hunger, thirst, sexual desire—just like other animals lower on the Chain of the Being. • They also possessed the powers of reproduction unlike the minerals and rocks lowest on the Chain of Being. Humans had a particularly difficult position, balancing the divine and the animalistic parts of their nature. • Source: Wikipedia

11. A more simplistic representation. . .

12. The Theme of Disorder • Prevalent in a number of Renaissance texts • May reflect a sense of discomfort with traditional hierarchies • According to the GCoB, all existing things have their precise place and function in the universe; to break away from that order was to betray one’s nature • To act against human nature by not allowing reason to rule emotions was to descend to the level of beasts. • To attempt to go above one’s proper place, as Eve did in accepting Satan’s temptation, was to court disaster.

13. Political Implications • The fear of disorder held grave political implications • The prescription against trying to rise above one’s place was useful to political rulers, reinforcing their authority. • It implies that civil rebellion causes the chain to be broken and dire consequences will occur • It was a sin against God, at least wherever leaders claim to rule by “Divine Right”

14. Helpful documents/suggestions • Quotes/Thematic discussions (website) • Complete Study guides for each act (website, Acts I and II were given in class) • Notes from class • Introductory information in the Bedford • My advice: The more tools you possess to attack the play, the better off you’ll be. If your reading of the play is limited only to the text you are more likely to struggle with the content of this unit and may not reap the full benefits of class discussion. • I strongly suggest purchasing your own copy of the text. I use the Folger Shakespeare Library edition. ISBN: 978-0-7434-7712-3