Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

1. Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

2. The play suggests that our lives may be controlled by a divine power (fate). Do you believe in fate? Why or why not? Why do you think people believe in fate?

3. Tragedy or Comedy? Hamlet may be the greatest English play ever written. The character of Hamlet is so ambiguous, so contradictory that we are not sure if he is really good or if he is bad. Does he deserve his fate or is he heroic? This ambiguity of character lends the play its depth.

4. Activator:Revenge as a Motivation for Action • Using the members of your group as characters, outline a brief revenge story. What caused the situation to turn to revenge? What was the nature of the revenge? How does the revenge turn out?

5. The Law of Unintended Consequences • The Law of Unintended Consequences states that almost all human actions have at least one unintended consequence: "There shall be some unexpected result." In other words, each cause has more than one effect, and will include unforeseen effects. Less of a law or rule itself, it is more a call to rulers and law makers [and decision makers] to beware.

6. Law of Unintended Consequences continued… • So in a story where a character sets out to get revenge, and devises a plan specifically to get revenge, will that plan play out perfectly? • What are other possible outcomes that could occur? (This is a rhetorical question, no answers are needed.)

7. Edgar Allen Poe’s definition of real revenge In his famous short story “The Cask of Amontillado” Poe’s main character, Montresor, claims that in order to get “real” revenge, one must fulfill 3 criteria. • One must make oneself known as an avenger on the revengee. • One must punish and get away with it. • One must NEVER feel guilty about what they have done to get revenge. Only then has one TRULY gotten revenge.

8. Main Characters • Hamlet – son of Gertrude and the dead King Hamlet • Gertrude – Queen and Hamlet’s mother • Claudius – Hamlet’s uncle and now step-father • Horatio – Hamlet’s friend • Polonius – Advisor to the new King • Ophelia – Polonius’ daughter and Hamlet’s girlfriend • Laertes – Ophelia’s brother • Rosencrantz and Gildenstern – childhood friends of Hamlet • Hamlet’s Ghost – young Hamlet’s father in ghostly form

9. The Oedipus Complex • The Oedipus complex in Freudian psychoanalysis refers to stage of psychosexual development in childhood where children of both sexes regard their father as an adversary and competitor for the exclusive love of their mother. The name derives from the Greek myth of Oedipus, who unwittingly kills his father, Laius, and marries his mother, Jocasta. • In Jungian thought, the Oedipus complex tends to refer only to the experience of male children, with female children experiencing an Electra complex in which they regard their mothers as competitor for the exclusive love of their fathers.

10. Questions about Hamlet • Is Hamlet basically good or basically bad? • Is he cunning or crazy? • Is he a good son? Nephew? Friend? Boyfriend? • Is Hamlet brave or cowardly? • Is he in-the-right or in-the-wrong? • Is he all talk or is he a man of action? These questions, and others, are left for you to decide. As we read the play, draw your own conclusions about Hamlet.

11. Summarizer “Everything comes with a price.” –Alan Nichol Do you agree?

13. Old King Hamlet Claudius Queen Gertrude Old Fortinbras Young Prince Hamlet ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN Horatio Young Fortinbras Polonius Laertes Ophelia

14. Activator • 1. Have you or anyone you have known ever seen or claimed to have witnessed some kind of supernatural being? Explain the circumstances surrounding the event. Do you believe in the supernatural? Explain.

15. Read Act 1

16. Activator • How are relationships between stepparents and stepchildren generally depicted in fiction or film? Do you have any experience with or knowledge of step-relationships? What conflicts and barriers must be overcome? What are the advantages, the positive aspects of these relationships?

17. Activator To what extent do parents have the right to "spy" or check up on their children? What circumstance might allow or prevent this?

18. Hamlet Warm-Up Pass the Character • Focus: -introduction to stock characters similar to those in Hamlet; • -exploring the connection between props/costumes and character. • Bring in a box or bag in which you have assembled the following costume pieces and props: a • love letter; a shovel; a crown; a small bottle marked “Poison”; a garland of flowers; a skull; a • white sheet; a sword; and a set of prayer beads. Make sure your students have what they need to • get their responses down on paper before you let them see what you have brought in. As you • take an object out, tell them what it is and give them 30 seconds to write down everything they • can think of about the person to whom the object belongs. • When all of the objects have been introduced, divide the class into small groups (3-6 people) and • assign one or two objects to each. Working together, the members of each group must come up • with a detailed description of the character they associate with the object they have been given, • including his or her occupation, social class, historical era and leisure pursuits. As well, the • group must be prepared to show the rest of the class how the character walks and talks. • When each group has had the chance to teach the class about the characters they have created, • including how to walk and talk like them, you are ready to improvise two-minute scenes with • any three of them (and their props) onstage. Take suggestions for locations in which to set the • scene and try different combinations of these characters each time. At any point the action may • be frozen and the command, “Pass the character!” given. The actors must then exchange • props/characters and continue with the scene in the new role.

19. "To the celestial and my soul's idol, the most beautified Ophelia, "Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love. O dear Ophelia, I am ill at these numbers; I have not art to reckon my groans: but that I love thee best, O most best, believe it. Adieu. Thine evermore most dear lady, whilst this machine is to him, HAMLET."