Lesson: Hamlet's Soliloquies
Examining narrative influences and narrative 'returns' and
how they bookend Shakespeare's soliloquies in Hamlet
Audience
&
Schedule
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Grade 12 Language Arts
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Quarter 3 / Week 7 (23)
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5 periods / 1 Lesson*
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End of Hamlet sub-unit
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Continuation of Drama unit
5 periods / 1 Lesson*
Students will spend the week reading, analyzing, and discussing Hamlet's
seven soliloquies, using Bernard Grabanier's explanation that Shakespeare
changed the dramatic usage of the soliloquy. Once we have reviewed the
Grabanier slides from Week 5, we will spend the week looking at each of the
seven soliloquies spoken by Hamlet (and one from Claudius), determining
how/if each soliloquy adheres to Grabanier's thesis.
Student groups will present their analysis periodically throughout the week.
Materials
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Hamlet (Collections 12, Coll. 4)
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The Heart of Hamlet
(Benrard Grebanier, 1967)
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Soliloquy slides (from Week 5)
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Assignment slides (herein)
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Personal computers (students)
Essential Questions
How were soliloquies used before Shakespeare's dramas?
According to Bernard Grebanier, how did Shakespeare change the way
soliloquies were used?
Do the eight soliloquies we'll examine in Hamlet support Grabanier's
thesis? (If so, then how so? If not, then why not?)
(Thought Question) Would the play change dramatically if we removed
Hamlet's seven soliloquies? The Claudius soliloquy?
Lesson Progression
Day 1
90 minutes
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Review soliloquy slides (Wk. 5)
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Use Soliloquy 1 (I.v.92-112) as
warm-up analysis exercise
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Discussion/Questions/Etc.
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Assign Claudius soliloquy
(III.iii.36-72) to every team
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Watch Act 3, Scene 2 on the
wall/screen
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Discuss dramatic elements of
the scene
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Release teams for assignment
completion
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Reassemble for presentations
Lesson Objectives (Day 1 / 90 minutes)
- Identify dramatic uses of a soliloquy
- Explain soliloquy's dual role in the play text
What does Grabanier write about the role of the Shakespearean soliloquy,
and do we see that reflected in the first Hamlet soliloquy (I.v.92-112)?
1. Review Grebanier soliloquy slides from Week 5
2. Watch Act 1, Scene 5 through the first soliloquy
3. Students will explain:
a. what they saw/heard prior to the soliloquy
b. how the Ghost/Hamlet dialogue leads into the Hamlet soliloquy
c. how lines 104-112 lead back into the drama/plot (per Grebanier)
4. Any Q/A for further comprehension
Day 1 (cont.)
- Identify dramatic uses of a soliloquy
- Explain soliloquy's dual role in the play text
Does the Claudius soliloquy at III.iii.36-72 adhere to Grebanier?
1. Watch Act III, Scenes 2-3.
2. Teams breakout/assemble to discuss/analyze III.iii.36-72:
a. What did Claudius say? (Explain/summarize the speech text)
b. What dramatic/narrative events immediately preceded the soliloquy?
c. What soliloquy text – if any – relates to (b)?
d. Which lines in the soliloquy – if any – lead to the dramatic action that
follows?
3. Reassemble and discuss (2-3 teams will 'present' from their seats)
Day 1 (cont.)
- Identify dramatic uses of a soliloquy
- Explain soliloquy's dual role in the play text
EXIT TICKET:
1) Explain Grebanier's thesis on Shakespearean soliloquy
(with relation to soliloquies used be previous playwrights)
2) Explain/Summarize Hamlet's first soliloquy (I.v.92-112) in terms of its
adherence to Grebanier's thesis
3) Explain/Summarize the Claudius soliloquy (III.iii.36-72) in terms of its
adherence to Grebanier's thesis
My Macbeth (??) sample follows:
Day 1 Sample Analysis
- Identify dramatic uses of a soliloquy
- Explain soliloquy's dual role in the play text
Does the Lady Macbeth soliloquy at I.v.41-57 adhere to Grebanier's thesis?
1. Watch Act I.v. → Lady Macbeth reads a letter from Macbeth, informing
her that he has been promoted to Thane of Cawdor, and that three weird
sisters/witches have prophesied that Macbeth shall become king:
"...referred me to the coming on of time, with 'Hail, king, that shalt be!' This
have I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that
thou mightest not lose the dues of rejoicing…" (I.v.8-12)
2. In Lady Macbeth's soliloquy, she responds to these words from her husband,
and she speaks of her desire to be queen, and how she worries that Macbeth
is not strong enough or ambitious enough to make it happen.
Day 1 Sample Analysis (cont.)
- Identify dramatic uses of a soliloquy
- Explain soliloquy's dual role in the play text
2. In Lady Macbeth's soliloquy, she responds to these words from her husband,
and she speaks of her desire to be queen, and how she worries that Macbeth
is not strong enough or ambitious enough to make it happen:
"...I do fear thy nature; it is too full o' the milk of human kindness." (I.v.16-17)
3. When she delivers her soliloquy in 41-57, she refers to this:
a. "Come, you spirits… and take my milk for gall" (I.v.43…51)
She has no 'milk of human kindness'; and if so, she'll trade it for bitterness.
b. "Stop up the access and passage to remorse!" (I.v.47)
Unlike her husband, she will not allow human compassion to stop her.
c. "No counctious visitings of nature shake my fell purpose" (I.v.48-49)
Again, the compassion that slows Macbeth will not get in her way.
Day 1 Sample Analysis
- Identify dramatic uses of a soliloquy
- Explain soliloquy's dual role in the play text
4. Her soliloquy ends with a nod towards her next act:
"That my keen knife sees not the wound it makes, nor heaven peep through the
blanket of the dark, to cry 'Hold! Hold!'" (I.v.55-57)
She has decided – without consulting Macbeth – to murder King Duncan by
stabbing him to death while he sleeps at their castle, that very night. When
Macbeth arrives at line 58, the begin discussing the assassination:
"Oh, never shall sun that morrow see… leave all the rest to me" (I.v.64…78)
5. As Grebanier claims, Shakespeare's soliloquies not only unpack the thoughts
of the speaker, but they build from the drama and lead back to it, often with
direct reference to dramatic action, both before and after.
Day 2
45 minutes
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5-minute writing / Review of
Day 1
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Assign two Hamlet soliloquies
to each team
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Allow teams working time for
each soliloquy (Days 2/3)
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Float, assist, discuss, probe
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Assess on Friday with teams
presenting in B1 Auditorium
Lesson Objectives (Day 2 / 45 minutes)
- Identify dramatic uses of a soliloquy
- Explain soliloquy's dual role in the play text
Which two soliloquies will you begin working on today?
To what degree does each soliloquy align with Grabanier's thesis?
1. Assign roles in your teams
2. As we did on Monday, each team will explain:
a. what they saw/heard prior to the soliloquy
b. how the previous events/dialogue led into the two soliloquies
c. how the soliloquy leads back into the drama/plot (per Grebanier)
3. Teacher will roam and listen on discussions, advising when necessary
Day 3
45 minutes
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Impromptu Presentations: Ea.
team presents 2 minutes of
yesterday's work
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Q/A response to impromptu
presentations
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Allow teams working time for
each soliloquy (Days 2/3)
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Float, assist, discuss, probe
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Assess on Friday with teams
presenting in B1 Auditorium
Lesson Objectives (Day 3 / 45 minutes)
- Identify dramatic uses of a soliloquy
- Explain soliloquy's dual role in the play text
Which two soliloquies will you begin working on today?
To what degree does each soliloquy align with Grabanier's thesis?
1. Assign roles in your teams
2. As we did on Monday, each team will explain:
a. what they saw/heard prior to the soliloquy
b. how the previous events/dialogue led into the two soliloquies
c. how the soliloquy leads back into the drama/plot (per Grebanier)
3. Teacher will roam and listen on discussions, advising when necessary
4. Today, teams decide which soliloquy to present on Friday
Day 4
45 minutes
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Each group presents a summary
of one of its soliloquies
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After all six soliloquies are done,
we'll watch scenes from the play
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Pause/Discuss various elements
of the scenes we watch
Lesson Objectives (Day 4 / 45 minutes)
- Identify dramatic uses of a soliloquy
- Explain soliloquy's dual role in the play text
How did each soliloquy align with Grabanier's thesis?
1. Each team will present for 3-5 minutes
2. Each team will explain:
a. what they saw/heard prior to the soliloquy
b. how the previous events/dialogue led into the two soliloquies
c. how the soliloquy leads back into the drama/plot (per Grebanier)
3. Anyone may ask questions during or after the presentation
4. Engagement score: 2/4/6 pts., depending on involvement of ea. scholar
5. Language score: 2/4/6 pts., based on discussion of soliloquy text
6. Analysis score: 2/4/6 pts., based on discussion per Grabanier
Homework
None