Hamlet – summary of Characters/Themes/Style Characters – Hamlet + Talents/Reasons for S Have 4 Strong points - Evidence and Analysis • Depressed • Outsider • Idealist • Intelligent • Courageous • Becomes more mature in his relationships • Popular amongst the actors and ordinary people Characters – Hamlet - Flaws • Procrastinates and delays – Many die • Cruel - to Ophelia • Contemptuous of Polonius • Priggish and sermonizing • Obsessed with his mother’s sexual life • Becomes ruthless – R and G Characters – Claudius – Talents/Reasons for S • Intelligent – tries to get Hamlet onside, characters of others • Persuasive – Gertrude marries him, Laertes follows his suggestions • Human – nunnery (‘smart a lash’) and prayer scene • Courageous – bravely faces an angry Laertes • Decisive – takes the throne, orders Hamlet’s death Characters – Claudius - Flaws • Insensitive – Hamlet’s grief • Manipulative – of the court, R and G, Polonius, Laertes • Evil – murderer - Ghost • Selfish - doesn’t care about Polonius’ death, really saving Gertrude? • Ruthless – orders the death of Hamlet in England, the duel and poison Characters – Gertrude • First impression – overhasty marriage, insensitive to H • Loved by others: the ghost, Hamlet, Claudius? • Motherly concern • Naïve to the real Claudius – is that her fault? • Closet scene reveals her innocence of the murder • Changes allegiance to Hamlet • Humanity in her compassion to Ophelia’s death • Female victim of male corruption – pays the ultimate price Characters – Ophelia • Powerless as a woman and controlled by Polonius and Claudius – ends the relationship with H, plays the role of bait in Act 2 • Loves Hamlet – “Oh what a noble mind is here o’erthrown..” • Accepts Hamlet’s abuse too easily • Her madness is a real example of how she falls victim to the actions of the powerful men in her world, ironic • Her death (described so poetically – evokes sympathy) is like Gertrude the ultimate sacrifice – also highlights Hamlet’s inaction Characters – Horatio – character/role • Strong friendship with Hamlet – the purest relationship in the play: close bond, trust, ally, undertand each other e.g. Osric and Hamlet asks him to tell the truth of what happened • Noble – only honest figure at courts, supportive to Hamlet • Loyal – remains true to Hamlet and is the only major character still alive at the end – what does this say? • Rational and balanced – suspects Claudius is plotting something in the duel, says so and still supports his friend • Role – provides a narrative thread for the audience – ghost, Hamlet’s letter, chorus at the end – his penultimate speech enhances the pathos of the final scene • Role – ‘antique Roman’ – this moment highlights the difference between Hamlet and Claudius The Role of the Ghost • Symbol of a corrupted Denmark – ghost of a murdered king • Creation of a dramatic atmosphere and mystery - supernatural, fear, ‘doomed to walk the night’ • Contrast with the current king – as a leader/theme of good and evil/the only male to suggest tenderness to a female • Source of irony – victim of poisoning asks for purging, gives his son a task that goes against his nature • Narrative device: - suspense, fills in the gaps in the story, catalyst for the action Theme – Death What is Shakespeare teaching us about death? • Suicide is chosen as a way to escape life’s suffering • The afterlife is something to be feared • Death is blind to social status • Physical decay is part of death • Funeral ritual helps the bereaved • Death is an inevitable part of life Theme of Revenge (linked to justice)- Three avengers – Hamlet, Fortinbras, Laertes • Motivation: (Fortinbras – political), (Laertes – personal -dead father, insane sister), (H- both personal and political) • Proof/Truth required before action – Both L and H seek the truth of what happened before they act. L requires less but is more easily manipulated • Justification – Is it justified? For H, surely yes – C murdered his father, no right to be king, drunkard thus unsuitable, corrupting influence on D, D sleepwalks into being an occupied territory. Is L justified? Is F – he is purely politically motivated… • Revenge requires a balance between conscience and action – H has too much conscience and not enough action for lots of the play – when he does learn to act and accepts the role of fate, he takes revenge albeit too late Theme – Good and Evil (Corruption) • We live in a corrupt world • Claudius is the source of the evil in the play • Key point - Corruption spreads like an infection: R&G, Ophelia’s family, even Hamlet – consider the imagery • Key point - Evil eventually destroys itself – both Laertes and Claudius die because of the poison each has brought to the duel • Good has an obligation to stand up to evil – Claudius might still be on the throne if Hamlet chose remain passive Theme – Appearance and Reality (could also be called Dishonesty, Masks etc.) • False appearance is used to gain power Claudius– most deceptive character – pretends to mourn the brother he murdered fosters a culture of deceit at court – speeches, others around him engage in dishonesty – Pol, R&G, Oph • In Hamlet’s eyes women are deceptive by nature – actions of Ger and Oph – make-up “God hath given you one face” • Goodness is linked to honesty and reality – H is honest at court, ‘suits of woe’ his appearance reflects how he feels – hugely in contrast to Claudius ‘my offence is rank’ who always wears false appearance • In order for the powers of good to overcome evil, they also present a false appearance – Hamlet and ‘antic disposition’, using the actors and adjustments to the play to flush out Claudius • Those that pretend to be something they are not all suffer and die - many examples…Pol dies in the act • App and Reality creates lots of irony – Pol dies while spying, the fencing match is really a murderous plot that kills the very people that plan it Madness • Hamlet pretends to be mad - ample evidence – ‘antic disposition’, ‘mad, north-northwest’, accurate clever insults in his exchanges with P. He does this to delay and buy time, expose Claudius and hatch a plan • Madness and mental illness is a way to escape pain that seems unbearable Ophelia’s madness is real – she retreats into her own mind to escape the pain caused by her separation from H, the death of her father and that H was the one killed him • Madness and extreme mental illness leads to isolation. It is a lonely place to be– Ophelia is very much on her own. Nobody can reach her, soothe her. Even in pretending to be mad Hamlet is isolated • Left untreated, madness and mental illness leads to suffering both for the one who is ill and those that love them. In its most extreme form, it leads to suicide - Ophelia Imagery – develops theme, character and evokes atmosphere • Poison and Disease – presents Claudius as moral contagion – ‘leperous distilment’, ‘mildewed ear’, ‘thy sickly days’, ‘hectic in my blood he rages’, G – ‘sick soul’ L – ‘sickness of my heart’ and O –’poison of deep grief’ • Weeds and Flowers: – weeds – moral decay of Denmark: ‘unweeded garden…rank and gross in nature’ H to G ‘do not spread compost on the weeds..ranker’ - flowers – innocence, purity and O – G for O’s death ‘fantastic garlands..long purples’ L – from her…violets spring’ • Clothing/Masks - False Appearance – C – ‘smiling villain’, P – ‘sugar o’er the devil himself’ C- ‘offence’s gilded hand may buy out justice’ P – ‘the apparel oft proclaims the man’ H and women ‘God hath given you one face..’ Consider how Hamlet and the ghost use clothes to reflect how they genuinely feel: H ‘inky cloak’, ‘customary suits of solemn black’ Ghost – ‘warlike form’ ‘habit as he lived’ Irony • Examples of irony: -Misunderstanding – audience vs characters -Verbal – Claudius telling H England is for his safety -Situational - C and L die by their own plots • Effects of Irony: -Constructs empathy for H -Stirs interest -Adds drama -Creates suspense Act 3, Scene 4 - Turning Point • H obsessed with G’s physical relationship with C • H finally acts – kills P – devastating consequences for O, L and H • Consequently, C sees H as a mortal threat and decides to have him killed • Ghost appears – to remind H of his delay and becoming distracted with G – only appears to H • We learn that G knew nothing of the murder of King H • G and H are now more aligned than before - she covers for him later and suggests he is mad Act 5, Scene 2 - Climax • H is wiser in Act 5, through his suffering, he learned more about himself and the world – admits his mistakes to L • C makes a pathetic attempt to save G from the poisoned cup – what does this say about him? – contrast with H saving Ho • The innocent suffer – G, like O becomes a victim of the behaviour of the men in her life • Climactic duel – L dies - also by his poison and ‘mine own treachery’ • Evil destroys itself – C dies through the poison he procured • The tragic hero dies, after completing his task – albeit too late • So much death in this final scene – could have been avoided • Denmark, the corrupted state is occupied by a foreign invader – Fortinbras • Hamlet – ‘have proved most royally’, given a soldier’s funeral – presented positively to us in the end
