Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Tentative Unit Agenda 07-08
General directions and responsibilities:
 Have the specified Acts and/or scenes read when you come to class. There will be a quiz on
each Act, usually before we watch it or discuss it.
 You will keep a double entry journal (on your own paper) while reading the play. In this
format, you must write a brief summary of each scene as well as questions and insightful
comments—on characterization, relationships with other scenes and/or speeches in the play,
relevance to theme(s), etc. Be prepared to share these with the class each day. Remember, it is
your job to ask about anything which you find unclear or confusing.
 For each soliloquy, you have a written homework assignment: be able to define every word
used in the soliloquy and write a paraphrase of the speech. See information under Friday,
January 4th.
 You will have a 2-3 page paper, topic and date to be specified later.
 You will have a test on various quotes from Hamlet; you will be asked to identify the speaker.
 You will memorize twenty lines from Hamlet and/or Shakespeare’s sonnets. You may do
thirty lines for ten extra credit points. You will write your memorized lines on the Hamlet test,
or you can earn two extra credit points by saying them to me before or after school before the
date of the Hamlet unit test.
 You will compete 1-2 in-class essays during this unit.
 You will stage, costume, and perform one scene from Hamlet (as a group)
Thursday, 1/3 – Read Hamlet Act I, scene i, lines 1-70 in class; Shakespeare’s exposition Act I, scenes
i and ii due Friday, January 4th, including written homework on soliloquy #1 (see above as well as info
under January 4th below).
Friday, 1/4 – Lit. Terms Quiz #7
Act I, scenes i, ii.
Soliloquy #1: “O! That this too, too sullied/solid flesh would melt” (I.ii.129-159)
Remember the written homework. This line might be paraphrased as follows: “O, I feel so
contaminated by everything going on that I wish I could just melt away and disappear.” A paraphrase
is not a summary; it is a re-phrasing of the original in language that makes sense to you. Shakespeare
writes in complete sentences; so should you. Hamlet is speaking: your paraphrase should be in first
person, in Hamlet’s voice, not “He says that . . . .” You may do this in your notebook.
Monday, 1/7 – Act I, iii-v: Quiz and discussion
Focus: Exposition of characters, conflicts, themes, imagery
Tuesday, 1/8 – Act II: Quiz and discussion
Focus: the Polonius sub-plot; the Norway sub-plot; arrival of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern; arrival of Players
Wednesday, 1/9 – Conclude discussion of Act II (shortened period—advisory)
Soliloquy #2: “O! What a rogue and peasant slave am I!” (II.ii. 499-557)
Thursday, 1/10 – Acts I & II video (90 minutes)
Friday, 1/11 – Acts I & II video
Lit. Terms Quiz #8
“Woodchucks” rehash
Monday, 1/14 – Act III, Scene i, ii. 1-98: Quiz (Note: The quiz on the rest of III is Wednesday)
Focus: Soliloquy #3: “To be, or not to be . . .” (III.i. 56-89)
Term 2 Portfolio due (except Hamlet materials—will turn in with term 3 portfolio)
Tuesday, 1/15 – Term 2 Final Test (analytical paragraph construction)
Hamlet Focus: plot structure – “Students Views of News” & “The Dramatic Structure of Hamlet”
Wednesday, 1/16 – Act III: Quiz and discussion, con’t.
Focus: The “Nunnery” scene: Ophelia – Hamlet’s relationship to and treatment of her
The play within the play
Horatio’s role, especially as Hamlet’s confidant
Claudius’ prayer scene: If you have missed any of Hamlet’s soliloquies, you may paraphrase
Claudius’ soliloquy as a make-up/extra credit assignment
Soliloquy #4: “Tis now the very witching time of night.”
(You do not need to paraphrase this short soliloquy)
Gertrude / the “Closet” scene (from III.iv)
IR Extra Credit
Thursday, 1/17 – Act III video (55 minutes)
Acting Companies assignment discussed
Friday, 1/18 – Act IV: Quiz and discussion
Soliloquy #5: “How all occasions do inform against me . . .” (IV, iv, 32-66)
Focus: Ophelia’s mad scene and the theme of madness throughout the play
Lit. Terms Quiz #9
Tuesday, 1/22 –- Act V: Quiz and discussion
The “Graveyard” scene: how does this macabre humor relate to the theme(s) of the play?
Act IV video
ASSIGN PAPER
Wednesday, 1/23 -- Shortened period (advisory)
A changed Hamlet?
A satisfying ending? “sweet prince”?
Act V video
Thursday, 1/24 –
Concluding Discussion Fishbowls: review themes of the play
Function of minor characters: Ghost, Fortinbras, Laertes
Hamlet’s search for truth: what is and what seems
Friday, 1/25 – Lit. Terms Quiz #10
Concluding Discussion Fishbowls: review themes of the play
Poison—literal and figurative—pervading the play?
Monday, 1/28 – Test: Quotations from Hamlet, memorized lines, and essay
Acting Company Performances (turn in tape of performance)
Tuesday, 1/29 – OC Essay RD
Peer Review essays
Simpson’s Hamlet & Acting Company Festival
Wednesday, 1/30 – Shortened period (advisory)
Shakespearean soliloquy analysis
REVISED
Monday 1/28 – Acting Company Performances (turn in tape)
Video—finish Act IV and continue V
Tuesday, 1/29 – OC Essay RD; Test: Quotations
Peer Review essays
Finish video
Wednesday, 1/30 – Shortened period (advisory)
Test: memorized lines and essay
Thursday, 1/31 -- Simpson’s Hamlet & Acting Company Festival
Shakespearean soliloquy analysis