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PRESENTS:
Directed by Brian Isaac Phillips
Discussion Guide
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About the Playwright:
William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the English town
of Stratford-upon-Avon. The son of John Shakespeare, a
successful glove maker and public official, and Mary Arden, the
daughter of a gentleman, William was the oldest surviving sibling
of eight children. Throughout Shakespeare’s childhood,
companies of touring actors visited Stratford. Although there is no
evidence to prove that Shakespeare ever saw these actors perform,
most scholars agree that he probably did. In 1582, at the age of
18, Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway, the daughter of a
farmer.
The couple had become parents of two daughters and a son by
1585. Sometime in the next eight years, Shakespeare left his
family in Stratford and moved to London to pursue a career in the theater. Records show that by 1592,
he had become a successful actor and playwright in that city. Shakespeare joined a famous acting group
called the Lord Chamberlain’s Men, so named for their patron, or supporter, a high official in the court
of Queen Elizabeth I. One of the first plays Shakespeare wrote for this company was Romeo and Juliet.
In 1598 Shakespeare became part owner of a major new theater, the Globe.
For more than a decade, Shakespeare produced a steady stream of works, both tragedies and comedies,
which were performed at the Globe, the royal court, and other London theaters. However, shortly after
the Globe was destroyed by fire in 1613, he retired and returned to Stratford. He died in Stratford in
1616.
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Plot Synopsis of “Hamlet”:
On a dark winter night, a ghost walks
the ramparts of Elsinore Castle in
Denmark. Discovered first by a pair of
watchmen, then by the scholar Horatio,
the ghost resembles the recently
deceased King Hamlet, whose brother
Claudius has inherited the throne and
married the king’s widow, Queen
Gertrude. When Horatio and the
watchmen bring Prince Hamlet, the son
of Gertrude and the dead king, to see the
ghost, it speaks to him, declaring
ominously that it is indeed his father’s
spirit, and that he was murdered by none
other than Claudius. Ordering Hamlet to
seek revenge on the man who usurped
his throne and married his wife, the ghost disappears with the dawn.
Prince Hamlet devotes himself to avenging his father’s death, but, because he is contemplative and
thoughtful by nature, he delays, entering into a deep melancholy and even apparent madness. Claudius
and Gertrude worry about the prince’s erratic behavior and attempt to discover its cause. They employ a
pair of Hamlet’s friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to watch him. When Polonius, the pompous
Lord Chamberlain, suggests that Hamlet may be mad with love for his daughter, Ophelia, Claudius
agrees to spy on Hamlet in conversation with the girl. But though Hamlet certainly seems mad, he does
not seem to love Ophelia: he orders her to enter a nunnery and declares that he wishes to ban marriages.
A group of traveling actors comes to
Elsinore, and Hamlet seizes upon an
idea to test his uncle’s guilt. He will
have the players perform a scene
closely resembling the sequence by
which Hamlet imagines his uncle to
have murdered his father, so that if
Claudius is guilty, he will surely
react. When the moment of the
murder arrives in the theater, Claudius
leaps up and leaves the room. Hamlet
and Horatio agree that this proves his
guilt. Hamlet goes to kill Claudius but
finds him praying. Since he believes
that killing Claudius while in prayer
would send Claudius’s soul to heaven, Hamlet considers that it would be an inadequate revenge and
decides to wait. Claudius, now frightened of Hamlet’s madness and fearing for his own safety, orders
that Hamlet be sent to England at once.
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Hamlet goes to confront his mother, in whose
bedchamber Polonius has hidden behind a
tapestry. Hearing a noise from behind the
tapestry, Hamlet believes the king is hiding
there. He draws his sword and stabs through
the fabric, killing Polonius. For this crime, he
is immediately dispatched to England with
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. However,
Claudius’s plan for Hamlet includes more
than banishment, as he has given Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern sealed orders for the King of
England demanding that Hamlet be put to
death.
In the aftermath of her father’s death, Ophelia goes mad with
grief and drowns in the river. Polonius’s son, Laertes, who
has been staying in France, returns to Denmark in a rage.
Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is to blame for his
father’s and sister’s deaths. When Horatio and the king
receive letters from Hamlet indicating that the prince has
returned to Denmark after pirates attacked his ship en route
to England, Claudius concocts a plan to use Laertes’ desire
for revenge to secure Hamlet’s death. Laertes will fence with
Hamlet in innocent sport, but Claudius will poison Laertes’
blade so that if he draws blood, Hamlet will die. As a backup
plan, the king decides to poison a goblet, which he will give
Hamlet to drink should Hamlet score the first or second hits
of the match. Hamlet returns to the vicinity of Elsinore just
as Ophelia’s funeral is taking place. Stricken with grief, he
attacks Laertes and declares that he had in fact always loved
Ophelia. Back at the castle, he tells Horatio that he believes
one must be prepared to die, since death can come at any
moment. A foolish courtier named Osric arrives on
Claudius’s orders to arrange the fencing match between
Hamlet and Laertes.
The sword-fighting begins. Hamlet scores the first hit, but declines to drink from the king’s proffered
goblet. Instead, Gertrude takes a drink from it and is swiftly killed by the poison. Laertes succeeds in
wounding Hamlet, though Hamlet does not die of the poison immediately. First, Laertes is cut by his
own sword’s blade, and, after revealing to Hamlet that Claudius is responsible for the queen’s death, he
dies from the blade’s poison. Hamlet then stabs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces
him to drink down the rest of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies, and Hamlet dies immediately after
achieving his revenge.
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At this moment, a Norwegian prince named Fortinbras, who has led an army to Denmark and attacked
Poland earlier in the play, enters with ambassadors from England, who report that Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are dead. Fortinbras is stunned by the gruesome sight of the entire royal family lying
sprawled on the floor dead. He moves to take power of the kingdom. Horatio, fulfilling Hamlet’s last
request, tells him Hamlet’s tragic story. Fortinbras orders that Hamlet be carried away in a manner
befitting a fallen soldier.
From the Actors:
Brent Vimtrup (Hamlet):
“I’ve been dreaming about playing HAMLET ever since I knew I wanted to be a professional actor. I
mean, what’s not dreamy about the role? He’s the smartest guy in the room. At times the funniest.
Encounters great moments of sorrow. Makes discoveries of astounding elation. He’s a lover and a
fighter. And most importantly, he’s a thinker. There’s a reason that Hamlet’s soliloquies are among the
most famous words ever to be spoke in the English language. Hamlet is able to hone in on the question
of ‘what it is to be a man’ with an eloquence and an introspect that is mind-blowing.”
Laurence Olivier
a famous British actor who performed the role of Hamlet in a 1948 film:
“You can play it and play it as many times as the opportunity occurs and still not get to the bottom of its
box of wonders. It can trick you round false corners and into cul-de-sacs, or take you by the seat of your
pants and hurl you across the stars. It can give you moments of unknown joy, or cast you into the depths
of despair. Once you have played it, it will devour you and obsess you for the rest of your life.”
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Hamlet Facts:
-Hamlet was written sometime between 1599 and 1601 and is often considered the greatest
achievement of the world’s greatest playwright. It has been performed and translated more than
any other play in the world. It has had more written about it – and has inspired more parodies
and spin-offs -- than any other literary work. Its famous “To be or not to be” is the most quoted
phrase in the English language. Hamlet has inspired 26 ballets, six operas and dozens of musical
works. There have been more than 45 movie versions, including those by Laurence Olivier, Mel
Gibson and Kenneth Branagh.
-Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play. Uncut, it would take between four and a half and five
hours to perform. Hamlet himself has 1,530 lines -- more than any other Shakespearean
character.
-Three different texts of Hamlet were published in Shakespeare’s time. The Revenge of Hamlet,
Prince of Denmark was entered in the Stationer’s Register in 1603 and is now known as the First
Quarto. It is considered to have been a pirated edition, assembled from the memories of actors,
and is full of inaccuracies. A second Quarto appeared in 1604. Believed to have been printed
from Shakespeare’s own manuscript, it was inscribed: “newly imprinted and enlarged to almost
as much againe as it was, according to the true and perfect Coppie.” This version is the source
of most modern editions. A revised, cut, version of the Second Quarto appeared in the First
Folio of 1623. This version is believed to have been revised from a prompt book or actor’s copy
of the script, since the lines that have been cut are literary rather than dramatic.
Origins and Sources
-The story of Hamlet has no basis in historical events. Shakespeare’s source, referred to by
scholars as the “Ur-Hamlet”, was a lost play popular in London in the 1580s. It was believed to
have been written by Thomas Kyd, who based it on a tale in François Belleforest’s collection
Histoires Tragiques (1580). That story was derived in turn from a ninth-century saga about a
pre-Viking prince called Amleth.
-The saga was recorded by Danish monk Saxo Grammaticus in his Chronicles of the Danish
Realm, written around 1200 and first published in 1514. The word “amleth” means “dimwit” or
“simpleton” -- a reference to the prince’s feigned madness, which he assumed to protect himself
from his uncle who killed his father. Feigned madness was a popular theme in Icelandic and
Viking folk tales.
-Some aspects of the play -- including its gloomy, introspective hero, its ghost urging revenge, its
treacherous horrors and its violence -- belong to a tradition of revenge plays that can be traced
back to Seneca, the first-century Roman playwright, whose complete works had been translated
into English in 1571.
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Principal Hamlet Soliloquies and Key Scenes--A Handy
Checklist
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Soliloquy 1: I.ii.129-59 "O that this too too
sullied flesh. . ."
Soliloquy 2: I.v.92-112 "O all you host of
heaven!. . ."
Soliloquy 4: III.i.56-88 "To be, or not to
be. . ."
Soliloquy 5: III.ii.396-407 "'Tis now the
very witching time..."
Soliloquy 6: III.iii.73-96 "Now might I do
it pat. . ."
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Soliloquy 7: IV.iv.32-66 "How all
occasions do inform against me. . ."
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Council scene: I.ii.1-128
Fishmonger scene: II.ii.171-224
Schoolfellow scene: II.ii.225-388
Nunnery scene: III.i.88-164
The Mousetrap play
scene: III.ii.94-276
Prayer scene: III.iii.36-98
Closet scene/Portrait
scene: III.iv.1-53; III.iv.54-218
Ophelia's madness
scenes: IV.v.21-73; IV.v.154-198
Graveyard scene: V.i.1-294
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Themes
Revenge
“If thou didst ever thy dear father love,
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder.” The Ghost, I.5.23-5
Plays based on acts of personal revenge became very popular in
Shakespeare’s day. This form came to be known as the revenge
tragedy, a genre which most often included some or all of the
following:
• the ghost of a murdered family member who demands that the
hero take revenge
• the revenger must take the law into his own hands and commit
an evil act to get revenge, which
inevitably leads to his own death
• scenes involving real and/or pretended madness
• a play within a play
• a graveyard scene
• much violence and many deaths, (thus its alternate name “the
tragedy of blood”!)
Hamlet contains all of these elements; in fact, the play is
structured around a double revenge. Both Hamlet and Laertes
seek to avenge a father’s murder, but while Hamlet is the
revenger in the main plot, he is the target of Laertes’s revenge is the subplot, and this dual role for
Hamlet makes it very difficult for us to tell the good guys from the bad guys. This is one way in which
Shakespeare moves well beyond the usual revenge tragedy form in this play. It is completely dominated
by his remarkably complex characterization of Hamlet, the brooding and brilliant Prince of Denmark,
through whom the traditional form is opened up to become a meditation on the deep mystery at the heart
of life. The recent film Titus from director Julie Taymor is a very original, stylized treatment of
Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus, a much more conventional work in the revenge tragedy genre.
Moral and Physical Corruption
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” Marcellus, I.4.90
Actions and images on the theme of corruption abound in Hamlet. The relationship between
Claudius and Gertrude that so disgusts and enrages Hamlet brings the taint of sexual infidelity and incest
to the very center of life in the Danish court. Add to that Claudius’ additional sins of fratricide (killing of
one’s brother) and regicide (killing of one’s king), and the moral corruption he embodies becomes truly
monstrous. And his corrupting influence is contagious: Polonius, Laertes, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern all seem to lose their moral sense while doing his bidding, with fatal consequences for
themselves. Hamlet compares the evil Claudius represents to a “canker in our nature” that must be
removed. Ideas about the physical decay and corruption of the body also constantly recur in much of the
imagery in Hamlet. These include poison and its effects; sickness and disease in nature and in the body;
maggots/worms breeding and feasting on flesh; and the famous meditation over Yorick’s skull in the
graveyard scene.
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Madness and Melancholy
“I am but mad north-north-west.” Hamlet, II.2.347
Elizabethans found the wild and unpredictable
behavior of the insane entertaining both
onstage and off. The infamous asylum St.
Mary of Bethlehem (known as Bedlam for
short) opened its doors so people in search of a
diverting spectacle could pay to view the
inmates. Many plays written at this time
feature characters whose madness makes it
possible for them to say and do outlandish
things not normally permitted in polite society.
Hamlet’s “antic disposition” -- his makebelieve madness -- is a pose he hides behind
while he contemplates his revenge. But his
actual state of mind seems terribly unstable at
several points throughout the play and it is
difficult to know for certain whether or not he
ever actually slips over the edge into genuine
madness. In a production the actor and director
working together would have to make a
decision about the extent of Hamlet’s madness.
Hamlet does display the classic symptoms of another kind of mental disorder: melancholy, a pessimistic
and cynical mindset, a tendency to ruthless self-criticism, depressed mood and persistent thoughts of
suicide.
Ophelia’s madness in Act IV, scene 5 is indisputable. Having been given more than she can cope with
when her father is murdered by the man she loves, she really does lose touch with reality. Her mad
ravings suggest the deeper preoccupations that have claimed her mind: the death of a loved one and the
utter thwarting of her longing to have her love for Hamlet returned. While Hamlet merely talks about
taking his own life, Ophelia actually does allow her own to slip away while in the grip of the madness to
which his actions have driven her.
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Random Fortune or Divine Master Plan?
“There is a divinity that shapes our ends,
Rough-hew them how we will --” Hamlet, V.2.10-11
Overwhelmed by his own grief and the apparent triumph of
good over evil in this world, Hamlet, for much of the play, feels
like a victim of a random, indifferent universe ruled by the
whims of fortune. All human actions seem meaningless in a
world governed by the perpetual, externally imposed cycle of
successes and failures symbolized by the image of the goddess
Fortune’s turning wheel in II.2. But Hamlet undergoes a
spiritual journey during the course of the play; in Act V he
confides in Horatio his belief in the existence of a divine order
underlying events in the world, even “the fall of a sparrow”
(V.2.215). He can accept the necessity of killing Claudius,
finally, when he can believe he is acting as the instrument of a
divine justice at work in the world, not in senseless and brutal
retaliation. Whether Shakespeare himself shared this essentially
Christian vision of human destiny is the matter of ongoing
critical debate.
Setting:
Although originally set in pre-Viking times, Director Brian
Isaac Phillips has chosen to set CSC’s Hamlet on the eve of
WWI. As we see from the events below, the tense and violent
political atmosphere is the perfect background for Hamlet.
Our World at that time:
World War I was caused by a combination of several factors
but above all, it was caused by the tensions between the
European powers and crisis of the balance-of-power system
that divided Europe into two camps. While one camp, joining
Great Britain, France and Russia (Triple Entente) strove to
preserve the fragile balance between the European great
powers, the second camp that formed around German Empire,
Austria-Hungary and Italy (Central Powers) was challenging
it. Discussed below are specific events that led to one of the
most devastating military conflicts in history.
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Franco-Prussian War
The war between France and Prussia (the future
German Empire) that lasted from 1870 to 1871 ended
with a humiliating defeat for France. It lost the
regions of Alsace and Lorraine, and was forced to
pay a huge indemnity to Prussia. The FrancoPrussian War led to creation of a powerful German
Empire with a military and industrial potential to
further disrupt the European balance of power on the
one hand and widespread resentment and desire for
revenge among the French (revanchism) on the other.
Accession of Wilhelm II to the German Throne
With the accession of Wilhelm II to the German throne in 1888, the
German foreign policy became more bellicose. The new German
Emperor dismissed the skillful Otto von Bismarck as Chancellor.
He also refused to renew the Reinsurance Treaty with Russia that
maintained the fragile peace between Russia and Austria-Hungary
as well as kept France isolated. That way Wilhelm II helped create
an alliance between France and Russia (formed in 1892) that
became the basis for the future Triple Entente.
Russo-Japanese War
Russo-Japanese rivalry over Manchuria and
Korea reached its height with the RussoJapanese War (1904-1905). The outcome of the
war against the Japanese was a major blow for
the Russians who lost almost entire Baltic and
Pacific fleet. The defeat also provoked a serious
political crisis that led to the Russian
Revolution of 1905. But the Russo-Japanese
War also made an end to the Russian ambitions
in the Far East and as a result, the Tsarist government focused its attention to Europe, in the first place to
the Balkans. This intensified the old rivalry with Austria-Hungary that also had a great interest in the
Balkans.
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Entente Cordiale
German militarism and especially the buildup of naval power convinced Great Britain that Germany
may soon establish itself as a dominant power on the Continent. In order to create a counterweight to the
German Empire, the British decided to enter into an alliance with France that came to be known as
Entente Cordiale. In 1907, Britain also entered into an alliance with Russia that was already in alliance
with France. This formed the Triple Entente which in turn became the core of the Allies during World
War I.
Moroccan Crises
The Moroccan Crises - the Tangler Crisis
(1905-1906) and Agadir Crisis (1911) brought the European powers on the brink
of war. Both crises were provoked by the
Germans with an aim to cause tensions
between France and Britain that just
concluded an alliance. The result, however,
was right the opposite. Instead of
‘softening’ Britain and bring it closer to the
Central Powers, the Moroccan Crises
further reinforced the Entente Cordiale and
increased the British hostility towards
Germany.
Bosnian Annexation Crisis
In 1908, Austria-Hungary decided to annex Bosnia and Herzegovina that was formally an integral part
of the Ottoman Empire. The annexation of the provinces that were occupied by the Dual Monarchy
since 1878 was bitterly opposed by Serbia that was closely related to the provinces both ethically and
geographically. Serbia was supported by the Tsarist government and the crisis persisted into 1909.
Russia failed to win as firm support from France or Britain as Vienna enjoyed from Germany and
accepted the annexation of the provinces. Serbia was forced to back down and the crisis ended. But it
permanently damaged the relationship between Russia and Serbia on the one hand and Austria-Hungary
on the other. The annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina caused embitteredness in Serbia, while the way
it was carried out humiliated the Russian government that could not afford a similar humiliation during
the 1914 July Crisis.
Italo-Turkish War
The Italo-Turkish War that took place between 1911
and 1912 did not pose any major threat to peace in
Europe. But the Turkish defeat revealed the weakness
of the Ottoman army and disagreement between the
European powers about the so-called Eastern
Questions - the fate of the decaying Ottoman Empire.
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The war between the Kingdom of Italy and the Ottoman Empire was also a strong incentive for the
Balkan League which would capture the Balkan peninsula from the Turks independently from the great
powers.
Balkan Wars
In 1912, Serbia, Greece, Montenegro and Bulgaria formed
the Balkan League, a military alliance against the Ottoman
Empire. Within a few months, the Balkan allies stripped the
Ottoman Empire of its possessions in the Balkans and
divided the conquered territory among themselves. In June,
Bulgaria turned against its allies of Serbia and Greece due
to a dispute over partition of Macedonia. But the Bulgarians
were defeated within a month and forced to give up their claims in Macedonia. The success of the
Balkan League shocked most European powers including the Russian allies of France and Great Britain.
But it especially disturbed Austria-Hungary that strongly opposed a strong Serbian state. Vienna saw
Serbia both as a rival in the Balkans and as a direct threat because it feared that its small Balkan
neighbor may become the core of a future South-Slavic state. The Balkan Wars made Austro-Hungarian
statesmen even more determined to take concrete action to prevent further strengthening of Serbia.
Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
On June 28, 1914, a group of conspirators from the revolutionary
movement called Mlada Bosna (‘Young Bosnia’) carried out the
assassination of the Austro-Hungarian heir presumptive, Archduke
Franz Ferdinand and his wife while they were visiting Sarajevo.
Since the assassin, Gavrilo Princip and his 5 accomplices were
Bosnian Serbs, the Dual Monarchy accused Serbia to stand behind
the assassination. The event triggered the course of events that
directly led to the outbreak of World War I but it did not cause it.
Austria-Hungary was determined to eliminate the ‘Serbian threat’
before the assassination of its heir presumptive and it only needed an
excuse to declare war on its Balkan neighbor.
July Ultimatum
On July 23, Austria-Hungary presented an ultimatum to
Serbia. Vienna, however, intentionally imposed
impossible demands to Serbia in order to be able to
declare war on its neighbor for ‘orchestrating’ the
assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. A
few days later, the Austro-Hungarian troops invaded
Serbia and started the devastating World War I.
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Discussion Questions:
1) To what extent does Hamlet correspond to classical or medieval notions of tragedy? What (if anything) is
Hamlet's fatal flaw? Why does he hesitate to act after promising his father's ghost that he will avenge his
murder?
2) Note the various familial relationships in Hamlet. Compare and contrast the family unit of Polonius / Laertes
/ Ophelia with Hamlet's relationships to the Ghost of Hamlet Sr., to Gertrude and to Claudius. Like Hamlet,
Laertes and Fortinbras are sons confronted with a father's death. To what extent do they function as foils to
Hamlet? What do they have in common? How do they differ?
3) Why does Hamlet wait so long to kill Claudius? What are the reasons for his hesitation? How valid are
they? How many times does he have the opportunity to attack Claudius? What are his reasons for not doing so?
4) Hamlet is a play in which nothing can be taken at face value: appearances are frequently deceptive, and many
characters engage in play-acting, spying and pretense. What deliberate attempts are made at deception? Are the
intended audiences deceived? While some deceptions are perpetrated in order to conceal secrets, others aim to
uncover hidden truths. Which are which? To what extent are they successful? Note references to appearances,
disguises, pretense, seeming, masks, acting, etc.
5) Pay attention to the treatment of the women characters Gertrude and Ophelia. Is there any basis for the
Freudian interpretation of an Oedipal attraction between Hamlet and his mother? Hamlet does seem obsessed
with his mother's sexuality. Is Hamlet's disgust at Gertrude's sexuality justified? To what extent is Gertrude
guilty? Was she "in on" her husband's murder? Has Claudius confided in her since the murder? How does
Hamlet's perception of his mother affect his behavior or attitude toward Ophelia? Why does he tell Ophelia to go
to a nunnery? Does Hamlet really love Ophelia? If so, why is he cruel to her?
6) Hamlet claims that his madness is feigned, an "antic disposition" which he puts on for his own purposes
(I.v.172). Why would Hamlet want to feign madness? How can an appearance of insanity help him achieve his
ends? Is he really sane throughout the play, or does he ever cross the line into madness? What about Ophelia's
mad scene? Is it real or feigned? Is there "method in her madness" as well, or is she entirely irrational? Why has
she gone mad? (What two reasons do her songs suggest?)
7) Hamlet famously declares that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark." What other natural imagery is
used to describe the corruption of the Danish court? What "unnatural" events or behaviors preceded the events
recounted in the play? What "unnatural" events or behaviors occur during the play?
8) Moral ambiguity? Hamlet and Macbeth recount similar stories (the usurping of a throne) from differing
perspectives -- those of perpetrator and avenger. Just as Macbeth was not ALL bad, Hamlet is not ALL
good. What are some of his faults or short-comings? Do these constitute a "fatal flaw? Why might Shakespeare
have chosen to remain in the "grey area" rather than a more "black and white" depiction of Good and Evil?
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Classroom Activities:
Have students perform their own 32-Second Hamlet. Encourage them to make original staging choices
or set the play in an alternate genre (ie. A rap song, as a horror movie etc)
32 Second Hamlet:
Actor 1: Who’s there?
Actor 2: Look where it comes again in the same figure as the King that’s dead.
Actor 3: Let us impart what we have seen tonight unto young Hamlet
Actor 4: Our sometime sister, now our Queen
Actor 5: Married with mine uncle! Frailty, thy name is woman.
Actor 5: My father’s spirit, in arms!
Actor 6: Revenge my most foul and unnatural murder
Actor 5: O my prophetic soul! My uncle! I shall put an antic disposition on
Actor 1: This is the very ecstasy of love
Actor 5: Get thee to a nunnery
Actor 5: I’ll have these players play something like the murder of my father
Actor 4: Give o’er the play!
Actor 5: Now mother, what’s the matter? How now? A rat? Dead for a ducat, dead!
Actor 1: O I am slain! (dies)
Actor 2: O what a rash and bloody deed is this
Actor 4: All is bent for England.
Actor 3: (crazy singing)
Actor 4: A document in madness.
Actor 6: O thou vile King, give me my father.
Actor 2: Hamlet comes back.
Actor 6: I’ll anoint my sword
Actor 4: And that he calls for drink, I’ll have prepar’d him a chalice
Actor 2: Your sister’s drown’d Laertes (Actor 3 dies)
Actor 5: A hit, a very palpable hit
Actor 2: The Queen carouses to they fortune Hamlet
Actor 4: It is the poisoned cup, it is too late!
Actor 2: The drink! The drink! I am poisoned! (dies)
Actor 4: They bleed on both sides!
Actor 6: The King—the King’s to blame (dies)
Actor 4: Defend me friends! (dies)
Actor 5: The rest is silence (dies)
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Advice to the Players
Divide your class into pairs or small groups and assign each a section of the text from the page herein
titled Hamlet’s Advice to the Players. This passage makes an excellent introduction to a lesson on
different acting styles and techniques popular in Shakespeare’s time. Have each group:
a) Put the text they have into their own words;
b) Suit actions to the words -- work out a gesture or two for their section of text; practice speaking the
original text and performing the gesture in unison for in-class presentation;
c) Work out a list of the acting faults Hamlet finds particularly obnoxious and prepare a short scene in
the style of an instructional video which illustrates each one;
d) Get a second opinion -- think about the different people who would have heard and responded to this
passage when it was first performed onstage in 1600. Work out a scene that demonstrates the plausible
reactions of each of the following potential listeners: the players to whom Hamlet is speaking onstage;
the groundlings in the audience; the other actors in the show hanging out backstage, including
Shakespeare himself lounging around in his ghost costume.
NB: Heckling, mimicry, and the throwing of small soft objects may be called for.
Sources:
http://www.artsalive.ca/pdf/eth/activities/hamlet_guide.pdf
http://historylists.org/events/10-events-that-led-to-world-war-i.html
http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/summary.html
http://cla.calpoly.edu/~dschwart/engl339/hamlet.html
Photo by Rich Sofranko.