William Shakespeare’s
Hamlet
Intro
to Shakespeare’s
Hamlet
Intro to Hamlet

William Shakespeare’s Life






King Chamberlain’s Men


Most popular and well-known British writer
Lived from April 23, 1564-1616
Born in Stratford-on-Avon
Married Anne Hathaway. She was 26 and he was 18.
His older daughter was christened 6 months later.
The first performer’s who acted out Shakespeare’s
plays
Queen Elizabeth

The ruler of the time. She had to approve of all plays
performed.
Intro to Hamlet

Bubonic Plague
 Spread by fleas on rats
 Also known as the black death
 Close down theaters to stop spread of disease

Globe Theater
 Built in 1599
 Shakespeare’s plays performed here
 Peasants who sat on the ground were called
groundlings
Folio:
• a four folded paper that was the format in which
his plays were written

Intro to Hamlet
 Shakespearean Tragedy
Tragic Hero: a person of great position
who brings his own downfall by his tragic
flaw.

Tragic Flaw: the character trait that
causes the tragic hero’s downfall.

Soliloquy: a speech by one person who
is alone which reveals his or her inner
thoughts so the audience knows the
feelings.

Intro to Hamlet
 Dramatic
Irony: when the
audience knows something that
the characters do not.
 Setting of Hamlet: Denmark
Characters 2nd period
Hamlet: me
 King: Matt G
 Queen: Chatel
 Ophelia: Lauren
 Guildenstern: Adam
 Polonius: Matt Nocito
 Horatio: Peter
 Laertes: Morgan
 Horatio: Greg
 Rosencrantz: Dan
 Ghost: Greg
 Narrator: Brandon B.

Voltemand: Brandon Juhl
1st Sailor: John Paul
Servant: Chris
Characters 4-5th period
Hamlet: Me
 King: Me
 Queen: Amanda
 Ophelia: Alexis
 Laertes: Bobby
 Polonius:
 Barnardo: Xavier
 Rosencrantz: Justin T
 Horatio: Steve B
 Guildenstern: Edison
 Ghost:
 Narrator: Narrator

Voltemand:
Messenger: Keana
Sailor: Edison
Hamlet Acts 3 & 4
Act 3, Scenes 3-4
1.
Hamlet doesn’t seem to
react to the fact that he has
just killed someone. This
shows that his mental state
is deteriorating.
Act 3, Scenes 3-4
2.
Claudius starts to feel guilty
after watching the play and he
prays for what he did.
Gertrude is unaware of what
Claudius did, but she feels
guilty for marrying so quickly.
Act 3, Scenes 3-4
3.
Hamlet explains to
Gertrude how wrong it was
for her to marry her brother
in law.
Act 3, Scenes 3-4
4.
In following the theme,
Gertrude is portrayed as
irrational and moody. Her
changing mood emphasizes
that women are unable to
deal with hardships and
need men to support them.
Act 3 Summary









Claudius and Gertrude discuss Hamlet’s behavior with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who say they have been unable to learn the cause of his
melancholy. Claudius and Polonius intend to spy on Hamlet’s confrontation with Ophelia. Polonius hears Hamlet coming, and he and the king hide.
Hamlet enters and contemplates suicide to end his pain. Having received her orders from Polonius, Ophelia tells him that she wishes to return the
tokens of love he has given her. Angrily, Hamlet denies having given her anything. He criticizes women for making men behave like monsters and for
contributing to the world’s dishonesty by painting their faces to appear more beautiful than they are. Working himself into a rage, Hamlet denounces
Ophelia (advises her to go to a convent), women, and humankind in general, saying that he wishes to end all marriages.
That evening, in the castle hall now doubling as a theater, Hamlet anxiously lectures the players on how to act the parts he has written for them. Hamlet
now asks Horatio to watch Claudius carefully during the play so that they might compare their impressions of his behavior afterward. Horatio agrees,
saying that if Claudius shows any signs of guilt, he will detect them.
Hamlet warns Horatio that he will begin to act strangely, and he torments Ophelia with a string of erotic puns. The players enter and act out a play. The
players begin to enact the play, and we learn that the man who kills the king is the king’s nephew. Throughout, Hamlet keeps up a running commentary
on the characters and their actions, and continues to tease Ophelia with sexual references. When the murderer pours the poison into the sleeping king’s
ear, Claudius rises and cries out for light. Hamlet and Horatio agree that the king’s behavior was telling. Polonius enters to escort Hamlet to the queen.
Hamlet says he will go to her in a moment and asks for a moment alone.
Claudius is badly shaken by the play and now considering Hamlet’s madness to be dangerous and asks R & G to escort Hamlet England immediately.
Polonius enters and reminds the king of his plan to hide in Gertrude’s room and observe Hamlet’s confrontation with her. He promises to tell Claudius all
that he learns. When Polonius leaves, the king is alone, and he immediately expresses his guilt and grief over his sin. A brother’s murder, he says, is the
oldest sin and has the worst curse upon it. He falls to his knees and begins to pray.
Hamlet slips quietly into the room and prepares himself to kill the unseeing Claudius. But suddenly it occurs to him that if he kills Claudius while he is
praying, he will end the king’s life at the moment when he was seeking forgiveness for his sins, sending Claudius’s soul to heaven. This is hardly an
adequate revenge, since Claudius killed Hamlet’s father before he had time to make his last confession and did not go to heaven. Hamlet decides to
wait, resolving to kill Claudius when the king is sinning—when he is either drunk, angry, or lustful, so he leaves.
In Gertrude’s chamber, the queen and Polonius wait for Hamlet’s arrival. Polonius plans to hide in order to eavesdrop on Gertrude’s confrontation with
her son. Polonius hides behind the drapery. Hamlet storms into the room and asks his mother why she has sent for him. She says that he has offended
his father, meaning his stepfather, Claudius. He interrupts her and says that she has offended his father, meaning the dead King Hamlet, by marrying
Claudius and accosts her. Fearing for her life, Gertrude cries out. From behind the drapes, Polonius calls out for help. Hamlet, realizing that someone is
behind the drapes and suspecting that it might be Claudius, draws his sword and stabs it through the drapes, killing the unseen Polonius. The queen
says his action was a “rash and bloody” deed, and Hamlet replies that it was almost as rash and bloody as murdering a king and marrying his brother.
Hamlet lifts the drapes and discovers Polonius’s body. He shows her a picture of the dead king and a picture of the current king, bitterly comments on
the superiority of his father to his uncle, and asks her furiously what has driven her to marry a rotten man such as Claudius. The ghost of his father again
appears before him.
Hamlet speaks to the ghost, but Gertrude is unable to see it and believes him to be mad. The ghost says that it has come to remind Hamlet of his
purpose, that Hamlet has not yet killed Claudius and must achieve his revenge. Hamlet describes the ghost, but Gertrude sees nothing, and in a
moment the ghost disappears. Hamlet tries desperately to convince Gertrude that he is not mad but has merely pretended madness all along, and he
urges her to forsake Claudius and regain her good conscience. He urges her as well not to reveal to Claudius that his madness has been an act.
Gertrude agrees to keep his secret. He bids her goodnight. Hamlet reminds his mother that he must sail to England with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Act 4
1.
Gertrude thinks Hamlet is
crazy. However, if forced,
she should support her son.
Act 4
2.
When the King (Claudius)
learns that Polonius is dead, he
fears Hamlet even more and
starts to plan his murder. He is
self-serving and not at all
compassionate.
Act 4
3.
Once Hamlet kills
Polonius, people start to
regard him with fear
because it seems his
insanity has reached a new
level of violence.
Act 4
4.
Claudius fears that
Hamlet will kill him, so he
arranges to have Hamlet
killed in England. Claudius
chose England so he won’t
be suspected.
Act 4
5.
Hamlet feels it is admirable
because the new King of
Normandy is standing up for
his own father’s death and
wants to avenge his murder.
Hamlet admires this.
Act 4
6.Ophelia
appears to be
completely insane now.
Because she reacted so
badly when she lost Hamlet,
this behavior is consistent
with her earlier behavior.
Act 4
7.
Denmark has lost some of
its power and its soldiers are
no longer as strong as they
used to be. Claudius is not a
good ruler.
Act 4
8.
Claudius tells him that
Hamlet killed his father,
and he is unable to punish
him because the people of
Denmark like Hamlet. This
is the truth.
Act 4
9.
Ophelia drowns in a
stream. Evidence seems to
point to her committing
suicide because she is so
upset over Hamlet ignoring
her and her father’s death.
Act 4
10.
Claudius wants Laertes
to fence Hamlet with his
rapier uncovered and
dipped in poison. If this
doesn’t work Claudius will
also put poison in Hamlet’s
drink. Laertes agrees to
avenge his father’s death.
Act 5

1. What famous images from the play are
found in these scenes? What are the
significances?

Ophelia drowning shows the weakness
of women.

Hamlet holding the skull while
discussing death shows how short life
is.
Act 5
 What
is the significance of the
gravediggers? What do they tell
Hamlet?
 They are important for the theme of
death and the idea that life is
fleeting. They tell Hamlet that
Ophelia died. They also bring up the
subject of whether or not she
deserves a Christian burial.
Act 5
 Discuss
the professions of love and grief
expressed at Ophelia’s funeral by Laertes
and Hamlet, as compared to similar scenes
featuring Claudius, in terms of their
implications for the play’s outcome: who is
honest, deserving, and just, among the
play’s key players?

Claudius disregards the deceased earlier.
Laertes and Hamlet are truly loving and
grieving when they lose their fathers and
Ophelia.
Act 5
 4.
What happened to Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern and what was Hamlet’s
role in this?
 Claudius sent them orders to kill
Hamlet. Hamlet forged the orders
to say they should be killed and they
were.
Act 5
 5.
Explain Osric’s role in the play in
scene 2 when he is speaking with
Hamlet?
 Osric’s role is to set up the duel
between Hamlet and Laertes by
appealing to Hamlet’s ego by saying
people are placing bets against him.
Act 5
 6.
How is King Claudius and Laertes’
plan ruined before the duel even
begins?
 Hamlet picks up the poisoned
rapier.
Act 5
 7.
How does Claudius hide the fact
that he puts poison in Hamlet’s cup?
 Claudius says that he will put a
pearl in the cup of wine to salute
Hamlet’s victory, but it is really
poison.
Act 5
 8.
What happens to Gertrude? (use
details)
 Gertrude says she is thirsty and
reaches for the poisoned wine and
drinks before Claudius can stop her.
Act 5
 9.
What happens to Claudius? (use
details)
 Laertes confesses that not only has
the wine been poisoned but also the
tip of the rapier. Hamlet stabs
Claudius with the poisoned rapier.
Act 5
 10.
What happens to Laertes and
Hamlet? (use details)
 They both die from wounds caused
by the poisoned rapier.
Act 5
 11.
In order to have plays performed
during the reign of Queen Elizabeth,
order had to be restored by the end of
the play. How is this accomplished by
the end of Hamlet?
 Fortinbras enters after everyone is
dead. Horatio says Hamlet
bestowed the kingdom to him so the
transition of royalty is continued
and order is restored.
End of Hamlet questions
 1.
Hamlet’s true motives are to avenge
his father’s murder. He wants to
murder Claudius. However, he wants
to be sure the ghost is truly that of his
father and that the info is accurate.
Also, he doesn’t want to murder
Claudius while he is in a state of grace
(while praying, so he will go to
heaven).
End of Hamlet questions
 2.
Hamlet doesn’t want to kill
Claudius until he has real evidence
that Claudius is guilty. Also, his father
died without last rites, so he doesn’t
want Claudius to have that benefit.
End of Hamlet questions
 3. Hamlet is
a misogynist (has a low
opinion of women). He thinks women are
weak. He argues that even though
Gertrude loved his father, she quickly
changed her affections and married
Claudius. Then he told Ophelia to go to a
nunnery or convent to protect herself from
men, implying that she cannot protect
herself.
End of Hamlet questions
 4.
Feigned madness allows Hamlet to
gain information about the murder of
his father. Hamlet’s feigned madness
allows the plot to continue as he
pursues Claudius. Real madness is the
cause of Ophelia’s suicide. This is
partly caused by Hamlet’s feigned
madness so they are closely related.
End of Hamlet questions
 5.
Hamlet is honorable by trying to
determine if Claudius is truly his
father’s killer before exacting revenge.
Laertes is honorable by wanting to
avenge his father’s death and
challenging Hamlet to a duel.
Fortinbras is at war to avenge his
father’s death, an honorable act.