Hamlet unit test this week
THURSDAY, MAY 10
Parts one and two: short
answer/closed book
FRIDAY, MAY 11
Part three: short essay/open book
Character word descriptions--and the line(s) to prove them
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Ophelia
Hamlet
Polonius
Claudius
Gertrude
Laertes
Horatio
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Hamlet Final
What lesson(s) can be gleaned from reading
Shakespeare’s Hamlet?
Write a five-paragraph essay that explores this
topic, utilizing at least three
documented/cited passages from the play as
support.
E-mail your essay to
epeters@northallegheny.org by the end of
your class period tomorrow, June 1.
This final grade is 50 points---30 points for
accurate and explicated content and 20
points for elevated style and proper usage.
Hamlet Final
In the play, Polonius says to Laertes: “This above
all, to thine own self be true./And it must
follow…Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
[I, 3, 78 – 80].
Write a five-paragraph essay that supports or refutes
this idea, utilizing at least three documented/cited
lines from the play as support. You may also
relate examples from history, current events, or
your personal experience.
E-mail your essay to epeters@northallegheny.org by
the end of your class period tomorrow, June 1.
This final grade is 50 points---30 points for accurate
and explicated content and 20 points for elevated
style and proper usage.
• Though William Shakespeare simply titled
his revenge play Hamlet, assume the role of
the playwright and provide the play with a
subtitle; then, compose a 5-paragrah essay
response to support your choice. For
instance, you might select the title Hamlet: A
Tale of Grief, Guilt, and Revenge, and
explicate scenarios of the play (such as
Hamlet’s grief at his isolation and fate, his
guilt over Ophelia’s death, and his revenge at
the play’s end).
• Include at least 3-4 appropriate cited
examples as support. Remember to cite
lines correctly: [act, scene, line number(s)].
OPHELIA, ACT FOUR
• YouTube - Hamlet - David Tennant,
Patrick Stewart, Penny Downie. Act 4,
Scene 1. - Pt.1
• YouTube - Ophelia (3 of 4)(montage)
• YouTube – Ophelia(Stiles)
• YouTube - Ophelia's Mad Scene, Part 1 Kate Winslet (1996)
• YouTube - Ophelia's Mad Scene, Part 2 Kate Winslet (1996)
Reminders:
1. Soliloquy Writing Assignment
due (typed with MLA heading)
tomorrow---20 points.
2. Act four quiz of Hamlet will be
this Friday---same format, 10
points.
To Laertes:
There’s rosemary, that’s for
remembrance.
Rosemary
,
Rosmarinus officinalis,
means “to remember with
faithfulness.”
She wants her brother to
help her figure out who killed
their father. "Remember/
Think back on what's been
going on" is what she is
telling him.
To Laertes:
“And there’s pansies, that’s for
thoughts.”
Pansy, Viola tricolor,
is the symbol for thoughts
and faithfulness.
Of all the men in her life,
Laertes---though physically
absent---has been the most
emotionally present.
To Queen Gertrude:
"There's rue for you; and here's some for
me. We may call it herb of “grace a
Sunday's.” O, you must wear your rue with a
difference." .
Rue, Ruta graveolens,
means adultery and genuine
repentance of all transgressions
for women and everlasting
suffering. Rue is very
bitter. Note that rue was the
major cause of abortion in its day,
which is also why it was tied in
with adultery. So she insults both
the Queen and King to their faces,
in front of witnesses.
To Claudius:
“There’s fennel for you…”
Fennel,
Foeniculum
vulgare, is the symbol of flattery
At this point, Ophelia walks to the
King, and while handing him some
fennel, says, "There's fennel for you
and columbines." That's a jab to the
King! The audience in Shakespeare's
time would have understood that to
mean flattery and male adultery and
foolishness, because once you pick
fennel, it would wilt so quickly. She
knew that the new King loved flattery.
To King Claudius:
“And [here is] columbines...”
Columbine,
,
Aquilegia vulgaris, is the
symbol for male adultery
and ingratitude and
faithlessness.
It was also the symbol for
foolishness.
To herself:
“There’s a daisy…”
Daisy, Bellis perenis,
means Innocence.
Ophelia then sees a daisy
and says, "There's a daisy,"
and she picks it up, looks
sadly, and then puts it
back. In effect she is saying,
"There is no innocence
here."
To Gertrude and Claudius:
"I would give you some violets, but they
wither'd all when my father died."
Violet, Viola odorata,
is the symbol for faithfulness
or fidelity.
So what is she implying to
the King and Queen about
their faithfulness and
integrity?
To hoke or not to poke…
O proud left foot, that ventures quick within,
Then soon upon a backward journey so lithe,
Anon, once more the gesture, then begin:
Command thy internal core to writhe.
Commence thou then the fervid poke
A mad gyration, hips in wanton swirl.
To spin! A wide release from heaven’s yoke,
Blessed dervish! Thou can surely go, girl!
To hoke, to poke---banish now thy doubt:
Certainly, I say, ‘tis what’s it’s all about!
Act two, scene two
• YouTube - Comparing Productions of Hamlet,
Act II, Scene ii. (Part 2 of 2)
Act three, scene one
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uJBOAkMsS
c
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUdVVnk3m2
4
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO-wxlavDQI
Hamlet’s “Antic Disposition”
How does Hamlet’s antic
disposition/madness evolve from his
interaction with
Polonius to his conversation with
Ophelia?
• YouTube - Hamlet - David Tennant, Patrick
Stewart, Penny Downie. Act 3, Scene 2. - Pt.1
Critical Theories about Hamlet’s
Character
• Hamlet and the Masochistic Theory
Hamlet seems to be intellectually and
emotionally enjoying the torment of his
situation and he wants to prolong it.
• Hamlet and the Melancholy Theory
Bradley suggests that the direct cause of
Hamlet’s delay is a state of mind “quite
abnormal and induced by special
circumstances”---a state of profound
melancholy or excessive brooding that makes
him too depressed to act.
• “Hamlet, the Intellectual” Theory
Coleridge suggest that Hamlet has an inborn
quality---the inability to act, the tendency to
procrastinate and the “fondness for
intellectualizing everything.” Therefore,
Coleridge asserts, “Hamlet is continually
resolving to do but does nothing to resolve.”
• “Hamlet, the Perfectionist” Theory
It has been suggested that Hamlet wants a
perfect revenge. Thus, he takes many
unusual steps to attain this consummate
revenge.
• Hamlet and the Oedipus Theory
Possibly because of his relationship with is mother,
Hamlet hesitates until he knows that his mother will
approve of his actions.
• Hamlet’s New Morality Theory
Hamlet is a “Superman” born ahead of his time who
attempts to achieve a certain moral order. In doing
so, he casts aside the morality of his time and tries
out a new morality that others are willing to accept
because it is new and “abnormal.” Because he
cannot actually commit physical revenge, he attempts
to break the revenge cycle but in doing so, only acts
as a catalyst for other revenges.
Act five, scene one
• YouTube - Kenneth Branagh ~ Hamlet ~
Gravediggers scene ~ Part 1 ~ Whose grave's
this, sirrah?
• YouTube - Kenneth Branagh ~ Hamlet ~
Gravediggers scene ~ Part 2 ~ Imperious
Caesar, dead and turned to clay
• YouTube - Hamlet ~ Kenneth Branagh ~
Ophelia's Burial
• YouTube - Branaugh's Hamlet - Part 4 (Act 5) Treason (Revenge)
Setting:
Elsinore, Denmark
1050 A.D.
Shakespeare’s HAMLET
Honors English 4/Peters
Hamlet (written in 1600)
• Most frequently produced play in the
history of the Royal Shakespeare
Company
• The subject of more scholarship than any
other Shakespearean play
• Source of so many famous lines and
latter-day phrases
• Not considered a “true” tragedy, but rather
a “revenge” play
What is the highest-grossing
adaptation of Hamlet to date?
Why teach Hamlet?
• Hamlet is a college-student.
• He has not yet been forced to apply his
learning (other than academics).
• He is close to both of his parents.
• He is an only child.
• He is unmarried and too immature to be in
a fully-committed relationship.
• He is an avoider and procrastinator.
• Hamlet deals with depression and suicidal
ideations.
Before the play begins
brothers
Claudius King Hamlet
Gertrude
son
Prince Hamlet 
When the play begins
King Hamlet
Gertrude
Claudius
Polonius, royal advisor to
King
siblings
Prince Hamlet 
Horatio
Ophelia
Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern
Laertes
Fortinbras,
Prince of Norway
Wants to take over
Denmark
At the time of the play, Denmark was an elective
monarchy. How does this differ from England’s
monarchy?
Elsinore Castle,
Denmark
Act one, scene one
The play begins with guards and a young
courtier nervously assembled on the castle
battlements. The reason for their vigil
appears---a ghost. In fact, it is the ghost
of the dead king, King Hamlet, but it will
not speak to them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-NLnsq3P7Y
Royal Shakespeare Company/BBC version
Act one, scene two
Prince Hamlet, the ghost/king’s son, is at
court, wearing mourning black amid
everyone else’s bright colors.
Everyone else at court is celebrating the
marriage of Prince Hamlet’s mother,
Gertrude, to his uncle, Claudius, barely
two months after King Hamlet’s death.
YouTube - Hamlet - David Tennant, Patrick Stewart, Penny
Downie. Act one, Scene 2. - Pt.1
Act one, scenes 3, 4, 5
• YouTube - laertes and ophelia
• YouTube - hamlet ghost scene