William Shakespeare’s
The Tragedy of Hamlet,
Prince of Denmark
English 12
Romeo High School
History
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Written 1599-1601
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Inside a series of comedies in the last decade of the
transition years between 1500 and 1600s.
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Also came on the tail of his first major forays into
tragedy with historical/political themes.
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Midsummer Night’s Dream - 1595
Merchant of Venice - 1596
Much Ado About Nothing - 1598
As You Like It - 1599
Twelfth Night - 1601
Julius Caesar - 1599
Henry IV Parts I and II - 1596/1597
Henry V - 1599
First performed in 1603
Possible Sources
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Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus wrote the
story of Amleth, Prince of Denmark, in the late
1100s.
 Shakespeare is “bringing Saxo back!”
 Ur-Hamlet in England, a decade before
Shakespeare's Hamlet.
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Ur is German for primordial
Vague references made to it in playbills and other documents
from the time.
No known written copies or evidence.
Setting
Denmark
 At war with
Norway
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Characters
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King Hamlet’s Ghost
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother
Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle (and step-father)
Polonius, Claudius’ advisor
Ophelia, Polonius’ daughter, and Hamlet’s love
interest
Laertes, Polonius’ son, and Hamlet’s
contemporary
Characters (cont’d)
Horatio, Hamlet’s loyal friend
 Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, Hamlet’s
classmates and friends
 Fortinbras, Prince of Norway
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Themes in Hamlet
Revenge – the play is considered a
“revenge tragedy”
 Mortality – the focus is on murder,
death, and suicide
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The famous “To be or not
to be” soliloquy
 Many other themes
explored as well
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Hamlet – The Plot
As the play opens, King
Hamlet’s ghost appears.
We learn that he was
murdered, and his
brother, Claudius has
quickly married the
Queen and assumed the
throne. Hamlet returns
from school to learn of
these events. King
Hamlet’s ghost appears
to his son and charges
Hamlet with avenging the
king’s death.
Hamlet – The Plot Thickens
We meet Polonius, advisor to Claudius, and
father to Laertes and Ophelia.
As a result of his father’s death, Hamlet is
grieving, but is also trying to decide how to
go about avenging his father’s death.
It is difficult for those close to Hamlet to
determine if his behavior is the result of grief
or madness. Hamlet uses this to his
advantage to continue his investigations
The Plot continues
Hamlet has conflicting feelings
about Ophelia; he isn’t sure he
can trust women
Hamlet stages a play that depicts
the king’s murder, hoping
Claudius will reveal his guilt in
his reaction to the drama
Hamlet has an intense discussion
with his mother which results in
Polonius’ murder
Other Plot Points to Consider…
Laertes’ feelings about Ophelia’s love for
Hamlet
Ophelia’s “madness”
Claudius and Laertes
conspiracy against Hamlet
Fortinbras’ march on Denmark
Hamlet’s “Issues”
The murder of his father, the king
 Dealing with his grief over his great loss
 His feelings about his mother’s quick
marriage
 His feelings about Claudius – who would
have assumed the throne?
 His feelings for Ophelia
 His indecision about how to avenge his
father’s murder
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Female Characters
Hamlet’s treatment of both Gertrude (his
mother) and Ophelia reveals a misogynistic attitude that, upon closer analysis,
appears in other characters:
 Polonius
 Laertes
 Claudius
 Others?
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Character Elements
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Rosencrantz & Guildenstern – stock
characters we see in other works as…
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Mercutio and Benvolio (R&J)
Timon and Pumbaa (The Lion King)
R2D2 and C3PO (Star Wars)
Jay and Silent Bob (Clerks, Dogma)
The Weasley Twins (Harry Potter)
Hamlet in Performance
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The play is the most widely
quoted work in literature
(2nd only to the Bible)
Appears in several stage
and film versions
Note the lines and scenes
that you recognize in other
films and works of literature