Warm-up: Soon, we will be tackling one of the
most difficult-to-read authors in the English
language. Write about how you will manage this
stressful event in a healthy and productive way.
Come up with a three-step plan for what to do
when you don’t understand the material:
1. When I struggle, first, I will
2. If I am still struggling, I will
3. If neither of those work, I will
Period ____: Turn in Heroes essay! On top, put the
rubric, next– the essay, on the bottom– the peer
review
Periods ___ and ____, don’t forget, your essay is
due on _______________
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Bring rubric and peer review sheet!
Bring Hamlet , Shakespeare notes, worksheets, etc.
forever; if you don’t have the book, you’ll loose
points.
Reading 3.1: Analyze characteristics of
subgenres that are used in poetry, prose,
plays, etc.
Turn to page 818 as we prepare to read Hamlet.
Get out your notes and let’s continue our
preparation for reading Hamlet.
I. Shakespeare’s Time:
A. Renaissance
1. Religious devotion—
a. Protestantism v. Catholicism
b. Catholicism
i. purgatory:
ii. prayer for forgiveness:
iii. ghosts:
2. Humanities—
a. Arts:
b. Literature:
i. Poetry:
ii. Drama:
iii. Prose:
3. Age of Exploration—With a turn away from
religious devotion and a turn toward the study of
the power of man, men began to test their limits
by exploring their world.
a. National Power
b. International Conflict
4. The Tutor Monarchs—The Renaissance occurred
under the Tudor reign, which began with King
Henry the VII and ended with Queen Elizabeth
(118 years total).
a. Henry VII (1485-1509):
b. Henry VIII (1510-1547):
i. Henry VIII’s
marriages/children:
ii. Henry VIII’s Act of
Supremacy (1534):
c. Edward VI (1547-1553):
d. Mary I (1553-1558):
e. Elizabeth I (1558-1603):
i. Mary Stuart
ii. End of the Tutor
era:
f. Hamlet and the
monarchy:
III. Shakespeare’s plays:
A. Structure:
Act III
Act II
Act 1
Act IV
Act V
B. Literary terms and techniques:
1. soliloquy
a. example: “To be or not to be; that is the
question…” (Hamlet)
2. aside=
a. example: The movie Ferris Bueller’s Day
Off uses the aside quite often.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj1bJ2xd_As
2. pun= a
a. Example “son/sun”: If a mother were to
write a poem and say “you are my son who
brings light to my life”, she could also mean
“sun”, thus helping the readers to understand
how the speaker views his/her “son”—as the
center and the light of her world.
b. Example: “Brake/break” One
advertisement on the back of British
busses reads “thanks for the brake”
(which can also be read as “break”
from walking or driving.)
3. figurative language=
a. metaphor=
i. example: “You are my sunshine”
b. hyperbole=
i. example: “You are hotter than
the surface of the sun!”
ii. example: “I have one million
chores to do today!”
4. allusions=
a. example: “My friend and I had a fight; now I’m
waiting for a dove to bring good news that the
waters are calm.”
b.example: “Many men view her as the Helen of
Troy of our times.”
c. example: “My best friend turned into Lucifer
when she stole my boyfriend from me.”
5. imagery=
a. example: “I looked up/ Toward the crest and
saw its shoulders already/ Mantled in rays of that
bright planet...” (Dante’s Inferno, Canto 1)
6. character
a. tragic hero
i. Oedipus the King
b. static character=
i. example: Virgil in Dante’s Inferno
ii. example: Donkey in Shrek
c. dynamic character=
i. example: Dante in
Dante’s Inferno
ii. example: Fiona in
Shrek
7. conflict= the main problem that exists for the
main character(s) in a work of literature
a. man v. man:
i. example: Sindbad encounters the
diamond hunters in “Sindbad the Sailor’s
Second Adventure”
b. man v. self:
i. example: Before Oedipus became the
King of Thebes, he was struggling
inwardly as he was trying to decide what to
do about finding his birth parents.
Now, let’s pick parts for Hamlet!!!
Before picking parts, be aware of the following:
1. If everyone willingly participates in reading
Hamlet with enthusiasm and drama, we may
skip reading the last act and instead watch the
movie. 
Homework: Read the “Shakespeare’s Life”
handout and take notes (2-3 bullet points) on
each paragraph.