Hamlet

October 19, 2009

Today

1. Drama Introduction2. Hamlet: Act 13. Essay Tips

Elements of Drama

Plot StoryDialogueRepresented ActionAudience ExpectationsStructural Divisions

Characterization

Stock characters Flat and round characters

Character

Character

Round Well-developed Closely involved in/responsive to action

Flat Barely developed Stereotypical

Character

Foil Supporting character who contrasts major

character Stock Dynamic

Grow and change Static

Remain unchanged

Drama: Setting

Setting Dialogue Sets Audience’s knowledge Sets as symbolic

Drama: Theme

Repetitions Symbolism Contrast

Drama: Irony

Presence of an audience Dramatic irony

Cassio did top her. Ask thy husband [Iago] else.

O, I were damned beneath all depth in hellBut that I did proceed upon just groundsTo this extremity. Thy husband knew it all.

Hamlet Questions

Why does Hamlet delay avenging his father’s death?

Is Gertrude guilty? Who is the ghost? Is it real? Is vengeance moral? Is Hamlet really mad? Is Ophelia’s death really suicide? What does Hamlet mean to say at the

end of the play?

Hamlet Publication History

Written in 1600 (?) Based on twelfth-century Danish History Screen history

Hamlet Criticism

Nineteenth Century: soul of a poet Twentieth Century: Oedipus complex Political: hiding the fix to corruption Feminist: Gertrude and Ophelia

Hamlet’s Soliloquies

Formal rhetoric Academic debate Mimic the mind at work Revealing “moral complexity,

psychological depth, philosophical power”—never done before

Subjectivity Innovation

Act 1, Scene 2 Soliloquy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q0qmjEWEPU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCBVmiVkzTM

Act 1: Hamlet

1.1: Barnardo, Francisco, Horatio, Ghost1.2: Claudius, Valtemand, Laertes,

Polonius, Gertrude, Hamlet1.3: Laertes, Ophelia, Polonius1.4: Hamlet, Horatio, Marcellus1.5 Hamlet, Ghost, Horatio, Marcellus

Essay Tips From Short Story Papers1. Quote Integration2. Present literary tense3. Introduction/Conclusion4. Topic Sentences

Present Literary Tense

Always always always use present tense in literary essays when discussing the literature.

Present Literary Tense

When the mother dies, the speaker responds by discussing the financial decisions.

Although the family lives in Ontario, the morals learned can apply to other provinces as well.

Sample: 1444

Essay Tips From Short Story Papers1. Quote Integration2. Present literary tense3. Introduction/Conclusion4. Topic Sentences

Introduction

Start with a grabbing first sentence Don’t be general—dive directly into the

text Don’t try to apply this paper to the rest

of the world

Attention-Grabber

Significance of your subject Well-phrased quotation Startling statement Ask a question Begin with a generalization (be careful!) Challenge a common opinion Begin with a definition Describe an interesting incident/anecdote

Conclusion/Topic Sentences

Still stay on point with the text

Example

Two Biggest Tips

1. Write your own paper.2. Look at your comments from the last

paper.

Works Cited

Norton Shakespeare, ed. Cohen, Howard, Maus.