How does one know when it is appropriate to take action?

Is it important to have all the information and take some time to

think about the various choices available?

Is it possible to have too much information?

Or to overthink something?Have you ever been in a situation where you were forced to make a choice by the answer was unclear and the information incomplete,

resulting in a state of paralysis?

Do-N

ow When to take

ACTION?

Tue, Jan. 7, 2014

AGENDA• Review: “That Within Which

Passeth Show”• Mini-Lesson: Shakespearean

Tragedy & Themes of Hamlet• Reading: Critics on Hamlet

HOMEWORK• Golden Quotes: After reading the

six critiques on Hamlet, identify one quote from EACH critic that you believe best summarizes his or her opinion on the character of Hamlet

Hamlet

William• Born 1564 during reign of

Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603)• Actor and playwright, between 1592 and 1611 he wrote 37 plays and 154 sonnets• Built the Globe Theater• Died: 1616

Shakespeare’s TragediesThough Shakespeare wrote

comedies and histories, we have focused on his TRAGEDIES at TBA.

What elements have you noticed in common among:

Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Othello?

Conventions of a Tragedy• Often concerned with the

harshness and injustices of life• Story of one person, the tragic

hero …who experiences external/internal conflict which brings about his own downfall (i.e. fatal flaw)

• The suffering is usually extreme and exceptional to inspire greater emotion in the audience.

• Will include: – abnormalities of the mind (i.e. madness, hallucinations)

– the supernatural (i.e. ghosts, witches)

– chance, accident, or fate will influence the action

Hamlet : Movie Trailer

• What do you notice? • What does the trailer suggest the play

(or movie) will be about?

Origins of HamletWritten: c. 1598 – 1602

Plot elements borrowed from other legends and sources:

• Saxo Grammaticus’ History of the Danes (c. 1200)– Corresponds with legendary Danish

figure: Amleth

• Francois de Belleforest’s Histories Tragiques (1576)– Collection of tragic tales

• Thomas Kyd’s The Spanish Tragedy (Ur-Hamlet) (c. 1580)– The most famous revenge tragedy of

Shakespeare’s day– …before Hamlet, that is!

21st Century Hamlet• Imagine your name is… umm…

let’s go with: HAMLET• You’re away at college. It’s your

junior year. Life is good.• Monday Night: 2AM. Mom texts

you:“CALL ME WHEN YOU GET THIS!”

• Half asleep, you call her. Her sobs are loud and you can barely understand what she is saying. Finally she blurts out:

“YOUR FATHER IS DEAD!”

TWEET #1(in 140 characters or less) your reaction/response…

21st Century Hamlet• Unfortunately, this semester you

are taking microeconomics and your professor is a robot.

• When you tell him about what happened, he says you still need to take the final next Friday or retake the course.

• He forces you to miss you father’s funeral

• TWEET #2!

21st Century Hamlet• Finals end. You pass; barely. It’s

time to go home. It’s been two weeks since your father’s death and you’re devastated.

• You load up the car and drive home. When you get home, you hug your mother and sense a strange vibe from her.

• She’s not upset. Or not upset enough.

• Then you notice she’s wearing a wedding ring. A new wedding ring!

• TWEET #3!

21st Century Hamlet• Mom tells you she has some news:

“I have remarried your father’s brother, Uncle Claude.”

• You never liked Uncle Claude. He always…–seemed jealous of your father for taking the family business. –complained about his own job. –looked at your mom in a way that creeped you out.

• TWEET #4!

21st Century Hamlet• One night your father’s ghost

comes to you in a dream. • He tells you he was murdered by

your Uncle Claude.• He wants you to avenge him. • Was the dream real? Will you kill

your uncle? • TWEET #5!

Origins of Hamlet• In the stories referenced earlier, a

Danish prince fakes madness in order to take revenge on his uncle, who had killed the prince’s father and married his mother.

• Shakespeare chose to approach the story from a completely original point of view, focusing mainly on Hamlet's deep emotional struggle.

Hamlet doesn’t just feign madness; he

seems at times to actually be crazy!Can you think of a classic Disney

film inspired by Hamlet? The Lion King

"The very essence of Hamlet is that we could never understand him.”

“You can play it and play in and still never get to the bottom of its box of wonders”

HAMLET Play of

Questions

a tragedy of UNCERTAINTY

Appearance v. RealityCan we ever really know a person

or ourselves? How do disguise and deception affect our ability to

know?

• Every character is constantly trying to figure out what the other characters think, as opposed to what those characters are pretending to think.

• Characters try to figure each other out by using deception of their own, such as spying and plotting

a tragedy of WILL Action v. InactionWhat keeps us in a state of

paralysis? Why are we often unable to

exert our will? Is it possible to overthink

something?

• Hamlet fits in a literary genre: the revenge play, in which a man must take revenge against those who have wronged him.

• Yet Hamlet, the man seeking revenge, can’t actually bring himself to take revenge.

a tragedy of DEATHThe Nature of

DeathWhat becomes of us after we die?How does our perception of death

affect the way we live?• Denmark is described as

poisoned, diseased, or corrupt. • Hamlet argues that death is the

one true reality, and he seems to view all of life as “appearance”

• During Shakespeare’s time, death was viewed as a punishment for sin; therefore, something to be feared.

• Of the 11 principle characters, one is already dead (the ghost), 8 die during the play, and one is responsible for the death of thousands.

a tragedy of EXPECTATIONSTradition v. Skepticism How do humans deal with the

conflicting elements? What do we do when loyalty

toward family, self, friends, and country are at odds?

• In Hamlet, the codes of conduct are largely defined by religion and an aristocratic code that demands honor and revenge if honor has been soiled.

• But as Hamlet begins to pursue revenge, he discovers that the codes of conduct on which society is founded contradict, reasons for revenge and the idea of justice become confused

Hamlet Essay

Critics of Hamlet