Intro to Hamlet

Info on the Play

• Full title: The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

• Genre: tragedy• Written: between 1600-1602• Setting: late medieval period (1300-

1500s), Denmark• Shakespeare used versions of a floating

legend of Prince Hamlet to complete the play.

About the Setting: Denmark

• Scandinavian country in northern Europe

• Ruling system is a constitutional monarchy

• Language is Danish (close to Norwegian and Swedish)

Medieval Denmark

• Before the time period of the play, Danes were considered Vikings (Anglo-Saxons)

• During the late medieval period (1300s-late 1500s), country was ruled by powerful kings and the nobility

• Controlled the Baltic Sea

• Religion was originally Catholic (presently Lutheran)

Kronborg Castle

Major CharactersPrince Hamlet

• Son of Old King Hamlet and Gertrude

• Visited by fathers ghost who asks him to seek revenge for his murder

• Driven by revenge, hatred

• Is extremely philosophical and moody

• Learns to be disgusted by women

• May have had an Oedipal Complex

Old King Hamlet’s Ghost

• Visits the castle Elsinore around midnight, seeking Hamlet

• Wants Hamlet to get revenge for his death

Claudius

• Brother of Old King Hamlet

• Uncle/stepfather of Hamlet

• Husband to Gertrude

• Killed Old King Hamlet

Gertrude

• Wife of Old King Hamlet; now wife of his brother, Claudius

• Was seduced into marrying Claudius by lust and gifts

• Defined by her need for affection

• Extremely dependent on men

Polonius

• The Lord Chamberlain (responsible for all court functions)

• Forces Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet

• Father of Ophelia and Laertes

Ophelia

• Daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes

• Is completely dominated by the men

• Goes insane

Laertes

• Son of Polonius

• Brother of Ophelia, whom he seems to have an incestuous lust for

• Wants to kill Hamlet for what happens to his sister

Horatio

• Hamlet’s best friend

• First to tell Hamlet about the ghost of his father

Themes

• UncertaintyThe play shows how life is built upon uncertainties

Some questions that arise:Can we believe in ghosts; Can we for certain know the details of a crime that has no witnesses; Can we know whether our actions will have the results we want them to have

Themes Reasonable, Effective Action

The question that comes up is whether or not actions can really be reasonable, since emotions are almost always involved.

Revenge

Is revenge justified? Is it really ok to kill in

revenge?

Themes

• Death

Hamlet is obsessed with death after his father dies; he becomes driven to kill Claudius; he ponders suicide; the death of several characters in the play

Themes

• Incest and Incestuous Desire

-Claudius and Gertrude

-Hamlet’s fixation on Gertrude’s sex life and w/ her in general

-Laertes fear of Ophelia’s relationship with Hamlet and the loss of her virginity

Themes

• Misogyny (“hatred of women”)-Hamlet turns misogynistic after his mother “jumps into bed” with Claudius-Hamlet tells Ophelia to become a nun so that she does not become corrupted by sex-Views women as weak and easily persuaded

Symbols

• The only physical object used as a symbol is Yorick’s skull

• Represents the inevitability of death and decay of the body

• Also shows that no matter who we are, we all end up the same: as dust