Hamlet

Hamlet

1. Composition assumed written between 1599 and 1601

   • Popular with audience throughout 1600s
     • Themes of murder, insanity, haunting & revenge
       • Fell out of favour in 1700s, reclamied by the Romantic poets of the 19th century
         • Universally known as one of the English language's greatest works of art

2. Shakespeare's longest play, initially published in 3 versions

   • The First Quarto (1603) : believed to be an unauthorised version published to get more popularity
     • Known as 'Bad Quarto', contains many errors.
     • The Second Quarto (1604) : published with writer's permission
       • First Folio version published in 1623
         • Performing Hamlet could take up to 6 hours
         • Material rarely original - existing characters and stories got from history books and chronicles from legends & folk tales
         • Shakespeare got many of his play's central elements from Saxo's stories.
           • Saxo Grammaticus (Danish historian & author) lived in 13th century
             • Francois de Belleforest (writer) made a French translation of Saxo's story and had story elements which Shakespeare used in his play
               • Scholars think that Shakespeare's was the 2nd play called Hamlet, arguing the 1st Hamlet ( Ur- Hamlet) was written by Thomas Kyd in 1589
                 • Play seen as response to Shakespeare's grief of the death of his son Hamnet
                   • Shortened action's time frame : Belleforest's tale spans a period of years, Shakespeare's unfolds over a few weeks
                   • Action of play set in and around the Danish royal palace at Elsinore

3. Characters in play

   • Hamlet - Prince of Denmark
     • Claudius - King of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle
       • Gertrude - Queen of Denmark, Hamlet's mother
         • Ghost - of King Hamlet, Hamlet's father
   • The Royal House of Denmark
   • The Court of Denmark
     • Polonius - Counsellor to the king
       • Ophelia - his daughter
         • Laertes - his son
           • Reynaldo - his servant
           • Osric
             • Lords
               • Gentleman
             • Messengers & Attendants
               • Voltemand & Cornelius (ambassadors to Norway)
                 • Marcellus & Barnardo & Francisco (officers of the watch)
                   • Soldiers & Guards
                     • Horatio (Hamlet's friend)
                       • Rosencrantz & Guildenstern (old school friends of Hamlet)
   • Norway
     • Fortinbras - Prince of Norway
       • Captain - in Fortinbras's Army
   • Other Characters
     • First player
       • Other players - actors visiting Elsinore
         • English Ambassadors
           • Sailors
       • Gravedigger
         • Second gravedigger - his assistant
           • Priest - at Ophelia's funeral