Shakespeare, Hamlet

Shakespeare, Hamlet

1. Setting

   • late Middle Ages (during the 14th and 15th century)
     • Protestant Reformation by Martin Luther
   • Royal castle in Elsinore, Denmark
     • Menaced by a possible war against Norway

2. Themes

   • Revenge (main theme)
   • Humanity
   • Love relationships
   • Young and age
   • Action and corruption
   • Corruption
   • The existence of God and the life after death
   • The meaning of the theatre itself (there is the first example of play-within-the-play)
   • life and death
   • Honour (Hamlet's final honourable actions)
   • Justice
   • Fratricide
   • Adultery
   • Faking madness

3. Structure

   • In the third act there is the first example of "play-within-the play"
     • During the play, another play ("The Murder of Gonzago") starts
       • Hamlet wants to kills his father's murderer
     • The actors of the play become the audience

4. Plot

   • first act
     • In the royal castle in Ellsinore, in Denmark a ghost appeared armed for an attack from the king of Norway. Hamlet and his friend Horatio organized a night meeting to see this ghost which tells Hamlet to avenge him by killing Claudius
   • Second Act
     • Hamlet pretends to be mad to carry out his plan, but Polonius thinks that his madness comes from the love for Ophelia
   • Third act
     • "The murder of Gonzago": Hamlet kills Polonius and the king Claudius send Hamlet to England
   • Forth act
     • Hamlet is in England and Ophelia drowns herself. Laertes wants to kill Hamlet and the King Claudius organised a duel between Hamlet (who has escaped) and Laertes
   • Fifth Act
     • The king prepares a poisoned drink that Hamlet doesn't drink. The mum drinks it
     • The duel follows: Laerte has a poisoned sword, but Hamlet gets Laerte's sword
     • Hamlet kills Laerte and the king. The mum also dies
     • Hamlet asks Horatio to tell his story and to choose Fortinbras as King of Denmark and then he dies

5. Hamlet: the character

   • He is a talkative character: he communicates a lot, he wants to show his feelings
   • Hamlet's language is ambiguous with figurative meaning
   • Hamlet uses metaphor, simile and wordplay
   • he is a melancholy and ambiguous character
     • His language reflects the distortion of the alteration of reality

6. Tragedy of revenge

   • It comes from classical antiquity
   • Most important features
     • There is always a sexual or a violent crime against one person of the hero's family
     • Laws and Justice can't punish the act and the hero exacts the revenge
     • There is always the appearance of a ghost that carry out the revenge
     • During the play the hero isolates himself and than there are bloody actions with many deaths
     • Shakespearean features
       • Hamlet shows his emotional frailties
       • There are two fundamental themes: doubt and uncertainty