| Six elements of Shakespearean Tragedy | 1. chance happenings2. Tragic Hero/flaw/mistake3. supernatural element4. revenge motive5. internal and external conflicts6. Comic relief |
| Comic Relief | Element of Shakespearean Tragedy.- the grave digger scene is Comic relief (puns, riddles, malenpropisin) |
| Tragic Hero/flaw/mistake | Element of Shakespearean Tragedy.-Hamlet = hero- Flaw = he’s a dreamer, but need to be a man of action- Mistake= killing polonius (was his dramatic reverse) |
| Supernatural element | Element of Shakespearean Tragedy. – the ghost appearing at the witchy hour of night |
| Revenge Motive | Element of Shakespearean Tragedy. – Hamlet is motivated to kill Claudius. (is married to his mother, killed his father, and stole the throne from Hamlet) |
| internal and external conflicts | Element of Shakespearean Tragedy- Hamlet struggles with being a dreamer versus a man of action- Struggles to stay sane while pretending to be insane- Struggles to avenge his father and kill |
| Chance Happenings | Element of Shakespearean Tragedy.- Pirates rescue him while on his way to England- He decides to hide in the graveyard where Ophelia was about to be buried in-Finds Yorick’s bones |
| 7 Major Themes | 1. Revenge and Justice2. Sanity and maddness3. Role of women4. Appearance versus reality5. Destiny and purpose of life6. Rights and duties7. Poison and corruption |
| Revenge and Justice | – Hamlet seeks to avenge his father and serve Cladius with justice-Laertes wants revenge against Hamlet for killing Polonius-Fortinbras wants revenge against Denmark for King Hamlet killing Old Fortinbras |
| Sanity and maddness | – Hamlet pretends to be mad, but is actually sane- Ophelia becomes insane |
| Appearance versus reality (there’s a lot but here are 2 you might not know) | – Hamlet to Ophelia “God hath give you one face and you have given yourself another” -Trojan horse incident |
| Destiny and Purpose of life | -“There’s a divinity that shapes our ends… rough-hew them how we will.” |
| Rights and duties | – As the King’s son, it is his duty to avenge him-It’s Ophelia’s duty to her father and the king to be the bait for the trap |
| Poison and corruption | – Claudius- the way Gertrude, Claudius, Hamlet, and Laertes all die |
| Role of women | – Ophelia: Obedient, only speaks when spoken to. She stops seeing Hamlet as soon as her father asks her to Is bait for the King/Polonius’ trap without question- Gertrude: Submissive, weak Frailty Thy name is woman Got remairred right away because she was so worried Follows along with whatever Cladius does (Until end when she warns Hamlet) |
| Shakespearean 5 act structure | 1. Exposition2.Rising actions3.Climax & Dramatic reverse4.Falling action5. Catastrophe |
| exposition | the Backgroundopens on a snowy night at midnight… we already know Hamlet has mysteriously died, Cladius is now king, Hamlet has returned from germany for his dad’s funeral… |
| Rising Action | the Entrapments setting the stage for the climax of the playand all of act 2 |
| Climax | height of the play (always Act 3)when Hamlet has the chance to kill Claudius, but doesn’t because he sees him praying (isn’t a perfect revenge) |
| Dramatic reverse | beginning of the end for the main character/ spiral downwardWhen Hamlet accidentally kills polonius (stains his soul) |
| Falling action | act 4… |
| Catastrophe | everyone (but Horatio) is dead |
Hamlet
August 16, 2019