Hamlet

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Hamlet
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Background

• written sometime between 1598 and 1602
• probably 1600-01
• roughly midpoint in Shakespeare's career

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Revenge Tragedy

• derived from ancient Roman tragedies of Seneca (4
  b.c.e.65 c.e.)
• drama in which dominant motive is revenge for
  real or imagined injury

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Basic Elements of Senecan Revenge Tragedy

• a wronged hero
• detailed accounts of horrible deeds
• long reflective soliloquies
• the gods rarely appear

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• ghosts and witches abound
• the corpse-strewn climax
• favorite form in Elizabethan and Jacobean eras

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Basic Elements of English Revenge Tragedy

• hero violently wronged
• justified in seeking revenge
• revenge aimed at opponent equal in power and
  cunning

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• action conducted in atmosphere of gloom and
  terror
• supernatural elements
• beloved of hero involved is an innocent obstacle
  to his revenge

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• a counterplot (or subplot)
• started by the antagonist to defend himself
• engulfs the hero just as his vengeance was
  accomplished

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• outcome for the hero
• hero would achieve poetic justice on earth
• hero would also be punished by Heaven for sin of
  murder

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Elements in Hamlet Derived from Senecan Revenge
Tragedy

• the murdered father
• the ghostly apparitions
• the mad scene
• the bloody finale

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Hamlet
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• Prince of Denmark
• Son of Queen Gertrude and the late King Hamlet.
• The model courtier, sensitive, intelligent.
  Enjoys popularity.
• Believed to be mad in order to conceal his real
  plans

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• Is enigmatic in his doubts and delayed revenge.
  Ghost of his father asks him to avenge him
• Shows himself at last as courageous and decisive
  in dealing with his enemies.
• Upset by his mothers marriage to his uncle.

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The Ghost

• Late King Hamlet, doomed to walk the earth by
  night

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Queen Gertrude
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• Mother of Prince Hamlet
• Widow of King Hamlet
• Now married to her husbands brother
• Portrayed as weak, guilt-ridden, and concerned
  about her son.

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King Claudius

• Brother of King Hamlet and is King of Denmark
• Married his sister-in-law.
• Plots to kill Hamlet

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• Is clever, hypocritical and gifted at
  dissembling. Appears majestic and commanding.
• Suffers occasional pangs of guilt for his crime,
  but cant bring himself to repent.

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Ophelia
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• Daughter of Polonius, and sister of Laertes.
• Portrayed as sweet, innocent and obedient.
• Love interest to Hamlet.
• Goes mad

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Laertes
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• Polonius son, and Ophelias Brother.
• Manipulated by Claudius into exacting revenge on
  Hamlet for Polonius death
• Foil character to Hamlet

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Polonius
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• Father of Laertes and Ophelia. Lord Chamberlain
  and Advisor to king Claudius.
• Is moralistic and meddlesome.

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• Frequently spies on people, either directly or
  indirectly
• Believes Hamlets madness is caused by his love
  for Ophelia.

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Horatio
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• Friend of Hamlet and schoolmate at Wittenberg.
• Respected as a scholar, and is called upon to
  banish the ghost.
• Brave, and loyal
• Tells the events of the ending

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Rosencrantz and Gildenstern
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• Childhood friends of Hamlet.
• Recruited by Claudius to discover cause of
  Hamlets madness
• Ordered to escort Hamlet to England

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Fortinbras
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• Prince of Norway
• Father conquered by king Hamlet and seeks
  revenge.
• Named heir to the throne of Denmark

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Francisco, Marcellus and Bernardo
Danish soldiers who first spot the ghost.
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Osric

• Young, foppish courtier who is mocked by Hamlet
  and Horatio for his affections.

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Reynaldo

• Polonius servant who has been sent to spy on
  Laertes in France

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Voltemand and Cornelius

• Danish courtires who serve as Claudius
  ambassadors to old Norway.

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Player King and Player Queen

• Act the part of King Hamlet and Queen Gertrude in
  the play-within-a-play

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Themes
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Revenge

• Ghost of King Hamlet introduces the theme. He
  also spurs it on for Hamlet
• Prominent in Hamlets hesitation to kill Claudius
  at his prayers and in his bitter reproaches of
  his mother.

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• Theme serves to undermine the plots of Claudius
  and Laertes in Act IV.

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Mortality

• Hamlet grapples with mortality.
• His first and third soliloquy touch on this theme
  in his contemplation of suicide.
• Hamlet comes to term with it in Act V, scene ii,
  when he tells Horatio the readiness is all.

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Appearance and Reality

• Paradoxically, Hamlets dislike of outward show
  and his pretense of madness combine to develop
  this theme.

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• Theme is highlighted by Claudiuss habitual
  dissembling, the hypocrisy and flattery of the
  courtiers, and the numerous scenes of spying and
  eaves dropping
• Hamlets instructions to the players and the
  presentation of the play-within-a-play.

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• Linguistic variations of the theme recur in
  numerous puns, especially in scenes involving
  Hamlet.

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Corruption

• Shown through Claudius guilt and Hamlets
  perception of Gertrudes lust.
• Hamlet generalizes corruption to include the
  moral flaws at court.

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• The theme is underscored in images of disease and
  poison.
• Emphasis on the bodys decay after death in V, I.
  Reinforces the theme on a biological level

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Madness

• Introduced with Hamlets antic behavior after
  he sees the ghost
• Hemlets pretense of madness dominates his public
  behavior.
• Hamlets feigned madness is poignantly juxtaposed
  to Ophelias true insanity.

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Doubt

• Especially prominent in the soliloquies of
  Hamlet.
• Related to the issue of decisiveness versus
  cowardice in Hamlets character

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Mystery and Intrigue

• A play of questions
• Mystery of the ghost
• Is Hamlet crazy
• Who killed King Hamlet?
• When will Hamlet get his revenge

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• Several Characters spy on each other
• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spy on Hamlet for
  Claudius
• Hamlet has actors perform a murder play so he can
  spy on Claudius

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Philosophy

• How does moral man live in a corrupt world?
• How does intelligence and sensitivity co-exist
  with pain and suffering in the world?
• What is the meaning of death?