Hamlet by Shakespeare

Turn and TalkWho is oldest? Youngest?Objective: speak in complete sentences that

use correct subject/predicate agreementShakespeare, who is famous for many plays,

write/writes about the challenges, triumphs, and humor we all face/faces in our lives.

Since he is/are an integral part of literature and language, the reasons to study him is/are endless.

What is Drama?Literature meant to be performedSubject to interpretation “As a reader you become the play’s director”

Turn and talk…what does this mean?Older person answers, younger person checks

for objective

Who is Shakespeare?1564-1616England

Turn and talk: what do you know about England?

Younger person answers, older person checks for objective

Who is Shakespeare?$ from plays that was well-invested

37 plays and 154 sonnetsUnknown but assumed educationMarried with 3 children1592 prominence as actor and playwright1593 published poet during the years of the

plague, which shut down theatre operationsA mystery man that legends explained…more

currently updated historical records indicate prominent, wealthy, and successful

Shakespeare’s TimeEvolving and blending of religions, cultures,

histories, inventions, lands, and beliefs—reflected in his writing

London—happening city with problems of poverty and population, yet many “elite” lived there

Stratford-upon-Avon—rural England, a life lived close to the land

Shakespeare's TimeQueen Elizabeth 1’s reignEnglish RenaissanceHeroes! Ideal Elizabethan man: courtier,

adventurer, poet, fencer, conversationalist, witty, eloquent, self-reflective

Arranged marriages ($)Concern with the “order” of thingsRulers were believed to be agents of God

Shakespeare’s TheatreMember of the King’s Men acting group1599 built the Globe, which was destroyed by fire in

1613, rebuilt but then taken down by Parliament after 1642

Actors traveled to perform at a variety of locales Turn and talk: what would this mean for the delivery of

the play? Younger person answers, older person checks for objective

Theatres not built in London city limits“bare stage”—birthed Shakespeare’s mastery of

descriptive imagery Female roles played by boysHad to work for “higher ups” to be protected

Shakespeare’s TheatreHistory Comedy Tragedy

• Play based on historical materials

• Shows patriotism

• Various types of humor

• Conflict, but no impending doom for protagonist

• Shakespeare=man• High comedy—

consists of being funny with words

• Low comedy—consists of being funny with actions

• Conflict that leads to a tragic end for the likeable protagonist

• Comic relief still a device used, as in the gravedigger’s scene

Antony and Cleopatra Julius Caesar

A Midsummer’s Night DreamMuch Ado About Nothing

OthelloRomeo and Juliet

Turn and TalkSince Hamlet is a revenge tragedy, I

predict… Older person answers, younger person checks for

objective

Based on what I know of Romeo and Juliet, it is a ______________ (what kind of play). Younger person answers, older person checks for

objective

Use complete sentences and correct subject/predicate agreement

How to Read Shakespeare Use the character list (dramatis personae)Never break with end lines, but rather with punctuationUse notesRead more than onceRead aloud, remembering its meant to be actedRead as a directorIdentify subject, predicate, and object as a way to work

through reversed, inverted, or delayed syntax Recognize and embrace the challenge that language is

living and thus changingLet the text teach you and mold you into an effective

readerParaphrase (using a similar length of prose, put into your

own words)

Literary DevicesPuns, double entendresForeshadowing Blank verse: unrhymed iambic pentameterMetaphors Allusions: Garden of Eden (as Shakespeare’s words have

become)ConflictImagery Metafiction/metadrama Tragic hero—a man who rises to high position, but then

loses that position due to:Hamartia—tragic flawDestiny, the forces that be

Literary DevicesStage directionsAside—a speech directed only to audience,

revealing a character’s inner thoughtsSoliloquy—a speech delivered while alone on

a stage, revealing a character’s inner thoughts

DialogueTurn and talk: Is a playwright more likely to

use direct or indirect characterization? Why? Older person answers, younger person checks for

objective

Theme4 cornersMove with body peacefullyIndex cards will indicate who speaks to

explain position