William Shakespeare's Hamlet

1. H A M L E T
William Shakespeare

2. > “ahmlet”
>Best known of Shakespeare’s tragedies
>Origin is Belle-Forest’s Histoires
Tragiques (1570)

3. William Shakespeare
Born:April1564,Stratford-upon-Avon
Died:1616
Buried:Stratford-upon-Avon
Parents:JohnandMaryArden
School:EdwardVIGrammarSchool
Wife:AnneHathaway(m.1582)
Children:Susanna(b.1583),
(twinsb.1585)Hamnet(d.1596)&Judith
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/h/hamlet/william-shakespeare-biography

4. No.ofPlaysWritten:37
Comedy:17
Tragedy:10
History:10
Poetry:
TheSonnets
ALover’sComplaint
TheRapeofLucrece
VenusandAdonis
FuneralElegybyW.S.
http://shakespeare.mit.edu/

5. • Work: Play
• Genre: Tragedy
• POV: Objective Third Person
(uses dialogue and without author’s commentary)
• Literary Period Written:
>Renaissance, Reign of Elizabeth I
• Literary devices Used: soliloquy

6. Historical Background:
Church:
> a widow is forbidden to marry her
deceased husband’s brother (incestuous)
> maimed rites are given to those who
committed suicide
> burial should be near the parish
church

7. Society:
> daughters should be obedient
> Scandinavian Territorial Wars
> Advantages of being a royalty, or in a
high social rank
> Public trial
>Loquacious courtier (scholars are coining
words from Greek and Latin)

8. Succession:
> Chief Men (Council) elect the
successor from the immediate male relatives
of the late ruler. The interested party may
present himself before the assembly.

9. Setting:
>Time: Medieval Period
> Year: 15th Century
> Place: Elsinore Castle, Denmark

10. Act I:
>The ghost of King Hamlet
showed up and asked his son
to avenge his death.

11. Act II:
>Hamlet feigned insanity.
>He invited the king and Queen
to watch ‘ The Mouse-Trap’ Play
which is intended to invoke the
guilt of the King.

12. Act III:
>Hamlet and Horatio succeeded in
invoking the guilt of the King.
>The Queen broke down under her son’s
indictment.
> Hamlet accidentally killed the
eavesdropper Polonius.

13. Act IV:
>Ophelia went insane and died by
drowning.
>Laertes returns and attempted
revolution.
>Hamlet is ‘exiled’ to London.
> The evil plot of Laertes and the King.

14. Act V:
>Death of the main characters.
>Horatio is tasked to tell the truth.
>Fortinbras summons the great
Council.

15. Conflicts:
> Man vs Man (Hamlet vs the King)
(Hamlet vs Laertes)
> Man vs Self (Hamlet vs his conscience)
(Ophelia vs her feelings)
> Man vs Fate (the King vs Death)
> Man vs Society (the King vs the Mob)

16. CHARACTER ANALYSIS

17. HAMLET:
>is a complex character
>astute
>he lacks the necessary power to overthrow
his Uncle Claudius
>a loyal son who used deception to achieve
justice
>wants to avenge his father’s death just like
Laertes and Fortinbras

18. CLAUDIUS:
>poisoned his own brother for the crown.
>strong, gracious and dignified, astute
and knows how to manage men.
>not entirely evil for he considers the
love of Gertrude for Hamlet.

19. HORATIO:
>poor, loyal, fellow student and friend of
Hamlet
>one of the finest minor characters in
Shakespearean plays.
>the balancing character since Hamlet is
rather impulsive
>displays composure and uses his
intelligence in a much calmer way.

20. GERTRUDE:
>Unsuspicious queen
>obviously in love and proud of Claudius.
>can be suspected as a conspirator in the
death of her husband
>does nothing to stop Claudius from
sending Hamlet to England
>she was able to warn Hamlet of the
poisoned cup of wine.

21. POLONIUS:
>an advisor to the King
>this Lord Chamberlain is a selfish fool
who loves to be in the center of the stage
>crafted three espionage throughout the
play in which the last one got him killed.

22. OPHELIA:
>submissive daughter of Polonius, the
sister of Laertes
>major dilemma is whether to follow her
heart or to obey her father’s orders
>her choice sealed her fate when she lied
to Hamlet

23. LAERTES:
>man with low moral standards who
warns her sister about Hamlet
>like Hamlet was driven by hatred and
thirst for justice thus was compelled to
jeopardy.

24. THE GHOST:
>is King Hamlet
>appeared several times in the play but
only to certain people
>The soul is condemned to walk on the
earth until his soul is cleansed of its sins.

25. ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDERNSTERN:
>the boyhood friends turned into spies of
Hamlet
>conventionally treacherous
>their excessive obedience to the crown
to execute Hamlet earned them death.

27. Theme:
Hamlet’s duty to avenge King
Hamlet’s death. (p. 100, Shakespeare Hamlet quotes)
Death eliminates differences among
people.
(https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/h/hamlet/critical-essays/yoricks-skull-as-a-major-symbol)
Morals:
What goes around, comes around.

28. REFERENCES
>Stockton, Carla Lynn. CliffsNotes on Hamlet. 10 Aug
2016
</literature/h/hamlet/hamlet-at-a-glance>.
>Roberts, James L. Shakespeare Hamlet Notes. © 1959.
Cliffsnotes Incorporated
>DiYanni, Robert. Literature Reading Fiction, Poetry,
Drama, and the Essay 4th Ed. ©1998. Mc Graw Hill
>(ed. Beaty, et.al.). The Norton Introduction to
Literature 8th Ed. ©2002. W.W. Norton Company

29. Elaine Antonette P. Gunsi
4 AB English A
European Literature