#Classic: Hamlet

• Author:  W. Shakespeare
• Title: Hamlet
• Written : 1599 -1602
  
• PLOT  Wikipedia
• List of Challenges 2019
• Monthly plan
• Classic Club Master list

Quickscan:

1. Lovers:  Ophelia and Hamlet
   
2. Focus: revenge – the obsession to avenge can drive one mad
3. Family issue: Uncle kills Hamlet’s father and marries his mother (yikes!)
4. Plot twist: ghost of King Hamlet wants revenge. Triggers entire play!
5. Hook: Ghost in Act 1…all acts end with cliffhangers!!
6. Genre:  Revenge play
7. Pivotal acts:  Act 3 and Act 5
8. Soliloquies:  7 spoken by Hamlet
9. Tragic flaw Hamlet: overthinks everything! “To be or not to be…” (Act 3, 1)
   
10. Villian: Claudius manipulative, ruthless
    
11. Ophelia: weak character compared to Desdamona!
    
12. Minor character who plays major role: Laertes
13. Symbol: poison (weapon, manipulation and madness)
14. Motif: spying (eavesdropping) to seek truth)
15. Spies: Hamlet, Horatio, Reynaldo, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Polonius, King Claudius
16. Victims: Queen, King, Ophelia, Hamlet, Laertes
17. Shakespeare’s statement: “What a piece of work is man!” (Act 2, 2)
    
18. Setting:  Elsinore Castle, Danish coast, graveyard
19. Major themes:  revenge, madness. death. appearance vs reality
    
20. Minor themes:  ambition, corruption
21. …”Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”  (Act 1, 4)
22. Body count: 9
23. King Hamlet (before play starts)
24. Queen Gertrude
25. King Claudius
26. Polonius
27. Rosencrantz
28. Guildenstern
29. Ophelia
30. Laertes
31. Hamlet
32. The only main character left
33. …standing at the end is Horatio,
34. …who is usually seen sitting on the ground,
35. …cradling Hamlet’s corpse.
36. So technically, he’s not standing.
    1 drowning
    2 beheadings
    1 simple stabbing
    2 simple poisonings and
    3 aggravated stabbings (poisoned blade/some poison)
37. Now that’s what I call a tragedy!

Trend:   Theme: illusion vs reality

1. In Midsummer Night’s Dream, Othello and Hamlet
2. ….Shakespeare uses this theme to drive the plot.
3. I will be looking at other plays by WS to see if he repeats this theme.
4. Midsummer Night’s Dream: play-in-play (illusion)….is also used in Hamlet
5. Othello: it appears Desdemona is having an affair ( lost handkerchief)…she is not.
6. Hamlet: it appears Hamlet is in a legitimate duel…he is not, sword is poison tipped
7. Hamlet: Claudius appears to be praying on his knees…he is not.
8. Hamlet: Claudius must appear to be guiltless in death of Hamlet…he is not.
9. Hamlet: Killing Hamlet must appear to be an accident….it is not, it is premeditated

Last thoughts:

1. I have been avoiding this play for years
2. …too difficult, complex plot.
3. Finally I can strike this play off my Bucket List!
4. I ordered the Kenneth Branagh’s film  Hamlet (1996)
   
5. It is the only version that includes the complete text
6. …nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
7. …and is 4 hours long.
8. #GetOutThePopcorn