Renaissance Drama: William Shakespeare and Hamlet

Introduction to William Shakespeare

• Active Years: 1589 to 1613
• Death: 1616 (400th anniversary celebrated recently)
• First Folio: First printed in 1623, traveled around the world on the 400th anniversary of his death
• Number of Plays: Approx. 38 or 39 (some lost or disputed)
• Categories of Plays: Comedies, Histories, Tragedies, and Romances

Comedy

• Happy endings, often with marriages
• Includes magic, disguises, mistaken identities
• Examples: Twelfth Night, The Taming of the Shrew

History

• About historic figures, mainly former Kings of England
• Examples: Richard II, Richard III

Tragedy

• Sad endings with death
• Famous tragedies include: Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Othello, King Lear

Romance

• Later plays with complex plots
• Also known as problem plays

Biography

• Birthplace: Stratford-upon-Avon
• Family: Third of eight children, married Anne Hathaway at age 18
• Children: Three (Susanna, twins Hamnet and Judith)
• Career Start: Known as a writer and actor by 1592
• Theatre Group: Member and part-owner of the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later King’s Men)
• Globe Theatre: Built on the south side of the Thames River (original burnt down)

The Play Hamlet

• Basis: Scandinavian legend of Amleth from Saxo Grammaticus's The Deeds of the Danes
• Length: Shakespeare’s longest play
• Hamlet Character: Most lines of any Shakespeare character

Influences on Hamlet

• Death of Shakespeare’s Son: Hamnet died in 1596
• Death of Shakespeare’s Father: 1601
• Death of Queen Elizabeth I: 1603 (succession crisis represented in the play)

Key Themes

• Revenge: Hamlet seeking revenge for his father’s death
• Doubt and Delusion: Hamlet’s internal struggles with action and belief
• Death: Mystery and inevitability
• Unstable Family = Unstable Nation: Microcosm of the kingdom in chaos

Motifs

• Misogyny: Hamlet’s contempt for women
• Fakery: Sycophancy in the court
• Incest: Themes around Hamlet’s family and Oedipal critiques

Important Soliloquies and Dialogues

First Soliloquy (Act 1, Lines 129-146)

• Topics: Father’s death, mother’s hasty remarriage
• Themes: Frailty and disgust towards life and women

Soliloquy in Act 2.2

• Topics: Revenge plans, actors portraying a murder scene
• Themes: Guilt and proof of Claudius’s crime

“To Be or Not to Be” Speech (Act 3)

• Topics: Contemplation of life, death, suicide
• Themes: Fear of the unknown in death vs. sufferings of life

Dialogue with Guildenstern (Fakery and Wit)

• Topics: Guildenstern’s attempts to manipulate Hamlet
• Themes: Hamlet’s awareness and verbal prowess

Revenging Claudius (Act 3, Scene 3)

• Topic: Hamlet’s hesitation to kill praying Claudius
• Themes: Guilt, revenge, and religious belief

Characters and their Interpretations

Hamlet

• Consider: Madness vs. wit, heroism vs. villainy, consequences of actions

Polonius

• Consider: Clownish, yes-man, caring father?

Ophelia

• Consider: Hamlet's love, differences in madness

Claudius and Gertrude

• Consider: Manipulation, guilt, kingship

Horatio

• Consider: Role as Hamlet’s confidant, last man standing

Conclusion

• Consider all themes and motifs in your readings
• Complete your written materials for the week

This is the end of module 5.2. Thanks!