LA 12 2nd Semester Unit 1: Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Today’s Learning Targets:1. Review Hamlet Act I Plot, Character & Theme2. Develop a deeper understanding of themes &

literary devices via close textual analysis practice

Today’s Agenda:3. Review Act I4. Listen/watch Act II, Scene 15. Complete Act II, Scene 1 questions

LA 12 Reading Standards

Students will independently identify, interpret, analyze, and evaluate the themes and purposes encountered in a variety of literary, artistic, and informational texts and sources (2, 3, 7).

Students will actively analyze and cite an author’s deliberate choices, including characterization, allusion, style, tone, diction, structure, cultural context, and figurative language to enhance overall thematic understandings, and recognize the distinction between connotation and denotation (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9).

Learning Target:

Students will independently identify, interpret, analyze, and evaluate the themes and purposes encountered in a variety of literary, artistic, and informational texts and sources (2, 3, 7).

Distinguished - You are a master at finding meaningful CDs, creating quality CM that would impress your friends and neighbors who have never read the story or been in our class. You easily build and shape your CM based on the opinions and CDs of your peers within the class discussion.

Strong/Solid - You can identify meaningful CDs and adequately explain their significance to your teacher and classmates who are also reading the book/source material or essay prompt. You agree with the ideas of those of your peers and also found similar CDs.

Basic - You can find CDs and generate CMs - with the help of shmoop, your peers, the movie or your teacher - that explain the important parts of the story or essay prompt. You are confused by some of the CM your peers give and do not always see the relevance of their CDs.

Unsatisfactory - You think to yourself, ”What does this all mean?”.

HAMLETBy William Shakespeare

(The Quick Versi

on)

How is this play still relevant?

Why do we care?

Setting: Denmark

Characters:

•Hamlet -teenage boy, deceased father was king•Dead king’s ghost -Hamlet’s father•King Claudius -Hamlet’s uncle; the dead king’s brother•Queen gertrude -Hamlet’s mother; now his uncle’s wife•polonius-advisor to the king; he is known for his long speeches•Ophelia-daughter of Polonius; Hamlet’s girlfriend•Laertes-son of Polonius; brother of Ophelia•Horatio-best friend of Hamlet•Bernardo-palace guard•Marcellus-palace guard

Hamlet is very upset because his father has died. He died while sleeping in the garden. Everyone believes that a serpent bit him. He is also very upset because his father’s brother, Claudius, has married his mother, Gertrude. Now Claudius is the king.

Dead King

Hamlet QueenGertrude

King Claudius

Claudius and Gertrude are worried about Hamlet’s depression over his fathers death. They tell him that he is not the first person to lose his father.

Hamlet’s best friend, Horatio, come s from college . Hamlet greets him and asks him why he is visiting.

Then Horatio, along with two palace guards, told Hamlet that they had seen the ghost of Hamlet’s father.

Hamlet decides that he will go on watch with them and see if he could see his father.

The ghost of Hamlet’s father showed up and

wanted to speak to Hamlet alone.

Horatio and the guards begged Hamlet not to follow the ghost. However, Hamlet followed.

He wanted to speak to his father again.

The ghost tells Hamlet that the “serpent” that killed him, now wears his crown. He tells him that the killer poured poison in his ear while he slept. Hamlet realizes that his uncle, Claudius, killed his father. Hamlet’s father asks him to take revenge on Claudius.

Hamlet promised his father’s ghost that he would seek revenge.

Hamlet tells Horatio that he doesn’t know if what he saw was real. He tells him that he is going to have to pretend to be crazy until he figures it out.

Hamlet didn’t know if his uncle really killed his father. He thought that he may be really going

crazy.

Meanwhile, Laertes is going off to France. He is talking to his sister, Ophelia. He is giving her advice. He tells

her not to believe that Hamlet could really love her. He is royalty and she is not.

Ophelia agreed to think about what her brother said.

Polonius, the father of Laertes and Ophelia, arrives to say farewell to his son. He notices Laertes and Ophelia in deep conversation. He gives Laertes a

speech of his own and sends him on his way. Then he speaks to his daughter.

Polonius makes Ophelia promise not to see Hamlet.

End of Act I Summary

Themes Topics:Justice & Revenge

Free Will vs. Fate/Destiny… The Purpose of Life Role of Women

Personal Responsibility vs. ApathyLove vs. Lust

Persuasion & Propaganda

Chaos & Order… Madness & Sanity

Virtue & Villainy/Corruption

Individual vs. Government

Appearance vs. Reality

Ophelia makes a promise to her father that she will not see Hamlet. Hamlet continues to

act insane and Polonius thinks that since Ophelia will not see Hamlet, this is making

him crazy. So he goes and tells the king and queen his theory.

They believe that this may be true. So, they agree to set Hamlet up. They will send Ophelia to talk to him while they hide and watch to see if he is actually crazy or crazy in love with Ophelia.

Hamlet agrees to meet with Ophelia. While he is waiting, he continues to doubt his own sanity. He wonders if he should take his own life. This is where he gives his famous “To be, or not to be” speech.

Ophelia enters and Hamlet begins to suspect that he has been set up. So he tells her that he has never loved her. The king and Polonius decide that he is not “crazy” over Ophelia.

Hamlet hears that if someone who has committed a crime, sees that crime recreated, you can tell by his reaction if he truly

committed the crime.

Hamlet hires actors to recreate the crime of his uncle. His uncle watches the play. He sees a king sleeping in a garden. He sees his brother poison him and take his crown

and his wife. King Claudius has a violent reaction to seeing the play. Hamlet

realizes that the ghost of his father told the truth.

Hamlet’s mother wants to talk to him. However, she is afraid of him. Polonius hides behind a curtain in case

Hamlet gets violent.

Hamlet is very angry with his mother. She becomes afraid. He has a change of heart and tries to talk to her. She thinks he is going to kill her so she yells for help. Hamlet hears Polonius behind the curtain

and stabs him. He believes it is the king.

Hamlet is sorry that he killed Polonius. Ophelia becomes so distraught over the death of her father that she begins to go

insane. Laertes returns from France to seek revenge for his father’s death. Ophelia walks the halls

of the palace with her clothes in tatters. She

sings of death. She eventually walks into a

brook and drowns.

Hamlet did not know of Ophelia’s death. He and Horatio were walking through the cemetery when they saw the funeral procession. When he found out the Ophelia was dead he was very upset.

Laertes wants revenge against Hamlet. He blames Hamlet for his father’s and his sister’s death. He and King Claudius plot to kill Hamlet. They decide that Laertes will challenge Hamlet to a duel. To be sure that Hamlet is killed, Laertes will poison the tip of his sword. King Claudius decides that he will poison a cup of wine as a back up plan.

Laertes and Hamlet meet for the challenge. They fight. Hamlet is nicked by the poison sword. Laertes and Hamlet get their swords mixed up. Hamlet stabs Laertes with the sword.

The queen is so excited to watch Hamlet fight, that she takes the poison cup to drink. The king tries to stop her, but she drinks from it. She slumps over and dies.

Laertes is dying. Hamlet is dying. Laertes tells Hamlet that it is all the king’s fault. Hamlet stabs the king and kills him.

Hamlet asks his friend Horatio to tell

everyone the true story of how he lived

and died.