Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Hamlet

Historical Context: 400 Year Old Story
  • Son of a Danish "King of the Jutes“ (warlord)
  • Middle Ages
  • Father assassinated
  • Coup, not a secret murder.
  • Superstition = insanity spread through spirit
  • Son pretended to be crazy
  • Nickname "Amlothi", crazy person.
  • Kills & usurps uncle
  • Ruled successfully - nickname stuck
  • Married Scottish princess Herminthrud (Hermutrude).
  • Eventually killed in battle.
  • Buried in Denmark in a field called "Ammelhede" ("Hamlet's Heath")
  • Herminthrud married Viglek, the man whose army defeated and killed Hamlet.
Historical Context: Shakespeare’s World
  • Protestant Reformation
  • Renaissance: intellectual skepticism
  • Wittenberg

Questions to Ponder
  • What is the meaning of the various interpretations of the ghost given by the characters?
  • How does the play set up our expectations and then overturn them?
  • What kind of thought or worldview do the characters represent? Notice what kind of speeches the characters give.
Themes
  • Question of identity
  • Perception vs. reality
  • What does it mean to be human?
  • Mortality & suicide
  • Does life have meaning?
  • Head vs. heart

posted by Jeffrey @ Wednesday, March 22, 2006

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