Movie pitch: In a world of intrigue, murder, and betrayal, one man will rise: Hamlet- the original action hero, the first avenger, and the first rebel without a cause, who moves Heaven and Hell to revenge his father’s death.
Rated R for some sexuality, violence,, drinking, and language.
My two cents
The play is very important to me personally. Back in the year 2000, when I was a sophomore in high school, Hamlet was the play that really got me interested in Shakespeare. I saw Kenneth Branaugh’s film version on TV and wanted to act and direct in the play myself. I also went over and over the text, absorbing the layers of meaning within the lines. This was the moment I discovered that I not only liked Shakespeare and could understand it, but that I also wanted to devote my life to studying it.
Famous Lines
“The Play’s the thing,”
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”
“To thine own self be true.”
“What a piece of work is man”
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
“The rest is silence.”
Famous Speeches:
“Oh that this too too solid flesh..” (I.ii)
“Oh what a rogue and peasant slave am I” (II.ii)
“To be or not to be,” (III.i)
“O My offense is rank…” (III.iv)
“How all occasions do inform against me”
For more quotes and analysis of the characters, click here: https://shakespeare-navigators.com/
General Data
Title: Hamlet
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Year Written: approx. 1599
Source: the ancient Viking myth of Amleth, chronicled in the 13th century by Saxo Gramaticus: https://www.medievalists.net/2017/11/original-hamlet-story-prince-amleth/
Although in some ways Shakespeare’s version shares more in common with the Greco-Roman plays Oedipus and Orestes.
Genre: Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy Verse and prose.
Play Data
Structure: Five Acts, 15 scenes, 4,024 lines (uncut)
Setting: a fantasy hybrid of the 16th century and Medieval Denmark during the 8th or 9th century (when the Vikings controlled England).
Characters: 11 male characters, 3 female characters plus soldiers, courtiers, actors, gentlemen, gentlewomen, and one ghost.
Character Notes:
Hamlet: Words that come to mind: Cunning, haunted, melancholy, Prince, actor, critic, son, avenger, scholar.
Claudius: “Smiling, damned villain.” Usurper, politician.
Gertrude: Queen, mother, passive, impulsive.
Ophelia: Fragility, sad, dutiful, wretched.
Laertes: Fiery, violent, avenger.
Polonius: busybody, minister, father, spy, distrustful.
Horacio: Stoic, student, loyal, best friend, confidant.
Fortinbras: cunning, opportunistic, Machiavellian.
Artwork:
https://shakespeareillustration.org/hamlet/
Historical Notes:
One reason Hamlet delays killing Claudius is that the Protestant Reformation of Martin Luther taught that ghosts did not exist. According to Stephen Greenblatt in “Will In the World,” ghosts to the early Protestants were superstitions at best, and at worst devils intended to deceive and destroy them. Hamlet actually went to the same school Luther taught at, Wittenburg University, so he knew not to trust the ghost.
War of players: In Act II, Scene II Hamlet makes fun of the recent trend of boy actors who are taking business away from professional acting companies. “Acting was either a matter for school children learning the basic skills of oratory and public speech, which men didn’t think was proper for women.” Gurr- 78.
Concerns For Teachers:
This play is probably best suited for AP high school English or college, at least uncut. However, the basic revenge plot is so universal, it’s been adapted for children.
Hamlet is famous for a reason. It has a gorgeous verse and contains numerous truths about the human condition. Also, Hamlet himself is an iconic character. He represents the man fighting against the world, the tortured scholar, the avenger character who has been called the world’s first action hero. But for all of that, it’s a simple story about a son who loses his father and tries to fight against a wicked and corrupt society, while trying at the same time to comprehend his place in the world.
Hamlet is more relevant than ever;
In a society where married couples are often ripped apart by divorce, war, or death, many young people can identify how someone’s life can change in an instant, and their world suddenly become bigger and darker. The play is also riddled with important questions about mental health, what is real, what is good, life, death, and everything in between.
Concerns For Directors
A word of caution about Hamlet- you can get obsessed with this play. Directors and actors have spent years of their lives trying to create the perfect production. Scholars have written millions of books about it, and judging by the number of print versions we have, Shakespeare was obsessed with it too- there are three editions that came out during his lifetime. To be honest, I myself am a bit obsessed with it, which is why I’ve spent years pouring over as many books as I can to report on it accurately.
The most famous speech in the play, “To Be Or Not To Be,” is famous partially because it is so mysterious. Actors, directors, and scholars have puzzled over what exactly Hamlet is saying in the speech, why he says it right in the middle of the play, (seemingly derailing his plan to avenge his father), and whether or not he knows that Claudius and Polonius are watching him. This might be the most brilliant thing Shakespeare ever did- he created a speech so memorable and so provocative and shrouded it in mystery so that it could be re-imagined, re-adapted, and reinterpreted thousands of times, over hundreds of years!
To cut or not to cut
Like the Gospel there’s four versions to pick and choose interpretations from. One version is called “The Bad Quarto,” because it’s considered an inferior retelling, possibly jotted down from memory by one of Shakespeare’s actors. The novel “The Shakespeare Stealer,” explores this as a legitimate possibility and has an actor try to memorize and smuggle the text of Hamlet in his head so he can sell it to a rival company.
Modern parallels
Every action movie ever including Batman 🦇 , The original Star Wars trilogy, Harry Potter, and the Marvel cinematic universe. Each one has a hero with a powerful father and a quest for revenge. In each case, the father either compels the son to avenge his death, or the son has to destroy his father to save a kingdom. In every version the father is otherworldly, ghost 👻 like or 🌩 god-like.
The hero often broods about morality and usually confides in a person who is rational, wise, and unquestionably loyal, (Hermione Granger, Obi Wan Kenobi, Jarvis, Alfred the Butler). Usually the hero succeeds in his quest for revenge, but often at the cost of his own life or a loved one’s life, ( like Luke Skywalker or Harry Potter).
Adaptations
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard
I Hate Hamlet by Ken Ludwig
The Klingon Hamlet
German Hamlet, Der Bestrafte Brudermord, a German adaptation that is thought to be the one Shakespeare’s company used when they were traveling in Europe.
Films
The Lion King
Strange Brew
Summary
Warning ⚠️ this will not be as concise as my other summaries but I do so because I feel people often overlook details of the plot and that makes it harder to understand.
(find an amusing summary)
Before the play
War between Denmark 🇩🇰 and Norway 🇳🇴
Duel 🤺 between King Hamlet and Fortinbras Senior
Hamlet dies in mysterious circumstances
Hamlets mother Gertrude marries her brother in law Claudius, making him king
Prince Hamlet comes home from school in Wittenburg, (the same college as Martin Luther, and his friend Horatio
Themes and ideas
Spying 🕵️♂️
Play acting
Life and death 💀
What makes us individual? What makes us human?
Protestantism vs catholic school of thought
Can you really know someone else?
Resources/ Lesson plans for teachers
British library of the three texts.
Notable Movies 🎥
2008 BBC RSC with David Tennent
2001 modern day with Ethan Hawke
1996 Branaugh baroque with kind of a Napoleonic war vibe
1998 Mel Gibson’s gothic and medieval
1947 Olivier Oedipus complex
Activities
Write confidential letters to the characters
CSI Hamlet- tell the story of Hamlet like a detective or coroner looking at the bodies at the end of the play.
Image project
Videos:
To Be Or Not to be Supercut,
thug notes summary,
RSC,
Slings and Arrows clip.
Shakespeare Uncovered.
Play Of the Month: Hamlet
Movie pitch: In a world of intrigue, murder, and betrayal, one man will rise: Hamlet- the original action hero, the first avenger, and the first rebel without a cause, who moves Heaven and Hell to revenge his father’s death.
Rated R for some sexuality, violence,, drinking, and language.
My two cents
The play is very important to me personally. Back in the year 2000, when I was a sophomore in high school, Hamlet was the play that really got me interested in Shakespeare. I saw Kenneth Branaugh’s film version on TV and wanted to act and direct in the play myself. I also went over and over the text, absorbing the layers of meaning within the lines. This was the moment I discovered that I not only liked Shakespeare and could understand it, but that I also wanted to devote my life to studying it.
Famous Lines
“The Play’s the thing,”
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”
“To thine own self be true.”
“What a piece of work is man”
“The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”
“The rest is silence.”
Famous Speeches:
“Oh that this too too solid flesh..” (I.ii)
“Oh what a rogue and peasant slave am I” (II.ii)
“To be or not to be,” (III.i)
“O My offense is rank…” (III.iv)
“How all occasions do inform against me”
For more quotes and analysis of the characters, click here: https://shakespeare-navigators.com/
General Data
Title: Hamlet
Playwright: William Shakespeare
Year Written: approx. 1599
Source: the ancient Viking myth of Amleth, chronicled in the 13th century by Saxo Gramaticus: https://www.medievalists.net/2017/11/original-hamlet-story-prince-amleth/
Although in some ways Shakespeare’s version shares more in common with the Greco Roman plays Oedipus and Orestes.
Genre: Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy
Play Data
Structure: Five Acts, 15 scenes, 4,024 lines (uncut)
Setting: a fantasy hybrid of the 16th century and Medieval Denmark during the 8th or 9th century (when the Vikings controlled England).
Characters: 11 male characters, 3 female characters plus soldiers, courtiers, actors, gentlemen, gentlewomen.
Character Notes:
Hamlet: Words that come to mind: Cunning, haunted, melancholy, Prince, actor, critic, son, avenger, scholar.
Claudius: “Smiling, damned villain.” Usurper, politician.
Gertrude: Queen, mother, passive, impulsive.
Ophelia: Fragility, sad, dutiful, wretched.
Laertes: Fiery, violent, avenger.
Polonius: busybody, minister, father, spy, distrustful.
Horacio: Stoic, student, loyal, bff
Fortinbras: cunning, opportunistic, Machiavelli.
Artwork:
https://shakespeareillustration.org/hamlet/
Historical Notes:
Protestant Reformation
War of players: “Acting was either a matter for school children learning the basic skills of oratory and public speech, which men didn’t think was proper for women.” Gurr- 78.
Concerns For Teachers:
This play is probably best suited for AP high school English or college, at least uncut. However, the basic revenge plot is so universal, it’s been adapted for children.
Hamlet is famous for a reason. It has gorgeous verse and contains numerous truths about the human condition. Also, Hamlet himself is an iconic character. He represents the man fighting against the world, the tortured scholar, the avenger character who has been called the world’s first action hero. But for all of that, it’s a simple story about a son who loses his father and tries to fight against a wicked and corrupt society, while trying at the same time to comprehend his place in the world.
Hamlet is more relevant than ever;
In a society where married couples are often rippped apart by divorce, war, or death, many young people can identify how someone’s life can change in an instant, and their world suddenly become bigger and darker. The play is also riddled with important questions about mental health, what is real, what is good, life, death, and everything in between.
Concerns For Directors
A word of caution about Hamlet- you can get obsessed with this play. Directors and actors have spent years of their lives trying to create the perfect production. Scholars have written millions of books about it, and judging by the number of print versions we have, Shakespeare was obsessed with it too- there are three editions that came out during his lifetime. To be honest, I myself am a bit obsessed with it, which is why I’ve spent years pouring over as many books as I can to report on it accurately.
The most famous speech in the play, “To Be Or Not To Be,” is famous partially because it is so mysterious. Actors, directors, and scholars have puzzled over what exactly Hamlet is saying in the speech, why he says it right in the middle of the play, (seemingly derailing his plan to avenge his father), and whether or not he knows that Claudius and Polonius are watching him. This might be the most brilliant thing Shakespeare ever did- he created a speech so memorable and so provocative and shrouded it in mystery so that it could be re-imagined, re-adapted, and reinterpreted thousands of times, over hundreds of years!
Historical notes:
Elizabethan war of the players
Protestant reformation
Hamlet v. Hamnet.
Praise for Hamlet by Gabriel Harvey and Francis Meres.
Modern parallels
Every action movie ever including Batman 🦇 , The original Star Wars trilogy, Harry Potter, and the Marvel cinematic universe. Every one has a hero with a powerful father and a quest for revenge. In each case the father either compels the son to avenge his death, or the son has to destroy his father to save a kingdom. In every version the father is other worldly, ghost 👻 like or 🌩 god-like.
The hero often broods about morality and usually confides in a person who is rational, wise, and unquestionably loyal, (Hermione Granger, Obi Wan Kenobi, Jarvis, Alfred the Butler). Usually the hero succeeds in his quest for revenge, but often at the cost of his own life or a loved one’s life, ( Luke, Harry Potter).
Adaptations
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead 💀
I Hate Hamlet
The Klingon Hamlet
German Hamlet
The Lion King
Strange Brew
Summary
Warning ⚠️ this will not be as concise as my other summaries but I do so because I feel people often overlook details of the plot and that makes it harder to understand.
Before the play
War between Denmark 🇩🇰 and Norway 🇳🇴
Duel 🤺 between King Hamlet and Fortinbras Senior
Hamlet dies in mysterious circumstances
Hamlets mother Gertrude marries her brother in law Claudius, making him king
Prince Hamlet comes home from school in Wittenburg, (the same college as Martin Luther, and his friend Horatio
For Educators
Themes and ideas
Spying 🕵️♂️
Play acting
Life and death 💀
What makes us individual? What makes us human?
Protestantism vs catholic school of thought
Can you really know someone else?
Concerns for Directors
Like the Gospel there’s four versions to pick and choose interpretations from.
Hamlet’s delayed action
To Be Or Not To Be
Resources/ Lesson plans for teachers
British library of the three texts.
Videos:
Famous speeches
Notable Movies 🎥
2008 BBC RSC with David Tennent
2001 modern day with Ethan Hawke
1996 Branaugh baroque with kind of a Napoleonic war vibe
1998 Mel Gibson’s gothic and medieval
1947 Olivier Oedipus complex
Activities
Write letters
Image project
Finish To Be Or Not To Be
Resources: https://quizlet.com/17108837/hamlet-main-events-flash-cards/
The Shakespearean Student 