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A Guide for Teachers
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For more information, contact Anne Tromsness, Education Director
[email protected]
2015 Educational Touring Production is a part of
Shakespeare in American Communities,
a national program of the National Endowment for the Arts in
partnership with Arts Midwest.
Supported by:
Using this study guide
Each year, The Warehouse Theatre works with dozens of schools in South and North Carolina, bringing
customized residences to students in grades 3 – 12. We support English Language Art, Theatre, and
Literature standards, by bringing the actor’s approach to Shakespeare to the students, and empowering
them to speak the speeches, and embody the words we love so well – as they learn how to apply these
tools to their own experience with the text. Through our curricular strategies and arts-integrated
approach, we celebrate inclusion, critical thinking, teamwork, process and problem solving.
Shakespeare continues to be an important part of the curriculum in most states, and regardless of
changes in standards and best practices, we believe that interacting with these complex texts teaches
valuable skills which have an impact on young students’ lives beyond the ELA or theatre classroom.
Critical thinking, close-reading, looking at situations from different perspectives, examining societal and
personal morays and motives, encountering and deciphering structure, building vocabulary and cultural
references – Shakespeare brings this and much more to the young scholar!
It is in this spirit that we have designed this study guide –intended for educators in middle and high
schools, to use as a tool to enhance student comprehension and enjoyment of The Warehouse Theatre’s
production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The exercises contained in this guide are designed to
align with the curricular goals in the middle and high school English Language Arts, Literature, and
Theatre classroom. This guide may be used as a supplement to classroom study of this text, and is best
used in the context of attending the Warehouse Theatre’s touring production of Hamlet.
We have endeavored to include information and activities suitable to classes before engaging with the
text, during the reading process, and before and after attending a live performance.
Additionally, we hope you will encourage your students to attend live theatre, and if in the Greenville
area, audience enrichment programming at The Warehouse Theatre. For each play, we host a series of
events which bring the play’s themes, genre and production process into new focus for the community.
Our forum series takes an issue or theme raised in the play and envisions its current context in our own
community. We assemble a panel of community members with an expertise or investment in that issue,
and hold a facilitated, thoughtful dialogue and discussion. We also host pre-show talks lead by scholars
and theatre practitioners, contextualizing the plays we present by genre, time period or production
history. Talkbacks offer audience members the chance to ask questions of the play’s director, actors
and design team. This programming is free and open to the public. For a full schedule of events, visit our
website at www.warehousetheatre.com
We hope you will find this guide useful, and that you will let us know what information, topics for
discussion, and exercises you integrate into your curriculum. Let us know what you would like for us to
include in future study guides or resources. And thank you for your support of The Warehouse Theatre!
If we can support your curriculum in any additional ways, please contact me at
[email protected]
Anne Kelly Tromsness, Education Director
Contents
A Brief Synopsis of Hamlet……………………………………………………………………………………………………………3
Spotlight: A SIMPLE STRUCTURE IN SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS – Something you can count on…………..5
Spotlight: THEME and MOTIFS………………………………………………………………………………………………………6
Character and Point of View: Sociodrama Spectrum ……………………………………………………………………7
Acting Shakespeare: Hamlet’s Advice to the Players……………………………………………………………………..9
Spotlight: Stock Characters………………………………………………………………………………………………………….11
Remember Me: Collective Recognition and Hamlet…………………………………………………………………….15
Spotlight: Audience Etiquette……………………………………………………………………………………………………..16
William Shakespeare’s life as a play……………………………………………………………………………………………19
Shakespeare’s World…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..21
Why do we still study Shakespeare’s plays?....................................................................................23
Some thoughts about William Shakespeare and some fun facts about the play………………………….24
Sources for this study guide………………………………………………………………………………………………………..25
A Brief Synopsis of Hamlet
We are in Denmark, the palace at Elsinore. King Hamlet has recently died, and his wife, the Queen Gertrude,
has married her dead husband's brother, Claudius, who is now king. All of this happened with too much
alacrity for young Prince Hamlet, who is still mourning his father, and who is angry with his mother and
stepfather/uncle
As the play begins, a ghost has been haunting the battlements at night. Horatio and the guardsmen alert
Prince Hamlet to this development, and he accompanies them, where he is approached by the spectre of his
father's ghost, who orders him to take revenge on King Claudius, who he names as his murderer.
Prince Hamlet vows to avenge his father’s death, but instead of doing so immediately, he hesitates and
ponders the ramifications. His newly crowned stepfather, Claudius, and his bride and Hamlet’s mother,
Gertrude, notice his erratic and melancholy behavior. They enlist the help of two of Hamlet’s friends,
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to keep an eye on him. Polonius, an advisor to the king and father of Ophelia
and Laertes, has a theory behind Hamlet’s strangeness. He believes that Hamlet has been driven to madness
out of his passion and love for Ophelia. Claudius observes Hamlet’s behavior towards Ophelia – which
becomes hostile and dispels the love theory as Prince Hamlet orders her to a nunnery.
Meanwhile, a traveling acting troupe comes to the castle. Hamlet decided to enlist them in determining
his uncle’s guilt. He requests a play which closely resembles the story of King Hamlet’s death, then
observes the new king, Claudius, for a guilty response. The king abruptly leaves the audience, confirming
what Hamlet has thought all along. Hamlet has a chance to kill Claudius as he prays privately for
forgiveness, but he hesitates and decides to kill him when his soul is unconfessed. Claudius suspects
Hamlet’s plans and plots to have him sent away.
Hamlet goes to his mother’s chambers to confront her about her treacherous heart and lustful behavior
in marrying Claudius. Polonius is hidden behind a tapestry in the room, and he makes a sound in the
course of Hamlet and Gertrude’s conversation. Hamlet thinks it is the king, and kills Polonius. Claudius
sends him to England – banished for his crime – and secretly arranges for him to be killed upon arrival.
Caught between her affections for the mercurial Hamlet, and grief over the death of her father, Ophelia
goes mad with grief and drowns herself in the river. Laertes, Polonius’ son and Ophelia’s brother, who
has been staying in France, returns to Denmark where Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is to blame
for his father’s and sister’s deaths.
Word arrives that Hamlet is returning to Denmark, after pirates attacked his ship and prevented his
passage to England. Claudius arranges for Laertes to fence with Hamlet, with a poison tip on his foil
which will cause death to Hamlet if he draws blood. He also poisons a goblet with an infected pearl, in a
backup plan which will be applied if Hamlet scores the first or second hits of the match.
Hamlet returns, learns of Ophelia’s death, and professes his love for her as he and Laertes confront one
another. A courtier named Osric arrives on Claudius’s orders to arrange the fencing match between
Hamlet and Laertes.
3
The match begins, and although Prince Hamlet scores the first hit, he does not take a drink from the
pearl-poisoned goblet. Gertrude drinks in his stead and falls dead of poison. Laertes wounds Hamlet,
and as the poison takes effect, the death toll continues. Laertes is cut by his own sword, and reveals the
source of the poison in the goblet that killed Gertude was Claudius. Hamlet stabs Claudius AND makes
him drink the rest of the goblet’s contents. Claudius dies, as does Hamlet.
Fortinbras, a Norwegian Prince who has led an army to Denmark and attacked Poland earlier in the play,
enters with ambassadors from England. They relay that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead as well.
Fortinbras is shocked by the macabre site of corpses strewn about, and Horatio reveals the story behind
the decimation. Fortinbras orders that Hamlet’s corpse be borne like that of the Prince he was.
4
Spotlight:
A SIMPLE STRUCTURE IN SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS –
(Something you can count on)
According to Louis Fantasia, scholar and author of Instant Shakespeare, in all of Shakespeare’s plays you
can count on the plot including four elements:
ONE – The world (or worlds) of the play begin in some sort of disorder or chaos as a result of some
inciting incident.
TWO – Some figure of authority (a king or queen, prince, duke, parent) makes a decision that will have
a significant impact on the lives of the other characters in the world of the play
THREE- The dramatic or rising action of the play unfolds as the effected characters in the world of the
play take some action in response to the decision made by the authority figure. Often, this will
lead them on a journey to a “middle” world of the play that is in direct contrast or juxtaposition
to the world of disorder or chaos that starts the play.
FOUR - The actions taken by the effected characters force some sort of climax or resolution based on
the decision made by the figure of authority. In a comedy this resolution comes in the form of
multiple marriages and in a tragedy it comes in the form of multiple deaths. Ultimately, this
resolution restores order to the first world.
TERMS
Plot
Order
Disorder
Chaos
Inciting incident
Dramatic action / Rising action
Resolution
Climax
ACTIVITY
Identify these four structural elements in Hamlet.
Support your findings with textual evidence and examples.
Create a chart, illustration, or some visual aid to represent your findings.
Apply this test to another of Shakespeare’s plays to see if it holds up.
ACTIVITY
Choose several of Shakespeare’s tragedies and several of his comedies or romances and count the
number of weddings or deaths. Which comedy/romance has the most marriages at the end of the play?
Which tragedy or history has the most corpses at the end of the play?
ACTIVITY
Many 21st century television shows and movies, as well as plays, employ flashbacks and flashforwards,
using time fluidly in the narrative structure. How would you rearrange the plot of Hamlet to incorporate
these devices? What would your re-arrangement accomplish? Add tension? Encourage empathy with a
particular character? Emphasize a specific theme? Discuss.
5
Spotlight: THEME and MOTIFS
Theme is defined as a subject or topic of discourse or artistic representation. Motif is defined as a
dominant idea or central theme. In drama the central theme is usually an intrinsic or essential idea
surrounded by several more literal or representative motifs. Below is a list of words representing either
themes, dominant imafes or motifs from the play.
Seeming
Poison
Being
Nature
Disobedience
Sleep
Order
Morals
TERMS
Imagery
Theme
Motif
Literal
Hesitation
Duality
Mask
Man
Natural Law
Justice
Chaos
Advice
Deceit
Light
Moon
Male
Supernatural
Self-awareness
Blooming
Action
Dark
Old Age
Female
Death
Appearance
Garden
Decay
Night
Youth
Parent
Hiding
Birds
Existence
Intrinsic
Essential
Duality
QUESTIONS
Which of the words above, in your opinion, represent themes, which represent motifs, which are
images? How do you decide which are which?
What themes, images or motifs, in your opinion, are missing from the list?
Assume you are asked to select just one from the list to represent the central theme of the play. How
would you go about choosing? Which word would you choose and why?
ACTIVITY
Create a chart with the themes heading individual columns. Assign motifs under their appropriate
thematic heading. Do you encounter any motifs that could go under more than one heading? How does
this help you better understand the play?
ACTIVITY
Choose three speeches from different characters in the play. (14 or more lines each.) Go through each,
and list the verbs and nouns in two columns, and the adjectives in another. Compare the three lists.
What patterns of related images emerge?
6
Character and Point of View: SOCIODRAMA Spectrum
Sociodrama is defined by Merriam- Webster as:
“dramatic play in which several individuals act out assigned roles for the purpose of studying and
remedying problems in a group or in collective relationships”.
While sociodrama techniques are most often used in therapeutic application, they can also be applied
when studying the world of a particular play, in order to allow readers to investigate different
characters’ points of view, to reveal themes and affiliations, and to encourage readers to connect with
the characters’ dilemmas, traits, and actions. One exercise which encourages lively discussion and
exploration is SPECTRUM. This can be used as an activity to stimulate material for discussion after the
class has read part or all of the play. There are many variations for using this as a formative assessment,
a way to generate topics or material for paper or essay writing, and as a supplement to close-reading
activities.
Instructions: Create an imaginary (or real) line on the floor from one side of the room to the other. One
end point represents one extreme: “I highly agree” the other side the other extreme “I firmly disagree”,
or ” This is always TRUE” to “ This is always FALSE. These are the extremes, and students’ responses can
fall anywhere on the spectrum either at these ends, or in gradations along the middle.
After reading the play, or a portion of the play, have students write the name of a character they are
interested in in large letters on a piece of paper. It doesn’t need to be a character that they feel similar
to, or would play in a production. It doesn’t need to be determined by gender or age, etc. (You may also
assign characters, or write the names of characters on paper and let students select them off of the
floor). It is okay if there are more than one of each character represented, but the main characters
should be represented by at least one person for optimal effect.
Ask people to place themselves at the appropriate point on the line, based on their CHARACTER’s
answer to the statements you make. You may choose to do this with half the class at a time, so that the
other half can comment or argue the placement characters give themselves. STUDENTS SHOULD
ANSWER FROM THE CHARACTER’S POINT OF VIEW, NOT THEIR OWN JUDGEMENT OF THE CHARACTER.
1. Ask students to justify their answers with textual evidence – plot, what the character
says, what is said about them, their actions, etc. Hopefully, if you have more than one
student representing a character, there will be some difference in the way they
respond. This can promote discussion and arguing for a particular place on the spectrum
– maybe based on what point in the play is being considered, or whether the answer is
based on the character’s contemporary Elizabethan context or the student’s 21st
century context.
2. You may notice patterns – that certain characters who do not seem affiliated in the play,
are grouped together by response. This can reveal thematic patterning, and can also
reveal structure (emblematic characters) or repetition of a theme in subplots.
7
3. You can pull out a character to be “interviewed” about their answer to a question. Or
maybe use a talk show format to go into more detail on dynamics between affiliated
characters, or character groups such as families.
4. Continue to check in with students as they respond – are you responding from your own
point of view, or the point of view of the character. Discussion point – rarely do
characters consider themselves to be villains.
Sample statements for Hamlet character spectrum:
-
I make sound decisions.
I feel like my point of view is heard.
I am trying to take care of my family.
I am bound by tradition or duty.
I am highly motivated by personal ambition.
I love my country.
I believe in the supernatural.
I follow my heart.
I am essentially trusting of people.
I have no one to turn to.
I am generally optimistic.
I believe that secrets cause great harm.
I believe that secrets are necessary.
Power is more important than fairness.
People will get what’s coming to them.
8
Acting Shakespeare: Hamlet’s Advice to the Players
In Act 3, scene 2 of Hamlet, our title character provides some advice on acting to the traveling
performers, taking on what we would now recognize as a directorial tone. Some scholars argue that
Hamlet is here the mouthpiece of Shakespeare himself, who at this point in his career was taking on
much more of leadership role within his own acting company, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He may be
giving advice to contemporary actors – such as John Sincler, William Kempe, and Richard Burbage – who
he wrote roles for and regularly worked with in production. It is also thought that he may be making fun
of the more bombastic and “overacted “ styles of other, competing theatre companies of the day, such
as The Lord Admiral’s Men. What advice is he giving to the actor, and how can we translate this into
instructions for 21st century actors? What do 21st century audiences expect when they encounter a
performance? What are the assumptions we make about Shakespearean acting? How are they
challenged in the reality of a performance?
HAMLET
Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounced it to you, trippingly on the tongue: but if you
mouth it, as many of your players do, I had as lief the town-crier spoke my lines. Nor do not saw
the air too much with your hand, thus, but use all gently; for in the very torrent, tempest, and,
as I may say, the whirlwind of passion, you must acquire and beget a temperance that may give
it smoothness. O, it offends me to the soul to hear a robustious periwig-pated fellow tear a
passion to tatters, to very rags, to split the ears of the groundlings, who for the most part are
capable of nothing but inexplicable dumbshows and noise: I would have such a fellow whipped
for o'erdoing Termagant; it out-herods Herod: pray you, avoid it….Be not too tame neither, but
let your own discretion be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with
this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature: for any thing so overdone
is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as
'twere, the mirror up to nature; to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the
very age and body of the time his form and pressure. Now this overdone, or come tardy off,
though it make the unskillful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; the censure of the
which one must in your allowance o'erweigh a whole theatre of others. O, there be players that
I have seen play, and heard others praise, and that highly, not to speak it profanely, that,
neither having the accent of Christians nor the gait of Christian, pagan, nor man, have so
strutted and bellowed that I have thought some of nature's journeymen had made men and not
made them well, they imitated humanity so abominably.
ACTIVITY
First, read the speech, and divide into groups which use either a website like Ben and David Crystal’s
www.shakespeareswords.com or books like Alexander Schmidt’s two volume Shakespeare Lexicon and
Quotation Dictionary or Louis Scheeder’s All the Words on Stage to decipher meaning of individual
references and words, moving into phrases and sentences. Groups can each take on a section of the
speech, or work with it in its entirety, then compare findings.
9
Second, discuss what we interpret today as traits of good acting and poor acting. Generate a list of
specific traits of speech, gesture or movement, speech and conveyance of action and emotion.
Next – discuss what Shakespeare’s meaning might be – what does he mean by “saw[ing] the air,” and
‘suit[ing] the action to the word and the word to the action,” etc. What are our expectations as audience
members – in terms of authenticity of expression, emotional content vs. pursuing action, relationships
between characters and actors onstage, etc.
You may want to watch examples of the same scenes from different productions or films of Hamlet.
How do the actors adjust their performances to the world of the play created in each production? What
do we as individuals relate to? Where does our attention flag? How can the Elizabethan heightened
language be best communicated to modern audiences?
Finally, have groups selected a few lines of a speech or scene and create a “good” and “bad”
performance. The groups should have control over what decisions they make in terms of what
constitutes a powerful or lacking performance, and should be able to present or justify them? How can
they use Shakespeare’s advice to generate them? What remains constant in terms of judging
performance, and what falls away with the times?
10
Spotlight: Stock Characters
Shakespeare, as an heir to the Commedia Del-Arte tradition, in which the play’s message is
communicated largely through easily recognizable or even stereotypical characters, employs many of
“stock” characters throughout his works. Once you look at their basic characteristics, it is easy to identify
them across the Shakespearean canon. This identification of characters can make understanding an
unfamiliar text a little easier – because the characters in a particular category behave in similar ways,
and may even speak using similar rhetorical, image or verse structure.
How do “stock” characters play out stereotype? Or archetype? How do we recognize a type of
character? How soon when watching a play, movie or TV show? What assumptions do we make when
we recognize the character’s “type”? How do certain genres (comedy, sit com, drama, romance) play
into these assumptions? How do they use them to show a break in ritual or expected behavior? How
does Hamlet make use of these expectations?
Some Examples of STOCK CHARACTERS
In Shakespeare
Lovers
Ingenue (female): Innocent, sweet, youthful, honorable
Examples: Juliet in Romeo and Juliet, Hero in Much Ado About Nothing,
Perdita in The Winter’s Tale, Anne Page in The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Sobrette (female): Not-so-innocent, not-so-young, usually
honorable, witty, likes banter and argument
Examples: Beatrice in Much Ado About Nothing, Rosalind in As You Like
It, Katarina in The Taming of the Shrew, Rosaline in Love’s Labours Lost.
Rustic/ Rude (Male and Female): country born and bred, simple,
agrarian, earthy. Examples: Jaquenetta in Love’s Labours Lost, Audrey
and Phebe in As You Like It, Silvius in As You Like It, Andrew Aguecheek
in Twelfth Night.
Noble (Male): born of nobility, high-born, generally honest
Examples: Claudio in Much Ado About Nothing, Troilus in Troilus and
Cressida, Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Sebastian in Twelfth Night
Companions
Councilors (Male or Female): faithful, honest, convey messages, have
information, confidantes. Examples: Paulina and
Camillo in The Winter’s Tale, Benvolio in Romeo and Juliet, Banquo in
Macbeth
Bawds (Female): worldly, saucy, dispense advice, maternal with an edge
Examples: The Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Mistress Quickly in The Merry
Wives of Windsor, Lucetta in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Emilia in Othello
11
Mentors (Male): fatherly, give advice, supply the hero with the means to
pursue their desire. Examples: Don Pedro and Antonio in Much Ado
About Nothing, Duncan in Macbeth, The Duke in Measure for Measure
Authority Figures and Soldiers
In Control (male): authoritative, most times fair, peripheral to plot,
initiate or resolve conflict. Examples: Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, The Prince in Romeo and Juliet, Solinus in The Comedy of Errors,
Cymbeline in Cymbeline
In Distress (male or female): strong, noble, comprised by circumstance
or bad decisions/advice, decisive, often with a flaw of temperament
Examples: Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra, Macbeth in Macbeth, Titus
in Titus Andronicus, Orsino in Twelfth Night, Lear in King Lear
Reluctant Heroes
Rakes & Cads (male): Walk the line between good and bad but usually
turn out good,witty, bawdy, seductive, hot-tempered, loyal but
independent. Examples: Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew, Mercutio
in Romeo and Juliet, Benedick in Much Ado about Nothing, The Bastard
in King John, Kent in King Lear
Comic Characters
The Wit: Language based humor, somewhat noble, melancholy
Examples: Jaques in As You Like It, The Fool in King Lear, Berowne in
Love’s Labours Lost, Benedick in Much Ado about Nothing
The Clown: Physical comic, jester, paid to be amusing, singer
Examples: Feste in Twelfth Night, Touchstone in As You Like It, The Fool
in King Lear, Lavatch in All’s Well that Ends Well
The Fool: situational comic, dim-witted, unaware of being a fool
Examples: Dorcas and Mopsa in The Winter’s Tale, Dogberry in Much
Ado About Nothing, Speed and Launce in Two Gentlemen of Verona,
Andrew Aguecheek in Twelfth Night, Don Armado in Love’s Labour’s
Lost.
Bawds (Female): worldly, saucy, dispense advice, maternal with an edge
Examples: The Nurse in Romeo and Juliet, Mistress Quickly in The Merry
Wives of Windsor, Lucetta in Two Gentlemen of Verona, Emilia in
Othello, Margaret in Much Ado About Nothing.
Oppositional Characters
Villains (Male or Female): Charismatic but ruthless and malicious
characters. They are often murderous characters driven by blood-lust,
revenge, murderous ambition or simply hatred of the protagonist. Their
actions are mostly premeditated. Examples: Iago in Othello, Aaron and
Tamora in Titus Andronicus, Richard in Richard III
12
Antagonists (Male or Female): As well as having some or many of the
villains, the antagonists are also characterized by petty ambition, jealousy,
greed, and gullibility. They are often misinformed or mistaken in their
opposition. They may also lack the ability or determination of a villain.
These characters are often simply at odds with the protagonist because
they are culturally or ideologically opposed. Examples: Macbeth and
Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, Cassius and Brutus in Julius Caesar, Angelo
in Measure for Measure, Leontes in The Winter’s Tale
Parents
Dominant Father or Mother: These characters are often used in the role of
one of the other stock characters but it is important to include them in
their own category as well. These are strong, domineering characters who
are sometimes cruel or in opposition to the desires of their children in
favor of their own ambitions or sense of order and degree. Examples:
Lord and Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet, Egeus in A Midsummer
Night’s Dream
Doting Father or Absent Mother It is difficult to find many doting fathers
in Shakespeare’s plays and if they are found, they very often turn
dominant somewhere during the action of the play. Absent mothers
however, are evident, as they are in most fairy tales, in many of his plays.
This could be due to his borrowing from fairy and folk tale structure but it
could also be due, in part, to the fact that it was more difficult to find older
male actors to play the mother and matron roles; Shakespeare could not
afford many of them per play. At times Shakespeare will use a matronly
character to stand in for an absent mother. These characters are often
older, simple people who are natural or foster parents or marginalized
characters. They offer counsel, love and support and may find
themselves in peril for their love and care. Examples: Leonato in Much
Ado About Nothing (he begins as a doting father but turns dominant),
Lear in King Lear (Again, he starts out doting, becomes dominant, and
returns to doting), Adam in As You Like It, the Old Shepherd in The
Winter’s Tale, the Countess in All’s Well that Ends Well, Constance in
King John and Hermione in The Winter’s Tale (Both are removed
from her child for most of the action of both plays)
Non-human characters
Fantasticals / Sprits (Male, Female, or Neither) Creatures of
imagination, fairies, sprites, goblins, and ghosts and even the occasional
god. Often used to provide insight into future events or to council and
protect mortal characters or to wreak havoc and mischief. Examples:
Titania and Oberon, Puck and the fairies in A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
Ariel in The Tempest, Hecate and the weird sisters in Macbeth, Caesar’s ghost in
Julius Caesar.
13
“Everyman” characters
Rustics and Mechanicals: Pastoral or country rather than urban or city
based characters. They are often simple, comical, less sophisticated, but
always wise in common matters. Usually honest but highly
gullible. Examples: Bottom, Quince, Snout, Snug, Flute, and
Starveling in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Corin, William,
Audrey, Phebe, and Silvius in As You Like It, The Old Shepherd and his
son and family in The Winter’s Tale, Verges in Much Ado About Nothing.
Expositional and supernumeraries
Lords, ladies, soldiers, officers, musicians, messengers, servants
(Male or Female) Important but often nameless and shallow characters in
that we know very little about them and do not see them consistently
throughout the play. They serve to deliver expositional material, bring
news, or act as a sort of chorus commenting on the action of the play.
There are numerous examples of these characters; just about any that don’t
fit into one of the other categories.
Compelling Characters
Shakespeare certainly made use of stock characters but he also invented his fair
share of more complex characters by integrating the types. Because of this, his
characters seem more truthful, more “human.” These characters, perhaps
because of their “humanness” and complexity have survived through time,
unequalled in literature, and beloved for their depth and variety. Shakespeare’s
characters are deeply admired by theatre artists and especially actors who
consider his characters to be some of the most compelling, challenging and
difficult roles to play.
TERMS
Commedia Del-Arte
Stock
Canon
Rhetorical
Peripheral
Confidante
Exposition
Malicious
Charismatic
Archetype
Stereotype
QUESTIONS
To which group do the characters listed below belong?
Horatio, Ophelia, Hamlet, King Hamlet, Claudius, the Gravedigger, Gertrude, Fortinbras
How do we recognize them? How does their behavior give them away? How does the language in the
play (prose vs. verse), imagery, punctuation, etc. reveal which classification they belong to? What
themes are each of the characters most tied to?
ACTIVITY
Choose one or more contemporary films or television programs and determine what group each
character belongs to.
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Remember Me: Collective Recognition and Hamlet
In her book, Shakespeare After All, scholar Marjorie Garber asserts that for audiences of our time,
watching a production of Hamlet is more an experience of “recognition, of recalling, remembering, or
identifying some already known phrase or image. It could be said that in the context of modern culture –
global culture as well as Anglophone culture – one never does encounter Hamlet ‘for the first time.’
Instead, the play provides a resonant cultural echo, both forming and reflecting concepts – terms of
speech, types of character, philosophical ideas – that seem to preexist any single experience of the play,
and at the same time to be disseminated from it.”
Certainly the story was not new to Shakespeare. As a revenge tragedy, Hamlet took its place within an
already well-established tradition of similar stories. Several sources are cited in the study of Hamlet –
including Norse mythology, Danish history, and dramatic works by Thomas Kyd. Hamlet contains many
of the standards elements of revenge tragedy- ghosts calling out for retribution, disguises and feigned
madness as tools of the main character, one or more scheming kings (or queens), politicians, or military
leaders who cause murder and mayhem, and many many corpses – both of villains and the tormented
hero. According to Phyllis Abrahms and Alan Brody’s Hamlet and the Elizabethan Revenge Tragedy
Formula: “Shakespeare probes the nature of death, of fate, of madness. He reveals the eternal conflicts
between reality and illusion, fate and despair, the mind and the body…”
We certainly recognize many phrases and lines from the play, as well as characters - archetypal and
maybe even stereotypical as we interpret them over time. We may also recognize elements of the plot
and story in newer works. What is it about this story which continues to resonate and percolate in the
collective consciousness of our global culture?
ACTIVITY
Go through the text before reading it (perhaps in groups – each taking a section or act), and make a
running list of phrases or lines which the students recognize from outside of English class. Narrow the
list down to the most notable (10-15), and write down the commonly understood definition, context or
connotations in which the phrases or lines may be used in popular culture. What do we assume about
the play or the characters based on these lines?
Return to this document after reading the play – and review what the class’ newfound understanding of
their contexts is.
ACTIVITY
Make a list of movies, tv shows or books which use the revenge tragedy genre or the Hamlet story at
their basis. (The Lion King and Sons of Anarchy are examples.) How have we changed the story over time
to suit our current societal morays or expectations of narratives? What remains the same?
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Spotlight: Audience Etiquette
In today’s world of digital media, film, and television, it is important to remember that watching
a play is a different experience that requires different habits and attitudes.
Differences between live entertainment and pre-recorded, electronic, or other media
(between theatre and film)Audience and performer awareness and connection. They are both present. Performers feed off
of the audience. One performance to the next can be very different based on the connection
between performers and audience. Performance develops right here and now and is dependent
on audience attention and focus.
Distractions do not go unnoticed by the performers
Films etc. can be re-viewed if something is missed; they can be interrupted yet still viewed from
start to finish. Live theatre is different. If the viewer misses something, they can’t “rewind.”
Entering the theatre and becoming an audience memberFrom the moment the audience member enters, the performance elements are being presented to
her through various theatrical elements.
Find seat, remove coat or jacket before you sit, sit properly in seat, be aware and courteous of
patrons on either side and in front or behind you. Keep your feet off the seat or seat back in front
of you.
Take in the set/scenery, listen to the music, read the prepared material in the program.
Converse with your friends or neighbors but at a level that allows everyone else to do so as well.
Conversation should stop when the lights, sound, curtain or actors change in a way that makes
you aware things are about to start….Intermission is a great time for talking.
Attention and focusLive entertainment/theatre requires a different level and type of attention or focus.
From entering the theatre to the final curtain, clues and elements relating to the performance, the
story, the themes etc. are being presented and should not be missed due to distraction or
inattentiveness.
Plays tend to accelerate as the story unfolds. Your attention needs to stay with them and increase
as the story unfolds in order to really get the most out of the experience.
Avoid outside distractions by turning off cell phones, not conversing with friends or neighbors
during the performance, not texting during the performance and not getting up to use the
restrooms or wander the lobby repeatedly. This may cause you to miss key elements of the story
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and inhibit your enjoyment of the play and it will be distracting to other audience members and
the performers as well.
Start to finishPlays may begin with a recorded or live speech before the show. This is the formal beginning of
the performance and is often indicated by a lowering in level of the “house” lights (the lights
over the audience) and a change in lights on the show curtain or set. At this point you should be
quiet and attentive.
The play/story will usually begin when the house lights dim completely and lights come up full
on the set or the curtain rises to reveal the set and/or characters.
Plays are traditionally divided into acts which are in turn separated by scenes. There may or may
not be intermissions (breaks in the story for you to visit the lobby and/or restrooms) between
acts. These may last ten to fifteen minutes. The number of intermissions will be indicated in
your program and/or during the pre-show speech. It is acceptable and encouraged to applaud at
the end of an act. Normally applause between scenes is discouraged. You should always
applaud at the end of the play and while the performers take their bows (curtain call)
While talking during a performance is discouraged, it is acceptable to laugh or react to moments
that are funny or engaging. This also depends on the type of show (for example in a children’s
show, the performers may want the audience to interact and converse with them more than in a
play for older children and adults.)
Expect to work harder and experience moreThe live theatre asks more of an audience in terms of attention, focus, and thought. This is a
good thing. It makes you work a little harder and asks more questions than you may be used to
but that’s because the theatre’s origins and traditions are rooted in societal rituals that brought
communities together in order to discuss important social issues. Plays were not intended to be
purely entertaining – though many are in the modern theatre. A performance doesn’t end with the
curtain coming down or the lights fading to black; discussions and reflection after the
performance are part of the live theatre experience.
More succinctly put – don’t you love it when someone tells you a story? And don’t you want to
make sure you catch it all?
All this work – what’s it really for?
Shakespeare, and other live theatre is well, is not performed and produced to make the audience
feel alienated. It’s about connection; it’s about humanity, and about what we recognize in our
own lives as well. You may find yourself laughing, crying, nodding your head in agreement, or
turning away in disgust. All those on stage and those who have contributed to the play are
seeking connection with you. They love the story they are telling, find it compelling and useful
in some way, and hope to relay that to you. All work aside – let yourself experience it!
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William Shakespeare’s Life as a Play
ACT I 1564-1576/78
Sense and Sound, Family, Foundation
Shakespeare’s personal history is actually quite a mystery. What we know if him is based
mainly on his plays and a few legal and church documents. He is thought to have been born on
April 23, 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, near Warwickshire. His father, John, was a glover (a
tradesman and craftsman who works in fine leather), and later an alderman and bailiff.
Shakespeare’s mother, Mary Arden, was a landed local heiress; her family was an old and
respected one in the area. According to church record, William was the third of eight children.
During this time period Shakespeare learned Latin, philosophy, theology, history, and classic
mythology at the local grammar school but he also learned the day-to-day customs, manners,
and language of rustic and country life.
ACT II 1576/78-1582
Work? Apprentice? Tutor?
Shakespeare did not proceed to university after Grammar school.
Other than this, little is known for sure. During this next span of time Shakespeare probably
learned his father’s trade and may have been engaged as a tutor for children of local noble
families.
ACT III
1582-1590/92
Marriage, Family
Documents concerning Shakespeare’s marriage to Anne Hathaway, a woman some seven or
eight years his senior, on the 28th of November in 1582 and the births of their children Susanna
in May of 1583, and twins Hamnet and Judith in February of 1585, provide some of the only
information we have about William Shakespeare during this time. Shakespeare all but vanishes
from record for seven years after the birth of the twins. This period in his life is often called the
“Lost Years.” How or why he ends up in London writing plays and acting is a mystery that has
sparked many theories and arguments among scholars and historians.
ACT IV
1588-1603
London, the age of Elizabeth
Even less is known for certain as to how Shakespeare came to join a professional troupe of
actors and then become a playwright. What we do know is that by the year 1588, he was gone
from Stratford and living in London working as an actor and later as mainly a playwright.
In1592, a rival playwright named Robert Greene publically attacked Shakespeare in a critical
article in which he refers to Shakespeare as an “upstart crow.” By 1594 Shakespeare was a
managing partner of one of the most popular theatre companies in London, the Lord
Chamberlain’s men (Later the King’s Men) and the company’s principle playwright. His star was
on the rise. In 1596, his son Hamnet, twin brother to Judith, dies.
ACT V 1603-1616
Wealth, Fame, Return to Stratford
Shakespeare achieved a significant fame and notoriety by this time. His company was
successful and his plays well known and even published during his lifetime (not a usual
occurrence during this era). By the end of his career, Shakespeare was a part owner in the
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company, the Globe theatre itself, and was involved in the establishment of one or more other
theatres. He was wealthy enough in 1611 to purchase a new house in Stratford and retire in
comfort; a highly respected, and distinguished gentleman. He is reported to have died on his
birthday, April 23 in 1616. His last lines of verse to us are those of his epitaph:
Good friend, for Jesus' sake forbeare
To dig the dust enclosed here.
Blessed be the man that spares these stones,
And cursed be he that moves my bones.
In 1623 two of his theatrical partners, John Hemminges and Henry Condell organized and had
printed the First Folio edition of the collected plays of their friend William Shakespeare. Half of
this collection included plays that had previously been unpublished. To these two gentlemen
we owe a great debt.
William Shakespeare is arguably the greatest playwright of the English language. His body of
work has stood the test of time and distance with his plays still being produced all over the
world on a regular basis. He is one of the most produced playwrights in history.
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Shakespeare’s World
Most of Shakespeare’s plays were written during what is referred to as the Late or High Renaissance
period. In England, this era is also referred to as the Elizabethan Period after Queen Elizabeth I. It is
important to note that Shakespeare’s world, while dominated by Elizabeth, was shaped by other
monarchs before and after her reign. Starting with her father, Henry VIII, and concluding with her
nephew, James I we see that Shakespeare was the subject of a turbulent and volatile royal family.
Henry VIII – 1509-47
EdwardVI – 1547-53
Mary I – 1553-58
Elizabeth I – 1558-1603
James I – 1603-25
Excommunicated, started English Reformation
Devoted Protestant, died young
Fanatical Catholic, persecuted protestants
Protestant but tolerant of the old faith to a point
More a politician than devout, fascinated by the occult
The Theatres of Shakespeare’s Time
The Theatre: 1576-1598. The first public theatre in London. When it was torn down its timbers were
used in constructing the first Globe Theatre. It was owned by James Burbage and his son Richard who
would originate many of Shakespeare’s leading characters including Hamlet.
The Blackfriars: Eventually owned by Richard Burbage in 1597 and intended to operate as a second
space for the King’s Men.
The Curtain: One of the longest standing theatres, it lasted from about 1577 until the 1660s.
The Rose: Probably the first London theatre in which Shakespeare’s plays were seen. Opened by Phillip
Henslowe who would go on to work frequently with Shakespeare. Ned Allyn, a popular actor took over
in later years but the theatre fell into ruins and could not compete with the newly built Globe Theatre.
The Rose was torn down in 1605.
The Swan: Little is known of this theatre which operated between 1595-1632. It is important to history
because of a famous sketch of it made by Johannes de Witt and later copied by Aernoudt. This sketch
provides us with the most detailed picture of an Elizabethan theatre.
The Globe: Home to the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (Later the King’s Men) the first version of this theatre
opened in 1599. Both Shakespeare and Burbage were part owners. It burnt down in 1613 and a new
Globe was built in 1614 and lasted until 1644.
Fortune Theatre: Built by Phillip Henslowe in 1600 to compete with the Globe Theatre. The contract for
the construction provides detailed information about the characteristics and operation of an Elizabethan
theatre.
Playwrights and Contemporaries
Edmund Spenser – London – 1552-1599
Influential poet and playwright. His poem, The Fairie Queen, is one of the greatest epic poems of its age
John Lily – Kent - 1554-1606
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Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit and Euphues and His England.
Credited with developing “polite comedy” in England
Thomas Kyd – London -1558-1594
Author of the play, The Spanish Tragedy, which set the standard for Elizabethan tragic form.
Robert Greene – Norwich – 1560-1592
A member of a group of writers known as the “University Wits.” He was a critic of Shakespeare and
attacked his work in public articles.
Christopher (“Kit”) Marlowe – Canterbury – 1564-1593
Said to have been a significant influence on Shakespeare and may even have been regarded as a rival.
His life and writings have become almost legendary. His plays, Faustus, Tamburlaine the Great, and The
Jew of Malta are most famous.
Ben Jonson – London 1572-1637
Regarded as one of the literary masters of his age, Johnson was a contemporary of Shakespeare’s who
both praised and criticized him. His plays, Volpone, The Alchemist, and Bartholomew Fair are most
famous.
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Why do we still Study Shakespeare’s plays?
William Shakespeare is the most popular and most produced playwright in the western world. His plays
and poems have outlived the popularity of countless other playwrights. When being introduced to his
work, students and young artists are right to ask why? Each new generation must come to its own
conclusions regarding his continued popularity and significance. The following list contains many
commonly agreed upon reasons for this popularity.
1) Shakespeare expressed in both concrete and abstract terms the range of the human condition.
His eloquence and instinct for capturing with words what it means to be human is the strongest reason
for his enduring popularity.
2) Shakespeare knew what stories appealed to his audience.
While he borrowed many or most of the plots for his plays from outside sources or even other plays
based on the same subject, event, or characters, Shakespeare was original in how he told the stories.
He told every kind of story and always with attention toward the human condition as it was altered by
the events of the story. This is one reason why they last today; they’re about the human experience.
3) Complex, compelling characters that could be us
Shakespeare’s characters are borrowed from history, other plays or stories, or are purely his invention.
They have in common recognizable human qualities, rich and difficult contradictions, sublime language,
and passionate, volatile actions. We see ourselves in these characters regardless of their eras or social
status or circumstance. Scholar Harold Bloom often says that Shakespeare, “invented” the human on
stage.
4) Language for all time
Shakespeare’s language is not four hundred years old; it is four hundred years young. At the time he was
writing, the English language was just coming out of its childhood and into adolescence. The high
contrast between Saxon and Latin based words and phrases created a built-in conflict or tug-of-war that
Shakespeare took full advantage of. He was also extremely instinctive and inventive; leaving us with
many words and phrases that have moved out of the specific context of the plays they were written for
and into common, everyday use.
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Some thoughts about William Shakespeare and fun facts about the play:
Shakespeare’s only son was named HAMNET. He was a twin, with Judith Shakespeare, born to
William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway in February of 1585. He died in 1596 at the age of 11.
The play Hamlet was written approximately 3 years later. Scholars disagree on whether the death of
Shakespeare’s son had any bearing on the subject or content of the play.
“ Shakespeare drew upon the confusion, pity and dread in a world of damaged
rituals – the world in which most of us continue to live – because he himself had
experienced those same emotions in 1596, at the funeral of his child, and later, in
anticipation of his father’s death. He responded not with prayers but the deepest
expression of his being: Hamlet.” - Stephen Greenblatt, The Death of Hamnet and
the Making of Hamlet
Hamlet is the longest of all of Shakespeare’s plays. The most commonly accepted version is 4042
lines. Shakespeare’s shortest play is The Comedy of Errors, at 1,787 lines.
The role of Hamlet is considered to be the most highly coveted of all roles in the theatrical canon. At
15o6 lines, it is the biggest role in Shakespeare’s works. It is followed by Iago, the antagonist from
Othello, with 1088, and King Henry in Henry V with 1031.
“Shakespeare said everything. Brain to belly; every mood and minute of a man’s
season. His language is starlight and fireflies and the sun and the moon. He
wrote it with tears and blood and beer, and his words march like heartbeats. He
speaks to everyone and we all claim him, but it’s wise to remember, if we would
really appreciate him, that he doesn’t properly belong to us but another world
that smelled assertively of columbine and gun powder and printer’s ink and was
vigorously dominated by Elizabeth.”
Orson Welles, The Road to Xanadu,
1995, p. 179
In the 19th and early 20th century, it was also quite common for women to play the role. Most of the
great actresses of their time – including Charlotte Cushman, Sarah Bernhardt, and Eva LaGalliene
played the role to great critical acclaim.
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Sources for WHT’s Hamlet Study Guide
Text editions:
The Riverside Shakespeare 2nd ed. The Complete Works. 1997, - Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston
and New York
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, The Cambridge Text Established by John Dover Wilson.
1921, Cambridge University Press – Octopus Books Ltd. 1980
Source/reference texts:
Shakespeare After All. Marjorie Garber. Anchor Books, 2004
The Shakespeare Miscellany. David Crystal and Ben Crystal. Penguin Books, London, England, 2005.
All the Words on Stage. Louis Scheeder and Shane Ann Younts. Smith and Kraus, 2002.
Speak the Speech: Shakespeare’s Monologues Illuminated, Rhona Silverbush and Sami Plotkin. Faber
and Faber,2002.
Readings on Hamlet: Literary Companion Series, Don Nardo, editor. Greenhaven Press, 1999.
Websites and Articles:
Shakespeare’s Words, www.shakespeareswords.com – this is the official David and Ben Crystal website,
with the complete works with glossary, themes and motifs, allusions, and much, much more.
Folger Shakespeare Library, www.folger.edu – Replete with lesson plans, a teachers’ blog, and
information about Folger programming and collections.
British Library: http://www.bl.uk/treasures/shakespearehtml - Extensive information on the
background, production and publication history, and quartos of Shakespeare’s plays
The Death of Hamnet and the Making of Hamlet, by Stephen Greenblatt, on the NY review of books
website, http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2004/oct/21/the-death-of-hamnet-and-themaking-of-hamlet/
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