2. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark,
3. Thisstoryrecountshow Prince Hamlet revengeonhisuncleClaudiouswho has murderedHamlet’sfatherthe King and thentakenthethrone and marriedGertrude, Hamlet’smother
4. The Play vividly charts thecourse of real and feignedmadness – fromoverwhelminggrieftoseethingrage – and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest and moral corruption
5. Theplay has dramaticstructure and depth of characterization. Hamlet can beanalized, interpreted and arguedaboutfrommanyperspectiveslikethehesitation in killinghisuncle.
6. C H A R A C T E R S HAMLET Istheprotagonist. Son of recentlydeceased King Hamlet and theQueenGertrude. He is Prince of Denmark
11. TheGhostAppears in theimage ofHamlet’sfather HoratioIs a goodfriend of Hamlet, whocameElsinoreCastletoattend King Hamlet funeral
12. MARCELO, BARNARDO, ROSENCRATZAre childhoodfriends and schoolmates of Hamlet, whoweresummonedtoElsinore by Claudio and GertrudeFORTINBRASIsthenephew of old King Norway
13. Whatis a tragedy Tragedyis a drama orliterarywork in whichthemaincharacterisbroughtto ruin orsuffers extreme sorrow, especially as a consequence of a tragicflow, moral weaknessorinabilityto cope withunfavorablecircunstances.
14. TheTragedy of Hamlet Hamlet istheclassicexample of a tragedy, in alltragediestheherosuffers and usuallydies at theend. Wehavesomeexamplesto a tragedy: Othellostabshimself, Romeo and Jullietcommit suicide, Brutisfallsonhissword and likethem. Hamlet dies by gettingcutwith a poisontippedsword
15. Hamlet is a revengetragedy, isthecompletion of anact of violence in response toan original affront. Accordingtothelaws of revengetragedy, allthosewhokillmust in turnbekilled, thisiswhy Hamlet diesevenifwefeel he doesn’tdeserveto
17. Act 1Marcellus and Barnardo had seen the ghost twice previously and due to Horatio's disbelief; Marcellus has convinced him to stand watch with them that night. They believe that the ghost resembles the dead King Hamlet. Around one o'clock, the ghost appears. Horatio attempts to speak with it but the ghost will not answer and leaves. As Marcellus, Horatio, and Barnardo begin to discuss how the late king conquered Fortinbras of Norway and seized his land, the ghost reappears. Again, Horatio implores it to speak and again, it remains silent. The cock crows and the ghost exits. The three then decide that the best course of action is to inform the prince, Hamlet, of what they have seen. They believe that the ghost will speak to the prince, as it appears to be his late father.
18. SUMMARYHamlet ismourninghisfatherwho has beenkilled and lamentingthebehaviour of hismotherGertrudewhomarriedhisuncleClaudiouswithin a month of hisfather’sdeath. Theghost of hisfatherappearsto Hamlet, and informshimthat he waspoisoned by Claudius and commands Hamlet toavengehisdeath
19. QUIZ Whowrotethetragedy of Hamlet ? In whatyearhavebeenwritten? What are thecharacters? Why Prince Hamlet was a revengewithhisuncleClaudious? Whatis a tragedy? Whatwerethelaws of a revengetragedy? Whywastheghost a perfectimage of anacronist?