Hamlet - William Shakespeare
Happy ‘Deathiversary’: Shakespeare’s obituary
William Shakespeare:
● writer, actor and shareholder
● Elizabethan period
○ birth: April 23, 1564 (unsure)
○ died: April 23, 1616 - Stratford-upon-Avon
● Family
○ father: glovemaker
○ 7 siblings: 4 sisters and 3 brothers
○ wife: Anne Hathaway (probably not married for love)
■ after his death: Second best bed
○ children:
■ daughters: Judith, Susanna
■ son: Hamnet (died early)
● education:
○ proper education
○ interested in history and geography (even though plays aren’t that accurate)
● Works:
○ 37-40 plays: 18 published in life
○ poetry
○ invented a lot of words
○ Theatre: The Globe Theater
● Categories of his plays:
○ Tragedies eg. Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth,...
○ Comedies eg. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, …
○ History plays eg. Richard II, Henry V, …
● Reasons to keep reading his work:
1. part of the heritage of the English language: still use words and phrases he invented
2. help us understand issues related to being human
The Tragedy of Hamlet: introduction
● Written: Around 1600 or 1601
● Genre: Tragedy
● Complexity: Considered one of Shakespeare’s most layered and difficult plays
● Masterpiece Status: Ranked among his greatest tragedies:
eg. Othello, King Lear, Macbeth
, Setting
● Time and place: Denmark, Late Middle Ages
● Political Situation in the Play:
○ England is part of the Danish kingdom (not historically accurate)
Historical Context
● Time of Writing:
○ England was independent
○ Ruled by Queen Elizabeth I and King James I
■ Elizabeth brought stability, but getting old and people worried
● Historical Reference:
○ There was a time England was ruled by Scandinavians
○ (Viking invasions, late 8th century)
Literary Note
● Anachronism:
○ Setting contains historical inaccuracies
○ Common practice in Shakespeare’s time:
■ different time and place so political commentary is possible
Act I, Scenes 1-4: summary
Family tree:
Gertrude King Hamlet Claudius
1 King’s advisor
Polonius
Hamlet 2 Ophelia Laertes
Side note:
1. this re-marriage considered as incestious
Your husband’s family is your own family. If you marry your first husband’s family it
is considered as incest.
2. Ophelia and Hamlet
Polonius tells Ophelia she is unworthy of Hamlet’s love. He tells her Hamlet only
uses her and would never love someone like her.
Happy ‘Deathiversary’: Shakespeare’s obituary
William Shakespeare:
● writer, actor and shareholder
● Elizabethan period
○ birth: April 23, 1564 (unsure)
○ died: April 23, 1616 - Stratford-upon-Avon
● Family
○ father: glovemaker
○ 7 siblings: 4 sisters and 3 brothers
○ wife: Anne Hathaway (probably not married for love)
■ after his death: Second best bed
○ children:
■ daughters: Judith, Susanna
■ son: Hamnet (died early)
● education:
○ proper education
○ interested in history and geography (even though plays aren’t that accurate)
● Works:
○ 37-40 plays: 18 published in life
○ poetry
○ invented a lot of words
○ Theatre: The Globe Theater
● Categories of his plays:
○ Tragedies eg. Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Macbeth,...
○ Comedies eg. A Midsummer Night’s Dream, …
○ History plays eg. Richard II, Henry V, …
● Reasons to keep reading his work:
1. part of the heritage of the English language: still use words and phrases he invented
2. help us understand issues related to being human
The Tragedy of Hamlet: introduction
● Written: Around 1600 or 1601
● Genre: Tragedy
● Complexity: Considered one of Shakespeare’s most layered and difficult plays
● Masterpiece Status: Ranked among his greatest tragedies:
eg. Othello, King Lear, Macbeth
, Setting
● Time and place: Denmark, Late Middle Ages
● Political Situation in the Play:
○ England is part of the Danish kingdom (not historically accurate)
Historical Context
● Time of Writing:
○ England was independent
○ Ruled by Queen Elizabeth I and King James I
■ Elizabeth brought stability, but getting old and people worried
● Historical Reference:
○ There was a time England was ruled by Scandinavians
○ (Viking invasions, late 8th century)
Literary Note
● Anachronism:
○ Setting contains historical inaccuracies
○ Common practice in Shakespeare’s time:
■ different time and place so political commentary is possible
Act I, Scenes 1-4: summary
Family tree:
Gertrude King Hamlet Claudius
1 King’s advisor
Polonius
Hamlet 2 Ophelia Laertes
Side note:
1. this re-marriage considered as incestious
Your husband’s family is your own family. If you marry your first husband’s family it
is considered as incest.
2. Ophelia and Hamlet
Polonius tells Ophelia she is unworthy of Hamlet’s love. He tells her Hamlet only
uses her and would never love someone like her.
