Hamlet

Works cited information attached below ("Quoting Shakespeare and works cited").

12/15 - 12/22: Work on papers.

12/14: We finished the play! We talked about Hamlet's changing views on death (especially the "providence of a sparrow" exchange), then watched the Tennant version end (start at the 2:47 mark).

12/13: First , meet in groups of three or four (no pairs and no groups of 5, so please make sure to arrange yourselves accordingly). Talk through each other’s ideas for the paper. Look at the assignment and the grading criteria to make sure the ideas meet those, affirm strong ideas, offer suggestions for evidence that will strengthen the paper, make corrections if evidence is inaccurate. Make sure that the thesis has an opinion (what the evidence says about the particular theme, why it matters, etc.) The writer should take notes – write down ALL suggestions; you can decide to reject later. Complete rough drafts due for response on Friday.

When you are done, stay in the groups to read through the Hamlet script. Remember where we were on Friday – in the graveyard with that very clever (?) gravedigger, getting ready for Ophelia’s burial. To begin with today, Hamlet decides to speak with him (watch the wordplay). It won’t take long for the funeral procession to come – Hamlet and Laertes face to face, Hamlet finds out about Ophelia, etc. Key in these scenes – Hamlet’s musings about death. Pay attention the view of death he expresses at the graveside and in private, with Horatio, at the beginning of 5.2. THINK about how those views have changed from the beginning of the play. Take notes (you can write on the script). We’ll talk tomorrow.

12/9: HOMEWORK: Work on your projects - at least two pages of notes due on Monday. In class: we read through the first 2 pages of 5.1. lots happening here - Hamlet is back with much to tell, Claudius and Laertes make a plan, Ophelia drowns.

12/8: I clarified questions about the project. We talked about 4.5, about madness, about revenge, about the king and queen's betrayal of Hamlet, etc.

12/7: We watched the Tenant version of 4.5 (start at around 142:00 and play until Fortinbras' army shows up)/. Please read the scene tonight to make sure that you understand the action. Think in terms of these ideas: betrayal, revenge, cowards, madness

12/6: Please read together in groups of 4. Start at 4.2 (in your books). Remember that when we last saw Polonius’ body, Hamlet was dragging it out of his mother’s closet. Remember, too, that he told his mother to report to the king that he (Hamlet) was “mad in craft.” Finally, remember that he now has blood on his hands (“Thou shall not kill…”). After reading 4.2, talk together about Hamlet’s behavior. What do you think is going on and WHY? Does this scene strike you as important? Why or why not? Then, read 4.3 and 4.4. Pay special attention to Hamlet’s interaction with the king, to the king’s final speech AND to Hamlet’s speech at the end of 4.3. When you are done, on the front of the notecard: write about Claudius’ state of mind. What is weighing on him and why? What will his decision about Hamlet relieve and what new problems will it raise? How does it change, sharpen, challenge, etc. how you see Claudius and why? On the back: What is Hamlet’s state of mind? What has changed and how do you know it? What does this predict for the future? How does this reshape, challenge, sharpen or change your view of his character and why? Fill both sides of the card.

12/4: I've attached the paper options below (Hamlet critique options 2016). Please print out, read and bring to class on Tuesday.

12/2: We talked through the closet scenes and watched the Ethan Hawke version (so sorry I cannot post that here, but it is so worth watching - if you have a study, you can try to watch in the MC).

12/1: We worked our way (in performance) through 4.1. HOMEWORK: Tonight watch at least one of these closet scenes: Tennant, Campbell Scott (start at 4:00) and Branagh (start at 10:35). If you was to watch Hawke, come to school a little early and I will play it for you. Take notes as you watch about what you notice, what is interesting, what surprises you, etc. Then, reflect - what have you learned? What is clearer and why? What do you notice about the choices made, etc. Watch the Rosencrantz and Guilderstern scene as well.

11/30: The aftermath of the theater debacle, Claudius' plan to send Hamlet to England , Polonius' plan to send Hamlet to his mother's closet and spy on the conversation, Claudius' soliloquy and Hamlet's.

11/29: We watched the Players scene in Hamlet (from 47:00 to end of part 2 and the first 10 seconds of part 3 of the Branagh version on the "Hamlet films" page linked below). The worksheet is attached. Also reading "Epistrophe" chapter from Forsyth.

11/28: We watched the Branagh version and the Hawke version of the nunnery scene and talked through the different portrayals and what these said about Hamlet, Ophelia and their relationship. We also talked about power, betrayal, the effects of both and of Hamlet's view of women and why that matters. HOMEWORK: Please read pages 66-67 (Ophelia's reaction to Hamlet's tirade, and then Claudius' reaction and Polonius' plan).

11/24: Here's the Branagh nunnery scene, here's the Tennant scene, here's the Hawke scene and here's the Gibson scene. Watch as many as you can so we can talk.

11/18: Homework: I am going to post 5 performance versions of the “To Be or not To Be” speech online. Please choose 3 to watch. Watch each twice. During each viewing, bullet what you notice in the blue book (label each entry by using the labels I do on the website). After each viewing, reflect on the version – what view of Hamlet did you get from it? What new ideas do you have about his character, about the speech, etc.? How does the performance change or challenge your thinking? Ethan Hawke, Mel Gibson, Kenneth Branagh, David Tenant and Laurence Olivier

Work in your pairs again today on the speech: First, compare notes from what you did last night, in terms of looking up words. See how this helps you to understand more about the speech. Then, read through again as reader one and reader two. THINK of this as a debate – really listen to the arguments of each reader and try to make sense of the back and forth. Make notes on your scripts – paraphrase as much as you can, and write a little about the debate Hamlet is having and WHY it matters at this particular point in the play (remember what he heard from the ghost, that he has made a plan to test the truth of the ghost, that he knows he is being watched and is “acting mad” in response). Once you have done this, join into groups of 4 to read 64-67 Ophelia’s entrance: remember WHY she is walking alone (and that Cluduis and Polonius are watching…) This scene is pivotal (I don’t know that it actually clears things up – we’ll have to see…) As you read through the scene, notice first that it is in prose, not verse. Certainly, given that it follows the “To be or not to be speech” it is a time of heightened emotion, at least for Hamlet. Work your way through their conversation – make sure you understand what they are saying, then, as a group, discuss the scene. The most important focus for us here is whether or not Hamlet knows that he’s being watched (and therefore is performing, or suspicious of Ophelia or both). Different acting companies make different choices about this scene and I think it’s important to explore them as we try to make sense of this very important relationship.

Together in your group, explore the scene in three different ways (make notes in your blue books about where the discussion takes you for each): Hamlet doesn’t know that he’s being watched, Hamlet knows for the entire scene that he’s being watched, Hamlet figures out at some point in the scene that he’s being watched. Read the scene closely through each “lens” and write down how the scene changes, what is emphasized, what you see as Hamlet’s motivations, etc. under each of the different possibilities. When you are done, if there is time: write about your thoughts on the scene. Which of the three possibilities seems most plausible to you and why? What does the scene tell you (or not tell you) about Hamlet and Ophelia, what do you still need to know, etc.). We’ll talk about ALL of this on Tuesday.

11/16: To be or not to be (see the script below).

11/15: We finished Act 2. Hamlet has confronted R&G about spying, consorted with the Players and now he has a plan.

11/14: A Block: Please get into the reading groups we’ve been using (the four or so people right around you). First, hand in your homework notecard to the sub. Then, clear up any confusions people had at the end of Act 1 (please write down any questions you still have on one piece of paper per group – create a set of group notes) .Spend some time talking about Hamlet’s state of mind at the end of Act 1 and what you think that bodes for the future. Together, read 38 -39, from Ophelia’s entrance (we are skipping Polonius’ conversation with Reynaldo – he is sending him off to France to essentially “spy” on Laertes. Polonius wants to make sure that Laertes is living a moral life. The scene highlights Polonius’s lack of directness and his windiness with words, but we’ll get plenty of that in 2.2). Pay attention to how Hamlet appeared to Ophelia (bullet notes about this) and talk about what that means for your predictions of his state of mind (write these down as well - group notes)

Then, move onto 2.2 – Read the exchange between the king and queen and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. What do the king and queen want from R & G? How do they seem to be going about getting what they want? What’s interesting about the way they are going about getting what they want? What do you think of R & G (of the same mind? Do you notice a distinction between them? When? Where?)? Are they loyal friends to Hamlet? Respond to as many of these questions as you can in the group notes.

Continue onto Voltemand’s report (remember that he was sent to Norway to see if the uncle who is ruling knows about Fortinbras’ plan to attack Denmark). Work your way through his speech, so that you know how Norway responded, what Fortinbras’ plan is now and how the king responded to this (group notes )

Finally, continue onto Polonius’s discussion about Hamlet (43-45). Watch Polonius – he’s very wordy and very indirect (the queen points this out when she says: “More matter, with less art”) and the wordiness is supposed to provide some sort of comic relief. He also reads letters from Hamlet to Ophelia. These give you a window into how Hamlet feels about her. What’s Polonius’ “diagnosis” of Hamlet, and how do the king and queen react to it (group notes). Please turn in the notes to the sub (make sure everyone’s name is on them).

11/10: HOMEWORK: Read 1.5: If you need support OR if you are curious - and you should be! - watch either the Tennant version (on the "Hamlet films" page below start at about 28:50 and run to about 43:45) or the Branagh version (part one start at about 35:00 - about 51:00). On the front of the notecard: make a list of all the reasons the ghost gives Hamlet for why he is here (pay attention to the story he tells about his death - what's what you want) and why these reasons matter. On the back: what do you think about the ghost? Is he real? Why or why not? What do you think about the message he brings, about Hamlet's reaction, about the path forward, etc. Fill the back of the card. IN CLASS: we talked about the different portrayals of the Laertes-Ophelia-Polonius family unit and how those portrayals informed our thinking about the characters. We also read 1.4.

11/7: HOMEWORK: Please watch at these two film versions of the Ophelia-Laertes -Polonius family unit in 1.3 ( from Ethan Hawke's Hamlet , from David Tenant's Hamlet, from Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet). As you watch, please pay attention to the ways in which the staging, the interactions, the delivery of lines, etc.shape character, relationship, etc. Take notes so we can discuss on Thursday. IN CLASS: we read 1.3 and talked about staging, characterization possibilities.

11/4: We talked about the film clips and how they are shaping character, mood, etc. In class, we made sure we had straight the fathers and sons: Hamlet, Sr (dead king), Hamlet (living son), Fortinbras (dead king who lost some land of his kingdom and his life to Hamlet, Sr in war), Fortinbras (living son who wants that land back) and Polonius (living, right hand man to now King Claudius) and his son, Laertes (also alive and heading back to France). Together we worked our way through 1.2.

11/3: HOMEWORK: Please watch the opening of the Branagh version and the Tennant version (to find the links to the films, click on the "Hamlet films" page below). For Branagh, click on the link for part 1 and watch from the beginning through about 9;30. For Tennant, start at the beginning and watch until about 7:30). After each viewing, make some notes about what you thought, what you found interesting, what surprised you, etc. If you cannot watch tonight, come in before school in the morning and you can watch in my room. You would need to be here by 7:00 for that to work.

11/2: Working in acting groups today with the cut scene 1. Tonight, please reread the scene - pay close attention to your character, to relationships, interactions, motivations, etc. Directors: think big picture - setting, staging, etc. Make notes on the text itself.

11/1: We played with lines from the play today and staged short scenes for Bernardo. HOMEWORK: Read the Forsyth chapter for tomorrow.