Hamlet

Introductory Matter

Stock elements of a revenge tragedy include:

sensational murder, ghost demanding revenge (?), delay/avenger (no superpowers), madness and faked madness, deals with man's place in the cosmos, surrender to providence, and a bloody, spectacular conclusion

Major Symbols include

• poison
• gravedigging
• sickness
• madness
• playacting
• fathers and sons (watch for other instances of parallelism)
• weakness of women
• suicide

"Symbolic Layers," an essay by Michael Flachmann

Act I Assignments

Act II Assignments

Act III Assignments

Act IV Assignments

Act V Assignments