Hamlet
Photo by Mathew MacQuarrie on Unsplash
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