William Shakespeare: Hamlet
Backround/Opinion:
Most of Shakespeares peices of writing are fictional if not, then they are based on an old story Shakespeare had adapted, but with many twists and changes
Shakespeares works of art are all written in the form of a play as opposed to a novel or short story
in the past the way i have been taught shakespeare was by reading the play as a class, and acting out the play mostly during important scenes
I myself have not yet reached the point of full understanding most or all of shakespeares old english, but can grasp the idea on what is taking place in ever scene (the story line)
In my opinion i think an on going journal would be an ideal way of teaching and understanding shakepseare, in the past i have not taken the approach to make an on going journal for any other of shakespeares plays
In the past the advantage of acting out shakespeares plays is you can in ways see the characters reactions and mood in each scene
based on my previous encounters with shakespeares plays such as Merchant of Venice, Macbeth, and Julius Ceaser, I feel in Hamlet I will be able to grap the main ideas and story line which will take place
Act One:
This act introduced some of the main characters in the play. It has introduced me to the problem gained and some details and hints of the future play and many different things to expect. The problem gained in this scene is the ghost which everyone becomes so unsure of its purpose. My predictions would be in act 2, the ghost will reveal himself and its purpose to haunt them. Another problem which arises during this act is the possible war between Denmark and Norway (Hamlet and Fortinbras) over the killing of old fortinbras by the most recent king of Denmark, Hamlet (Old Hamlet). In this event I predict the future of the play will reveil a more depth into the conflict between these two nations and a win or lose situation between them. So far into the play , the way Hamlet is being taught to me is a very easily understood method. I am understanding the story line as well as increasing my grasp for old enlgish and overall am enjoying the method which is being taught.
Act Two:
In this act the problem begins to grow , as does Hamlets way to resolve his problem.
For as long as people today can remember there has always been Shakespeare in the classroom. Shakespeare is considered one of the greatest playwrights of all time and deserves to be presented as so, however his work is very old and as times have changed so has English. Teens don’t understand his work and struggle through these units in school. The least that should be done is changing a few allusions for an easier and deeper understanding for young minds. Teachers always talk about giving their students the tools that they need to succeed and this update is one of those necessary tools. In the words of Sir Winston Churchill, “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change
Hamlet is a character that we love to read about and analyze. His character is so realistic, and he is so romantic and idealistic that it is hard not to like him. He is the typical young scholar facing the harsh reality of the real world. In this play, Hamlet has come to a time in his life where he has to see things as they really are. Hamlet is an initiation story. Mordecai Marcus states "some initiations take their protagonists across a threshold of maturity and understanding but leave them enmeshed in a struggle for certainty"(234). And this is what happens to Hamlet.
The last genre Shakespeare uses is History; an example of this is ‘Henry V’ where he bases this play on actual historic events. The play is set around the year 1420 and King Henry is faced with the difficult decision, whether to attack France or not. There are a lot of incidents in this play where Shakespeare exaggerates the qualities/attributes of King Henry; he changes the way we think of King Henry. The attributes of King Henry are exaggerated to such an extent we believe that he must have been ‘the perfect king’, cunning, merciful, charming and an excellent speaker.
Starting with the plot of the play, Zeffirelli changes the plot and rearranges the actions of Hamlet in order for him to get right into the main action happening with the characters. The actual play begins with some minor characters that are standing all together and are discussing the fact that they have seen a ghost. The reason behind having that scene is to establish the conflict of having trouble brewing in Denmark. The audience knows that there are problems happening because the king is repeating the battlements with guards and the guards have seen ghosts walking among these battlements at night. In addition to that, the action happening in scene I establish the idea of ...
William Shakespeare’s plays are being made into box office film hits at an incredible rate. Films such as Much Ado About Nothing with Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson, Hamlet with Mel Gibson and Glenn Close, Othello with Laurence Fishbourne and Henry V with Kenneth Branagh have been seen by a surprising number of teenagers. Often they have not understood it all, or even half of it, but they have been affected by the powerful characters and by the Shakespearean magic which has affected audiences around the world for centuries. They want to know more, they want to understand, and what better motvation can any teacher ask for than that students WANT ? That alone is sufficient reason for any English teacher to start a course in Shakespeare.
... to make choices as to how they wanted to act out those scenes. Nevertheless, the ghost is an important part of the play that will always lead to questions in the readers mind. Does the ghost cause Hamlet to go mad or is that madness within that causes the ghost to be revealed? Is it the ghost who causes Hamlet to seek revenge or the unraveling truth of Claudius’s murder? These questions may change with every generation but as some questions get answered others come forth which leads audiences to always be captivated by Hamlet.
Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a complex and ambiguous public exploration of key human experiences surrounding the aspects of revenge, betrayal and corruption. The Elizabethan play is focused centrally on the ghost’s reoccurring appearance as a symbol of death and disruption to the chain of being in the state of Denmark. The imagery of death and uncertainty has a direct impact on Hamlet’s state of mind as he struggles to search for the truth on his quest for revenge as he switches between his two incompatible values of his Christian codes of honour and humanist beliefs which come into direct conflict. The deterioration of the diseased state is aligned with his detached relationship with all women as a result of Gertrude’s betrayal to King Hamlet which makes Hamlet question his very existence and the need to restore the natural order of kings. Hamlet has endured the test of time as it still identifies with a modern audience through the dramatized issues concerning every human’s critical self and is a representation of their own experience of the bewildering human condition, as Hamlet struggles to pursuit justice as a result of an unwise desire for revenge.
Plays at this time were a representation of life. People, at this time, did not have modern visual luxuries upon which to garner entertainment. Plays, as well as playwrights, were supposed to bring life to the people and life to the story,
The works of Shakespeare is not fun for most of you. One way that you can fix this is by trying to make the subject more fun. Sometimes the subject maybe confusing but after reading it a couple of times you start to understand it and know the story line behind the literature.
Shakespeare’s plays are a product of the Elizabethan theatrical context in which they were first performed. A lot of pressure was put on Shakespeare as he wrote his plays because he was not allowed to upset the royal family. His style would have been different than others in those times and a lot more thought has gone into his writing than people listening would think. Usually, the audience take for granted the cleverness and thought of Shakespeare’s writing, however, now we have studied and gone into great detail about Shakespeare’s writing, we can appreciate it more than they did:
Old Hamlet is killed by his brother Claudius. Only two months after her husband’s death a vulnerable Gertrude marries her husband’s brother Claudius. Gertrude’s weakness opens the door for Claudius to take the throne as the king of Denmark. Hamlet is outraged by this, he loses respect for his mother as he feels that she has rejected him and has taken no time to mourn her own husband’s death. One night old Hamlets ghost appears to prince Hamlet and tells him how he was poisoned by his own brother. Up until this point the kingdom of Denmark believed that old Hamlet had died of natural causes. As it was custom, prince Hamlet sought to avenge his father’s death. This leads Hamlet, the main character into a state of internal conflict as he agonises over what action and when to take it as to avenge his father’s death. Shakespeare’s play presents the reader with various forms of conflict which plague his characters. He explores these conflicts through the use of soliloquies, recurring motifs, structure and mirror plotting.
The play follows a young prince named Hamlet. Who returns home after school and discovers that his father has dies, his uncle is marring his mother, and ends up meeting the ghost of his father. The play has been a success since its release, having been performed in a run since its first production. Hamlet’s main enemy in this play is shown as the Uncle, who hamlet finds reason to believe early on killed his father. His worst enemy according to some scholars, is himself. Hamlet seems to do nothing almost the entire play until he’s finally faced with death. When Hamlet is able to finally take action, He ends up killing the wrong person. Hamlets inaction throughout the play is what sets the story. It’s what makes the rest of the play
Shakespeare’s plays are written in dramatic verse and his use of imagery is very effective, as it engages the audiences’ attention, to give them a deeper meaning and reality to each and every character.
Shakespeare’s plays were written in the 14th and 15th century in England, yet until this day it still has a huge influence on American English class. Why? Well because Shakespeare has a universal appeal with a rich language, complex characters with a theme that is timeless. Shakespeare should be taught more, one play per semester because it is part of American literature culture, it challenges students reading levels and as it expands students vocabulary and enriches their speaking. Shakespeare plays are relevant today as the themes of the plays involved what teenagers like and experience such as love, betrayal, courage,politics and corruption.The themes can be set in such basic forms that the plays are universal and timeless, it can set in
Shakespeare’s play “Hamlet” is a subtle reflection on the political and religious atmosphere of the early 1600’s and late 1500’s, that was dominated with conversation of the successor to the throne of England, and their religious denomination. Hamlet was written with the intention of mimicking the political world and all its machinations from treachery, duties to family, religion and country. Hamlet, begins with armies being mobilized to the threat of an invasion from Norway, helmed by Fortinbras, like the rumors that the eventual successor James VI would need to take the throne by force. Soon after, this we have Hamlet and his father’s ghost, they converse on the details of his untimely death at the hands of his brother Claudius. In this