Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Sections in this topic:
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Introduction	Audiobook | Shakespearean Glossary | Context | Plot
Character and Characterisation	Dramatis Personae | Characterisation
Important events	Topic
Close Reading	Topic
Important ideas	Overview | Topic
Review	Extension Activities | External Links
"A tragedy is a story of exceptional calamity leading to the death of a man in high estate" A.C. BRADLEY.

Objectives

To develop an understanding the key areas of the play, including: Character development and characterisation Context and setting Important ideas and themes Shakespeare's use of language

Preknowledge

Before studying Shakespeare, it's important to know a few things about: Shakespeare's Globe

https://wikieducator.org/Shakespeare/Hamlet

https://wikieducator.org

wiki

en

Audiobook of the complete play

Audio

Listen to Librivox recordings of the play: Act I Act II Act III Act IV Act V

Shakespearean glossary

Do you know your 'dost' from your 'wherefore'? There is a glossary of words commonly used in Shakespearean plays [here]. Make sure you know these words, as they'll help you to understand the play a lot better.

Character & characterisation

Dramatis personae

• 

Characterisation

Character	Brief description:	How do they change?	What are their main contributions?	Characteristation
Character	[What kind of person is he?]	[How does he change?]	[His main contributions]	[Comment on how he is developed]

Close reading

Embedded audio files; Specific and wider effects of language use (micro/macro).

Act X, scene x

Questions 1.

Important ideas

Overview

Express your themes as a phrase.

Theme:	Evidence:	How it contributes to the development of the theme:

Extension Activities

Extension Activity

Review

• Pull together across the whole text
• eg:

Act I Quiz

Activity

Find quotations that show the following:

Quotations

Why are each of these quotations important in the play? Think about what they reveal about character, their importance in terms of theme, imagery, relationships etc. Make a comment about each one.

Quotation	Importance:
	?

Reflection

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Did you notice?

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External links

Reading

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Web Resources