Hamlet Flashcards
Oedipus Complex
The attachment of a child to parent of opposite sex and aggressive feelings towards the parent of the same sex - Freudian theory
Marxist theory
Focus on class structure
Hamlet mocks Claudius’ true motives of getting economic power and climbing social hierarchy
Feminist theory
Women are dominated by men
Male characters are strong, females are weak/passive/submissive and used as pawns in patriarchal society e.g Oph used by Pol and Gert used by Ham
What is existential nihilism?
Life has no intrinsic meaning or value, human/humanity is insignificant
What is metatheatre?
Aspects of a play which draw attention to it being a play e.g a play-within-a-play, pretending to be mad, making audience look up
Act 1
Scene 1 - Horatio sees ghost
Scene 2 - Court, Hamlet soliloquy on incestual marriage
Scene 3 - Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes
Scene 4 - Hamlet sees ghost
Scene 5 - Hamlet decides to avenge his father
Act 2
Scene 1 - Ophelia tells Polonius of Hamlet’s mad behaviour
Scene 2 - Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, asks to perform Murder of Gonzago
Act 3
Scene 1 - Meeting of Hamlet and Ophelia being spied upon, ‘To be or not to be’
Scene 2 - Play is performed
Scene 3 - Hamlet unable to kill Claudius whilst praying
Scene 4 - Gertrude closet, Polonius killed
Act 4
Scene 1 - Hamlet refuses to tell R&G where Polonius’ body is
Scene 2 - Claudius sends Hamlet to England
Scene 3 - Fortinbras orders army to go to Danish king
Scene 4 - Ophelia mad, Laertes returns
Scene 5 - Horatio gets letter from Hamlet to meet him
Scene 6 - Claudius and Laertes plan duel/poison, Ophelia drowns
Act 5
Scene 1 - Gravedigger/skull/ Yorick
Scene 2 - Duel takes place, everyone dies
RSC Tennant Production
Theme of surveillance through CCTV cameras, spying, someone watching every move
Laurence Olivier Production
- Emphasis on Oedipus complex in closet scene as young actress plays Gertrude, Hamlet lies on her on bed, close proximity (psychoanalytical lens - Freud)
- Winding stairwells echo Hamlet’s mind
- Melancholic and introspection - focus on existential crisis
- To be or not to be - edge of cliff with dagger to show indecision between life and death, closes his eyes to show lost in thought - existential crisis
Maxine Peake production
- Hamlet puts on antic disposition
- Hamlet’s madness hyperbolic/comedic
- Holds gun to head in ‘to be’, reflects suicide
Dramatic effects
Stage directions
Tension
Dialogue
Interrogative
Juxtaposition
Metaphor
Simile
Entrances/Exits
Pace
Suspense
Dramatic irony
Monologue
Soliloquy
Aside
Foreshadowing
Metatheatre
Prose
Blank verse
Dramatic ark
Unseen listener
CS Lewis
“Hamlet is haunted, not by the physical fear of dying, but of being dead.”