Hamlet content Flashcards
Structure in Hamlet
Follows typical revenge tragedy structure (also genre question)
Exposition - initial motion for revenge
Anticipation - the detailed planning for revenge
Delay - As the revenger hesitates to perform the killing
Confrontation - between avenger and victim
Completion - of the revenge (revenger usually dies)
Exposition
“Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell”
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”
Purpose is provide motivation for revenger through the imagery of decay etc. could also relate to the anxieties at the time
- protestant reformation
Sets up the atmosphere of fear, anxiety, suspicion and tension - prompting Hamlet to seek revenge
“The serpent that did sting thy fathers life now wears his crown.”
Anticipation
The play within a play
“The play’s the thing wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king”
Delay
Deciding not to kill Claudius while he is praying
“My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; words without thoughts never to heaven go.”
“And now I’ll do it. And so he goes to heaven; and so I am revenged… O, this is hire and salary, not revenge.”
OR
“To be or not to be, that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to sufffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them.”
Delays his murder with the EXCUSE OF RELIGIOUS MORALITY - also protestant reformation
Confrontation
Hamlet’s battle with Laertes and Claudius in the hall
- Both physical and ideological battle takes place
Completion
Hamlet dies and so does Claudius at the end of the novel bringing a resolution to the problems that were present
“The rest is silence” - Hamlet to Horatio as he dies. He feels at peace knowing that he has achieved his goal of killing Claudius and is no longer suffering. He finds a sense of ease in death and the afterlife.
“Now cracks a noble heart” - Horatio mourns his best friend and acknowledges that while his intentions were good, it was bound to end badly - “Good night my sweet prince”.
Key themes in hamlet
- Revenge
- Morality
- Inaction
- Madness
- Disease and decay
- Power
- Love
Setting in Hamlet
Reflects the social and political context at the time of its writing, which is an important aspect of the setting - All contextual settings!!
- Protestant reformation
- Elizabethan era
- Renaissance era
Protestant reformation
- Links to the theme of revenge
- Based beliefs hugely on religion, concerning the importance of Christian morality
- Actions were dependent on what was holy and not sinful
- Time and faith put into religion
- People watching/reading the play able to make connections from the text to the society they were living in
“The serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown”
Shows religion in what your morals are directed around - importance of religion for societies functioning as a subconscious purpose guiding many people’s lives
“Get thee to a nunnery” - purify herslef religiously
Elizabethan era
- Links to theme of disease and decay
When Queen Elizabeth died, election of new throne had to take place, reflecting anxiety and tensions of the Elizabethan society - parallels to Hamlet and the new monarchy
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark:
- Foreshadowing of eventual downfall due to corrupt and wrongful nature of ruling
- Something sinful about the new election
Claudius hungry for power (in wrong way) with sacrificial actions
“‘Tis bitter cold and I am sick at heart” - Metaphor
Fortinbras at beginning of play, goes beyond his physical wellness and relates to overall decay
Causing downfall of society how?
Renaissance era
- Links to theme of action v inaction
A period of political, social, econonmical and culutral ‘rebirth’. Due to so much change taking place people began to question their christian moralities as well as the world around them - set on finding scientific answers
Hamlet = renaissance man, questioning and contemplating world around him
- Solliloquy to be or not to be
Rhetorical questioning is used as literary device to assist the readers involvement
Overlooking his christian beliefs by contemplating suicide
“There are more thing sin heave and earth, Horatio, than are ever dreamt in of your philosophy” - overlooking morals, opening eyes to world around him
DANGERS but also BENEFITS of contemplation
Language features
Rhetorical questioning
Religious imagery
Allusions x1
Metaphors x3
Imagery x2
