1. As in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in Hamlet we have a play within a play. In his plans for the play, Hamlet reveals that he believes quite strongly in the power of drama… but to do what, exactly? Look back at Hamlet’s speech at the end of Act II (page 238, lines 527-585) as well as his instructions to players at the beginning of Act III, Scene II (lines 1-40). What power, exactly, does Hamlet believe that drama has? How does this power work? What are the main obstacles to it working properly?
2. As his actions grow more consistent with madness, Hamlet displays an increasing fondness for wordplay such as puns, paradoxes, double entendres, etc. Find a few of these flourishes of language and examine their context. Wit is not generally something that we associate with madness, so what do you think is Hamlet’s gambit here? Interestingly, Polonius displays a fondness for the same type of wordplay as Hamlet (see, for instance, I.iii.55-81, II.ii.97-112). Can we read Polonius as a kind of foil for Hamlet? If so, what are we to make of the comparison / contrast between the two characters?
3. Look closely at Hamlet’s speech in Act III, Scene III, lines 73-96. Why does Hamlet decide that this is not the right moment to kill the King? Do you think that Hamlet believes the King has fully repented? How does this influence his decision, if at all?
4. Though this might be up for debate, one could describe the arc of the reader's reaction to Hamlet in acts I-III as “Hamlet seems sane; Hamlet seems to be feigning madness; Hamlet might really be mad.” First, is this description accurate? If so (or if not), how is this arc represented? In other words, what words and/or actions clue the reader in to Hamlet’s mental state? Finally, how does this arc make us think about play’s major themes—such as perception, madness, performance/theatricality, “reading” people’s words and actions—that you may have referenced in your answers to the questions above?
No comments:
Post a Comment