What a piece of work is man!

So, I’m not there. But I am there in spirit. Not like Hamlet’s ghost (SWEEEEAAAAR! SWEEEEEAAAAAR!),but something more benign.

You’ll watch the 2nd half of Hamlet and then collect a copy of the play from the substitute. For next Tuesday, I want you to prepare for a round table discussion of the play. You’ll need to do a pretty elaborate blog post to get ready. This is an online version of the play to help you. Please grab a copy of Hamlet if you need it. Here are some of the questions I want you to consider for our discussion.

1. Why does Hamlet wait so long to kill Claudius? What are the reasons for his hesitation? How valid are they? How many times does he have the opportunity to attack Claudius? What are his reasons for not doing so?
2. Hamlet claims that his madness is feigned, an “antic disposition” which he puts on for his own purposes (I.v.172). Why would Hamlet want to feign madness? How can an appearance of insanity help him achieve his ends? Is he really sane throughout the play, or does he ever cross the line into madness? What about Ophelia’s mad scene? Is it real or feigned? Is there “method in her madness” as well, or is she entirely irrational? Why has she gone mad? (What two reasons do her songs suggest?)
3. Pay attention to the treatment of the women characters Gertrude and Ophelia. Is there any basis for the Freudian interpretation of an Oedipal attraction between Hamlet and his mother? Hamlet does seem obsessed with his mother’s sexuality. How old is Hamlet? How old do you think Gertrude is? Is Hamlet’s disgust at Gertrude’s sexuality justified? To what extent is Gertrude guilty? Was she “in on” her husband’s murder? Has Claudius confided in her since the murder? How does Hamlet’s perception of his mother affect his behavior or attitude toward Ophelia? Why does he tell Ophelia to go to a nunnery? Does Hamlet really love Ophelia? If so, why is he cruel to her?
4. Suicide is an important theme in Hamlet. Discuss how the play treats the idea of suicide morally, religiously, and aesthetically, with particular attention to Hamlet’s two important statements about suicide: the “O, that this too too solid flesh would melt” soliloquy (I.ii.129–158) and the “To be, or not to be” soliloquy (III.i.56–88). Why does Hamlet believe that, although capable of suicide, most human beings choose to live, despite the cruelty, pain, and injustice of the world?
5. Choose a soliloquy in the play to look more closely at. Paraphrase it and then connect it to the larger themes in the play.

Be ready for a round table discussion on Tuesday. Afterwards, we’ll break up into acting groups, rehearse, and try a little reader’s theater by the last week.