Hamlet Act Three

Hamlet Act Three

* Take notes on your motif/thread.
* Take notes on characters and characterization; situation, events, and plot; essential question and other themes; interesting literary and rhetorical language; repetitions, contrasts, and other patterns. 
* 3.1: In class on Tuesday...Think like an actor or director. Choose one character to portray or direct in this scene: Ophelia, Hamlet, Claudius or Polonius. 

What is the character's objective (purpose, intention, motivation) in the scene? (In other words, what does the character want out of the scene?) What is the subtext? In other words, what are the character's unspoken, unconscious, or concealed thoughts and motivations in the scene? How do you know? (<<Support your interpretation of the objective by explaining how specific detail and/or specific language from the text support your interpretation.)

What obstacle is standing in the way of the character achieving the objective? (Is another character's behavior the obstacle? Is the obstacle in the character's own mind? Is the obstacle something physical or something intangible (beliefs and norms) in the social environment? How do you know? (<<Support your interpretation of the obstacle by explaining how specific detail and/or specific language from the text support your interetation.) 

When faced with the obstacle how does the character make adjustments in his or her speech or actions to try to attain the objective?

* Tuesday night in your "Hamlet's Soliloquies" document/paper follow the directions for writing two responses to Hamlet's 3.1 soliloquy.

* 3.2 Start in class and finish Wednesday night.

 Option #1 Write a shuttle comparison of two performances of "The Murder of Gonzago" ("the Mousetrap").  Remember to begin with a bold insight about meaningful similarities and/or differences. When comparing consider Hamlet's behavior, the play-within-the-play itself, and the reactions of Ophelia, Gertrude, and Claudius. Then, develop that insight by explaining very specific acting and directing choices.

Option #2. Write a mini-essay explaining in detail how director Michael Almereyda's "Mouse Trap" uses clips of film to express Hamlet's feelings about his mother and to attempt to "catch the conscience of the king." Then, evaluate how effectively the collaged film conveys the ideas expressed in Shakespeare's text.

Option #3. Write a mini-essay explaining how you would improve one of the versions (your choice) with very specific directorial and acting choices. Defend your choices. Explain exactly how your changes would improve the scene. 

First Clip: 3.2 "Murder of Gonzago," directed by Kenneth Branagh, Hamlet played by Kenneth Branagh, Ophelia played by Kate Winslet, Gertrude played by Julie Christie, Claudius played by Derek Jacobi (1996) [The full text is performed but in a Victorian rather than Elizabethan setting. Click here for more on the style of Branagh's Hamlet, here for more on Victorian theatre, here for more on the Victorian era.]

Second Clip: 3.2 "Murder of Gonzago," directed by Franco Zeffirelli, Hamlet played by Mel Gibson, Ophelia played by Helena Bonham Carter, Gertrude played by Glenn Close, Claudius played by Alan Bates (1990)
[This clip begins with Hamlet's line "You shall see anon how the murderer gets the love of Gonzago's wife" (3.2.289), but instead of this line causing the King to rise, Zeffirelli has the players enact a partial version of the dumb show here. Prior to the beginning of this clip the Player King and the Player Queen--both played by men in the Elizabethan tradition--have exchanged a heavily cut version of the lines written for the occasion by Hamlet. Hamlet has also already spoken to Ophelia ("May I lie my head upon your lap") and Gertrude ("Madam, how like you this play?"). His manner, prior to the clip, is strangely playful (or playfully strange) and visibly anxious, perhaps an adult indulging in adolescent childishness.]

Third Clip: 3.2 "Mouse Trap," abridged, is directed by Michael Almereyda. Ethan Hawke plays Hamlet, Julia Stiles plays Ophelia, Diana Venora plays Gertrude, Kyle MacLachlan plays Claudius. (2000)
[Almereyda sets his Hamlet in mid-1990s Manhattan. Prior to this scene we have watched Hamlet visiting Blockbuster Video and editing film into a collage. Prior to the clip when Hamlet says "May I lie my head upon your lap" Ophelia pushes him away.] 

Fourth Clip / Fourth Clip part 2: 3.2 "Murder of Gonzago, abridged, is directed by Gregory Doran. David Tennant plays Hamlet, Mariah Gale plays Ophelia, Penny Downie plays Gertrude, and Patrick Steward plays Claudius. (2009)
[If you want to skip Hamlet's lecture on acting and his bromantic speech to Horatio, start 3:30 or so into the first clip. The "Murder of Gonzago" ends about 3:30 into the second clip. Doran seems to set the film in a chimerical present day monarchy, mixing modern clothing with pre-modern decor. The Player King and Player Queen's speeches are cut to the essential lines but the scene is otherwise more or less intact.]     

* 3.3 Discuss in class on Wednesday/Thursday: How does Shakespeare use dramatic irony in this scene to dramatize Hamlet's claim that "conscience does make cowards of us all/And thus the native hue of resolution/is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought"? (In other words, how does the dramatic irony in this scene show how the impulse to act can be weakened by thought?)

* Discuss in class on Wednesday/Thursday: 3.4 How does William Shakespeare use dramatic irony early in the scene? (Hint: What happens to Polonius.) How does this event add another layer (or two or three) to Shakespeare's exploration of the ways people respond to trauma, uncertainty, and wrongdoing?
How does Hamlet's interaction with his mother in this scene deepen Shakespeare's exploration of themes and motifs introduced earlier in the play?

* By class time on Monday 12/8 in your "Hamlet Motif" document/paper do the following:
1. Write down your motif.
2. Write down the act, scene, line of every place you noticed your motif in act three. (If you're thin on notes: Here you'll find searchable text.)
3. Write a paragraph in which you explore the role and significance of the motif in play so far.
4. Write down a quotation from act one that involves your motif. (Include act, scene, and line.)
Write a thorough explanation of what the quotation means (in context) and how the quotation develops the significance of the motif.