Class Notes: November 22nd - November 26th

History of Hamlet

• Halmet is an actual account of a guy named Amleth
• The original ending was that Amleth plots revenge against his uncle and becomes the new and rightful king of Jutland
• Hamlet is based on a Norse legend composed by Saxo Grammaticus in Latin around 1200 A.D.
• Saxo's story was first printed in Paris in 1514 and it was translated into French in 1570
• Saxo's text did not appear in English until 1608
• Shakespeare probably used the earlier play based on this Norse legend by Thomas Kyd, named Ur-Hamlet, of which no copy currently exists
• Hamlet, as told by Shakespeare, is a drama, and thus has the peculiarities and limitations of a play as discussed earlier in my notes
• This story that Hamlet was based on no doubt affected the way Hamlet was written
• This history reminds me of Macbeth, and how we learned in British Literature about the real Macbeth and his family after reading Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Types of Tragedy

• There are 2 kinds of Renaissance tragedy: Continental and England
• The term Renaissance tragedy is typically reserved for Continental tragedy, which was inherited from the Greeks
• Elizabethan tragedy is used to refer to English tragedy, which was inherited from the Romans (seneca)
• Hamlet is an Elizabethan tragedy

Tragedy

• Tragedy is an imitation of a single, unified, action that is serious, complete, and has a certain magnitude
• As defined previously in my notes, "Tragedy: a medieval narrative poem or tale typically describing the downfall of a great man"
• Tragedy deals with the fall of someone whose character is good, believable, and consistant, and whose fall is caused by an error or fraility (hamartia=tragic flaw), rather than a vice or depravity)
• The ups and downs of life are related to the issue of free will (not destiny) in setting the plot
• Revenge tragedy was inspired by Seneca and was made popular in the Elizabethan period by Thomas Kyd's Spanish Tragedy.
• Revenge tragedy usually revolves around a son's revenge for a father's murder (or vice versa). The murder is then revealed and directed to the protagonist by the murdered man's ghost. It is a conscious and forced action.
• Hamlet is a revenge tragedy
• The play plot of a revenge tragedy may include: the hero's hesitation, the hero's insanity (real or pretend), the hero comtemplating suicide, levels of intrigue, an able and scheming villain, many philosophical soliloquies, and sensationalized murder on staged, or dead bodies shown on stage
• An revenge plot may include: the offense can be maximized by repeated injuries and insult, the antagonist is effective & formidable (but can still be vulnerable), clarification of strategy and marshalling of resources, delays, obstacles, diversions, mistakes, and reservations retard momentum, unforeseen development almost thwards scheme, and a final showdown in which revenge is carried out in an answerable style
• Intensified revenge tragedy is tragedy of the blood and includes the theme of revenge and retribution (borrowed from Seneca) through murder, assassination, mutilation, and carnage
• Seneca plays (Latin) satisfy the audience's craving for morbid excitment
• Elizabethan audiences enjoyed Seneca plays for its bear-baiting spectacles and public executions
• Horrific tragedies have a revenge motif and audience expectations

Why did Hamlet accuse Gertrude of incest?

• Upon marriage in the Catholic church, a couple becomes one
• If they are one flesh, then to marry your dead husband's brother is to marry your brother
• Thus in England, for example, marrying your dead husband's brother was considered incest
• This was not just a technicality
• Henry VIII broke from Rome because he wanted a divorce from Catherine, who had earlier been married to his elder brother
• This is important because the 1st marriage with Catherine would be invalid and his 2nd marriage would not be questionable (because Henry broke from the church in order to have it) because Henry was never married to begin with, so he didn't need a divorce!
• Thus, this makes Elizabeth I's reign more legitimate

Hamlet: Highlights from the Discussion

• At first, he pretended to be mad, but later, did Hamlet truly become mad?
• Hamlet was Hamlet 2.0. He was trained and born to be king. When Hamlet was not immediately needed to be king, he was sent to Germany for school. There, he encountered new ideas: he did not need to be Hamlet 2.0, he can be an individual. Yet, Hamlet = Denmark.
• Hamlet is suspicious to begin with. People don't get a 2nd chance to regain his trust.
• Shakespeare used clowns to break the tension and add comic relief. They also added shrewd insights

Homework

• Core Concepts Journal
• Informal essay discussing the atmosphere established by Hamlet's 1st scene and explaining how it relates thematically to the rest of the play.