Slide 1

Slide 2

Slide 3

Slide 4

Slide 5

Slide 6

Where do we see elements of corruption on a private and public level in Denmark? Hamlets first soliloquy Fie ont, ah fie, tis an unweeded garden That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. (1.2.135-138)

Slide 7

Where do we see elements of corruption in these two scenes? Ghost: I am... Doomd for a certain time to walk the night... Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature / Are burnt and purgd away (1.5.9-13)

Slide 8

Marcellus: Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (1.4.90)

Slide 9

POISON used by Claudius The murder is both a REGICIDE and a FRATRICIDE.

Slide 10

The Ghosts use of vivid, angry diction and repetition underscores the urgent need to clean up the mess in Denmark, to remove the corruption (a PUBLIC revenge?) Ghost: foul used 3x, unnatural used 2x, strange used once (p. 30)

Slide 11

Three roles: VICTIM, VILLAIN, AVENGER Crime has already been committed prior to the start of the play No recourse to a higher authority Avenger must overcome obstacles Avenger must seek an appropriate revenge Concludes with a successful carrying out of mission Most popular genre of Shakespeares time (and perhaps, today?) Derives from Greeks/Romans (Aeschylus, Seneca) The Spanish Tragedy, The Revengers Tragedy

Slide 12

Would Hamlets revenge be a PUBLIC or a PRIVATE one? What motivates his fathers demandor Hamlets desire for revenge?

Slide 13

What, in your opinion, is the exact cause of the rotten-ness in Denmark? Cite one or two words as textual support.