Hamlet

Welcome to Shakespeare and to the world of adolescent angst and grand tragedy!

__**INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROOUND**__ A bit of background on the bard and the Globe (some good photos of the re-created Globe Theatre in London) [|http://www.watson.org/~leigh/shakespeare.html]

Let's cut to the chase. . . a summary of the plot http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/lambtales/LTHAMLET.HTM

A bland but neat online text: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/index.html

__**Fun Stuff: **__

 What if Dr Seuss wrote Hamlet? http://www.seuss.org/seuss/seuss.shakes.html Green Eggs and Hamlet: a parody of the most famous soliloquy EVER: http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/97/May/geandh.html A Happy Ending, facilitated by Scooby Doo: http://www.netfunny.com/rhf/jokes/97/May/scoobyham.html

 __**Bit of a Quiz:**__ have a go at:  a) identifying the characters (and actors, if you're feeling flash) in the following film stills  b) identifying the key event  c) putting the events in the correct plot order . . . feeling any angst yet?





= =

**NOW ONTO THE BUSINESS . . . STUDY NOTES**
While these are not a summative task, you will not succeed in your summative task if you fail to complete these to the best of your ability and making best use of your homework time.

The following sheet details the format, rationale and content of these notes: please read it. ..

Some preparatory work: To get you thinking about some of the universal ideas that the play explores: A brief activity to do with the conventions and features of Shakespearean tragedy: From Act 1 Scene 5: To help you understand the second soliloquy: To help you with probably the most famous bit of all of Shakespeare. . . the third soliloquy: Two key moments when we see Hamlet and Ophelia together:
 * __VARIOUS HANDOUTS, QUESTIONS AND HELP__**

http://www.bellshakespeare.com.au/education/
 * __BELL SHAKESPEARE:__**

Go to the site above and click on the podcast box at top left of the page. You'll need i-tunes to get it to run, but it's worth it as there are a couple of very interesting discussions by the actors currently playing Gertrude, Hamlet and Claudius about their understanding of the issues confronting them in the play.

__**HAMLET STUDENT CLASS NOTES**__ Your task is to create and share one or two classes worth of notes. You may choose to do this individually or in pairs (covering twice the number of classes). These notes are a formative work requirement and also will help to create a different kind of collaborative learning than class discussion. They need follow the form below:
 * Compiled by** enter your name(s)
 * Date** enter the day and date of the class and note whether it was a single or a double


 * Idea Focus** what was the main focus of the class (in terms of characters, themes etc: avoid simply summarising the plot of the section explored)
 * Text Focus** cut and copy (from the online text above) the section(s) from the play that were explored


 * Points and Links** this is the main guts of your notes: what points were made and links developed about characters, tragedy, themes such as appearance and reality etc.


 * Glossary of New Words/Terms** list and explain the new words encountered (from the text or from class discussion or teacher talk)

**Feedback on Notes** give your initials and a score out of 10. Feel free to add a short appropriate message on the strengths and weaknesses of the notes.

**__BELL SHAKESPEARE PODCASTS__** Actors playing the parts of Hamlet, Gertrude and Claudius talk about their interpretations of their characters: Hamlet's lack of a father: media type="file" key="Lack_of_Fatherfinal2.mov" width="300" height="300" Gertrude and Claudius media type="file" key="Gertrude_and_Claudius2.mov" width="300" height="300"

__Shakespeare's Language__