Shakespeare Background Lesson

Hamlet Background

Draw

Draw what images come to mind when you hear Hamlet?

• ​What decisions does a director or actor make in performing drama?

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• How can older texts/plays be reinterpreted for modern audiences?

• In what ways do people put on performances? How does this change our understanding of reality?

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• ​How does Shakespeare's use of language create layers of meaning within Hamlet?

Essential Questions

• Analyze the opportunities for interpretation for directors and actors to have on written drama

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• ​Create your own Hamlet, ​reimagining the play for more modern audiences

• Trace Hamlet’s evolving psychological and emotional state and how his condition is reflected in his soliloquies.

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• ​Evaluate Shakespeare's use of figurative language (like metaphor, simile, personification, allusion, and more)

Learning Objectives

Poll

What are your concerns with reading Shakespeare?

• Understanding the language

• Finding it interesting / avoiding boredom

• Following the plot

• Containing my excitement for the wonderment of the written word and live performance

Poll

What will help you succeed in our unit on Hamlet?

• Performing scenes in class

• Comprehension questions for each scene/act

• Watching scenes from stage and film adaptations

• Reading quietly

Multiple Choice

When was Shakespeare born?

• 1664

• 1564

• 1464

• 1764

Open Ended

I think that the late King Hamlet died of/from________

Open Ended

I think Ophelia will marry/fall in love with____________________

Open Ended

I think Hamlet and King Claudius have a (positive/negative) relationship because ___________________