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The Analytical Breakdown of Hamlet , Act 1

The Analytical Breakdown of Hamlet , Act 1. Notes #2. 5 Act Structure. Act 1 – Exposition Act 2 – Complications (Rising Action) Act 3 – Climax Act 4 – Reversals (Falling Action) Act 5 – Catastrophe / Denouement (& Recognition). Act 1 – Exposition. T he exposition includes…

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The Analytical Breakdown of Hamlet , Act 1

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  1. The Analytical Breakdown of Hamlet, Act 1 Notes #2

  2. 5 Act Structure • Act 1 – Exposition • Act 2 – Complications (Rising Action) • Act 3 – Climax • Act 4 – Reversals (Falling Action) • Act 5 – Catastrophe / Denouement (& Recognition)

  3. Act 1 – Exposition The exposition includes… • Main characters, a.k.a. dramatis personae • Establishment of time and place, setting • Explanation or allusions to the antecedent action of the story • Introduction of the germ of conflict and dramatic tensions

  4. Act 1 Scene 1: • Questions • Darkness • WAR! • Ghost • Mood • Foil • Omens “This bodes some strange eruption to our state.” – Horatio, 1.1.69 UNCERTAINTY!

  5. Act 1 Scene 2: • Contrasting mood • Claudius’ rhetoric • Introduction to Hamlet’s melancholy • appearance v. reality • first soliloquy = his true feelings • Hamlet’s friends = new mood • stichomythia = importance of the information “… Foul deeds will rise Though all the earth o’erwhelm them to men’s eyes.” – Hamlet 256-257

  6. Act 1 Scene 3: • Another mood shift: Intimate family conversation • characterization of all  important family dynamics • Social hierarchy • Laertes = partying player • Ophelia = an idealist with no power • Polonius = bumbling fool • Treatment of Women: • attempts to control Ophelia • expectation of the day =obeys her father • “You speak like a green girl…” (101) • “Think yourself a baby…” (105) • “Ay, springes to catch woodcocks” (115)

  7. Act 1 Scene 4: • Ghost watch v. Claudius’ party • Hamlet seeking truth • Foreshadows his own downfall: • Vicious mole… stamp of defect… dram of eale… • Ghost beckons Hamlet  he must follow “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” – Marcellus (90)

  8. The Ghost of King Hamlet!

  9. Act 1 Scene 5: • Suspense of entire Act leading to this scene • Ghost tells all! Do we believe him? • Hamlet’s 2ndsoliloquy • Importance of swearing/oaths • Hamlet’s plan to “put and antic disposition on” (172) “The time is out of joint: O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right.” -- Hamlet (189-190)

  10. Act 2: Complications • Course of action becomes more complicated and the "tying of knots" occurs • Interests clash, intrigues are spawned, events accelerate in a definite direction • In other words: tension mounts and momentum builds!

  11. Shakespeare’s Brilliance! Hamlet’s Soliloquy: 9 changing moods Scene 2: 9 Episodes THE STRUCTURE OF HIS SHIFTING MOODS, PARALLELS PERFECTLY THE STRUCTURE OF THE SHIFTING EPISODES OF ACTION IN THE WHOLE SCENE! • #1: 1 – 39 • #2: 40 – 85 • #3: 86 – 168 • #4: 167 – 216 • #5: 217 – 309 • #6: 310 – 358 • #7: 359 – 520 • #8: 521 - 534 • #9: 535 - 590

  12. Analysis & ?s Episode: With your assigned “episode,” complete the following: • #1: 1 – 39 • #2: 40 – 85 • #3: 86 – 168 • #4: 167 – 216 • #5: 217 – 309 • #6: 310 – 358 • #7: 359 – 520 • #8: 521 - 534 • #9: 535 - 590 You will something very similar to last class… • Choose the 5-10 most important lines in your episode • Act them out dramatically • Explain (1) the context, (2) explain why this mini-scene is important to the complications of Act 2, but this time… (3) write two guiding questions re: this passage

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