1. Madness. Consider the role of madness in the play. How does Hamlet’s feigned (is it feigned?) madness compare with the madness experienced by Ophelia? What is the “method” in Hamlet’s madness? Do we see any pattern in Ophelia’s?

2. Interiority. Hamlet probably has the most soliloquies of any character in Shakespeare. What kind of mind does this reveal with what kinds of concerns? What elements of his character remain hidden to the audience? What does he expose about the character of humanity itself? Also interior: we are almost always inside the castle. Doesn't this get a little claustrophobic?

3. Supernatural. Old Hamlet’s ghost is a different kind of spirit from the ones we’ve met before and he is the only supernatural element in the play. What role does he play and how does this affect Hamlet? Why doesn’t the Queen see the ghost?

4. Acting and Actors. Well, we have Hamlet acting crazy, and we have the player acting out a murder before the king. In what ways is acting used in the play? Consider Hamlet’s speech beginning at 2.2.533. How does the play w/in the play work?

5. Friends and Family. How are familial relationships represented in the play? How are the son and father, brother and brother relationships confused? What is Hamlet’s relationship with his mother? Is something Freudian going on here? What is Hamlet’s obligation to his father? How does Hamlet relate to his friends, particularly Horatio? What about Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? What kind of son is Hamlet compared with Laertes (who also loses a father to murder as well as a sister to madness)? How is Ophelia treated by her father? Do we see themes of betrayl?

6. Ophelia. The big question: What is her relation with Hamlet? Were/Are they in love? Lovers? How many ways can we interpret the “Nunnery” exchange? What drives her mad?

7. Inaction. Some have said Hamlet is an interesting character because of how much he DOESN’T do. What causes Hamlet’s paralysis? When DOES he act?

8. Sex and Violence. My favorite topic. Here we are dealing with lust and murder. What happened to the politics and the battlefield? How do we understand Gertrude and her second marriage? Is there love here? What do we make of Hamlet’s incriminating disdain for women, women’s love, and lust? Old Hamlet was a warrior. How does young Hamlet compare as a fighter?

9. Death. This is a tragedy, and, like most, has a great deal to do with death. What are some of the many views we see on death, dying, and the dead? How does Hamlet’s visiting the battlefield play in all this? Where does honor and obligation fit in all this? Suicide? What does it mean that the only court fool we meet is a skull?

10. Common People. What different kinds of views are we allowed to see through the eyes of more common characters like the grave-diggers? What is their view on Ophelia’s death? Hamlet’s madness?

Assignment:
Bring in an unsigned review of section so far. What has worked? What hasn’t? What would you like to see changed or continued? What would you like to do with the rest of the quarter? Etc., etc.