Revenge Tragedy & Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Elizabethan

The History… Popular during the late 16th and early

17th century Based off Roman/Greek tragedies Thomas Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy Tragedies = tragic hero = tragic flaw

Common Elements Play within a play Insanity/madness/psychology Gory scenes Supernatural characters

Vengeful ghosts Characters with grievances Murder/death Revenge Trickery/manipulation/deceit

Revenge Vs. AvengeREVENGE

Noun Vengeance for

yourself

AVENGE

Verb To take vengeance on

behalf of someone else

The Formula/Structure Something disrupts the order of

things.

CHAOS!

Social restraint falls away.

Bad things happen & order is restored.

Hamlet Written between 1599-1601 Longest play written – 4,042 lines

Hamlet has 1, 530 lines No basis in historical events 45 movie versions “To be or not to be” most quoted line

Allusions in pop-culture▪ The Lion King▪ Billy Madison▪ The Simpsons

Look out for… Symbolism Puns & double meaning Appearance v Reality

Sanity v Insanity Random Fortune v Divine Master

Plan Underlying Sexuality Differences in vengeance Death v Decay v Corruption

Drama Term Review

Soliloquy Purpose?

Aside Purpose?

Monologue Allusion Irony

Dramatic Verbal