"HAMLET" and "THE LION KING".

This post is for the students in 4º ESO, as one of the questions in the project they have to work on during this first term is to find similarities between "Hamlet" and "The Lion King".

"The Lion King" is a very serious story about revenge and responsibility. This theme is one of the oldest in history and the one under discussion in "Hamlet".There are also similarities between the main characters in the film and in Shakespeare's tragedy (Simba-Hamlet; Scar-Claudius,...).

To find out more, please click on the following links. Read and find parallelisms concerning characters and themes:

http://www.lionking.org/text/Hamlet_TM.html

http://www.essays.cc/free-essays/b4/rxf122.shtml

http://www.123helpme.com/assets/12484.html

DO YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT "HAMLET"?
If you are in Bachillerato and you are LUCKY ENOUGH to have to read and study "Hamlet", these links might help you understand this fascinating play. They might give some sense to some of the most famous quotations in Literature:
"To be or not to be, that is the question".
"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark".
"Frailty, thy name is woman".

http://www.litcharts.com/lit/hamlet/themes
http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/shaktragedies.html
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/danielle.esposito/Hamlet.html

I could give you endless links, but these should be enough for now. In the first link you will find information about characters, themes, analysis of the different acts and most important scenes,...
In the second link you can find information about Shakespearian tragedies, including "MacBeth", "King Lear" or "Hamlet". In the third one there are two very interesting essays, one about Hamlet's love for Ophelia (I strongly recommend reading this one), and the other one is called Hamlet, anti-hero and modern man.

ADAPTATIONS OF THE PLAY.

As with "Romeo and Juliet", many adaptations have been made of this play, mainly in the film industry.

Many films have been made of the play. The most well-known were made in: 1948 - with Laurence Olivier as Hamlet. It won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor; 1969 - with Nicol Williamson as Hamlet and Anthony Hopkins as Claudius; 1996 - with Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet and Kate Winslet as Ophelia.

Look at the following links to find out more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_(1996_film)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamlet_(1948_film)

ACTIVITIES ON "HAMLET".

Now you have a lot of information about this play, about the main topics and about the main characters. Start reading it and try to do the following activities.
http://www.penguinreaders.com/pdf/downloads/pr/activity-worksheets/9781405879071.pdf

CHARACTERS IN HAMLET.

I provide a list of the most important characters in "Hamlet". By clicking on them you will be able to find out a lot of information about them: main role in the play, why they are important, connection with other characters,...

Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark; he is son to the late King Hamlet; and nephew to the present king Claudius.
Claudius is the King of Denmark, elected to the throne after the death of his brother, King Hamlet. Claudius has married Gertrude, his brother's widow.
Gertrude is the Queen of Denmark, and King Hamlet's widow, now married to Claudius, and mother to Hamlet.
The Ghost appears in the image of Hamlet's father, the late King Hamlet (Old Hamlet).
Polonius ("Corambis" in "Q1") is Claudius's chief counsellor, and the father of Ophelia and Laertes.
Laertes is the son of Polonius, and has returned to Elsinore from Paris.
Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius, and Laertes's sister, who lives with her father at Elsinore. She is in love with Hamlet.
Horatio is a good friend of Hamlet, from the university at Wittenberg, who came to Elsinore Castle to attend King Hamlet's funeral.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are childhood friends and schoolmates of Hamlet, who were summoned to Elsinore by Claudius and Gertrude.
Fortinbras is the nephew of old King Norway. He is also the son of Fortinbras senior, who was killed in single combat by Hamlet's father.

THEMES EXPLOITED IN "HAMLET".

"Hamlet" is a revenge tragedy.The main characteristics of the revenge tragedy are the following:

-Crime, usually murder, with varying motives.

-The one who has to take vengeance is a near relative.

-A ghost is involved, generally the ghost of the dead, which reveals the crime committed.

-The duty of revenge is accepted as something sacred.

-There is a lot of blood involved.

In "Hamlet" we find all these characteristics. There is the element of murder, adultery, incestuous marriage, insanity and faithfulness, blood shed and violent, terrifying scenes.

But let´s see these themes one by one.

1. REVENGE. "If thou didst ever thy dear father love,

Revenge his fouland most unnatural murder". The Ghost, I.5.23-5.

Hamlet wants to avenge his father's murder. Hamlet is obsessed with the idea of death, and over the course of the play he considers death from a great many perspectives.

Claudius' murder of King Hamlet initiates Hamlet's quest for revenge, and Caludius' death is the end of that quest.

2.SEXUAL, MORAL, and PHYSICAL CORRUPTION.

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark". Marcellus, I.4.90

The relationship between Claudius and Gertrude that so disgusts Hamlet brings sexual infidelity and incest to the very center of life in the Danish court. Added to that, Claudius' additional sins of fratricide (killing his brother), and the moral corruption he embodies becomes truly monstruous. And his corrupting influence is contagious: Polonius, Laertes, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern all seem to lose their moral sense.

3.MADNESS AND MELANCHOLY.

"I am but mad north-north-west." Hamlet, II.2.347.

Hamlet's actual state of mind seems terribly unstable at several points throughout the play and it is difficult to know whether he is mad or not.Apart from this, Hamlet displays other kinds of mental disorder: melancholy, pessimism, self-criticism, depressed mood and persistent thoughts of suicide.

Ophelia's madness is indisputable in Act V. When her father is murdered by the man she loves, she loses touch with reality.

4. MISOGYNY.

"Frailty, thy name is woman". Hamlet, I.2

Shattered by his mother's decision to marry Claudius so soon after her husband's death, Hamlet becomes cynical about women in general, and he makes a clear connection between female sexuality and moral corruption.

"TO BE OR NOT TO BE, THAT IS THE QUESTION"

This is the project you are going to have to work on during the first term of this academic year (2009-2010).

I've decided to change the reading but we are still sticking to one of Shakespeare´s best tragedies, "Hamlet". I hope you enjoy it as much as I did the first time I read it.

PROJECT WORK FOR 4ºESO




WILLIAM
SHAKESPEARE:
His age and his Works.

Members of the group:


Class:


To be handed in on Friday 6th of November.






Note: to do this project you have to look at the following web address, (http://www.romeoandjuliet4eso.blogspot.com/). This is a blog where you can find all the information you need to work on this project.
ACTIVITIES.

1. Explain the following concepts/words/names:

a. The Globe:

b. Stratford-upon-Avon:

c. Elizabeth I:

d. James I:

2. Answer the following questions:

a. Where and when was Shakespeare born?

b. Where was Shakespeare educated?

c. Who did Shakespeare marry?

d. Shakespeare left Stratford in the late 1580s. Where did he go?

e. What profession did Shakespeare follow in London?

f. Name the company in which Shakespeare bought a share.

g. When did Shakespeare die and where is he buried?

h. What is “The Globe”?

i. Explain how the spectators would distribute themselves in The Globe.



j. Women weren’t allowed to act in Shakespeare’s age. Who used to play the role of women?




3. Divide the following plays into the right category.

“The Taming Of The Shrew” “Othello”
“Henry VIII” “King Lear”
“Romeo And Juliet” “MacBeth”
“Much Ado About Nothing” “A Midsummer
“Julius Caesar” Night’s Dream”
“Twelfth Night” “The Merchant of
“Hamlet” Venice”
“As You Like It” “The Tempest”



COMEDIES TRAGEDIES







HISTORICAL PLAYS









Translate the name of the plays into Spanish.

a. “The Taming Of The Shrew” ______________________.
b. “Henry VIII” _____________________________________.
c. “Romeo And Juliet” ______________________________.
d. “Much Ado About Nothing” _______________________.
e. “Julius Caesar” ___________________________________.
f. “Twelfth Night” __________________________________.
g. “Hamlet” _________________________________________.
h. “Othello” _________________________________________.
i. “King Lear” _______________________________________.
j. “MacBeth” ________________________________________.
k. “A Midsummer Night’s dream” ______________________.
l. “The Merchant of Venice” ___________________________.
m. “As You Like It” _____________________________________.
n. “The Tempest” ______________________________________.







4. This year we are going to study “HAMLET”. Have a look at the blog and choose one of the following topics to write about (about 100 -150 words).

A. William Shakespeare, his biography.
B. Elizabethan theatre.
C. Similarities between “Hamlet” and “The Lion King”.
D. Characters in “Hamlet”. Names and descriptions. Why are they important?
E. Themes exploited in “Hamlet”.









Note: Your oral exam, which will take place the first week in December, will be about any of the topics you have dealt with in this Project.