Hello, everyone. The following presentation is a brief introduction to the background
and general themes found within William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'.
Shakespeare's play 'Hamlet' is based off of another related piece of literature.
The following information is merely background information to create some sort of context to
the play 'Hamlet'. This would not be examinable in your literature exam. Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'
falls into the literary classification or genre of revenge tragedy. The literary classification
of revenge tragedy is where the main character's quest for revenge results in a tragic situation.
Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' is an adaptation based on a Danish revenge story that was
first recorded in the 1100's. In this ancient story, a Danish prince fakes madness in order
to seek revenge on his uncle who had killed the prince's father and married his mother. This is
exactly the situation in Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'; however, Shakespeare made some modifications by
filling his play with dread and uncertainty. The following are some key facts to Shakespeare's
'Hamlet'. Even though we simply call this play 'Hamlet' the full title is actually 'The Tragedy
of Hamlet Prince of Denmark'. Shakespeare wrote this play between 1599 and 1601 in
England. It was published between 1603 and 1604. 'Hamlet' falls within the literary period of the
Renaissance. The genre of 'Hamlet' is a tragic drama or, as mentioned before, a revenge tragedy.
Shakespeare set this play in Denmark during the late Middle Ages around the year 1200.
Before we discuss what themes are present in the play 'Hamlet', let us just recap what is exactly
meant by theme. Theme refers to a central message in a piece of literature and oftentimes there is
more than one. Themes can be described as what the author wants you to learn or know from these
central messages. Theme can also refer to broad ideas or universal ideas about life,
such as love, hate, friendship, etc. to which humans in general, no matter where they are from,
can relate. Themes in a piece of literature are not usually overtly stated by the author,
but have to be inferred or deduced by the reader themselves. In 'Hamlet', there are a number of
themes present. What I try and get my learners to do is to memorise the list of themes within the
piece of literature we are studying and then as we read the text, I encourage them continuously
to keep in mind what themes could be relevant to the passage or instance that is currently being
read. The first theme in the play 'Hamlet' is what we can term 'appearance versus reality'.
This is where situations or characters are not what they seem. It is where what appears is not
actually what is real. In 'Hamlet', for example, Claudius claims that King Hamlet appeared to be
killed by a snake while he was taking a nap in his garden, but in reality, it was actually Claudius
who poured poison into King Hamlet's ear. The next is 'action versus inaction'. In other words,
procrastination versus being proactive. Hamlet can be characterised as being a procrastinator
as he has several opportunities to seek revenge on Claudius. However, he is not a man of action,
whereas a character like Laertes takes immediate action when he seeks revenge for his father's
death. Religion and honour are also themes within 'Hamlet'. Hamlet comments in Act 1 Scene 2 that he
is contemplating suicide, but for religious reasons that God has deemed suicide a sin,
it is an act Hamlet cannot bring himself to do. Revenge is another theme in the play. Of course,
the whole basis of the plot is about Hamlet's quest for revenge against his
uncle Claudius. Corruption is another theme in 'Hamlet'. The famous line "Something is rotten
in the state of Denmark" comes to mind. When we think of the theme of corruption,
Claudius is the first character that we could liken to this theme. Finally,
the last theme listed here is the theme of the treatment of women. When you study the play, pay
attention to how women like Gertrude and Ophelia are treated by the men around them. Thank you for
watching this presentation on the introduction to William Shakespeare's 'Hamlet'. Please make sure
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related to English Home Language and English First Additional Language for Grades 8 to 12.