Topic Two (1.2): Introduction to Hamlet and Reading the Play – Act I
Introduction
In the previous topic, you learnt some background information about Elizabethan society and attitudes. These historical and social contexts will enrich your understanding of the play as you read it, but it is also helpful to acquire an overview of the plot, key themes and characters in Hamlet before you begin reading and studying Act I in detail. The play is divided into five acts, and you are going to read each one in a separate topic in order to make the reading more manageable and to make it easier to plan your reading schedule. In this topic, you will read and annotate Act I.
If you studied AS with Wolsey Hall, you will already have studied Shakespeare and so should be feeling more confident with the language of his plays by now. It is still challenging material though, and it takes time to digest and understand a new play, so do allow plenty of time to cover the following five topics. It is important to read carefully and slowly, making sure you have a full understanding of the play. Don’t rush this part of the course!
Tasks
Introduction to the Play
- The following resources provide a helpful overview of the plot before you begin reading:
EXPLORE – Quick Plot Overview of Hamlet (RSC) Links to an external site.
EXPLORE – Plot of Hamlet (RSC) Links to an external site.
EXPLORE – Full Play Summary (SparkNotes) Links to an external site.
- This online study guide from the Utah Shakespeare Festival also contains some introductory material which you may find useful:
EXPLORE – Hamlet Study Guide (Utah Shakespeare Festival) Links to an external site.
Introduction to Shakespeare’s Language (Recap of AS Material)
- You used the following document when studying Shakespeare at AS. It gives you an overview of Shakespeare’s language and ways in which he uses it to create specific effects in his work, including some helpful suggestions about literary terminology you can bring into your essays.
- Re-read the guide carefully now and be prepared to refer back to it as you complete your reading of the play. If you did not study AS with Wolsey Hall, it is especially important that you familiarise yourself with this guide now.
PRINT OUT & READ – A Guide to Shakespeare’s Language Download PRINT OUT & READ – A Guide to Shakespeare’s Language
Top Tip
- You should watch at least one performance of the play (either live or on film) before the exams, ideally several, in order to get a sense of the different ways of interpreting the play and to see how these may have changed over time.
- Some students like to watch a film version before they begin reading, so as to establish the characters and settings in their mind, whereas others prefer to wait until they have completed the reading.
- The following version of Hamlet was a TV movie first broadcast in 2018 and is available free on YouTube. You may like to watch this now or do so later on as part of your revision. Ideally, you will watch it more than once.
- Some other recommendations can be found below. It is a good idea to watch several different versions, from different eras, and compare them to see how interpretations of the play have changed over time.
READ – Film Versions of Hamlet Download READ – Film Versions of Hamlet
Review
- In the AS course, you took notes from Mastering English Literature about the key elements of drama from Part Two: Drama – Chapters 7 to 12 on pages 71 to 142.
- You should briefly review these notes now, paying particular attention to the sections on Shakespearean drama and to the language and terminology associated with drama.
- If you did not study AS with Wolsey Hall, we recommend that you read through these chapters now and make detailed notes.
Read and Make Notes
- Start by reading the following sections in your copy of the text to familiarise yourself with how to use the Arden edition for studying the play:
- General Editors’ Preface (pages xiv to xviii)
- List of Roles (page 170)
- Now begin reading Act I on pages 177 to 257, and make notes using the resources and guidance below.
Tasks
- Deal with one scene at a time.
- For every scene, you should:
- Highlight important quotations as you go along;
- Read the accompanying notes in the text at the same time;
- Use the SparkNotes summary and analysis to consolidate your understanding once you have finished reading.
EXPLORE – Scene by Scene Summary and Analysis (SparkNotes) Links to an external site.
-
- Make a very brief summary of the scene, listing key events using simple bullet points. This will be an important ‘map’ of the events of the play to which you can refer later on.
- As you start reading, you may also like to use the following website to help you understand who the characters are. (You will explore the characters in more detail later on in the module, so you only need to read the brief overview for now.)
EXPLORE – Character List (SparkNotes) Links to an external site.
Support
- Please note that the SparkNotes website also has a translation of the play in modern English: No Fear Shakespeare to which you can subscribe if you wish. This is a helpful resource if you are struggling to understand particular speeches, but you should only ever use it alongside the original text. Do not learn or quote from this resource as these are not Shakespeare’s words!
- N.B. You can also buy the No Fear Shakespeare as a book, containing the text alongside the modern translation on each page.
Terminology
Make sure you understand any new literary terminology covered in this topic. You may like to make flashcards of key terms now, to help you with revision later on.