Shakespearean Dramatic Techniques Analysis
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By William Shakespeare
All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
--William Shakespeare
“As You Like It,” Act II, Scene 7
Explore the ways in which dramatists have
made use of monologues and/or soliloquies in
at least two plays you have studied.
Plays employ various kinds of structural
divisions such as prologues and epilogues, act
and scene divisions, even carefully placed
intermissions. Discuss the dramatic uses
made of these divisions in at least two plays
you have studied.
“A play should make you laugh or should
make you cry.” With reference to at least two
plays you have studied, discuss the methods
playwrights use to generate emotional
response in their audiences.
What does the
dialogue
between Hamlet,
Gertrude, and Claudius reveal? (I, ii, 65-86)
What purpose is achieved with Claudius’
monologue
? (I, ii. 87-117) Which lines best
achieve the purpose?
What purpose is achieved with Hamlet’s
soliloquy
? (I, ii, 129-159) Which lines best
achieve the purpose?
What does Laertes’ monologue to his sister,
Ophelia, reveal about the expectations of
sexual relationships?
What is Polonius’ message to his son? How
does this speech provide a context for life at
court?
How is Ophelia’s character developed
through her responses to her brother and her
father?
Shakespeare’s use of dramatic irony
not only
creates tension when the audience views
Hamlet interact with Claudius, Gertrude, and
Polonius,
but also
it develops the lingering
thematic question about whether or not
Hamlet is mad for Ophelia’s love.
VAGUE
The soliloquy expresses
how he feels about his
mother.
The dialogue shows
Hamlet’s emotions about
this situation.
SPECIFIC
Hamlet’s soliloquy reveals
his anger toward his
mother and his feelings of
betrayal.
The dialogue reveals that
Hamlet is still grieving for
his late father while
Gertrude and Claudius
have moved on and
married.
VAGUE
The dialogue shows why
they argue.
The soliloquy persuades
readers into believing what
he feels about his mother.
SPECIFIC
The dialogue between the
queen, king, and Hamlet
shows a broken family.
The soliloquy achieves the
purpose of revealing
Hamlet’s desire for suicide
and his feelings of
contempt for his mother’s
hasty marriage.
Why do we allow ourselves to suffer?
If you knew with certainty that when you die
you will have peace and go to heaven, why
not just seek death?
In what ways do our thoughts prolong our
suffering?
What is the relationship between
consciousness, conscience, and death?
Hamlet in many ways is a deconstructive
work. There seems to be a distinct
incongruity between what “seems” and “nay
it is. I know not ‘seems’,” in other words,
reality.
What assumptions about reality is
Shakespeare willing to confront through his
characters’ speeches?
How does Hamlet’s famous soliloquy ‘to be or
not to be’ represent ‘theater of the mind’?
the play itself is a deliberate cognitive
exploration of problems of human
consciousness and action, and Shakespeare a
kind of cognitive theorist.
What is the message of Hamlet’s speech?
How did Shakespeare craft Hamlet’s
message? Which choices has he made?
Metaphors? Puns? Alliteration? Subordinate
clauses? Questions?
What purpose is achieved with this speech?
How might Hamlet’s speech reveal the
dramatic question the play needs answered?
Discuss at least two dramatic uses of ‘the play
within the play’ (Act III, scene 2)
Connections to other scenes, e.g., the
analogy of Pyrrhus and Priam
Rising action, tension, conflict in the plot
Character development
Themes related to Hamlet’s speeches
Analogy for larger philosophical ideas
Act IV, scene 4
Compare Fortinbras to Hamlet
What does Hamlet’s soliloquy reveal his
thoughts and feelings about Fortinbras?
How is this comparison achieved?
What purpose does this comparison serve?
Evaluate Shakespeare’s choice to include this
scene. Develop an argument that Fortinbras
is a necessary external political conflict.
What are the causes of Ophelia’s suicide?
Ophelia’s suicide is the result of low-self
esteem and a domineering patriarchal
society, which allows men to determine how
women will think and behave.
Why is Gertrude so blind to her surroundings?
“Have you eyes?” Hamlet asks her.
What type of woman is Gertrude?
How might a feminist view and evaluate
Gertrude?
How might a Freudian reading of her
complicate her relationship with Hamlet?
Hamartia is any error in judgment that brings
about the protagonist’s downfall.
Tragic flaw refers to a characteristic which
brings about the sudden reversal, “peripity”,
of the tragic hero’s fortune.
Think about the characters who are dead at
the end of the play. What was each
character’s tragic flaw? Is it accurate to
suggest Hamlet’s hamartia was his tragic
flaw?
The benefit of this thesis is that it essentially
outlines your essay, which can be helpful!
Also, it allows you to discuss “conventions of
the genre.”
And, you can discuss “the effects” of these
choices!
“Shakespeare uses exits
in order to
allow
characters to reveal their inner thoughts and
feelings in a soliloquy, to create dramatic
irony, and to establish and develop conflict
among characters.”
Which question do you think is most
important for understanding the character,
Hamlet?
Which question is most important for
understanding the play as a tragedy?
Which question seems to be missing from the
list?
How might you categorize these questions?
www.sacschoolblogs.org/writeon
George Detmold Essay on
Hamlet
Explore the intricate use of monologues, soliloquies, structural divisions, and emotional responses in William Shakespeare's plays. Delve into the dialogues between characters like Hamlet, Gertrude, and Claudius to uncover themes of love, madness, and expectation. Discover how Shakespeare utilizes dramatic irony to create tension and provoke thought about the complexities of his characters.
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Presentation Transcript
All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, --William Shakespeare As You Like It, Act II, Scene 7
Explore the ways in which dramatists have made use of monologues and/or soliloquies in at least two plays you have studied.
Plays employ various kinds of structural divisions such as prologues and epilogues, act and scene divisions, even carefully placed intermissions. Discuss the dramatic uses made of these divisions in at least two plays you have studied.
A play should make you laugh or should make you cry. With reference to at least two plays you have studied, discuss the methods playwrights use to generate emotional response in their audiences.
What does the dialoguebetween Hamlet, Gertrude, and Claudius reveal? (I, ii, 65-86) What purpose is achieved with Claudius monologue? (I, ii. 87-117) Which lines best achieve the purpose? What purpose is achieved with Hamlet s soliloquy? (I, ii, 129-159) Which lines best achieve the purpose?
What does Laertes monologue to his sister, Ophelia, reveal about the expectations of sexual relationships? What is Polonius message to his son? How does this speech provide a context for life at court? How is Ophelia s character developed through her responses to her brother and her father?
Shakespeares use of dramatic irony not only creates tension when the audience views Hamlet interact with Claudius, Gertrude, and Polonius, but also it develops the lingering thematic question about whether or not Hamlet is mad for Ophelia s love.
VAGUE SPECIFIC The soliloquy expresses how he feels about his mother. The dialogue shows Hamlet s emotions about this situation. Hamlet s soliloquy reveals his anger toward his mother and his feelings of betrayal. The dialogue reveals that Hamlet is still grieving for his late father while Gertrude and Claudius have moved on and married.
VAGUE SPECIFIC The dialogue shows why they argue. The soliloquy persuades readers into believing what he feels about his mother. The dialogue between the queen, king, and Hamlet shows a broken family. The soliloquy achieves the purpose of revealing Hamlet s desire for suicide and his feelings of contempt for his mother s hasty marriage.
Why do we allow ourselves to suffer? If you knew with certainty that when you die you will have peace and go to heaven, why not just seek death? In what ways do our thoughts prolong our suffering? What is the relationship between consciousness, conscience, and death?
Hamlet in many ways is a deconstructive work. There seems to be a distinct incongruity between what seems and nay it is. I know not seems , in other words, reality. What assumptions about reality is Shakespeare willing to confront through his characters speeches? How does Hamlet s famous soliloquy to be or not to be represent theater of the mind ?
the play itself is a deliberate cognitive exploration of problems of human consciousness and action, and Shakespeare a kind of cognitive theorist.
What is the message of Hamlets speech? How did Shakespeare craft Hamlet s message? Which choices has he made? Metaphors? Puns? Alliteration? Subordinate clauses? Questions? What purpose is achieved with this speech? How might Hamlet s speech reveal the dramatic question the play needs answered?
Discuss at least two dramatic uses of the play within the play (Act III, scene 2) Connections to other scenes, e.g., the analogy of Pyrrhus and Priam Rising action, tension, conflict in the plot Character development Themes related to Hamlet s speeches Analogy for larger philosophical ideas
Act IV, scene 4 Compare Fortinbrasto Hamlet What does Hamlet s soliloquy reveal his thoughts and feelings about Fortinbras? How is this comparison achieved? What purpose does this comparison serve? Evaluate Shakespeare s choice to include this scene. Develop an argument that Fortinbras is a necessary external political conflict.
What are the causes of Ophelias suicide? Ophelia s suicide is the result of low-self esteem and a domineering patriarchal society, which allows men to determine how women will think and behave.
Why is Gertrude so blind to her surroundings? Have you eyes? Hamlet asks her. What type of woman is Gertrude? How might a feminist view and evaluate Gertrude? How might a Freudian reading of her complicate her relationship with Hamlet?
Hamartia is any error in judgment that brings about the protagonist s downfall. Tragic flaw refers to a characteristic which brings about the sudden reversal, peripity , of the tragic hero s fortune. Think about the characters who are dead at the end of the play. What was each character s tragic flaw? Is it accurate to suggest Hamlet s hamartia was his tragic flaw?
The benefit of this thesis is that it essentially outlines your essay, which can be helpful! Also, it allows you to discuss conventions of the genre. And, you can discuss the effects of these choices!
Shakespeare uses exits in order to allow characters to reveal their inner thoughts and feelings in a soliloquy, to create dramatic irony, and to establish and develop conflict among characters.
Which question do you think is most important for understanding the character, Hamlet? Which question is most important for understanding the play as a tragedy? Which question seems to be missing from the list? How might you categorize these questions?
www.sacschoolblogs.org/writeon George Detmold Essay on Hamlet
