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2017 STUDY GUIDE BY JAMILA REDDY A Study Guide to Aquila Theatre’s Production of HAMLET written by William Shakespeare IN THIS STUDY GUIDE AQUILAS HAMLET Hamlet is arguably Shakespeare’s greatest play. Written in 1602, it is one of the most complete portrayals of the human psyche that exists in Western Literature. A compelling tale of familial discord, personal ambition, love and revenge, Hamlet has enthralled audiences for SUMMARY WHOS WHO IN HAMLET 400 years. Mortality and madness are two of the most pronounced themes of Shakespeare’s epic and the characters; Hamlet, Ophelia, Gertrude, and Claudius inhabit a rich landscape SAY WHAT? : VOCABULARY replete with deceit, mistrust, and schemes. Four centuries after its premiere, Hamlet continues as one of the classics of the world stage. Directed by Desiree Sanchez, Aquila’s Hamlet seeks to shed new light on this tragic story. The production uses ADAPTATIONS THE ACTORS POV Sanchez’s innovative use of movement, design,

sound, and superb acting to vividly explore the depths of rage, madness, love and death brought about by a culture of obsessive personal ambition. THINK ABOUT IT! DISCUSSION QS. SUMMARY Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, has come back from university to find that his father, the old king, is dead. His mother has married his father’s brother, Claudius, who is now king of Denmark. Hamlet is shocked that his mother has married so soon after his father’s death, and angry that she has married Claudius. Soon, a ghost is seen walking on the castle walls. The ghost looks like Hamlet’s father, the dead king. When Hamlet sees the ghost, he is told that it is the ghost of his father. ‘I am your father’s spirit,’ the ghost tells Hamlet It tells him that Hamlet’s father did not die naturally, but was murdered by his brother Claudius. As the king slept, Claudius put poison into his ear, causing the king a painful death. The ghost tells Hamlet to take revenge on Claudius for murdering

his father. Hamlet can’t believe that his mother would marry the man who murdered her husband. He becomes depressed, and he thinks about killing himself: ‘To be or not to be – that is the question.’ Hamlet decides to pretend he is mad while he tries to find out if King Claudius really did kill his father. Claudius soon notices that Hamlet is behaving strangely, so he asks Polonius, his adviser, to spy on him. Polonius thinks that the best person to find out what is causing Hamlet’s strange moods is Polonius’s own daughter Ophelia. This is because Ophelia is Hamlet’s girlfriend, and so she is close to him. But when Ophelia tries talking to him, Hamlet gets very angry, tells her that he never loved her and breaks up with her. Ophelia is very upset by this. A group of travelling actors arrives in town. Hamlet gets them to perform a play at the castle. Hamlet’s play contains a scene in which someone murders a king by putting poison in his ear – exactly what the ghost said

had happened to him. Hamlet’s plan is to watch King Claudius during the play, and see how he reacts when he sees his own crime performed on stage. Then Hamlet will know if Claudius is guilty or not. SUMMARY Hamlet’s plan works. King Claudius becomes so angry that he interrupts the play, and goes off in a rage. Claudius starts thinking of ways to get rid of Hamlet Soon afterwards, Hamlet sees Claudius praying, and wants to kill him. But he worries that if he does, Claudius will go to heaven, instead of going to hell, which as a murderer he deserves. So Hamlet does nothing, and goes to speak to his mother While they are talking in his mother’s room, he sees someone moving behind the curtain. Hamlet thinks that it is Claudius, so he takes his sword and stabs through the curtain. But he is shocked to find he has in fact killed Polonius (the adviser) not Claudius. This of course means that Hamlet has killed the father of his girlfriend Ophelia. Ophelia goes mad, and drowns herself

in a river. Ophelia’s brother, Laertes, comes to her funeral and is furious about what has happened. He and Hamlet argue about who loved Ophelia most, and King Claudius now sees an opportunity to finally get rid of Hamlet. He organises a sword fight between Hamlet and Laertes. To make sure that Hamlet is killed, Claudius gives Laertes a sword covered in poison. He also prepares a cup of poisoned wine But Claudius’s plans go horribly wrong when the poisoned sword wounds both Hamlet and Laertes, and Hamlet’s mother drinks from the poisoned cup. Knowing that he is about to die himself, Hamlet kills Claudius, finally getting revenge for the murder of his father. At the end of the play, all of the royal household of Denmark are dead. Source: http://learnenglishteens.britishcouncilorg/uk-now/literature-uk/shakespeare-hamlet WHOS WHO IN HAMLET CLAUDIUS: King of Denmark. Hamlets uncle, and Gertrudes second husband. HAMLET: The prince of Denmark, son of Gertrude, nephew of Claudius,

and heir to the throne GERTRUDE: Queen of Denmark, and Mother of Hamlet. After Hamlets father dies, Gertrude quickly marries Hamlets uncle, Claudius Paapa Essiedu as Hamlet, Royal Shakespeare Theatres (2016) POLONIUS: The Lord Chamberlain of Denmark, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia OPHELIA: Poloniuss daughter, Laertess sister, and Hamlets love Reginald Andre Jacskon as Hamlet) and Mary Ewald as Gertrude, Freehold Theatre (2017) ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN: Hamlets friends "The Lord Chamberlain" is a peer and advisor to the King. Jennifer Leong as Ophelia, Globe Theatre (2014) WHOS WHO IN HAMLET LAERTES: Poloniuss son and Ophelias brother. VOLTIMAND: A courtier HORATIO: A university friend of Hamlets at Wittenberg OSRIC: A courtier MARCELLUS: An officer Quarmby as Barnardo, Royal Court, London (1980) BARNARDO: An officer FRANCISCO: A soldier FORTINBRAS: Prince of Norway GRAVE DIGGER A CAPTAIN Ewart James Walters as the Gravedigger, Royal Shakespeare

Company (2016) A PRIEST GHOST of Hamlets Father A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a monarch or other royal person. Greg Hicks as the Ghost of Hamlets Father, Royal Shakespeare Company (2004) VOCABULARY BODKIN A dagger or stiletto. “When he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin.” - Hamlet He could just as easily take out his knife and end it all. HARBINGERS Persons or things that come before to announce of what is coming. “As harbingers preceding still the fates and prologue to the omen coming on” - Horatio We’ve had similar omens of terrible things to come. APOPLEXED Paralyzed. “But sure, that sense is apoplexed; for madness would not err.” - Hamlet Surely your senses are paralyzed, otherwise you would behave this way. FAIN IYF Since Hamlet was written, many words in English have changed their meaning, and some are no longer used. If you remember the slang you used a few years ago, it seems dated. Who now uses the

word “groovy”? Shakespeare used the rich vocabulary of his day within his plays. Below you will find just a sample of words we don’t often see today and an example of how it might be used today. Wish. “I have a speech of fire, that fain would blaze, but this folly doubts it.” - Laertes I have some fiery words to say, and I wish I could say them, but my tears are drowning them out. COZENAGE Treachery. ADOPTION TRIED Friendship that has stood the test of time. “Those friends thou hast, and their adoption tried” - Polonius You have friends who have proven themselves faithful. STALLION A servant doing the rough, dirty work in a kitchen. “And with such cozenage, ist not perfect conscience?” - Hamlet And because he’s so treacherous, would it not be moral to kill him? “Unpack my heart with words, and fall a-cursing, like a very drab, a stallion!” - Hamlet I want to act upon the anger in my heart, but all I can do is stand around cursing like a common kitchen

wretch. ARRAS A tapestry wall-hanging. “Be you and I behind an arras then” -Polonius We will hide behind this tapestry to spy. SAY WHAT? Source: https://www.bardorg/study-guides/hamlet-vocabularyglossary-of-terms ADAPTATIONS OF HAMLET DID YOU KNOW. There are over 50 filmed versions of Hamlet, and adaptations of Shakespeares works have been featured in nearly 500 films/videos worldwide! Here are some of the most well-known film versions of Hamlet that can help you study and better understand the play. 1948 - DIRECTOR: LAURENCE OLIVIER Theatre companies often adapt or highlight different themes or features in plays. Thats part of the artistic process! This early film version won four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor awards for Laurence Olivier in the title role. 1990 - DIRECTOR: FRANCO ZEFFIRELLI The director takes some license in the telling, adhering less strictly to Shakespeares original text, but at just 2 hours and 15 minutes, this version provides a

short and passionate interpretation of the play. 1996 - DIRECTOR: KENNETH BRANAGH In this 4+ hour rendering, Kenneth Branagh presents the complete Shakespearean text of the play, and stages the action within a 19th-century setting. This is arguably the definitive film version of Hamlet. 2000 - DIRECTOR: MICHAEL ALMEREYDA This is Hamlet for the 21st century. In this high-tech contemporary telling, Ethan Hawke stars as the young brooding heir to the Denmark Corporation, out to avenge the murder of his powerful CEO father. Source: https://www.cliffsnotescom/literature/h/hamlet/study-help/film-versions THE ACTORS POINT OF VIEW “The way Shakespeare works is you start from the text. You go through and see what the story is and see what people are saying. Obviously, they don’t speak like we do, so you have to translate anyway. A lot of the ideas came through the rehearsal process. Because the writing is so clever and so well written, it’s very difficult to impose anything on top

of Shakespeare until you have a strong understanding of what story you’re telling.” ▬ Lewis Brown (Hamlet) "Desiree [the director] wanted this version to be very relatable, and wanted the audience to draw connections to whats going on today. " ▬ Lauren Drennan (Ophelia) "Shakespeare is timeless. Even though this plays were written 400 years ago, we still want to watch them. We still want to play these roles." ▬ Michael Stanley (Laertes, Guildenstern, and Barnardo) "There are two great Shakespeare plays, King Lear and Hamlet. In Britain, Hamlet is often performed during times of antiestablishment, when people are railing against institutions. King Lear is often done during times when institutions are very strong. It was around after WWII, when Britain was building itself back, that it got this great national identity. What we find in Hamlet is a divide between the older and younger characters in the play, and how that can be related to today. Both

in Britain and America, theres a huge difference in opinion between the older and younger generation, and how the two collide." ▬ Lewis Brown (Hamlet) 1123 Hillcrest Circle, Minneapolis, MN 55401 • 763-568-5503 hello@shutterspeed.com • wwwshutterspeedcom THINK ABOUT IT ! -Do you relate to these characters? How are you similar or different from them? - How far would you go to get what you want? - Is there a "good guy" or a "bad guy" in the play? Why or why not? - Does Hamlet cause his own downfall? - Do revenge and vengeance provide satisfaction? - Was Hamlet really crazy? - What could Hamlet have done in his situation that may have procured a better result? - Is doing nothing just as wrong as seeking revenge?