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THEMES
CONSIDERING MAJOR THEMES
• Revenge: Hamlet searches continuously for the answer to the question of whether or not he should avenge his father’s death. His concern with right and wrong in religious, moral, and political terms causes him much inner turmoil.
• Appearance vs. Reality: The play contains many situations in which the surface appearance of things does not always match reality. Hamlet struggles to determine who his true friends are; the players in the acting troupe assume new identities; Claudius appears to be a true and just king and Gertrude his virtuous queen.
• Sanity vs. Insanity: In many ways this conflict is intertwined with the theme of appearance vs. reality. Hamlet’s sanity or insanity has baffled critics for years. Even the characters in the play discuss inconsistencies in Hamlet’s behavior, sometimes assuming he is really insane, at other times amazed by his clarity of thought.
• Decay and Corruption: Among the most powerful images of the play are those which reveal disintegrating situations, both in personal terms for Prince Hamlet, and in political terms for Denmark
• Revenge: Hamlet searches continuously for the answer to the question of whether or not he should avenge his father’s death. His concern with right and wrong in religious, moral, and political terms causes him much inner turmoil.
• Appearance vs. Reality: The play contains many situations in which the surface appearance of things does not always match reality. Hamlet struggles to determine who his true friends are; the players in the acting troupe assume new identities; Claudius appears to be a true and just king and Gertrude his virtuous queen.
• Sanity vs. Insanity: In many ways this conflict is intertwined with the theme of appearance vs. reality. Hamlet’s sanity or insanity has baffled critics for years. Even the characters in the play discuss inconsistencies in Hamlet’s behavior, sometimes assuming he is really insane, at other times amazed by his clarity of thought.
• Decay and Corruption: Among the most powerful images of the play are those which reveal disintegrating situations, both in personal terms for Prince Hamlet, and in political terms for Denmark
- Betrayal: Who betrays who? Hamlet and his girlfriend? By leading her on? Hamlet's uncle acting as his father and sending him away? Hamlet's mother marrying Hamlet's father the king?
THEME STATEMENTSCreate a theme statement for each theme listed above.
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MAKE AN OUTLINEUsing one of the theme statements, create AN UTLINE, similar to the one completed for the short story unit SUBMIT IT FOR APPROVAL
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WRITE AN ESSAYWrite a 5 paragraph essay exploring one of the themes. USE THE FORMAT GIVEN IN THE SHORT STORY UNIT
DIPLOMA RUBRICS WILL BE USED FOR MARKING |