BA A511 English (S3) - I (Understanding Drama-I)

T.Y.B.
A SEM V (A511)
ENGLISH (S3)-I (UNDERSTANDING DRAMA-I)
CONTENTS
Unit Contents Page No.
Drama as a Form
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Introduction
1.3 Drama and other literary forms
1.4 Check your Progress I
1.5 Elements of Drama
1.6 Check your Progress II
1.7 Types of Drama
1 1-18
1.8 Check your Progress III
1.9 Summary
1.10 Glossary
1.11 Answers to Check Your Progress I
1.12 Answers to Check Your Progress II
1.13 Answers to Check Your Progress III
1.14 Exercises
1.15 References for Further Reading
Hamlet
2.1 Objectives
2.2 Introduction
2.3 Summary: Act I, II
2.5 Summary: Act III, IV
2.6 Check Your Progress II
2.7 Summary: Act V
2 19-40
2.8 Check Your Progress III
2.9 Summary
2.10 Glossary
2.14 Exercises
Understanding Drama-I
UNIT NO - I
DRAMA AS A FORM
NOTES
Contents
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Introduction
1.3 Drama and other literary forms
1.5 Elements of Drama
1.6 Check your Progress II
1.7 Types of Drama
1.8 Check your Progress III
1.9 Summary
1.10 Glossary
1.14 Exercises
Objectives
After studying this unit, you will be able to
1) distinguish drama as a distinct form of literature
2) understand the history and development of the theatrical art
3) understand the contribution of major English dramatists
4) know the elements and types of drama
5) evaluate drama as a literary form
Introduction
Dear Students, the present course, Understanding Drama, deals with drama
as a literary form and also deals with different elements and types of this
performing art. Drama is a form of composition designed to be performed on
Drama as a Form 1
Understanding Drama-I stage and theatres where actors take the roles of characters and perform them in
the form of actions combined with dialogues.
The Play of Drama is of a Greek origin which means ‘to act’ or ‘to perform’.
NOTES This major form of literature is different from other literary forms for its unique
characteristics. It is written, performed and studied since the last few thousand
years in different forms. Many theoreticians and dictionaries have attempted to
define drama. Let’s see some significant definitions of drama.
Oxford Dictionary defines drama as

Drama is a composition in verse or prose and verse, adapted to be acted on
the stage, in which a story is related by means of dialogue and action and is
represented with accompanying gesture, costume and scenery as in real life.
The Glossary of Literary Terms by M H Abram defines as

‘Drama is a composition designed for performance in the theatre, in which
actors take the roles of the characters, perform the indicated action and utter the
written dialogue’.
It is a general say that the present drama took its form out of the folk culture,
however, the English drama developed from religious rituals commemorating
the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The early performances were played
in the Church and its premises and were aimed at making people familiar with
the Bible. The early plays in this beginning phase were Morality and Miracle
plays and were didactic and religious plays in nature. Everyman (1490) is the
best example of this type. These Miracle and Morality plays paved a way to the
present-day drama. However, the first of its kind in the form of an English
Tragedy and Comedy is Sackville and Norton’s Gorboduc (1561) and Udall’s
Ralph Roister Doister (1566) respectively. In the 16th Century, and with the rise
of drama in England, the Elizabethan Drama achieved a great height because of
its playwrights writing as ‘University Wits’ and followed by William
Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Jonson.
The Text: I
Drama and Other Literary Forms
Drama is an age-old type of literature. This performing art is well known
and well appreciated since a few thousand years and it presents the complexity
of human life by the way of human experiences through a connected sequence
of events in the form of action. It provides utmost pleasure and serves as an outlet
for the suppressed desires of the audience.
When we talk of the origin and development of drama we need to begin
with the Western Drama. The origin of the Western Drama can be traced in
Classical Greece. Athens and its theatrical culture was the centre of attraction
those days. Some 5th Century BC, dramatic performances were much in vogue
and there were competitions and festivals celebrated in the name of Gods in
2 Drama as a Form
Athens. Many ancient Greek dramatists crafted innovations in this performing Understanding Drama-I
art and helped this art to get established. The few to name are Aeschylus,
Sophocles, Euripides and Aristophanes. However, a very small amount of work
from this great tradition and great playwrights is present today. When the Roman NOTES
Republic invaded Greece, they introduced Roman Drama across Europe. This
newly established Roman theatre was something different and varied from the
western theatre and was varied, extensive and sophisticated. The Roman
dramatists introduced tragedies and comedies, played well but could not survive
for long. The only Roman comedies that survived are of Titus Maccius Plautus
and Publius Terentius Afer. The famous one was Seneca. Some Senecan tragedies
that survived are Hercules Furens, Medea, Troades, Phaedra, Agamemnon.
Oedipus, Phoenissae, and Thyestes.
Later on, the drama, which began in the early middle ages, is known as the
Medieval Drama. As introduced at the beginning of this unit, this dramatized
version came into force with the help of stage performances of the biblical events
in and around the Church and its premises. This journey of medieval drama
travelled from Russia, Scandinavia, Italy to France and Germany. In the later
Middle Ages the religious drama was in vogue in almost every European Country
followed by trade guilds that performed in the form of comedy, mystery plays,
morality plays and plays based on religious themes. However, Morality Plays set
a background to the dramatic history of the Elizabethan drama. The examples
are The Second Shephard’s Play, Everyman or The Castel of Perseverance.
The Elizabethan drama was written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I
from 1558 to 1603. This period broke the cultural constraints imposed by the
medieval Church. The age-old centre of literature, the God, got a switched to
human beings and humanistic movement especially to the new perceptions in
art, music, architecture, religion, science, philosophy, theatre and literature. The
Renaissance movement had its emphases in many European countries and in
different forms. Germany observed religious and philosophic emphases, Italy
observed emphases on art, architecture and sculpture and it was the Elizabethan
dramatic theatre that flourished under the impact of the Renaissance. The
Elizabethan drama came out under the influence of Miracle Plays prominently
dealing with the Biblical stories and Morality Plays prominently dealing with
the lives of the saints. These plays attempted to teach life lessons in the form of
allegory. The Elizabethan period developed as many as twenty plus dramatic
theatres observed a good amount of frequency of performances. These were the
places to which people visited to see their reflections or stories of the day-to-day
interests with the common themes such as love and murder, stealing and cheating
and getting into trouble and getting out of it. They loved to see these
performances with the human touch. Many playwrights are belonging to this era
but the prominent is William Shakespeare famous his tragedies, the masterpieces
in the field of English literature, especially Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and
Othello.
Drama as a Form 3
Understanding Drama-I Drama, as a literary genre, is distinct in its characteristic features and stands
apart from the other forms of literature. Certain things set drama apart from other
literary types. The foremost is that it is to be performed in front of the live
NOTES audience. The dialogues, actions, costumes and drapery are some typical things
that are associated with the drama. Traditionally this performing art is divided
into the following three conventional categories:
• Tragedy: A type of drama that ends unhappily. Usually, a tragedy ends
with the death of its main character/s, especially the protagonist.
• Comedy: Comedy is the play that ends happily. Generally, it ends with
a marriage symbolizing the continuation of life and the resolution of the
conflict symbolizing all is well that ends well.
• Tragicomedy: As the name suggests, it is a combination of tragic and
comic incidents. This mixture of sad and happy events finally promotes
an affirmation of life stating life is a mixture of both these things. This
type of drama is further subdivided into two types: Dark Comedy and
Farce.
o Dark Comedy highlights sarcastic or scornful humour that gives
a frightening glimpse of the futility of life, whereas,
o Farce is an exaggerated short play that depends for its comic
effect on a comic dramatic work using buffoonery and horseplay
and typically including crude characterization and ludicrously
improbable situations.
Apart from these focal forms of drama, the comedy is further classified as
Romantic Comedy, Sentimental Comedy, Classical Comedy, Comedy of
Humour, Comedy of Manners, and Farcical Comedy. Comedies have been
written since times immemorial. Among the ancients, Aristophanes, Plautus and
Terence were great writers of comedy whose works have been a source of
inspiration to many.
Check Your Progress: I

a) Complete the following sentences by choosing the correct alternative
1 Drama is of ---------- origin which means ‘to act’ or ‘to perform’.
a) an English b) Greek
c) French d) Roman
2 Oxford Dictionary defines drama as ‘a composition in verse or
prose, adapted to be -------------------.
a) acted on stage b) a film
c) a literary form d) a systematic novel
4 Drama as a Form
3 The drama that began in the early middle ages is known as the Understanding Drama-I
------------------.
a) Classical Drama b) Ancient Drama
NOTES
c) Platonic Drama d) Medieval Drama
4 The Elizabethan play was written especially during the reign of
Queen Elizabeth I, that is -------------------.
a) from 1500 to 1600 b) from 1564 to 1616
c) from 1558 to 1603 d) from 1550 to 1625
5 Tragedy is a type of drama that ends unhappily. Usually, a tragedy
ends with the death of -------------------.
a) its author b) its protagonist
c) its minor and major characters d) the villain
b) Write answers to the following questions in ONE word / phrase /
sentence.
1. Where do we find the origin of drama?
2. What is a Farce?
3. What is a tragic-comedy?
4. How would you define the Elizabethan drama?
5. What is classical drama?
The Text: II
Elements of Drama
Dear Students, now let us see the different elements that constitute a drama.
Aristotle was the first literary critic who attempted to define drama and proposed
different elements of drama. According to him, the basic elements of drama are
plot, character, thought, music, spectacle and language. Over time these elements
have been modified or redesigned, but, the common elements are the same and
considered essential for making of the drama. Moreover, these elements are
inseparable and cannot be isolated from each other. Let’s know these elements.
Theme
The Theme is the foremost element of drama and refers to ‘the message’
intended to be expressed through the dramatic story. In simple words, it is the
main idea to be presented with the help of the play, runs throughout the play and
can be identified through dialogues and actions. The prominent themes that we
find in drama are generally corruption, love, revenge, human relations and many
such others. It is the message by the playwright for his audience. There can be
multiple themes operated in a play and can be drawn from the cultural
background or the history, legend, myth or folklore theme remains the controlling
idea in a play. Drama as a Form 5
Understanding Drama-I Characters
The next important element is ‘the character’. We cannot imagine drama
without characters and these characters, in a normal course, are men and women.
NOTES In special cases, the characters may be supernatural types of characters.
Characters, like other elements of drama, are inseparable in and help the
playwright to transfer his message in the form of dialogue with the help of
characters.
There are different types of characters in the drama, say, for example, major
characters and minor characters. Moreover, these major and minor characters are
further divided into types such as static characters and dynamic characters, flat
characters and round characters, and stereotypes. The major characters enjoy the
significant place in the making of the drama and remain at the center of the action.
Minor characters appear to be supporting characters, secondary and remain static
throughout the play. Exceptionally, they exhibit a kind of change-of attitude or
behavior. The Flat characters reveal a single dimension, and their behavior and
speech are predictable. Round characters are more individualized, reveal more
than one aspect of their human nature and are unpredictable. The protagonist is
the main character in a play, the hero, and the antagonist is the villain. The
Protagonist receives wide appreciation and sympathies whereas antagonist
remains a matter of rejection.
Plot
The Plot is the most essential element of drama. It is an organization of
action in the form of a sequence of certain events arranged chronologically. It is
an arrangement of certain events in a story that takes place in a decided sequence
of order, especially the initial incident or the beginning, rising action, climax,
falling action and denouement. This sequence is presented in the manner of action
with the help of characters and their dialogues. In other words, ‘the plot is a
matter of action of deeds that are done during the story”. The Oxford Dictionary
defines plot as ‘a plan or line of events of a story”. In other words, plot is ‘the
main events of a play devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated
sequence’. There are many other definitions of the plot. Some few to name are:
‘Plot is the organization of a series of action or events usually moving
through conflicts to a climax and resolution.’
‘The plot is a sequence of important moments arranged chronologically,
with an introduction, series of complications intensifying the conflict, a climax
clinching the fate of the central characters, a resolution and a denouement that
concludes and summarizes the issues.’
This pattern of events has to have internal relation of the prescribed events
and could have been infinite or limitless. That is why Aristotle, in his Poetics,
considered plot as the most important element of drama, more important than
character. For Aristotle, the plot is the soul of tragedy. He expects action in drama
to be complete in itself with a well-defined beginning, progressive middle and
6 Drama as a Form
an apt end where the beginning initiates the main action, the middle presumes Understanding Drama-I
what has gone before and requires something to follow and the end follows the
proper denouncement following the conflict and the climax.
Aristotle has divided the plot into two types: the simple plot and the NOTES
complex plot. The simple plot carries simple action and continuous throughout
the play and brings in the change of fortune without reversal of the situation,
however, in a complex plot, the change occurs at the cost of reversal of the
situation or by recognition. The other types of the plot that Aristotle describes
are unified plot and episodic plot, the former means a well-made plot and the
later means a series of events linked together by the same character, place, or
theme but held apart by their plot, purpose, and subtext. There is also a Parallel
Plot where the writer weaves two or more dramatic plots usually linked by a
common character and a similar theme.
Dialogue
Can there be a drama without dialogues? No. It is highly impossible. Of
course, there is a type of dramatic performance named ‘Mime’ as a type of
dramatic presentation; a full-fledged drama cannot appear without dialogue, the
dramatic speech of characters in a drama. The dictionary meaning of ‘dialogue’
is “a conversation between two or more persons real or imaginary”. When we
read drama, we read the dialogues, we read between the lines. Dialogues are self-
explanatory and make the dramatic happenings explicit. They have further
classified into subtypes: the monologue and the soliloquy. Dialogue involves two
or more speakers, in monologue a character speaks alone, and in the soliloquy is
the character attempts to express his/her state of mind. The soliloquy represents
a character’s mind and thoughts to the audience. Asides is another fragment of
dialogue where we see the character speaking to the audience in the presence of
other characters without letting the other characters know it. Dialogues are self-
explanatory and attempt to give more details about the plot, characters and setting
of the play and are complementary.
Stage Properties
This performing art needs different performing measures as a set for
performance, lighting, music, and costumes. All these things run parallel to the
stage performance. A dramatist appears to be keen regarding the observance of
these things while writing his script of the play. His guidelines are to be strictly
followed on stage. Broadly speaking, as plot, character and setting are essential
for the making of a drama, light, music and costumes makes the drama happen.
Stage properties are supposed to be the backbone of a stage act.
The Three Unities

Aristotle, in his Poetics, has established the principle that a play should have
a single action represented occurring in a single place and within the course of a
day. This dramatic principle is called the unity of time, place and action where
Drama as a Form 7
Understanding Drama-I the unity of time requires an action to not to exceed a single revolution of the
Sun, the unity of place attempts a dramatic performance to cover a single physical
space and avoid geographical dislocations, whereas, the unity of action requires
NOTES the performance to cover a single plot or action to sustain the interest of its
spectators leading to a proper purgation. These unities are labelled as ‘Aristotelian
rules’ in making a drama.
Following Aristotle, it was Trissino, an Italian critic, who introduced this
terminology in his blank-verse tragedy, Sofonisba with an acknowledgement to
Aristotle. In Poetics, Aristotle considers action to be serious, complete, and with
certain magnitude. Trissiono’s Sofonisba followed classical Greek style by
adhering to these unities and was followed by many Italian dramatists. However,
it could not do well with the Italian drama. Later, in next century France, Jean
Mairet introduced it to the French literature, followed the unities under the rules
of the theatre and the unities of action, time, and place and achieved the desired
effect.
In England, especially in the period of Elizabethan drama, these unities had
less impact and could hardly be observed uniformly. The writers like Ben Jonson
and John Dryden followed it and Sir Philip Sidney strongly advocated it. Sidney,
in his An Apology for Poetry (1595) scolded the dramatists for ignoring these
basics elements. William Shakespeare enjoyed utmost liberty in composing his
plays. There are some Shakespearean plays where we can track these unities,
especially Tempest which follows the unities in a manner that the course of action
is limited to an island (place), the time is strictly limited and action sequence is
strictly related to Prospero’s reclaiming his place as the Duke of Milan. However,
it appears that Shakespeare avoided or modified these unities with a view that
they are not essential and sometimes limit the possibility of dramatic creation.
Check Your Progress: II

1 Plot is the organization of a series of action or events usually
moving through conflicts -------------------.
a) to a climax and resolution b) to the rising action
c) to the contrasts d) and the crisis
2 Soliloquy attempts to express a character’s state of mind and
thoughts -------------------.
a) to the villain b) to the minor characters
c) to the audience d) to the author
3 Under the dramatic principle of three unities, the unity of time
requires an action that should not exceed a single --------------.
a) episode of an event b) stage property
c) place and action d) revolution of the Sun
8 Drama as a Form
4 Sir Philip Sidney, in his -------------------, treated the dramatists Understanding Drama-I
with harsh words for ignoring the basics elements of drama.
a) The Tempest b) Romeo and Juliet
NOTES
c) Astrophel and Stella d) An Apology for Poetry
5 Flat characters reveal a single dimension and are predictable,
whereas, the round characters are individualized and -----------.
a) unpredictable b) predictable
c) isolated d) classified

sentence.
1. What do you mean by elements of drama?
2. Name the basic elements of drama
3. How many types of characters are there in a drama?
4. Name the three unities essential for a classic tragedy.
5. What are the Aristotelian types of the plot?
The Text: III

Types of Drama
Tragedy
The Greek tragedy originated as a special performance at the festivals and
was attended by the large number of people performed before the altars to God.
It originated from the tradition of great writers and philosophers including Plato
and Aristotle. It was Aristotle who attempted to define tragedy in his Poetics (335
BCE) as a serious and complete in itself art using embellished language and
giving cathartic effect. It is an attempt to use human emotions and sufferings to
invoke the catharsis and the great playwrights from Aeschylus, Sophocles and
Euripides to Shakespeare, Ibsen and Beckett have operated this genre along with
the great playwrights such as Saint Augustine, Voltaire, Hegel, Nietzsche, Freud,
Benjamin and many others who helped this genre to establish.
The absolute theme of the tragedy was misfortunes of the heroes. The trend
was set by the great writers like Homer (12th to 8th BCE), Aeschylus (525–456
BCE) and Sophocles (496–406 BCE) and Euripides (480–406 BCE). It was a
serious and dignified style of presenting sorrowful or terrible events encountered
or caused by a hero. This Greek drama was formally adopted by the Roman world
of literature where Seneca (4 BCE–65 CE) wrote many tragedies with Greek
tragic feeling for character and theme.
When we come to English tragedy, the early attempts were made by
Geoffrey Chaucer who used the word to signify little more than the turn of the
wheel of fortune. Renaissance rediscovered the Greek and Roman tragedy in the
Drama as a Form 9
Understanding Drama-I mid-16th century and began to turn the old medieval forms of the miracles and
mysteries and turned to Senecan tragedies for their models. Gorboduc (1561) by
Thomas Sackville and Thomas Norton is known as the first formal tragedy in
NOTES English followed by Thomas Kyd’s Spanish Tragedy (1587). The first significant
tragedian who followed the Greek tradition was Christopher Marlowe with his
Tamburlaine (1587), Doctor Faustus (1588), The Jew of Malta (1589), and
Edward II (1593). These plays made him a popular English tragedian
immediately followed by William Shakespeare with his Hamlet, Othello, King
Lear, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra.
Comedy
Like ‘Tragedy’ the word "Comedy" is also derived from the Classical Greek.
It means a dramatic performance provoking laughter. The simplest explanation
of the Greek and Roman use of the term "comedy” is a stage-performance giving
happy ending. In a modern sense, this genre refers to any discourse or work
generally intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter. Aristotle
was very particular in defining ‘tragedy’ and ‘comedy’ in his Poetics. For him,
tragedy is an imitation of men better than the average whereas comedy is an
imitation of men worse than the average. The characters, unlike tragedy, are
ridiculous and they excite laughter without causing pain. Later on, the term
comedy was associated with performances intended to cause laughter with its
variants such as satire and humour. It has been defined as “a drama in which the
characters are placed in a more or less humorous situation, the movement is light
and often mirthful, and the play ends in general goodwill and happiness”.
Like Tragedy, it is also the oldest form of drama portraying the rise in
fortune of a sympathetic central character. The first of its type were Grammar
Gurton’s Needle by John Stillbut and Ralph Royster Doister by Nicholas Udall.
It is also classified into two types: classical and romantic based on their form
and design. The restoration playwright Ben Jonson followed the classical style
whereas the University Wits and Shakespeare followed the romantic style. This
form has been further classified into types such as Romantic Comedy, Comedy
of Manners, Satiric Comedy, Farce, Comedy of Humour, Sentimental Comedy
and Tragic or Dark Comedy. The other common types are Satire and Parody.
Tragi-comedy
Tragi-comedy, like tragedy and comedy, is another literary genre that blends
the aspects of both tragic and comic forms. To be simple, tragicomedy describes
either a tragic play which contains enough comic elements to lighten the overall
mood or a serious play with a happy ending. This invokes the intended response
of both the tragedy and the comedy in the audience; the tragedy based on human
suffering affects the catharsis of the kindred emotions and comedy based on
humorous incidents arousing laughter. There are very less amount of plays that
subscribe to the spirit of comedy or subscribe to tragic emotions. In short, these
plays may appear cheerful but point to some darker aspects of life. Shakespeare’s
10 Drama as a Form
Measure for Measure and Eliot’s The Cocktail Party, for example, might both be Understanding Drama-I
called comedies but they have very little in common with the mainstream of the
English comedies. To these plays, the term ‘tragi-comedy’ or ‘black comedy’ or
‘dark comedy’ have been applied. Shakespeare’s later plays like The Winter’s NOTES
Tale and Cymbeline are ‘tragi-comedies’.
Problem Play
‘Problem Play’, as George Bernard Shaw explains “is the presentation in a
parable of the conflict between man’s will and his environment”. This type of
play generally ends with a question mark that helps to revolt, set many restless
and dissatisfied and continued to dominate the early twentieth century. Problem
plays deal with the controversial social issues such as religion, labour, capital
and sex as well as the issues of prostitution, illegitimacy, women atrocities and
their liberation in a realistic manner. This type of play is also labelled as “the
drama of ideas” as it intends to focus on the social evils and make the audience
think over the prevalent issues. The late nineteenth and early twentieth-century
drama attempted to set away from the outdated conventions of the existing theatre
and attempted to set a new attitude to this serious drama. The problem play
replaced the excessive romantic scenes with realistic English life.
It was the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) who believed
that theatre could be a means discussing social and moral problems and he
attempted to enter into the lives of common men rather dealing with the lives of
upper classes. He went on to expose the hypocrisy, greed, and hidden corruption
of his society with his plays. His Love’s Comedy (1862) criticizes the
contemporary marriage institution, A Doll’s House portrays a woman’s escape
from her domestic responsibilities, The Ghosts deals with loveless and unhappy
marriages, The Wild Duck and An Enemy of the People attempts to expose the
hypocrite human beings. Ibsen prudently displayed the familial and social
conflicts and influenced writers of his day to write in this manner. The other
writers who wrote like Ibsen are G.B. Shaw, Galsworthy and H. Granville-Barker
who introduced the realist mode.
Absurd Drama
The Theatre of the Absurd is a typical term used for the plays performed
post World War II, the especially late 1950s, where the humankind is presented
feeling hopeless, bewildered, and anxious. The Theatre of the Absurd is also a
term that focuses on the idea of existentialism. It presents how human life and
human existence would be if it loses communication at all. The structure of the
plays is typically round shaped where the finishing point remains the same as
the starting point.
It is a dramatic work of certain European-American dramatists who
followed Albert Camus. Camus was an existentialist philosopher who presented
his essay ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’; (1942) with a belief that the present human
situation is essentially absurd and devoid of purpose. Absurdity in the plays takes
Drama as a Form 11
Understanding Drama-I the form of man's reaction to a world apparently without meaning or man as a
puppet controlled or menaced by invisible outside forces. The same term, absurd,
was applied by those European-American dramatists to their works. Some of the
NOTES prominent dramatists of this type of theatre were Samuel Beckett, Eugene
Ionesco, Jean Genet, Harold Pinter and others. They all shared the common
absurd thematic element of the pessimistic vision of humanity struggling vainly
to find a purpose and to control its fate.
The absurd playwrights did away with most of the logical structures of
traditional theatre, the language dislocated and full of puns and repetitions. There
is little dramatic action, the characters sit and talk repeating the same thing again
and again until it sounds like nonsense revealing the meagerness of verbal
communication. These purposeless talks give the plays an obscure, dazzling
effect and underlie the metaphysical distress of humanity. However, this ‘Theatre
of the Absurd’ movement declined by the mid-1960s but some of its features and
characteristics got absorbed into the mainstream theatre in the following years.
Some best examples of the absurd theatre are Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot
(1952) and Eugene Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano (1950).
The Closet Play

Though the drama is defined as a performing art, the Closet Play or Closet
Drama is intended to read out only. It belongs to a genre of dramatic writing
which is not concerned with stage technique. These plays used to have all the
features and characteristics of a normal course drama. The form was applied by
those who would propose to avoid the censorship or for those who couldn’t get
access to the commercial playhouse, especially early modern women's
playwrights. There, Closet Plays was published in the form of manuscript giving
elaborate stage directions to its readers to imagine the text as if it was being
performed. This created an "unusually tight fusion between book and reader as
it endeavours to stimulate the theatrical imagination." The playwrights did not
have to worry about the pressure to impress the audience. Thus, it was considered
to be a freestyle of writing.
Check Your Progress: III

1 Aristotle attempted to define tragedy in his Poetics as a serious
and complete stage act giving -------------------.
a) comic effect b) simple effect
c) embellished language d) a cathartic effect
2 Tragedy is a serious and dignified style of presenting sorrowful
or terrible events encountered or caused -------------------.
a) by a hero b) the unity of time
c) the dialogues d) the playwright
12 Drama as a Form
3 The first formal bloody English tragedy by Thomas Sackville and Understanding Drama-I
Thomas Norton is -------------------.
a) Ralph Roister Doister b) The Bald Soprano
NOTES
c) Gorboduc d) The Myth of Sisyphus
4 Like Tragedy, Comedy is also the oldest form of drama
portraying ------------------- of the central character.
a) the rise in fortune b) the character sketch
c) decline in the fortune d) the mindset
5 The best examples of the theatre of the absurd by Samuel Beckett
is -------------------.
a) The Myth of Sisyphus b) Waiting for Godot
c) The Wild Duck d) An Enemy of the People

sentence.
1. Who attempted to define tragedy for the first time?
2. Give examples of Shakespearean tragedy?
3. What is a problem play?
4. What do you mean by the theatre of the absurd?
5. How is closet play different from other plays?
Summary
Dear Students, the present unit has been designed to distinguish drama as a
distinct form of literature and allow students to understand the history and
development of theatrical art. The unit also attempts to survey the definition of
drama, elements of drama and different types of drama. This distinct literary form
is labelled as a performing art, designed to be performed on stage or in the
theatres where actors take roles of characters and perform in the form of actions
combined with dialogues. This major form of literature has been defined as: ‘a
composition in verse or prose and verse adapted to be acted on the stage, in which
a story is related by means of dialogue and action and is represented with an
accompanying gesture, costume and scenery as in real life’. This age-old
performing art is well appreciated since few thousand years which represents the
complexity of human life by the way of human experiences through a connected
sequence of events in the form of action, provides utmost pleasure and also serves
as an outlet for the suppressed desires.
Drama, as a literary genre, is distinct in its characteristic features and stands
apart from the other forms of literature. Certain things that set drama apart; the
foremost is that it is to be performed in front of the live audience. The dialogues,
actions, costumes and drapery are some typical things that are associated with
Drama as a Form 13
Understanding Drama-I the drama. Traditionally, this performing art is divided into three conventional
categories: Tragedy, Comedy and Tragicomedy.
NOTES Glossary
14 Drama as a Form
NOTES
Answers to Check Your Progress I

1 Drama is of Greek origin which means ‘to act’ or ‘to perform’.
2 Oxford Dictionary defines drama as ‘a composition in verse or
prose, adapted to be acted on the stage.
3 The drama that began in the early middle ages is known as the
Medieval Drama.
4 The Elizabethan play was written especially during the reign of
Queen Elizabeth I, that is from 1558 to 1603.
5 Tragedy is a type of drama that ends unhappily. Usually, a tragedy
ends with the death of its protagonist.
Drama as a Form 15
Understanding Drama-I b) Write answers to the following questions in ONE word / phrase /
sentence.
1. The origin of the drama lies in classical Greece.
NOTES
2. Farce is an exaggerated short play
3. Tragicomedy is a combination of tragic and comic incidents.
4. The drama written during the reign of Queen Elizabethan I is
known as the Elizabethan drama.
5. The drama that was seeded, flourished and established in classical
Greek culture is called as classical drama.
Answers to Check Your Progress II

1 Plot is the organization of a series of action or events usually
moving through conflicts to a climax and resolution.
2 Soliloquy attempts to express a character’s state of mind and
thoughts to the audience.
3 Under the dramatic principle of three unities, the Unity of Time
requires an action that should not exceed a single revolution of
the Sun.
4 Sir Philip Sidney, in his An Apology for Poetry treated the
dramatists with harsh words for ignoring the basics elements of
drama.
5 Flat characters reveal a single dimension and are predictable,
whereas round characters are individualized and unpredictable.
sentence.
1. The elements without which it is difficult to produce a drama or
stage act are elements of drama.
2. Themes, Characters, Plot, Dialogue and Stage Properties are the
basic elements of drama.
3. In a typical drama, there are two types of characters: the round
characters and the flat characters.
4. Three unities essential for a classic tragedy are unity of time,
place and action.
5. The types of the Aristotelian plot are simple and complex.
16 Drama as a Form
Answers to Check Your Progress III Understanding Drama-I
1 Aristotle attempted to define tragedy in his Poetics as a serious
NOTES
and complete stage act giving a cathartic effect.
2 Tragedy is a serious and dignified style of presenting sorrowful
or terrible events encountered or caused by a hero.
3 The first formal bloody English tragedy by Thomas Sackville and
Thomas Norton is Gorboduc.
4 Like Tragedy, Comedy is also the oldest form of drama
portraying the rise in fortune of the central character.
5 The best example of the theatre of the absurd by Samuel Beckett
is Waiting for Godot.

sentence.
1. It was Aristotle who attempted to define tragedy for the first time
in the history of literary studies.
2. Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear and Othello are the greatest
Shakespearean tragedies.
3. Problem Play is an act of performance dealing with a
controversial social issue.
4. Theatre of the absurd is a dramatic movement which produced
plays with a belief that the present human situation is essentially
absurd and devoid of purpose.
5. Unlike the traditional play, closet play or closet drama is created
mainly to read.
Exercise
A) Write Short Notes on the following
1 Tragedy as a form of literature
2 Attempt to define drama and elaborate on the dramatic elements
3 The different types of Comedy
4 The Closet Drama
5 The Elizabethan Drama
B) Answer the following questions in three to four sentences each

1 Write a note on the origin and development of drama as a form
of literature.
2 How did Aristotle define the significance of Tragedy?
Drama as a Form 17
Understanding Drama-I 3 What are the different elements of drama?
4 How is Tragedy different than Comedy?
5 Comment on the significance of three unities in a classical
NOTES
drama?
References for Further Reading

A) Try to read the following books defining drama, its elements and types
• History of the Theatre, Oscar G. Brocket and Franklin
• Understanding Drama, Cleanth Brooks
• Studying Drama: A Handbook, David Bradby
• British Drama, Allardyce Nicoll
B) There are various audio-visual resources to study Drama in
general and English Drama in particular.
Vyas is an educational channel dedicated to Higher Education under
consortium for educational communication, New Delhi, India. Visit the following
website to listen to a series of lectures on ‘Drama as a Form’.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6GEXGDT99A
*****
18 Drama as a Form
UNIT NO - II
HAMLET
NOTES
William Shakespeare
Contents
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Introduction
1.3 Summary: Act I, II
1.5 Summary: Act III, IV
1.6 Check Your Progress II
1.7 Summary: Act V
1.8 Check Your Progress III
1.9 Summary
1.10 Glossary
1.14 Exercises
Objectives
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
1) know Shakespeare as a master dramatist and explain Hamlet as his
masterpiece
2) examine the development of the play, plot, characters and actions
3) understand that actions have consequences
4) explain the outline and significance of the line ‘To be or not to be’
5) role-play one act from Hamlet
6) identify with the fact that people understand and interpret reality
differently.
Hamlet 19
Understanding Drama-I Introduction
William Shakespeare is a world-famous personality in the field of literary
writing. He is an English poet-playwright and regarded as the greatest writer in
NOTES the field of English language, especially drama. This world's greatest dramatist
is also referred to as ‘Bard of Avon’ who has contributed 37 Plays and 154
Sonnets in English.
Today, the whole world knows Shakespeare and his skills in dramatic
writings. He was born in 1564 in Stratford, Warwickshire (England) and spared
his early days there. Later, somewhere between 1585 and 1592, he began his
career in London as an actor turned writer and his major works appeared between
1589 and 1613. His early plays were Comedies and History Plays but later he
turned to tragedies. He is known for his tragedies of which some important to
name are Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. These are
the finest works by Shakespeare and are being followed after a span of more than
four hundred years. He is still being performed, studied, reinterpreted, adapted
and researched throughout the world.
Shakespeare’s early works were his Historical Plays like Richard III and
Henry VI (in three parts) along with The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the
Shrew and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. This phase of Shakespearean drama
had influences of his contemporaries, University Wits, and other Elizabethan
Dramatists along with the traditional medieval drama. Interestingly,
Shakespeare's plays give a witty mixture of romance, fairy tales, magical element
and comic lowlife sequences. They also contain wit, rural setting, common man’s
appearance and the lively merrymaking. His characters become more complex.
He has successfully experimented narrative variety in his works. Shakespeare is
known for his tragedies but has also written problem plays such as Measure for
Measure, Troilus and Cressida and All's Well That Ends Well. These plays, along
with his greatest tragedies, represent the height of his writing career.
Dear students, you have studied how Aristotle classified nature and function
of tragedy in his ‘Poetics’. For him, the ultimate aim of tragedy is to bring about
the ‘catharsis’ of the inner feelings like pity and fear of the spectator and to purge
him of his emotions. ‘The tragedy’, according to Aristotle, should be an imitation
of an action, complete and serious, and ‘the Hero’ an ideal person. Shakespeare
followed this Aristotelian concept but with his touch. His tragedy is characterized
by ‘the tragic flaw’; however, it is not ‘the fate’ but ‘the internal imperfection’ in
the hero that brings the downfall of its hero. His downfall becomes his own doing,
and he is no longer, as is seen in the classical tragedy, turns a helpless victim.
Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth follow the Aristotelian
model with a modified version showing the protagonist with a tragic flaw that
eventually leads to his downfall. Say, for example, Othello's flaw was his
jealousy that flared up his mind with suspicion of his beloved wife or Hamlet’s
flaw, his being indecisive, led him in a tragic end. Comparing Aristotle with
Shakespeare, we find Aristotle idealizing his hero’s hamartia whereas
20 Hamlet Shakespeare attempts to make ‘the tragic flaw’ in his hero realistic. The latter
made his plots more complicated by introducing many sub-plots to make the play Understanding Drama-I
much real and meaningful trespassing three unities. What we find in Shakespeare
is that ‘the end’ of his plays remains open-ended, unlike Aristotle’s, ‘with the
sense that everything has been finished’. NOTES
The plot structure of Shakespearean play depends on the fatal error that
destroys the hero and those he loves. Hamlet, his most discussed character, is
always concerned with the question: to be or not to be; that is the question. This
hesitant hero proves that his hesitation turns to be his hamartia. Same is the case
with Othello and King Lear who were undone by the hasty errors of their
judgment. In Othello, the subordinate figure to Othello, Iago (the villain)
overpowers his master Othello and injects ‘the green-eyed monster’ (doubt) for
his wife (Desdemona). Othello, ultimately, murders his innocent wife whom he
loves most. In King Lear, the old king commits the tragic error of giving up his
powers, initiating the events which lead to the torture and blinding of the Earl of
Gloucester and the murder of Lear's youngest daughter Cordelia. In Macbeth,
the uncontrollable ambition incites Macbeth and his wife to murder the rightful
King and usurp the throne until their guilt destroys them in turn. He never forgets
to use the supernatural element to enhance the tragic element in his plays quite
often.
Hamlet or The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark has been written
somewhere between 1599 and 1601 and considered to be the most powerful and
influential work. It is believed that Shakespeare derived the Hamlet story from
the legend of Amleth. There are three different versions of Hamlet that we can
find in the First Quarto (1603); the Second Quarto (1604); and the First Folio
(1623). The most authenticate works of William Shakespeare were published
posthumously by his friends, John and Henry, as the First Folio. So that version
is taken as the final version.
The play is set in Denmark, where the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet, is
attempting revenge against his uncle because his father’s ghost asks him to take
revenge of his murder by killing the new King. The whole story deals with
Hamlet's revenge. The play opens late at night when guards at Elsinore meet
Horatio, a friend to Prince Hamlet, and describe a ghost that resembles Hamlet's
father. They discuss and decide to report it to Hamlet. Hamlet is mourning the
death of his father. His mother has recently married to Claudius and Hamlet is
not happy with the latest happenings. When he hears of the Ghost from Horatio,
he wants to see it for himself. When ghost approaches Hamlet it tells how
Claudius plotted, murdered him and married his wife. Hamlet is stunned by the
news and swears vengeance. The other side of the story deals with the Polonius,
Laertes and Ophelia story.
As the plot progresses we see Hamlet behaving strangely. Claudius and
Polonius set Guildenstern and Rosencrantz to spy on Hamlet to find a reason for
his sudden behavioural change. Coincidently, there arrives a group of travelling
actors to present a play before the King and the Queen. Hamlet modifies their
dramatic performance by introducing a murder scene of his father. His plan Hamlet 21
Understanding Drama-I achieves the desired effect. We see Claudius provoked and leaves the
performance at once. When Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother summons him, Hamlet,
on his way, plans of killing Claudius but couldn’t execute the plan. He enters his
NOTES mother’s room. Unaware of the fact that Polonius has hidden himself inside,
Hamlet enters in a debate with his mother. Accidently, when he senses some
suspicious-cum-dangerous movements behind the curtain he draws his sword
and stabs the tapestry in that direction and accidentally kills Polonius.
After this deadly encounter with Polonius, King Claudius and Gertrude find
Hamlet dangerous for their life as well as their throne. Claudius plans to send
Hamlet to England. Coincidently, the King Fortinbras of Norway is about to pass
Denmark to attack Poland. Hamlet, in the meantime and on his way to England
discovers the foul intention of Claudius, adjourns the plan and returns to Denmark
alone. Ophelia commits suicide by drowning herself in a river after receiving the
death news of her father. Hamlet arrives back and lands at the funeral procession
of Ophelia. He meets head-on Laertes and begins to fight with him. Later,
Claudius proposes a dual match between these two. The fight is well planned by
Claudius to kill Hamlet. It was planned to the extent that Hamlet should die either
way; with a poisoned blade or with a poisoned wine. However, the plan goes the
wrong way and Gertrude dies of drinking the poisoned wine glass specially
prepared for Hamlet. Laertes and Hamlet both gets wounded by the poisoned
blade and dies. But before death, Hamlet kills Claudius leaving only his friend
Horatio to explain the truth to the new king, Fortinbras.
The Characters in the Play

Hamlet
Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is the central character, and the
protagonist. This son of Queen Gertrude and the late King and
nephew to the present king Claudius is shown as a melancholic
and cynical character carrying full of hatred for his uncle. Though
learned, young and thoughtful, he is indecisive and hesitant
character.
Claudius
The King of Denmark and the antagonist of the play. Claudius
has successfully managed to plot against his brother, killed him
and married his wife, Gertrude. He is shrewd, calculating and
determined and driven by his sexual appetites and lust for power.
Gertrude
Mother to the Prince of Denmark (Hamlet) and Queen of
Denmark, is a significant character. She remarries her brother-in-
law but loves Hamlet.
Polonius
Lord Chamberlain of Claudius’s court and a pompous, conniving
old man, father to Laertes and Ophelia.
22 Hamlet
Horatio Understanding Drama-I
The only close friend of Hamlet. He is the most loyal and helpful
fellow to Hamlet throughout the play. He was with Hamlet when
Hamlet was studying at Wittenberg University. He lives after NOTES
Hamlet’s death and tells his story.
Ophelia
This beautiful young woman is Polonius’s daughter. She was
loved by Hamlet. This sweet and innocent young girl was fully
controlled by her father and brother. Her dependency on men
makes her spy on Hamlet.
Laertes
Polonius’s son and Ophelia’s brother. When play begins he is
shown living in France. He is passionate, quick to action and foil
for the reflective Hamlet.
Fortinbras
The Young Prince of Norway, whose father (the king, also named
as Fortinbras) was killed by Hamlet’s father (also named Hamlet).
He wished to attack Denmark to avenge his father’s honour.
Ghost
The specter of Hamlet’s recently deceased father, the ghost, who
claims to have been murdered by Claudius. This ghost calls upon
Hamlet to avenge him. Hamlet speculates that the ghost might be
a devil sent to deceive him and tempt him into murder. The
question of what the ghost is or where it comes from remains a
mystery.
Courtiers
There are some courtiers who appear in some odd scenes of the
play. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are former friends of Hamlet
from Wittenberg. They are summoned by Claudius and Gertrude
to discover the cause of Hamlet’s strange behaviour.
Marcellus and Bernardo
The officers who first see the ghost walking the ramparts of
Elsinore and who summon Horatio to witness it. Marcellus is
present when Hamlet first encounters the ghost.
Francisco
A soldier and guardsman at Elsinore.
Reynaldo
Polonius’s servant, who is sent to France to spy on Laertes.
Hamlet 23
Understanding Drama-I Themes in Hamlet
Shakespeare had a wide experience of English theatre. He knew the writing
tradition of university wits and was also aware of the legacy of the Spanish
NOTES tragedy. This might have helped him in developing his plays, especially his plays
dealing with revenge tragedy. He might have developed his Elizabethan theatrical
taste for violence using revenge themes and developed the genre of ‘Revenge
Tragedy’ following the Spanish Tragedy.
Hamlet, a revenge tragedy, is the story of a man avenging his father’s death.
This matchless story makes the play unique. It is not the only Hamlet taking on
the revenge of his dead father but it is also Laertes who is willing to take revenge
for his dead father. So it is a double revenge story. However, revenge is not its
only theme. There are multiple themes like corruption; religion, politics,
appearance and reality, and women. Uncertainty is another important theme of
Hamlet where we find Hamlet indecisive, a complete failure to act appropriately.
The play is a good example to show that our lives are built upon uncertainties.
Death is also a prominent theme in this play. There are multiple death and murder
scenes. Hamlet himself was obsessed with the idea of death. Shakespeare has
attempted to tie the idea of death to the themes of spirituality, truth, and
uncertainty. What we find at the end of the play is that death is both the cause
and the consequence of revenge.
Hamlet
Summary: Act I
Hamlet is a serious play, a world-famous tragedy by Shakespeare. The play,
like most other plays of Shakespeare, is very confusing from the beginning itself.
It opens during a bitterly cold night outside the royal Danish palace where the
duties of the guards are being exchanged. There are a total of five scenes in this
act, the first begins at Elsinore, a platform before the castle where Bernardo
appears replacing his duties with Francisco. The conversation of these two
characters and the other two characters, Horatio and Marcellus, tells us about the
mysterious sight that these guards have observed. They have witnessed an
extraordinary sight on earlier nights, seen the ghost of the former King of
Denmark, the father of Hamlet (Old Hamlet). The introductory scene tells us that
Horatio, a scholar, has just arrived in Denmark, to verify the ghost sighting.
Horatio initially expresses his doubt over the ghost appearance but it appears to
confirm the doubt. The soldiers make Horatio speak to the ghost but he couldn’t.
The opening act hints that the play is something to do with ‘the Ghost story’.
The dialogues also hint that there has been a massive mobilization of Danish war
forces because of a likely invasion by Fortinbras, the Prince of Norway. There
in the dialogues itself, we learn that Fortinbras’ father (also named Fortinbras),
was killed many years before in single combat with the father of Hamlet (also
named as Hamlet). The rumour is that as the Old Hamlet is no more, Fortinbras
is planning to invade Denmark and heading towards it to revenge his father’s
24 Hamlet death. The story follows the reappearance of the ghost. Now Horatio attempts to
speak to the ghost but receives no reply. Marcellus and Bernardo attempt to arrest Understanding Drama-I
it, but of no use. A sudden cry of a rooster makes the ghost disappear. Horrified
by the sight of the ghost, they decide to report it to Prince Hamlet.
The following court scene opens with Claudius and Gertrude, the King and NOTES
the Queen of Denmark, the couple just married after the death of the King of
Denmark (Old Hamlet). Claudius attempts to justify the emergency of his
marriage and also addresses the issue of Fortinbras’ proposed attack over his
state. He informs the preventive steps he has taken yet so far and commands
Cornelius and Volte and, his two officers, to settle the issue.
Prince Hamlet, who appears a silent observer in the present court, speaks
for the first time. Claudius asks him the reason for his gloom and he replies in a
cynical manner saying, “His grief upon losing his father still deeply affects him”.
Claudius attempts to convince him of the inevitability of death and asks him to
accept nature’s course. We know that Hamlet is receiving his education in
Wittenberg. Claudius expects Hamlet to stay in Denmark. Gertrude, Hamlet’s
mother, also expects the same. Hamlet agrees, the court adjourns, and Hamlet is
left alone to brood over the issue of his father’s untimely death and the aftermath.
The play Hamlet is also known for its soliloquies. The first soliloquy
appears where Hamlet expresses his grief over his father’s untimely death and
his repulsion over his mother’s speedy marriage with Claudius. He believes that
his father was superior to his uncle. His soliloquy follows the entry of Horatio,
Marcellus and Bernardo. Initially, Hamlet feels unfamiliar with Horatio, his old
school friend, but ultimately welcomes him. They discuss the stately affairs and
the death of Hamlet. Horatio, here, informs his friend that he has seen his dead
father in the form of a ghost. Interested Hamlet expects to see the ghost by his
own and plan accordingly.
In another scene, When Ophelia declares that Hamlet has declared his love
towards her, Laertes and Polonius attempt to convince Ophelia to be careful in
the lovemaking business with Hamlet and demands a promise that she will spend
no more time alone with Hamlet. Later, at the night watch, we see Hamlet,
Horatio and Marcellus waiting for the ghost. The ghost appears and Hamlet
appeals the ghost to speak. The ghost signals Hamlet to come away from others.
Horatio and Marcellus try to dissuade Hamlet but of no use. Hamlet follows the
ghost and Horatio and Marcellus follows Hamlet and the ghost.
In the fifth scene of this Act, we see the ghost speaking with Hamlet. It tells
Hamlet the inner side of his life. It reveals that he was not killed by a viper, as it
was officially announced but was murdered, murdered by his brother, Claudius.
The ghost tells how Claudius entered his private place when he was enjoying his
afternoon nap and poisoned him. Now, the ghost demands his son to take revenge.
Hamlet receives the whole story and swears to kill Claudius. The ghost disappears
and Horatio and Marcellus arrive. Hamlet does not reveal what has happened
between him and the ghost, but ask them to not to mention this episode anywhere.
Hamlet makes them agree to keep the business secret by insisting to swear on
Hamlet 25
Understanding Drama-I his sword that they will maintain the secrecy of the matter. He, for the sure, hints
that he is going to avenge his father’s murder.
NOTES Summary: Act II

There are two scenes in this act, the first open in the room of Polonius’ house
where Polonius meet with his cunning servant Reynaldo. He asks Reynaldo to
go to Paris and keep eye on Laertes. Reynaldo has been given a secret task to
spy on Laertes and find any Danes living in Paris and to question them as to
Laertes' whereabouts and reputation with some special instructions to pursue the
mission. The second scene begins with Reynaldo exits and Ophelia’s entry. This
father-daughter scene takes a serious turn when Ophelia reports the unnatural
behaviour of Hamlet. She reports Hamlet’s appearance ‘piteous’ which Polonius
diagnoses as ‘Hamlet's madness for his love of Ophelia’.
In another scene, King Claudius and Queen Gertrude enter accompanied by
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and others. King has called upon these school
friends of Hamlet to spy on the Prince. Claudius wants to know every move of
Hamlet. Both the King and the Queen assure Rosencrantz and Guildenstern a
good amount of return and set them on task. This exit is followed by Polonius
who intimates the King about Hamlet. Gertrude thinks that Hamlet's woes are
caused by his father’s death and her remarriage with Claudius. The second line
of the plot deals with the borderline issue of Norway. Polonius informs King
Claudius that young Fortinbras is demanding permission to pass through
Denmark towards Poland. Later, Polonius returns on the behaviour of Hamlet.
He remarks that he is appearing mad. Gertrude disapproves and rebukes him to
whom Polonius reads a letter he has received from his daughter and declares that
Hamlet has surely entered into the fit of madness. To prove his claim, Polonius
proposes a plan that he and Claudius should hide themselves to eavesdrop on the
couple. Ophelia is about to meet Hamlet to return his love gifts. Claudius agrees
to this plan of Polonius and they follow it. Polonius advances to Hamlet keeping
the King and Queen aside. The conversation proves that Hamlet is lovesick.
Shakespeare has made the use of skilful wordplay in this scene. Polonius
feels ridiculed dealing with Hamlet. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter
the scene, Hamlet asks them the reason for their sudden entry. They admit that
the King and Queen sent them to observe Hamlet and report them with details of
his behaviour. Rosencrantz informs Hamlet about the players. Hamlet, on their
arrival, requests them to perform a speech from Virgil's Aeneid where Aeneas
tells Queen Dido the story of Pyrrhus, whose father Achilles was killed at Rome.
The player performs the speech and moves himself to tears over Hecuba's horror
at seeing her husband dismembered. Hamlet has a secret plan in his mind with
the group of players. He explains it to the group of players performing The
Murder of Gonzago. He proposes to add some lines to their play. The group
agrees to it and Hamlet reveals his real intentions through The Murder of
Gonzago. He expected them to perform with an enhanced scene, which will enact
the murder the Ghost has described. Hamlet hopes that this crime scene re-
26 Hamlet
enacted in front of the assembled audience will make Claudius feel and act guilty Understanding Drama-I
and reveal the secret of his father’s death, the murder of King Hamlet.
Check Your Progress: I NOTES

a) Complete the following sentences by choosing the correct alternative.
1 William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet is set in --------.
a) Scotland b) Denmark
c) Sweden d) England
2 The protagonist Hamlet is ---------- and his stepfather is --------.
a) the Prince, the King b) the King, the Prince
c) the Governor, the King d) the Prince, the Courtier
3 Hamlet’s stepfather is also his ----------.
a) brother b) uncle
c) grandfather d) nephew
4 The ghost of the Old Hamlet is first spotted ----------.
a) in Gertrude’s chamber b) outside the castle
c) on the deck of the ship d) outside Denmark
5 Shakespeare’s Hamlet is also known for the speeches of its
protagonist Hamlet. Hamlet’s speeches are called as ----------.
a) dialogues b) dramatic irony
c) soliloquies d) analogues
b) Write answers to the following questions in one word / one phrase

/ one sentence.
1. Who was appointed as a spy on Laertes?
2. How did Claudius manage to murder King Hamlet?
3. In which university did Hamlet and his friend Horatio study?
4. Whose story does Hamlet ask the players to tell upon their arrival
to Elsinore?
5. Why, according to Polonius, has Hamlet gone mad?
Summary: Act III

Act III, Scene I begins with the entry of King and Queen accompanied by
Polonius, his daughter Ophelia, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and other courtiers.
Claudius is concerned about the reasons behind Hamlet's crazy behaviour and
wants to know its reason. He enquires Rosencrantz and Guildenstern whether
they figured out the reason for his behaviour. Both Rosencrantz and Guildenstern,
Hamlet 27
Understanding Drama-I leave the court by informing the King that Hamlet is excited about the play to be
presented.
Claudius and Polonius move to keep an eye on Hamlet who is about to meet
NOTES Ophelia. Polonius suggests Ophelia to pretend reading a book and she follows
obediently. Polonius and Claudius retire into hiding and Hamlet enter with his
famous soliloquy "To be or not to be". He notices Ophelia reading and requests
her to pray for him. This meeting between these two appears not good at all.
When Ophelia declares that she wants to return all his gifts given by him, they
enter into a debate. Hamlet questions her honesty and remarks that women always
appear two-faced and cannot be trusted. Ophelia gets dejected by the way Hamlet
talks to her. Hamlet leaves and Claudius and Polonius rejoin Ophelia. They ask
her the details of their discussion. There is a difference of opinions between the
King and Polonius and Polonius suggests the King make Hamlet go to Gertrude
and let Gertrude attempt to reveal Hamlet’s mind. Polonius again plans the same,
to eavesdrop the meeting between Gertrude and Hamlet.
The second scene begins with Hamlet instructing the group of players. He
advises them to not to overact or put-in excess gestures. The Court assembles.
King and Queen arrive to watch the play. Hamlet expects that certain scenes in
Murder of Gonzago should disturb Claudius and asks Horatio to watch the King
and note his reactions. When the courtiers enter, there is some exchange of words
between Hamlet, Claudius and Gertrude. Claudius asks about the title of the play
and Hamlet replies it as The Mousetrap, a play based on a true story.
The show begins and proceeds towards a scene where a man murders the
King sleeping in his garden and his loving wife, though heartbroken over the
king's death, marries the one who crowns himself the king. In the performance,
when Lucianus, the Player King's nephew, pours poison in the ears of the sleeping
player King, and Hamlet puts his comments how the murderer will engage the
dead King's widow, Claudius and his courtiers’ exit the performance at a sudden.
Now, Hamlet is sure that this reaction of Claudius proves him the murderer and
now he believes in the Ghost.
Later, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter and inform Hamlet that Claudius
is not happy with the performance at all. Polonius repeats the same thing. He
tells him that Queen Gertrude is expecting him immediately for a meeting. He
agrees to it saying that the time has come when spirits and goblins rise from hell
to spread their "Contagion to this world." Now, he thinks that he is ready to give
justice to his late father, to go and see his mother and rebuke her.
The following scene tells us how King Claudius is afraid of Hamlet as a
threat to his life and his throne. Claudius orders Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
to make a plan to take Hamlet to England. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern assure
their King that they will take Hamlet away from Denmark. When Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern leaves, enter Polonius. Polonius informs that Hamlet is about
to visit Gertrude. Polonius again plans to eavesdrop the conversation between
Hamlet and the Queen and assure the King to let him know the details of his
28 Hamlet
spying. When Polonius departs, we see Claudius praying before the Almighty Understanding Drama-I
God, confessing his sin. He admits his act of "murdering his brother" as a "primal
eldest curse" and asks for forgiveness. Hamlet enters to see Claudius praying
before God and takes it an opportunity to take revenge for his dead father and NOTES
thinks of killing Claudius. However, he controls himself saying Claudius killed
his father without giving a chance to pray for his sins. Now, he is praying before
God, praying for forgiveness. If killed now, he will directly make an entry in the
world of Heaven and would miss the eternal punishment as Old Hamlet is having
right now. So he cancels the plan of killing Claudius and moves to Gertrude.
In Scene iv, we see Hamlet meeting his mother, Queen Gertrude. Polonius
has managed to arrive before him and informed Gertrude about his eavesdropping
plan. He asks Gertrude to be straightforward while dealing with Hamlet and be
alert. When Hamlet, enters the room asking “Now, Mother, what's the matter?",
both, Gertrude and Hamlet discuss the latest issue of offending King Claudius
(his father) in the dramatic performance by the group of players. Gertrude tells
that she is not happy with Hamlet for offending his father where Hamlet bounce
back saying he is also not happy with her for offending his father (Old Hamlet).
The discussion turns debatable and Gertrude cries for help presuming Hamlet is
trying to kill her. Polonius, who is present behind the curtains eavesdropping,
moves. Alarmed Hamlet gets alerted, draws his sword and charges towards the
direction. The sharp attack of his sword kills Polonius. Now he turns to Gertrude.
He is in the mood of punishment. He accuses her of dishonesty and lustfulness
and was about to charge her, however, the ghost of Hamlet arrives before him
and asks him to be kind to her. Gertrude, seeing him talking in hallucination, is
convinced of his madness. Hamlet asks her to confess the crime and if something
more is being hatched against him. Gertrude clears that Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern are having foul plans behind taking him to England. Hamlet spares
his mother and leaves the room taking the dead body of Polonius.
Summary: Act IV
This is the only act having the highest number of scenes, to be specific,
seven. The major scenes are played in the castle rooms. Gertrude had a fretful
dialogue with Hamlet ended in the murder of Polonius. This confrontation makes
Gertrude haste to Claudius. She approaches Claudius who is busy talking to
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. She demands to speak to the king privately and
informs her terrific encounter with Hamlet. She reports his mad and violent
behavior and also reports the murder of Polonius by the hands and sword of
Hamlet. Claudius is now serious about the issue and thinks of how to handle the
issue. He immediately calls upon Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and asks them
to find Hamlet.
In the second scene, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern attempt and find Hamlet
and question him about the dead body of Polonius. Hamlet, who has just managed
to put away the dead body of Polonius, informs the messengers that “the body is
with the King, but the King is not with the body”. He charges both, Rosencrantz
Hamlet 29
Understanding Drama-I and Guildenstern, of spying on him. But when they force him to go with them
he accepts.
On the other side, cautious Claudius is seen interacting with some of his
NOTES kinsmen informing the death of Polonius. Now he is planning to send Hamlet to
England. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern bring Hamlet in, Claudius asks
him about Polonius’s body. Clever Hamlet answers that it is being eaten by
worms and is under the stairs near the castle lobby. Claudius immediately asks
his attendants to go and find it and asks Hamlet to retire to England. He entrusts
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to make ship arrangements. What we know at the
end of this scene is that Claudius has a secret plan of ending Hamlet’s life while
moving him towards England.
The fourth scene begins on a nearby plain in Denmark where we see Prince
Fortinbras travelling through Denmark. He is on the way to Poland and is
planning to attack it. He is with his army and expecting permission to pass
through Denmark. His encounter with Hamlet gets over with some questions and
answers where Hamlet receives that Fortinbras is attempting to invade Poles for
a trifle reason. He compares the war reason for Fortinbras with his own and
expresses his grief for being unsuccessful in taking his revenge. But he resolves
that from this moment on, his thoughts will be bloody.
In the next scene, we find Hamlet’s mother and his friend Horatio discussing
together. The topic of discussion is Ophelia. Ophelia has lost her dear father
which is a great loss to her. Gertrude finds it difficult to face Ophelia over her
loss and tries to avoid her. Ophelia enters and also enters Claudius. All see
Ophelia in deep grief singing strange tunes. Claudius remarks that Ophelia’s grief
is but natural. All are disturbed by the death of Polonius; Laertes is more angered
by the untimely death of his father. He enters the castle with his blood boiling.
When Claudius hears some noise outside the castle he enquires about the matter
and is informed that Laertes has arrived with a mob of people. He is heading
towards the castle in his wish to take revenge for his father’s death. The encounter
between Laertes and Claudius turns furious. Claudius tries to forward his
innocence and Gertrude backs him but Laertes is not ready to listen. However,
Claudius somehow manages to control the emotions of Laertes.
In another scene, Hamlet sends a letter to Horatio by the hands of sailors.
The letter declares that Hamlet’s ship got captured by pirates and now he is
returning. Hamlet also asks Horatio to take these sailors to the King so that they
can convey their message to the King. Horatio follows the instructions.
In the final scene of this act, we see Claudius discussing Laertes about the
death of Polonius. He tells him how Polonius got murdered by Hamlet. He
informs him of his inability to punish Hamlet as he senses risk in it. Hamlet is
being loved by common people and also loved by his mother, Gertrude. Claudius
does not wish to displease both, the common people and his wife. The immediate
news that Hamlet is returning to Denmark soothes Laertes as he could take his
revenge. Claudius takes this opportunity and engages Laertes in killing Hamlet.
30 Hamlet
This would surely serve hid dual purpose, first, he would spare himself by the Understanding Drama-I
erratic behaviour of hamlet and second, there would be no threat to his reign. He
plans of tempting Hamlet to enter a duel with Laertes which in turn may give
Laertes a chance to kill him and take his revenge. Laertes agrees to this plan and NOTES
gets prepared with his new sharpened sword by applying poison to it so that even
a simple cut will let Hamlet sleep forever. Claudius agrees. However, when
Gertrude enters with the suicide news of Ophelia, Laertes rushes to her. Now,
Claudius is sure that it is impossible to calm Laertes down after the death of his
beloved sister.
Check Your Progress: II

1 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are in Denmark just to ----------.
a) kill Hamlet b) cheer up Hamlet
c) find Hamlet’s madness d) bring Hamlet back to England
2 Hamlet had been to ------------------ university for his further
education.
a) French b) German
c) Italian d) England
3 According to Hamlet, Ophelia should go to -------------------.
a) a bakery b) Russia
c) a nunnery d) a Castle
4 The health of a state seems related to the -------------------.
a) physical state of its People b) moral state of its People
c) physical state of its Leader b) moral state of its Leader
5 Hamlet used to call Polonius as -------------------.
a) a fishmonger b) father-in-law
c) father d) dear man
b) Write answers of the following questions in one word / one phrase
/ one sentence.
1. Who killed Fortinbras’ father?
2. How does Ophelia die?
3. Who speaks the famous soliloquy “To be, or not to be”?
4. For which reason Hamlet spares the life of Claudius after the
traveling players’ play performance?
5. Who was entrusted to escort Hamlet on his way to England?
Hamlet 31
Understanding Drama-I Summary: Act V
The final act has two scenes, the first open in the churchyard. The two
gravediggers, digging a grave for Ophelia, are of different opinions regarding
NOTES whether to bury Ophelia in the churchyard or not. Hamlet enters accompanied
by Horatio and asks gravediggers whose grave they are digging for. Unknown
with the identity of Prince Hamlet, gravediggers speak with him indifferently.
Hamlet picks a skull from the ground and asks about it to which gravedigger
replies that it belonged to Yorick, King Hamlet’s jester. Hamlet recalls Yorick
and realizes the ultimate fact of life: ‘eventually everything is going to be a dust’,
all the great men like Alexander and Julius Caesar are turned to dust.
When Ophelia’s funeral procession enters churchyard, Hamlet and Horatio
retire into hiding. The procession was followed by Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes,
and other courtiers mourning the untimely death of Ophelia. Hamlet, being
unaware of the details of the procession, watches the procession to get more
details. Finally, he receives that it is Ophelia who has lost her life. When Hamlet
finds Laertes crying over Ophelia’s grave he loses his temper and comes out of
hiding declaring his love for Ophelia. Laertes too gets angry. Both draw their
swords against each other but are pulled apart by the funeral company where
Gertrude and Claudius declare Hamlet mad.
The final scene of the final act begins at Elsinore Castle. Hamlet informs
Horatio the way he was attempted to be murdered on his way to England, the
way he turned the table by ending the life of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and
replaced the secret letter they were carrying. He informs Horatio that he showed
no sympathy for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. He feels sad for Laertes and
compares himself with Laertes as both lost their father and both are eager to take
revenge. He takes Laertes as his mirror image.
Osric, a foolish courtier, arrives to intervene their privacy to inform that
King Claudius has planned a duel between Hamlet and Laertes. He also informs
that the king has made a wager with Laertes that Hamlet will win. Eventually, a
lord enters to ask Hamlet if he is ready for the match and Hamlet agrees to fight.
Horatio tries to convince Hamlet to not to fight but of no use.
Finally, the court enters into the battle hall. Hamlet tries to convince Laertes
that it was just an unintentional move and seeks forgiveness. Laertes declines
and says that he will not forgive him ever. Both, Hamlet and Laertes, select their
swords for fencing and get ready for the battle. Claudius declares that if Hamlet
wins he will offer a special drink to Hamlet’s health. The duel begins. Hamlet
repeatedly strikes Laertes. In the meantime, Gertrude unknowingly rises to drink
from the cup which is a poisoned cup. King Claudius attempts to signal her but
of no use. She drinks the poisoned drink. Laertes attempts to wound Hamlet with
the poisoned sword and draws his blood. Hamlet also manages to wound Laertes
with the same poisoned blade. Ultimately, what we see is that Queen Gertrude
falls after drinking the poisonous drink, Laertes gets killed under his treacherous
plot, but before his death discloses Claudius’ ill will behind the ‘poisoned
32 Hamlet
plotting’. Hamlet charges Claudius with the poisoned sword and forces him to Understanding Drama-I
drink the rest of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies. Hamlet also dies after uttering
his final words to his friend Horatio. He tells Horatio that he should stay alive to
tell his story and expects that Fortinbras be the new King of Denmark. Fortinbras NOTES
enters to see the tragic end of Prince Hamlet, King Claudius and Queen Gertrude.
Finally, Fortinbras orders that Hamlet be carried away like a soldier.
Check Your Progress: III

1 In the end, the only character who survives is/are ----------------.
a) Hamlet and Ophelia b) Claudius and Gertrude
c) Horatio d) Polonius and Horatio
2 Hamlet has professed his love for -------------------.
a) Guildenstern b) Gertrude
c) Horatio d) Ophelia
3 In Hamlet, Shakespeare has made frequent use of the ------------
------ image.
a) nose b) neck
c) eyes d) ear
4 Ophelia dies of -------------------.
a) drowning b) poisoning
c) stabbing d) hanging
5 Hamlet is also classified in its form as a -------------------.
a) problem play b) mortality play
c) revenge play d) miracle play

/ one sentence.
1. Which plan of Laertes succeeds in killing Hamlet?
2. Where did Rosencrantz and Guildenstern die?
3. Which important characters survive the play?
4. Who is the last character to die in the play?
5. Who rules Denmark in the end?
Summary
Shakespeare is the world's greatest dramatist. The whole world has accepted
his skill in writing. His major works are comedies, history plays, tragedies,
tragicomedies and romances, but he is known for his greatest tragedies, especially Hamlet 33
Understanding Drama-I Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. His plays give a good mixture of
romance, fairy magic and comic sequences. They also contain wit, rural setting,
common man’s appearance and the lively merrymaking. His characters are
NOTES unique. His greatness is that he is still being performed, studied, reinterpreted,
adapted and researched by new movements in scholarship and performance after
a long span of four hundred years. Hamlet or The Tragedy of Hamlet is
considered to be the most powerful and influential work by William Shakespeare.
This greatest Shakespearean tragedy is set in five acts. This play is set in
Denmark, and its Prince, the Hamlet, is attempting his revenge against Claudius,
his uncle. Hamlet doubts that his uncle (Claudius) has murdered his father to
seize his throne and marry his mother (Gertrude). The play opens on a dark winter
night where we find a ghost walking the ramparts of Elsinore Castle. Two gate
watchmen and scholar Horatio witness the ghost. They find that the ghost
resembles the recently deceased King Hamlet. It tells that King Hamlet’s brother,
Claudius, attempted to kill King Hamlet by poisoning him and cunningly
inherited the throne and married old Hamlet’s widow, Gertrude. Horatio brings
Prince Hamlet to see the ghost. The ghost informs that he was murdered by none
other than Claudius, his brother. The ghost orders Hamlet to seek revenge. Now
it is his responsibility to avenge on one who has killed his father, usurped his
throne and married his mother. Declaring this, the ghost disappears.
Onwards, we see Prince Hamlet obsessed with his revenge against Claudius.
His contemplative nature forces him to enter into melancholy and madness.
Claudius is worried about this frantic behavior of Hamlet and so is Gertrude,
Hamlet’s mother. They engage Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to watch Hamlet.
Claudius himself keep eye on Hamlet with Polonius because Polonius has
informed Claudius that Hamlet is mad for his daughter Ophelia. However, their
spying on Hamlet proves useless and they found no equal connection between
these two.
Meanwhile, a group of traveling actors visit Elsinore for their live
performance. Hamlet plans to use this group of travelling actors to test Claudius’
guilt. He alters the original script to some extent and adds his lines. He asks
players to perform according to his line of action. The revised scene closely
resembles the treacherous and untrustworthy act of Claudius. Hamlet expects
that if Claudius is guilty he will react. When Hamlet’s planned scene (the murder
of the king) appears on the stage, Claudius gets disturbed and leaves the
performance. That proves to be a moment of revelation for Hamlet. Hamlet and
Horatio agree that this act of Claudius proves his guilt. When Hamlet follows
Claudius intending to kill him he finds him praying and spares the plan for this
time. He thinks that killing Claudius while praying is something similar to send
his soul to heaven. He thinks and decides to wait. Now, we find Claudius much
frightened of Hamlet’s madness. He is concerned of his own life, own safety and
the safety of his people. So, he plans to remove Hamlet to England and play safe.
Gertrude is not happy with Hamlet. Polonius had many discussions with
34 Hamlet her. Polonius suggests her to engage Hamlet and he shall hide behind the tapestry
in the room. Gertrude calls Hamlet. Hamlet enters to enter into a hot debate with Understanding Drama-I
her. In the course of the meeting, Hamlet finds some doubtful movement behind
the tapestry. He doubts it to be King Claudius, draws his sword and attacks
through the tapestry. Polonius, who was hiding behind the tapestry, gets severely NOTES
wounded and dies. Worried Gertrude advances to Claudius who also thinks that
now it is dangerous to live with Hamlet and plans to send him away. He manages
to send Hamlet to England accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Rather, he has his plans of dealing with Hamlet. He has secretly ordered
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern ‘to do the right thing’ with Hamlet.
The news of the death of Polonius reaches Ophelia. She goes mad with the
news of her father’s untimely death. She couldn’t digest, drowns herself in the
river and dies. Laertes immediately returns from France to revenge his father’s
death. On his return, King Claudius tells Laertes that it was Hamlet who has
killed his father and is directly responsible to his sister’s death too. It enrages
Laertes much further who resolves to kill Hamlet.
Back there, in an unexpected move, Hamlet makes his return journey to
Denmark. He sends home a message that his ship was attacked by pirates on his
way to England. He has somehow managed with his life and is returning. Here,
Claudius fabricates a death trap for Hamlet. He plans to kill Hamlet by the hands
of Laertes. He provokes Laertes to take his revenge and kill Hamlet by a secretly
poisoned blade. The plan is that Laertes will challenge Hamlet in a sword game.
If Laertes manages to injure him with his poisoned blade Hamlet will die, or if
Hamlet wins the game, Claudius will offer him a cup of poisoned wine and he
will die. Ultimately, Hamlet will die either way. On his return, Hamlet lands on
Elsinore to see Ophelia’s final funeral. The news of Ophelia’s death shocks him
and in a fit of anger, he wages a war against Laertes.
When Claudius calls Hamlet for a fencing match with Laertes Hamlet
accepts the challenge. Now he is ready to die for anything. The fight begins and
Hamlet scores the first hit. King offers him the drink (poisoned) but he rejects.
However, Gertrude drinks the glass and gets killed. We find Claudius helpless,
doing nothing. Laertes succeeds in wounding Hamlet and is sure that Hamlet is
going to die. However, in a fencing move, Hamlet gets the blades exchanged and
wounds Laertes too. Now Laertes, sure that he is going to die, alerts Hamlet with
the treacherous plan of King Claudius before he breathes his last breath. When
hamlet gets that his uncle is responsible for his mother’s death he stabs Claudius
with the poisoned sword and forcefully pours the poisoned wine in his mouth.
The scene ends with the death of Laertes, Gertrude, Claudius and finally Hamlet
after taking his revenge.
In the concluding scene, we see the Norwegian Prince Fortinbras back in
Denmark invading Poland, to see the tragedy of Denmark’s royal family. Horatio
informs him of the tragedy of Hamlet. Fortinbras takes charge of the Denmark
kingdom and orders his soldiers to treat Hamlet’s body as a befitting fallen
soldier.
Hamlet 35
Understanding Drama-I Glossary
NOTES
36 Hamlet
NOTES
Hamlet 37
NOTES
Answers to check your Progress: I

1 William Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet is set in Denmark.
2 The protagonist Hamlet is the Prince and his stepfather is the
King.
3 Hamlet’s stepfather is also his uncle.
4 The ghost of the Old Hamlet is first spotted outside the castle.
5 Shakespeare’s Hamlet is also known for the speeches of its
protagonist Hamlet. The Hamlet’s speeches are called as
soliloquies.

/ one sentence.
1. Reynaldo was appointed as a spy on Laertes by Polonius.
2. Claudius poisons King Hamlet by pouring poison into his ear.
3. Hamlet and Horatio studied at Wittenberg University.
4. Hamlet asks the players to tell Priam and Hecuba’s story.
5. According to Polonius, Hamlet has gone mad in his love of
Ophelia.
Answers to check your Progress: II

a) Complete the following sentences by choosing the correct
alternative
1 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are in Denmark just to find
Hamlet’s madness.
2 Hamlet had been to a German University for his further
education.
3 According to Hamlet, Ophelia should go to a nunnery.
4 The health of a state seems related to the moral state of its Leader.
38 Hamlet 5 Hamlet used to call Polonius as a fishmonger.
b) Write answers to the following questions in one word / one phrase Understanding Drama-I
/ one sentence.
1. Hamlet’s father, Old Hamlet killed Fortinbras’ father.
NOTES
2. Ophelia drowns herself in the river and dies.
3. Hamlet speaks the famous soliloquy “To be, or not to be”.
4. Hamlet spares the life of Claudius after the play performance
because he found Claudius praying for his sins.
5. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were entrusted to escort Hamlet
on his way to England.
Answers to check your Progress: III

1 In the end, the only character who survives is Horatio.
2 Hamlet has professed his love for Ophelia.
3 In Hamlet, Shakespeare has made frequent use of the ear image.
4 Ophelia dies of drowning.
5 Hamlet is also classified in its form as a revenge play.

/ one sentence.
1. The plan of using poisoned sword succeeds in killing Hamlet.
2. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern die in England.
3. The last significant one to survive in the play is Horatio.
4. The last one to die in the play is Hamlet.
5. Fortinbras rules Denmark in the end.
Exercise
A) Write Short Notes on the following
1 The opening of the play Hamlet
2 The intimacy between Claudius and Gertrude
3 The death of Polonius and Ophelia
4 The setting of Hamlet
5 The rivalry between the Prince of Norway and the King of
Denmark
6 The Ghost in Hamlet
7 Hamlet as the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark
Hamlet 39
Understanding Drama-I 8 Hamlet’s Soliloquies
9 Hamlet is full of death scenes
10 The climax of the Hamlet
NOTES
B) Answer the following questions in three to four sentences each

1. Describe the character of King Claudius and his political affairs.
2. Explain Hamlet's state of conflict and confusion over the ghost
scene.
3. Comment on the use of soliloquies and its significance with the
help of Hamlet’s soliloquies.
4. What is the significance of the gravediggers in the final Act?
5. Describe Hamlet as a disgusted observer, bemoaning the
hopelessness of the human conditions.
6. Why does Hamlet continue to doubt the "honesty" of the ghost
even after Claudius confesses his guilt?
7. ‘Hamlet swings between the conflict of being decisive and
indecisive’ -Discuss.
8. Who do you think is the most impressive character of the play?
Why?
9. Comment on the plot construction of Hamlet.
10. ‘Hamlet is a revenge play’. – Discuss.
References for Further Reading

A) Shakespeare is known for his great tragedies. Hamlet is one of the
greatest four. Try to read the following tragedies by this master
dramatist:
• King Lear
• Othello
• Macbeth
B) Hamlet received theatrical attention for more than four hundred years.
This play has also been prescribed in many universities for UG and
PG programmes. There are many audio-visuals, adaptations and
animations you can find on YouTube. Watch one on the following web
link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNP_2Omaciw
*****
40 Hamlet

BA A511 English (S3) - I (Understanding Drama-I)

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BA A511 English (S3) - I (Understanding Drama-I)

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T.Y.B.

Oxford Dictionary defines drama as

The Glossary of Literary Terms by M H Abram defines as

Check Your Progress: I

The Three Unities

Check Your Progress: II

b) Write answers to the following questions in ONE word / phrase /

The Text: III

The Closet Play

Check Your Progress: III

b) Write answers to the following questions in ONE word / phrase /

Answers to Check Your Progress I

Answers to Check Your Progress II

b) Write answers to the following questions in ONE word / phrase /

B) Answer the following questions in three to four sentences each

References for Further Reading

The Characters in the Play

NOTES Summary: Act II

Check Your Progress: I NOTES

b) Write answers to the following questions in one word / one phrase

Summary: Act III

Check Your Progress: II

Check Your Progress: III

b) Write answers to the following questions in one word / one phrase

Answers to check your Progress: I

b) Write answers to the following questions in one word / one phrase

Answers to check your Progress: II

Answers to check your Progress: III

b) Write answers to the following questions in one word / one phrase

B) Answer the following questions in three to four sentences each

References for Further Reading

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