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Lesson 5

We will be introduced to the feminist lens and the character of Ophelia, as we read Act 1, Scene 3. We will participate in Part 1 of a jigsaw activity to analyze how gender roles are portrayed in the scene.

Lesson Goals

  • Can I analyze the interaction among Ophelia, Laertes, and Polonius in Act 1, Scene 3 through a feminist lens?

  • Can I work productively in various jigsaw roles with other participants?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Hamlet, William Shakespeare, Simon and Schuster, 2003
  • Multimedia
    • Hamlet: The Fully Dramatized Audio Edition, William Shakespeare, Folger Shakespeare Library, Simon and Schuster, 2014

Materials

Tools

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read – Discuss

We will be introduced to features of the feminist literary criticism lens.

Read the following definitions about the feminist literary criticism lens:

  • According to the New York Public Library, "Feminist criticism aims to reinterpret literature from a female point of view. This is accomplished in several ways. Some feminist critics seek to interpret the works of male authors, with particular attention to women characters, in order to explore the moral, political and social restrictions women traditionally faced. Other feminist critics choose to analyze the works of women authors that have been previously overlooked by male critics."

  • According to Edward Craig, "Feminist literary criticism looks at literature assuming its production from a male-dominated perspective. It re-examines canonical works to show how gender stereotypes are involved in their functioning. It examines (and often rediscovers) works by women for a possible alternative voice."

  • According to "A History of Feminist Literary Criticism," "[Feminist literary criticism’s] eventual self-conscious expression was the culmination of centuries of women’s writing, of women writing about women, and of women—and men—writing about women’s minds, bodies, art, and ideas."

Based on these definitions, discuss the following question as a class:

  1. What do you think it means to read and analyze literature from a feminist lens?

Activity 2: Write

We will be introduced to key features of the feminist literary criticism lens.

On your Feminist Lens Note-Taking Tool, write down the following notes:

  • This lens focuses on a text that either mirrors or challenges the male-dominated view of society.

  • Literature contains important information about gender roles and the structure of society.

  • The feminist criticism focuses on the relationships, values, patterns of thought, and behaviors that transpire between genders.

  • Most texts thought of as classic often illustrate the traditional role of women as others and objects in relation to their male counterparts.

Activity 3: Read

We will be introduced to the character of Ophelia as we read Act 1, Scene 3.

Read and annotate Act 1, Scene 3. Use the following questions to guide your annotations:

  1. What are Ophelia’s, Laertes’s, and Polonius’s view of Hamlet?

  2. What advice do Laertes and Polonius give Ophelia?

Activity 4: Read – Discuss

We will participate in a jigsaw to understand the depiction of gender roles in this scene.

Step 1

In this jigsaw, you will first work with your expert group (e.g., Expert Group A, Expert Group B, Expert Group C, or Expert Group D). You and your fellow experts will be assigned a selection of lines from one of the three characters in the scene: Laertes, Ophelia, or Lord Polonius.

In the next lesson, you will form home groups made up of experts from each expert group. In your home group, you will teach each other about what you learned in your expert group.

Step 2

Form Expert Groups A, B, C, and D as assigned by your teacher. Using the Hamlet Act 1, Scene 3 Jigsaw Handout, do an independent close reading of your assigned lines.

Once you have done an independent close reading, work with your expert group to analyze the significance of your group’s selected lines.

First, paraphrase the selected lines into contemporary English prose. Then, analyze the lines and explain their significance.

Discuss the following questions in your group:

  1. What is this character’s view of Hamlet?

  2. What is this character’s view of Laertes?

  3. What is this character’s view of Ophelia?

  4. What is the character’s view of women in general?

  5. How does the character view themself?

  6. What might the character’s lines indicate about society’s views regarding gender at the time?

Step 3

In the next lesson, you will form home groups made up of experts from each expert group. You will synthesize what you learned in this lesson.