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Lesson 1

We will draft a claim that analyzes the play through a psychological lens and respond to the following questions: What is Hamlet’s mental state and what factors contribute to it? What lines from the scene support this interpretation?

Lesson Goals

  • Can I attend to textual details to deepen my understanding of the character Hamlet?

  • Can I develop and clearly communicate a meaningful and defensible claim that represents a valid, evidence-based analysis?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Hamlet, William Shakespeare, Simon and Schuster, 2003

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Question Sets

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Read

We will refresh our understanding of psychological criticism.

With psychological criticism, the reader analyzes the words and actions of a character in an attempt to reconstruct the inner workings of their mind. Hamlet is considered by many experts to be Shakespeare’s most psychologically complex character.

As you explore the psychology of Hamlet, ask yourself the following questions:

  1. What are Hamlet’s character traits? How are they revealed (actions, words, or thoughts)? What lines from the scene support this interpretation?

  2. How does Hamlet view himself? How is he viewed by other characters? Do the two views agree or disagree? What lines from the scene support this interpretation?

Activity 2: Read – Discuss

We will closely reread a passage from Act 1, Scene 2 to uncover what it reveals about Hamlet’s mental state.

Reread Lines 66-89 of Act 1, Scene 2. As you read, ask yourself the following questions:

  1. What are Hamlet’s character traits? How are they revealed (actions, words, or thoughts)? What lines from the scene support this interpretation?

  2. How does Hamlet view himself? How is he viewed by other characters? Do the two views agree or disagree? What lines from the scene support this interpretation?

Discuss your answers with a partner.

Activity 3: Discuss

We will re-examine specific lines from the passage and analyze how they help in the understanding of Hamlet’s mental state.

Step 1

In Line 68, Claudius observes that "the clouds still hang on [Hamlet]," and in Line 70, Gertrude implores Hamlet to "cast [his] nighted color off."

Keeping lines 68 and 70 in mind, reread the following exchanges from the passage.

CLAUDIUS: But now, my cousin Hamlet and my son—

HAMLET: A little more than kin and less than kind. (1.2.66-67)

CLAUDIUS: How is it that the clouds still hang on you?

HAMLET: Not so, my lord; I am too much in the sun. (1.268-69)

GERTRUDE: Why seems it so particular with thee?

HAMLET: "Seems," madam? Nay, it is. I know not "seems." (1.78-79)

Use the Analyzing Relationships Tool to respond to the following question:

  1. How does their use of figurative language help the reader understand Hamlet’s mood?

Discuss your findings with a partner.

Step 2

Discuss the following questions with your partner:

  1. What is the tone of Claudius’s and Gertrude’s lines? What evidence from the text supports this interpretation?

  2. What is the tone of Hamlet’s responses? What evidence from the text supports this interpretation?

  3. How do these exchanges provide you with a nuanced understanding of Hamlet’s mental state?

Activity 4: Read

We will re-examine our notes from this scene to determine if we need to find additional evidence to support our claim.

Examine your notes on your Psychological Lens Note-Taking Tool. Do you have enough information to respond to the following questions? If not, reread Lines 133-164.

  1. Whom is Hamlet angry with and why? What evidence from the text supports this interpretation?

  2. Is his anger justified? Why or why not? What lines support this interpretation?

  3. How does the punctuation used in the lines emphasize Hamlet’s mental state?

Activity 5: Read

We will find the most compelling textual evidence to support our answers to the task questions.

Re-examine the following questions:

  1. What is Hamlet’s mental state in Act 1, Scene 2?

  2. What factors contribute to this mental state?

  3. What lines from the scene support this interpretation?

Return to the two identified passages from Act 1, Scene 2 and find the most compelling textual evidence to support your answer. Select at least three pieces of textual evidence.

Activity 6: Write

We will use the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool to draft a response to the Section Diagnostic.

Step 1

We will use the Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool. You will use your notes to complete the tool.

The Forming Evidence-Based Claims Tool supports and guides a process for developing a claim from textual evidence; it can also help you explain how an existing claim is derived from, and supported by, evidence. Using the tool begins with a guiding question that calls for you to reach a conclusion and communicate a claim, which might be factual, analytical, comparative, or evaluative in nature. It helps you select the key details related to the question, explain how the details connect to your question and to other details, and through that analysis, move to a conclusion. The conclusion that you draw is the basis for your claim, which you try to communicate as clearly and directly as you can.

Step 2

Use the tool in the following way:

  1. Write down the guiding question: “What is Hamlet’s mental state and what factors contribute to it?” in the space provided at the top. You might be assigned the guiding question by your teacher, it might come from a question set, or you might think of your own question. This question can help you focus your reading, or it might give your reading a specific purpose. It is likely to be a question that asks you to draw a conclusion that is factual, analytical, comparative, or evaluative in nature.

  2. As you read the text, pay attention to details that relate to the guiding question. Depending on how long the section of text is, you might find several examples. You can use the Attend to Details row to write down the details that most strongly relate to the guiding question. This helps you narrow down the most supportable or most relevant details that connect to the question. Do not forget to include page numbers. You might have to come back later to get exact quotes or more clarity.

  3. In the Analyze the Details row, show your thinking. Doing so can help you ensure there is a clear connection among the details you identified, your analysis, and the guiding question.

  4. In the third row, Explain Connections, show your thinking about how the details connect to each other. Do the facts and information, taken together, lead to a conclusion? Are they details from a narrative that help you analyze a character? Are they indicators of an author’s perspective that you intend to support or refute?

  5. In the final row, form and express a claim. Look back over the tool and consider the guiding question, the details, and how they connect to each other. The conclusion you have drawn based on your analysis of the details in the previous rows should become your claim. Communicate that claim in a clear, direct sentence.

Step 3

Once you have generated an evidence-based claim (or examined an existing claim), you can use the tool to explain its derivation and support to others. To do this, begin at the bottom of the tool and work upward: present the claim, explain the analysis and evidence that led to it, and cite the key details that support it.

Step 4

To review and revise your claim, read it and ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Is the claim clearly stated?

  2. Does the claim communicate your opinion or conclusion about your character?

  3. Is the claim based on evidence that you gathered from the text?

  4. Is the claim supported by evidence?

If you answered "no" to any of the questions, think about how you might revise your claim.