Skip to Main Content

Lesson 13

We will engage in a philosophical chairs class discussion that addresses two critical perspectives and responds to the following questions:

  1. Which perspective represents a more justifiable interpretation of Hamlet’s mental state in Hamlet? Why?

  2. Which perspective represents a more justifiable interpretation of Hamlet’s mental state? Why not?

  3. If neither perspective presents a justifiable interpretation, why not?

  4. What lines from the play support your interpretation?

Lesson Goals

Reading and Knowledge

  • Evaluate Information: How well do I evaluate the relevance and credibility of information, ideas, evidence, and reasoning presented in texts?
  • Develop Ideas: How well do I cite evidence from texts to develop and support my explanation of an evidence-based claim?
  • Forming Claims: How well do I develop and clearly communicate meaningful and defensible claims that represent valid, evidence-based analysis?

Speaking and Listening

  • Listen: How well do I pay attention to and acknowledge others while thoughtfully considering their ideas?
  • Communicate Effectively: How well do I use language and strategies to accomplish my intended purpose in communicating?
  • Remain Open: How well do I change my ideas or perspective based on new, credible information and experiences?

Texts

Core

  • Tradebook
    • Hamlet, William Shakespeare, Simon and Schuster, 2003
  • Unit Reader
    • Excerpt from “Depressive Illness Delayed Hamlet’s Revenge,” Aaron Shaw and Neil Pickering, BMJ Publishing Group, Ltd., 2002
    • Excerpt from “The Sanity of Hamlet,” Tenney L. Davis, The Journal of Philosophy, 1921

Materials

Tools

Reference Guides

Editable Google Docs

Activity 1: Listen – Discuss

We will examine the protocols for a philosophical chairs discussions.

For this Section Diagnostic, you will participate in a structured philosophical chairs discussion.

In a philosophical chairs discussion, you will do the following:

  • Listen to a statement presented by your teacher.

  • Write down your ideas about the statement and decide what position to take.

  • Discuss your position and supporting evidence with the class.

  • Write a reflection that explains how your thinking was changed or refined during the discussion.

Philosophical chair discussions allow for a rich understanding of a variety of viewpoints. They present opportunities for you to use academic language and new vocabulary, practice your listening and speaking skills, and assess whether you are clearly expressing your ideas and claims to demonstrate your knowledge of the text or topic. The academic language used during academic discussions also allows for disagreements to be discussed in a polite, but critical, way.

For sample conversation stems, you can consult the Conversation Stems section of the Academic Discussion Reference Guide.

Activity 2: Listen – Discuss

We will participate in a philosophical chairs discussion to demonstrate our understanding of Hamlet’s mental state.

Listen to the statement provided by your teacher.

Take about 2-4 minutes to jot down your ideas about the statement and decide what position to take using the Philosophical Chairs Discussion Tool. Refer to your notes on your Evaluating Ideas Tools and your Psychological Lens Note-Taking Tool to support your ideas.

Participate in a respectful philosophical discussion.

Be sure to do the following:

  • Elaborate and clarify your ideas.

  • Support your ideas with specific textual evidence from the play and details from the films.

  • Ask clarifying questions.

  • Build on or challenge the ideas of others.

  • Take notes on intriguing ideas.

Repeat the process for each statement provided by your teacher.

Activity 3: Write

We will reflect on how the discussion refined our original ideas.

By engaging in discussions with others, you are provided the opportunity to examine other points of view. As a result, you will often refine your own ideas.

Examples of refinement include the following:

  • changing one’s position on the topic

  • maintaining the same position but clarifying an idea

  • incorporating new information

  • disregarding weaker evidence in favor of stronger evidence

  • better anticipating and refuting counterclaims

On your Philosophical Chairs Discussion Tool, write a reflection about how your thinking was refined during the discussion. Be sure to identify a peer’s comment that most challenged your thinking and explain how it refined your ideas. Cite evidence from any of the texts you have read in this unit to support your final summary.

Activity 4: Write

For homework, we will reflect on our work on the Section Diagnostic and assess our progress on the Culminating Task.

Choose at least three of the questions below and respond to them:

  1. How well did you take necessary action to prepare for the task?

  2. What went well for you during the completion of this task?

  3. What did you struggle with during the completion of this task? How did you push through that struggle?

  4. How well did you actively focus your attention during this independent task?

  5. How well did you develop and use an effective and efficient process to maintain workflow during this task?

  6. What would you do differently during the next Section Diagnostic?

Review your Culminating Task Progress Tracker. Think about all you have learned and done during this section of the unit. Evaluate your skills and knowledge to determine your progress on the Culminating Task.

Activity 5: Read – Write

For homework, we will read Act 4, Scene 1 and 2.

For homework, read Act 4, Scenes 1 and 2. Write the definition of the term verbal irony in your Learning Log.

Verbal irony is a literary device in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant.

As you read, pay attention to Gertrude’s revelation and Claudius’s use of verbal irony.

In your Learning Log, respond to the following questions:

  1. How do Gertrude’s actions in this scene contradict what she said in the previous scene? What evidence from the text supports this interpretation? What might be her reasons for this change? How do her actions confirm or defy Hamlet’s view of women?

  2. What is Claudius’s reaction to her news? What verbal irony does he use? What effect does it have on the meaning of the scene?

  3. What does Hamlet mean when he refers to Rosencrantz as a sponge (4.2.12 and 4.2.20)? What effect does this metaphor have on the meaning of the scene?

As you read for homework, write down new or interesting words you encounter in your Vocabulary Journal. If necessary, revisit the Vocabulary in Context Tool to assist you with words or phrases you struggle with.