HAMLET

A. LIFE OF SHAKESPEARE

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, he was an important member of the Lord Chamberlain's

Men company of theatrical players from roughly 1594 onward. Written records give little
indication of the way in which Shakespeare's professional life molded his artistry.

B.MAJOR CHARACTERS

Viola: Twelfth Night

Viola, adrift in Illyria as the page Cesario, competes with Rosalind (in As You like It) for one of
Shakespeare’s best parts. The clincher, for me, is that Viola is his most sexually ambiguous
character. Throughout the exposition of the plot, and the humiliation of Malvolio, she has an
infectious energy that audiences love as she engages, like any properly complicated woman,
with everyone around her. But it’s not just giddy flirtation. Her scene (Act III, Scene I) with Olivia,
in which the frosty countess hovers on the brink of declaring her love for Cesario, is among the
most intoxicating Shakespeare ever wrote.

Beatrice: Much Ado about Nothing

Beatrice and Benedick are, technically, a subplot. Beatrice, however, dominates the heart of this
most misunderstood of Shakespeare’s plays, which is so much more than the romcom to which
it is often reduced. Wise, witty and wounded, Beatrice has twice the dramatic potential of her
romantic counterpart. Her call in Act IV’s wrecked wedding for him to “Kill Claudio” defines the
breadth and depth of her character – mercurial, fiercely devoted, willing to risk everything – and
also the dramatic genius of Shakespeare. Is this moment funny? Serious? Shocking? All three,
simultaneously.

The Nurse: Romeo and Juliet

Juliet’s nurse is a character who seems to have stepped straight off the high street in Stratford.
It’s quite a small role, only 9% of the text, according to the RSC Shakespeare, but it gives the
obsessive, all-consuming passion of the star-cross’d lovers a vital human counterpoint. The
nurse is as garrulous as Polonius but grounded in everyday life, with a heart of gold. A
wonderful crowd-pleaser, she provides, for Shakespeare, a point of contact with the audience
for whom this tragic version of Pyramus and This be might seem, in Romeo’s own words, “too
flattering-sweet to be substantial.”

Lady Macbeth: Macbeth

Macbeth and his wife enjoy one of the darkest psycho-sexual relationships ever seen on the
English stage. Lady Macbeth’s fiendish manipulation of her husband into acts of horrific violence
makes her a supreme archetype. The play has the vertiginous momentum of a thriller and often
works best when performed without a break. In that fatal trajectory, when Macbeth “sups full of
horrors”, audiences see how his lust for power has been provoked by his wife’s sexual thrall. He
has some of the great speeches, but she holds the play’s imaginative dynamo in her fascinating
and demonic heart.

Titania/Hippolyta: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

The fairy queen and Theseus’s bride are often doubled in Shakespeare’s Dream, one of his
very rare wholly original comedies, and a play that’s all about double vision. Titania’s absurd
passion for Bottom the Weaver can be a scene-stealer. When Judi Dench took the role in Peter
Hall’s recent production, she was front-page news. The play, more than many, has inspired
some genre-bending productions, notably Peter Brook’s Dream of 1970. In probably the most
influential production of recent times, Titania was played by the magical Sara Kestelman.
Falstaff: Henry IV, Parts I and II, The Merry Wives of Windsor

Sir John Falstaff is one of the great Shakespearean father figures, the incorrigible old rogue who
accompanies the prodigal Prince Hal from riotous youth to sober maturity. Falstaff is a giant in
all senses. With his massive girth and capacious appetites, he is the drunken, mendacious,
lecherous English bounder with whom every audience identifies. The moment in Act V, Scene 5
of Part II, when the newly crowned King Henry repudiates his old sparring partner (“I know thee
not, old man”), is one of the most shattering on the English stage. Falstaff was an immediate hit.

Iago: Othello

Actors love to play stage villains. Iago, the quintessence of evil, is a terrific part for the
Shakespearean player, and the one with the most lines in this play – 31% to Othello’s 25%. In
the playwright’s hands, Iago is also a tragic character, who eventually betrays himself through a
disabling resentment mixed with excessive devotion. In a strangely sympathetic performance,
Simon Russell Beale’s Iago stands out from recent productions for his glacial cunning and
warped manipulation of “the Moor”. Iago’s final speech – “Demand me nothing. What I know I
know” – is one of the great exit lines in the canon.

Prospero: The Tempest

This was the last play Shakespeare wrote wholly alone. It’s hard to resist reading Prospero as
his farewell to a lifetime in the theatre. It’s not just a commanding role but a part with some of
the poet’s loveliest lines. The speeches in Acts IV and V, in which the exiled duke of Milan
brings down the curtain on the drama (“Our revels now are ended”) and then repudiates his art
(“This rough magic I here abjure”), are thrilling and majestic. Prospero is one of Shakespeare’s
great old men. His interaction with Ariel and Caliban demonstrates the playwright’s uncanny
intuition of colonial relationships long before the heyday of empire.

Lear: King Lear

Hamlet is the young actor’s supreme test, but Lear is the one part to which every leading man
aspires. The British stage has seen recent landmark performances from Ian McKellen and
Derek Jacobi, for my money the greatest Lear of his generation. Madness, bloodshed and stage
nudity: it’s a physically daunting role, occupying 22% of the script (Hamlet accounts for a
massive 37%). In Act III, Scene I, the storm (“Blow winds, and crack your cheeks”) leads to one
of the most extraordinary moments of western theatre – a high point in a play rich in astounding
scenes. Shakespeare’s vision of humanity is bleak but strangely uplifting.

The Bear: The Winter’s Tale

“Exit, pursued by a bear” is Shakespeare’s most famous stage direction. The bear has no lines,
of course, and is the ultimate walk-on part. But his appearance is more than just a dramatic
contrivance. The bear rips Antigonus to pieces, leaving Hermione’s baby daughter to be
rescued by an Old Shepherd, who gives this haunting romance a decisive shove towards its
heartbreaking denouement. The baby grows up to become Perdita. Sixteen years later, the
revelation of her true identity will lead to the scene where Hermione’s statue comes to life, and
Leontes delivers one of Shakespeare’s most moving lines: “O, she’s warm.”
5 VOCABULARY WORDS

1. salvation

 the state of being saved or preserved from harm

2. wittingly

 with full knowledge and deliberation

3. revolution

 a single complete turn

4. quiddity

 an evasion of an argument by raising irrelevant distinctions

5. tenure

 the right to hold property

C. SUMMARY

Prince Hamlet is depressed. Having been summoned home to Denmark from school in
Germany to attend his father's funeral, he is shocked to find his mother Gertrude already
remarried. The Queen has wed Hamlet's Uncle Claudius, the dead king's brother. To Hamlet,
the marriage is "foul incest."

D. LESSON LEARNED

I would say many things but two larger themes for me would be as follows.
First, beware of entangling yourself in intrigues, your own private ones or especially those of
others.
Secondly, I would be careful about those who you surround yourself with.
 I HAVE A DREAM

BY: MARTIN LUTHER KING

A. LIFE OF MARTIN LUTHER KING

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. King, a Baptist minister and civil-
rights activist, had a seismic impact on race relations in the United States, beginning in the mid-
1950s. Among his many efforts, King headed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

B. SUMMARY OF I HAVE A DREAM

On August 28, 1963, King gives his speech for freedom. He begins his speech with the
emancipation of the slaves, issued by Abraham Lincoln, and later mentions that after being
freed from slavery, blacks are still not free. King claims all men were issued a check and a
promise of freedom, yet for black men and women that check has come back with “insufficient
funds.” The members of the civil rights union issue a check to America, they return America’s
unkempt promise with one they are sure to keep: the continued pursuit of justice. King, along
with his many supporters, demand their freedom now, they demand things to change with a
sense of urgency and without procrastination from the oppressor. They do not want to see slow
change over time; they would rather see significant change immediately. King roars, “now is the
time to make justice a reality for all of God’s children.” However, King hopes to obtain equality
through non-violent movement. He tells fellow black people to not have hatred or bitterness in
their heart or turn to guns and fists. He knows that violence to obtain peace only leads to an
endless cycle of fighting, unnecessary death, and cruelty. Also King believes blacks must not let
this one incident lead them to hate all people of different races and nationalities. He knows that
only leads to the same kind of discrimination he is fighting against with his “I have a dream”
speech. Black people are not fighting for their own satisfactions, to fight until they feel content
with what they have accomplished. Black people are fighting for continuous freedom and
equality, not just to be stopped with King’s 1963 speech.

5 VOCABULARY WORDS

1. tranquilizing

 tending to soothe or tranquilize.

 This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of
gradualism.

2. civil right

 right belonging to a person by reason of citizenship

 There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?"

3. hew out

 make or shape as with an axe

 With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope.

4. promissory note

 a promise to pay a specified amount on demand or at a certain time

 When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and
the Declaration of Independence, they were signing promissory note to which every
American was to fall heir.

 5. manacle

 shackle that can be locked around the wrist

 One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of
segregation and the chains of discrimination.

C. LESSON LEARNED

Martin Luther King, Jr. is such an inspiration to several generations. He is known to be a

believer and advocate of the truth and non-violent settlements. His entire existence has brought
a large impact to many populations around the world. In fact, he has provided legacies that can
be used by individuals to lead a fascinating life, just like the way Martin Luther King, Jr. did.

King was truly an exceptional leader. In fact, hundreds of thousands have followed him and his
legacies. Experts believe that King has some special charisma, but people believe that his
principles are what make him a great leader. Below are some of King’s best words, which could
give special impact to the lives of those who come across each one of it.