Final Syllabus Hamlet: Prince of Denmark Session: SU3, 2016 Faculty Name: Christopher Fee Meeting Place: F24-402 (V10-B24, August 1st – 4th) Credits: 4 Location: Copenhagen Study Tour to London Academic Program: European Humanities Major Disciplines: Literature. Theater Studies Please note: Course runs through the late evening of August 2nd Description of course Shakespeare's Hamlet has captivated the popular imagination for more than four centuries and continues to inflame passions and to engender productions and adaptations to this very day. We will study the play while following in the footsteps of this most famous Prince of Denmark: We pick up his trail in the misty past of Danish legendary history rooted in the ancient capital of Gammel Lejre and then travel with Prince Hamlet to London’s Globe Theatre and to the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. Along the way, we will spend ample time at Kronborg Slot, “Hamlet’s Castle,” in the Danish city of Helsingør, Shakespeare's Elsinore, where we will get an introduction to one of Europe's most venerable Shakespeare festivals. A pinnacle of the course will be our attendance at a professional performance of Hamlet at the RSC; we will also view Macbeth as groundlings at the Globe, and will cap off the course by seeing Measure for Measure in the courtyard of Kronborg Slot. These other two plays will provide thematic context for our study of Hamlet, as we will examine Shakespeare’s Prince of Denmark through the lenses of power, ambition, corruption, and identity provided by the playwright’s explorations of kingship & usurpation in Scotland and justice & hypocrisy in Vienna. Moreover, the classroom, experiential, and site-specific aspects of this course in Denmark will provide us with crucial tools for situating the story of Hamlet in its original Danish setting and literary and legendary context. Likewise, the Study Tour to the Globe in London and the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford will help us to develop a common concept of Shakespeare’s own personal sense of place, a particularly valuable experience during the season celebrating the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and the 200th Anniversary of performances of Hamlet at Kronborg Slot. Instructor: Christopher (Chris) Fee Ph.D. (English, University of Glasgow), M.A. (Medieval Studies, University of Connecticut and English, Loyola University in Chicago), B.A. (English, Baldwin-Wallace College). Professor and Chair of English at Gettysburg College. Author of 'Gods, Heroes, and Kings: The Battle for Mythic Britain' (Oxford 2001), 'Mythology in the Middle Ages: Heroic Tales of Monsters, Magic, and Might' (Praeger 2011), 'The Goddess: Myths of the Great Mother' (Reaktion 2016), and 'American Myths, Legends, and Tall Tales: An Encyclopedia of American Folklore' (ABC-CLIO 2016), with a new book on King Arthur currently under contract. With DIS as a guest lecturer since spring 2012. DIS Contacts Karen Søilen, European Humanities Assistant Program Director Edward Daschle, European Humanities Program Assistant Hamlet: Prince of Denmark | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Literature, Theater Studies Final Syllabus Course Objectives By the end of this course you will know one of the great classics of English literature very well indeed; moreover, you will have a good grounding in its sources and you will be able to discuss why “the Dane abides,” which is to say that you will be able to articulate some compelling reasons why Hamlet continues to fixate modern readers and audiences. More to the point in a Danish context, you will be able to demonstrate an understanding of the relationship between Shakespeare’s Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and its medieval Danish sites and sources. By the end of the course you will have visited the Globe Theatre in London, the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon, and the Shakespeare Festival located in Hamlet’s castle in Helsingør, and therefore will have gained a solid understanding of the relationship between literary studies and production values in the staging of Shakespearean drama. Course Format We will explore conflicting theories concerning the origin and development of Hamlet, its analogues, and its source materials, examine and discuss reasons for the play’s abiding appeal, discuss issues of text and performance, and compare the relative merits of “good literature” and “good drama.” We will read a number of related materials, both primary and secondary, and we will view video performances of several productions. This course combines vibrant class discussion—punctuated and propelled by carefully-chosen lines of Socratic questioning—with regular close readings of key scenes from the play in class, independent research, and the collaborative work of developing and performing Shakespearean soliloquies and scenes. Required Texts: Bevington, David M. Murder Most Foul: Hamlet Through the Ages. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011. (Required selection(s) available through DIS Canvas) Bevington, David M., Anne Marie Welsh, and Michael L. Greenwald. Shakespeare: Script, Stage, Screen. New York: Pearson/Longman, 2006. (Required selection(s) available through DIS Canvas) Dawson, Anthony B. Hamlet: Shakespeare in Perfomance Series. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1995. (Required selection(s) available through DIS Canvas) Pennington, Michael. Hamlet: A User's Guide. New York: Limelight Editions, 1996. (Required selection(s) available through DIS Canvas) Shakespeare, William, and Robert S. Miola. Hamlet: Text of the Play, the Actors' Gallery, Contexts, Criticism, Afterlives, Resources. New York: W.W. Norton & Co, 2011. (Text provided by library) Supplementary short selections from Sources & Analogues of Hamlet. (Required selection(s) available through DIS Canvas) Text of Macbeth and of Measure for Measure available in advance of our pre-performance discussions of those plays. (Required selection(s) available through DIS Canvas) Selected Video Clips (DVD, Streaming, and/or YouTube): Selected scenes from various versions of Hamlet: Olivier (1948), Gielgud & Burton (1964), Plummer (1964), Pennington (1982), Gibson (1990), Kline (1990), Branagh (1996), Hawke (2000), Tennant (2008), Law (2009); Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1990); Slings and Arrows (2003). Hamlet: Prince of Denmark | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Literature, Theater Studies Final Syllabus Field Studies to “Hamlet’s Castle” in Helsingør Embracing the “Europe as Classroom” philosophy and practice of DIS, this course utilizes relevant primary and critical readings concerning Hamlet as a nexus of drama, legendary history, and location in order to situate each student’s experiences of the text within the specific environs of Kronborg Slot. Although journeys abound on the peripheries of the play, Hamlet is firmly grounded in the soil and stones of Elsinore, and all of the action revolves around this epicenter. In order to develop our own appreciation of the importance of setting to Hamlet, we will take two field studies to Kronborg Slot in Helsingør during the course of the term. As we explore Kronborg, we will ask ourselves what the location means to us in the context of the play: What does this specific place have to do with the contours of this play? How could the setting affect the tone and mood of the play? How does our understanding of location influence our reading of the play? Field Study to the Ancient Legendary Capital of Denmark in Gammel Lejre Given that a sense of place is both a crucial contextual component and a fundamental pedagogical approach to our study of Hamlet, it is vital that we situate Prince Hamlet’s ancient legendary cousins within the landscape surrounding the ancient Danish capital at Gammel Lejre. Saxo Grammaticus, a Danish cleric, wrote the Gesta Danorum, “Acts of the Danes,” in Latin at the beginning of the thirteenth century. Saxo’s rendition of the Amleth tale—an ancient version of Hamlet—is in Books III & IV of 16 volumes. The Chronicle of the Kings of Lejre is an annal which dates to the late twelfth century, covers much of the same material as Saxo, and links the story of Rolf Krage explicitly to that of “Amblothe” or Amleth. Rolf Krage is “Hrolf Kraki” in Icelandic, and his saga in Old Norse is the closest Scandinavian analogue to Beowulf. Both texts are set at Lejre in Zealand, and both explicitly reference kin-killing and revenge as primary themes. Irish sources also mention one “Amhlaide,” which seems a Celtic version of “Amleth.” Some sources link this figure to Havelok the Dane, a Middle English Romance with striking parallels to Hamlet. Thus the ancient Danish capital of Gammel Lejre may be linked to three great classics of British literature, and through such links we may examine comparatively major themes and figures of Beowulf, Havelock, and Hamlet. Study Tour to London and Stratford Visiting the Globe Theatre in London to explore and to discuss performance issues as well as the historical realities of the performance of Hamlet in Elizabethan England is an obvious extension of this means of situating the text in its historical context, as is visiting the birthplace of Shakespeare and the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon. The study tour to London and Stratford is designed to extend an excellent base of knowledge and lines of inquiry in directions which will inform and enrich our experiences in a number of exciting ways. Hamlet: Prince of Denmark | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Literature, Theater Studies Final Syllabus Course Requirements You are expected to be present, prepared, and ready to participate in each and every class period and in all class activities and trips. Some find participating in class discussions to be fun and easy, while others find it threatening and uncomfortable. You need not be a big talker to do well in this class (although it usually doesn’t hurt!), but you do need to be prepared to answer an occasional question, articulate intelligent confusion, or voice the odd query (about the subject matter at hand rather than, say, grading procedures). This class also requires a great deal of group reading and enacting of key scenes and the collaborative class activity of putting on a series of final soliloquies or scenes from the play; full participation in all required activities is presupposed. Anything less is unfair to your classmates and the play. The weekly quizzes will provide a good measure of your grasp of the academic material, including from whence in the misty dawn of Denmark the roots of this play sprang; the short essays, meanwhile, will illustrate that you understand key aspects of the play in terms of setting, performance, and audience, especially an audience of contemporary Americans in Denmark. Taking Hamlet at his word, in this class we believe that, ultimately, “the play’s the thing” (Act II, scene ii). Thus, in lieu of a final exam, all members of the class will perform a substantial soliloquy and/or participate in the dramatic reading of a selected scene on the castle grounds of Kronborg in Helsingør, an exercise which will serve as the experiential capstone to the course. In combination with our attendance at a professional performance of Hamlet at the RSC, Macbeth at the Globe, and Measure for Measure at Kronborg Slot during the last week of the course, the experiential activity of performing a soliloquy or scene(s) will function as a memorable lab experience through which we will test and measure our academic understanding of the play, its ancient and medieval sources, and its modern significance. Hamlet Soliloquy Exercise Gaining some intimacy with the text and fluency with the original language of Hamlet is a key component of this course, and for that reason the preparation of an individual dramatic reading is a necessary and traditional component of a class like ours; consider all of your in-class reading aloud to be practice. In the final week of the course each student must have memorized and be prepared to recite aloud at the grounds of Kronborg Slot in Helsingør a key passage from one of Hamlet's soliloquies or a major speech or substantial lines from a key scene of another character, such as Polonius’s famous speech to Laertes, one of the speeches of Claudius or Gertrude, or the famous scene depicting Ophelia's descent into madness. If pairs or small groups of students would like to perform short scenes instead of individual monologues, this may be acceptable with instructor approval and consultation. In any case, however, all students should be prepared to perform a key selection from the text in front of the class (and perhaps others) in the environs of Kronborg Slot or the grounds surrounding it. We will practice these soliloquies or scenes in class, but students should be prepared to put in some rehearsal time outside of class, and students should be prepared to film each other’s performances and to provide the footage to the instructor. Grade Components: Daily Preparation, Participation, & In-Class Exercises: Field Study Participation: “Grounding Hamlet in the Soil of Helsingør” Essay: Character Study & Scene Analysis Essay: “Why Does the Dane Abide?” Essay: “The play's the thing....” Hamlet Soliloquy Exercise: Weekly Quizzes: Study Tour Participation & Attendance at HamletScenen Performance: 10% 10% 10% 10% 10% 20% 20% 10% *ALL ASPECTS of this course must be completed in order to pass the course, regardless of the overall percentage earned.* Hamlet: Prince of Denmark | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Literature, Theater Studies Final Syllabus Schedule of Classes: Week 1 (4-8 July): Monday, 4 July: ARRIVAL TO DENMARK & DIS Session 1, Tuesday, 5 July (1:30 PM-4:30 PM): Welcome to the Program (with European Humanities Staff). Introduction to the Play, the Course, and Hamlet in Denmark: “Imagining Hamlet” (Norton). [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] A First Read of the Play: Hamlet, Act I (Norton); Hamlet: A User’s Guide (Chapter 1). Steps Towards Acting Shakespeare Handout in Class. Session 2, Wednesday, 6 July (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): A First Read of the Play: Hamlet, Act II (Norton); Shakespeare: Script, Stage, Screen (564-571). [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] A First Read of the Play: Hamlet, Act III (Norton); Shakespeare: Script, Stage, Screen (623-638). Scene-by-Scene Setting of Hamlet Handout in Class. Wednesday Afternoon Field Study (Wednesday, 6 July 1:00 PM-4:00 PM): [Lunch not provided.] Introduction to Hamlet’s Elsinore and Hamlet’s Castle, Kronborg Slot We will take a guided walk into the setting of Hamlet; we will begin in medieval Helsingør and circle the castle grounds, developing an appreciation for the historical setting and context of the play. We also will tour the castle with the “HAMLET LIVE” experience, either today or on 27 July, depending upon logistics. If need be, we may swap around elements of the 6 July and 27 July Field Studies. Session 3, Thursday, 7 July (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): A First Read of the Play: Hamlet, Act IV (Norton). [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] Meaning and Mortality in Hamlet I: Prince Hamlet’s Speeches and Soliloquies (in-class exercises); Hamlet: Shakespeare in Perfomance Series (Chapter 1); selected video clips from Season One of Slings and Arrows (CBC 2003); Scansion Handout in Class. Thursday Afternoon at the Movies (Thursday, 7 July 1:00 PM-4:00 PM): Acting Hamlet I: The Ghost Sequence. Reading: Gielgud & Burton (Norton); Murder Most Foul (Chapter 6); Filming Hamlet: Rothwell (Norton). The class will screen and discuss the Ghost Sequence from Burton’s 1964 Hamlet, which Gielgud directed, and as time allows will compare this version to selected scenes from other versions. Session 4, Friday, 8 July (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): FRIDAY QUIZ! A First Read of the Play: Hamlet, Act V (Norton). [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] Meaning and Mortality in Hamlet II: Prince Hamlet’s Speeches and Soliloquies (in-class exercises); selected video clips from Season One of Slings and Arrows (CBC 2003); Dramatic Reading Handout in Class. Week 2 (11-15 July): Session 5, Monday, 11 July (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): Ancient Sources of the Play: Saxo Grammaticus (Norton). [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] View and discuss relevant scenes from the film version of Saxo’s treatment entitled Prince of Jutland, aka Royal Deceit (1994), directed by Gabriel Axel and starring Gabriel Byrne, Helen Mirren, Christian Bale, and Kate Beckinsale. [LUNCH BREAK] Hamlet: Prince of Denmark | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Literature, Theater Studies Final Syllabus Monday Afternoon at the Movies (Monday, 11 July 1:00 PM-4:00 PM): Acting Hamlet II: The Mousetrap Sequence. Reading: Olivier & Branagh (Norton); Hamlet: Shakespeare in Perfomance Series (Chapter 4). The class will screen and discuss the Mousetrap Sequence from Olivier’s 1948 Hamlet, and as time allows will compare this version to selected scenes from Branagh’s 1996 version. Session 6, Tuesday, 12 July (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): Link Saxo’s version of the Amleth myth with the Danish Chronicles of the Kings of Lejre, the Old English Epic Beowulf, and the Middle English Romance Havelock the Dane. [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] View and discuss relevant scenes from the film version of Saxo’s treatment entitled Prince of Jutland, aka Royal Deceit (1994), directed by Gabriel Axel and starring Gabriel Byrne, Helen Mirren, Christian Bale, and Kate Beckinsale. Wednesday Afternoon Field Study (Wednesday, 13 July 1:00 PM-4:00 PM): [Lunch not provided.] Gammel Lejre, Ancient & Legendary Capital of Denmark: Hamlet’s Ancient Links to Beowulf Although Hamlet is set in the seat of Danish power best-known to Englishmen of Shakespeare’s time, the plot of the story is ancient and has deep roots in the soil of Gammel Lejre, an evocative setting of myth, legend, and folklore, as well as the site of archaeologically significant prehistoric halls and tombs. Lejre may also be linked to a number of sources and analogues of Hamlet, and most notably may be associated with Beowulf and with Havelock the Dane, which together with Hamlet comprise three towering works of English letters with both literary and literal roots in Denmark. Our visit to Gammel Lejre will thus provide us with the prehistoric context for Shakespeare’s Danish Prince. Session 7, Thursday, 14 July (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): Ancient Sources of the Play: Greek Tragedy, and Seneca (Norton). [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] Purgatory and Hamlet: The Bible, Dante, More, & Greenblatt (Norton); By today students are to have selected Soliloquies for performance at the grounds of Kronborg Slot: Today each student is to notify the class of this choice. Folio Technique Handout in Class. Session 8, Friday, 15 July (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): FRIDAY QUIZ! The Revenge Tragedy and Hamlet: Kyd (Norton); Murder Most Foul (Introduction & Chapter 1). [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] Discuss logistics of upcoming Study Tour to London and Stratford-upon-Avon. “Grounding Hamlet in the Soil of Helsingør” Essay DUE. Week 3 (18-22 July): Week-long Study Tour to London and Stratford-upon-Avon (5 days & 4 nights): Lectures, Workshops, Tours, and Performances at the Globe Theatre and the Royal Shakespeare Company, as well as associated visits to the British Museum, the British Library, Shakespeare’s Birthplace, and Anne Hathaway’s Cottage. See Study Tour Itinerary for Details. Hamlet: Prince of Denmark | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Literature, Theater Studies Final Syllabus Week 4 (25-29 July): Session 9, Monday, 25 July (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): How Do You Solve a Problem Like Ophelia? “Get Thee to a Nunn’ry…”—Hamlet and Women: Showalter (Norton). Take a second look at scenes which depict or discuss Ophelia’s presence and absence in Hamlet and her interactions with the men in her life. [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] Rehearse Soliloquies in pairs. Character Study & Scene Analysis Essay DUE. [LUNCH BREAK] Monday Afternoon at the Movies (Monday, 25 July 1:00 PM-4:00 PM): Acting Hamlet III: The Gravedigger Sequence. Reading: Pennington & Law (Norton); Murder Most Foul (Chapter 7). The class will screen and discuss the Gravedigger Sequence from the RSC's 2008 Hamlet, with David Tennant and Patrick Stewart, and as time allows will compare this version to selected scenes from other versions. Session 10, Tuesday, 26 July (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): How Do You Solve a Problem Like Ophelia? “Get Thee to a Nunn’ry…”—Hamlet and Women: Showalter (Norton). Continue discussion from Monday as necessary. Continue to take a second look at scenes which depict or discuss Ophelia’s presence and absence in Hamlet and her interactions with the men in her life. [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] Rehearse Soliloquies/scenes in pairs/groups. Wednesday Afternoon Field Study (Wednesday, 27 July 1:00 PM-5:00 PM): [Lunch not provided.] Return to Kronborg Slot: Behind the Scenes at HamletScenen and Situating the Play within “Hamlet’s Castle” View “A Ghost Story,” by the Shakespeare Puppet Theatre at Hamlet's Castle (1:00-1:30 PM) Visit to Hamlet Scenen (1:30-3:00 PM): - Meet the Business Manager of HamletScenen: A 45 minute talk by Signe on the history, context, & organization of Scandinavia’s most venerable & prestigious Shakespeare Festival. - Meet the Artistic Director: A 45 min talk by Lars on the dramatic interpretation and staging of Hamlet. Tour the castle with the “HAMLET LIVE” experience, either today or on 6 July, depending upon logistics (3:00-5:00 PM): “This summer Hamlet, Ophelia, Claudius, Gertrude, Polonius, and Yorick the King’s Jester take up residence in the Castle’s halls and private chambers. When visitors walk into the Courtyard of Kronborg Castle, they tumble right into the story and Hamlet’s World. The fate of Hamlet happens before their very eyes as they progress around the castle. Nobody knows who they meet and when. The main story of Hamlet is told in a sequence of small scenes. However, sometimes the actors will reach out to the audience for good advice along the way, not as actors but as real live Renaissance people who might be glimpsed through the mists of time engaged in their everyday activities. In our Hamlet Universe guests fulfil the function Horatio does in the play, becoming ‘honoured guests’ and eyewitnesses to the real life situations that arise.” [http://kongeligeslotte.dk/en/palaces-and-gardens/kronborg-castle/hamlet-2016/hamletlive.html] http://www.provector.dk/video/?p=37560&cid=189&pl=0 Hamlet: Prince of Denmark | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Literature, Theater Studies Final Syllabus Session 11, Thursday, 28 July (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): Appearance vs. Reality—A Play with a Play in Hamlet I: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Norton); selected video clips from the film (1990). Take a second look at the Players and the Mousetrap Sequence in the context of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] Recite Soliloquies before small groups. Session 12, Friday, 29 July (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): FRIDAY QUIZ! Appearance vs. Reality—A Play with a Play in Hamlet II: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (Norton); selected video clips from the film (1990). Take a second look at the Players and the Mousetrap Sequence in the context of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. [SHORT COFFEE BREAK] Recite Soliloquies before small groups. Discuss logistics of the final week’s activities. Week 5 (1-5 August): Wrap-up Session, Monday, 1 August (9:00 AM-12:00 PM): Students will rehearse Individual Soliloquies (or small group scenes). Wrap-up Discussion. “Why Does the Dane Abide?” Essay DUE. Final Visit to “Hamlet’s Castle”, Tuesday, 2 August (2:00 PM-12:00 AM): Tuesday, 2 August, afternoon: Dramatic Readings by Students on the Grounds of Kronborg Slot & Group Picnic in the shadow of “Hamlet’s Castle” [“Hamlet Picnic” provided by HamletScenen.] Each Student will Perform and Film an Individual Soliloquy (or small group scene) on the grounds of “Hamlet’s Castle.” We will have access to the closed garden behind Kronborg Slot called the Helsingborg Ravelin. This is where the puppet show is performed throughout the month of July, but when we are there it will be vacant, and we should have the place to ourselves. The stage building will be closed (loaded with gear from the puppet theatre) but we are free to use the stage itself for our student performances. The rest of the class can sit in the audience seats; it’s pretty ideal for low-key dramatic readings. Each student (or small group) should arrange to have another member of the class film that student’s (or group’s) performance, as well as to take 2-3 nice static photos of the given person(s) on stage. Decent phone camera video & images will do. This footage will provide a lasting record of an unforgettable day, and must be shared with the instructor in order to receive credit for the soliloquy exercise. N.B.: Students will be evaluated mostly on participation and effort in this regard, so inexperienced actors need not fear for their grades; in fact, they get extra credit for sheer guts! We have arranged with HamletScenen for their “Hamlet Picnic” baskets (believe it or not, there is such a thing!) for the entire group. This way we can eat at Kronborg before the evening performance – and it will make for a suitably festive conclusion to our own performances that day. Final Performance, Tuesday, 2 August (8:00 PM): Attend HamletScenen International Shakespeare Festival Performance of Measure for Measure at Kronborg Slot in Helsingør Wednesday, 3 August: Earliest Date to Depart for USA Thursday, 4 August: Free Day Friday, 5 August at NOON: Students Must Depart DIS Housing Hamlet: Prince of Denmark | DIS – Study Abroad in Scandinavia | Related Disciplines: Literature, Theater Studies
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