ENGLISH IVAP Unit: Shakespearean Tragedy
Short, Descriptive Overview: Hamlet
Involving multiple plots which eventually intersect, Hamlet: Prince of Denmark by William Shakespeare, is considered one of the playwright’s greatest tragedies. Through
the revelation of his father’s ghost, Hamlet is set on a path to avenge a wrongful death. Because it involves his uncle, now the king, who has recently married Hamlet’s
mother, complications ensue. On the periphery, another young prince from Norway, Prince Fortinbras, also seeks revenge upon Denmark for his father’s death in a duel.
Hamlet, being creative, inquisitive, suspicious, and isolated, and spurred by the ghost’s visits, eventually embroils himself in complications that result in inevitable tragedy,
not only for himself, but also for his immediate family, lover and friends.
TEKS: SPEAKING/LISTENING
(12) Reading/Media Literacy. Students use
comprehension skills to analyze how words, images,
graphics, and sounds work together in various forms to
impact meaning. Students will continue to apply earlier
standards with greater depth in increasingly more
complex texts. Students are expected to:
(A) evaluate how messages presented in media
reflect social and cultural views
in ways different from traditional texts;
(B) evaluate the interactions of different techniqu
es (e.g., layout, pictures, typeface in print media,
images, text, sound in electronic journalism) used in
multi-layered media;
(C) evaluate how one issue or event is represented
across various media to understand the notions of
bias, audience, and purpose; and
(D) evaluate changes in formality and tone across
various media for different audiences and purposes
(13) Writing/Writing Process. Students use elements
of the writing process (planning, drafting, revising,
editing, and publishing) to compose text. Students are
expected to:
(C) revise drafts to clarify meaning and achieve
specific rhetorical purposes, consistency of tone, and
logical organization by rearranging the words,
sentences, and paragraphs to employ tropes (e.g.,
metaphors, similes, analogies, hyperbole,
understatement, rhetorical questions, irony), schemes
(e.g., parallelism, antithesis, inverted word order,
repetition, reversed structures), and by adding
transitional words and phrases;
(D) edit drafts for grammar, mechanics, and spelling;
and
(E) revise final draft in response to feedback from
peers and teacher and publish written work for
appropriate audiences.
(15) (23) Research/Organizing and Presenting Ideas.
READING
1)
Reading/Vocabulary Development. Students
understand new vocabulary and use it when
reading and writing. Students are expected
to:
(A) determine the meaning of technical
academic English words in multiple content
areas (e.g., science, mathematics, social
studies, the arts) derived from Latin, Greek,
or other linguistic roots and affixes;
(B) analyze textual context (within a sentence
and in larger sections of text) to draw
conclusions about the nuance in word
meanings;
(F) use general and specialized dictionaries,
thesauri, histories of language, books of
quotations, and other related references
(printed or electronic) as needed.
(2) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Theme
and Genre. Students analyze, make inferences and
draw conclusions about theme and genre in different
cultural, historical, and contemporary contexts and
provide evidence from the text to support their
understanding. Students are expected to:
(A) compare and contrast works of literature that
express a universal theme;
(B) compare and contrast the similarities and
differences in classical plays with their modern day
novel, play, or film versions;
(4) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Drama.
Students understand, make inferences and draw
conclusions about the structure and elements of
drama and provide evidence from text to support their
understanding. Students are expected to evaluate how
the structure and elements of drama change in the
works of British dramatists across literary periods.
(7) Reading/Comprehension of Literary Text/Sensory
Language. Students understand, make inferences and
WRITING
Writing/Expository and Procedural Texts. Students
write expository and procedural or work-related texts to
communicate ideas and information to specific
audiences for specific purposes. Students are
expected to:
(C) write an interpretation of an expository or a
literary text that:
(i) advances a clear thesis statement;
(ii) addresses the writing skills for an analytical
essay including references to and
commentary on quotations from the text;
(iii) analyzes the aesthetic effects of an author's
use of stylistic or rhetorical devices;
(iv) identifies and analyzes ambiguities, nuances,
and complexities within the text; and
(v) anticipates and responds to readers'
questions and contradictory information;
(16) Writing/Persuasive Texts. Students write
persuasive texts to influence the attitudes or actions of
a specific audience on specific issues. Students are
expected to write an argumentative essay (e.g.,
evaluative essays, proposals) to the appropriate
audience that includes:
(A) a clear thesis or position based on logical reasons
with various forms of support (e.g., hard evidence,
reason, common sense, cultural assumptions);
(B) accurate and honest representation of divergent
views (i.e., in the author's own words and not out of
context);
(C) an organizing structure appropriate to the
purpose, audience, and context;
(E) demonstrated consideration of the validity and
reliability of all primary and secondary sources used;
(G) an awareness and anticipation of audience
response that is reflected in different levels of
formality, style, and tone.
(21) Research/Gathering Sources. Students
Students organize and present their ideas and
information according to the purpose of the research
and their audience.
Students are expected to synthesize the research into
an extended written or oral presentation that:
(A) provides an analysis that supports and
develops personal opinions, as opposed to
simply restating existing information;
(B) uses a variety of formats and rhetorical
strategies to argue for the thesis;
(C) develops an argument that incorporates the
complexities of and discrepancies in
information from multiple sources and
perspectives while anticipating and refuting
counter-arguments;
(D) uses a style manual (e.g., Modern Language
Association, Chicago Manualof Style) to
document sources and format written
materials; and
(E) is of sufficient length and complexity to
address the topic.
(24) Listening and Speaking/Listening. Students will
use comprehension skills to listen attentively to others
in formal and informal settings. Students will continue
to apply earlier standards with greater complexity.
Students are expected to:
(A) listen responsively to a speaker by framing
inquiries that reflect an understanding of the content
and by identifying the positions taken and the evidence
in support of those positions; and
(B) assess the persuasiveness of a presentation
based on content, diction, rhetorical strategies, and
delivery.
(26) Listening and Speaking/Teamwork. Students
work productively with others in teams. Students will
continue to apply earlier standards with greater
complexity. Students are expected to participate
productively in teams, offering ideas or judgments that
are purposeful in moving the team towards goals,
asking relevant and insightful questions, tolerating a
range of positions and ambiguity in decision-making,
and evaluating the work of the group based on agreedupon criteria
District Required Fiction (e.g., genres, titles, periods)
Enrichment Fiction Focus (e.g., suggestions of genres,
titles, periods)
District Required Nonfiction Focus (e.g., titles, types)
Enrichment Nonfiction (e.g., other suggestions of titles,
types)
draw conclusions about how an author's sensory
language creates imagery in literary text and provide
evidence from text to support their understanding.
Students are expected to analyze how the author's
patterns of imagery, literary allusions, and conceits
reveal theme, set tone, and create meaning in
metaphors, passages, and literary works.
(8) Reading/Comprehension of Informational
Text/Culture and History. Students analyze, make
inferences and draw conclusions about the author's
purpose in cultural, historical, and contemporary
contexts and provide evidence from the text to
support their understanding. Students are expected to
analyze the consistency and clarity of the expression
of the controlling idea and the ways in which the
organizational and rhetorical patterns of text support or
confound the author's meaning or purpose.
determine, locate, and explore the full range of
relevant sources addressing a research question and
systematically record the information they gather.
Students are expected to
(A) follow the research plan to gather evidence from
experts on the topic and texts written for informed
audiences in the field, distinguishing between reliable
and unreliable sources and avoiding over-reliance on
one source;
(B) systematically organize relevant and accurate
information to support central ideas, concepts, and
themes, outline ideas into conceptual maps/timelines,
and separate factual data from complex inferences;
and
(C) paraphrase, summarize, quote, and accurately
cite all researched information according to a standard
format (e.g., author, title, page number), differentiating
among primary, secondary, and other sources.
(22) Research/Synthesizing Information. Students
clarify research questions and evaluate and synthesize
collected information. Students are expected to:
(B) differentiate between theories and the evidence
that supports them and determine whether the
evidence found is weak or strong and how that
evidence helps create a cogent argument
Arp, Thomas, and Greg Johnson. Literature: Structure, Sound and Sense. New York: Cengage
Learning, 2009.
“The Hollow Men” and “The Love Song of J. Alred Prufrock” by T. S. Eliot
Various literarcy criticisms
Introduction to the components of Shakespearean drama using A. C. Bradley’s “The Shakespearean
Tragedy” vs. Greek dramatic elements in Poetics
Writing Focus (e.g., Purpose, Process)
Viewing/Representing Focus
Speaking/Listening Focus
Generalizations/Enduring Understandings
Guiding/Essential Questions
Concepts
Topics
Examples can include
 Hamlet portfolio—This major project includes a total of 5 entries. With each entry, choices are
given. The tasks are introduced throughout the study of Hamlet through a similar assignment or
daily activity. MLA format, objective case, and PROOFREADING are continued expectations.
Works Cited includes ALL sources used for all components of this portfolio assignment. The
very nature of this assignment requires diligence, continued honing of the writer’s craft, and
research. A creative cover and Table of Contents are also required. Entries include the
following:
a) Choice of a formal critical approach to literature using one critical reference
applied to an Act of choice.
b) Extended journal entry applied to the play
c) Summary and commentary using another literary criticism article
d) Annotation of and paraphrase of a major soliloquy
e) Ophelia Diary entry in which she reacts to a particular incident, speaks her mind,
provides motives for her actions, and explains what makes this young woman tick. Language should
mimic Elizabethan vernacular.
 AP-style Timed Write
 Close reading and film critique of three media performances of the “To Be” soliloquy (Laurence
Olivier, Mel Gibson, Kenneth Branagh) to text version
 Formal literary analysis using secondary sources
Hamlet. Dir. Kenneth Branagh. Perf. Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Julie Christie, and Kate Winslet.
Videocassette. Warner Home Video, 2000.
Hamlet. Dir. Laurence Olivier. Perf. Laurence Olivier, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, and Jean Simmons.
DVD. The Criterion Collection, 2000.
Hamlet. Dir. Franco Zeffirelli. Perf. Mel Gibson, Alan Bates, Glenn Close, Paul Scofield, Ian Holm, and
Helen Bonham Carter. DVD. Warner Home Video, 2004
Audiobook Hamlet, Prince of Denmark; inner/outer class discussions
Revenge has far-reaching consequences and always ends badly.
Humans are imperfect beings.
Truth has many perspectives.
Family dynamics can be complicated.
Morality can be both personal and social.
Sometimes the truth can be unpleasant and life-changing.
How far should one pursue the truth?
Should it be at the peril of just the individual or others indirectly or presumed involved?
Should ethos be justified by pathos?
Should personal justice override social constraints at any cost?
How can one overcome great personal turmoil?
The Risk of Knowing


Class reading and discussion of elements of both literature (i.e. character, point of view,
conflict, plots/subplots) and style (i.e. poetic language devices, rhetorical strategies,
persuasive techniques—ethos, pathos, logos--archaic diction, syntactical techniques)
Individual student performances of selected scenes
Essential Facts
Hamlet is considered William Shakespeare’s greatest and most complex tragedy.
The Elizabethan audience truly believed in the supernatural.
William Shakespeare incorporated a variety of rhetorical, literary, dramatic techniques for
effectiveness.
Shakespeare expanded on the Greek elements of tragedy outlined by Aristotle in Poetics.
Elizabethan theaters also expanded the structural elements of the Greek amphitheater .
Processes and Thinking Skills
AP Strategies
Language of Instruction
The course includes an intensive study of representative works such as those by authors cited in the
AP English Course Description so that by the time the student completes AP English Literature and
Composition she or he will have studied during high school literature from both British and
American writers, as well as works written in several genres from the sixteenth century to
contemporary times. The works selected for the course should require careful, deliberative reading
that yields multiple meanings.
The course teaches students to write an interpretation of a piece of literature that is based on a
careful observation of textual details, considering the work's:
O Structure, style, and themes
O The social and historical values it reflects and embodies
O Such elements as the use of figurative language, imagery, symbolism, and tone
 The course includes frequent opportunities for students to write and rewrite formal, extended
analyses and timed, in-class responses. The course requires:
O Writing to understand: Informal, exploratory writing activities that enable students to discover
what they think in the process of writing about their reading (such assignments could include
annotation, freewriting, keeping a reading journal, and response/reaction papers)
O Writing to explain: Expository, analytical essays in which students draw upon textual details to
develop an extended explanation/interpretation of the meanings of a literary text
O Writing to evaluate: Analytical, argumentative essays in which students draw upon textual
details to make and explain judgments about a work's artistry and quality, and its social and cultural
values
 The AP teacher provides instruction and feedback on students' writing assignments, both before
and after the students revise their work, that help the students develop:
O A wide-ranging vocabulary used appropriately and effectively
O A variety of sentence structures, including appropriate use of subordination and coordination
O Logical organization, enhanced by specific techniques to increase coherence, such as repetition,
transitions, and emphasis
O A balance of generalization and specific, illustrative detail
O An effective use of rhetoric, including controlling tone, establishing and maintaining voice, and
achieving appropriate emphasis through diction and sentence structure
William Shakespeare background
Elizabethan Theater
Poetic Verse v. Prose
Soliloquy
Aside
Fate v. Free Will
Vocabulary
Support Materials
Corruption and Sin
Literary Criticisms
Elizabethan Diction
Poetic Terminology
Plot and Subplot
Foil
Tragic Hero
Elements of Tragedy
Difreferences to Ancient and Elizabethan Tragedies
Anachronism
Revenge
Superstition
In context
Weblinks / Other Resources:
http://www.allshakespeare.com/sonnets.php
http://www
.folger.edu/Home_02B.html
http://www.pbs.org/shakespeare/
http://www.rsc.org.uk/home/index.asp
http://www.pbs.org/standarddeviantstv/transcript_shakespeare.html#oedipus
http://www.shakespearedallas.org/
http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/shakespeare/
http://www.shakespeare-sonnets.com/
http://www.shakespeare-online.com/sonnets/
http://www.folger.edu/education/lesson.cfm?lessonid=206