Read: Shakespeare, Hamlet
Bohannan, "Shakespeare in the Bush" (article)

1. Why is Hamlet so troubled by the marriage between his mother and uncle?

2. In Act 1, Scene 5, Hamlet tells Horatio, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy" (lines 187-8). What does he mean? What is the role of intellect, reason, and philosophy throughout the play?

3. Much of the drama of the play rests on differences between appearance (particularly as dictated by social convention and political power) and reality. Find some scenes in which this theme appears. What do these scenes suggest about knowledge, action, politics, and social mores? A similar theme of appearance versus truth is central to Plato's allegory of the cave. What similarities and differences do you see between these two stories?

4. What are some of the key choices that Hamlet makes during the course of the play? Why does he make them? What are some of the consequences of those choices? Could events have turned out otherwise?

5. How does Hamlet treat Ophelia during the course of the play? How do his actions relate to the emotions that he claims to feel?

6. Hamlet behaves quite differently in Act 5 than in the previous acts. What has changed? Why does he behave differently?

7. What are some of the assumptions about kinship and morality revealed in Bohannan and the Tiv's different interpretations of Hamlet? What does her experience suggest about the process of cross-cultural communication?

Journal Entry: Lessons from Hamlet (due in class on January 26 and by email to aleshkow[at]holycross.edu). In his essay about Shakespeare's Hamlet, Michael Neill describes it as "the most intellectually puzzling of his plays" (307). One reason for this seems to be that the play permits different, often contradictory readings. Given our focus on truth and goodness, what would you say is the primary moral lesson to take from Hamlet? Be sure to support your analysis through reference to specific passages from the play.

For more information, contact: aleshkow@holycross.edu