Skip to main content

Hamlet: Torment and tragedy

Posted 
Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume.
Actor Tom Conroy in performance of Hamlet
Hamlet: Torment and tragedy

SUBJECTS:  Arts, English

YEARS:  7–8, 9–10


Hamlet Act 1.2 129–59


Hamlet is one of Shakespeare's most tormented tragic heroes.

Unlike the protagonists of most other tragedies, Hamlet begins the play in a state of anguish. In this early soliloquy, the audience learns why.

Tom Conroy from Bell Shakespeare realises Hamlet's agony in this moving excerpt from Act 1, scene 2.


Things to think about

  1. 1.Before watching this clip, find out who Hyperion, Niobe and Hercules were, as well as the satyrs. What sorts of behaviour are associated with each of these figures?
  2. 2.What do you think Hamlet's metaphor of the unweeded garden might refer to? Which metaphor compares Hamlet's father with his uncle, the new king? Identify two other examples of contrasts. Why is Hamlet so upset with his mother? What does he suspect is driving her behaviour? What words and phrases suggest that Hamlet is suffering from a deep distress?
  3. 3.

    What seems to be the state of the court at Elsinore? What is Hamlet criticising about the behaviour of his mother and uncle? How do the references to heavenly and earthly figures reinforce this idea? Why, then, might Hamlet wish he could turn to dew? How would you characterise Hamlet's state of mind at this point in time?

  4. 4.

    Hamlet's metaphor of the 'unweeded garden' is most likely a description of the state of the court of Elsinore. Can you suggest something else the metaphor might be intended to describe? Many phrases in 'Hamlet' have become common sayings in modern English. Do you recognise one in this soliloquy? If not, can you guess which one it might be?

Teachers

Visit Bell Shakespeare's website

Discover programs, workshops and more performances at one of Australia's great theatre companies.

Download a PDF with the full synopsis for each play.

Full plot summaries of Macbeth, Othello, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, The Tempest, and Romeo and Juliet.


Acknowledgements

Created by ABC Splash in collaboration with Bell Shakespeare.


Production Date: 2014


Copyright

Metadata © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia Ltd 2012 (except where otherwise indicated). Digital content © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). Video © Australian Broadcasting Corporation (except where otherwise indicated). All images copyright their respective owners. Text © Australian Broadcasting Corporation and Education Services Australia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Posted