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TODAY IN CLASS
First period finished Act II--in 2nd and 3rd, we fell short.  We still need to look closely at Hamlet's closing soliloquy.  I'm not going to do that here on the blog, but I AM going to set up something you need for readint Act III that I did not manage to complete in 2nd and 3rd.

Consider the structure of a tragedy in which the climax occurs well before the end of the play, leaving ample time for the protagonist/tragic hero to suffer the consequences of his tragic flaw compounded by the circumstances of his life.   The climax is a crisis, a turning point--and from that point on, the protagonist's life follows a (rapid) downward trajectory.  In Shakespearean tragedies, the climax nearly always occurs within Act III. Macbeth is a classic example, because he is noble to start with, elevated (through a well-earned battlefield promotion as well as the morally corrosive regicide) to a higher status, and then--at the peak of his power--starts to fall.  In Macbeth, the banquet scene marks this change, though scholars quibble over the precise moment.  (You can make your guesses.)  But it is book-ended by two royal commands.  The state dinner begins with the king's command reflecting the world order of the Elizabethan "Great Chain of Being"; "You know your own degrees; sit down."  But later, after Macbeth has seen Banquo's ghost and begins to unravel, Lady Macbeth quits trying to smooth things over (i.e., to ignore his odd behavior) and tells everyone to leave at once, "and stand not upon the order of your going." The banquet which began in such perfect order ends in a mad rush to the door, with utter disregard for rank and protocol.

In Hamlet the turning point is not so conveniently marked for us in parallel language and action, but you may be confident that it occurs in Act III.  So,

FOR TOMORROW
Read Act III through.  Don't try to do all the study questions as you read it the first time.  Use them as guides, perhaps, but I'm aware that Act III is fairly long, and it will be better if you read it straight through to get the "lay of the land."  We will work on it tomorrow and Monday.  By Tuesday, however, I'll expect you to have finished reading the play.  (Acts IV and V are relatively short and considerably more straightforward.)