Watching and Reading Shakespeare’s "Hamlet"

Class Description

“The play’s the thing!” — So says the legendary title character of Shakespeare’s sublime tragedy of revenge. But how and why should we actually read a Shakespeare play these days? This class offers an engaging introduction to Shakespeare’s art through an accessible in-depth exploration of Hamlet, supplemented with engaging discussion of several interpretations of the play.

All virtual classes are recorded and made available to participants registered in the class. These recordings are password-protected and available for up to two weeks after the class ends.

Steven J. Venturino, PhD, the author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism, has taught classes at the Newberry Library since 2015 and is a former Adjunct Professor of English at Loyola University Chicago.

What to Expect

Format: Virtual

Class Capacity: 30

Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged

Materials List

Required

• William Shakespeare, Hamlet (the Pelican Shakespeare edition). Penguin, 2016. ISBN 978-0143128540

• Hamlet (1996). Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Available to stream on Kanopy, to rent on Amazon Video or Apple TV, or to buy on DVD.

First Reading

• For the first session, please watch the film, Hamlet, directed by Kenneth Branagh (1996). Note that the film is very good, four hours long, and you can watch it in portions.

A Brief Syllabus

1. Hamlet the Film
2. Act One
3. Act Two and Act Three
4. Act Four and Act Five

Cost and Registration

4 Sessions, $220 ($198 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.

We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($220), Community Supported ($205), and Sponsor ($235). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.

To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.

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View our full schedule of adult education classes.

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Questions?

Call us at (312) 255-3700 or send us an email at adulteducation@newberry.org.

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