Hamlet is undoubtedly one of Shakespeare's most important and beloved plays. It is full of intrigue, mystery, the supernatural, and features a variety of memorable characters. Besides all of this, it is Shakespeare's most theological play, though it is not often read as such.

It has often been argued that the text as we have it is an amalgam: too unwieldy, at four hours "traffic," to have been performed, it represents a number of scenes from which the players would have chosen as suited the needs of the particular performance. Whatever the truth of this, it is a monster of a play to get through.

And of course, it was not meant to be read, but to be played. Shakespeare is great reading, but he sings in performance. The right way to study a play is to inhabit it first, and only then to discuss it.

That is what we will do in this course: we will spend two sessions reading Hamlet together, with assigned roles that you are encouraged to prepare ahead of time. (Don't worry, you don't need to be a good actor: just have familiarity with your lines so that it is easier to read them without tripping over them. We will have a wide variety of reading talent!) Then, we will spend two sessions discussing the play in detail.

This is a rigorous study of Hamlet, which can only be done on the basis of an understanding of the poem that is internal to its world.

This course is for lovers of Hamlet, lovers of Shakespeare, lovers of literature, and lovers of good company and laughs. Join us as we study one of the masterworks of English literature as it was meant to be studied: in fellowship!