Shakespeare's Hamlet: Text, Performance and Culture
Experts from the Shakespeare Institute guide an exploration of the most famous play ever staged.
Duration
6 weeksWeekly study
4 hours
Shakespeare's Hamlet: Text, Performance and Culture
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Hamlet is the most famous play ever written and the masterpiece of the most important writer in English, William Shakespeare. Its themes of mortality, madness and political succession have given it an enduring fascination - Hamlet has been translated into every major language and adapted for every new medium since it was written.
This free online course will introduce you to some of the many ways in which Hamlet can be enjoyed and understood. Over six weeks, you’ll look at how Hamlet has responded to successive times and successive performances.
You’ll learn with experts from the University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute - an internationally renowned research institution located in the writer’s birthplace, Stratford-upon-Avon.
Each week, these experts will guide a discussion about Hamlet’s fortunes in print; its own representations of writing and theatre; its place in the Elizabethan theatrical repertory; and its representation of melancholia and interiority.
You’ll also hear from those who have performed key roles in the play, and look at Hamlet’s fortunes on the modern stage; its appeal to actors; and its philosophy.
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
Who is the course for?
You’ll need a basic ability to read and understand Hamlet. Otherwise, a curiosity about this play, and why it has remained such an important and iconic element in Western culture for four centuries is the sole prerequisite for the course.
Who will you learn with?
Michael is the director of the University of Birmingham’s Shakespeare Institute in Stratford-upon-Avon, and Professor of Shakespeare Studies.
Who developed the course?
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a public research university, consistently listed as a leading UK university and ranked among the top 100 in the world.
Learning on FutureLearn
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- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
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