Hamlet | Class 3: Leadership (Act 1)

Lecture Topic: Claudius and the Politics of Fear

Discuss with students that successful fear motivation usually has some basis in reality. In the case of Hamlet, the potential threat of Fortinbras’s invasion is real:

“Now follows that you know,” Claudius cautions: “Young Fortinbras, / Holding a weak supposal of our worth, / Or thinking by our late dear brother’s death / Our state to be disjoint and out of frame” (1.2.17-20).

If the Danes do not present a united and strong front, it is all the more likely that the aggressor will...

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