VERSION B · BAC PRO · B1

Session 4: The tragic end

Part 4. Why does everybody die, and what remains?

Objectives

Today's language goal

To explain the ending and write a critical paragraph on the tragic, we need the words of tragedy (fate, weakness, pity, fear, wounded, poisoned) and linking words of cause, consequence, contrast and concession.

Warm-up

Students list endings of films they know: happy, sad, tragic. What is the difference between sad and tragic?

Documents

Document: what is the tragic? In a tragedy, a noble hero faces a fate he cannot escape. He often has a weakness (Aristotle called it hamartia). The audience feels pity and fear. The end is death, but the hero gains a kind of lucidity before it.
Document: the last scene. A fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes is a trap. The sword is poisoned, the wine too. Gertrude drinks, Laertes and Hamlet are wounded, Hamlet kills Claudius. Dying, he asks Horatio to tell his story.
"The rest is silence."
William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Act V, scene 2, Hamlet

Vocabulary

WordMeaning
fencingfighting with swords as a sport
poisonedkilled with a toxic substance
winealcoholic drink from grapes
woundedhurt by a weapon
fatedestiny
pitysadness for someone's suffering
fearfeeling of danger
silenceno sound, no words

Grammar lesson: linking words for a critical paragraph

To explain the ending and write a critical paragraph on the tragic, we need linking words for a critical paragraph
For the teacher: how to run it (8 to 10 minutes)
  1. Ask: why does everybody die? Collect answers, then show how to link them: because of the trap, so, however.
  2. Build the table of linking words on the board: cause, consequence, contrast, concession, addition. Students copy with one example each.
  3. Show the structure of a critical paragraph: point, evidence (quotation), explanation, link.
  4. Quick check, then exercises, then the paragraph.
On the board, to copy

Rule

A critical paragraph links ideas with precise words. Cause: because, since, because of + noun. Consequence: so, therefore, as a result. Contrast: whereas, while, however. Concession: although + clause, despite + noun or -ing.

Form

  • because + subject + verb; because of + noun: because of his hesitation
  • therefore / as a result, at the start of a sentence, with a comma
  • although + subject + verb; despite + noun / -ing: despite his courage
  • whereas joins two contrasting clauses: Hamlet hesitates, whereas Laertes acts.

Use

  • To explain the chain of deaths in the last scene.
  • To link the ending to the definition of the tragic.
  • To write the critical paragraph and the final task.

Examples from the lesson

  • Hamlet dies because of a poisoned sword.
  • Hamlet hesitates for a long time; as a result, many innocent people die.
  • Although he dies, Hamlet gains a kind of lucidity.
  • Hamlet hesitates, whereas Laertes acts at once.

Common mistakes

  • Not Because of he hesitates, he dies., but Because he hesitates, he dies.
  • Not Despite he is brave, he dies., but Although he is brave, he dies. / Despite his courage, he dies.
  • Not Although he is noble, but he dies., but Although he is noble, he dies.
  • Not Therefore he dies. (without a comma at the start), but Therefore, he dies.

Quick check (2 minutes, hands up or mini whiteboards)Choose the right linking word.

  1. Hamlet dies (because / because of) a poisoned sword.
  2. (Although / Despite) his courage, he cannot escape his fate.
  3. Hamlet hesitates, (whereas / therefore) Laertes acts at once.
  4. The wine is poisoned; (as a result / although), Gertrude dies.
Show the answers

1. because of. 2. Despite. 3. whereas. 4. as a result.

Exercises

EntryRecognition. Cause (C), consequence (R), contrast (O) or concession (N)?

  1. Hamlet dies because of his hesitation.
  2. Therefore, the audience feels pity.
  3. Although he is noble, he has a weakness.
  4. Claudius wants the crown, whereas Hamlet wants the truth.
  5. Despite his intelligence, he cannot escape his fate.
  6. As a result, Horatio is the only survivor.
Show the answers

1. C. 2. R. 3. N. 4. O. 5. N. 6. R.

CoreJoin the two sentences with the word given.

  1. Hamlet is noble. He has a weakness. (although)
  2. Hamlet hesitates. Many people die. (as a result)
  3. The sword is poisoned. Laertes dies too. (because)
  4. Hamlet is intelligent. He makes fatal mistakes. (despite)
  5. Hamlet thinks. Laertes acts. (whereas)
  6. The hero dies. The audience feels pity and fear. (therefore)
  7. Hamlet wants proof. He organises a play. (since)
Show the answers

1. Although Hamlet is noble, he has a weakness. 2. Hamlet hesitates; as a result, many people die. 3. Laertes dies too because the sword is poisoned. 4. Despite his intelligence, Hamlet makes fatal mistakes. 5. Hamlet thinks, whereas Laertes acts. 6. The hero dies; therefore, the audience feels pity and fear. 7. Since Hamlet wants proof, he organises a play.

StretchProduction. Write a critical paragraph of eight to ten lines: Is Hamlet guilty, a victim, or both? Use five different linking words and one quotation.

Show the answers

For example: Hamlet is both guilty and a victim. On the one hand, he is a victim of fate, because his uncle murdered his father and the Ghost imposed revenge. On the other hand, his weakness, his hesitation, causes many deaths; as a result, Polonius, Ophelia and Gertrude die. Although he finally kills Claudius, it is too late. His last words, “The rest is silence”, show that he accepts his end. Therefore, he is a true tragic hero: we feel pity and fear for him.

Going further (for students heading to language studies)Advanced. Use nominal linkers and inversion for a formal style. Rewrite.

  1. Because Hamlet hesitated, Ophelia died. (owing to + noun)
  2. Although he is lucid, he cannot escape. (lucid as he is, ...)
  3. Hamlet did not only kill Claudius; he also lost his own life. (Not only ...)
  4. Many critics see a weakness in his hesitation. (hamartia: explain)
Show the answers

1. Owing to Hamlet's hesitation, Ophelia died. 2. Lucid as he is, he cannot escape. 3. Not only did Hamlet kill Claudius, but he also lost his own life. 4. For example: Many critics see in his hesitation Hamlet's hamartia, the tragic weakness Aristotle describes, which leads a noble hero to his fall.

Words in action

To say it precisely, we need the right words

EntryMatch: fate, pity, wounded, fencing.

  1. fighting with swords as a sport
  2. hurt by a weapon
  3. sadness for someone's suffering
  4. destiny
Show the answers

1. fencing. 2. wounded. 3. pity. 4. fate.

CoreList who dies in the last scene and how, with: poisoned, wounded, drinks.

Show the answers

Gertrude drinks the poisoned wine. Laertes is wounded with the poisoned sword. Hamlet is wounded with the poisoned sword. Claudius is killed by Hamlet.

StretchExplain the difference between sad and tragic.

Show the answers

A sad story makes us unhappy; a tragic story shows a noble hero who cannot escape his fate, and it makes us feel pity and fear.

Activities

  1. Who dies and how? Make a list.
  2. Is Hamlet guilty, a victim, or both?
  3. Link the end to the definition of the tragic: fate, weakness, pity and fear.
  4. Extension C1/C2: compare with a modern tragic story (film, novel) in a 200 word paragraph.

More activities

Exercises
  1. Who survives?
  2. What two objects are poisoned?
  3. Give Hamlet's tragic weakness in one word.
  4. What does 'The rest is silence' suggest?
  5. Name two emotions of the audience in a tragedy.
Corrigé of the exercises
  1. Horatio
  2. The sword and the wine
  3. Hesitation
  4. Death ends his words and his doubts.
  5. Pity and fear

Sentence starters

Role play

Student A is Horatio, Student B is Fortinbras, the new ruler arriving at the end. Horatio tells the story in two minutes.

Figures of speech in the documents

Euphemism and pun: “The rest is silence”

“The rest is silence.” (Act V, scene 2, Hamlet)

Hamlet does not say “I am dying”: he says silence, a gentle way of naming death. This is a euphemism. The word rest also has two meanings: the remainder (everything else) and repose (sleep, peace). This double meaning is a pun: what remains is silence, and death is at last a rest, which recalls “To die: to sleep” in the soliloquy.

EntryWhich word replaces “death” in Hamlet's last line?

Show the answers

silence.

CoreGive the two meanings of “rest”.

Show the answers

the remainder (everything that is left) and repose (sleep, peace).

StretchLink “The rest is silence” to “To die: to sleep”. What has changed for Hamlet?

Show the answers

In Act III, he feared what comes after sleep; at the end, he accepts death calmly as rest: he has gained a kind of lucidity.

Gap-fill worksheet

QR code to this worksheet
Word bank: fencing, poisoned, wine, wounded, fate, pity, fear, silence
  1. The final scene is a ______ match.
  2. Laertes's sword is ______.
  3. Gertrude drinks the ______.
  4. Hamlet is ______.
  5. A tragic hero cannot escape his ______.
  6. The audience feels ______ for him.
  7. They also feel ______.
  8. 'The rest is ______.'
Answer key
  1. fencing
  2. poisoned
  3. wine
  4. wounded
  5. fate
  6. pity
  7. fear
  8. silence

Expression task

Now say it

Write a short critical paragraph: Why does everybody die, and what remains?

EntryFour sentences with because, so and but, and one quotation.

CoreTen lines: point, evidence, explanation, link to the tragic, with four linking words.

StretchUse although, despite and whereas, the word hamartia, and the pun on “rest”.

Tools to use:

Show a model answer

Everybody dies because of a trap: the sword and the wine are poisoned. As a result, the guilty and the innocent fall together, Gertrude and Laertes as well as Claudius. Although Hamlet finally kills the king, his hesitation, his hamartia, has made the catastrophe inevitable. What remains is Horatio, who will tell the story, and Hamlet's last words: “The rest is silence”. The audience feels pity and fear, which is the definition of the tragic.

Assessment grid

CriteriaLevel 1Level 2Level 3Level 4
Understanding of the tragicRarelySometimesMostlyAlways and precisely
Written accuracyHard to followSome errorsClearRich and accurate
Use of the textNo quotationOne quotationTwo quotations, explainedQuotations analysed

Homework

Prepare the final task.

Links reminder