WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S HAMLET (c. 1600): A DIDACTIC APPROACH THROUGH AN ESCAPE ROOM ACTIVITY

The tragedy Hamlet (c.1600) is one of William Shakespeare's most widely studied and researched plays in its exploration of themes of political intrigue, revenge, existential doubt, and the nature of madness.Deeply entrenched in the intellectual and cultural context of the English Renaissance, the play reflects anxieties about power, succession, and human mortality, while simultaneously showcasing the complexities of Shakespearean language and dramaturgy.To enhance students' engagement with Hamlet as part of a bachelor's degree course on 16th-century Renaissance Literature, an Escape Room activity was designed as a complementary session to the study of the play.The activity required students to work in small teams to solve a series of interrelated challenges located around the campus of the University of Almera (Spain).These tasks included deciphering excerpts from the text, identifying key historical influences (such as Renaissance humanism and the Elizabethan worldview), and uncovering the thematic core of the play's dramatic structure.The objective was to facilitate a deeper, more interactive exploration of Hamlet while promoting critical thinking and collaborative learning on the part of our students.To assess the impact of this methodology, students completed pre-and post-activity surveys measuring their comprehension of the play's historical and literary context, as well as their previous engagement with the material.The findings suggest that integrating gamification into the study of early modern drama not only improves retention of key concepts and themes but also fosters a more dynamic and participatory classroom environment in a course which has traditionally been perceived as dense content-wise, as well as linguistically challenging.This paper will outline the design and implementation of the Escape Room activity, analyze its effectiveness in meeting major and minor curricular objectives, and discuss its potential for broader applications in literature education.