Study Guide 2015, questions PDF

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HAMLET ACT I Scene i. 1. How do the guards on duty indicate that they are tense and uneasy?

2. What is the political situation in Denmark and Norway that has caused such unrest?

3. Some directors of Hamlet choose to omit the opening scene. What would be lost or gained by this omission?

Scene ii. 1. Claudius is holding his first court since being crowned king. a. How does he word his speech to the court so as to win approval for his hasty marriage and takeover of the throne?

b. What 3 matters of business does Claudius handle?

c. Why is Laertes permitted to leave Denmark, but not Hamlet?

2. Why are Gertrude and Claudius critical of Hamlet’s dress and behavior?

3. How does Hamlet indicate contempt for Claudius in this scene? How does Claudius attempt to win him over?

4. What does Hamlet’s first SOLILOQUY (“O, that this too, too solid flesh…”) reveal about his state of mind and the real reasons for his depression?

5. What is Hamlet’s reaction to the news brought to him by Horatio and the guards? What does Hamlet suspect is the reason for the Ghost’s appearance?

Scene iii. 1. The main action in this scene is the giving of advice. a. What is Laertes’ advice to Ophelia? b. Ophelia’s to Laertes? c. What is Polonius’s advice to Ophelia? d. How does it differ from Laertes’ advice?

2. Judging by his words and actions in this scene, what kind of person does Polonius reveal himself to be?

Scene iv.

1. Why does Horatio warn Hamlet not to follow the ghost? 2. How does Hamlet get away from his companions?

3. What is his emotional state?

Scene v. 1. What does the Ghost reveal to be the true circumstances of his death?

2. What is Hamlet told about his mother’s past behavior?

3. List the 3 specific commands of the Ghost to Hamlet: a. b. c.

Can the assigned tasks be done?

4. What reason might there be for Hamlet’s humorous treatment of the Ghost once he has been rejoined by his companions?

5. What does Hamlet make Horatio and Marcellus promise?

6. Overall, how does Hamlet regard the ghost and the tasks he has been assigned?

ACT II Scene i. 1. Why does Polonius send Reynoldo to Paris, and with what instructions?

2. Why has this episode been included in the play?

3. What sort of encounter has Ophelia had with Hamlet? What is Polonius’s reaction to this news?

Scene ii. 1. This scene introduces Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet’s school friends. What is similar about the King and Queen’s instructions to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and Polonius’s to Reynaldo?

2. What explanation does Hamlet give Rosencrantz and Guildenstern for the extreme change in him?

3. At what point in their conversation does Hamlet realize that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are spies and HOW does he indirectly tell them he no longer trusts them?

4. How does Polonius make himself laughable in his report to the King and Queen on the probable cause of Hamlet’s madness?

5. How does Polonius propose to put his theory about Hamlet’s madness to the test?

6. According to Voltimand and Cornelius, how has the threat of Fortinbras to Denmark been eliminated?

7. How does Polonius, as revealed in the “fishmonger” scene, show he is no match for Hamlet?

8. What warning about Ophelia does Hamlet throw out to Polonius each time they meet?

9. According to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, why have the players been forced to go on the road?

10. What is Hamlet’s reaction to the news?

11. Why has this discussion about the players been included?

12. The scene ends with a long SOLILOQUY by Hamlet? (“O, what a rogue…”) What motivates this speech?

What comparison does Hamlet make between himself and the actor?

What infuriates Hamlet about his own behavior?

What reasons does he give for having postponed action until now?

What action does he now resolve to take?

ACT III Scene i. What is the first sure proof in the play of Claudius’s guilt?

In the famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy, what reason does Hamlet give for refraining from suicide?

In his frenzied and cruel encounter with Ophelia, at what point does Hamlet become aware that their conversation is being overheard?

How does Claudius and Polonius react the Hamlet’s behavior?

Scene ii. Why does Hamlet lecture the players in such extensive detail?

What is Horatio’s assigned task during the play-within-the-play?

During the play-within-the-play (“The Mousetrap” or “The Murder of Gonzago”), what causes Claudius to cancel the rest of the performance and take flight?

What point is Hamlet trying to make by forcing Guildenstern to play a recorder?

Scene iii. Why does Claudius have such difficulty trying to pray?

Why doesn’t Hamlet kill the King when he has the opportunity?

What makes this scene highly ironic? Scene iv. Why does the ghost make a reappearance in this scene?

What two requests does Hamlet make of his mother?

What indication is there that Hamlet intends to act more aggressively from now on?

ACT IV Scenes i-iii. What action does Claudius take after learning the news of Polonius’s death?

How does Hamlet show his complete contempt for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

Describe Hamlet’s behavior when he is face-to-face with the king following Polonius’ death.

What is Claudius’s real purpose in sending Hamlet to England?

Scene iv. How valuable is the land in Poland that Fortinbras hopes to gain by going to war?

What event prompts Hamlet’s soliloquy in this scene?

In his soliloquy, what comparison is drawn between Hamlet and Fortinbras? Scene v. Claudius tells Gertrude, “When sorrows come, they come not single spies / But in battalions.” What 5 major troubles does Claudius list that must be simultaneously dealt with? abcde-

What has caused Ophelia’s madness and how does it differ from Hamlet’s?

What is Laertes’ reaction to his father’s death?

What is his reaction to Ophelia’s madness?

Scene vi. What news of Hamlet does Horatio receive?

Judging from his letter to Horatio, does Hamlet appear changed in any way?

Scene vii. What two reasons does Claudius give Laertes for failing to take punitive action against Hamlet for the slaying of Polonius?

As this scene reveals, Claudius is a formidable adversary, cool under fire and highly treacherous. What techniques does he use to win the gullible Laertes to his side?

When Claudius receives the news that Hamlet has returned, what plot does he concoct? What does Laertes add to it? Write this down very carefully.

What dramatic purpose is served by having the report of Ophelia’s drowning come right after Claudius and Laertes have been plotting Hamlet’s death?

ACT V Scene i. What does Hamlet find offensive about the behavior of the grave digger?

What dramatic purposes are served by starting this act with the graveyard scene?

List the two dead friends who Hamlet encounters at the grave site.

What provokes Laertes’s outburst of anger to the priest officiating at Ophelia’s funeral?

What causes the fight between Hamlet and Laertes at Ophelia’s grave? What is its dramatic significance?

In the graveyard scene, Shakespeare establishes Hamlet’s age at 29-30—far older than he seems in the early stages of the play. Why, in this act, is there a need for Hamlet’s age to be emphasized? Scene ii. According to Hamlet’s account to Horatio, what events transpired the night before his escape to the pirate ship?

Why does Hamlet express regret for his behavior to Laertes, but none for his treatment of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

What purpose is served in having Hamlet spend some minutes toying with Osric?

Despite negative premonitions, why does Hamlet agree to the duel?

How do the deaths of Laertes, Gertrude, Claudius, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern qualify as “poetic justice”, with virtue being rewarded and vice punished? Laertes?

Gertrude?

Claudius?

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

With what action does the play end? What foundation has been laid earlier for this ending?

Horatio: And let me speak to the yet unknowing world How these things came about: so shall you Hear Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts, Of accidental judgments, casual slaughters, Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause, And, in this upshot, purposes mistook Fall’n on the inventors’ heads: all this can I Truly deliver. Explain how these lines constitute a summary of all the important events in the play....