| Who do the guards bring to witness the genome on? Why? | Heratio because hes been to collefe |
| What historical information is communicated in this scene (Scene 1) | Norway took Sweden and forinbras wants revenge |
| What attitude toward Hamlet is communicated by Claudius & Gertrude? | They think hamlet has been mooring too long |
| School in Wittenberg | Where heratio and hamlet when to school |
| Laertes & Polonius both give what advice to Ophelia? | Beware of Hamlet |
| Describe the conflict between hamlet,horatio & Marcellus when the ghost appears | Ghost appears and wants hamlet to go with him ??? |
| Summarize the ghost’s message, especially with respect to Gertrude | leave gertrude out of this |
| The three men swear and are resolved to what at the end of the scene ? | Keep a secret |
| Ophelia reports what to Polonius? And, how does he interpret what she says? | Hamlet looks disheveled; Polonius thinks he loves her |
| Summarize the wider context & issue of interpreting Hamlets behavior | Hamlet has a tense relationship with his mom because of his uncle marring his mom; this gives him a bad attitude toward woman in general |
| Who are Rosenkrantsz & Guildenstern, and why are they at court? | They are hamlets college friends; they at court to spy on hamlet |
| Summarize the scene with the players, especially the contrast It creates between Polonius & Hamlet | Polonius doesn’t appreciate theatre and Hamlet does |
| What is Hamlet facing in the “now I am alone” speech? | The actor cry’s over nothing meanwhile hamlet cannot cry over whats over real |
| What attitude does hamlet express in his conversation with Ophelia? What is his point in asking Ophelia if she is fair… is honest? | Hamlet is sarcastic; He is asking her is she’s pretty; Then he asks the question if being beautiful makes you good |
| 2 things we learn of what Claudius is thinking- in the aside and at the close of the scene | He is not mad; its something else? |
| What is significant about the play that is acted for the court? | It is exactly what happened in real life |
| How does Claudius respond | He calls for lights and storms out |
| What is Hamlet resolved to do at the end of the scene | To see his mother |
| Claudius makes what plan with Rosenkratz & Guildenstern | Send hamlet to England to be executed |
| What is revealed in claudius’s speech | He does not believe Polonius’ theory that hamlet loves Ophelia and thats what’s bothering hamlet |
| What is hamlet doing just before the events that lead to the murder? | He forces his mother to look at portraits of his father and uncle and recognize their differences |
| What is the basic message of hamlets speech to his mother? How does does respond? | He is persuading her not to have sex with Claudius |
| Summarize the important point of the ghost scene in act 3 | -only hamlet sees It (which suggests he’s going insane) -ghost encourages him to do what he said and intervene in his mothers conscience |
| What is the context of the comic tone in scenes 2 & 3 of act IV | They are looking for Polonius’ body and hamlet is making sarcastic jokes |
| Hamlet’s speech about the Polish soldiers, in scene 4, parallels that on the crying actor? Explain. | The soldiers are willing to die for a meaningless piece of land |
| Scene 5 centers on Ophelia’s condition explain | She’s going insane |
| In what mode does Ophelia communicate? And what themes? | She sings in folk songsTHEMES: death (her father) love (hamlet) |
| Ophelia exits and laertes enters. Explain context | Laertes who is back from France has heard of his fathers murder and he returns angry and ready for REVENGE |
| What new content enters Ophelias mad recitation | She is using flowers as symbols which is part of the same folk culture as the songs |
| Summarize the letter Horatio receives from the sailor | Letter from hamlet saying he is on his way back after being captured by pirates from England ??? |
| What 2 reasons does Claudius give for not retaliating against hamlet | -close to his mom-popular among people |
| Claudius presents what plan to laertes with respect to hamlet | Poison sword and drink |
| Act IV ends with what news from Gertrude? Her description recalls Ophelia’s speech. Explain | Ophelia has drown. The way she explains her death builds on the flower motif because he herself is described as a flower |
| Explain how class & comedy work in Shakespeare in general and with respect to V:1 | High & low comedy=aristocratic worldplay (wit) & working class instruction of the body -gravedigger 1 displays both although his wit is supposed to be vulgar |
| What are the gravediggers talking about with respect to Christian burial including how the discussion branches class | Ophelia is a sucide, which should preclude Christian burial but she is a lady of high class so she is allowed to |
| Explain hamlets POV on the gravediggers behavior, especially with respect to “here’s a fine revolution” | It is a political possibly democratic metaphor for mortality |
| Explain what is going on in the famous skull scene. Relate It back to the matter of comedy | -hamlet recognizes his childhood court jester -with his awareness of human mortality -the comic stance cannot with stand morality |
| Explain the layered conflict between laertes and hamlet | Beneath the surface conflict of avenging Polonius’ death -both loved Ophelia -both have murdered fathers they wish to avenge |
| What does Hamlet mean, speaking of laertes “For by the image of my cause I see the portraiture of his” | Hamlet is sorry about the way he treated laertes because they are in the same situation |
| Just before the fencing match hamlet expresses some subtle notions about identity & responsibility Explain | First he says to horatio that he has a kind of women’s intuition of something foreboding. Second, he tells laertes that It was his madness that killed his father not himself |
Hamlet
November 3, 2019