| Fortune: | Fate |
| Disposition: | Personality |
| Colour: | Illustrate |
| Native hue: | True character |
| Enterprises of great pitch and moment: | Important things |
| Turn away: | Get mixed up |
| Contumely: | Haughtiness/ Pride |
| Inoculate: | Enter into |
| Tribute: | Money |
| Choler: | Anger |
| Speak daggers: | Talk cruelly |
| Rank: | Foul |
| What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to the king and queen about Hamlet? | That he doesn’t want to answer their questions and he’s being short; he seems distracted and happy about the play. |
| Describe the meeting between Ophelia and Hamlet in scene i. how does he react when she returns his gifts? | Ophelia gives them the gifts back; he becomes very angry. He claims that he never gave them to her and never loved her. |
| What reason does Hamlet give for rejecting Ophelia? | He’s corrupt, so any children they would have would be corrupt. If he can’t have her, nobody should; she should go to the nunnery |
| Ophelia says of Hamlet, “O, what a noble mind is here overthrown!” What conclusion has she reached about him? | She’s convinced hes crazy |
| After having secretly viewed the meeting between Ophelia and Hamlet, what do Polonius and the king conclude about Hamlet? | That there’s something more making Hamlet act the way he does; Polonius thinks that he’s still madly in love with her, and Claudius isn’t convinced. Claudius wants to send Hamlet to England. They plan to spy on him. |
| What does the king want to do about Hamlet? | The king wants to send Hamlet to England. |
| What does Polonius suggest? | That he have the queen question Hamlet about his griefs while Polonius hides and reports back to the king the things he’s heard |
| List four pieces of advice Hamlet gives the actors. | 1. Speak clearly and audibly 2. Use gentle movements 3. Use a temperance that will make the performance smooth 4. Don’t let the clowns steal the show |
| What’s a couplet? | A pair of rhyming verses (usually the same length) |
| Give two examples of other places in which Shakespeare uses couplets: | 1. Act 1 Scene 3 when Hamlet says, “Foul deeds will rise, / Though all the earth’s o’erwhelm them, to men’s eyes”2. Act 2 Scene 2 when Hamlet sums up his new-hatched plan, saying, “The play’s the thing / Wherein I’ll catch the conscious of the King” |
| When Hamlet asks Gertrude how she likes the play, she says, “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” What does she mean? | Just like her, the woman is lying; she is seeing subconsciously a reflection of herself and is not happy |
| While viewing the play, Ophelia tells Hamlet “You are as good as a chorus.” What was a chorus? Why does Ophelia say this to Hamlet? | A group of actors that would comment on the play they interrupt whats going on; Hamlet commented on the whole play |
| How does Claudius respond to the poisoning scene in the play? What does this mean to Hamlet? | Claudius gets anxious and must leave immediately; he’s rands up. Claudius calls for the lights and then he runs from the room (bringing light to the truth); Hamlet knows he’s guilty now |
| Immediately after the play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try once again to determine the reason for Hamlet’s apparent madness. To what does Hamlet compare their attempts? Do you think Hamlet’s anger is justified? | They are playing him like an instrument; I think it is because his friends are helping the person that killed his dad. Yes he does have a reason to be angry |
| Claudius decides to send Hamlet to England immediately. Why? | To ensure the safety of others and himself; he knows that Hamlet knows and wants to protect himself and others from Hamlet |
| What does Hamlet do when he sees Claudius unarmed and kneeling in apparent prayer? Why does he take this action? | Hamlet draws his sword to kill him, and then he takes it back so that Claudius won’t die with his sins forgiven; he wants to catch him when he’s sinning |
| How does Polonius die? | Hamlet stabs him after he jumps out of hiding when Gertrude screams for help; Hamlet thought Polonius was Claudius behind the tapestry |
| When the ghost appears in Hamlet in his mother’s chamber, it tells Hamlet, “whet thy almost blunted purpose.” Did Hamlet lose his sight of purpose? What actions or statements made you think this? | I believe he had; he didn’t kill Claudius when he had the chance |
| When Hamlet sees the ghost, what does Gertrude think? After the ghost leaves, what does Hamlet ask his mother to refrain from doing? | Gertrude thinks that he is having deranged visions; Hamlet asks the queen to not go to bed with Claudius and to not talk about their conversation |
| Hamlet’s relationship with Polonius is different from his relationships with other characters. Choose 2 encounters between Hamlet and Polonius and describe them, pointing out how the exchanges differ from the way in which Hamlet usually treats people. What might account for Hamlet’s attitudes? | Hamlet speaks to him with disrespect; H mocks P when the players arrive, and after he stabs P, he tells P he deserved it; he treats other characters with the utmost respect; he baits other people to trap their wit, but he baits P to make a fool out of P |
| Claudius says “O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven.” What offense is he talking about? What is preventing Claudius from praying? How does Claudius describe the state of his soul? Do you think that Claudius is truly repentant? | The murder of his brother; his guilt is heavier than his intentions – he doesn’t believe there’s a prayer for him – “Can a person be forgiven and still keep the fruits of his crime?”; his soul is covered in sin, and the more he tries to break free, the more it sticks to him; I think he is |
| Who do you think are loyal friends to Hamlet? Use examples. | I think Horatio is a loyal friend because he doesn’t spy on Hamlet and try to lie to him; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were not loyal to Hamlet when he needed them most |
| Does G appear to have knowledge of the murder or is she innocent of that knowledge? What did Hamlet see as a sign of her repentance? Use examples. | G appears to have the knowledge because she didn’t seem so freaked out when she saw Claudius had done it, and she wasn’t extremely angry at the performers; this is also why she begs for her life when Hamlet confronts her; she knows and feels guilty about it |
| Hamlet’s most famous soliloquy (“to be or not to be…”) is found in scene i. What’s the subject Hamlet is discussing? According to Hamlet, why do people endure pain and injustice when there seems to be an “answer”? Do you agree that it is fear and indecision that hold people to this life? | To live or to not live; when people no longer feel wanted on this earth or feel like there is nothing to live for they don’t want to live anymore. I don’t agree. |
| In his soliloquy, Hamlet obviously desires death. Is the desire for death always wrong? | Not always, we are called to this earth to live for God and share His word with others, but some people that have already fulfilled what Christ has called them to do want to die to go be with Him. |
| In times of suffering, injustice, and death, what hope do believers in Christ have? How might this help you endure suffering? | Look forward to being with our Father in Heaven; We can get through it cause Christ is worth it |
| “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; words without thoughts never to heaven go”. What does that mean? | My words fly up toward heaven, but my thoughts stay down here on earth. Words without thoughts behind them will never make it to heaven. |
| Do you think Claudius was justified in thinking his prayers did not reach God? How could he change this? | I think God still hears His prayers if he was actually praying and meant what he was saying. He should mean what he is saying |
| Scene i summary: | 1. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to the king and queen about Hamlet’s behavior2. King asks them to find out his purpose for acting this way3. Gertrude leaves so that the king and P may see Hamlet’s behavior around O (exaggerate loneliness) 4. O gives H back his gifts and he becomes upset and says he no longer loves her 5. P and the king decide to find out what’s really wrong with him |
| Scene ii summary: | 1. Hamlet tells the players what he wants them to sing2. P, G, and R enter. H enters3. King, queen, P, O, and other attendants enter and Hamlet is idle; the play continues 3. Claudius stands up 4. The dumb show follows 5. Hamlet plans to kill Claudius |
| Scene iii summary: | 1. R and G speak about why H is so mentally ill with the king 2. Claudius wants to send H to England with R and G3. P enters and plans to listen to what H says to G4. Claudius has a monologue about the murder 5. Hamlet enters and draws his sword, but leaves; the king leaves |
| Scene iv summary: | 1. P hides and listens to what H says to G 2. G calls for help when she thinks H is going to murder her 3. P moves behind the curtains, and H sees him 4. H stabs P thinking that it’s Claudius 5. Ghost visits H and tells him that he’s lost sight of what he’s supposed to be doing; G thinks that H is crazy, and H asks G to not sleep with Claudius, and H carries P out |
Hamlet: Act 3
August 28, 2019