| What explanation does Gertrude offer for Polonius’s murder | madness |
| In what mood does Hamlet speak with R and G | humorously mad; rude, critical, condescending |
| what is claudius’s attitude in scene 3? | Finding a solution to his problems, which include Hamlet killing Polonius overcome by guilt and grief, but does not want to give up the crown |
| How does Fortinbras compare with Hamlet? | foil character; Fortinbras is a man of action as he commands his army and Hamlet is notHamlet questions himself |
| What new insight does Ophelia’s grief evoke? | the relationship between Ophelia and Polonius. Going mad because she lost her father who she lovedher grief is not just because of her father but also because of Hamlet |
| How is Ophelia’s madness portrayed | through song |
| what final plans are arranged in scene 7? | To have a dual with Laertes and Hamlet and have Laertes sword poisoned so he can kill Hamlet.or kill hamlet with a poisonous drink |
| After Hamlet drags Polonius’s body away what does Gertrude do? | Immediately runs to Claudius and tells him that Hamlet is mad and killed PoloniusClaudius says that he needs to be sent to england immediately and that he needs to figure out what to say to the people so he remains in power then claudius tells R and G and R and G go find Hamlet |
| When R and G find Hamlet in act 4 scene 2 what happenes? | Hamlet just finished hiding Polonius’s body and he does not tell R and G where it is. Instead he refers to them as a sponge for the king and accuses them of being spies. Then he lets R and G take him to Claudius |
| After clever sayings, Hamlet finally reveals the location of Polonius’s body. Where was it? | under the stairs near the castle lobby, |
| When Claudius tells Hamlet he must go to England, Hamlet _____________and then Claudius gives R and G a letter to give to England when they arrive saying…. | agrees; to kill prince hamlet |
| what is Fortinbras doing in act 4 scene 4 | Fortinbras marches at the head of his army, traveling through Denmark on the way to attack Poland. Fortinbras orders his captain to go and ask the King of Denmark for permission to travel through his lands. |
| when Fortinbras’s captain runs into R and G and Hamlet what do they talk about? | The captain informs them that the Norwegian army rides to fight the Poles. Hamlet asks about the basis of the conflict and the captain says over a small piece of landHamlet cant understand a bloody war over something so small and then he compares his war with Claudius and realizes he has to take action from here on out |
| who goes insane | Ophelia (she sings songs) |
| who comes home and in why does he come home? | Laertes comes home to avenge his father; his followers call him lord and want him to be kingwhen Laertes finds Claudius he is filled with rage but claudius says he will explain who Laertes should take revenge on |
| what is given to Horatio by Hamlet? | Horatio is introduced to a pair of sailors bearing a letter for him from Hamlet. In the letter, Hamlet says that his ship was captured by pirates, who have returned him to Denmark.He asks Horatio to escort the sailors to the king and queen, for they have messages for them as well. He also says that he has much to tell of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Horatio takes the sailors to the king and then follows them to find Hamlet, who is in the countryside near the castle. |
| what happens when Claudius and Laertes talk about revenge | claudius tells laertes that hamlet killed his father and that he did not punish hamlet because everyone loves him. claudius is given a letter from the hamlet saying he will return to denmark in a few days. claudius then comes up with a revenge plan – to have laertes and hamlet duel and to poison hamlet either with a sword or wine lastly, gertrude comes in and tells them that ophelia has drowned herself |
| What is the effect of the “clowns” conversation? | should ophelia have a proper burial?how old is hamletcommentary relief |
| how is hamlet changed? | colder, distantmore sademotional |
| what new philosophy motivates Hamlet? | avenge Ophelia and Laertes who were poisoned avenging more than his father’s deathmature, more resolved, realizes they don’t care about him |
| How is the final solution achieved? | -convenience-contrived occurrences – Laertes has the poison and Hamlet was practicing his dualing -ironic – hamlet killed Laertes with his own poison-hamlet wants Horatio to tell the true story-Fortinbras only buries Hamlet |
| In the churchyard, two gravediggers shovel out a grave for _______________. What do they argue about? | Ophelia They argue whether Ophelia should be buried in the churchyard, since her death looks like a suicide. According to religious doctrine, suicides may not receive Christian burial. |
| The first gravedigger, who speaks cleverly and mischievously, asks the second gravedigger a riddle: “What is he that builds stronger than either the mason, the shipwright, or the carpenter?” (V.i.46-47). What is the answer | The second gravedigger answers that it must be the gallows-maker, for his frame outlasts a thousand tenants. The first gravedigger corrects him, saying that it is the gravedigger, for his “houses” will last until Doomsday. |
| Hamlet asks the gravedigger whose grave he digs, and the gravedigger spars with him verbally, first claiming that _________________ and then saying _____________ | the grave is his own, since he is digging it, then that the grave belongs to no man and no woman, because men and women are living things and the occupant of the grave will be dead. At last he admits that it belongs to one “that was a woman sir; but, rest her soul, she’s dead” |
| one gravedigger has been one since | King Hamlet defeated the elder Fortinbras in battle, the very day on which young Prince Hamlet was born. |
| Hamlet picks up a skull, and the gravedigger tells him that the skull belonged to _______________________________. Hamlet tells Horatio that as a child he knew __________-and is appalled at the sight of the skull. He realizes forcefully that all men will eventually become | Yorick, King Hamlet’s jesterdust, even great men like Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. |
| Suddenly, the funeral procession for Ophelia enters the churchyard, including Claudius, Gertrude, Laertes, and many mourning courtiers. Hamlet, wondering who has died, notices that the funeral rites seem “maimed,” indicating that the dead man or woman ……………………………. | took his or her own life |
| what does Hamlet do when he finds out Ophelia died? | he professes his love for her and fights laertes |
| what calms laertes down at the funeral | claudius says the time for revenge is soon |
| Gertrude and Claudius declare that Hamlet is __________ when seeing him at the funeral | mad. |
| how did hamlet escape death in England | He replaced the sealed letter carried by the unsuspecting Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which called for Hamlet’s execution, with one calling for the execution of the bearers of the letter—Rosencrantz and Guildenstern themselves. |
| what does Hamlet tell horatio in the beginning of the final scene | He tells Horatio that he has no sympathy for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who betrayed him and catered to Claudius, but that he feels sorry for having behaved with such hostility toward Laertes. |
| who comes to tell Hamlet something and what does he say | Osric has come to tell them that Claudius wants Hamlet to fence with Laertes and that the king has made a wager with Laertes that Hamlet will win. |
| Hamlet decides to go into the dual despite what Horatio thinks, saying what about death | one must be ready for death, since it will come no matter what one does |
| What is Laertes’s response when hamlet asks for forgiveness saying it was madness that killed Polonius | Laertes says that he will not forgive Hamlet until an elder, an expert in the fine points of honor, has advised him in the matter. But, in the meantime, he says, he will accept Hamlet’s offer of love. |
| who wins the first dual | hamlet, but he refuses to drink from the cup because he will dual again |
| when hamlet wins again who drinks from the poisonous cup | gertrude ( claudius tries to stop her but she does it anyway) |
| what happens after gertrude drinks the poison | laertes hits hamlet with the poisonous sword unexpectedly drawing blood. Scuffling, they manage to exchange swords, and Hamlet wounds Laertes with Laertes’ own blade.The queen moans that the cup must have been poisoned, calls out to Hamlet, and dies. Laertes tells Hamlet that he, too, has been slain, by his own poisoned sword, and that the king is to blame both for the poison on the sword and for the poison in the cup. Hamlet, in a fury, runs Claudius through with the poisoned sword and forces him to drink down the rest of the poisoned wine. Claudius dies crying out for help. Hamlet tells Horatio that he is dying and exchanges a last forgiveness with Laertes, who dies after absolving Hamlet.Osric declares that Fortinbras has come in conquest from Poland and now fires a volley to the English ambassadors. Hamlet tells Horatio again that he is dying, and urges his friend not to commit suicide in light of all the tragedies, but instead to stay alive and tell his story. He says that he wishes Fortinbras to be made King of Denmark; then he dies. |
| what does Fortinbras do when he gets into the bloody room | Fortinbras marches into the room accompanied by the English ambassadors, who announce that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead. Horatio says that he will tell everyone assembled the story that led to the gruesome scene now on display. Fortinbras orders for Hamlet to be carried away like a soldier. |
| Talking about the comment Hamlet makes. Claudius is running around for the body of polonius. The remark Hamlet makes. “If you don’t find him there find him in this place yourself.” | Hamlet is saying that Polonius is in heaven and to send a messenger there if you want to be sure. If the messenger cannot find him, you (claudius) can check hell himself. But seriously, if you don’t find him within the next month, you will be sure to smell him as you go upstairs into the main hall-In this quote, Hamlet is referencing Hell. He believes Claudius will go to hell. He is almost foreshadowing how Claudius will die soon himself. |
| Hamlet’s soliloquy: how all occasions do and form against me. Look at this soliloquy. Ponder what other soliloquy does it most closely resemble. How do these concepts relate to a preceding soliloquy in terms of events and concepts. | This, Hamlet’s final soliloquy, is much like “O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I” in Act 2 scene 2 when Hamlet compares himself to an actor -It is another meditation on the inscrutability of his failure to act when he has so much reason to do so. -Whereas in the earlier soliloquy, the passion of an actor for an imaginary griever, Hecuba, occasioned Hamlet’s self-reproaches, here the sight of Fortinbras’ army marching to contest a worthless piece of land fixes his mind and leads him to wonder at himself. -With Hecuba, the emphasis is on feeling; with Fortinbras, the emphasis is on honor. -In both cases, though, Hamlet sees men who have petty or fictional objects, and who nevertheless rise to great things; whereas he, with his very palpable reasons for action and feeling, cannot manage to summon any such accomplishment. Of course, as always, he is not sure why this is the case (and nor are we, not really), but he shows the uncertain searching of modern subjectivity in his attempt to formulate this very confusion.-both soliloquy’s leave him ashamed |
| Look at Hamlet’s statement. “It begins rightly to be great and it ends with honor is at stake.” What is Hamlet trying to say here.”Rightly to be great. Is not to stir without great argument, But greatly to find quarrel in a straw when honor’s at the stake” | To be truly great does not mean you would only fight for a good reason. It means you would fight over nothing if your honor was at stake. hamlet is justifying Fortinbras’s actions and wants to start thinking and acting more like Fortinbras in his own revenge plan. hamlet is ashamed by the attitudes of the soldiers who have little reason to fight, while he has a lot of reason to fight |
| Laertes is fuming and people now want him to be king. Claudius says, “that treason can but peep”. What is Claudius saying here. What is its importance. | Claudius is saying that God protects the king, so traitors can’t hurt him (traitors like Laertes) importance because this is not actually true since Old Hamlet was killed by ClaudiusThe importance is that he is calming Laertes down trying to convey an image of immortality so that Laertes won’t kill him. |
| Laertes makes a comment: “I will not be juggled with” what does that mean and what is he saying here. | don’t mess with meHe wants revenge and he plans to get it against whoever killed his dadLaertes wants Hamlet dead to avenge his father and sister → In saying this, Laertes explains that he does not want to be a pawn in Claudius’s game |
| What is Claudius trying to do when he proposes this duel. What is his motivation for doing so. | Claudius wants Hamlet to die in a way that will enable him to still remain king and not have the people hate himclaudius cannot just kill hamlet openly since everyone loves himwants to resolve his guilt and grief and end his hamlet problem once and for all |
| A secondary character whose situation often parallels that of the main character while hisbehavior or response or character contrasts with that of the main character, throwing light onthat particular character’s specific temperament. | foil |
| a group of characters who comment on theaction of a play without participating in it. it consists of a character/narrator comingon stage and giving a prologue or explicit background information or themes. | chorus |
| Words spoken by an actor directly to the audience, but not “heard” by the other characterson stage during a play | aside |
| 4 lines; a stanza of four lines, especially one having alternate rhymes. | quatrain |
| example of a foil in hamlet | In Hamlet, Laertes’, father is murdered. His situation parallels Hamlet’s situationbut his response is very different.Fortinbras and Hamlet |
| Gertrude: To sick my soul Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss. So full of artless jealousy is guilt, It spills itself in fearing to be spilt.pg. | aside |
| No, my good lord. | aside |
| Thy state is the more gracious, for ’tis a vice to know him. He hath much land, and fertile. Let a beast be lord of beasts and his crib shall stand at the king’s mess. ‘Tis a chough, but, as I say, spacious in the possession of dirt. | aside |
| is’t not possible to understand in another tongue?You will do’t, sir, really | aside |
| His purse is empty already. All’s golden words are spent. | aside |
| I knew you must be edified by the margin ere you had done. | aside |
| It is the poisoned cup. It is too late. | aside |
| My lord, I’ll hit him now | aside |
| And yet it is almost ‘gainst my conscience | aside |
| laertes, Fortinbras, Claudius, and Horatio are all | foils |
| grave diggers do all of the following: | -they talk about ophelia’s burial and whether she should be buried or not -they discuss if it was actually suicide-talk about a riddle -joke to hamlet about whose grave it is -sing songs-talk about how long he has been a gravedigger-Yorik |
| Think about when Hamlet looks at that skull. Why is he talking to that last skull and how does it change him? | he is told the skull is Yorick, King Hamlet’s jester and he remembers him as a child he remembers his father alive and his happy lifehowever now it is sad and lonelyhe also comes to the realization that all men and women turn to dust and are eaten by worms at death no matter their rank skull represents the inevitability of death. |
| Hamlet is talking to Horatio, and he makes this comment. “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends.” What does he mean by that comment. There’s a divinity that shapes our ends,Rough-hew them how we will— | This should show us that there’s a God in heaven who’s always guiding us in the right direction, however often we screw up—divinity that shapes our ends, — he is speaking of discovering a plot against him; discovering the commission to have him assassinated in England questions whether our fate or divinity shapes our ends Hamlet is acknowledging that there are many things out of his control, and that in the end it is God that will determine our destinies. This is an important realization for Hamlet, who is undergoing a transition from an indecisive worrier to an honorable and resolute character. Earlier in the play, he would not have spoken these lines. But now, after seeing Fortinbras’s loyal army, he has been transformed. |
| Horatio says “why what a king is this.” What does he mean by that and what makes him say it. | Hamlet just tells Horatio about killing R and G and how they deserved it since they were involved in Claudius’s plan horatio is horrified of Claudius as a king for ordering an execution of his “son” and Hamlet reminds him that he deserves to be killed |
| What does Hamlet mean when he says to Laertes: “By the image of the cause I see.” He says this when apologizing. What does he mean by that. | But I really feel bad, Horatio, about losing control of myself with Laertes. His situation is very much like my own. I’ll be nice to him. It was just that the showiness of his grief sent me into a fury.he believes Laertes is just seeking revenge for his father like Hamlet so he apologizes because he knows how it feels |
| Why does Hamlet dislike Osrich so much? What about him sets him off? | he represents how fake the people of the court are. He believes Osric has a fake personality just as Polonius who can be easily manipulated by Claudius. |
| How would you describe Hamlet’s state of mind before the fencing match begins. | He is prepared to die because he knows Claudius prob has something plannedhe tells horatio that he has to be ready for death because no one knows when death will comemore mature and realizes no one likes him |
| As Hamlet is dying, Horatio says, “I am more an antic Roman than a dane.” What does he mean by that? | Horatio is about to Drink the poison and die with Hamlet. Horatio is ready to die a noble death alongside his friend Hamlet. Horatio is likely referring to Brutus and Cassius, the Roman co-conspirators in the death of Julius Caesar. The two “noble Romans” committed suicide when their defeat was a certainty. Horatio’s willingness to die with Hamlet illustrates his bravery and fierce loyalty to the Prince. |
| Who do you think understands Hamlet best? | horatiohis closest friend and hamlet trusts him obeys hamlet |
| Claudius is talking to Laertes and he is saying that he has nothing to do with the death of your father, I am innocent. The idea that Hamlet is executed boldens Claudius why? Why does Claudius feel that if Hamlet is dead, he is emboldened. | it emboldens claudius because he finally can be king without worrying about hamlet and his actionshe has surpassed the guilt and grief while keeping the power, or so he thinks hamlet was the only one trying to reveal claudius’s secret |
Hamlet Act 4-5
September 7, 2019