| Why has Hamlet been called home at the beginning of the play? | Father’s funeral |
| Describe what Hamlet’s character seems to have been like before his father’s death. | Childlike |
| What seems to have caused the change in his personality? | Father’s death, mother’s incest |
| According to Mack, Hamlet will face four problems as he grows. What is the first problem he faces? | Man’s divided nature |
| What does Hamlet discover about man’s divided nature? | All contains evil |
| Much is made in the play about what “seems” and what “is”. What are some examples of what seems to be the case and what is? | Mourning, Ghost, Ophelia, King |
| What is the second problem Hamlet faces? | Separating appearances from reality |
| How does the play “The Murder of Gonzago”, or what seems, reflect what is? | Actor seems, king is. |
| What is Hamlet’s third problem? | Contamination |
| How has Hamlet been contaminated by the evil around him? | Uses world’s weapons and adopts its facade |
| What is the final problem Hamlet faces? | Death |
| According to Mack, what is the purpose of the graveyard scene before Hamlet’s duel with Laertes? | He faces death of strangers, friends, and self. |
| Why does Hamlet refer to Alexander the Great in the graveyard? | Great and common both face death. |
| How does Ophelia’s death and burial confirm what Hamlet recognizes in the graveyard? | All face death |
| What is “the last garden” and who calls it that? | Gravedigger applies to graveyard |
| What does “the readiness is all” refer to? | Whole of human situations |
| How has Hamlet proved “most royal”? | Carried out father’s command, and carried out challenges of his life. |
| According to Mack, what seems to be the purpose of the final scene with Fortinbras after Hamlet’s death? | Man as royal; not merely dust |
| What was King Hamlet’s occupation? | Moyer |
| Where was Shakespeare born? | Stratford |
| What foreign language would Shakespeare have learned in elementary school? | Latin |
| Approximately how old was Shakespeare when he wrote Hamlet? | 30 |
| How is the play connected to Shakespeare’s son who died? | Name Hamlet |
| When was Hamlet first performed? | 1601 |
| What do we call a play that calls upon a son to avenge his father’s death? | Revenge play |
| What is Hamlet’s task in the play? | Avenge father |
| What is a soliloquy? | A character speaks his thoughts aloud to sort them out |
| How did Elizabethans view suicide? | Forbidden |
| Where are copies of the three oldest sources for Hamlet located? | British Library |
| What is Hamlet’s plan to expose the King? | Murder of Gonzago |
| Why doesn’t Hamlet kill Claudius when he encounters Claudius after the play? | He is praying |
| Who does Hamlet think he is killing in his mother’s bedroom? | King |
| What did the word closet mean during Shakespeare’s time? | private office |
| Who suggested Hamlet was in love with his mother? | Froyd |
| How does Ophelia die? | Drowns |
| What is unique about Yorick’s skull that Tennant used in his production? | It was willed to be used for that purpose |
| What are the 3 parts or movements in the play? | Ghost, Detective, Revenge |
| How did Elizabethans view Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius? | Incestuous |
| What is the climax of the ghost story? | Ghost beckons Hamlet |
| How did King Hamlet, according to the ghost? | Poisoned |
| What question does Hamlet face after the ghost scene? | Honorable ghost |
| Why did Hamlet feign madness? | Discover truth |
| What does the king want Rosencrantz and Gildenstern to do? | Discover why Hamlet feigns madness |
| How did Hamlet use the traveling actors to help him unravel the mystery? | Play |
| Why does Claudius send Hamlet to England? Why does the plan fail? | To be killed; Hamlet escapes |
| Why is Laertes so easily used by Claudius? | Grief, anger |
| How is Claudius using Laertes? | To kill Hamlet |
| How does Gertrude die? | Drinks poison |
| What is Hamlet’s last request of Horatio? | To tell his story |
| In what three ways is poison used in this play? | Kill king, play, final scene |
| Why were men and women of “high estate: considered more important to the Elizabethans? | Power was God-given |
| Explain the metaphor of the King and the sun that Elizabethan would understand. | Life-giving center |
| What does Polonius’s advice to Laertes reveal about his character? | shallow |
| What does Laertes’s advice to Ophelia reveal about his character? | Little faith in honor of other men |
| How does Gertrude violate her role as queen? | incest |
| How does Claudius violate his duty or role as King? | deceit |
| Why does Hamlet admire Fortinbras? | Courage |
| What did conscience mean in Elizabethan times? | Ability to think |
| What does conscience mean in the modern sense? | Moral scruples |
| What is the cause of the disease that infects Denmark? | Poison |
| What does Mach mean by the ferm “spiritual poison” when referring to the play? | Greed, lust, cruelty |
Hamlet Quizzes
August 17, 2019