| Although the ghost wants hamlet to take revenge upon cladius, Hamlet believes he needs additional proof of claudius’ guilt because… | the ghost may be an evil spirit. |
| According to claudius, prince fortinbras of norway is demanding the return of territory that norway lost to denmark years earlier because… | fortinbras believes denmark is politically unstable as a result of the king hamlets death. |
| The observation that claudius makes about hamlets mourning over his father is… | you lost a father and so have you. |
| The observation ophelia makes to her brother laertws before he departs for france is… | that she will take his advice, but he needs to take it himself too. |
| Hamlet swears Horatio to secrecy because… | hamlet may need to act strangely in the future. |
| What does Marcellus mean when he says something is rotten in the state of denmark? | There is corruption in denmark because of the leaders. |
| what does frailty thy name is woman mean? | women are weaker than men because gertrude remarried so fast, and she has a character flaw because of that. |
| What does hamlet mean when he says he will need to put on an antic disposition. | he will have to act weirdly in order to get information from others.y |
| Why do the guards ask horatio to speak to the ghost? | because he is scholarly and intelligent. |
| What do they think the ghosts appearance means? | danger is coming with the war against fortinbras. |
| why does cladius send messengers to Norway? | for help against fortinbras. |
| What do the king and queen request of hamlet? | to not go back to college. |
| why is hamlet in grief and dismay? | because his father was killed and his mother remarried so soon |
| why does polonium order ophelia to not see hamlet again? | because they can’t marry and he is going to ruin her reputation |
| Why do hamlets friends try to talk him out of seeing the ghost? | because they think he is dangerous and may kill him or make him mad. |
| Why is the ghost in purgatory? | because he killed a man and didn’t go to confession to repent for his sins. |
| How was the king murdered? | by poison through the ear (by claudius) |
| what does the ghost command hamlet to do? | to kill king claudius |
| what mood does the ghost set | foreboding mood and impending disaster |
| what is hamlets fear of the ghost overcome by? | his curiosity, he believes it’s his fate. |
| TRUE OR FALSE: Polonius sends reynaldo to paris to get him new clothes. | FALSE. He is sent to spy on Laertes. |
| TRUE OR FALSE: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were sent by the king and queen so that they may figure out why hamlet is acting strangely. | TRUE. |
| TRUE OR FALSE: According to queen gertrude, hamlet is acting strangely because of his love for Ophelia. | FALSE. She believes he’s acting strangely because he is still grieving over his father. |
| TRUE OR FALSE: King claudius finds out why norway will not be attacking denmark after all | TRUE. |
| TRUE OR FALSE: Polonius and king claudius are planning to spy on ophelia and hamlet | TRUE |
| TRUE OR FALSE: Hamlet wants the players to play in the murder of Julius Caesar. | FALSE. He wants them to play in The Murder of the Gonzago. |
| When the players arrive to the castle, and the actor is reciting the speech, polonius says that it is too long. why is this ironic? | because polonius is known for his long drawn out speeches. |
| How is hamlets character portrayed as a lover, poet, lunatic, actor, and private investigator. | lover- in love with opheliapoet- speaks poetry oftenlunatic- acting crazilyactor- recites quotes from a playdetective- investigating the king |
| what does “though this is madness, yet there is method int” mean | there is a reason as to why they do the things they do |
| How is hamlet going to catch the conscience of the king | by acting out his fathers murder with a play and watching his reaction |
| What does hamlet do that upset ophelia | he goes into her room and stares at her |
| what good news does voltemand report | there will be no war between them because the uncle stopped it |
| what is the irony between hamlets comparison between himself and the first player | the first player can feel and show his emotions, but hamlet cant |
| why is hamlet being so cautious in taking revenge | because the spirit might be evil and accusing an innocent person |
| The king comes to the conclusion that hamlet is acting crazy because… | he knows the truth. polonius believes he is acting crazy for his love of ophelia |
| why does the king leave the play | because he watched them act out the murder which triggered him |
| what is claudius’ plan to death with hamlet | send him to england to get rid of him (with rosen and guilden) |
| what does the ghost tell hamlet about the queen | not to accuse her because this isn’t her fault, don’t kill her |
| how is polonius killed | because he hid behind a curtain and hamlet assumed it was claudius |
| how does the king know he will be taking revenge | he was spying on hamlet when he said that “those that are married, but one will live” |
| why is horatio a good friend to hamlet | he is honest, trustworthy, and knowledgeable. |
| what is the to be or not to be speech about? | hamlets contemplation of suicide |
| why does hamlet reject suicide | because he doesn’t know what is after life, it might be hell |
| what is gertrude’s state in scene 4 act 3 | concerned- hamlet is crazy and seeing and talking to a ghost she doesn’t know is therehurt- hamlet points out her wrongdoings |
| what political advantage does claudius gain when hamlet kills polonius | everyone will be on the kings side and not hamlets. they will assume that hamlet is just crazy, and the king can just throw him out |
| TRUE OR FALSE: at the beginning of act IV rosencrants and guildenstern are looking for ophelia? | FALSE. they’re looking for polonius’ body |
| TRUE OR FALSE: laertes thinks that hamlet killed his father at first | FALSE. |
| TRUE OR FALSE: ophelia drowned | TRUE |
| TRUE OR FALSE: Hamlet is not going to england because his ship sunk | FALSE. Pirates captured him. |
| TRUE OR FALSE: The king plans to have a sword fight with hamlet so that he can kill him once and for all | FALSE. Laertes will fight him, not the king |
| TRUE OR FALSE: Ophelia is denied full burial rights because the queen thought that she would not have wanted them | FALSE. She killed herself. |
| TRUE OR FALSE: Hamlet fights with laertes at the graveyard | TRUE. |
| TRUE OR FALSE: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern will be killed when they arrive to england | TRUE. Why? Hamlet changed the letter to order them to killed and not him |
| TRUE OR FALSE: queen gertrude drinks the poisoned wine and dries | TRUE. |
| TRUE OR FALSE: Hamlet wants Horatio go stay alive so that he can tell his story | TRUE. |
| How does claudius learn of polonius’ murder | queen gertrude tells him |
| where is fortinbras’ army headed towards | denmark for a small piece of land |
| what does the king think ophelia’s madness is caused by | her fathers death and hamlet |
| what threat does laertes pose to claudius | the people of denmark was laertes to rule |
| what do the pirates expect | money, because hamlet is a rich prince, but hamlet escaped them |
| what is claudius’ plan to get rid of hamlet pt. 2 | to “fence” laertes, give L a real sword with poison on it, and then get him to drink poisoned wine |
| why didn’t polonius receive an elaborate funeral | because there was no body, and it would raised questions as to how he died |
| how does polonius’ death affect his children | ophelia kills herself and laertes seeks revenge |
| why does hamlet fall in line with claudius’ plan to send him to england | he knew about it in advance and knew how to get out of it |
| what is the shame in hamlets soliloquy | not taking action in killing the king and having murder on his mind |
| how does claudius trick laertes onto his side | showing how he can get revenge and by letting laertes get out his anger |
| why does hamlet agree to fight laertes | he thinks it will give him forgiveness |
| hamlets death is caused by… | the sword scraping him |
| what does the english embassy for announce | rosencrantz and guildenstern have been killed |
| in the end who will be king | Prince fortinbras |
| why did shakespeare’s injecthumor into act 5 | because it is so tragic he wanted to lighten up the play |
| how is the illness in denmark cured | no more corrupt powers |
| allusion | a rhetorical technique in which reference is made to a person, event, object, or work from history or literatureI.E) julius caesar, alexander the great |
| aside | spoken privately either to another character or to the audience |
| soliloquy | a solo speech given alone on stage to reveal a characters inner thoughts |
| Personification | a figure of speech which an idea, animal, or thing is describe as if it were a personI.E) morning walking |
| rhyming couplet | two lines that rhyme, shakespeare’s uses this as a device to let the audience know there is a changing scene |
| THEMES IN HAMLET | -mortality-revenge-corruption-madness-doubt |
| SETTING OF HAMLET | Elisinore, Denmark |
| Hamlet (about king claudius) | p9. “a little more than kin and less than kind”= Hamlet is related to his uncle twice and doesnt like him |
| Hamlet (about queen gertrude) | p11 “frailty is thy woman”= gertrude isnt strong enough to be on her own, she always needs a man |
| Polonuis (to laertes) | p17 “neither a borrower nor a lender be”= dont borrow or lend moneyp17 “this above all: to thine own self be true”= be true to yourself |
| Marcellus | p22 “something is rotten in the state of denmark”= things arent right, something is wrong/ corrupt |
| Ghost | p25 “remember me”= remember to avenge my death |
| Hamlet | p28. “the time is out of joint”= something is wrong in denmark |
| Polonius (irony) | p36 “brevity is the soul of wit”= I will be brief (he talks and talks) |
| Polonius (about hamlet) | p39 “though this is madness, yet there is a method in it”= there is a reason as to why hamlet is acting crazy |
| Hamlet (soliloquy) | p53 “to be or not to be, that is the question”= contemplation of his suicide |
| Hamlet (to queen gertrude) | p17 “I must be cruel, only to be kind”= tough love, hamlet is cruel to his mother for her own good |
| Queen gertrude | p107 “Sweets to the sweet”= putting flowers on ophelia’s grave |
| Hamlet | p116 “the readiness is all”= he is ready for whatever will happenp120 “the rest is silence”= he has died, these are his dying words |
| Exposition (act I) | – ghost appears in armor- ghost tells hamlet to avenge his fathers murder- hamlet’s first soliloquy |
| Complication (act I) | – hamlet fails to kill king thinking he is praying |
| Rising action (act II) | – polonius’ advice to laertes- polonius decides hamlet’s madness is due to his love for ophelia- king redirects rosencrantz and guildenstern to spy on hamlet- hamlet tells ophelia “get thee to a nunnery”- Hamlet meets with the players |
| Climax (act III) | – the “mouse-trap” is performed |
| Falling action (act III-IV) | – ghost reappears to hamlet- hamlet slays polonius- king orders hamlet to england- death of ophelia- gravedigger’s scene- king plots with Laertes to kill hamlet via fencing match- hamlets last soliloquy |
| Catastrophe (act V) | – death of gertrude and laertes- death of king and hamlet |
Hamlet Study Guide
August 4, 2019