| Where is the setting for “Hamlet”? | in Denmark around 9th century A.D. |
| Who were the first guards to see the ghost and who did they go to tell about it? | Marcellus/Horatio told Hamlet |
| Why had Hamlet returned to the palace from his studies in Wittenberg? | his father, King Hamlet, had died |
| What is Hamlet’s castle named? | Elsinore |
| What does Hamlet call his new step-father? | uncle dad |
| Describe ophelia’s feeling for Hamlet | she’s in love with Hamlet |
| in the beginning of the story does Hamlet return Ophelia’s feelings? | yes |
| Where is Laertes going? | France, to school |
| What advice does Polonius give to his daughter? | do not fall in love with Hamlet because he will probably end up having an arranged marriage |
| What did Hamlet learn about during his meeting with his father’s ghost? | that his father was murdered |
| After the meeting with his father how does Hamlet’s attitude change? | Hamlet starts to brood and plot revenge |
| What plan does Hamlet make to trick Claudius into revealing his guilt? | He has actors modify the dialogue in a play so it resembles his father’s murder |
| Why is Hamlet afraid to commit suicide? | he is afraid to go to hell |
| Where does Hamlet tell Ophelia to go when he rejects her? | to a nunnery |
| how does Claudius reveal his guilt? | He walks out of the play when they were reenacting the real king’s murder |
| Who kills Polonius? Why is he killed? Who did the murderer actually think he was killing? | Hamlet – he was hiding behind a tapestry – he thought he was killing Claudius |
| What does the letter that Claudius has written to the English king say? | kill Hamlet |
| What are the reasons that Ophelia goes insane? | 1. the man who she loves rejects her 2. the man who she loves kills her father3. her brother is in France |
| Who does Laertes initially blame for Polonius’s death? | Claudius |
| How does Claudius use the anger of Laertes to set Hamlet up for death? | he tell Laertes to do a duel between him and Hamlet and Laertes uses a poison sword |
| What does Claudius do as a back up plan? | poisons Hamlet’s drink |
| Hamlet knows Yorick because he was this…. | Court Jester turned skull |
| “To thine own self be true” | Polonius gives this advice to Laertes |
| Hamlet’s BFF is this character…. | Horatio |
| Claudius deeply loves….? | Power |
| Fortinbras is the prince of which country? | Norway |
| How does the old king die? | Poison in his ear |
| Why doesn’t Hamlet kill Claudius when he has the perfect chance? | He’s praying and he wants him to go to hell, not heaven. |
| The play, “The Murder of Gonzago” is nicknamed…? | Mouse Trap – the “play within a play” |
| How does Ophelia die? | Drowning |
| Claudius sends Hamlet to England for his purpose. | To be killed by order of the King. |
| Hamlet thinks Gertrude is guilty of what? | Incest |
| Is Laertes’s main feeling for his father grief or revenge? | Grief |
| The gravediggers play the Shakespearean part of what? | Comic relief |
| What clothes does Hamlet continue to wear? | Funeral clothes |
| What could have been used for both the funeral and the wedding? | the meal |
| Who plots the duel with Claudius? | Laertes |
| What is the job of Polonius? | Advisor to the king |
| What identifies the ghost? | Armor |
| This kills Laertes…. | Rapier (sword) |
| Father of Hamlet | King Hamlet |
| Current husband of Gertrude | Claudius |
| Father of Laertes and Ophelia | Polonius |
| Gertrude’s first husband? | Old Hamlet |
| Aunt Mom? | Gertrude |
| Hamlet’s buds from college? | Rosencrantz and Guildenstern |
| Part of Ophelia’s mad scene | flowers |
| Ophelia’s boyfriend | Hamlet |
| She gets love notes | Ophelia |
| Who takes over Denmark at the end of the play? | Fortinbras/Norway |
| Who lives to tell the tale? | Horatio |
| “To be or not to be…” | Part of Hamlet’s famous soliloquy. |
Hamlet Study Guide
August 12, 2019