Answer the questions after each scene to ensure comprehension.

Act 1

1) When the act first opens, explain why

Bernardo is on edge?

2) What are the rumors concerning young

Fortinbras?

3) What do the guards and Horatio decide to

do at the end of scene 1?

4) Where does Claudius send Cornelius and

Voltemand, and why?

5) In scene 2, what is Claudius’ advice to

Hamlet?

6) In scene 2, explain why Hamlet is upset?

7) What news does Horatio bring Hamlet and

what does Hamlet decide to do about it?

8) In scene 3, what are Laertes and Polonius’

advice to Ophelia and how does she

respond?

9) What does the ghost reveal to Hamlet and

how does he respond?

10) At the end of the act, what does Hamlet ask

of Horatio and the others?

Act II

1) Why does Polonius think that Hamlet is

“mad”?

2) Why have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

come to the castle?

3) How does Polonius plan on proving his

theory about Hamlet?

4) At the end of act 2, what is Hamlet’s plan

concerning the players?

5) What does Hamlet reveal in his soliloquy

found at the end of the act?

Act III

1) Briefly summarise Hamlet’s “To be or not

to be” soliloquy.

2) After spying on Hamlet’s encounter with

Ophelia, what do the King and Polonius

decide about Hamlet’s condition?

3) What is the King’s reaction to the play?

4) What does Claudius ask of Rosencrantz

and Guildenstern?

5) Why doesn’t Hamlet kill the King while he

is kneeling?

6) Describe what happens when Hamlet

meets with Gertrude.

Act IV

1. What is Hamlet’s response to Claudius

when asked about Polonius’ body?

2. What are the instructions in the

letters the King sends with

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to

England with Hamlet?

3. What has happened to Ophelia?

4. What does Laertes want?

5. How does Hamlet get away from

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

6. What plan do the King and Laertes

devise to get revenge on Hamlet?

Act V

1. Why is Laertes upset at Ophelia’s

funeral?

2. Why does Hamlet decide to leap into

Ophelia’s grave and what might this say

about his character?

3. What does Hamlet do to Rosencrantz

and Guildenstern?

4. What happens to the Queen?

5. What happens to Claudius?

6. What happens to Hamlet and Laertes?

7. Who does Hamlet recommend for the

throne at the end of the play?

Hamlet Anticipation Guide

Read each of the following statements before you read the play and rate the following:

a. Revenge is sweet.

b. There’s nothing wrong with a little procrastination. c. I am a superstitious person. d. It is wrong to commit suicide. e. It is wrong to kill another human being for any reason. f. There is no such thing as pure evil; even the most despicable murderers usually have a conscience. g. It’s easy enough to know when someone is lying when you watch the liar closely. h. I would do anything for my family. i. Murder is always a reaction to one’s instinct. j. Reading Shakespeare is a drag because it is so hard to understand. k. I can relate to the people and situations in Shakespeare’s plays.

What is your favorite television program?

List some of the issues found on your television show. (ex. Love, fame, revenge…)

1 - - - - - - - - - 2 - - - - - - - - - 3 - - - - - - - - 4 - - - - - - - - 5 - - - - - - - -6 Agree strongly Disagree strongly

Characters and relationships in Hamlet.

And you Thought that Your Family was

Complicated!

All the major relationships between the characters are developed in Act 1. Complete the

chart below to state the relationship between Hamlet and the major characters from the act.

In each box state the relationship between Prince Hamlet and the character named and then

describe the feelings that the prince has toward that character

King Hamlet

Relationship: father feelings: grief loyalty love respect

Claudius

Relationship :

Feelings :

Gertrude

Relationship :

Feelings :

Ophelia

Relationship :

Feelings :

Horatio

Relationship :

Feelings :

Hamlet

In your character description, include the character’s “trade”,

personality traits, goals and concerns.

Images of corruption, disease, and death appear

throughout Act 4 to help convey the author’s theme that

a corrupt head of state also corrupts the state itself. As

you read, use this cluster diagram to record words and

phrases used to create this type of imagery.

In literature, a foil is a person that through strong contrast underscores or enhances the distinctive characteristics of another. Critics maintain that Laertes and Fortinbras are foils for Hamlet. Complete the Venn diagram below by indicating the motivation of each of the characters and their actions to reach that goal. Characteristics shared by two or more characters should be placed in the areas where those characters’ circles overlap. You can also write the information in the margin and show where it should be placed with the use of an arrow.

Fortinbras Laertes

Hamlet

Tragedy As Defined by Aristotle

All discussions of "tragedy" begin with the rules laid down by Aristotle for works of literature to

be presented on the stage. His definition is, "tragedy is in imitation of an action that is serious,

complete, and of a certain magnitude; in language, embellished with each kind of artistic

ornaments; in the form of action, not of narrative; through pity and fear affecting the proper

purgation of these emotions.” If we elaborate this definition, we discover that "tragedy" is the

performance representation of a serious chain of events (real or imaginary) which starts with

certain causes and ends with ultimate conclusions, and which is important for its place in history

or for the lesson which it teaches. The events should

be related in the highest and most artistic form of

language, which, Aristotle concludes, is dramatic

poetry. Finally, when a person beholds this

representation, he should experience pity or fear (or

both) in sympathy with the characters in the story. It

was Aristotle's theory that if the audience were

subjected to a representation of events which would

create pity or fear, these emotions would be "purged"

from their own lives and their lives would be better for

the experience. Going to the theater then, in

Aristotle's opinion, cleansed the mind and made it able

to cope with the problems of daily life, and any play

which left its hearers in a morbid frame of mind or

which merely amused to them was quite useless and

certainly not "tragedy."

In an Aristotelian tragedy, there must be a "hero" or

"protagonist." We will use the latter term because of

the unfortunate modern association of the word

"hero" with "good guy." To Aristotle, it was quite

possible to have an evil protagonist, and there was no

villain in the modern sense. It might be the same

person as the hero. The protagonist should be a very

important person (a king, famous soldier, etc.) at the

full height of his power and strength.

The protagonist must come into conflict with a force

directly opposed to what he should want (with the

antagonist). He must struggle with that force, which might

be Fate, or the gods, hostile human forces or a fault in his

own character, and the outcome might be one of three

things:

A) he might win

B) he might make a deal with the hostile forces and retain

some of his power

C) he might die after having made a tremendous struggle

against superhuman odds and having changed the world

in some way by his life.

(A) and (B) are interesting and often instructive, according

to Aristotle, but only (C) is the true stuff of "tragedy."

It will be seen then, that those many sad and pitiable

events which happen in everyday life, the loss of loved

ones, the loss of home, death on the highways and so on,

are not tragic in the original sense of the word. We have

corrupted the word when we apply it to such events. It is

our prerogative to do so if we wish, but we should know

what we are doing.

Aristotle is modern in the sense that he believed in

retribution or present punishment for sins. He was a

Greek, and the Greeks had hundreds of gods who were a

whimsical lot, doing as they pleased without regard for

justice or human suffering, yet he sensed that there was a

universal justice which rewarded to the virtuous and

punishes the guilty. He called it "Nemesis" and insisted

that every tragedy should show it working to restore the

balance of natural justice and to bring the protagonist to

his downfall. It might function through a certain person,

or it might simply be the product of a chain of events, but

it must be there.

Finally, Aristotle insisted that every tragedy must contain

six parts: plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, and

song.

Let’s see. Did Shakespeare follow the rules of Tragedy as laid

out by Aristotle?

Complete the following chart to determine if Shakespeare adheres to

the “rules” of tragedy.

Aristotle Shakespeare The play must be written in dramatic poetry.

The protagonist must be a “great” person (nobility).

The protagonist must come into conflict with a force directly opposed to what he should want.

The protagonist must suffer from a tragic flaw in character (called hamartia), which brings about his own downfall.

The protagonist’s sufferings are in sharp contrast with his previous happiness and glory.

The protagonist must suffer from mental turmoil or conflict.

The play must invoke fear or pity from the audience.

Nemesis – retribution or punishment for sins. (Justice) Every tragedy should show nemesis working to restore the balance of natural justice and bring the protagonist to his downfall.

Themes in Hamlet

Develop the following themes in Hamlet by completing the chart below.

Themes Find examples that develop the theme What’s the

author’s message

about the theme?

Revenge vs. Justice

Action vs. inaction

Fate vs. Free will

Appearance vs. Reality

Loyalty vs. Betrayal

Madness

Corruption