“The Motive and the Cue for Passion”

The “O, What a Rogue” Soliloquy

To the point

▪ Read the soliloquy.

▪ Circle and discover the meanings of unfamiliar words.

▪ Write a summary paragraph of the soliloquy– be sure you are not analyzing. A summary is stripped down to the essential details (just the facts)

Piercing Questions

▪ It is obvious to the audience or reader that Hamlet is alone on stage. What else, then, could he mean when he begins, “Now I am alone”?

▪ Why is the Prince calling himself a “rogue” and a peasant slave”?

▪ Hamlet compares himself to the player. What does this comparison reveal about Hamlet’s self-perception?

▪ Throughout Hamlet, much violence is done to ears. How does Hamlet’s “cleave the general ear” relate to other “ear” references? Shakespeare used the word ear twenty-seven times in the play. Do any of these resonate with you?

▪ Hamlet references theatrical terminology in his speech. Find some examples (cue, stages, play). Why might Hamlet be thinking in theatrical terms?

▪ Find lines or phrases that explain why Hamlet thinks himself a coward. Do you think he is a coward, or is he acting cautiously by looking for external evidence to prove Claudius’s guilt?