Hamlet – The Questions
(Unlike many of the Prince’s questions, these have answers.)
You only need to give line citations for your answers when the question specifically asks for them.
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Act 1, Scene 1
1. Why is Denmark preparing for war? (1.1.81-119)
2. What do Prince Hamlet and Young Fortinbras have in common? (1.1.81-119)
Act 1, Scene 2
3. Hamlet's first longer speech (1.2.79-89) contrasts “seeming” and “being.” What examples does he
use to describe how he “seems”? What point is he trying to make?
4. How does Claudius criticize Hamlet? (1.2. 90-110) Do you agree with Claudius or Hamlet in this
case?
5. What does Hamlet's first soliloquy (1.2.133-164) tell us about him? How does it matter that
Hamlet delivers this soliloquy before he knows about the Ghost?
Act 1, Scene 3
6. Summarize what Laertes says to Ophelia about Hamlet. What is Laertes most worried about?
(1.3.6-48)
7. Paraphrase/Summarize the nine pieces of advice Polonius gives Laertes. (1.3.65-86)
8. Summarize what Polonius says to Ophelia about Hamlet. What is Polonius most worried about?
(1.3.95-145)
9. Ophelia answers Laertes and Polonius very differently (_______). How, and why?
Act 1, Scene 4
10. Hamlet does not fear the ghost, but Horatio suspects it of sinister motives (1.4.77-86). What are
they? Could they be symbolic?
Act 1, Scene 5
11. What do the Ghost and Hamlet say about appearance contradicting reality (_______)? How does
this relate to the first question for 1.2?
12. Hamlet swears Horatio and Marcellus to secrecy (1.5. 189-202). What might Hamlet be doing that
they should say nothing about? Is Hamlet predicting how he’ll react to all this later, or is he
letting them in on a plan? Explain, and explain why this matters.
After Act 1
13. After reading 1.4 and 1.5, does the atmosphere/mood of 1.2 and 1.3 seem different? Explain
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Act 2, Scene 1
1. What do Polonius’s instructions to Reynaldo in this scene reveal about Polonius?
2. In what state has Hamlet appeared to Ophelia? How does Polonius explain this behavior? What
other possible reason might Hamlet have that Polonius doesn’t consider?
Act 2, Scene 2
3. Why does Gertrude say "More matter with less art" in l. 95? In other words, what accusation is she
making about Polonius? What does this tell us about their relationship?
4. What reason for refusing Hamlet does Polonius say he gave to Ophelia? (2.2.150-151) Why do
you think he’s giving Gertrude and Claudius a different reason than he gave Ophelia in 2.1?
5. What conflict is Hamlet showing in his “What a piece of work is a man” speech? (2.2.327-333)
Do you think he really feels this, or is he just telling Rosencrantz and Guildenstern what he
wants them to hear?
6. In Hamlet’s second soliloquy (2.2.576-634), he is disgusted with himself.
a. How did the performance of the First Player lead to Hamlet being so disgusted with
himself?
b. Do you think Hamlet’s criticism of himself is accurate? Explain. (Remember, it’s been
about a month since he’s talked to the Ghost.)
c. Hamlet feels the need to expose Claudius because he doesn’t trust the Ghost. Why does he
doubt the Ghost? Do you think he has good reason to doubt the Ghost? Explain.
After Act 2
7. From his actions and dialogue from Act 2, what do you think of Polonius as a father?
8. Give three examples (and cite them) from Act 2 of Hamlet’s insanity, and give three pieces of
evidence that he still has some sanity left. As of the end of Act 2, do you think Hamlet is really
going mad, or is he just acting? Explain.
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Act 3, Scene 1
1. After Hamlet’s argument with Ophelia (3.1.96-162),
a. What does Ophelia think the state of Hamlet’s sanity is (_______)? What does this say
about her?
b. What does Claudius think the state of Hamlet’s sanity is, and what does he think is the
cause of it (_______)? What does this say about him?
c. What does Polonius think the state of Hamlet’s sanity is, and what does he think is the
cause of it (_______)? What does this say about him?
Act 3, Scene 2
2. Give two examples each (and cite them) of Hamlet using the opportunity of his supposed madness
to play with the minds and/or emotions of Ophelia, Gertrude, and Claudius during the play in
they’re watching in this scene.
3. Hamlet and Guildenstern have a fierce argument about playing a recorder, which is a kind of flute
(_______). What does the recorder symbolize? What is Hamlet doing at this point?
4. What is happening to Hamlet in his final mini-soliloquy at the end of 3.2 (_______)? How do you
predict his behavior might change after this?
Act 3, Scene 3
5. In Claudius’s soliloquy (3.3.40-76, along with his last lines in the scene), he is trying to pray for
forgiveness. What’s the crime, and why can’t he truly ask for forgiveness?
6. Why doesn’t Hamlet kill Claudius in this scene? How do Claudius’s last lines in the scene make
Hamlet’s decision painfully ironic?
Act 3, Scene 4
7. In the beginning of 3.4, what are Hamlet’s motives? How well does he achieve them by the end of
the scene?
8. Is what happens to Polonius his own fault? Explain. Do you think Hamlet had a good reason for
doing what he did? Explain.
9. What do you think Gertrude is thinking when she says, “As kill a king?” (_______)? Why is this
line so important to the rest of the scene?
10. You decide: Does Gertrude see the Ghost in 3.4, or not? After you decide, explain what she’s
thinking, feeling, and planning immediately following this scene.
After Act 3
11. If Gertrude were to get a soliloquy (she never does), what do you think she would talk about and
reveal?
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Act 4, Scene 1
1. Why do you think Gertrude tells Claudius that Hamlet is mad? [Consider what she tells him about
this in 3.4, and his behavior as well as hers in 3.4.]
2. What is Claudius's main fear in the immediate aftermath of Polonius's death (_______)? What
does this say about him?
Act 4, Scene 2
no questions
Act 4, Scene 3
3. What image does Hamlet use (ll. 19-29) to warn Claudius he's only king temporarily? What
statement is Shakespeare making about royalty and people in general?
Act 4, Scene 4
4. What's the value of the land Fortinbras' army is marching to capture in Poland (l. 20)? What will
the invasion itself cost (l. 25)? So why should the Norwegians fight to take the land? Why
should the Poles fight to defend it?
5. Hamlet's soliloquy (ll. 32-66) is self-critical; summarize his main fault. What conclusion does he
come to? Do you think it will change his behavior?
6. Hamlet's soliloquy (4.4.32-66) is similar in topic to his previous soliloquies. What’s different
about this one? (It’s his last in the play.)
Act 4, Scene 5
7. Ophelia's songs during her first appearance in 4.5 deal with love, death and sex. Why? What do
they tell us about her at this moment?
8. How is Laertes’s reaction to his father’s death different from Hamlet’s? From Fortinbras’s?
9. How is Laertes’s reaction to Ophelia’s condition different from his reaction to his father’s death,
and what does this tell us about Laertes?
Act 4, Scene 6
10. Horatio receives a letter from Hamlet explaining how he escaped from Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern. His actions show what evidence about his changed personality?
Act 4, Scene 7
11. How does Claudius manage to manipulate Laertes? How does this relate to Hamlet’s conversation
with Guildenstern in 3.2?
12. Considering what’s happened up to this point, Ophelia’s behavior, and Gertrude’s report of events
(_______), do you think Ophelia is responsible for what happens to her? Explain.
After Act 4
13. If you look at the play as a chess game between Hamlet and Claudius, which characters are their
pawns? Explain for each.
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Act 5 Scene 1
1. The two clowns/gravediggers are comic relief, but how do parts of their conversation make sense?
Give examples and cite them.
2. What do the gravediggers throw around the stage carelessly? Why do you think they do it, and
what is your reaction to it?
3. What do you think or how do you feel after reading Hamlet’s famous speech about the dead court
jester Yorick, including what he says about Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar (_______)?
What connection do you see between this speech and what Hamlet said in 4.3?
Act 5 Scene 2
4. How does Hamlet’s short speech about a sparrow (around lines 5.2. 224-230) serve as a conclusion
of his four major soliloquies (from 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, and 4.4)? So, why does he go ahead with the
contest with Laertes (5.2. 233-238)?
5. Roughly, what does Hamlet say to Laertes (_______) when he arrives for the duel? Is there a
symbolic significance to this?
6. What changes does Laertes exhibit during this scene? What changes does Hamlet exhibit?
7. You decide – why does Gertrude drink the wine? [If it’s on purpose, why? If it’s an accident, does
the result have any meaning?]
8. What's the significance of Laertes final speech (5.2. 359-363)?
9. How is Claudius’s death twice poetically just?
After Act 5
10. All three sons avenge the deaths of their fathers, but who does it best? What is wrong with the
approach used by the other two? What do you think is Shakespeare’s message here?