Discussion Questions for Hamlet
Pre-Show Questions
These are some general questions to help a class or group be ready to encounter the
play.
1. How would you describe Hamlet’s dilemma and how does it manifest itself over his
journey through the play? Is this dilemma present before he encounters the ghost?
What is his primary challenge after meeting the ghost? How does he feel about that
challenge?
2. In Shakespeare’s plays, characters often speak long speeches without any other
characters around. These are called soliloquies. What is the purpose of Hamlet’s
soliloquies? What does it do for the audience? For Hamlet?
3. What is power? What kinds of power are there? How many different kinds of power
can you come up with if you make a list? How do leaders gain or lose power? How
do regular, everyday people have power? What do you think are right and wrong
ways to use power?
Post-Show Questions for High-School Audiences or Junior-High Audiences
1. How is the ghost in the play different from the kinds of ghosts we see in movies
today?
2. Who was the character you most identified with, and why?
3. This play is a tragedy. Based only on this play, how would you define “tragedy”?
Look up some definitions of tragedy in a dictionary or online. How does this play
match those definitions? Look up the famous definition of tragedy by the ancient
philosopher Aristotle, and compare.
4. Shakespeare wrote in an earlier form of English that we call “Early Modern English.”
What was it like to hear Early Modern English? (For more information on
Shakespeare’s language, see the site shakespeareswords.com)
Post-Show Questions for University or High-School Audiences
THE STATE: In the play, a character (not Hamlet) says “Something is rotten in the state
of Denmark.” What would you say is “rotten” about the way that the kingdom works? Is
Denmark still “rotten” at the end of the play?
GHOSTS: Why do you think Shakespeare has Hamlet’s father’s ghost appear instead of
simply having Hamlet find out about the murder himself? What does the supernatural
ghost add to the play?
REVENGE: When Hamlet was first written, there were many plays that were about
bloody revenge, called “revenge tragedies.” At the beginning of Hamlet, the ghost tells
Hamlet that Claudius is a murderer and asks for revenge. Why does Hamlet not
immediately take revenge? What does he do instead? What are the results?
MADNESS?: Is Hamlet’s unusual behavior a trick to distract the people around him or is
it some kind of psychological disturbance? Some of each? What decisions do the actors
make that help support your interpretation?
DEPICTION OF FAMILIES: There are many parents and children in this play. Hamlet’s
father, who appears as a ghost, was also named Hamlet; this double naming reminds us of
the ties between parents and children. You can think also about Polonius, Laertes, and
Ophelia. What do you think the play is trying to say about families?
OPHELIA: Why do you think Ophelia agreed to help Polonius and Claudius spy on
Hamlet? What would you do in that situation? If we re-did this play from Ophelia’s point
of view, what would be different?
LAERTES V. HAMLET: How does Hamlet compare to Laertes, the daughter of
Polonius? How does Hamlet compare to Fortinbras, the leader of the army from Norway?
Are we meant to think that Fortinbras is a better person that Hamlet? Is Laertes a more
honest person than Hamlet?
GERTRUDE: What kinds of changes happen to Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, throughout
the play? Do you think that she changes her mind about her decision to marry Claudius?
FATE: Young prince Hamlet had a great future ahead of him. According to the play, he
was bright, talented, and loved by all. What happens to him by the end of the play? Could
Hamlet have avoided any of this with different choices, or was his fate sealed from the
moment that Claudius killed his father?
“GOOD” PEOPLE: Are there any good people in the play? Is Horatio a good person?
Are there others?
FORTINBRAS: At the end of the play, Fortinbras is going to become king of Denmark.
Do you think that things in the kingdom will be different with Fortinbras in charge? Why
or why not?