PICK UP YOUR WRITING FOLDERS AND A NOTE
CARD.
HAPPY FRIDAY, Dudes!
INSTRUCTIONS
1. Date and number each journal.
2. Use all of the allotted time to prepare your response.
3. Keep up with your own journal entries.
4. Submit them on the day of the test (double formative grade).
5. If you are absent, it is your responsibility to get the topic and catch up. The
syllabus makes note of each journal entry.
HAMLET THEME JOURNAL 1: REVENGE
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24TH
Respond to the following prompt. The purpose of this journal is to help you
hone in on important themes in the play. Your Hamlet journals will be
graded. They are due at the time of the unit test. All responses should be
well-developed, incorporating evidence from the play.
You are expected to write for 15 minutes
(or until the music stops  )
1. Explore Hamlet’s soliloquy in Act II:ii, 576. What is the conflict?
What themes are revealed (in addition to revenge)? (you may
wish to consider the themes we discussed in the last class.)
How does this speech help the audience better understand
Hamlet’s character?
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! QUIETLY REVIEW UNIT 5
WORDS.
HAMLET THEME JOURNAL 2: PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 31ST
Respond to the following prompt. The purpose of this journal is
to help you hone in on important themes in the play.
Responses should be well-developed, incorporating specific
evidence from the play.
Explain your opinion on the statement, “Parents generally have
their children’s best interests in mind.” Do parents always/ever
look out for their children's best interests in Hamlet? What
evidence supports your answer? How is Hamlet specifically
affected by his understanding that Claudius and Gertrude are
spying on him? What does that contribute to the play?
HAMLET THEME JOURNAL 3: INSANITY
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7TH
Respond to the following prompt. The purpose of this journal is to help you hone in on
important themes in the play. All responses should be well-developed and incorporate
examples from the play.
***Explore the theme of madness in the play by considering the following: Hamlet claims that his
madness is feigned, an "antic disposition" which he puts on for his own purposes (1.5.172).
Why would Hamlet want to feign madness? How can an appearance of insanity help him
achieve his ends? Is he really sane throughout the play, or does he ever cross the line into
madness? What about Ophelia's mad scene? Is it real or feigned? Is there "method in her
madness" as well, or is she entirely irrational? Why has she gone mad?
You have 15 minutes from the time the bell rings. 
HAMLET THEME JOURNAL 4: THE UNCERTAINTY OF LIFE
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14TH
Respond to the following prompt.
1. Throughout the play, Hamlet is overcome with
uncertainty which only exacerbates his tendency to
overthink. Looking at the lecture notes concerning
Hamlet as the Protestant hero, discuss how uncertainty
and self-doubt play a significant role in the play. Keep in
mind that the Protestant Reformation , which took place
about 20 years before Shakespeare writes this play, did
away with intermediaries between God and man, which
left individuals ultimately responsible for working out
their own salvation. How does Hamlet demonstrate the
sort of doubt and anxiety created by the Reformation?
HAMLET THEME JOURNAL 5: FATE
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 18TH
Respond to the following prompt. The purpose of this journal is to help you hone in on
important themes in the play.
How does Hamlet (the character) deal with the matter of fate? Consider the various
causes of tragedy that he considers within the play (the fatal flaw, Boethius’ theory,
prophetic theory). What does he ultimately come to believe concerning human fate,
concerning his own fate?
Finally, how does Hamlet’s perception of fate connect to some of the other works we
have discussed this year?
PICK UP YOUR WRITING FOLDERS
REMINDERS REGARDING SUBMISSION
1. Journals should be written nearly or typed if your handwriting is not neat.
Messy/sloppy work will not be graded.
2. Each journal should be ¾ to one full page in length.
3. Each journal should be correctly numbered and dated.
4. Journals should be presented in correct order (1-5).
5. Journals that are not submitted on time will be counted late EACH day they are
not submitted, regardless of whether you have English class that day or not.
6. The power point is on the website if you have missed any of the journals.