HAMLET
Act I Scene 1
1 What's the time (which century) and the setting (which country, what place)?
2 Who is Horatio?
3 What's the first supernatural event?
4 What does Marcellus mean when he says: "Thou art a scholar; speak to it, Horatio"?
5 What does Horatio say about the political situation in Denmark?
6 What is the first similarity between Fortinbras and Hamlet?
Act I Scene 2
1 Technically speaking, is Claudius a usurper? What does he say about the political conflict
with Norway?
2 What is the second similarity between Fortinbras and Hamlet?
3 Who is Laertes and what is he asking from Claudius?
4 What's Claudius's advice to Hamlet and how does he take the advice?
5 What does the Queen mean when she says: "...let thine eye look like a friend on
Denmark"?
6 Why doesn't Claudius give his consent to Hamlet to go back to Wittenberg? When was the
university of Wittenberg founded? Does it identify the time of the play?
7 Define "soliloquy". Identify the subject matter of Hamlet's first soliloquy (beginning with
line 129).
8 What does Hamlet accuse Claudius of at this point? And his mother?
9 Identify Hamlet's tone when he describes the social situation in Denmark (from line 170
on).
Act I Scene 3
1 What is Laertes’s warning to Ophelia?
2 Analyze the pieces of advice Polonius gives to Laertes. Are they sensible?
3 What is Polonius’s warning to Ophelia? Is it in accordance with Laertes’s counsel? What
does that suggest about the position of women in the play and/or Shakespeare’s time?
Act I Scene 4
1 What is the time and the place?
2 When the ghost appears, what questions does Hamlet ask him (lines 39 to 57)?
Act I Scene 5
1 If Old Hamlet was a good king, why is he not in heaven (lines 10-13)?
2 What is Hamlet response when the ghost of Old Hamlet says he was murdered? Is it in
accordance with what he says in line 41 about his uncle? What does Hamlet promise his
father at this point?
3 What directions does the ghost give Hamlet? What is Hamlet’s first response?
4 Why doesn’t Hamlet want to disclose to Horatio and his other friends what the ghost told
him? Why does he make them swear to keep the ghost’s appearance secret? Why does he
make them swear on his sword? Why are they constantly moving on to another place?
Act II Scene 1
1 What is the setting and who are the principal characters?
2 What task does Polonius give Reynaldo? Technically speaking, what is he doing with his
son? Why is he doing that? What is the style / tone of Polonius’s speech, especially in lines
49 to 51?
3 What is Ophelia’s story about Hamlet? What is Polonius’s first reaction to and then his
strong conviction about the reasons of Hamlet’s unusual behaviour?
Act II Scene 2
1 What is the setting and who are the principal characters? Who is Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern?
2 Point out a parallel between Polonius and Claudius at this point.
3 What is Gertrude’s theory about Hamlet’s indisposition?
4 What is Claudius’s first mistake as king and politician? Why does he commit that mistake?
5 Characterize Polonius’s style, especially in lines 85 to 95, and 96 to 113. What does his
style suggest about his character?
6 Does the queen give credit to Polonius’s theory?
7 Identify comic effects in Polonius and Hamlet’s dialogue beginning at line 171. Analyze
Hamlet’s strategy. What could be the dramatic function of this dialogue? Why is it written in
prose? What type of character does Polonius become in this scene?
8 Analyze the dialogue between R&G and Hamlet.
9 Find contemporary references to Shakespeare’s age in Hamlet and R&G’s speeches about
the players’ troupe.
10 Explain Hamlet’s words in lines 383-83.
11 Identify Polonius’s style and the comic effects in Hamlet’s speeches. Why does he keep
referring to Polonius’s daughter?
12 What is Hamlet’s plan with the players?
13 Identify the subject of Hamlet’s second soliloquy (starting at line 555).
Act III Scene 1
1 What is the scene, who are the characters, what is the action?
2 What is Ophelia’s role? Why does she undertake spying on Hamlet?
3 Point out the subject matter of Hamlet’s third soliloquy.
4 Analyze the dialogue between Ophelia and Hamlet. Why is he being mean to her? What is
Ophelia’s reaction? What’s Polonius’s? Can you find an allusion that identifies the time of
the play?
Act III Scene 2
1 What is the scene, who are the characters, what is the action?
2 What role does Hamlet undertake here? Does he sound crazy? What does he say about the
theatre and acting?
3 What’s Horatio’s task?
4 Analyze the dialogue between Polonius and Hamlet (starting line 98). What role is
attributed to Polonius? List and identify comic effects.
5 What is Claudius’s reaction to the play? What’s Hamlet’s reading of Claudius’s reaction?
6 R&G reappear. What’s their errand? How does Hamlet treat them, and what’s their
reaction? What is the tone of their lines? What does that suggest about Hamlet’s position in
the court at this point? What’s Hamlet’s answer to R&G’s question about his disposition?
Act III Scene 3
1 What is the scene, who are the characters, what is the action?
2 What is Claudius’s plan with Hamlet?
3 Analyze Claudius’s soliloquy. What is the subject matter?
4 Why doesn’t hamlet kill Claudius at this point?
Act III Scene 4
1 What is the scene, who are the characters, what is the action?
2 Analyze Hamlet’s tone in his dialogue with Gertrude.
3 What does Hamlet do to Polonius? Is it motivated?
4 Analyze the dialogue between Hamlet and Gertrude. What does he tell her? What’s her
reaction?
5 When the ghost appears, Gertrude can’t see him. How’s that possible? Is it a contradiction
in the play? What could be the significance?
Act IV Scene 2
1 What is the setting / action; who are the characters?
2 What is the style / tone of Hamlet and R&G like? What does Hamlet think of them? What
do they think of Hamlet?
Act IV Scene 3
1 Find references to the time of the play / action.
2 What is Hamlet’s tone? And Claudius’s?
3 Interpret ll. 34-35 (“In heaven…other place yourself.”)
4 Interpret l. 49 (“So is it, if thou know’st our purposes.”)
5 Find more temporal references.
Act IV Scene 4
1 Interpret Hamlet’s fourth soliloquy. What does he think of himself? What does he think of
Fortinbras? What is Hamlet’s tragic flaw? Which of them do you see as a “hero”?
Act IV Scene 5
1 What is the setting / action; who are the characters?
2 What do Ophelia’s songs suggest about the cause of her madness?
3 What’s Claudius’s theory about her madness?
4 Describe Laertes’s behaviour. What’s the difference between him and Hamlet? Which
character do you find more sympathetic?
5 Interpret the significance of Ophelia’s flowers.
6 How is it possible that Claudius can get Laertes to be his ally? Is it psychologically credible?
Act IV Scene 7
1 Interpret Claudius’s behaviour.
2 Why does Hamlet send a letter to Claudius, informing him about his return to Denmark? Is
it motivated on the plot level?
3 What’s Claudius’s plan? What character type is he?
Act V Scene 1
1 What is the place, who are the characters, what is the action?
2 What character type is the grave digger and his friend? Find comic elements in their
dialogue.
3 What do they think about the cause of Ophelia’s death? Why shouldn’t she receive a
Christian burial?
4 What’s Hamlet’s first impression of the grave digger? What’s the subject matter of his
meditation?
5 Identify comic effects in the dialogue between Hamlet and the grave digger. What’s
Hamlet’s dramatic role in this dialogue? What’s the dramatic role of the whole dialogue?
6 Who was Yorick? What was his role in the court?
7 Hamelt unexpectedly reveals himself at Ophelia’s burial. Is his act psychologically
motivated? How does he identify himself in ll. 265-66 (“This is I, Hamlet the Dane.”)? What is
the significance? Describe the fight between Laertes and Hamlet. Whose boasting is more
“credible”? What does that suggest about Hamlet’s feelings for Ophelia?
Act V Scene 2
1 What does Hamlet think about Fate, Chance and Providence?
2 What does Fortinbras gain at the end? Does he deserve it? Is it ironic?
3 Who is the hero of the play? Which character is more heroic – Lartes, Hamlet or
Fortinbras? Which one of them is morally the least apprehensible?