E419—Pine
Hamlet Study Guide
Act I
1. In one of the editions of Hamlet, the editor contends that “a recurring motif in Hamlet is of a
seemingly healthy exterior concealing an interior sickness.” How is this theme shown in Act I?
Scene 1
1.
Identify Bernardo, Francisco, Marcellus, Horatio, and King Hamlet.
2.
What has Bernardo seen at a prior watch?
3.
Why does Marcellus think Horatio should speak to the ghost?
4.
What does young Fortinbras want to do?
5.
Who do the soldiers/guards want to tell about the ghost?
6.
Identify King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Laertes, and Polonius.
7.
Where does Claudius send Cornelius and Voltimand?
8.
What does the King tell Hamlet?
9.
Hamlet is upset for two reasons. What are they?
10. What news does Horatio bring Hamlet?
11. What does Hamlet decide to do after he hears Horatio’s news?
12. What is Laertes’ advice to Ophelia?
13. What is Polonius’ advice to Laertes?
14. At the end of Scene III, Ophelia agrees to “obey.” What will she do?
15. What does the ghost tell Hamlet?
16. Hamlet swears Horatio to two things. What are they?
Act II
17. Where does Polonius send Reynaldo? Why?
18. Why does Polonius think Hamlet is “mad”?
19. Why have Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to the castle?
20. What is Polonius’ plan for testing his theory that Hamlet is love-crazy?
21. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern finally meet with Hamlet, and Hamlet discovers
they were sent for by the King. How does Hamlet describe his personal problems to them? What
does he tell them?
22. What arrangement does Hamlet make with Player 1?
23. After Rosencrantz and Guildenstern leaven Hamlet, what does he basically say in his soliloquy?
Act III
24. What message do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern carry to the King? What is the King’s response?
25. Hamlet’s famous “To be or not to be” soliloquy is in scene one. In a sentence or two paraphrase
his main points.
26. Describe Hamlet’s tone when he speaks to Ophelia.
27. What do the King and Polonius decide about Hamlet’s condition after eavesdropping on Hamlet and
Ophelia?
28. Why does Hamlet give instructions to the players?
29. What was the King’s reaction to the play, and what did Hamlet and Horatio decide his reaction
meant?
30. What message does Rosencrantz deliver from the Queen?
31. The King has Rosencrantz and Guildenstern prepare to do what? Why?
32. Why doesn’t Hamlet kill the King when the King is kneeling?
33. How does Polonius die?
34. What would Hamlet have his mother do?
Act IV
35. What does Hamlet think of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
36. Why must the King “not put the strong arm on” Hamlet?
37. When the King asks Hamlet where Polonius is, what is Hamlet’s answer?
38. What is the content of the letters the King sends with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to England
with Hamlet?
39. What prompts Hamlet to say, “My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!”?
40. What has happened to Ophelia?
41. Why does Laertes force his way in? What does he want?
42. What is the content of Hamlet’s letter to Horatio?
43. What plan do the King and Laertes discuss to kill Hamlet?
44. What news does the Queen bring Laertes?
Act V
45. Laertes thinks that Ophelia should have a better funeral service. What is the priest’s answer?
46. Why does Hamlet jump into Ophelia’s grave?
47. What does the King say to Laertes to console him after Laertes and Hamlet are separated?
48. What did Hamlet do to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
49. What news does Osric bring Hamlet?
50. What happens to the King, Hamlet, Laertes, and the Queen?
51. Who does Hamlet recommend to the throne?
Hamlet: Discussion Questions
1) To what extent does Hamlet correspond to classical or medieval notions of tragedy (a form of
drama defined by Aristotle characterized by seriousness and dignity and involving a great person who
experiences a reversal of fortune—This reversal of fortune must be caused by the tragic hero's
hamartia, which is often mistranslated as a character flaw, but is more correctly translated as a
mistake)? What (if anything) is Hamlet's fatal flaw? Why does he hesitate to act after promising
his father's ghost that he will avenge his murder? Compare/contrast the protagonist's decisiveness
and will to act in Macbeth.
2) Note the various familial relationships in Hamlet. Compare and contrast the family unit of
Polonius/Laertes / Ophelia with Hamlet's relationships to the Ghost of Hamlet Sr., to Gertrude and
to Claudius. Like Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras are sons confronted with a father's death. To what
extent do they function as foils (A foil is a secondary character who contrasts with a major character
and, in so doing, highlights various facets of the main character's personality) to Hamlet? What do
they have in common? How do they differ?
3) Why does Hamlet wait so long to kill Claudius? What are the reasons for his hesitation? How
valid are they? How many times does he have the opportunity to attack Claudius? What are his
reasons for not doing so?
4) Hamlet is a play in which nothing can be taken at face value: appearances are frequently deceptive,
and many characters engage in play-acting, spying and pretense. What deliberate attempts are made
at deception? Are the intended audiences deceived? While some deceptions are perpetrated in
order to conceal secrets, others aim to uncover hidden truths. Which are which? To what extent are
they successful? Note references to appearances, disguises, pretense, seeming, masks, acting, etc.
5) Pay attention to the treatment of the women characters Gertrude and Ophelia. Is there any basis
for the Freudian interpretation of an Oedipal attraction between Hamlet and his mother? Hamlet
does seem obsessed with his mother's sexuality. How old is Hamlet? How old do you think Gertrude
is? Is Hamlet's disgust at Gertrude's sexuality justified? To what extent is Gertrude guilty? Was
she "in on" her husband's murder? Has Claudius confided in her since the murder? How does
Hamlet's perception of his mother affect his behavior or attitude toward Ophelia? Why does he tell
Ophelia to go to a nunnery? Does Hamlet really love Ophelia? If so, why is he cruel to her?
6) Hamlet claims that his madness is feigned, an "antic disposition" which he puts on for his own
purposes (I.v.172). Why would Hamlet want to feign madness? How can an appearance of insanity
help him achieve his ends? (Compare the role of Touchstone, the "fool" in AYLI.) 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? (What two reasons do her songs suggest?)
7) Hamlet famously declares that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark." What other natural
imagery is used to describe the corruption of the Danish court? What "unnatural" events or
behaviors preceded the events recounted in the play? What "unnatural" events or behaviors occur
during the play?
8) Moral ambiguity? Hamlet and Macbeth recount similar stories (the usurping of a throne) from
differing perspectives -- those of perpetrator and avenger. Just as Macbeth was not ALL bad,
Hamlet is not ALL good. What are some of his faults or short-comings? Do these constitute a "fatal
flaw" (to use the concept and terminology of Aristotle or Bradley)? Why might Shakespeare have
chosen to remain in the "grey area" rather than a more "black and white" depiction of Good and Evil?
Compare with Shakespeare's depiction of the protagonist in Macbeth.
Turn The Page
Favorite Lines—As you are reading the play, I want you to note quotes/passages that stand out
to you (5 for each act). Copy the quotes and explain why you chose them. This will serve for
discussion as we go along as well as at the end of the play.
Act I Passages
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Act II Passages
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Act III Passages
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Act IV Passages
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Act V Passages
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