Hamlet
Act Five, Scene Two
For this scene, you will:
 Read the scene summary on page 128
 Read the supplementary information provided here
 Understand, remember, and identify important ideas
 Express ideas in your own words
 Form an opinion and explain it
 View the entire scene
1. Turn to page 128. Read the scene summary in the margin.
Supplementary Notes:
 Hamlet describes to Horatio how, when he was aboard ship, he stole
the packet of letters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were delivering to
the king of England. Hamlet read them and discovered that Claudius
was asking the king to have him beheaded.
 Hamlet then substituted some letters he wrote himself, asking that the
bearers (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern) be put to death immediately.
 Hamlet also wishes that he hadn’t been so crass with Laertes, because
he sees their situation as similar – parallelism.
 The next day, the sea fight occurred, and he returned to Denmark with
the pirates.
 Horatio agrees with him that he must take his revenge quickly before
Claudius learns what has happened in England.
 A courtier, Osric, comes in to tell Hamlet that Claudius has set up a
fencing contest and a wager, pitting Hamlet against Laertes, if Hamlet
will agree.
 The motif of appearance vs. reality is furthered by Hamlet’s distaste
of Osric’s dialogue – Osric is “putting on” airs.
 Hamlet agrees to the match, but tells Horatio that he has misgivings
about it. Horatio urges him not to go through with it, but Hamlet does
not heed him.
 Before the match, Hamlet asks Laertes’ pardon if, in his madness, he
has wronged him. Laertes answers in a hypocritical way, seeming to
accept Hamlet’s explanation of his behavior.
 Falsely, Claudius seems to be Hamlet’s champion, saying cannon fire,
drums, and trumpets will mark Hamlet’s success.
 He then “drink to Hamlet”. Hamlet is now winning the match, and
Claudius urges him to drink too, but Hamlet is not ready. Instead,
Gertrude drinks from the poisoned cup that Claudius had intended for
Hamlet.
 Laertes wounds Hamlet with the unblunted sword, they scuffle, and
change swords. Hamlet now has the sword with the poisoned tip, and
he wounds Laertes.
 The king tries to stop the match. Gertrude collapses. Both contestants
are bleeding.
 Laertes realizes that his own trickery will now be the cause of his
death.
 Dying, Gertrude calls out to Hamlet that the drink is poisoned.
 Laertes now collapses but confesses to Hamlet about the poisoned
sword; he puts the blame on Claudius.
 Hamlet wounds Claudius and gives him the poisoned wine. Claudius
dies.
 Just before Laertes dies, he asks Hamlet to exchange forgiveness with
him.
 Hamlet is dying. Horatio is about to commit suicide, but Hamlet says
he must live to tell Hamlet’s story and clear his name.
 Fortinbras arrives, victorious, and Hamlet, dying, predicts Fortinbras
will be Denmark’s new king. Fortinbras assumes the authority, gives
a tribute to Hamlet, and says he will have a hero’s burial.
During:
2. As you view Act V: What impact is Hamlet having on himself and
others in the play? Use quotations from the play to support your
answers. Use the graphic organizer below to fill in your answers for
Scene Two.
Hamlet
Claudius
Laertes
Hamlet’s
Impact on
Himself and
Others
Citizens of
Denmark
Gertrude
After:
3. After you view Act V, complete three of the following sentence stems
following the criteria of the Holistic Scoring Rubric below:
The overall message was . . .
_______ is important and relevant because . . .
I like / do not like . . . because . . .
A “golden” line for me is . . .
My initial reaction was . . .
I could deepen my understanding and pleasure by reviewing . . .
This relates to . . .
Holistic Scoring Rubric – Sentence Stems
9-10:
Answers are fully developed and demonstrate a thorough
understanding of the text, providing an insightful response. All parts of the
prompt are addressed thoroughly. Direct references to the text (quotes) are
made, are logical, and make sense. Details are always extensive. Answers
go beyond the lines.
7-8: Answers demonstrate an adequate understanding of the text, providing
a thoughtful response. All parts of the prompt are addressed. Direct
references are made (quotes) to the text, are logical, and make sense. Details
are often extensive. Answers go beyond the lines.
4-6: Answers demonstrate a limited understanding of the text, providing a
simplistic response. Some direct or indirect reference to the text attempted,
and most are logical in reference to the text. Details are seldom extensive.
Few answers go beyond the lines.
0-3: Answers demonstrate little to no understanding of the text, providing a
limited response. No direct or indirect reference to the text is attempted, or
ones provided are illogical or don’t make sense in reference to the text.
Details are not extensive. Answers do not go beyond the lines.
Consult the Holistic Scoring Rubric to make
sure you are meeting all criteria in
completing sentence stems. Email your
completed Before, During (Scene One), and
During (Scene Two) Graphic Organizers and
Sentence Stems to your teacher.