HAMLET
by
William Shakespeare
An A level English Student Guide
by
Steven Croft
~ Wessex Publications ~
CONTENTS
page
Using the Workbook....................................................................... 1
Scene by Scene Analysis ................................................................ 2
Characterisation .......................... ................................................... 44
Themes and Issues ...................... ................................................... 54
Prose and Verse .......................... ................................................... 57
Close Textual Study Questions .. ................................................... 58
Essay Questions ...... ....... ........... ................................................... 77
Hamlet
Using the Workbook
USING THE WORKBOOK
The workbook examines various aspects of Hamlet and you will be
asked to complete tasks on each of these areas as you progress through
the different sections. All the tasks are designed to help you look
carefully at the play and to come to an appreciation of its meaning and
significance as a piece of drama/literature. In addition to work in the
Workbook itself it is advisable to keep your own, fuller notes, in a
notebook or ring binder. These will be an important revision aid if you
are going to answer on this text in an examination.
Some of the tasks require quite short answers and where this is the case
a box is provided in the workbook where you can write down your
responses if you wish. Consult with your English tutor on this as
she/he may prefer you to answer in a separate notebook or file. The
boxes will, however, give you an idea of how much to write.
Where you see this notebook symbol though, a fuller response is
required and it would be best if you wrote your comments or answers
in your own notebook or file.
At the end of the Workbook you will find:
•
a number of specimen examination essay questions
•
some questions requiring close textual study (‘Context Questions’)
of the kind that you might find set for A level English Literature
(or an examination of similar standard).
These titles and questions would also be suitable for coursework
assignments on this text. If you are going to answer on this text in an
examination it would be very useful to you to practise writing answers
to several of these and have some idea of how you would tackle any of
them.
Good luck and happy studying.
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Hamlet
Scene by Scene Analysis – Act One Scene One
SCENE BY SCENE ANALYSIS - ACT ONE
SCENE ONE
The play opens at the castle of Elsinore on a bitterly cold night. It is
midnight and the guard is being changed as Barnardo relieves
Francisco and then is joined by Marcellus and Horatio.
TASK 1
What kind of atmosphere is created in these opening lines of the play
and how does Shakespeare create this atmosphere?
TASK 2
The others look to Horatio to speak to the ghost. Why do you think
they feel he should be the one to speak to it?
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Hamlet
Scene by Scene Analysis – Act One Scene One
Horatio speaks to the Ghost but it turns and stalks away leaving
Horatio shaken by what he has seen. He agrees with the others that the
Ghost is the image of the dead King dressed in the armour that he wore
when he fought the King of Norway. Horatio is unsure what the
appearance of the Ghost means but is sure that it "... bodes some
strange eruption to our state."
TASK 3
It seems that the country is already on a state of alert and Marcellus
asks Horatio about the current situation. What information does
Horatio give him? (lines 79-107)
Barnardo feels that the appearance of the Ghost may have something to
do with the threat of war. Horatio agrees and goes on to explain that
strange things occurred as omens before the murder of Julius Caesar in
ancient Rome.
The Ghost appears again and once more Horatio tries to speak to it and
find out why it has appeared. However, at the sound of the cock crow
the Ghost disappears despite the attempts of the others to prevent it.
Horatio explains that as day approaches spirits have to return to where
ever they came from.
TASK 4
Now look at the closing of the scene (lines 166-174). Do you notice a
change of atmosphere here?
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Hamlet
Act One Scene Two
SCENE TWO
TASK 5
TASK 6
The scene opens at the court of Claudius, King of Denmark. Claudius
enters with Gertrude, his queen and Hamlet's mother. Look at the first
part of Claudius's opening speech (lines 1-16). What does he have to
say here?
What information do you gather from the second part of the speech?
(lines 17-38).
The business dealt with he then turns his attention to Laertes, the son
of the respected chief councillor, Polonius. Laertes had returned home
from France to attend Claudio's coronation but would now like to
return to France. Claudius gives him permission to leave and now turns
his attention on Hamlet.
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Hamlet
TASK 7
TASK 8
TASK 9
Act One Scene Two
Hamlet's first words are spoken as an aside - "A little more than Kin,
and less than Kind." What do you think Hamlet means by this?
What kind of attitude do Claudius and Gertrude take towards Hamlet?
Hamlet responds by saying that his grief is real and heart-felt not
something put on for show. Claudius then launches into a long speech
addressed directly to Hamlet (lines 87-117). What does he have to say
here?
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Hamlet
TASK 10
TASK 11
Act One Scene Two
The upshot of this is that Claudius does not want Hamlet to return to
his studies in Wittenberg. Gertrude joins Claudius in asking Hamlet to
stay at court and he agrees to obey her. Claudius welcomes this
decision and plans to celebrate the news. Look over the opening part of
the scene and make a note of the dramatic uses of this section.
Left alone Hamlet shows the true state of mind he is in. Read Hamlet's
soliloquy (lines 129-159) carefully. What kind of mood is he in here?
Now make notes on the following aspects of the soliloquy:
•
what you learn from it in terms of advancing the plot.
•
the information it provides you with concerning past events.
•
what you learn about character - that of the speaker and others.
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Hamlet
Act One Scene Two
•
the ideas that it explores.
•
any details of the language used that you find striking.
Having revealed his true state of mind, though, Hamlet realises that he
must hold his peace, there is nothing he can do about the situation.
Horatio, Marcellus and Barnardo enter at this point. He is pleased to
see his old friend and fellow scholar, Horatio, and he makes his
feelings about his father's death and his mother s marriage very clear.
His reference to his father leads Horatio to explain why they are there
and he goes on to describe to Hamlet what they have seen.
TASK 12
How does Hamlet respond to this information?
TASK 13
Left alone at the end of the scene what idea does Hamlet express?
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Hamlet
Act One Scene Three
SCENE THREE
TASK 14
Laertes, who is about to leave for France, says goodbye to his sister,
Ophelia. Laertes raises the issue of Hamlet and the affection he has
been showing towards Ophelia. What is Laertes's opinion of Hamlet's
feelings for Ophelia?
TASK 15
What does Laertes warn Ophelia of?
TASK 16
Polonius enters and is surprised to find that Laertes hasn't left yet.
Polonius, too, takes this opportunity to deliver a lecture, first of all to
Laertes. What advice does Polonius have to give his son?
When he has finished Laertes takes his leave of his father once more.
Before leaving, though, Laertes reminds Ophelia to remember what he
has said to her. When he has gone her father wants to know what her
brother has had to say to her. Polonius has heard of Hamlet's attentions
and endorses his son's advice. It is clear that Ophelia believes that
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Hamlet
Act One Scene Three
Hamlet's expressions of love are genuine but Polonius is scathing
about this. He insists that although Hamlet's words may genuinely
express his present feelings of love these are merely fleeting emotions
fired by youthful passion rather than true depth of feeling. In the end
Polonius tells his daughter that she must not speak to Hamlet again
and, being a dutiful daughter, Ophelia must promise to obey her father.
Make notes on Polonius's attitude towards his son and daughter and to
relationships.
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Hamlet
Act One Scene Four
SCENE FOUR
TASK 17
Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus are on the castle battlements at
Elsinore. It is bitingly cold and just after midnight. The three are
waiting to see if the ghost appears once more. As they wait they hear
the sounds of trumpets and cannon fire from within the castle. Hamlet
explains that the King is holding celebrations and every time a toast is
drunk the trumpets sound and the cannon fires. What is Hamlet's
attitude towards this custom? (lines 14-38)
At this point the ghost appears and Hamlet speaks to it immediately.
He is still in some doubt as to whether it is a good or evil spirit but he
appeals to it using his father's names and asks it why it has left its tomb
to return to the earth. The Ghost does not speak and beckons Hamlet to
follow it but his friends warn him not to go.
TASK 18
What is Horatio worried about here?
Hamlet shrugs off these warnings, though and leaving the others
follows the ghost.
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Hamlet
Act One Scene Five
SCENE FIVE
Hamlet asks the Ghost to speak, saying that he will follow him no
further. The Ghost thenspeaks to Hamlet, telling him that when he
hears what he has to say he will feel bound to take revenge. He
confirms that he is the spirit of Hamlet's father and tells him that he is
in Purgatory where he is.
"Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night,
And, for the day, confin'd to waste in fires
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purg'd away."
(lines 10-13)
He cannot reveal the secrets of Purgatory to Hamlet but it is clear he
undergoes terrible torment there and all because he was unable to
confess his sins and thus receive absolution before he died.
TASK 19
Look carefully at lines 25-91. What does the Ghost have to tell Hamlet
here? Make a list of the key points.
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Hamlet
TASK 20
TASK 21
Act One Scene Five
The Ghost then disappears and Hamlet is left alone. Look carefully at
the soliloquy that he gives at this point. (lines 92-112). What is
Hamlet's state of mind here and how is it conveyed to the audience?
Horatio and the others re-appear and are worried about him but he will
not reveal to them what has happened. He does, however, make them
swear not to reveal what they do know. The Ghost's voice repeats the
word "swear". What does Hamlet warn Horatio and Marcellus to be
alert to from this point on?
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Hamlet
Act Two Scene One
SCENE BY SCENE ANALYSIS - ACT TWO
SCENE ONE
TASK 22
Polonius is giving his servant, Reynaldo, money and letters which he
wants delivered to Laertes in France. What else does Polonius want
Reynaldo to do?
TASK 23
What further do you learn about Polonius's character from his
behaviour here?
TASK 24
Reynaldo leaves and Ophelia enters. She is very upset and agitated.
What has upset her so much?
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Hamlet
Act Two Scene One
Polonius immediately puts this down to the effects of unrequited love
and concludes that he was wrong and that Hamlet's love for his
daughter was genuine after all. He determines to go to the King and tell
him the cause of Hamlet's strange behaviour. He believes that the
effect of Ophelia returning his love letters and refusing to see him, as
her father commanded, has driven him mad.
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Hamlet
Act Two Scene Two
SCENE TWO
Claudius and Gertrude welcome the arrival of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern who have been sent for. They have known Hamlet since
childhood and Claudius hopes that they will be able to find out why he
is acting no strangely. The Queen supports him in this. They leave to
find Hamlet and Polonius enters and announces the return of the
ambassadors who had been sent to Norway. Polonius also maintains
that he believes that he has found the cause of Hamlet's madness.
TASK 25
First of all, though, the political business is dealt with. What is the
outcome of Cornelius and Valtemand's mission to Norway?
The political business concluded Polonius then begins a long-winded
account of what he thinks he has discovered. He reads one of Hamlet's
love letters to Ophelia and when he has finished Claudius asks how she
responded to these declarations of love. Polonius then explains how,
when he commanded Ophelia not to see or speak to Hamlet, he
descended into his present state of madness.
TASK 26
How does Polonius propose to test this theory?
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Hamlet
TASK 27
Act Two Scene Two
What is your impression of the conversation that now takes place
between Polonius and Hamlet?
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter and they and Hamlet greet each
other. Hamlet talks to the pair but he gives nothing away about how he
is really feeling. In fact, he seems to be playing with them here and is
clearly aware that they have been sent for and he goes on to tell them
why.
TASK 28
Look carefully at lines 300-316. What does Hamlet reveal about his
state of mind here?
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern then tell him that a company of actors is
on its way to Elsinore. After some discussion about the theatre
Polonius returns and Hamlet mocks him once more. Polonius talks of
the theatre in his usual long-winded manner but Hamlet's talk
immediately returns to "daughters". The troupe of travelling players
then arrive. Hamlet knows them and greets them like old friends.
Hamlet remembers a speech that he once heard performed and begins
to deliver it. Note that its subject is the revenge killing for the death of
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Hamlet
Act Two Scene Two
a father. The First Player then takes over the reciting of the speech. As
the Player really begins to get into the mood of the piece he becomes
so moved that his colour changes and tears come into his eyes.
Polonius leads the players away but Hamlet has a quiet word alone
with the First Player and asks for a particular play, The Murder of
Gonzago, to be performed for the King and the court. He also asks the
Player if he could learn an extra dozen or sixteen lines that he wants to
insert into the play. Left alone Hamlet begins his third soliloquy.
TASK 29
Look carefully at this soliloquy (lines 553-612). What is Hamlet's
mood during this speech and what does he accuse himself of? Do you
detect a change in mood at the end?
Make detailed notes on this soliloquy and think about the dramatic
effects it has on the play at this point.
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Hamlet
Act Three Scene One
SCENE BY SCENE ANALYSIS - ACT THREE
SCENE ONE
Claudius questions Rosencrantz and Guildenstern about what they
have found out about Hamlet's madness. Rosencrantz tells him that
although Hamlet admits to feeling distracted he will not reveal the
cause. Guildenstern goes on to say that he will not confide in them but
with ". . . a crafty madness, keeps aloof." They also tell Claudius and
the Queen that he was pleased to hear of the arrival of the Players and
the King tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to encourage his interest
in them.
Claudius asks Gertrude to leave as he and Polonius intend to arrange a
'chance' meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia in order to spy on them.
TASK 30
What do the King's words in his aside beginning "O 'tis too true"
(lines 48-54) reveal about him?
TASK 31
Claudius and Polonius conceal themselves and Hamlet enters. Examine
carefully his fourth soliloquy beginning "To be, or not to be" (lines 5689). Make notes on what Hamlet has to say in this soliloquy.
continue over
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Hamlet
Act Three Scene One
At this point he becomes aware of Ophelia's presence. She has come to
return Hamlet's gifts, which he denies sending her.
TASK 32
Now examine their conversation. How do you account for Hamlet's
behaviour towards Ophelia?
When Hamlet leaves, Ophelia's grief at what he has become is plain to
see. Claudius and Polonius enter and it is obvious that the King does
not believe that love is the cause of Hamlet's state. Nor does he believe
he is mad. Rather, he feels that ". . . There's something in his soul
O'er which his melancholy sits on brood;
And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose
Will be some danger:"
(lines 167-170)
His assessment of the situation here is exactly right, and he
immediately decides to send Hamlet to England out of harm's way.
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Hamlet
Act Three Scene One
Polonius, though, persists with his notion that love for Ophelia and
rejection by her is at the bottom of his condition. In a final attempt to
prove he is right he intends to eavesdrop on a private interview
between Hamlet and his mother which he will set up after the play.
Claudius agrees but he obviously senses danger from Hamlet and the
scene ends with his ominous comment "Madness in great ones must not unwatche'd go."
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Hamlet
Act Three Scene Two
SCENE TWO
TASK 33
Hamlet instructs the actors in the speech that he wants inserting into
the play that they are to perform. Polonius enters with Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern and assures him that both the King and Queen will be
present to watch the play. Horatio then enters. What does Hamlet ask
him to do?
The King, Queen, Polonius, Ophelia and the rest of the court enter and
prepare for the entertainment.
TASK 34
How does Hamlet behave before the entertainment begins?
TASK 35
What is the purpose of the dumb-show which precedes The Murder of
Gonzago?
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Hamlet
TASK 36
TASK 37
Act Three Scene Two
How does Hamlet respond to the King's behaviour here?
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter and Guildenstern tells them that
the King is angry at what had happened and feels out of sorts. At first
Hamlet pretends to think that Claudius is drunk but Guildenstern tells
him this is not so. He goes on to say that they have been sent by
Gertrude and Rosencrantz tells Hamlet that his mother wants to speak
to him before going to bed. He then accuses Hamlet of not being open
with them, his friends. How does Hamlet respond to this?
Polonius enters and tells Hamlet that his mother wishes to see him.
Hamlet pokes fun at him and tells him he will come to her shortly.
Left alone Hamlet allows the audience a glimpse of his thoughts in his
fifth soliloquy (lines 386-397).
TASK 38
Look carefully at this soliloquy. What state of mind is Hamlet in here
and how is this communicated through the language?
continue over
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Hamlet
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Act Three Scene Two
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Hamlet
Act Three Scene Three
SCENE THREE
Claudius tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he does not like the
way that Hamlet is behaving and he sees him as a real danger. He
therefore wants the two of them to escort Hamlet to England
immediately.
Rosencrantz comments on how important the well-being of the King is
to the well-being of the state. Polonius then arrives to tell them that
Hamlet is on his way to his mother's room and that he will go there and
hide himself so that he can eavesdrop on their conversation.
TASK 39
TASK 40
Claudius is left alone at this point. Look carefully at his soliloquy
which begins "O, my offence is rank," (lines 36-72). What does this
soliloquy reveal to you about Claudius and does it change your view of
him in any way? Why do his attempts to pray for forgiveness fail?
While Claudius is apparently at prayer Hamlet has what appears to be a
perfect opportunity to take his revenge. Why does he not kill Claudius
at this point? How is this situation ironic?
continue over
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Hamlet
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Act Three Scene Three
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Hamlet
Act Three Scene Four
SCENE FOUR
Polonius is with Gertrude who is awaiting the arrival of Hamlet. He
tells her to be severe with him and then he gets ready to hide as he
hears Hamlet approach. He conceals himself behind the arras as
Hamlet enters.
The Queen begins by rebuking her son for offending his 'father'
(Claudius). However, Hamlet does not accept this and tells her that she
has offended his father (meaning his true father, the dead King) and
goes on to tell her that in his view her marriage to Claudius is an illicit
one. He makes her sit down and won't let her move until he has shown
her her true self. She becomes frightened by his behaviour and calls
out for help fearing for her safety. Polonius hears her calls and takes up
the call for help himself. Hamlet, hearing the voice behind the arras
draws his sword and stabs through the curtain thinking that it is the
King hiding there. However, when he lifts the arras he sees that it is
Polonius that he has killed.
Hamlet does not hesitate to kill whoever is hiding behind the arras.
What are the differences between this situation and the one in scene iii.
where he fails to take the opportunity to kill Claudius?
Hamlet now turns his attention on his mother and tells her in blunt
language of what she has done as he sees it. To make his point more
strongly he invites her to compare two portraits, one of Claudius and
one of Hamlet's father.
Look at the section where Hamlet compares the two (lines 54-82) and
make notes on the points of comparison that he makes.
In the end Hamlet's words hit home and Gertrude's own conscience
begins to prick her and she begs him to stop "Oh Hamlet speak no more,
Thou turn'st mine eyes into my very soul,
And there I see such black and grained spots
As will not leave their tinct."
(lines 89-92)
Hamlet continues, though, and his language becomes even cruder.
Note the bestial and gross sexual imagery here - ". . . live in the rank
sweat of an enseamed bed," ". . . making love over the nasty sty" and so
forth.
TASK 41
Hamlet shows no sign of stopping but at this point the ghost
intervenes. Why does the Ghost re-appear at this point and what effect
does the appearance create?
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Hamlet
Act Three Scene Four
He goes on to beg her to change her ways and to stay apart from
Claudius for one night. If she can do this then it will become easier to
abstain from his company on subsequent occasions.
TASK 42
What does Hamlet go on to reveal to her?
This final dialogue suggests some kind of order being established after
the disorder of the earlier parts of the scene. It also consolidates
Hamlet's re-found trust in his mother. At the end of this Act we are left
anticipating what will happen when the plot and counter-plot of
Claudius and Hamlet meet.
Make notes on the dramatic effects created through the play within the
play and the 'closet scene'.
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Hamlet
Act Four Scene One
SCENE BY SCENE ANALYSIS - ACT FOUR
SCENE ONE
The Queen asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to leave so that she can
speak to the King privately. She goes on to tell Claudius about the
death of Polonius.
TASK 43
How does Claudius respond to this news?
Gertrude speaks of Hamlet's remorse while Claudius makes
arrangements to get him out of the country straightaway. Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern return and the King tells them to find Hamlet and the
body of Polonius and bring it to the chapel.
TASK 44
What is the King's main concern at the end of the scene?
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Hamlet
Act Four Scene Two
SCENE TWO
Hamlet has temporarily hidden the body of Polonius and he hears
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern calling for him. They enter and ask him
where the body is.
TASK 45
Look carefully at Hamlet s response to them. What do you make of
what he has to say?
The three of them go to the King.
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Hamlet
Act Four Scene Three
SCENE THREE
The King with his attendants thinks about the danger that Hamlet poses
and yet he must be careful how he handles the situation because
Hamlet is so popular with the people. Hamlet comes in, now under
guard and accompanied by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
TASK 46
What is the purpose of Hamlet's wordplay concerning maggots and
worms, Kings and beggars?
TASK 47
How does Claudius respond to Hamlet's insults here?
TASK 48
Look at Claudius's soliloquy at the end of the scene. What does he
reveal here?
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Hamlet
Act Four Scene Four
SCENE FOUR
TASK 49
TASK 50
On his way to embark on the ship to England, Hamlet encounters
Fortinbras leading his army across Denmark to attack the Poles.
Hamlet asks one of the Norwegian army captains what is going on.
What does the captain tell Hamlet?
Left alone Hamlet ponders his position in his seventh and final
soliloquy. Examine this soliloquy and note down the key points of
what Hamlet says here.
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Hamlet
Act Four Scene Five
SCENE FIVE
Ophelia has asked to see the Queen and it seems that Gertrude has
refused. A gentleman describes the distressed state that she is in and
Horatio tells the Queen it would be best to see her or dangerous
suspicions may grow in their minds of those who might wish to make
trouble. In the end the Queen agrees to see her.
TASK 51
What is your impression of Ophelia when she appears and what is the
significance of the snatches of songs that she sings?
How does Claudius respond to Ophelia's madness?
TASK 52
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Hamlet
Act Four Scene Five
At this point a noise is heard and a messenger enters and tells the King
that Laertes has arrived at the head of a mob who are calling for
Laertes to be King. The doors are broken open and Laertes with armed
followers enter.
TASK 53
TASK 54
Now examine the confrontation between Laertes and the King
beginning with "O thou vile King" to the point where Ophelia enters
(lines 113-153). How does Claudius handle this situation?
At this point Ophelia re-enters. Think about Laertes's response here
and use the box for your answer. What does it reveal to you?
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Hamlet
Act Four Scene Six
SCENE SIX
Some sailors come to Horatio with letters from Hamlet. Horatio reads
one of the letters and it tells him that the ship on which Hamlet was
bound for England had been attacked by pirates. The pirates grappled
his ship and Hamlet boarded the ship, presumably leading the
defenders of his ship. Just as he boarded it, though, the two ships broke
apart again and he became the prisoner of the pirates. It was clear to
them that Hamlet was an important person and they would be wellrewarded for returning him and so did a deal with them. He asks that
Horatio sends the other letters to the King and tells him that he has
much more to tell him including news about Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern. The sailors tell Horatio where he can find Hamlet.
TASK 55
What kind of picture does this letter paint of Hamlet and does it
contrast with the picture you have of him so far?
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Hamlet
Act Four Scene Seven
SCENE SEVEN
TASK 56
The King and Laertes enter. Laertes asks Claudius why, as Hamlet
may have tried to kill Claudius, action had not been taken against him
earlier. What reasons does Claudius give in answer to this?
Laertes contents himself with the thought that he will take revenge
himself.
A messenger brings letters for the King and Gertrude from Hamlet and
they learn that he has returned to Denmark. In response to this letter
Claudius now sets in motion the second scheme against Hamlet's life
and he makes full use of Laertes's desire for revenge. Notice here how
the King cleverly manipulates Laertes so that by this stage Laertes, far
from blaming him for Polonius's death has become his eager
accomplice and the means by which Claudius will kill Hamlet.
TASK 57
Make a note of the key points of Claudius's plot.
At this point their plotting is interrupted by the entrance of the Queen
with the news that Ophelia is drowned. Read the Queen's description
of Ophelia's death. What is your response to this description? Think
carefully about how language and imagery is used here. What do you
think worries Claudius after the news of Ophelia's death?
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Hamlet
Act Four Scene Seven
Make notes on the key elements of Act IV. These should include the
following •
Hamlet's soliloquy beginning "How all occasions do
against me". (Act IV Scene iv)
inform
• Ophelia's madness and death
• The plot against Hamlet devised by Claudius and Laertes.
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Hamlet
Act Five Scene One
SCENE BY SCENE ANALYSIS - ACT FIVE
SCENE ONE
TASK 58
The gravedigger and his assistant discuss the uncertainty surrounding
the death of Ophelia. What does this uncertainty consist of?
TASK 59
The two go on to banter about grave-digging as Hamlet and Horatio
enter. As the gravedigger continues to dig he throws up a skull which
Hamlet looks at. What thoughts does this skull provoke in Hamlet?
The gravedigger throws up another skull and Hamlet ponders further
the disparity between what the owner of the skull might have been in
life and what he has now become. Hamlet asks the gravedigger whose
grave is being dug. He does not get a straight answer, though, and the
pair engage in some wordplay. The gravedigger clearly does not
recognise Hamlet because he mentions that Hamlet has gone mad and
has been sent to England.
Hamlet, still thinking about the idea of death, asks the gravedigger how
long a body might lie in the earth before it decomposes. The
gravedigger replies with grain humour that nowadays there are "many
pocky corpses" infected with "the pox" or syphilis that will barely last
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Hamlet
Act Five Scene One
until burial but those aside "he will last you some eight year, or nine
year." A tanner will last longer because his skin is so tanned with his
trade that it will keep out water longer. He picks a skull up from the
earth that has lain there twenty-three years. It turns out that it is the
skull of the old King, Hamlet's father's jester, Yorick.
TASK 60
TASK 61
Look at Hamlet's speech as he ponders the skull, "Alas poor Yorick!"
(lines 186-216). What does Hamlet have to say here and what is its
dramatic effect?
Horatio and Hamlet move back. What does he notice about the
funeral?
Grief stricken Laertes leaps into the grave and at this point Hamlet
steps forward and leaps into the grave too. The two grapple with each
other until physically parted.
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Hamlet
Act Five Scene One
What is the effect of this incident?
TASK 62
Hamlet leaves and the scene ends with Claudius reminding Laertes of
their recent talk and he urges him to be patient.
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Hamlet
Act Five Scene Two
SCENE TWO
Hamlet tells Horatio about what happened on board the ship.
Note down the key points of what happened and what became of
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Hamlet clearly spares little thought for the fate of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern and he replies to Horatio's implied criticism of his actions
"Why, man, they did make love to this employment;
They are not near my conscience; their defeat
Does by their own insinuation grow."
(lines 57-59)
TASK 63
Why do you think Hamlet feels like this? Does this alter your view of
him?
What does he go on to say about Laertes?
TASK 64
The atmosphere is lightened by the entry of Osric, the foppish courtier.
Osric, in a long-winded and affected manner tells Hamlet how his
uncle has backed Hamlet to win a duel with Laertes. He has wagered
six Barbary horses against six French rapiers with all their
accoutrements that in twelve bouts Laertes will not score more that
three hits more than Hamlet. He agrees that he will try to win for the
King and Osric leaves to convey this message to him. Hamlet and
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Hamlet
TASK 65
TASK 66
TASK 67
Act Five Scene Two
Horatio make fun of the pretentious courtier and another courtier
comes to enquire if Hamlet accepts the duel and to announce that the
King and Queen and the court are coming. What specific message does
the Queen send here?
After the Lord has left, however, Horatio warns Hamlet that he will
lose the wager and Hamlet himself clearly feels some foreboding about
the whole business. He offers to help Hamlet withdraw from the
contest. How does Hamlet respond to Horatio's warning?
The King and Queen enter together with Laertes and members of the
court look at the public reconciliation between Hamlet and Laertes
(lines 221-247). How do they compare for sincerity and what dramatic
effect does this apparent reconciliation have?
continue over
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Hamlet
TASK 68
TASK 69
Act Five Scene Two
What effect does Laertes 'confession' have?
Horatio, seeing his friend and prince dying initially wants to die with
him and looks to drink what remains of the poison. How does Hamlet
persuade his friend not to follow him in death?
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Hamlet
Act Five Scene Two
As he is dying Hamlet nominates Fortinbras, who is approaching with
his army, as the next King of Denmark. Hamlet dies and Fortinbras
enters together with the English ambassadors who bring news of the
execution of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
The play ends with Horatio saying that he has much to tell and
Fortinbras takes control of the situation ordering Hamlet's body to be
carried out with full honours.
What is your response to Fortinbras's closing words about Hamlet?
Make notes on how satisfactory you find this closing scene as a
conclusion to the play.
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Hamlet
Characterisation - Hamlet
CHARACTERISATION
HAMLET
Over the years much debate has centred on the character of Hamlet and
the part that certain features of his character played in his ultimate
tragedy. Various critics have adopted various stances. Here are some of
the different ways in which his character has been viewed:
•
A character who normally would have been equal to the task of
exacting revenge but who in this instance experienced a profound
melancholy which made it difficult for him to take direct action.
•
A character who is great and noble in spirit but whose actions are
not controlled by his nobility but by accidental circumstances that
are beyond his control.
•
A character who combines many qualities but who cannot carry out
that which he resolves to do.
•
A character who is by nature philosophical and reflective and prone
to question all things. He is therefore more aware than most of the
implications of the actions that he takes.
•
Hamlet's introspection and self-questioning hides his underlying
lack of resolve. He doesn't believe in anything, including
himself and so does nothing.
•
Hamlet is a scholar and a man of sensitivity who finds it difficult to
commit the violent and crude acts demanded of him.
•
He is a character who wants to take revenge but has few
opportunities to do so. When presented with the opportunity he
takes positive action.
Choose TWO of these readings of the character of Hamlet and make
notes on what it is in the play that enables these interpretations to be
made.
Now let's have a closer look at some aspects of Hamlet's character.
Turn to Act 1 Scene ii and look at Hamlet's first appearance in the
play. Notice that his first words are spoken as an aside - his reply to
Claudius "A little more than Kin, and less than kind."
How does Hamlet appear to you at this point?
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Hamlet
Characterisation - Hamlet
Now look at his soliloquy (line 129-159) beginning "O that this too too solid flesh would melt,"
Make detailed notes on what he is saying here. Does this confirm the
picture you developed of him in the first part of the scene?
From now on Hamlet experiences a series of crisis points or critical
moments in the play. A good deal can be revealed about his character
by how he reacts at these moments.
Draw up a chart of these scenes and briefly describe what happens and
what they reveal about Hamlet's character. For example we have
already noted in Act 1 Scene ii his bitterness and hostility towards
Claudius and in his soliloquy his deep despair and disillusionment.
Use the following as prompts •
•
•
•
What Hamlet says or does and why
What happens as a result or what prompts his actions
What this tells us about his character
Does he change in any way as a result?
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Hamlet
Characterisation – Hamlet and Ophelia
HAMLET AND OPHELIA
The question often arises about the way that Hamlet treats Ophelia. He
seems particularly hard on her in Act III Scene i and in the 'play within
the play' scene, Act III Scene ii. She has encountered his behaviour
earlier too which she reports to her father in Act II Scene i.
TASK 70
Why do you think that Hamlet is so hard on her?
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Hamlet
Characterisation – Hamlet’s ‘inaction’
HAMLET'S 'INACTION'
TASK 71
One of the criticisms often made about the character of Hamlet is that
he spends too much time thinking and philosophising and not enough
actually carrying out his act of revenge against Claudius. This view
seems to be borne out by Hamlet himself. Look at his soliloquy in Act
IV Scene iv, lines 32-65. What is he saying here?
It is worth thinking about the question of whether or not this criticism
of 'inaction' is justified though. It is easy to see why Hamlet should be
the first to accuse himself. He has the responsibility of revenging his
father s murder and so he feels keenly the fact that Claudius still lives.
Under the circumstances it should be no surprise that he is hard on
himself.
TASK 72
Think about the action of the play and make a note of the occasions
when Hamlet has a clear-cut opportunity to kill Claudius.
TASK 73
Look carefully at Hamlet's reasons for not taking the opportunity to kill
Claudius (lines 73-96) when he is ‘praying’ in the chapel in Act III
Scene iii . Do you find the reasons valid?
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Hamlet
Characterisation – Hamlet’s ‘inaction’
When Hamlet visits his mother in her room he thinks that Claudius is
hiding behind the arras and acts decisively. He is not to know that it is,
in fact, Polonius behind the arras.
TASK 74
From this point on Hamlet is watched continually and Claudius is
clearly aware of the threat he poses. His despatch to England is quickly
arranged and there are no more clear opportunities for him to take. In
fact from this point on Hamlet's actions are really responses to
circumstances that are beyond his control. Make a list of the things that
happen over which Hamlet has no control.
In the end he does take his revenge but it is a revenge that is not
planned and controlled by him but is a response to the actions of
others.
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Hamlet
Characterisation – Claudius
CLAUDIUS
Although Claudius is clearly a wicked character he is rather more
complex than simply the stage villain. In many ways he can be seen as
a character with many contradictions.
Think about the different ways in which the following characters view
him and make a note of how each one sees him. Include some key
quotations to illustrate your points.
•
•
•
•
•
•
Hamlet
Gertrude
Polonius
Ophelia
Laertes
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Wholly evil or redeeming qualities?
This is a question that is often asked in relation to the character of
Claudius and the answer depends very much on your reading of his
character.
TASK 75
How do you see his character?
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Hamlet
Characterisation – Claudius
It is possible to see Claudius as a man who is tempted by both a desire
for power and by his desire for the Queen. His succumbing to
temptation, though, leaves him tormented by his guilty conscience.
TASK 76
TASK 77
What evidence would you use to support this interpretation of his
character?
Think about the different views of Claudius, all of which are equally
valid depending on what is emphasised and what ignored in the
interpretation of him. What effect do you think each interpretation has
on the overall effect of the play?
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Hamlet
Characterisation – Claudius
The reading that takes account of the contradictions of Claudius's
character is less neat but it does raise more questions such as
•
•
What makes a good King?
How can Claudius claim the 'divinity' that 'hedges' a King?
In the end you must weigh the evidence and formulate your own view
of the character.
Make notes on your own responses to the character of Claudius.
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Hamlet
Characterisation – Ophelia
OPHELIA
TASK 78
TASK 78
TASK 79
Think about the character of Ophelia and make a list of words that you
might apply to her and the situation she finds herself in during the
course of the play.
However, it is possible to see in Ophelia more than a rather weak
young woman who simply obeys the wishes of her father and brother
and then accepts the harangues of Hamlet without question. She must
obey the wishes of her father, but can you think of any parts of the play
where Ophelia could be seen to show spirit?
What other purpose do you think that Ophelia serves in the play?
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Hamlet
TASK 80
Characterisation – Ophelia
In the end, in her madness, Ophelia reveals her subconscious
preoccupations. What do you think these are?
Now make notes on the following characters:
Gertrude, Laertes, Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Horatio,
Fortinbras.
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Hamlet
Themes and Issues
THEMES AND ISSUES
In identifying some central themes of the play it is important to
remember that these, like the characters, are open to interpretation.
Shakespeare didn t write his plays with a neat list of topics that he was
going to discuss and draw attention to. You may find that different
critical books focus on different thematic areas and one book may
stress certain areas while others attaches more importance to another.
Having said that, though, it is possible to see emerging from the play
certain key ideas or issues that are returned to again and again as the
play develops.
Here are some themes and issues that it is possible to identify in the
play.
REVENGE
ORDER AND DISORDER
APPEARANCE AND REALITY
WOMEN AND SEXUALITY
DEATH
BETRAYAL
Let's have a closer look at these ideas and the importance that they play
in the play.
REVENGE
TASK 81
Think carefully about the idea of REVENGE. Which characters in the
play seek some kind of revenge and why?
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Hamlet
TASK 82
Themes and Issues
What effect, dramatically, do you think Laertes and Fortinbras serve in
their role of revengers?
Hamlet compares himself to Fortinbras in Act IV Scene iv. Look at his
soliloquy (lines 32-66) which begins "How all occasions do inform
against me,”.
What is the point of him comparing himself to Fortinbras here?
Now make notes on the theme of REVENGE as you see it developed
through the plot and characters of the play.
ORDER AND DISORDER
The whole issue of order and disorder throughout the play is linked to
the idea of revenge. Claudius has interrupted the established order of
events by killing the rightful King and thus prompting the need for
Hamlet's revenge. Laertes is driven by his desire for revenge to flout
the established order in order to achieve his ends. When he arrives in
search of vengeance he will "dare damnation" and a little later when
Claudius wants to know just how far he will go to achieve his
vengeance he says of Hamlet that he would ". . . cut his throat : i' th'
church." (IV vii line 127).
Make a list of the different ways that the established order is disrupted
in the play and note how the ensuing disorder escalates to the final
tragedy.
APPEARANCE AND REALITY
Throughout the play there are many discrepancies between how things
appear to be and how they actually are.
Make notes on these discrepancies as found in the following aspects of
the play:
•
At the court as seen in Act I Scene ii
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Hamlet
Themes and Issues
•
The image Claudius projects as opposed to the reality behind this
image
•
How different characters see a) Gertrude and b) Ophelia
•
The presentation of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
•
Where Hamlet is 'seeming' or acting a part and where he presents a
genuine face.
WOMEN AND SEXUALITY
Various attitudes to women and sexuality are expressed throughout the
play.
TASK 83
Think carefully about the element of the play and make a list of the key
areas where you think ideas on this theme are expressed:
DEATH
In many ways one of the key themes that over-arches this play is that
of 'DEATH'.
'Death' is obviously a real presence in the play right from the outset Hamlet's father is dead, and then various other deaths follow.
TASK 84
More than this, though, the theme of 'death' is pursued in a variety of
ways. Think about the theme of 'death' in relation to the workings of
Hamlet's mind. It is possible to see the play in terms of him working
through his own attitude towards death. Plot these stages for yourself.
Make notes on the key themes of the play as you see them and discuss
how they are developed throughout the play.
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Hamlet
Prose and Verse
PROSE AND VERSE
It is often said that in Shakespearean drama the main or 'noble' or 'high'
characters speak in verse, which is appropriate to their status and
positions, while the lower orders, the comic or plebeian characters
speak in prose. However, even a cursory look at the language of the
play reveals the complete inadequacy of this explanation. For example,
Hamlet himself uses both verse and prose, Ophelia speaks in verse but
in her madness prose, while Francisco and Barnado, very minor
characters and simple, ordinary soldiers begin the play in verse. In the
play scene all the audience speak in prose to distinguish that dialogue
from the play within the play which is written in rhyming couplets.
Whether a character speaks in verse or prose, therefore, is really to do
with the particular circumstances of the scene, the characters involved
and the dramatic effect that Shakespeare wants to achieve. When
Shakespeare shifts from verse to prose or prose to verse there will
always be a dramatic reason why he has decided to make that change.
Find three places in the play where Shakespeare moves between verse
and prose and explain why you think he makes the change.
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
CLOSE TEXTUAL STUDY QUESTIONS
Remind yourself of this extract from the play. It is taken from Act
I Scene ii.
Write a detailed commentary on the extract paying particular attention
to:
•
•
•
Hamlet’s state of mind
his use of language
the effect this extract has on the audience and its importance to the
rest of the play.
HAMLET
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O that this too too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fix'd
His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on 't! ah fie! 'tis an unweeded garden
That grows to seed; things rank and gross in
nature
Possess it merely. That it should come to this!
But two months dead! nay not so much,
not two:
So excellent a king, that was, to this
Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother,
That he might not beteem the winds of heaven
Visit her face too roughly. Heaven and earth!
Must I remember? why, she would hang on him,
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on: and yet within a month, Let me not think on't - frailty, thy name is
woman!
A little month or ere those shoes were old
With which she follow'd my poor father's body,
Like Niobe, all tears; why she, even she O God! a beast that wants discourse of reason,
Would have mourn'd longer, - married with my
uncle,
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules: within a month;
Ere yet the salt of most unrighteous tears
Had left the flushing in her galled eyes,
She married. O, most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets!
It is not, nor it cannot come to good:
But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue.
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Remind yourself of this extract from the play. It is taken from Act
I Scene iii.
Write a detailed commentary on the extract paying particular attention
to:
•
•
•
the interplay between Ophelia and Laertes;
the effect of this scene on your thoughts and feelings;
the effect this extract has on the audience and its importance to the
rest of the play.
Enter LAERTES and OPHELIA his sister
LAERTES
OPHELIA
LAERTES
My necessaries are embark'd: Farewell:
And, sister, as the winds give benefit,
And convoy is assistant, do not sleep,
But let me hear from you.
Do you doubt that?
For Hamlet, and the trifling of his favour,
Hold it a fashion, and a toy in blood;
A violet in the youth of primy nature,
Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting,
The perfume and suppliance of a minute;
No more.
OPHELIA
LAERTES
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5
10
No more but so?
Think it no more:
For nature, crescent, does not grow alone
In thews and bulk, but as this temple waxes,
The inward service of the mind and soul
Grows wide withal. Perhaps he loves you now,
And now no soil nor cautel doth besmirch
The virtue of his will: but you must fear,
His greatness weighed, his will is not his own;
For he himself is subject to his birth:
He may not, as unvalued persons do,
Carve for himself, for on his choice depends
The safety and health of this whole state;
And therefore must his choice be circumscribed
Unto the voice and yielding of that body
Whereof he is the head. Then if he says he
loves you,
It fits your wisdom so far to believe it
As he in his particular act and place
May give his saying deed; which is no further
Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal.
Then weigh what loss your honour may
sustain,
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
If with too credent ear you list his songs,
Or lose your heart, or your chaste treasure open
To his unmastered importunity.
Fear it, Ophelia, fear it, my dear sister,
And keep you in the rear of your affection,
Out of the shot and danger of desire.
The chariest maid is prodigal enough
If she unmask her beauty to the moon:
Virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious strokes;
The canker galls the infants of the spring
Too oft before their buttons be disclosed,
And in the morn and liquid dew of youth
Contagious blastments are most imminent.
Be wary then; best safety lies in fear:
Youth to itself rebels, though none else near.
OPHELIA
I shall the effect of this good lesson keep
,
As watchman to my heart. But, good my brother,
Do not, as some ungracious pastors do,
Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven,
Whiles like a puffed and reckless libertine,
Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads,
And recks not his own rede.
LAERTES
O, fear me not.
I stay too long: but here my
father comes.
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Remind yourself of this extract from the play. It is taken from Act
II Scene ii.
Write a detailed commentary on the extract paying particular attention
to:
•
•
•
Hamlet’s attitude towards Rosencrantz and Guildenstern;
the effect of this extract on your own thoughts and feelings;
the importance of this extract to the rest of the play.
ROSENCRANTZ }
GUILDENSTERN } We'll wait upon you.
HAMLET
ROSENCRANTZ
HAMLET
GUILDENSTERN
HAMLET
ROSENCRANTZ
HAMLET
ROSENCRANTZ
HAMLET
GUILDENSTERN
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No such matter: I will not sort you with the
rest of my servants; for to speak to you like an
honest man, I am most dreadfully attended. But,
in the beaten way of friendship, what make you at
Elsinore?
5
To visit you, my lord, no other occasion.
Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks, but I
thank you: and sure, dear friends, my thanks are too
dear a halfpenny. Were you not sent for? Is it your 10
own inclining? Is it a free visitation? Come,
deal justly with me: Come, come; nay, speak.
What should we say, my lord?
Why, any thing but to the purpose. You were sent
for; and there is a kind of confession in your looks, 15
which your modesties have not craft enough to
colour: I know the good king and queen have
sent for you.
To what end, my lord?
That you must teach me. But let me conjure you, 20
by the rights of our fellowship, by the consonancy
of our youth, by the obligation of our everpreserved love, and by what more dear a better
proposer can charge you withal, be even and direct
with me, whether you were sent for, or no?
25
[Aside to GUILDENSTERN] What say you?
[Aside ] Nay, then, I have an eye of you. If you
love me, hold not off.
My lord, we were sent for.
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
HAMLET
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I will tell you why; so shall my anticipation prevent 30
your discovery, and your secrecy to the king and
queen moult no feather. I have of late - but
wherefore I know not - lost all my mirth, forgone all
custom of exercises; and, indeed, it goes so heavily
with my disposition that this goodly frame, the
35
earth, seems to me a sterile promontory, this most
excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave
o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted
with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to
me but a foul and pestilent congregation of
40
vapours. What a piece of work is a man! How noble
in reason! how infinite in faculties! in form and
moving, how express and admirable! in action, how
like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the
beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And 45
yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? Man
delights not me; no, nor woman neither,
though by your smiling you seem to say so.
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Remind yourself of this extract from the play. It is taken from Act
II Scene ii.
Write a detailed commentary on the extract paying particular attention
to:
•
•
•
Hamlet’s state of mind at this point in the play;
the effect of this extract on your own thoughts and feelings;
the importance of this extract to the rest of the play.
HAMLET
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Now I am alone.
O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit,
That from her working all his visage wann'd;
Tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing!
For Hecuba!
What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,
That he should weep for her? What would he do,
Had he the motive and the cue for passion
That I have? He would drown the stage with
tears
And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,
Make mad the guilty, and appal the free,
Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed
The very faculties of eyes and ears.
Yet I,
A dull and muddy-mettled rascal, peak,
Like John-a-dreams, unpregnant of my cause,
And can say nothing; no, not for a king,
Upon whose property and most dear life
A damn'd defeat was made. Am I a coward?
Who calls me villain? breaks my pate across?
Plucks off my beard, and blows it in my face?
Tweaks me by the nose? gives me the lie i' the
throat,
As deep as to the lungs? who does me this?
Ha!
'Swounds, I should take it; for it cannot be
But I am pigeon-livered and lack gall
To make oppression bitter, or ere this
I should have fatted all the region kites
With this slave's offal. Bloody, bawdy villain!
Remorseless, treacherous, lecherous, kindless
villain!
O vengeance!
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Why, what an ass am I! This is most brave,
That I, the son of a dear father murdered,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words,
And fall a-cursing like a very drab,
A scullion!
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40
Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Remind yourself of this extract from the play. It is taken from Act
III Scene i.
Write a detailed commentary on the extract paying particular attention
to:
•
•
•
•
Hamlet’s state of mind here
the way his thoughts develop;
his use of language and imagery;
the importance of this extract to the rest of the play.
Enter HAMLET
HAMLET
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To be, or not to be, that is the question:
Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them? To die, to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to; 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep;
To sleep! perchance to dream, ay there's the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause: there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life;
For who would bear the whips and scorns of
time,
The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's
contumely,
The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might be quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovered country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action. Soft you now!
The fair Ophelia! Nymph, in thy orisons
Be all my sins remembered.
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Remind yourself of this extract from the play. It is taken from Act
III Scene iii.
Write a detailed commentary on the extract paying particular attention
to:
•
•
•
what it reveals about Claudius;
the effect of this extract on your own thoughts and feelings;
the importance of this extract to the rest of the play.
KING
O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon 't,
A brother's murder. Pray can I not,
Though inclination be as sharp as will:
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent,
5
And like a man to double business bound,
I stand in pause when I shall first begin,
And both neglect. What if this cursed hand
Were thicker than itself with brother's blood,
Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens
10
To wash it white as snow? Whereto serves mercy
But to confront the visage of offence?
And what's in prayer but this two-fold force,
To be forestalled ere we come to fall,
Or pardoned being down? Then I'll look up;
15
My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer
Can serve my turn? 'Forgive me my foul murder'?
That cannot be since I am still possessed
Of those effects for which I did the murder,
My crown, mine own ambition and my Queen,
20
May one be pardoned and retain the offence?
In the corrupted currents of this world
Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice,
And oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself
Buys out the law. But 'tis not so above;
25
There is no shuffling, there the action lies
In his true nature, and we ourselves compelled,
Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults,
To give in evidence. What then? What rests?
Try what repentance can - what can it not?
30
Yet what can it, when one can not repent?
O wretched state! O bosom black as death!
O limed soul, that struggling to be free,
Art more engaged! Help, angels! Make assay!
Bow, stubborn knees, and heart with strings of
35
steel,
Be soft as sinews of the new-born babe!
All may be well.
[Kneels
Enter Hamlet
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
HAMLET
KING [Rising]
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Now might I do it pat, now he is praying;
And now I'll do 't - and so he goes to heaven;
And so am I revenged. That would be scanned:
A villain kills my father, and for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send
To heaven.
O, this is hire and salary, not revenge.
He took my father grossly, full of bread,
With all his crimes broad blown, as flush as May,
And how his audit stands who knows save heaven?
But in our circumstance and course of thought,
'Tis heavy with him: and am I then revenged,
To take him in the purging of his soul,
When he is fit and seasoned for his passage?
No!
Up, sword, and know thou a more horrid hent,
When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,
Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed,
At game, swearing, or about some act
That has no relish of salvation in't;
Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven,
And that his soul may be as damned and black
As hell, whereto it goes. My mother stays.
This physic but prolongs thy sickly days.
My words fly up, my thoughts remain
below.
Words without thoughts never to heaven go.
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60
Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Remind yourself of this extract from the play. It is taken from Act
IV Scene iv.
Write a detailed commentary on the extract paying particular attention
to:
•
•
•
Hamlet’s state of mind;
the effect of this extract on your own thoughts and feelings;
the importance of this extract to the rest of the play.
HAMLET
Good sir, whose powers are these?
CAPTAIN
They are of Norway sir.
HAMLET
How purposed, sir, I pray you?
CAPTAIN
Against some part of Poland.
HAMLET
Who commands them, sir?
CAPTAIN
HAMLET
The nephew to old Norway, Fortinbras.
Goes it against the main of Poland sir,
Or for some frontier?
CAPTAIN
Truly to speak, and with no addition,
We go to gain a little patch of ground
That hath in it no profit but the name.
To pay five ducats, five, I would not farm it;
Nor will it yield to Norway or the Pole
A ranker rate, should it be sold in fee.
5
10
HAMLET
Why, then the Polack never will defend it.
15
CAPTAIN
Yes, it is already garrisoned.
HAMLET
Two thousand souls and twenty thousand ducats
Will not debate the question of this straw.
This is the imposthume of much wealth and peace,
That inward breaks, and shows no cause without
20
Why the man dies. I humbly thank you sir.
CAPTAIN
God be wi', you sir.
[Exit
ROSENCRANTZ
HAMLET
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Will't please you go my lord?
I'll be with you straight, go a little before.
[Exeunt all except Hamlet
How all occasions do inform against me,
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25
Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
And spur my dull revenge! What is a man,
If his chief good and market of his time
Be but to sleep and feed? a beast, no more.
Sure, he that made us with such large discourse,
Looking before and after, gave us not
that capability and god-like reason
To fust in us unused. Now whether it be
Bestial oblivion, or some craven scruple
Of thinking too precisely on the event A thought which quarter'd hath but one part
wisdom,
And ever three parts coward - I do not know
Why yet I live to say 'This thing's to do',
Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and
means
To do't. Examples gross as earth exhort me:
Witness this army of such mass and charge,
Led by a delicate and tender prince;
Whose spirit with divine ambition puffed
Makes mouths at the invisible event,
Exposing what is mortal, and unsure
To all that fortune, death, and danger dare,
Even for an egg-shell. Rightly to be great
Is not to stir without great argument,
But greatly to find quarrel in a straw
When honour's at the stake. How stand I then,
That have a father killed, a mother stained,
Excitements of my reason and my blood,
And let all sleep? while, to my shame, I see
The imminent death of twenty thousand men,
That for a fantasy and trick of fame
Go to their graves like beds, fight for a plot
Whereon the numbers cannot try to cause,
Which is not tomb enough and continent
To hide the slain? O, from this time forth,
My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth. [Exit
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50
55
Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Remind yourself of this extract from the play. It is taken from Act
IV Scene v.
Write a detailed commentary on the extract paying particular attention
to:
•
•
•
•
Laertes’ state of mind;
the significance of Ophelia’s songs;
the effect of this extract on your own thoughts and feelings;
the importance of this extract to the rest of the play.
LAERTES
How now! what noise is that?
Enter OPHELIA
OPHELIA
O heat, dry up my brains! tears seven times salt
Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eyes!
By heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight,
Till our scale turn the beam. O rose of May!
Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia! O heavens! is't possible a young maid's wits
Should be as mortal as an old man's life!
Nature is fine in love, and where 'tis fine,
It sends some precious instance of itself
After the thing it loves.
[Sings]
They bore him barefaced on the bier; [Sings]
Hey non nonny, nonny, hey nonny,
And in his grave rain'd many a tear Fare you well my dove!
LAERTES
Hadst thou thy wits, and didst persuade revenge,
It could not move thus.
OPHELIA
You must sing Down a-down', an you call
him a-down-a. O, how the wheel becomes it! It is
the false steward that stole his master's daughter.
LAERTES
This nothing's more than matter.
OPHELIA
There's rosemary, that's for remembrance;
pray, love, remember: and there is pansies
that's for thoughts.
LAERTES
A document in madness, thoughts and
remembrance fitted.
OPHELIA
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There's fennel for you, and columbines: there's
rue for you; and here's some for me: we may
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
call it herb-grace o' Sundays - O, you must wear
your rue with a difference. There's a daisy: I would
give you some violets, but they withered all when 30
my father died: they say 'a made a good end [Sings] For bonny sweet Robin is all my joy.
LAERTES
Thought and affliction, passion, hell itself,
She turns to favour and to prettiness.
OPHELIA
[Sings] And will he not come again?'
And will he not come again?
No, no, he is dead,
Go to thy death-bed,
He never will come again.
35
His beard was as white as snow,
40
All flaxen was his poll.
He is gone, he is gone,
And we cast away moan.
God ha' mercy on his soul!
And of all Christian souls I pray God. God be wi' ye.
[Exit
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Remind yourself of this extract from the play. It is taken from Act
IV Scene vii.
Write a detailed commentary on the extract paying particular attention
to:
•
•
•
the relationship between Claudius and Laertes;
the effect of this extract on your own thoughts and feelings;
the importance of this extract to the rest of the play.
KING
Laertes, was your father dear to you?
Or are you like the painting of a sorrow,
A face without a heart?
LAERTES
Why ask you this?
KING
Not that I think you did not love your father,
But that I know love is begun by time,
And that I see, in passages of proof,
Time qualifies the spark and fire of it.
There lives within the very flame of love
A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it;
And nothing is at a like goodness still;
For goodness, growing to a pleurisy,
Dies in his own too much: that we would do
We should do when we would, for this 'would'
changes,
And hath abatements and delays as many
As there are tongues, are hands, are accidents;
And then this 'should' is like a spendthrift's sigh,
That hurts by easing. But to the quick o' the ulcer Hamlet comes back: what would you undertake
To show yourself your father's son in deed
More than in words?
5
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LAERTES
To cut his throat i' th' church.
KING
No place indeed should murder sanctuarize;
Revenge should have no bounds. But, good Laertes,
Will you do this, keep close within your chamber. 25
Hamlet returned shall know you are come home;
We'll put on those shall praise your excellence,
And set a double varnish on the fame
The Frenchman gave you, bring you in fine together,
And wager on your heads; he being remiss,
30
Most generous, and free from all contriving,
Will not peruse the foils, so that with ease,
Or with a little shuffling, you may choose
A sword unbated, and in a pass of practice
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Requite him for your father.
LAERTES
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I will do't
And, for that purpose I'll anoint my sword.
I bought an unction of a mountebank,
So mortal, that but dip a knife in it,
Where it draws blood no cataplasm so rare,
Collected from all simples that have virtue
Under the moon, can save the thing from death
That is but scratched withal. I'll touch my point
With this contagion, that, if I gall him slightly,
It may be death.
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35
40
Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Remind yourself of this extract from the play. It is taken from Act
V Scene i.
Write a detailed commentary on the extract paying particular attention
to:
•
•
•
Hamlet’s attitude and state of mind;
the effect of this extract on your own thoughts and feelings;
the importance of this extract to the rest of the play.
HAMLET
Let me see. Alas poor Yorick! I knew him,
Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent
fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand
times, and now how abhorred in my imagination it
is! my gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips
5
that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be
your gibes now? your gambols? your songs, your
flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the
table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own
grinning? quite chap-fallen? Now get you to
10
my lady's chamber, and tell her, let her paint an
inch thick, to this favour she must come; make her
laugh at that. Prithee, Horatio, tell me one thing.
HORATIO
What's that, my lord?
HAMLET
Dost thou think Alexander looked o’ this
fashion i' the earth?
HORATIO
E'en so.
HAMLET
And smelt so? Pah!
HORATIO
E'en so, my lord.
HAMLET
To what base uses we may return, Horatio!
Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of
Alexander, till he find it stopping a bung-hole?
HORATIO
'Twere to consider too curiously to consider so.
HAMLET
No, faith, not a jot, but to follow him thither with
modesty enough, and likelihood to lead it;
25
as thus - Alexander died, Alexander was buried,
Alexander returneth into dust, the dust is earth, of
earth we make loam, and why of that loam whereto
he was converted might they not stop a beer barrel?
Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay,
30
Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.
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15
[Puts down the skull
20
Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
O, that that earth which kept the world in awe
Should patch a wall to expel the winter's flaw!
But soft! but soft! aside - Here comes the King,
Enter the KING, QUEEN, LAERTES in funeral procession
following the corpse of OPHELIA, then the DOCTOR of
DIVINITY and LORDS
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Hamlet
Close Textual Study Questions
Remind yourself of this extract from the play. It is taken from Act
V Scene ii.
Write a detailed commentary on the extract paying particular attention
to:
•
•
•
Hamlet’s mood and state of mind;
the effect of this extract on your own thoughts and feelings;
the importance of this extract to the rest of the play.
Enter a LORD
LORD
HAMLET
My lord, his majesty commended him to you by
Young Osric, who brings back to him, that you
attend him in the hall. He sends to know if your
pleasure hold to play with Laertes, or that you will
take longer time.
5
I am constant to my purposes. They follow the
King's pleasure. If his fitness speaks, mine is ready;
now or whensoever, provided I be so able as now.
LORD
The King and Queen and all are coming down.
HAMLET
In happy time.
LORD
The Queen desires you to use some gentle
entertainment to Laertes before you fall to play.
HAMLET
HORATIO
She well instructs me.
You will lose this wager, my lord.
HAMLET
I do not think so. Since he went into France,
15
I have been in continual practice; I shall win at the
odds. But thou wouldst not think how ill all's
here about my heart - but it is no matter.
HORATIO
Nay, my good lord, -
HAMLET
It is but foolery, but it is such a kind of
gain-giving as would perhaps trouble a woman.
HORATIO
If your mind dislike any thing, obey it. I will
forestall their repair hither, and say you are not fit.
HAMLET
Not a whit, we defy augury; there's a special
providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now,
'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be
now; if it be not now, yet it will come - the
readiness is all: since no man has aught of what
he leaves, what is't to leave betimes?
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[Exit LORD
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25
Hamlet
Essay Questions
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1.
Would you agree that Hamlet’s main problem is that he thinks
“too precisely on the event”?
2.
Is Hamlet right to describe himself as “essentially . . . not in
madness but mad in craft”?
3.
Discuss what you see as the central themes in Hamlet and
examine the ways that they are presented through the action of
the play.
4.
What is your attitude towards the character of Claudius and the
way that he is presented in the play?
5.
‘There runs throughout the action of Hamlet an unsettling
disparity between appearance and reality’. What disparities do
you detect and how important are they to the overall scheme of
the play?
6.
‘Claudius, for all his faults and weaknesses, is a skilled politician
and an expert manager’. Do you feel that this is a fair assessment
of his character?
7.
It has often been noted that Hamlet on his return to Denmark
seems a very different character to the one earlier escorted to his
ship by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. How do you account for
this view and what is your own feeling?
8.
Hamlet claims that "Frailty, thy name is woman." How far do
you think it is fair to apply this comment to Gertrude and
Ophelia?
9.
With reference to THREE or FOUR specific examples discuss
Shakespeare’s use of poetry and prose in Hamlet and comment
on the effects he achieves by switching from one to the other.
10.
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“Elsinore is full of actors.” Comment on the ‘acting’ of
THREE characters in Hamlet and show how this contributes to
the overall effect of the play?
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