Name: ____________________________________________________________________
Period: ________ Date: ______________
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Act V Reading Notes
Reader’s Response
As you read, you’ll encounter people, places, events, actions, and dialogue that will draw a reaction from you. This reaction may be a memory, an
opinion, an argument, an agreement, a question, a relationship, and so on. Record five quotes or events from this play’s act that evoke a strong
reaction from you. You’ll need to record the element’s page number, summarize/quote the element, and write down your response.
Reaction 1
Page #: __________
Quote/Summary:________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Your Response:
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Reaction 2
Page #: __________
Quote/Summary:________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Your Response:
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Reaction 3
Page #: __________
Quote/Summary:________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Your Response:
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British and Western Literature-Hamlet Act V Reading Notes
Cornelison-Issaquah High School
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Reaction 4
Page #: __________
Quote/Summary:________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Your Response:
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Reaction 5
Page #: __________
Quote/Summary:________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Your Response:
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Vocabulary Words
Select any unfamiliar words from the play and define them. Use a dictionary (or Shakespeare’s Lexicon) to get the correct definition that fits the
word’s context, so select the definition that best matches the way the word is used in the sentence. Put the definition into words that you actually
understand; don’t just copy and paste a complicated definition if it doesn’t help you understand the word. Finally, use the word in a sentence that you
would actually say in your everyday life.
1.
Word: ____________________________________ Page: ______ Book Sentence:
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Definition: _____________________________________________________________________________________________________
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How I could use the word in my everyday dialogue: _____________________________________________________________________
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2.
Word: ____________________________________ Page: ______ Book Sentence: ___________________________________________
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Definition:
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British and Western Literature-Hamlet Act V Reading Notes
Cornelison-Issaquah High School
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How I could use the word in my everyday dialogue: _____________________________________________________________________
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3.
Word: ____________________________________ Page: ______ Book Sentence: ___________________________________________
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Definition: ______________________________________________________________________________________________________
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How I could use the word in my everyday dialogue: _____________________________________________________________________
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Rhetorical Devices
Identify three rhetorical devices and explain how each is used in the story. Use a different rhetorical device for each example. See Rhetorical Device
Example Sheet for ideas.
1.
Rhetorical Device: _________________________ Page #: _________ Quote/Paraphrase: _____________________________________
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Rhetorical Device Definition: _______________________________________________________________________________________
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How does it affect the act/scene; what purpose does it serve; or why was it used? _____________________________________________
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2. Rhetorical Device: _________________________ Page #: _________ Quote/Paraphrase: _____________________________________
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Rhetorical Device Definition: _______________________________________________________________________________________
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How does it affect the act/scene; what purpose does it serve; or why was it used? _____________________________________________
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3.
Rhetorical Device: _________________________ Page #: _________ Quote/Paraphrase: _____________________________________
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Rhetorical Device Definition: _______________________________________________________________________________________
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How does it affect the act/scene; what purpose does it serve; or why was it used? _____________________________________________
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British and Western Literature-Hamlet Act V Reading Notes
Cornelison-Issaquah High School
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Story’s Purpose
Every detail in the play is placed there for a reason; nothing is random or meaningless. Choose one of the scenes in the act and consider why the
author wrote the scene. Why does he/she include the characters, locations, and events in this play in this order? What goals does he/she hope to
achieve through his/her plot and character development? When answering, consider the importance of conflict development, characterization,
climax, resolution, mood, author’s tone, and theme.
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FATt Sentence
• REMEMBER TO TRY TO ADDRESS AN ESSENTIAL QUESTION WITH YOUR SENTENCE.
Create 1 complete thesis sentence by filling in the blanks below.
In _________________________ ________________________________________ ________________________________________________,
(author’s name)
(text type)
(play’s title)
the reader discovers that _________________________________________________________________________________________________,
(plot event)
making the point ________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
(relation to theme, motif, purpose, or some other rhetorical or literary device)
British and Western Literature-Hamlet Act V Reading Notes
Cornelison-Issaquah High School
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Text Relations
Choose ONE of the following questions to answer fully:
1.
In this act, we see a major shift in Hamlet. The shock at finding out about Ophelia’s death causes him to seek Laertes’ forgiveness for killing
Polonius, which, it can be supposed, may have also caused Ophelia’s death. While he was once unable to show remorse for the death of the
old man, he now seems to move from the inability to act to a place of empathy that inspires action. In light of this shift, do you feel Hamlet got
what he deserved in the end? How does this compare with the ending for King Claudius? (EQ: Does the main character get what he
deserves? and/or Does Hamlet cause his own downfall?)
2. There are many instances of revenge in this play (Hamlet gets revenge on Claudius for killing his father; Laertes essentially gets revenge on
Hamlet for killing HIS father and causing the death of his sister; Hamlet gets revenge on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern for their disloyalty to
him; and even Fortinbras achieves a kind of vengeance over his father’s death and Norway’s loss of land when after invading Poland, he comes
back to Denmark to claim the throne (and since all the Danes are dead, he is now king of Denmark); and one could even argue that King
Claudius achieves revenge on Hamlet for being a threat to his throne since Hamlet, too, ends up dead. What might Shakespeare be trying to
say with this very common motif? (EQ: Do revenge and vengeance provide satisfaction?)
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British and Western Literature-Hamlet Act V Reading Notes
Cornelison-Issaquah High School
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