TIPS FROM HAMLET
OPEN QUESTION
CENTRAL QUESTIONS
Ambiguity of Death: Be Specific.
• What awaits humans after death?
• If life is just “slings and arrows,” should humans
“be” or “not be”?
• What is the meaning of life?
CENTRAL QUESTIONS
Thought vs. Action: Be specific.
• Where should humans draw the line between
deliberation and impulse?
• Is deliberation ever appropriate when “honor’s at the
stake”?
TODAY’S WRITING ADVICE
Avoid Vague Statements:
• Hamlet questions what awaits him after death, which
causes the reader to question their own lives and
thoughts.
• Hamlet’s revenge provides complexity and character
depth to Hamlet.
• Shakespeare raises the question of whether it is
better to act upon impulse or not.
KEY SCENES /
PLOT ELEMENTS
Ambiguity of Death:
 “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. . .”
 Graveyard Scene
 “There is special providence in the fall of a sparrow” / “Let be”
Thought vs. Action:
 Fortinbras and Laertes as foils