Scene 1
Why are the guards on duty?
They are expecting an attack from Fortinbras.
What does Laertes ask the new king permission for?
He asks permission to return to France.
Who are Cornelius and Voltemand?
They are Danish ambassadors to Norway.
Who says this: 'This bodes some strange eruption to our state'?
Horatio
'I am too much i' the sun'. The word 'sun' is an example of...
a pun / play on words / double entendre
Why have the guards asked Horatio to join them?
They want to prove to him that the ghost they have seen for the past two nights exists.
Why does Claudius want Hamlet to stay at Elsinore?
Claudius wants to keep an eye on Hamlet.
He also lost his father and plans to avenge his father.
Fortinbras
Who says this: 'How is it that clouds still hang on you?'?
Claudius
Hamlet wears black in scene 2. Explain the significance of this colour.
He's mourning the death of his father, but he is also mourning the death and decadence of Denmark.
Why do they ask Horatio to speak to the ghost?
He is a scholar and they think he will be able to communicate better with the ghost.
What is Hamlet's attitude towards his mother when she encourages him to stop grieving?
He is sarcastic, aggressive and mocks her common behaviour.
Hamlet described this character as: feeble, heartless and hot-blooded. Who is this?
Gertrude
Who says: 'Why seems it so particular with thee?'?
Gertrude
Who is compared to 'Hyperion' and 'satyr'? What do each of these images symbolise?
King Hamlet = Hyperion = wise
King Claudius = satyr = chaotic / disorderly
Name the three guards.
Marcellus, Barnardo & Francisco.
What does Claudius regard as stubborn in Hamlet's behaviour?
Hamlet's persistence in mourning his father is 'stubborn'.
This charatcer is the antagonist of the play. He is self-serving and dubious.
Claudius
Who says this: 'Frailty, thy name is woman'? and what is meant by it.
Hamlet. Hamlet refers to Gertrude and exclaims that women are weaker than men.
Describe and explain the atmosphere of scene 1.
The atmosphere of the first scene is frightening and mysterious because there's a ghost haunting the watchmen who looks "so like the king" as king Hamlet recently died.
How does Claudius diplomatically deal with the issue threatening Denmark?
Claudius writes a diplomatic letter to the King of Norway (the bedridden uncle of Fortinbras), telling him what Fortinbras is plannong to do with the Norwegian Army and the money that Norway has given Fortinbras.
Which character is described as 'despondent', 'introspective' and 'indecisive'?
Hamlet
Who says this: 'It is not, nor it cannot come to good...'? and what is meant by it?
Hamlet. Hamlet believes his mother's marriage to Claudius and the manner in which it came about is an ominous omen for Denmark.
Identify and explain the following figure of speech: 'an unweeded garden / That grows to seed; things rank and gross in nature'.
Hamlet's metaphor of the 'unweeded garden' evokes a natural world where an ordered garden has become overrun by the weeds of the wilderness thus resulting in decay and disorder.