Characters
Prince of Denmark who is sad that his father died suddenly, and his mother is already re-married.
Hamlet
What does the ghost reveal to Hamlet?
He was murdered by his own brother who attacked him while he was sleeping by pouring poison in his ear.
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,
Hamlet- He is suicidal because he is so distressed over his father's death and his mother's marriage.
How many lines are in a quatrain versus a couplet?
Quatrain- 4 lines
Couple- 2 lines
They are brother and sister and children of Polonius.
Laertes and Ophelia
He is the evil king who murdered his own brother.
King Claudius
How does Hamlet plan to catch his father's murderer?
He pretends to go crazy, and puts on a play re-enacting the murder in front of his uncle and the queen.
There is a play tonight before the King.
One scene of it comes near the circumstance
Which I have told thee of my father’s death.
I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot,
Even with the very comment of thy soul
Observe my uncle
Hamlet- He wants his BFF Horatio to watch the king carefully during the play for signs of guilt.
How many couplets are in a sonnet?
1
They are friends of Hamlet from school, but really they're hired by the King to spy on Hamlet.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
Hamlet's mother, the queen.
Gertrude
Why does Hamlet kill Polonius?
He thinks it is the king hiding behind the tapestry, and he kills Polonius by mistake.
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!
Hamlet- feeling like he wants to disappear or die
How many quatrains are in a sonnet?
3
In her encounters with her father, brother, and Hamlet, Ophelia comes across as what type of person?
- rebellious and headstrong
-innocent and obedient
innocent and obedient
Hamlet's girlfriend
Ophelia
What happens to Ophelia following the death of her father and Hamlet's rejection?
She goes crazy and drowns.
Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen,
Th’ imperial jointress to this warlike state,
Have we, as ‘twere with a defeated joy,
With an auspicious, and a dropping eye,
With mirth in funeral, and with dirge in
marriage,
King Claudius- he is explaining that he is marrying his sister in law.
How many syllables are used in Iambic Pentameter
10
In the chapel scene, why does Hamlet not immediately kill his evil uncle after the play?
He does not want to kill the king while he is praying because he does not want him to go to heaven.
He is the nosy, talkative, annoying advisor to the king.
Polonius
When Hamlet is sent away to England, what secret orders does King Claudius give to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to deliver?
The secret letters ask the King of England to execute Hamlet as soon as he arrives.
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;
Hamlet- He is complaining that his mom remarried so soon, to a gross guy instead of his awesome dad.
Shakespeare used a type of verse containing five "iambs" (metrical feet). Each iamb consists of one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable, creating a heartbeat-like rhythm (da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM da-DUM) for a total of 10 syllables per line.
Iambic Pentameter
What does Hamlet mean when he says, "Frailty, thy name is woman!"
Women are frail and weak so they're emotionally needy and unreliable in their love.