Characters
The Plot
Symbols & Allusions
Major Quotes
Random Facts
Alex Trebek
100

He is the King Claudius' nephew...oh wait, I mean his step-son.

Who is Hamlet?

100

This character is central/key to the Exposition of Shakespeare's Hamlet. 

Who is the Ghost, the deceased King Hamlet?

100

One of the first symbols in Hamlet gives a strong impression that all is definitely not well in Denmark.

What is the Ghost of King Hamlet?

100

"But, O, what form of prayer/ Can serve my turn? 'Forgive me my foul murder'?"  Who speaks these words?

Who is King Claudius? (Act 3 scene iii: Claudius' repentant soliloquy)

100

William Shakespeare was born and died in his hometown.  True or False

What is true? (Stratford-upon-Avon)

100

The famous long-time host of the reveled game show, Jeopardy.

Who is Alex Trebek?

200

She is a damsel in so much distress.

Who is Ophelia?

200

The Rising Action can be associated with this event found in Act 1 scene iv.

What is Hamlet pursuing, facing, and talking with his deceased father, the Ghost of King Hamlet?

200

Ophelia's songs coupled with her giving flowers to others, especially in Act 4 scene v, symbolizes ...

What is the cause of her state of mind? (She is driven mad by the murder of her father by her lover, Hamlet)

200

"Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive/Against thy mother aught.  Leave her to heaven/And to those thorns that in her blossom lodge/To price and sting her."  This quote was spoken by _____ ___________.

Who is The Ghost?  (The apparition of King Hamlet: Act 1 scene iv)

200

Shakespearean productions were created and enacted during what historical era...

What is the English Renaissance?  or What is the Elizabethan era?

200

True or False: Alex Trebek was the host of Jeopardy from its revival in 1984 until his unfortunate passing on November 8, 2020.

What is True?

300

This man sent his son to France after commending an extensive proverbial blessing upon him.

Who is Polonius?

300

The Climax of Hamlet is associated with the protagonist, Prince Hamlet, stabbing Polonius mistaking him for King Claudius.  What other event, marked by a soliloquy could be associated with the Climax of this Shakespearean classic?

What is Hamlet's soliloquy committing himself to avenge his father in Act 4 scene iv?

300

King Claudius is deeply convicted after viewing Hamlet's theatrical production.  Claudius says, "O, my offense is rank, it smells to heaven,/ It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murder."  To what is Claudius alluding to in this statement?

What is regarded as the first sin of mankind, the murder of Abel by his brother Cain? (Remember the many biblical allusions Shakespeare employs in this play.)

300

"This above all: to thine own self be true,/ And it must follow, as the nigh the day,/ Thou canst not then be false to any man."  This quote was spoken by ____________ to ________________.

Who is Polonius to Laertes? (Act 1 scene iii: Polonius speaks blessing upon his son, Laertes, prior to the latter's departure to France)

300

The predominant poetic form indicative of Shakesperean works is the ______________.

What is the Sonnet? or What is the Elizabethan Sonnet? or What is the English Sonnet?

300

Alex Trebek was a hardworking man from what country?

What is Canada? (Ottowa, Canada)

400

This character was educated in Wittenburg, Germany but later exiled to England.

Who is Hamlet?

400

The Falling Action in Hamlet is set in motion by the contriving of ____________- ______________.

Who is King Claudius, who arranges for Laertes to fight Hamlet in a sword fight?

400

When Hamlet is speaking with Polonius in Act 2 scene ii, Hamlet says "O Jephthah, judge of Israel, what a treasure hadst thou!"  Hamlet is alluding to which character related to Polonius?

Who is Ophelia? (This, too, is a biblical allusion focusing on Jephthah who made a rash vow resulting in his daughter not ever marrying, dying childless.)

400

Act 3 scene i contains the most famous words of this Shakespearean classic.

What is "To be or not to be -- that is the question:" spoken by Hamlet, Prince of Denmark?

400

What type of artform conveys the inner workings and thoughts of Shakespeare's characters?

What is the soliloquy?

400

Before hosting Jeopardy or any game show, Trebek hosted a famous music show in Canada that was the equivalent of American Bandstand.  What was the name of that show?

What is Music Hop? 

500

King Claudius secures the throne of Denmark by joining himself to ___________ _______________.

Who is Queen Gertrude?

500

William Shakespeare resolves his tour de force, Hamlet, by causing the ____________ of all major characters.

What is death?

500

The skull Hamlet holds, the clothes he wears to the wedding, the play Hamlet hosts, are all symbolic of...

What is death?  What is death on a large scale?  What is impending death?

500

Hamlet says in one of his soliloquies "How stand I, then,/ That have a __________ killed, a __________ stained,/ Excitements of my reason and my blood,/And let all sleep, while to my shame I see..."

What is a "father" and a "mother"? (Act 4 scene iv: Hamlet is reinvigorated to avenge his father after meeting Fortinbras' men)

500

Polonius has no soliloquies in the play Hamlet, but he does have a significant series of ______________, which convey his inner thoughts.

What are asides?

500

In college, Trebek majored in philosophy but always longed to be a ________________.

What is a broadcaster?

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