Tragedy
In a tragedy, these are the roles of Hamlet and Laertes.
protagonist and the antagonist
How do Claudius and Laertes plan to kill Hamlet? List the three ways.
Swapping the blunt tip fencing sword for a sharp tip sword, poisoning the sword, and poisoning his wine
Who is Hamlet's best friend and most loyal companion? How is he characterized?
Horatio is loyal, rational, reliable, scholarly.
How is Claudius morally corrupt?
Claudius is a murderer and master manipulator.
He corrupts those around him, for example, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
Surveillance and mistrust abound in his kingdom--Polonius against Laertes and Claudius, Polonius, and Laertes against Hamlet.
"I have shot the arrow o'er the house and hurt my brother."
Hamlet asks for Horatio's forgiveness explaining that his killing Polonius was accidental.
Hamartia
Tragic Flaw
Why is Hamlet frustrated upon seeing that Young Fortinbras is marching through Denmark for Poland?
Fortinbras has turned his father's death into action and substance. Hamlet has not been able to do that yet. (Activity vs. Inactivity)
What is ironic about Rosencrantz's and Guildenstern's approaching deaths?
They were supposed to get Hamlet to England so the king could have Hamlet killed. With Hamlet's changing the letter, they are the ones who get killed.
What is the difference between Hamlet's and Fortinbras' plans to seek revenge/justice?
Hamlet weighs his decisions. Fortinbras plans and acts decisively and quickly.
"Devoutly to be wish'd to die, to sleep, to sleep: perchance to dream, ay, there's the rub."
Hamlet in his famous "to be or not to be" soliloquy laments that in sleep, his nightmares would be a problem.
In a tragedy, the tragic hero can face unexpected suffering. What unexpected suffering does Hamlet face?
He faces his father's death, mother's "o'er hasty marriage" to his uncle, ghost of his father commissioning him to "revenge his foul and most unnatural murder" (1.5.32), his girlfriend's rejection.
What is the purpose of the graveyard scene and why is Yorick's skull so important?
It serves as comic relief, and it foreshadows the end as Hamlet sees that the noble and the peasant eventually come to the same end.
What leads to Laertes' downfall?
He allows his grief and anger to compromise his autonomy, opening himself up to Claudius' manipulation. He has a "riotous head"; he is hot headed.
Rejection by Hamlet and death of Polonius
Laertes, was your father dear to you? Or are you like the painting of a sorrow?
Claudius. It shows how Claudius manipulates Laertes with toxic masculinity--goading him to seek revenge.
Define tragedy in four ways.
1. pity for the hero
2. tragic flaws in the hero
3. hero faces unexpected suffering and calamity
4. ending is unhappy as contrasted with previous happiness
What about the "To be or not to be" soliloquy makes it so thematically resonant?
It embodies Humanist ideals such as the autonomy of the individual and freedom to choose.
What characters are foils for Hamlet?
Young Fortinbras, Laertes, and Horatio
List three times the topic of inner voice and gut instinct comes up at the end of the play.
"I shall win...but...ill all's here about my heart." Hamlet
"If your mind dislike anything, obey it." Horatio
"It is almost against my conscience." Laertes
“Now cracks a noble heart. Good night, sweet prince. And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”
Horatio speaks to the dying Hamlet showing his love and loyalty to his friend.
How is Hamlet a tragic hero?
He faces adversity.
He has a tragic flaw (hamartia) of indecisiveness.
He confronts his fatal flaw with fatal results.
What is ironic about Hamlet's decision not to kill Claudius when he is praying?
Claudius's prayer has not absolved him of his sin as he himself admits that he is unwilling to give up "those effects," the spoils, of his victory and cannot, therefore, be forgiven.
Does Laertes prove himself honorable in the end? How?
In the end, he tells Hamlet that the "King's to blame," he asks Hamlet to "exchange forgiveness with [him]," and he tells Hamlet that he does not blame him for his father's death.
Where do you see the topic of appearance vs reality in Acts 3-5?
Answers may vary.
The appearance of a ghost in Gertrude's bedroom that only Hamlet can see
Hamlet's feigned madness with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern compared to his honesty with Horatio
Ophelia's real madness--her inability to process Hamlet's rejection and Polonius' death
“Let me be cruel, not unnatural; I will speak daggers to her, but use none."
Hamlet talks to himself in a soliloquy. He tells how he plans to confront his mother, Gertrude, about who Claudius truly is.