What is the controversy surrounding Ophelia's death and how does the fact that Ophelia is an aristocrat (a gentlewoman) affect her burial?
What is whether or not she committed suicide and the fact that she got a better burial than regular person who committed suicide would have gotten for committing a crime against the religion/God.
When Laertes asks why Claudius has not proceeded against Hamlet's criminal acts, what TWO reasons does he give that he cannot "put the strong law on him"?
What is because the Queen loves her son and he doesn't want to hurt the queen & the public love him
What is the significance behind the following quote from Act 5 Scene 1:
FIRST CLOWN Is she to be buried in Christian burial, when she willfully seeks her own salvation? SECOND CLOWN I tell thee she is. Therefore make her grave straight. The crowner hath sat on her and finds it Christian burial.
What does Gertrude fail to report to Claudius about what happened when Hamlet killed Polonius?
that Hamlet thought it was Claudius
Ophelia hands out flowers and herbs. Who is the rosemary and pansies given to and what is the significance behind it?
Who is Laertes? The rosemary is for remembering and the pansies for thoughts (and unity)
Claudius says that if Hamlet wins the first or second hit, he will..
What is drink to Hamlet's health, then throw into the cup a valuable gem (actually the poison) and give the wine to Hamlet.
Read the quote below and identify the speaker and its significance :
"alas, poor Yorick! i knew him, Horatio: a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy. he hath borne me on his back one thousand times. and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! meaning
Who is Hamlet as he meditates on how fragile life is. Hamlet says this in a graveyard as he looks at the skull of Yorick, a court jester he had known as a child, and grieves for him. Hamlet goes on to consider the fate of us all when he compares the skull to those still living and realizes we all will end up the same way. He is then disgusted by it.
Identify who is being spoken to and explain the significance of the quote from act 5 scene 2 and how it relates to the characters.
Hamlet: Not a whit. We defy augury. There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now, ’tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come—the readiness is all. Since no man of aught he leaves knows, what is ’t to leave betimes? Let be.
Who is Horatio. When Hamlet states this, he is saying that God oversees the life and death of every single creature, even the sparrow. He realizes that life is based on fate and whatever is supposed to happen, it will happen at the time ordained by God, not by man. They are not above fate.
When questioned by Claudius about the location of Polonius' body , Hamlet offers three different answers. Where does he say the body is?
Flower that symbolizes deceit and flattery is what and to whom does Ophelia give it to?
There is a reference to one skull. Whose skull is it?
Who is Yorik, the King's jester
Name this character:
a foolish courtier who tries to flatter Hamlet by agreeing with everything Hamlet says.
Discuss the meaning behind the following quote:
"Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay, Might stop a hole to keep the wind away. O, that that earth which kept the world in awe Should patch a wall t' expel the winter's flaw!"
In his short soliloquy at the end of scene 3, what does Claudius compare Hamlet to?
what is fever in his blood
Read the following quote from Ophelia:
"Here's rue for you; and here's some for me; we may call it herb of grace o' Sundays. You must wear your rue with a difference. "
Who is the other person to receive rue and what is the symbolism behind it?
In Laertes' desire to avenge his father's death, Hamlet says he sees..
What is the mirror image of his own desire, and he promises to seek Laertes' good favor.
Discuss the meaning behind this quote by Laertes in act 4:scene 7:
"Too much water hast thou poor Ophelia, And therefore I forbid my tears. But yet it is our trick. Nature her custom holds, let shame say what it will. When these are gone, the woman will be out."
Who is the speaker of the following quote and what is the significance behind it:
"I am justly killed with mine own treachery."
What 2 things will the King and Laertes do to the rapier Laertes will use in the fencing match against Hamlet?
What is make it sharp & add poison
Who is no one and represents faithfulness and a connection to death because they died just like her father
Hamlet asks Laertes for forgiveness before the fight, claiming that it was...
What is his madness, and not his own will, that murdered Polonius?
What are the puns involved in "lying"?
What is lying in a grave and telling a lie?
Read the following quote:
"Mad as the sea and wind when both contend/ Which is the mightier. In his lawless fit,/ Behind the arras hearing something stir" (Act 4 Scene 1)
Identify the speaker of the quote and Explain the meaning and significance behind it.
Who is Gertrude. The imagery of the sea and the wind both powerful natural forces are uncontrollable. Gertrude describes Hamlet as the unbalanced force that can potentially remove his royal reign. The discordance of Hamlet's mental state seen through Claudius's perspective implies that he is not mature enough to be king. Claudius can also suspect that Hamlet has plans to remove him from Denmark. In this moment, Gertrude depicts Claudius as inferior compared to Hamlet because of the suspicion of his murder and deviousness.
What do the "rabble" want Laertes to be?