Act I part 1
Act I part 2
Act II
Act III
Acts IV + V (double point value)
100
Scene 1 Lines 125-126 which reads “In the most high and palmy state of Rome, A little ere the mightiest Julius fell.” To whom’s death in the play is this quote alluding to?
Who is Old King Hamlet’s
100
Scene 2 Lines 141-142 which reads “So excellent a king, that was, to Hyperion a Satyr.” Who is Hamlet comparing to a Satyr and why?
Who is Claudius. Hamlet does not respect him and dislikes him.
100
Who is compared to Hecuba? (Act 2, Scene 2, lines 460-545)
Who is Gertrude
100
In Scene 2 lines 14-15, why is Claudius compared to King Herod?
To further portray Claudius as evil (King Herod murdered his family)
100
Who was Martin Luther, and who does Shakespeare compare to Martin Luther? (in reference to act 4 scene 3 lines 23-28)
Martin Luther was the leader of the Protestant Reformation. He questioned the integrity of the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope’s legitimacy. For this he was branded a heretic. He is compared to Hamlet
200
Scene 2 Lines 141-142 which reads “So excellent a king, that was, to Hyperion a Satyr.” Why does Hamlet compare his father Old King Hamlet to the greek god Hyperion?
Because Hamlet respected his father a lot
200
Scene 4 Lines 91-92 which reads “And makes each petty artery in this body as hardy as the Nemean Lion’s nerve.” Hamlet says this after seeing whom?
Who is Ghost of his father Old King Hamlet
200
What does the comparison to Hecuba mean? (Act 2, Scene 2, lines 460-545)
The character being compared to Hecuba should have mourned Old King Hamlet’s death more
200
In lines 103-104 in Scene 2, who is being compared to Brutus?
Who is Hamlet.
200
What was the Diet of Worms 1521 (hint: it involves Martin Luther and his 95 theses) (Act 4, Scene 3, lines 23-28)
The Diet of Worms was when Martin Luther was tried as a heretic before an imperial council. The verdict produced the Edict of Worms, which banned Luther’s famous 95 theses.
300
Scene 2 Line 151 which reads “Like Niobe, all tears - why she, even she-,” Hamlet is contrasting Niobe from greek mythology to who and why?
Who is Gertrude. Hamlet suggests Gertrude should have grieved more than she did over the death of Old King Hamlet
300
Scene 5 Lines 15-16 which reads “And for the day confined to fast in fires, till the foul crimes done in my days of nature are burnt and purged away,” Why does the ghost of Old King Hamlet say this?
To tell Hamlet that he is in a state of purgatory
300
In the allusion, why was Hecuba so distraught? (Act 2, Scene 2, lines 460-545)
Her husband was killed in front of her
300
When Nero is mentioned in lines 387-388 in Scene 2, there are many parallels drawn between the tale of Nero and Hamlet. Name two of them.
What are the condemnation of his mother, Hamlet’s plan for revenge, and Hamlet’s struggle with being a good Christian chap (or you know...his morals.)
300
At Four Scene 3 Lines 23-28 “A certain convocation of politic worms are even at him. Your worm is your only emperor…” references the famous Diet of Worms. Regarding Hamlet and Claudius, why does Shakespeare reference this event?
To reaffirm that Claudius thinks Hamlet knows he is a murderer, and that he is sending Hamlet to England not for Hamlet’s safety, but so that Hamlet doesn't reveal Claudius murdered Old King Hamlet.
400
Scene 2 Lines 137-150 which reads “Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature… Why would she hang on him, as if increase of appetite has grown by what it fed on… Frailty thy name is woman.” Why is the allusion to the Garden of Eden being used here?
Hamlet is saying Gertrude's hasty marriage to Claudius corrupted his garden of eden (Elsinore Castle)
400
Scene 149 which reads “yes, by Saint Patrick, but there is Horatio.” Saint Patrick is a patron saint of Ireland; often associated with visions of what?
What is purgatory
400
Who is compared to Jephthah? (Act 2, Scene 2, lines 415-423)
Who is Polonius
400
What biblical story is alluded to in lines 39-49 of Scene 3?
What is the story of Cain and Abel.
400
Act 5, Scene 1, Lines 42-45 “they say the owl was a baker’s daughter….” is an allusion to a biblical legend that a baker’s daughter didn't want to give Jesus a lot of bread, so she was turned into an owl. What does this allusion suggest Ophelia thinks about Hamlet’s madness?
Ophelia thinks Hamlet went crazy and killed her father because she denied his romantic/sexual advances, and now she has gone mad because of this.
500
Scene 1 Line 139 which reads “I’ll cross it though it blast me,” is an allusion to what in biblical story?
What is the Crucifiction of Jesus
500
Scene 3 Lines 39-40 which reads “The chariest maid is prodigal enough if she unmask her beauty to the moon,” is an allusion to which two greek gods? HINT: The brother is the keeper of his sister's eternal virginity
Who are Artemis and Apollo
500
What is the meaning of the allusion to Jephthah? (Act 2, Scene 2, lines 415-423)
Shortsightedness or personal greed could destroy what you hold most dear, ie Polonius may lose what he is striving to preserve
500
Why does Shakespeare link Claudius to Cain?
to say Claudius's murdering of Old King Hamlet is as evil as Cain's murdering of Abel, for they both killed their more favored brother
500
Act 5, scene 1, page 101 lines 24-31 (Ophelia’s song) “How should I your true love know from another one? By his cockle hat and staff, and his sandal shoon...he is dead and gone, lady, he is dead and gone…” In short, Ophelia alludes to the famous Christian spiritual pilgrimage to St James’s tomb at Santiago de Compostela, which is made via a long long journey on foot. What might Ophelia be saying to Gertrude when she compares true love to a famous, enduring pilgrimage, and her line “he is dead and gone, lady, he is dead and gone”? Hint: what has Hamlet been questioning about Gertrude throughout the play?
She is suggesting that Old King Hamlet may not have been Gertrude’s true love, since Gertrude married relatively quickly after the king’s death, whereas the proper thing to have done, as Hamlet has said many times, would have been a long period of grieving, etc.
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