Name that Character!
King of Denmark. Described as a drunken goat at one point.
King Claudius
Hamlet
What meter did Shakespeare most often write in?
Pentameter
What do the King and Queen tell Hamlet about how he should deal with his grief?
Essentially to get over it. Everyone's father dies. He needs to act like a man.
What doe Claudius and Gertrude plan to do with Hamlet?
Spy on him to figure out why he is acting odd.
Prince of Denmark. Angry and Depressed.
Hamlet
So please you, something touching the Lord Hamlet. He hath, my lord, of late made many tenders Of his affection to me.
Ophelia
What rhythm did Shakespeare most often write in?
Iambic
Why is Hamlet upset with his mother?
She married his uncle not 2 months after his father died?
What does Claudius believe is the cause of Hamlet's madness?
He is in love with Ophelia and driven mad that he cannot see her.
The Ghost (King Hamlet)
"This above all, to think own self be trust and thou canst not be false to any man."
Polonius
A speech a character delivers that only the audience can hear.
Soliloquy
What does Polonius make Ophelia promise to do?
Stay away from Hamlet.
Why doesn't Hamlet immediately go to murder his uncle?
He questions whether or not the ghost is honest or real. He wants to test his uncle to see if he's really guilty.
Hamlet's best friend
Horatio
O God, God, How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world! Fie on ’t, ah fie! ’Tis an unweeded garden That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely.
Hamlet
How many syllables are in iambic pentameter?
10 syllables
What do Horatio and the guards report to Hamlet?
They've been seeing a ghost they believe is the old King Hamlet.
How does Hamlet treat Ophelia when he meets with her?
He is mean to her. Says he never loved her and calls her names.
Advisory to the King. Father of Ophelia and Laertes
Polonius
Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s hand Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched, Cut off, even in the blossoms of my sin, Unhouseled, disappointed, unaneled, No reck’ning made, but sent to my account With all my imperfections on my head. O horrible, O horrible, most horrible!
The Ghost
What is one reason why Shakespeare liked to write in the set meter and rhythm he did?
1. Because it made it easier for his actors to memorize lines
2. Because it is naturally suited to the English language.
3. Because it replicates the beating of the heart.
What does the ghost ask Hamlet to do?
Kill his uncle and avenge his father's death.
How does Hamlet plan to test his uncle's guilt?
With a play. He will include a scene that reenacts the death of his father.