Act I
Why is Hamlet angry with Claudius in his first soliloquy in Act I Scene 2?
Claudius has married Hamlet's newly widowed mother. Neither mourned for long.
Why are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Denmark? (2 reasons)
1. To cheer Hamlet up
2. To find out why he's acting strange
How does Hamlet return to Denmark after being sent away?
Pirates!
My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,
Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced;
No hat upon his head; his stockings fouled,
Ungartered, and down-gyvèd to his ankle;
Ophelia
Act II Scene 1
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there’s the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause.
Hamlet
Act III Scene 1
He instructs her to stop seeing/ speaking to Hamlet. He believes he is using her, because their difference in stations would never allow them to marry.
Why does Hamlet kill Polonius in Act III Scene 4?
He made a noise behind the curtain in Gertrude's room. Hamlet mistook him for Claudius and stabbed him without looking.
What happens to Ophelia at the end of Act IV?
She drowns in a brook.
My fate cries out
And makes each petty artery in this body
As hardy as the Nemean lion’s nerve.
Still am I called.—Unhand me, gentlemen.
Hamlet
Act I Scene 4
But know, thou noble youth,
The serpent that did sting thy father’s life
Now wears his crown.
Act I Scene 5
Why doesn't Horatio want Hamlet to follow the ghost into the woods?
He thinks the ghost is evil; it could lead Hamlet off a cliff or drive him insane.
Why does the ghost appear when Hamlet is talking to Gertrude in Act III Scene 4?
The ghost instructed Hamlet to leave Gertrude alone in Act 1 Scene 5. He said that God and her guilt will punish her.
How do Hamlet, Laertes, Claudius, and Gertrude die?
Hamlet: Poison
Laertes: Poison
Claudius: Stabbing and Poison
Gertrude: Poison
Let’s follow, Gertrude.
How much I had to do to calm his rage!
Now fear I this will give it start again.
Therefore let’s follow.
Claudius
Act IV Scene 7
I will tell you why. So shall my anticipation prevent your discovery, and your secrecy to the king and queen moult no feather. I have of late—but wherefore I know not—lost all my mirth, forgone all custom of exercises, and indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition that this goodly frame,
Hamlet
Act II Scene 2
What does Hamlet mean when he says that he will put on an "antic disposition"?
He will act crazy in order to plot against Claudius without seeming suspicious.
Why can't Claudius repent in Act III Scene 3?
He is still enjoying all that he gained from the murder: the crown and Gertrude.
Who promises to tell Hamlet's story after his death?
Horatio
But we both obey
And here give up ourselves, in the full bent,
To lay our service freely at your feet
To be commanded.
Guildenstern
Act II Scene 2
Will you ha' the truth on ’t? If this had not been a gentlewoman, she should have been buried out o' Christian burial.
The Other Gravedigger
Act V Scene 1
What two things does the Ghost ask Hamlet to do in Act I Scene 5?
Avenge his death and do not punish Gertrude.
What does Hamlet ask Gertrude to do at the end of Act III? (2 things)
1. Don't sleep with Claudius
2. Keep his secret (his madness is fake)
Who does Hamlet give his dying vote to be the next king of Denmark?
Prince Fortinbras
For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune.
I have some rights of memory in this kingdom,
Which now to claim my vantage doth invite me.
Prince Fortinbras
Act V Scene 2
O Hamlet, speak no more!
Thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul,
And there I see such black and grainèd spots
As will not leave their tinct.
Gertrude
Act III Scene 3