Background
This personal tragedy immediately preceded the writing of the play.
What is the death of his son, Hamnet?
A skilled orator who usurps the throne
Who is Claudius?
This scene establishes the mood at the opening of the play
What is the watchmen guarding from Norwegian invasion & discussing the ghost?
“We defy augury. There is a/special providence in the fall of a sparrow. It 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.”
What is...
- Hamlet
- Act 5/Talking to Horatio
- Conclusion of internal conflict
The name for unrhyming lines of iambic pentameter
This historical event looms over the religious aspects of the play
What is the Protestant Reformation?
This character storms the castle after hearing of Polonius' death
Who is Laertes?
The two reasons why Hamlet is so depressed at the beginning of the play
What are the death of his father and the remarriage of his mother?
“So shall you hear/Of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts,/Of accidental judgements, casual slaughters,/Of deaths put on by cunning and forced cause,/And, in this upshot, purposes mistook/Fall’n on th’ inventors’ heads.”
What is...
- Horatio
- Act 5/Talking to Norwegian army (Fortinbras)
- Summarizes plot & themes of revenge/betrayal/deceit/violence
This act contains the bulk of the exposition
What is the first act?
This monarch was on the throne when Shakespeare wrote Hamlet
Who is James I?
The guards believe this character will be able to speak to the ghost because he is educated
Who is Horatio?
This example of "Deus Ex Machina" provides the reasoning for why Hamlet is returning from England
What is the pirate attack?
“What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?”
What is...
- Hamlet
- Act 2/Talking to R & G
- Epitomizes Hamlet's depression/struggles with mortality
This is the name for a brief line secretly spoken that only the audience can hear
What is an aside?
The play was published in this year
What is 1603?
This character is sent to spy on Laertes and to use "misdirections to find out directions"
Who is Reynaldo?
The final scene of the play shows and tells the audience about the deaths of this many people
What is five?
“How stand I, then,/That have a father killed, a mother stained,/…/While to my shame I see/The imminent death of twenty thousand men/That for a fantasy and trick of fame/Go to their graves like beds”
What is...
- Hamlet
- Act 4/Soliloquy post crossing paths with Fortinbras
- Illustrates the moment of his internal change. Concludes to take action
What is with a rhyming couplet?
OR
What is with a conclusion to an internal conflict?
Hamlet is an example of this tragic subgenre that was popular during the time period
What is the revenge play?
Hamlet speaks to the skull of this deceased character
Who is Yorick?
The real and fake titles of the play within the play
What are "The Murder of Gonzago" and "The Mousetrap"?
“What would you undertake/To show yourself indeed your father’s son/More than in words?”
/“To cut his throat i’ th’ church.”
/“No place indeed should murder sanctuarize;/Revenge should have no bounds.”
What is...
- Claudius & Laertes
- Act 4/Conversation after Laertes hears about his father's death
- Illustrates Claudius' skill with speech & manipulation/Contrasts Laertes rash action with Hamlet's lack thereof
What is he's mad/pretending to be mad?