What's With The Play?
What is a Dumbshow?
A show in which the actors do not speak. It is meant to be funny/entertaining.
When speaking to R + G after the play, Hamlet expresses that playing a recorder is as "easy as lying" and that "do you think I am easier to be play'd on than a pipe" Why does Hamlet say this?
Hamlet knows that R + G are trying to play him. However, he is not easily played.
Who is killed behind the arras?
A rat! Polonius is killed.
What does Hamlet do with Polonius's body?
He hides it in the lobby by the stairs.
What is dramatic irony?
D.I is
when the audience is aware of something that the characters in the play are not aware of.
Why did Hamlet orchestrate a play?
To catch the conscience of King Claudius. He wanted to learn by Claudius's expressions how guilty he really was.
After the play, Claudius expresses his "heavy burden" What is he referring to?
He is referring to his guilty conscience for killing King Hamlet.
What is significant about the ghost's arrival in Act III that is different than in Act I?
Only Hamlet sees the ghost which could imply that Hamlet is not actually seeing the ghost.
What are the two reasons we know that Claudius cannot have Hamlet arrested/killed?
1) Gertrude loves her son.
2) The Danskers love Hamlet.
Where does Claudius send Hamlet? Why?
Claudius sends Hamlet to England. He wants the King of England to execute Hamlet.
Why was Gertrude offended/uncomfortable while watching the play?
The player queen professed her love for the player king and refused to marry again once he died. This is clearly a statement that speaks to Gertrude's guilty conscience.
Why does Hamlet tell Ophelia to go to a nunnery?
He does not want her to be a breeder of sinners. Hamlet is essentially disgusted with the potential of all humans (including himself) and does not want Ophelia to procreate.
Why does Ophelia give Hamlet back his remembrances/break up with him?
So that Polonius and Claudius can spy on them and determine if Hamlet truly loved Ophelia.
What do we learn about the Polish land Norway intends to take?
We learn that the land is worthless and defenseless.
Who is the intended audience of the play within the play?
The intended audience is the characters in the play. It usually serves as a reflection of the overall plot.
What does Hamlet say is the name of the play?
The Mouse Trap.
Why does Claudius tell Laertes that, “Why, now you speak/Like a good child and true gentleman./That I am guiltless of your father’s death,/And am most sensibly in grief for it,/It shall as level to your judgment ‘pear/As day does to your eye”?
Claudius wants Laertes to know that he is innocent and to appease him.
Why does the ghost appear in Act III?
Hamlet is being too rough with Gertrude.
How does Ophelia die?
She drowns. In her madness , she climbed a willow tree and slipped.
What is the definition of a foil?
A character whose characteristics contrast with another character's (usually the protagonist).
What causes Claudius to stop the play mid-scene?
Luciano pours poison down the player king's ear.
In his "To Be or Not To Be" soliloquy, Hamlet expresses what life/death is. He even discusses suicide. He ponders that most people do not commit suicide because of what?
Fear of the afterlife..."The
undiscover'd
country..."
In the bedroom scene, why does Hamlet force Gertrude to look at two pictures?
Hamlet wants her to look at Claudius and King Hamlet side by side to fully see the betrayal she committed. Hamlet wants Gertrude to understand that Claudius is inferior to King Hamlet.
What is Plan A and B of Claudius and Laertes's plot to kill Hamlet?
Plan A: Have a fencing contest in which the sword will be poisoned.
Plan B: Poison a goblet of wine.
How does Hamlet get back to Denmark?
Pirates overturn Hamlet's ship and they bring him back to Denmark.