Plot Points
How does King Hamlet die?
He is poisoned in the ear by his brother, Claudius.
Who is alive at the end of the play to tell Hamlet’s story?
Horatio
"To be, or not to be" is one of Hamlet's most famous lines. In which act and scene does Hamlet deliver this soliloquy?
Act 3, Scene 1.
The ghost in Hamlet primarily represents which theme?
Revenge
Hamlet likens Denmark to a “prison.” What does this metaphor reveal about his views on the royal court?
It reveals his feelings of entrapment and his disgust with the moral corruption he perceives around him.
What is the name of the kingdom where the play is set?
Denmark
(accept Elsinore)
Hamlet speaks of "the undiscovered country" in his "To be, or not to be" soliloquy. What is he referring to?
Death and the uncertainty of what comes after it.
Who says, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark"?
Marcellus
How does the theme of madness manifest in both Hamlet and Ophelia?
Hamlet feigns madness as part of his plan, while Ophelia descends into real madness.
What relationship in Hamlet has led some to theorise that their relationship is Oedipal in nature?
Hamlet and Gertrude.
(Extra 100 points for a quote relating to this.)
Where does the ghost appear for the final time in the play?
Gertrude’s bedroom/chamber.
Hamlet considers life and death through symbols like Yorick's skull. Who was Yorick, and what does Hamlet reflect upon when he sees the skull?
Yorick was a court jester whom Hamlet knew as a child.
Who says, "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't"?
Polonius
In what way does Fortinbras serve as a foil (opposite) to Hamlet in the theme of revenge?
Fortinbras actively seeks revenge and conquest to honor his father’s death, contrasting with Hamlet’s indecision and inaction.
What was happening in England at the time "Hamlet" was written?
The final years of Queen Elizabeth's reign.
(I may accept other answers).
Why does Hamlet hesitate to kill Claudius when he finds him praying?
Hamlet fears Claudius will go to heaven if he dies while praying, which would not fulfill the revenge he seeks.
Hamlet’s obsession with death leads him to consider suicide in the play’s opening acts. What stops him from taking his own life?
His religious beliefs and fear of the unknown consequences after death.
"Neither a borrower nor a lender be" is advice given by which character?
Polonius
What event marks Claudius’s full corruption in Hamlet’s eyes?
His reaction during the play
Provide three seperate examples of corruption (physical or political) mentioned within the text.
What play does Hamlet ask the players to perform, hoping to catch the conscience of the King?
The Murder of Gonzago (which he calls "The Mousetrap").
Who else seeks revenge in the play besides Hamlet?
Laertes, who seeks revenge for his father Polonius’ death and his sister Ophelia’s suffering.
Hamlet tells this character, "Get thee to a nunnery!" Who is he speaking to?
Ophelia
What physical item symbolises the corruption in Denmark?
Poison
(may accept others)
Nietzsche believed Hamlet embodied what man?
Dionysian