AP Lit - Hamlet Unit

Who is Prince Hamlet?

Prince of Denmark, son of Gertrude and deceased King Hamlet

Who is Horatio?

Hamlet's close friend

Who is Claudius?

New King of Denmark, Hamlet's uncle

Who is Gertrude?

Queen of Denmark, Hamlet's mother

Who are Cornelius and Voltemand?

Messengers and servants to King Claudius

Who is Polonius?

Chief Counselor to the King, father of Laertes and Ophelia

Who is Laertes?

Polonius's son

Who is the brother of Ophelia? Where did he ask Claudius to go?

Laertes, France

Observe the following quote: "His greatness weighed, his will is not his own, For he himself is subject to his birth. He may not, as unvalued persons do, Carve for himself, for on his choice depends The safety and health of this whole state"Who is the speaker, to whom is it spoken to and who is it referencing?

Laertes, Ophelia, Hamlet

Finish the quote: "To thine own _________ be true."

self

What are two pieces of advice Polonius gives to his son?

1. Avoid fights and quarrels, but if you do fight, win2. Always use proper language, be kind, allow others to voice their opinions

Observe the following quote: "When the blood burns, how prodigal the soul Lends the tongue vows. These blazes, daughter, Giving more light than heat."

Summarize this advice into one sentence in plain English.

When there are strong emotions, false truths and promises can be said and made. Don't fall for this, because they seem good now but won't in the future.

Observe the following quote: "From this time/ {Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence.} / Set your entreatments at a higher rate/ Than a command to parley."

What does the part in brackets mean?

Be aware that you are a woman and protect your reputation, see him less

True or False: Ophelia is receptive to her father and brother's advice.

True

Finish the quote: "Something is rotten in the state of ___________."

Denmark

In Act 1 Scene 4, who motions for Hamlet to follow him "as if to impart something to him alone"?

The ghost of King Hamlet

Why does Hamlet follow the ghost despite Horatio and Marcellus's warnings?

He does not care much for his life, and he doesn't care if he dies; in addition, the spirit cannot harm his soul

The "hour is almost come" where King Hamlet's ghost must return to where?

Purgatory

What is King Hamlet's rumored cause of death?

People think a serpent stung him

Who murdered Hamlet?

His own brother, Claudius

How did he murder him?

Claudius poisoned Hamlet by pouring it in his ear while sleeping

He was murdered before he had the chance to do what?

Go to confession or last rites

True or False: King Hamlet instructs young Hamlet to take revenge on Claudius and Gertrude.

False

What does Hamlet (reinforced by Ghost) ask Marcellus and Horatio to swear?

Maintain secrecy about what happened

Hamlet warns Horatio and Marcellus that he might feign ___________ but advises them not to react.

insanity

Observe the following quote: "To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream- ay, there's the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,"

What is Hamlet contemplating in the bolded part?

He is contemplating death and wondering what the afterlife is

Finish the quote: "Get thee to a ___________!" (said to Ophelia by Hamlet)

nunnery

Where does Claudius wants to send Hamlet to?

England

What is the name of the castle where the play is set?

Elsinore

Who are the three foil characters?

Hamlet, Fortinbras, Laertes

Whose ghost does Hamlet see?

His father, King Hamlet

What are some major themes of Hamlet?

Revenge, corruption, madness, appearance vs reality

Describe the political relationship in Denmark externally and internally

in: Claudius took the throne from Hamlet and there's uncertainty about royal lineage. out: rocky relations with Norway because King Hamlet is the reason for King Fortinbras' death and Denmark took some of Norway's land

Who do the guards see in act 1 and how is he dressed? How is this foreboding?

the ghost of King Hamlet, dressed in battle attire; foreboding because it foreshadows tumultuous times

Who is Claudius referring to in the phrase "our sometime sister now our queen"?

Gertrude

Describe the irony and wordplay of the line: "With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage, In equal scale weighing delight and dole."

irony because mirth is laughter and dirge is sadness, but mirth is used to describe a funeral and dirge is used to describe a wedding. this is important because it shows the closeness of the funeral and the wedding in time.

Describe Gertrude and Claudius' reaction towards Hamlet's continuous grieving of his father

condescending, patronizing, flippant, dismissive

Write the following sentence in plain English: "Oh, that this too, too sullied flesh would melt, Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew, Or that the Everlasting had not fixed His canon 'gainst self-slaughter! O God, God!"

"I want to commit suicide, but I won't because it's against God's law"

Who is Hamlet referring to in the line "frailty thy name is woman?"

Gertrude

"The funeral baked meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables". Who is the speaker, and who is being spoken to? What is it implying?

Hamlet to Horatio, implying that the funeral was so closely followed by the wedding that the leftover funeral food was used for the wedding

What tactic does Hamlet employ to solidify Claudius' guilt?

He asks Horatio to watch Claudius' reaction to the play, a perfect copy of Claudius' crime

"I will speak daggers to her but use none." Who is the speaker, and who is 'her' referring to?

Hamlet referring to Gertrude

When confronting Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet metaphorically compares their attempt to double cross him to:

a musical pipe

Who is the speaker of the following quote? "My lord, he's going to his mother's closet. Behind the arras I'll convey myself To hear the process."

Polonius

Why doesn't Hamlet kill Claudius when he has the chance?

He doesn't want Claudius to die while doing a good deed (praying) because then he'll go to heaven

Who is the speaker of the following quote: "'O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven; It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, A brother's murder'"

Claudius

"Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. I look thee for thy better. Take thy fortune." Who is the speaker, and who is it referencing?

Hamlet, referencing Polonius

"Besides, to be demanded of a sponge, what replication should be made by the son of a king?....that soaks up the King's countenance, his rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the King service in the end....it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again." Who is the speaker, who is it spoken to, and what is the meaning?

Hamlet to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, meaning that their only purpose is to relay info to the king, and once that's complete, they have no purpose

"How dangerous is it that this man goes loose! Yet must not we put the strong law on him. He's loved of the distracted multitude...To bear all smooth and even, This sudden sending him away must seem deliberate pause." Who is the speaker, who is the quote referencing, and what is the bolded phrase referring to?

Claudius about Hamlet; the phrase refers to the Danes who love Hamlet

"Do it England, For like the hectic in my blood he rages, And though must cure me. Till I know 'tis done, Howe'er my haps, my joys with ne'er begin." Who is the speaker, and what is "it" referring to?

Claudius, referring to killing Hamlet

"How stand I, then, That have a father killed, a mother stained, Excitements of my reason and my blood, And let all sleep, while to my shame I see The imminent death od twenty thousand men.... O, from this time forth, My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!" Who is the speaker and what is the meaning of the bolded phrase?

Hamlet, saying he needs to take revenge now (like Fortinbras) or he's worthless

"His means of death, his obscure funeral (No trophy, sword, nor hatchment o'er his bones, No noble rite not formal ostentation) Cry to be heard, as 'twere from heaven to earth, That I must call 't in question". Who is the speaker? Summarize briefly.

Laertes; "My father's body wasn't given a proper burial ceremony and was disrespected in death"

When Claudius speaks with Laertes regarding his plan to back him in a scheme to take revenge on Hamlet, Laertes asks why Claudius didn't pursue justice through the law. What are the two reasons Claudius gives?

Gertrude loves Hamlet and Claudius loves Gertrude, and the people of Denmark love Hamlet too

"Hamlet comes back; what would you undertake To show yourself indeed your father's son More than in words?" ...... "To cut his throat i' th' church". Who is the speaker of the first quote and who is the speaker of the second?

Claudius, Laertes

What are the two plans Claudius and Laertes have to kill Hamlet?

Laertes will duel Hamlet and strike him with a poisoned sword; in the case that Laertes loses the duel, Claudius will give Hamlet a poisoned goblet of wine

How does Ophelia die? What was she draped in during her death?

She drowns in a river (potentially suicide), draped in flowers