Hamlet Lecture Flashcards

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering the structure, characters, plot details, themes, and exam terminology for Shakespeare's Hamlet.

The Mousetrap play

The play-within-the-play intended to confirm King Claudius's guilt regarding the murder of King Hamlet.

Rising action

The section of the play where Hamlet is tasked with avenging his father, feigns madness, and plans the play-within-the-play.

Falling action

The section of the play including the graveyard scene and the final duel with Laertes.

Denouement

The stage of the play where the villainy of Claudius is exposed.

Resolution

The conclusion where Fortinbras takes over and Horatio prepares to tell Hamlet's tale.

Elsinore

The name of the royal castle in Denmark where the play is set.

Hamlet

The Prince of Denmark, approximately 30 years old, whose fatal flaws include procrastination, inaction, and impulsiveness.

Claudius

The main antagonist who murdered his brother, usurped the Danish throne, and married his sister-in-law Gertrude.

Gertrude

The Queen of Denmark, mother of Hamlet, described as shallow and weak but also compassionate and passionate.

Polonius

The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius’ court and father of Laertes and Ophelia; he is pompous, conniving, and deceitful.

Ophelia

Hamlet’s love interest and daughter of Polonius; she is loyal, obedient, and innocent until she goes mad and drowns.

Laertes

The passionate and impulsive son of Polonius who returns from France to avenge his father's death.

Horatio

A scholar and Hamlet’s one true friend who remains alive at the end to tell the story.

Fortinbras

The young, ambitious prince of Norway who arrives at the end of the play to rule Denmark.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Hamlet's old school friends who are summoned to Elsinore to spy on him for Claudius.

The Ghost

The dead apparition of Hamlet’s father who returns from purgatory to demand revenge for his murder.

Hamartia

A term for the fatal flaw of a tragic hero in a Shakespearean tragedy.

Catharsis

A genre feature of a Shakespearean tragedy involving the release of emotional tension.

Hyperion to a satyr

The comparison Hamlet uses in his first soliloquy to contrast his father with his uncle, Claudius.

Antic disposition

The term used for the feigned madness Hamlet assumes to mislead his enemies.

Reynaldo

The character Polonius instructs to spy on Laertes in Paris using deceitful methods.

The Murder of Gonzago

The original play Hamlet coaches the actors to perform, which he amends into 'The Mousetrap'.

Yorick

The late court jester whose skull is unearthed in the graveyard and leads Hamlet to meditate on mortality.

Appearance and Reality

A core theme exploring the discrepancy between outward shows and underlying truths, such as 'one may smile and smile and be a villain'.

Revenge tragedy

A genre derived from the Roman writer Seneca featuring ghosts, murder, and violence; Shakespeare transformed it by adding moral complexity.

Providence

The concept Hamlet accepts in Act 5, believing his life is in the hands of God, specifically referenced by 'the fall of a sparrow'.

Motif of corruption

The recurring use of images related to disease, rotting, decay, and weeds to describe the state of Denmark.

Account for

Exam terminology meaning to give reasons or explain why things are as they are.

Context (quotation)

Identifying the speaker, the person spoken to, and the reason why the words were spoken in relation to a specific quote.

Role (character)

A character's function and purpose within the play rather than just a summary of what they do.