english 231 senior english - alan...

SENIOR ENGLISH 243: Shakespeare Name:

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet Reading #1: 1.1-1.2[Note on the line numbering: Line numbers come from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Hamlet (1992). The lines from the Penguin edition that most students are using are generally behind in number, but not far behind.]1.1

What does Barnardo mean by the “rivals of my watch” on line 14? In lines 28-34, why has Marcellus invited Horatio to stand guard with him? Who does the ghost resemble? In lines 138-152, what does Horatio ask the Ghost to do when it comes a second time? How does Horatio personify morning in line 181, “in russet mantle clad”? What is Horatio’s “advice” to the others that begins on line 184, “Let us…”?

1. In lines 81-90, Marcellus asks why the castle guard duty is so strict lately. Horatio answers in lines 91-119?

a. What did King Fortinbras of Norway give up when he was killed by King Hamlet?

b. How has young Fortinbras—and what kind of man does he appear to be?—responded to avenge his father’s death? (lines 107-116)

1.2 What is Claudius asking of the King of Norway (called just “Norway”), regarding the king’s nephew, young

Fortinbras, in a letter he is sending with ambassadors Cornelius and Voltemand? In lines 90 to 110, Claudius tries to convince Hamlet to quit his grief. What is Claudius’s reasoning? In line 153, what does Laertes, the son of Polonius (a chief adviser to the king) ask of Claudius? In lines 116-124, both the King and the Queen (Claudius and Gertrude) make a request of Hamlet.

o What is it? o How does Hamlet respond?

Note: Line 193, “In my mind’s eye.” This is the source of this expression. What does Hamlet ask of Horatio, Barnardo, and Marcellus in lines 267-271, which begins with “I pray you all”? Paraphrase the final sentence of the scene, which begins with “Foul deeds will rise.”

2. In Claudius’s opening lines, 1-14, he describes balancing sadness and happiness with the expressions “defeated joy,” and “an auspicious and a dropping eye.”

a. What are the two events he’s referring to?

b. What is meant by “The memory be green”?

3. Hamlet’s first soliloquya. In the first four lines of Hamlet’s first soliloquy, what is it that he wishes he could do but can’t?

b. About how long has it been since his father died? What does Hamlet mean, later, by “most wicked speed”?

c. “Frailty, thy name is “ Why does Hamlet appear to be saying this?

Critical Thinking—Choose ONE of the following prompts to respond to.Prompt A: INFORMATION SEEKING—GATHERING EVIDENCE (Searching for evidence, facts, or knowledge by identifying relevant sources and gathering objective, subjective, historical, and current data from those sources) Hamlet’s intelligence is introduced early on through his clever wordplay. Explain the following two puns:

Hamlet’s first line in the play is an aside to the audience, “A little more than kin and less than kind.”

“Ay, madam, it is common.”

Prompt B: DISCRIMINATING—RANKING (recognizing differences and similarities among things or situations and distinguishing carefully as to category or rank). Choose a line or passage from the reading that stands out for you for ANY reason (maybe it’s puzzling). Be sure to cite its line number(s) and explain why it’s so important either to the story or to you.

RESPONSE:

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet Reading #2: 1.3—1.5[Note on the line numbering: Line numbers come from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s Hamlet (1992). The lines from the Penguin edition that most students are using are generally behind in number, but not far behind.]

What does Laertes have to say about Hamlet’s affection (“favor”) for Ophelia in lines 6-11? Paraphrase Laertes’s final couplet: “Be wary, then; best safety lies in fear. / Youth to itself rebels, though none

else near” (47-48). Polonius’s advice to Laertes, containing some very famous lines, includes nine directions for being a person of

good character. Put each into your own words: Give thy thoughts… Be thou familiar, but… Those friends thou hast,…grapple

them… Of entrance to a quarrel,…

Give every man thy ear,… Take each man’s censure,… Costly thy habit… Neither a borrower… This above all…

1. What is Laertes’s point in lines 20-27, which begins with the sentence, “His greatness weighed, his will is not his own, / For he himself is subject to his birth”? Polonius makes a similar point near the end of the scene, when he says, “In few, Ophelia….”

What is at the heart of the advice that the two men give to Ophelia?

2. How does Ophelia respond to her brother (teasingly?) in lines 49-55? Then, in line 108, how does she respond to her father, Polonius, when he tells her to, “Give me up the truth”? Also, how does she respond to her father?

1.4Partying in the Background

What is the King (Claudius) doing this evening, according to Hamlet’s response (lines 9-13) to Horatio’s question in line 8, “What does this mean, my lord?”?

When Horatio asks Hamlet, “Is it a custom?” in line 14, what does this suggest about where Horatio is from?

The Ghost Comes As Hamlet goes off with the Ghost at the end of the scene, Marcellus makes a comment that all is not well in the

country. Merely notice this famous line from Shakespeare.

3. List Hamlet’s two reasons for going with the Ghost in his response to Horatio’s advice not to go with it (“Do not, my lord” [71]), which begins, “Why, what should be the fear?”

4. Paraphrase Horatio’s warning to Hamlet in lines 77-86, which begin with, “What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord?”

1.5Hamlet with the Ghost

According to the Ghost, how long is he “doomed for a certain term to walk the night” (15)? What does the Ghost ask of Hamlet (in line 31), after Hamlet says, “Oh God!”? “Seeming-virtuous queen” (again the word seem). What is built into the Ghost’s accusation of Gertrude here? Lines 66-80 (from “Brief let me be”) the Ghost gives an account of his murder. Briefly paraphrase how he was

killed. The timing of the King’s death was problematic for him, since he was killed “even in the blossoms of [his] sin”

(83). Why is this a problem, to be “unhousled, disappointed, unaneled” (84)?

5. King Hamlet’s death:a. What is “given out” (the story) to be the cause of the king’s death?

b. And what, according to the Ghost, is the truth, which begins, “But know, thou noble youth…”?

c. What does the Ghost caution Hamlet not to do, when he begins with “But” in line 91 and continues through line 95?

Hamlet Back with the Others What is meant in Horatio’s line, “These are but wild and whirling words” (148), his answer to Hamlet’s response

on returning from seeing the Ghost? What is Hamlet’s “one poor request” (158) of Marcellus and Horatio? (It is what they are swearing to in the

following lines.) “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt in your philosophy (117-118), Hamlet

advises Horatio. How would you paraphrase this? Before making the two men swear one more time, Hamlet, in lines 188-201, cautions them about his

upcoming behavior in, “How strange or odd some’er I bear myself / (As I perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on).” What is he talking about?

Critical Thinking—Choose ONE of the following prompts to respond to.Prompt A: LOGICAL REASONING/MAKING INFERENCES (drawing inferences or conclusions that are supported in or justified by evidence). Read over Hamlet’s comment on “particular men” in lines 25-41. He is reflecting on Claudius, but of course this reflection might apply to anyone, including himself and any of the other characters. What does he seem to be saying about the effect of a character flaw on a person’s overall virtuous character? Is it true?


RESPONSE:

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Reading #3: 2.1; 2.2 (pt. 1) (lines 1-237)Polonius and his servant, Reynaldo

In lines 1-40, Polonius is asking his servant Reynaldo to spy on Laertes in Paris by suggesting that he’s involved in some offensive behaviors. List a few of these behaviors that Polonius is allowing Reynaldo to suggest.

1. Now, follow Polonius’s reasoning after he says “Marry, sir, here’s my drift” in line 43. What is his point? What is meant, in lines 71-73, by “And thus do we of wisdom and of reach, / With windlasses and with assays of bias, / By indirections find directions out”?

Ophelia’s Account of Hamlet How does Ophelia describe Hamlet’s appearance in lines 87-94, which begin with “My lord, as I was sewing in my

closet…”? Describe some of Hamlet’s actions in Ophelia’s description, which begins on line 99, “He took me by the wrist and

held me hard.” What does Polonius suspect “hath made him mad” (123), refining his explanation for Hamlet’s behavior with

Ophelia? When Polonius enters, what does he claim to have found the cause of? And what does the queen suspect is its

cause? Paraphrase Polonius’s famous line (97), “Brevity is the soul of wit” and also the Queen’s equally famous rejoinder

several lines after, “More matter with less art” (103). How does Polonius, in lines 156-161, (“Fell into a…”) describe Hamlet’s response to Ophelia’s directed rejection of

him? Describe the odd conversation between Polonius and Hamlet. What appears to be Hamlet’s motivation for his

responses to Polonius’s questions?

2. What does Ophelia “truly” fear, in responding to her father?

3. How does Polonius explain Hamlet’s strange behavior? And what does the audience know that Polonius doesn’t that might yield a different explanation for Hamlet’s bizarre behavior?

4. Voltemand has returned from his trip to Norway. In lines 65-81, he recounts the King of Norway’s response to Denmark’s request to keep young Fortinbras in check. Briefly describe the response.

5. Describe Polonius’s plan, in lines 176-181, to find out further if his suspicion of the cause of Hamlet’s madness is true.

Critical Thinking—Choose ONE of the following prompts to respond to.Prompt A: APPLYING STANDARDS/JUDGING (Judging according to established personal, professional, or social rules or criteria) Claudius has a request for Hamlet’s friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. “I entreat you both,” he says in line 10—to try to figure out why Hamlet is so melancholy. Respond to the idea of parents asking their child’s friends to give them private information about their child.


RESPONSE:

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Reading #4: 2.2 (pt. 2) (lines 238-634) What truth does Hamlet suspect of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that they are unwilling to share in the exchange

between lines 290 (“…what makes you at Elsinore?” or Why have you come?) and 314? What is the news that Rosencrantz gives to Hamlet, directly after Hamlet’s above comments on man? In Hamlet’s teasing exchange with Polonius, what does Hamlet say that confirms Polonius’s earlier suspicion

about the reason for Hamlet’s strange behavior? Paraphrase Hamlet’s response to Polonius in line 555: “Use everyman after his desert and who shall ‘scape

whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity. The less they deserve, the more merit is in your bounty.” What does Hamlet ask the First Player to do for him on the following night?

1. When Rosencrantz disagrees with Hamlet that the world—and Denmark—is “a prison” (262), Hamlet responds in line 268, “Why, then, ‘tis none to you…” Write down the rest of Hamlet’s comment and discuss briefly its significance either to you or to the story.

2. Look over Hamlet’s famous comment on mankind that begins with “What a piece of work is man…” (327). Paraphrase his thoughts.

3. The speech that Hamlet begins and the First Player continues is from the story of the Trojan War, in which Pyrrhus avenges his father Achilles’s death by killing the Trojan king, Priam.

a. Why this speech, in connection to the play Hamlet?

b. In the First Player’s reading of the speech, what is it that “seemed I’ th’ air to stick”? Who “Did nothing” at first?

4. Read well Hamlet’s second soliloquy, which ends the scene and Act 2.

a. How does Hamlet compare himself unfavorably to the First Player?

b. Hamlet reveals his plan of action in the final section of the soliloquy, when he begins, “Hum, I have heard…” What is his plan?

c. Finally, rewrite the final sentence of the scene, which is a famous one in the play.

Critical ThinkingPrompt A: LOGICAL REASONING/MAKING INFERENCES (drawing inferences or conclusions that are supported in or justified by evidence). Just before Polonius arrives in the scene, Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, “But my uncle-father and aunt-mother are deceived” (399-400). What does Hamlet appear to mean in his following statement by, “I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw” (402-403)? Is Hamlet crazy? Prompt B: DISCRIMINATING—RANKING (recognizing differences and similarities among things or situations and distinguishing carefully as to category or rank). Choose a line or passage from the reading that stands out for you for ANY reason (maybe it’s puzzling). Be sure to cite its line number(s) and explain why it’s so important either to the story or to you.

RESPONSE:

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Reading #5: 3.1

Spying on Hamlet In the opening of the scene, what do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to Claudius and Gertrude about what

they have discovered about Hamlet’s lunacy? Claudius, in lines 31-40 (“Sweet Gertrude, leave us too…”), reminds the reader of his plan to spy (again with the

spying!) on Hamlet. What is the plan?

1. What is Claudius responding to when he says, in line 26, “With all my heart, and it doth content me / To hear him so inclined”? What is ironic about Claudius’s excitement?

2. Read over lines 52-62, which begins with Polonius’s instructions to Ophelia and continues with Claudius’s aside.

a. First, paraphrase Polonius’s comment,We are oft to blame in this

‘Tis too much proved, that with devotion’s visageAnd pious action we do sugar o’erThe devil himself.

b. Next, how does Claudius respond (to himself) and what is the significance of this response to the play (to the audience, really)?

“To be or not to be”3. Here it is, Hamlet’s third soliloquy, which begins with “To be or not to be—that is the question.”

a. “Ay, there’s the rub” (73). What is the rub that he’s talking about, this idea that “must give us pause”?

b. What “makes us rather bear those ills we have / Than fly to others we know not of” (89-90)?

c. Paraphrase “Thus conscience does make cowards of us all” (92).

Hamlet and Ophelia In line 102, Ophelia says she has “rememberances,” or love letters, that she wants to return to Hamlet. How does

Hamlet initially respond? Read over the exchange between Hamlet and Ophelia on honesty (chastity) and beauty. In the passage that

begins with “Ay, truly…” (121), what does beauty transform chastity into? What is meant by Hamlet in lines 155-56, “God hath given you one face, and you make yourselves another”?

What other woman in the play is Hamlet likely to be thinking of?

Claudius and Polonius What doe Claudius think about the reason for Hamlet’s madness? Is it love? What does Polonius (continue to) believe to be the reason for Hamlet’s mad behavior? What is his next plan for

confirming his suspicion?

4. How has Claudius decided to respond to the doubt (fear) of “some danger” in Hamlet’s behavior?

Critical Thinking—Choose ONE of the following prompts to respond to.Prompt A: LOGICAL REASONING/MAKING INFERENCES (drawing inferences or conclusions that are supported in or justified by evidence). Why does Hamlet seem to want Ophelia to go “to a nunnery” (131), including himself in his reasoning? (A nunnery might be being used as mocking slang for a brothel, or whorehouse. How might this change the meaning, and Hamlet’s sincerity in his response?)


RESPONSE:

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Reading #6: 3.2—3.33.2Hamlet’s Advice to the Player In the first section of the scene (lines 1-47), Hamlet gives instructions to the Player (actor) on the nature

of play-acting.o What is Hamlet’s general criticism of many actors he has seen, which he is of course

cautioning the Player against?o In lines 21-26, Hamlet discusses “the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and

now, was and is…” to do what? According to Hamlet (and Shakespeare?), what is the purpose of theater?

Hamlet with Horatio1. Read over Hamlet’s complimentary words for Horatio in lines 59-79, and when in line 76 he says,

Give me that man That is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him In my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart, As I do thee,

a. what is he saying about his good friend?

b. In lines 80-92, what is Hamlet’s instruction for Horatio?

Hamlet with Ophelia How does Hamlet insult Ophelia in lines 116-144 (or at least, how does he make her feel uncomfortable?)?

[This question is out of order—lines 174-175] What is Hamlet’s rejoinder to Ophelia’s comment on the prologue of the play, “Tis brief, my lord” (174)? What appears to be Hamlet’s motivation in saying this?

2. How does he insult his mother, through his conversation with Ophelia?

The Play The Dumb (silent) Show. Briefly describe the events of this short pantomime. In lines 202-203, what is the Player Queen saying when she says, “In second husband le me be accurst. /None

wed the second but who killed the first”? Paraphrase the Player King’s correction to the Player Queen in lines 234-236: “Our wills and fates do so contrary

run / That our devices still are overthrown; / Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own.” Explain what Gertrude means in her famous response to Hamlet’s question of whether she likes the play: “The

lady doth protest to much, methinks.” When Guildenstern lets Hamlet know that the king (Claudius) is angry (“with choler” [330]), Hamlet responds that

they should go get a doctor. What does he say would happen if Hamlet were to come to see him? What is Rosencrantz’s news regarding what the Queen, Gertrude, “desires” (359) of Hamlet? When the Players “enter with recorders”, Hamlet asks one of the Players to see his recorder (flute/pipe) and then

uses it as a metaphor in reprimanding Guildenstern. What does Hamlet do? What is his point? In Hamlet’s short speech to himself at the end of the scene, what does he urge himself on to do?

3. So how does Claudius respond to the play? Why is this response important to Hamlet?

3.3Claudius and Polonius Scheming

What orders does Claudius give to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the opening of the scene? (This is the plan he announced to Polonius at the end of the last scene, 3.2.) (Also, what do you make of the significance of Claudius’s use of the pronouns us and our?)

What is Polonius’s reasoning for his spying on Hamlet while he is with his mother (after all, Gertrude could merely report on the discussion herself)? [An arras, by the way, is the heavy curtain or tapestry that Polonius will be standing behind.]

4. Read over Guildenstern and Rosencrantz’s collective response of support for the king. How does Rosencrantz’s “Never alone / Did the king sigh, but with a general groan (24)” summarize the key point of the response?

The Conscience of the King: Claudius Alone Claudius, alone, says his offense has “the primal eldest curse upon ‘t” (41), referring to the story of Cain and Abel.

Why is this confession so important to the story? In lines 45-47, Claudius says, “And, like a man to double business bound, / I stand in pause where I shall first

begin / And both neglect.” What is Claudius’s “double business” here? (What two goals does he have at this moment?) How does this sentence reflect on Hamlet also?

Restate Claudius’s central question/concern in this speech, which begins with “’Forgive me my foul murder?’” and ends with “retain the offense?”

What help does Claudius want from the angels in “Help, angels!” (73)

Enter Hamlet5. He draws his sword (78). He sheathes his sword (94). What changes Hamlet’s mind—what is his

reasoning? What does Hamlet now plan to wait for, in dealing with his revenge against Claudius?

Critical Thinking—Choose ONE of the following prompts to respond to.Prompt A: LOGICAL REASONING/MAKING INFERENCES (drawing inferences or conclusions that are supported in or justified by evidence). Explain Claudius’s couplet that ends the scene: “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; / Words without thoughts never to heaven go” (102-03). And why does this make Hamlet’s decision to spare him more ironic?


RESPONSE:

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Reading #7: 3.4—4.43.4

What instructions does Polonius give to Gertrude about speaking with Hamlet before Polonius goes to hide behind the arras, or heavy curtain/tapestry?

Note Hamlet’s clever response in his attacking language toward his mother that follow his question, “Now, mother, what’s the matter?” (11). How does Hamlet play on the word father?

Paraphrase Hamlet’s threat to his mother, “You will not go till I set you up a glass / Where you may see the inmost part of you” (25).

Whom does Hamlet think he might have killed the moment after he thrusts his rapier through the arras? Think about Gertrude’s four-word response to Hamlet’s accusation, “A bloody deed—almost as bad, good

mother, / As kill a king and marry with his brother” (34-35)—“As kill a king?” How would you direct Gertrude to read this line, in order to give the audience a clue about whether she knows about Claudius killing her first husband or not?

Hamlet says to the dead Polonius, “Thou find’st to be too busy (meddlesome/nosy/interfering) is some danger” (40). Note this simple reproach to the practice of spying that we see so much of in the play. (Nothing to write down here—but remember to always be ready for small lines that speak to larger themes or ideas in the play.)

Read over the long speech that follows Hamlet’s line to his mother, “Look here upon this picture and on this.” He is showing her two portraits. What is he trying to do here? How does Gertrude respond?

Read what Hamlet says in, “Nay, but to live…” (103). What is his concern (obsession?) here?

1. Enter Ghost.a. Why does Hamlet think the Ghost has come to “chide” (scold) (122) him?

b. What does the Ghost caution Hamlet to “not forget” (126)?

c. Read over Gertrude’s response to Hamlet’s behavior in lines 133-141. What is she questioning Hamlet about? And why is this significant to the story?

d. Paraphrase Gertrude’s line, “This is the very coinage of your brain” (158).

What is Hamlet’s advice to Gertrude in lines 180-191, which begins with “Go not…” Then what does he say about having killed Polonius?

Write Hamlet’s famous line, “I must be cruel only to be kind” (199), in your own words. What does Hamlet tell Gertrude not to do (“Not this by no means that I bid you do” [203]) in lines 203-218—which

she agrees to in her response in lines 219-221. Finally, where does Hamlet remind Gertrude he will be going, and with whom?

4.1 (Claudius, Gertrude, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern) How does Gertrude respond to Claudius’s question, “How does Hamlet?”? (6) (What could be the two meanings

of Gertrude’s opinion of Hamlet’s state of mind?) When the king says, “It had been so with us, had we been there,” what does he mean by us (to a king), and what

is he saying here?

2. What is Claudius’s plan now for Hamlet, and what does he ask of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

4.2 (Hamlet and Rosencrantz) What object does Hamlet compare Rosencrantz to in the beginning of the scene? What is Hamlet’s reasoning? Hamlet: “The body is with the King, but the King is not with the body. The King is a thing—“ (25-26). What is the

effect on the reader of these strange lines of Hamlet?

4.3 (Hamlet and Claudius) How does Hamlet eventually answer Claudius’s question about the whereabouts of Polonius? What does Hamlet mockingly call Claudius when he says, “Farewell,” in line 58? What is his reasoning? At the end of the scene, what is Claudius’s plan for Hamlet? (What does he mean by “Do it, England”?) Paraphrase “Diseases desperate grown / By desperate appliance are relieved / Or not at all” (9-12)

3. Read over Claudius’s short speech at the beginning of Scene 3. What is his concern for Hamlet in the following:

“He’s loved of the distracted multitude,Who like not in their judgment, but their eyes;And, where ‘tis so, th’ offender’s scourge is weighed,But never the offense. (4-7)

4.4 (Fortinbras and Hamlet’s fourth soliloquy—action!) Why does Fortinbras send the captain to greet Claudius? (Fortinbras also uses the royal “we,” like Claudius.) On his way to the boat that will take him to England, Hamlet meets the Captain. According to the Captain, what is

the Norwegian army’s plan, which begins, “Truly to speak, and with no addition (18)?

4. Read through Hamlet’s fourth soliloquy.a. What are the two adjectives he uses to describe Prince Fortinbras, who, remember, is also

dealing with the loss of a father.

b. What does Hamlet question himself about when he says, “I do not know / Why…” (46-47)?

c. How is Hamlet spurred to action by the plans of Fortinbras and his army? (Remember his second soliloquy, when he was spurred to action by the First Player.)

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Reading #8: 4.5-4.74.5 (Ophelia’s Madness and Laertes’s Return)

Whom is the gentleman speaking about to the queen—and what is the report? In Gertrude’s aside, what could she appear to be guilty about?

To my sick soul (as sin’s true nature is),Each toy seems prologue to some great amiss.So full of artless jealousy is guilt,It spills itself in fearing to be spilt.

Look over Ophelia’s strange songs and speech from lines 28-78. Can you find any themes or method to her mad speech?

How does Claudius, just after Ophelia’s exit, explain the cause of her behavior? What is the messenger’s report of the commoners’ (the rabble) response to Laertes’s return?

1. List the five sorrows that Claudius identifies in his speech that follows the famous lines, “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, / But in battalions” (83-84):

2. What is Laertes’s demand of Claudius, after the king says, “Let him demand his fill” (147)? After Laertes has a chance to see the full extent of Ophelia’s madness, what does the king suggest to him in lines 226-236, that begin with, “Laertes, I must commune with your grief”?

4.6 (Hamlet’s Letter to Horatio)3. What is the gist of Hamlet’s news to Horatio in his letter? How has he come to be returning to Denmark

when his boat was headed for England?

4.7 (Claudius and Laertes’s Plan) What is the news in Hamlet’s letter to Claudius (which, of course, surprises the king, who wants him dead)? What is Claudius talking about when he says, “But even his mother shall uncharged the practice / And call it

accident” (75-76)? What is Laertes’s request? In lines 108-119 (“He made confession of you…”), Claudius sets out a reason for a potential duel between Laertes

and Hamlet. Briefly explain Claudius’s thinking. Read over Claudius and Laertes’s plan in lines 145-185 to kill Hamlet. What are the two back-up plans (one,

Laertes’s, and one, Claudius’s) to Laertes killing Hamlet in a duel?4. What are Claudius’s “two special reasons” (11) for not punishing Hamlet when he was caught after killing

Polonius?

5. Describe with some detail the news that Gertrude brings at the end of the scene.

Critical Thinking—Choose ONE of the following prompts to respond to.Prompt A: INFORMATION SEEKING—GATHERING EVIDENCE (Searching for evidence, facts, or knowledge by identifying relevant sources and gathering objective, subjective, historical, and current data from those sources) Read over Claudius and Laertes’s plan in lines 145-185 to kill Hamlet. What are the two back-up plans (one, Laertes’s, and one, Claudius’s) to Laertes killing Hamlet in a duel?


RESPONSE:

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Reading #9: 5.1The Gravediggers (Clowns)

What is the final punchline to the Gravedigger’s riddle, “Who builds stronger than a mason, a shipwright, or a carpenter?”?

1. In the opening section of the scene the two gravediggers (“Gravedigger” and “Other”—called “clowns” in another addition of Hamlet are discussing Christian burials and deaths by suicide, along with the tradition that those who kill themselves are not given a full Christian funeral.

a. Whose death are the two gravediggers likely to be speaking of?

b. What is the Other’s conclusion about the fairness of the burial they are preparing for, when he says in lines 24-26, “If this had not been a gentlewoman…”?

Hamlet, the Gravedigger, and Yorick’s Skull When Hamlet sees the Gravedigger hold up a skull (77), he wonders to Horatio whose it may be. In lines 78-88,

what are some possibilities Hamlet imagines. Enjoy the playfulness of the Gravedigger with Hamlet when Hamlet asks questions to draw him out.

o What initial information does Hamlet want from the Gravedigger?o What is the dramatic irony of Hamlet’s questioning?

Lines 145-166, from Hamlet’s question, “How long has thou been a gravemaker?”, reveal Hamlet’s age. How old is Hamlet?

The Gravedigger insults England (Shakespeare taking his own swipe, likely) when speaking of young Hamlet’s madness. Explain.

Read over Hamlet’s famous lines about the King’s jester Yorick’s skull (“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio” [190-191]). Draw your own picture this iconic moment in the play.

2. Read over Hamlet’s lines from 100-114, when he sees more skulls (“There’s another. Why may not that be the skull of a lawyer?”) What is Hamlet’s concern here?

3. Hamlet extrapolates from Yorick’s skull to think about Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar and meditate on life. How does Hamlet reason that Alexander might end up as the cork in a barrel of beer?

Hamlet, Laertes, and the Funeral According to the Doctor (the priest), what is and is not given to Ophelia for her burial? (Any reduction in full rites

makes Laertes angry [“I tell thee, churlish priest…” (250)]). What does Gertrude confess to have been wishing for when she says farewell to Ophelia, in line 255? What directions does the king give to Horatio when Hamlet exits? What directions does he give to Laertes?

4. What does Hamlet mean by “maimed rites” (226) when he sees the funeral procession, while hiding with Horatio?

5. What does Hamlet confess in lines 285-287, after he says, “I will fight with him (Laertes) upon this theme”? How does he seem to be competing with Laertes in his line that follow?

VisualizingRead over Hamlet’s famous lines about the King’s jester Yorick’s skull (“Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him, Horatio” [190-191]). Draw your own picture this iconic moment in the play.

William Shakespeare’s Hamlet: Reading #10: 5.2 (final scene)Hamlet Alone with Horatio

In lines 15-70, Hamlet gives an account of what happened during his trip to England before it was cut short by him luckily boarding the pirates’ ship.

Finding the Packeto “Fingered their packet”: Who is being referred to in their? And what is the packet?o What important information does Hamlet learn from the packet (which he lets Horatio read [“Here’s the

commission. Read it at more leisure.”])?

Making the Switcho In lines 43-52, what important information is in the “new commission” that Hamlet wrote?o And how does Hamlet officially seal (or stamp) this letter (so that the England will not think it’s a

counterfeit)?

Explain Hamlet’s response to Horatio’s caution: “It will be short. The interim’s mine” (83)

1. What is Hamlet’s philosophy to Horatio in lines 11 and 12, “There’s divinity that shapes our ends, / Rough-hew them how we will”?

2. Explain Hamlet’s thoughts in the following lines: “They are not in my conscience. Their defeat / Does by their own insinuation grow” (65-66).

3. In lines 72-80 (“Does it not, think thee…), Hamlet lists four reasons for revenge against Claudius. What are they?

Osric and Hamlet: Details of the Duel In lines 92-207, Osric, one of the courtiers, gives Hamlet and Horatio details of Hamlet impending duel with

Laertes. Follow what you can of this wordy conversation. At the very least, pay attention to the following questions:

o What is Osric’s initial news for Hamlet in lines 114-116, which begins, “My lord, his Majesty bade me signify to you that…”?

o What is meant by Osric’s comment about Laertes’s skill in fencing, “in his meed he’s unfellowed” (155-6)? And what are Laertes’s weapons?

o In lines 160-166, Osric reports that Claudius has bet six horses and Laertes has offered six French swords and daggers in the fight against Hamlet. Then, in lines 178-182, there are the details of the bet itself. There will be twelve rounds, called passes, in the fight (which is planned for sport and is not meant as a fight to the death). What are the details of the bet, of what each man is betting on to accomplish in the twelve rounds?

Hamlet Alone with Horatio What is Hamlet’s initial response to Horatio’s conviction that he “will lose” (223)?

4. Just before the duel, Hamlet responds to Horatio’s offer to postpone it with a short speech that begins, “Not a whit. We defy augury” (233). Write the gist of Hamlet’s comment, which includes the final sentence, “Let be” (238), possibly an answer to the initial question of his famous third soliloquy, in 3.1.

The Finale Paraphrase Hamlet’s apology to Laertes. What does Hamlet blame for the wrong he did to Laertes? How does

Laertes respond? What does Hamlet say to the king when he is offered the cup to drink? When Gertrude raises the same cup to

drink to Hamlet, why does the King say, “Gertrude, do not drink” (317) Just before Gertrude falls, both Hamlet and Laertes are hit by the poisoned rapier. How? How does Claudius die? What news of accomplishment does the English ambassador have in lines 406-412? How does Fortinbras treat Hamlet’s body, in the play’s final speech?

5. What does Hamlet mean in his dying wish to Horatio, “But I do prophesy th’ election lights / On Fortinbras; he has my dying voice” (392-93)?

Critical Thinking—Choose ONE of the following prompts to respond to.Prompt A: LOGICAL REASONING/MAKING INFERENCES (drawing inferences or conclusions that are supported in or justified by evidence). Speaking of Laertes, Hamlet says, “For by the image of my cause, I see / The portraiture of his. I’ll court his favors” (87-88). Why is Hamlet suddenly sympathetic to Laertes, with whom he just argued at Ophelia’s burial? What change does this suggest in Hamlet?


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