English Lit. & AP English Lit. - Hamlet
June 9, 2011
Dear English Literature Students,
I hope you are having an amazing summer and looking ahead to an exciting 2011-2012 school year.
I am definitely looking forward to meeting you for the first time or seeing you again. Most
importantly, I am ready to teach English Literature and AP English Literature for the first time!
This year we will be examining a wide variety of writers, genres, time periods, and themes. In
preparation for the fall, you have a summer reading assignment that will help us hit August 23rd with
momentum! You are going to read Hamlet by William Shakespeare. You can acquire the play at a
public library, your home library, a bookstore, or read it online. In fact, I recommend the No Fear
Shakespeare option on Spark Notes. I also recommend watching a film version in addition to
reading the text. No matter what, you bring a personal copy that you can annotate in class.
Please read the play very carefully because you will be given an assignment in the first days of class
that will include taking a short reading comprehension quiz on Accelerated Reader. In addition,
please complete the Study Guide which will be turned in for credit and used for class discussion. I
recommend that you work on the Study Guide as you read the play.
While required summer reading may be new for some students, the teachers here at Concordia agree
that it is important for you to keep reading during your summer vacation. So, don’t feel like you
have to limit yourself to only one book. In fact, if you read anything else that you recommend,
please let me know! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me through my
email. Happy summer and happy reading!
I will be attending a free
performance of Hamlet at Griffith
Park on Friday, July 19th. If you’d
like information about this live
performance opportunity, please
email me for details. Here is the
website for the company:
Your devoted English Literature teacher,
Mrs. Susan Norton
[email protected]
www.independentshakespeare.com
Summer Reading Assignment Page | 1
English Lit. & AP English Lit. - Hamlet
Hamlet Study Guide
Due: Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Answer the following questions as you read the play. The quiz questions will come from
the study guide. Please come ready to discuss and ask questions.
Full Title: The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Author: William Shakespeare
Date of Composition: Likely between 1600 and 1602
Setting: Denmark
Main Characters: Hamlet, Ghost of King Hamlet, Gertrude, Claudius, Ophelia, Laertes, Polonius
Some Main Symbols

Ghost of King Hamlet. The Ghost is a symbol of
the consequences of death in the afterlife.
Essential quotation: “I am thy father's spirit, / Doom'd
for a certain term to walk the night, / And for the day
confined to fast in fires, / Till the foul crimes done in
my days of nature / Are burnt and purged away.”
(1.5.13-17).
 Yorick’s skull. Yorick’s skull is a reminder of
mortality and the permanency of death.
Essential quotation: “Alas, poor Yorick! I knew him,
Horatio: a fellow / of infinite jest, of most excellent
fancy. He hath / borne me on his back a thousand
times; and now, how / abhorred in my imagination it
is!” (5.1.177-179).

Flowers. In Ophelia’s bouquet, each flower she
distributes is a symbol for the ways various
peoplehave betrayed her. For example, daisies are
symbols of unhappiness in love.
Essential quotation: “There’s rosemary, that’s for
remembrance. And there’s pansies, that’s for
thoughts…There’s fennel for you, and columbines.
There’s rue for you, and here’s some for me; we / may
call it herb of grace o’ Sundays. You (must) wear /
your rue with a difference. There’s a daisy. I would
give you some violets, but they wither’d all when / my
father died. They say he made good end.” (4.5.194199).
Some Main Themes


Uncertainty - Hamlet wishes to avenge his father
and punish both his mother and uncle, but he does
not know the moral or proper way to achieve
justice.
Fortune or Chance - Hamlet could not save his
father. No matter how carefully he plots his
revenge,chance events lay waste to his plans. In
Act 3, Scene 1, Hamlet believes his uncle is hiding
behind thecurtains in his mother’s room. In fact,
however, the person who is hiding is Polonius,
Ophelia’sfather. Hamlet kills him and sets off an
unanticipated chain of events.

Mortality - Hamlet is grief-stricken by the loss of
his father. When he comes upon Yorick’s skull,
Hamlet realizes the permanency of death. He
thinks of all the great men who have come before
him and not a single one has escaped death.
Essential quotation: “Alexander died, Alexander
was buried, Alexander returneth / into dust; the
dust is earth; of earth we make loam; / and why of
that loam, whereto he was converted, might / they
not stop a beer barrel? / Imperious Caesar, dead
and turn'd to clay / Might stop a hole to keep the
wind away” (5.1.201-206).
Act I
1. Why does the Ghost of Hamlet’s father appear but not speak to the officers on sentinel duty?
2. What do Ghostly apparitions usually portend, according to these witnesses?
3. What is the content of the dispatches Claudius has sent with Voltemand and Cornelius to the King of Norway?
4. In his soliloquy, what are Hamlet’s reasons for objecting to his mother’s remarriage?
5. What advice does Laertes give to Ophelia as he says farewell to her prior to his departure for Paris?
6. What advice does she give Laertes in return?
7. What is the thrust of the advice Polonius gives Laertes as his son prepares to leave?
Summer Reading Assignment Page | 2
English Lit. & AP English Lit. - Hamlet
8. What does Polonius instruct Ophelia to do regarding Hamlet?
9. What does the apparition tell Hamlet?
10. What two-part oath does Hamlet extract from his companions following the encounter with the Ghost?
Act 2
1. What task does Polonius assign Reynaldo in Paris?
2. Why is Ophelia so upset when she speaks with her father?
3. In what respect does Polonius change his mind about Hamlet and the prince’s relationship to Ophelia?
4. What task does Claudius assign to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
5. What news do Voltemand and Cornelius bring back from Norway?
6. What do Claudius and Gertrude conclude after hearing Polonius read the letter from Hamlet to Ophelia?
7. What does Polonius mean in an aside, speaking with Hamlet, “Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t”?
8. What does Hamlet make Rosencrantz and Guildenstern confess?
9. Why have Hamlet’s two friends arranged for the theatrical troupe to perform at the palace?
10. What is the significance of the speech which Hamlet requests from the actor, taken from the Trojan War?
Act 3
1. What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to Claudius regarding their conversation with Hamlet?
2. What does the pair fail to reveal to Claudius?
3. What favor does Hamlet ask of Horatio?
4. What is the plot of the Dumb Show the Players present?
5. What is the significance of the play’s title, “The Mousetrap”?
6. What does Hamlet mean, as he prepares to visit his mother, when he says, “O heart, lose not thy nature”?
7. What rationale do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern give for accepting Claudius’ commission to take Hamlet to England
forthwith?
8. What is ironic about Hamlet’s failure to kill Claudius while the King is kneeling in prayer?
9. What is Hamlet’s reaction when he realizes he has killed Polonius rather than Claudius, whom he had presumed to be
the one hiding behind the curtain?
10. What is the apparent purpose of the Ghost’s appearance in the Queen’s bedroom while Hamlet speaks with his
mother?
Act 4
1. What is Claudius’ response when Gertrude tells him that Hamlet has murdered Polonius?
2. What does Claudius direct Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to do?
3. Why does Hamlet hide Polonius’ corpse and then dash away when Rosencrantz and Guildenstern question him?
4. Why does Hamlet call Claudius “dear Mother”?
5. Why does Fortinbras send word to the Danish king (Claudius)?
6. How does Hamlet contrast himself (all men) to beasts?
7. How does Claudius propose to satisfy Laertes’ suspicions?
8. What reasons does Claudius give Laertes for not taking action against Hamlet, who, Claudius says, “Pursued [his]
life”?
9. Why does Claudius plan to poison the drink, in addition to poisoning the rapier tip which Laertes will wield?
10. How does Ophelia drown?
Act 5
1. Why is there debate surrounding the nature of Ophelia’s funeral?
2. How long has the gravedigger been sexton, and when did he first become employed?
3. What joking insult to the English does Shakespeare put into the gravedigger’s dialogue, regarding Hamlet’s madness?
4. What cause does Laertes ascribe to Ophelia’s madness, which led to her death?
5. What prompts Hamlet’s outburst at Ophelia’s graveside?
6. What order did Claudius’ letter, carried by Guildenstern and Rosencrantz, convey to the English regarding Hamlet’s
fate?
7. How does Hamlet justify his command that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are to be murdered by the English?
8. In his apology to Laertes, what does Hamlet mean when he says, “I have shot my arrow o’er the house and hurt my
brother”?
9. Why does Hamlet forbid Horatio to drink the rest of the poisoned cup?
10. Who will ascend to power as the new King of Denmark?
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English Lit. & AP English Lit. - Hamlet
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