Name:____________________________________________
Hamlet questions—Before we watch the video:
Based on what you have read so far, how would you cast this play? What do you picture when
you direct the play in your mind? For each character, tell the actor you would have play the role,
and tell why (consider--age/appearance/character traits they should show)
Hamlet
Claudius
Gertrude
Ghost
Horatio
Polonius
Laertes
Ophelia
Before you read—Complete this section for homework, due on Tuesday at the
beginning of class.
The expressions “being in somebody’s business” and “being concerned” have similar
meanings, yet they have very different connotations. What does each of those
expressions mean to you?
How can you tell when someone is being nosy versus when someone is showing
concern?
Imagine that you are a parent and you suspect your child is in one of the situations below.
In which cases would you think it your responsibility to talk to your child's friends for
information to help your child? Is it ever right for a parent to do this?
Excessive drinking
Smoking cigarettes
Using illegal drugs
Suicidal
Dating someone emotionally abusive
Dating someone physically abusive
Explain—
As a friend, in which of these situations would you seek out the person's parents in order
to help? Is it ever right for a friend to do this?
You can stop here for Tuesday. You should finish ________________________
before class on Wednesday.
Act 2, scene 1
1. What is your opinion of Polonius before the scene begins? Why?
2. Polonius is sending Reynaldo to France to spy on Laertes. List several things
Polonius commands him to say about Laertes. Why in the world is he doing this?
(pages 75-77).
3. What is Ophelia’s state of mind/emotional state when she enters the scene?
4. Ophelia recounts Hamlet’s actions when she talks to Polonius. Describe his
actions and appearance.
5. Look back at page 67, lines 190-192. How has he decided to act? Why do you
this he is planning to act this way?
6. Now back to this scene—Do you think the way Hamlet behaves around Ophelia is
real or an act?
7. Polonius thinks that Hamlet acts this way because of ___________________. Do
you think he is right?
8. How do you feel about Polonius by the end of the scene? Explain.
9. What has Shakespeare included to potentially change our view on Polonius?
Act 2, scene 2
1. Why are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern at Elsinore (the palace where Hamlet
lives)? What can you tell about their relationship to Hamlet?
2. Visualize lines 35-36. What happened there? Why would Shakespeare do this?
3. We’ve seen multiple explanations of Hamlet’s madness: love, his father’s death,
and “our o’erhasty marriage.” Who comes up with each explanation? Do you
think they are right?
4. What news does Voltemand bring about the war?
5. Polonius speaks a lot, but he doesn’t always say much. Give some lines where
you see this to be true.
6. What does Polonius read to the Queen? What do you take from this? Is Polonius
right about the cause Hamlet’s “insanity”?
7. What plan does Polonius suggest?
8. Hamlet is a significantly smarter, wittier character than Polonius. Give one
example of this from pages 95-97. Explain how it shows he is smarter.
9. What sexual joke do Hamlet, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern make on page 97
(page 58, red book)? For Hamlet, how is the joke true?
10. To what does Hamlet compare Denmark? What do you think he means by
this/why do you think he says it?
11. Hamlet says “…for there is nothing\ either good or bad but thinking makes it\
so…” at II.ii.268-270 (lines 254-256, red book). What does this mean to you?
12. What question does Hamlet ask Rosencrantz and Guildenstern multiple times?
Why do you think he wanted to know so badly? Do they tell him the truth? What
does this show about their friendship with Hamlet?
13. If you were Hamlet, would you like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Would you
trust them? Why or why not?
14. What sexual joke occurs on page 103 (page 61, red book)? Why do you think
Shakespeare has these guys make sexual jokes multiple times?
15. Hamlet says, “He that plays the king shall be welcome” (II.ii.343). He says this
after he hears that the actors are coming to Elsinore. What do you think he
means/why does he say this? (Consider different possible meanings of the word
plays).
16. What does Polonius come to tell Hamlet on 107 (page 64, red book)? How does
Hamlet mock Polonius here?
17. Why does Hamlet ask the players to quote a speech about Priam and Pyrrhus?
18. What do lines 555-559 mean?
19. On page 115 (69-70, red book), Hamlet asks the first player for two or three
favors. What are they, and what do you think he plans to do?
20. What are a couple of lines that you really liked from this section? Explain why
using the example below as a model. Your response should go beyond the
surface. For example, “I like this quote because it sounds good” is an inadequate
response.
Example:
I like where Hamlet says “I could be bounded in a nutshell/and count myself the king
of infinite space, were it/not that I have bad dreams”(II.ii.257-259). I can picture a
person trapped inside of a walnut, but feeling like he owns the world. Also, I can see the
opposite. There are people who seem to have it all, but their minds will never let them be
satisfied or content. I admire those who find satisfaction in little, but I can definitely
identify with the idea of my own negativity (“bad dreams”) ruining my chance of joy in
some situations. This line is significant to me because it makes me contemplate myself
and how my perspective impacts me in positive and negative ways.