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HAMLET
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12 ENGLISH STUDIES 2016
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Ms Paine
Loreto College
Hamlet – Synopsis of the Play
From Dickson, Andrew. The Rough Guide To Shakespeare (2003) Penguin Books.
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Activity 1: Close Reading Questions
Instructions
 Answer the following questions, making sure that you use textual references and quotations where possible to
substantiate your points.
 Remember to record the location of a quotation in the play using the following method – act number. scene number.
line numbers eg. 3.2.115-6. It will help you contextualise your quotations later.
ACT 1
Act 1, Scene 1
1. What atmosphere is created by the opening lines? What do we learn about the state of Denmark from this
scene?
Act 1, Scene 2
2. Consider the definition of a malcontent:
“The Malcontent is a character type often used in early modern drama. The character is discontent with the social
structure and other characters in the play. He or she is often an outsider, who observes and offers commentary on the action
and may even show awareness that they are in a play. Shakespeare's Richard III and Iago in Othello are typical malcontents.
The role is usually both political and dramatic; with the malcontent voicing dissatisfaction with the usually
'Machiavellian' political atmosphere and often using asides to build up a kind of self-consciousness and awareness of the text
itself which other characters in the play will lack to the same extent.
The most important thing about the malcontent, is that he is malcontent—unhappy, unsettled, displeased with the world
as he sees it—not at ease with the world of the play in which he finds himself, eager to change it somehow, or to dispute with
it. He is an objective or quasi-objective voice that comments on the concerns of the play and comments as though he is
somehow above or beyond them.”
(source: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malcontent> accessed on 29/07/09)
How does the Hamlet of this scene fit the model of a malcontent?
3. Closely read Hamlet’s soliloquy (1.2.129-158). Shakespeare often adopts the techniques of repetition, short
abrupt phrases, imagery and specific word choices to communicate the intensity of a character’s innermost
thoughts. Write down quotations for each technique:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Repetition
Short abrupt phrases
Imagery
Specific word choices
Finally, how does the use of these techniques convey a sense of Hamlet’s desperation to the audience?
Act 1, Scene 3
4. This scene introduces the major sub-plot of Hamlet, as Shakespeare further develops the characters of
Polonius and his children, Laertes and Ophelia. Employing quotations where necessary, create a table in your
workbooks like the one below to summarise your findings:
Character
Polonius
Laertes
Ophelia
Personality Traits
Techniques that
reveal this to the
audience
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Act 1, Scene 4 & 5
5. How does Shakespeare Hamlet’s confusion when he first sees the ghost?
6. Briefly summarise the ghost’s story. What is Hamlet’s response? What plans does he make? Why is it
important that Hamlet force Horatio and Marcellus to keep silent at the end of this scene?
ACT 2
Act 2, Scene 2
(lines 221-601)
7. Closely read and analyse the following passage from Hamlet that starts with the phrase “I have of late…”
(2.2.280-91), then complete these activities.
a. Summarise the purpose of this speech.
b. What poetic devices does Hamlet employ here?
c. Given what you know of Rosencrantz and Guildestern, how is this speech, while genuine, nevertheless
ironic?
d. How does Shakespeare indicate Hamlet’s “feigned” state of madness through his choice of verse form?
8. Hamlet’s mood significantly changes upon hearing about the players? Why is Hamlet so attracted to the
players? What might they reflect about his situation? (Remember: Shakespeare often employs the technique
of doubling to reinforce certain points in the play.)
ACT 3
Act 3, Scene 1
9. The “To be or, not to be” soliloquy 3.1. 56-89) is considered one of the most famous speeches by Shakespeare.
Closely read this speech again and then complete these activities.
a. Why might this speech be considered the musings of a malcontent? What quotations allow this
reading?
b. How does Shakespeare use a variety of techniques (eg. antithesis, imagery etc) to communicate
Hamlet’s melancholy to the audience?
c. What features of this speech differentiate from the other soliloquies by Hamlet so far in this play?
Kenneth Branagh performing
the “To be or not to be”
soliloquy in his film version
of the play from 1996.
Source:
<http://blogs.crikey.com.au/literaryminded/files/2008
/12/branagh-hamlet.jpg> accessed on 05/08/09
10. Ophelia describes the sudden shocking change in Hamlet’s behaviour in this speech (3.1.144-55). Considering
the Renaissance belief in the Chain of Being, why is she particularly horrified?
Act 3, Scene 2
11. Summarise the story of the play and Claudius’s reaction.
12. Throughout this scene Hamlet speaks in both blank verse (iambic pentameter) and prose depending on who he
is speaking too. Explain in your own words why Shakespeare chooses to make such distinctions.
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Act 3, Scene 3
13. Closely read Claudius’ speech (3.3.35-72)
a. What does Claudius mean when he asks, “Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens/ to wash it
white as snow?”
b. For what reason, does Hamlet choose not to kill Claudius at this stage?
Act 3, Scene 4
14. Find two examples of imagery that features disease or corruption in this scene. For each example explain the
reason why Shaksepeare has chosen that image?
15. How does the character of Gertrude change throughout this scene?
ACT 4
**(no questions for Scenes 1 & 2)
Act 4, Scene 4
16. Closely read Hamlet’s final soliloquy (4.4.32-66). How does Shakespeare employ a range of techniques to
explore Hamlet’s confused and contradictory mental state? For each technique, find an appropriate quotation
to substantiate your points.
a. analogy (parallel/ doubling)
b. imagery
c. contradictions
Act 4, Scene 5
17. What has caused Ophelia’s condition? How does Shakespeare convey this change in her personality to the
audience?
18. What is the cause of Laertes’ anger? Look closely how at Laertes’ use of language particularly early in this
scene? How does this writing technique and active approach offer a contrast to Hamlet?
**(no questions for Scene 6)
Act 4, Scene 7
19. What is Claudius’ and Laertes’ plan for Hamlet? (list the three steps)
ACT 5
Act 5, Scene 1
20. Why do you think Shakespeare has chosen to include the scene with the gravediggers (ie. the clown) at this
stage of the play? How does it affect the tone of the play?
21. In this scene, Hamlet makes reference to the death and decay of the human body even if it is that of a great
warrior and leader like Alexander and Julius Ceasar, as well as contemplating the skull of the court jester,
Yorick. How does Shakespeare employ a variety of techniques both written and through stagecraft to reveal
Hamlet’s attitude towards death?
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Mel Gibson as Hamlet from the
Zefirelli film version of the play
Source: <http://theatre.hum.uab.edu/classes/analysis/images/hamlet/gibsonhamlet-yorick.jpg> accessed on 05/08/09.
Act 5 Scene 2
22. Does Hamlet need to apologise to Laertes? How might this demonstrate a change in his character?
23. What does the arrival of young Fontinbras signal at the end of the play?
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APPENDIX:
Activity 2:
The Great Chain of Being & the ‘Spiritual Weather’ of Denmark
Read this excerpt regarding the Renaissance belief in the Chain of Being.
THE GREAT CHAIN OF BEING
“Among the most important of the continuities with the Classical period was the concept of the Great
Chain of Being. Its major premise was that every existing thing in the universe had its "place" in a divinely
planned hierarchical order, which was pictured as a chain vertically extended. ("Hierarchical" refers to an
order based on a series of higher and lower, strictly ranked gradations.) An object's "place" depended on
the relative proportion of "spirit" and "matter" it contained--the less "spirit" and the more "matter," the
lower down it stood. At the bottom, for example, stood various types of inanimate objects, such as metals,
stones, and the four elements (earth, water, air, fire). Higher up were various members of the vegetative
class, like trees and flowers. Then came animals; then humans; and then angels. At the very top was God.
Then within each of these large groups, there were other hierarchies. For example, among metals, gold was
the noblest and stood highest; lead had less "spirit" and more matter and so stood lower. (Alchemy was
based on the belief that lead could be changed to gold through an infusion of "spirit.") The various species
of plants, animals, humans, and angels were similarly ranked from low to high within their respective
segments. Finally, it was believed that between the segments themselves, there was continuity (shellfish were
lowest among animals and shaded into the vegetative class, for example, because without locomotion, they
most resembled plants).
Besides universal orderliness, there was universal interdependence. This was implicit in the doctrine
of "correspondences," which held that different segments of the chain reflected other segments. For
example, Renaissance thinkers viewed a human being as a microcosm (literally, a "little world") that
reflected the structure of the world as a whole, the macrocosm; just as the world was composed of four
"elements" (earth, water, air, fire), so too was the human body composed of four substances called
"humours," with characteristics corresponding to the four elements. (Illness occurred when there was an
imbalance or "disorder" among the humours, that is, when they did not exist in proper proportion to each
other.) "Correspondences" existed everywhere, on many levels. Thus the hierarchical organization of the
mental faculties was also thought of as reflecting the hierarchical order within the family, the state, and the
forces of nature. When things were properly ordered, reason ruled the emotions, just as a king ruled his
subjects, the parent ruled the child, and the sun governed the planets. But when disorder was present in one
realm, it was correspondingly reflected in other realms. For example, in Shakespeare's King Lear, the
simultaneous disorder in family relationships and in the state (child ruling parent, subject ruling king) is
reflected in the disorder of Lear's mind (the loss of reason) as well as in the disorder of nature (the raging
storm). Lear even equates his loss of reason to "a tempest in my mind."
POLITICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE CHAIN OF BEING
The fear of "disorder" was not merely philosophical--it had significant political ramifications. The
proscription against trying to rise beyond one's place was of course useful to political rulers, for it helped to
reinforce their authority. The implication was that civil rebellion caused the chain to be broken, and
according to the doctrine of correspondences, this would have dire consequences in other realms. It was a
sin against God, at least wherever rulers claimed to rule by "Divine Right." (And in England, the King was
also the head of the Anglican Church.) In Shakespeare, it was suggested that the sin was of cosmic
proportions: civil disorders were often accompanied by meteoric disturbances in the heavens. (Before
Halley's theory about periodic orbits, comets, as well as meteors, were thought to be disorderly heavenly
bodies.)
The need for strong political rule was in fact very significant, for the Renaissance had brought an
end for the most part to feudalism, the medieval form of political organization. The major political
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accomplishment of the Renaissance, perhaps, was the establishment of effective central government, not
only in the north but in the south as well. Northern Europe saw the rise of national monarchies headed by
kings, especially in England and France. Italy saw the rise of the territorial city-state often headed by
wealthy oligarchic families. Not only did the chain of being concept provide a rationale for the authority of
such rulers; it also suggested that there was ideal behavior that was appropriate to their place in the order
of things. It is no wonder then that much Renaissance literature is concerned with the ideals of kingship,
with the character and behaviour of rulers, as in Machiavelli's Prince or Shakespeare's Henry V. “
(source <http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/cs6/ren.html> accessed on 29/07/09)
Now answer these questions:
24. Like Scotland in Macbeth, Denmark is a country suffering. Why is so? What has disrupted the state of being?
25. Throughout Act 1, there are many literal and figurative descriptions of a disordered society filled with disturbed
individuals. Find at least 4 quotations that describe Denmark’s current state and identify the techniques that
Shakespeare is employing.
Activity 3: The Revenge Tragedy
In Hamlet, Shakespeare is clearly adopting the features of a Revenge Tragedy that was popular during the Elizabethan
times. Yet he does something new and unexpected in Hamlet by giving his protagonist a complex and multidimensional personality, which is similar to taking a typical action hero (eg. Bruce Willis as John McClane in Die Hard or
Daniel Craig’s 007) and giving him insight and emotional depth. This is why Shakespeare’s plays continue to be read
and studied, while Kyd’s works have largely been banished to the basements of university libraries.
“The revenge play or revenge tragedy is a form of tragedy which was extremely popular in the Elizabethan
and Jacobean eras. The best-known of these are Thomas Kyd's The Spanish Tragedy and William
Shakespeare's Hamlet.
 A secret murder, usually of a benign ruler by a bad one
 A ghostly visitation of the murder victim to a younger kinsman, generally a son
 A period of disguise, intrigue, or plotting, in which the murderer and the avenger scheme against each
other, with a slowly rising body count
 A descent into either real or feigned madness by the avenger or one of the auxiliary characters
 An eruption of general violence at the end, which (in the Renaissance) is often accomplished by means of
a feigned masque or festivity
 A catastrophe that utterly decimates the dramatis personae, including the avenger
In the English plays, the avenger is either stoic (albeit not very specifically) or struggling to be so; in this
respect, the main thematic concern of the English revenge plays is the problem of pain. Politically, the
English playwrights used the revenge plot to explore themes of absolute power, corruption in court, and of
faction--all concerns that applied to late Elizabethan and Jacobean politics.”
(source <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenge_tragedy> accessed on 29/07/09)
Question:
26. At the end of Act 1, what is Hamlet called upon to avenge? Why must he do this? What consequences has this
event had, both for himself and his country?
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