Hamlet Questions

Act 1 (3)
Horatio is a friend of Hamlet’s from school. Horatio was very respectful of Prince Hamlet, and as the play when on, Hamlet began to rely heavily upon him. Horatio lives through the end of the story to tell the tale of Hamlet.

Act 2 (3 & 4)
Polonius’ word play and metaphor shows him as a conniving and manipulative character trying to convince the queen her son, the next person in line for the throne, has gone mad after his father’s death. It also downplays him a bit, making it hard for the audience to want to listen to his useless words. Polonius does not know how to make a speech simple and sweet.

Polonius is a foolish character, however, he was wise to tell his daughter, Ophelia, to stay away from Hamlet. Although Hamlet had great love for her, he was burdened by the troubles of his evil uncle.

Act 3 (2 & 4)
Gertrude is guilty of pretending everything in her world is all right. She does not cope with reality, and instead of mourning her husband’s death, she marries her brother. In Act 3, Hamlet reproaches her for doing such a deed. She is protecting Claudius, the man who killed her first husband and Hamlet’s father. As the play wears on, I do feel sorry for her. She is blinded to see that Claudius was the real culprit behind King Hamlet’s death and does not understand he is completely manipulating her.

The play in Act 3 explains that humbleness in Elizabethan theatre was key. It was not acceptable to be exuberant with your lines or to have exaggerated hand gestures, however, it was not acceptable to be lame, either. The scene shows that they took their theatre very seriously.

Act 4 (2 & 3)
Ophelia goes mad with loneliness. Her father is killed by Hamlet who is in turn sent away from Denmark. The two people she cared for most are suddenly taken away from her. She no longer has anyone but her brother, who not nearby, to rely on. She knows she will never see the man who raised her ever again and thinks the love of her love is gone from her forever.

As Ophelia goes mad, Shakespeare shows no intelligent thoughts coming from her character. She is not only acting insane when she has an audience, but when she is on her own as well. Shakespeare gives Hamlet’s thoughts reason, but when someone is watching, he does not quite act like himself.

Act 5 (2)
Fortinbras celebrates Prince Hamlet. He thinks highly of him and despite all the tragedies in the play, shows light on what could have been if only Hamlet lived to rightly rule the kingdom. He lightens the end of the play that is plagued with death.

General Questions (1,2,7)
The play’s dramatic question is whether or not King Claudius will get away with his brother’s death. The question is formed early on in the play when King Hamlet’s ghost appears to Prince Hamlet, explaining his death. The turning point of the play is when Hamlet is sent off from Denmark, with a secret order of his death given to English soldiers.

Claudius is perceived as the villain in the beginning of the play. Shakespeare wastes no time in letting his audience know that Claudius is not innocent. When King Hamlet’s ghost begins to appear, it’s apparent something is wrong. A ghost is not going to haunt its past life if its death was anything but natural. It is also natural to assume the one person who has everything to gain from King Hamlet’s death is the culprit.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are one of the many representations of betrayal in Hamlet. If they were cut from the play, if would take away some of the drama at the point where Ophelia goes crazy and would take away proof of Hamlet’s genius.