Kaitlyn Avitia

Ms. White Pd.1

AP Eng Lit

Hamlet

https://shakespeare.folger.edu/shakespeares-works/hamlet/act-1-scene-1/

Characterization, language, storyline, characters, big ideas, summarize each scene

Act 1

Scene 1:

● Prose

● “ Not a mouse stirring.” line 11, what does this mean

● Line 28-34 switch to poetry

● Barnardo has seen a ghost twice

● The ghost looks like the king

● Line 54-57 switch to poetry

● “Is it not like the King?” line 69, this was emphasized by spacing

● Line 74 smote-stroke with a firm blow.

● “That can I.” line 91 by Horatio emphasized by spacing

● Line 102 moiety-a part or portion, especially a lesser share.

● Line 108 mettle-a person's ability to cope well with difficulties or to face a demanding

situation in a spirited and resilient way.

 ● When Fortinbras goes away the inheritance goes to Hamlet?

● Line 121 portentous-done in a pompous or overly solemn manner so as to impress.

● Line 128 gibber-speak rapidly and unintelligibly, typically through fear or shock.

● Recently a lot of people have died some due to disasters so there are a lot of ghost

candidates

● 172Horatio tries to get the ghost to stay, but when a cock (chicken) crows, it fades away

● They say when the chicken crows in the morning is it sending away the spirits of the

night

● Line 181 “russet mantle clad” the whole line means the sun is coming up

Scene summary:

An officer named Bernardo, a watchman named Marcellus watchman, and a friend of Prince

Hamlet named Horatio see the ghost of the late King Hamlet. The ghost does not speak. They

decide to tell/ show the still living Prince Hamlet, his son, about the ghost of his father.

Scene 2:

● Poetry

● “’Tis unmanly grief.

It shows a will most incorrect to heaven,

A heart unfortified, a mind impatient,

An understanding simple and unschooled.” lines 99-101 Claudius is letting his toxic

masculinity show, if I were Hamlet I wouldn’t like him either.

● “So excellent a king, that was to this

 Hyperion to a satyr; so loving to my mother” line 143-144 Hamlet thought that his dad is

way better than Claudis, as both a king and a lover for his mother

● The line above is a hyperbole, it makes the comparison that his father is godlike while his

uncle is bestial

● Line 268 hitherto-until now or until the point in time under discussion.

Scene summary:

The brother of the late Hamlet, Claudius, has now married his wife, Gertrude, and become king

instead of Hamlet. Hamlet wears black as he still mourns his father’s death. He is not happy

about the marriage at all.

Scene 3:

● Poetry

● “May give his saying deed, which is no further

Than the main voice of Denmark goes withal.” lines 31-32 he is saying that Hamlet’s

words are the words of the state rather than his heart

● Line 106 behooves-it is a duty or responsibility for someone to do something; it is

incumbent on.

● “My lord, he hath importuned me with love

In honorable fashion—” lines 119 and 120 Ophelia seems to love him enough to talk

back to her father

● Rip, she agreed to stay away from him

Scene summary:

Laertes and Polonius (her brother and father) tell Ophelia not to associate herself with Hamlet.

This is because they believe that Hamlet is too high in rank for her, and that he doesn’t love her

for her, but for the state.

Scene 4:

● “It is a nipping and an eager air.” line 2 very descriptive imagery

● Line 10 wassail-spiced ale or mulled wine

● “That for some vicious mole of nature in them” line 27 metaphor for alcohol bringing out

the worst in men

● “As pure as grace” line 36 simile for pure intentions

● “That thou, dead corse, again in complete steel,” line 57 it is fig lang, but I do not know

what it means

Scene summary:

Hamlet talks bad about the drinking traditions of his people. Hamlet is then visited by the ghost

again and decides to follow it despite Horatio and Marcellus’ warnings. Horatio and Marcellus

then follow Hamlet in order to protect him.

Scene 5:

● Poetry

● Line 6 sulf’rous-(chiefly of vapor or smoke) containing or derived from sulfur.

● “Let not the royal bed of Denmark be

 A couch for luxury and damnèd incest.” line 89-90 shows how much King Hamlet

despises the relationship between Gertrude and Claudius.

● “And to those thorns that in her bosom lodge

To prick and sting her” lines 94 and 95 fig lang metaphor for that the mother will get

what she deserves by god and not by man

● “Adieu, adieu, adieu. Remember me.” line 98 with repetition brings significance

● The ghost making them swear to secrecy is suspicious because it used to not talk to them

Scene summary:

The ghost tells Hamlet that it is indeed his father and that Claudius killed him in his sleep via

poison. The ghost tells Hamlet to take revenge on him but not to harm his mother. Hamlet makes

Horatio and Marcellus swear to secrecy of their knowledge of the ghost’s existence.

Act 2

Scene 1:

● Poetry

● Reynaldo- polonius’s loyal man

● Reynaldo questions what Polonius wants him to do, because he has morals, but will do it

anyway since he is his lord.

● “The youth you breathe of guilty” line 50, fig lang as they don’t actually breathe guilty

● Line 90 down-gyvèd- hanging down like gyves (gyves is a fetter or shackle especially for

the leg)
Scene summary:

Polonius sends Reynaldo to Paris to question Laertes’s acquaintances. Hamlet went to Ophelia in

distressed clothing. Ophelia tells her father, and he diagnoses Hamlet as mad since Ophelia broke

his heart.

Scene 2:

● Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are old school friends of Hamlet

● Line 80 levied - to impose or collect (by legal authority)

● “That’s an ill phrase, a vile phrase; “beautified” is a / vile phrase.” line 19-20, repetition

shows emphasis

● “hot love on the wing” fig lang, not actually on the wing

● Line 190 fishmonger - (denotative) a person that sells fish , (connotative) a person

dealing in petty or disreputable trade or traffic

● Hamlet insults Polonius to his face (woo go Hamlet)

● “I am but mad north-north-west. When the / wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a

handsaw.” lines 402-403 what does this mean?

● “For murder, though it have no tongue, will speak / With most miraculous organ. I’ll have

these players / Play something like the murder of my father” lines 622-624 metaphors?

Potentially personification

Scene summary:

Claudius sends Hamlet’s friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet to find the

cause of his madness. Luckily, Hamlet figures out that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are spies
and deals with their questions smartly. Hamlet comes up with a plan to host a play reenacting

Claudius’s killing scene of the late king. Hamlet plans to see if Claudius reacts to the scene, if he

does, he is guilty.

Act 3

Scene 1:

● Poetry

● Line 54 pious - hypocritical, and unlikely to be fulfilled, or dedication / devotion

● “Than fly to others that we know not of” line 90, metaphor, people do not actually fly (

especially at this time period )

● “To be or not to be—that is the question: / Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer / The

slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” lines 64-66 the famous line, he is questioning

what even is the point of existing

● “Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be / a breeder of sinners?” lines 31-32 that's

harsh man, Hamlet is being of utmost cruelty to Ophelia

● I know Hamlet is pretending to be mad, but are some of the things he is saying genuine? I

mean if I loved someone I wouldn’t be able to tell them off like that even if I was faking

Scene summary:

Hamlet talks to Ophelia and proceeds to tell her that he loved her once, but that was all. He also

tells her to go to a nunnery. After finding out that Hamlet’s madness was not caused by love,

Claudius plans to send Hamlet away to England.

Scene 2:

● Poetry

● “Neither / having th’ accent of Christians nor the gait of / Christian, pagan, nor man, have

so strutted and / bellowed that I have thought some of nature’s / journeymen had made

men, and not made them / well, they imitated humanity so abominably.” lines 32-37 I

don’t fully understand what this implies, is it that no matter who you are, humans have an

evil nature to them?

● Line 138 sables - an animal with a short tail and dark brown fur, native to Japan and

Siberia

● “No, no, they do but jest, poison in jest. No / offense i’ th’ world.” line 259, Hamlet

claims that the play was only for fun, that there was no ulterior motive

● Line 330 choler - anger or irascibility (having or showing a tendency to be easily

angered)

Scene summary:

Hamlet decides to let Horatio in on his plan to see Claudius’s reactions during the play. Horatio

agrees to help him. Throughout the play Hamlet acted mad to Ophelia by making shrewd

commentary. The plan is successful, as Claudius created a big scene as the killing scene

happened, he stopped the play.

Scene 3:

● Poetry
 ● “The cess of majesty / Dies not alone,” lines 16 and 17, says that the royals do not die

alone, their ideals and current state of the kingdom dies as well, as the new runner will

guide it differently.

● Line 18 massy - large in mass

● “Fixed on the summit of the highest mount,” line 19 fig lang metaphor, comparing status

and importance to the top of a mountain

Scene summary:

Hamlet wastes his golden opportunity. The dude could have easily killed the king, it was all set

up, all the ducks were in a row, but he couldn’t pull it off. Claudius was praying and Hamlet

sneaked in behind him ready to kill him, but he didn’t because if he had, he believed that he

would have gone straight to heaven since he was praying. Hamlet did not want him to go to

heaven so he didn’t kill him.

Scene 4:

● Poetry

● “How now, a rat? Dead for a ducat, dead.” line 29 metaphor shows how highly Hamlet

thinks of Claudius, to compare him to a rat.

● “To flaming youth let virtue be as wax / And melt in her own fire.” lines 94 and 95 simile

comparing virtue to wax

● Line 158 ecstasy - overwhelming feeling of great happiness or joyful excitement.

● I believed he decides to go to England to clear the air

Scene summary:

Polonius decides to eavesdrop on Hamlet and his mother’s conversation to find out why Hamlet

is mad. Hamlet conveyed his disapproval of his mother’s marriage. After calling out from behind

the curtains, Polonius’s location but not identity has been discovered. Thinking it may be the

King, Hamlet kills the one behind the curtain unknowing that it is Polonius.

Act 4

Scene 1:

● Poetry

● Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are still working for Claudius and have been sent to bring

Hamlet

● “My soul is full of discord and dismay.” line 46 - the king, is this a lie to make it seem

like he cares about Hamlet’s wellbeing, or is it true now that he knows that Hamlet is his

enemy

Scene summary:

After finding out that Hamlet killed Polonius, the King now knows that Hamlet is most likely

trying to kill him. Afraid, the kind decides to send Hamlet to England.

Scene 2:

● Poetry

● “Ay, sir, that soaks up the King’s countenance,” line 15, hamlet finally calls out his

“friends” as the King’s spies

 ● Hamlet doesn’t say where Polonius is

Scene summary:

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern find Hamlet, but Hamlet does not reveal where Polonius’s body is.

Scene 3:

● Poetry

● “Deliberate pause. Diseases desperate grown” line 9, I don’t know if this is right or not,

but this may be alliteration to emphasize the severity

● “ A man may fish with the worm that hath eat / of a king and eat of the fish that hath fed

of that / Worm.” lines 30 - 32, it sounds philosophical, It may mean that the king’s actions

led to these consequences

● Claudius sees the death of Hamlet as a cure to his disease.

Scene summary:

Hamlet finally reveals where Polonius’s body is. The King is actively shipping Hamlet to

England now. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are sent with Hamlet to secretly tell England to kill

Hamlet.

Scene 4:

● Poetry

● Line 25 garrisoned - to have stationed troops at this place

 ● “Go to their graves like beds,” line 65 simile for how easily and how many will die over

the patch of land

Scene summary:

Hamlet ponders at the juxtaposition between his actions, and the Norwegian / Polish. The Polish

have little reason, but they act upon their values. Hamlet has a lot of reasons, but has done little

actions towards his goal. He comes to the conclusion that he should actually take action now.

Scene 5:

● Poetry

● “He is dead and gone, lady, / He is dead and gone; / At his head a grass-green turf, / At

his heels a stone.” lines 34-37 these are some of Ophelia’s song lyrics, she seems to be

immersed in grief

● The king grows concerned over Ophelia’s mental state

● “There’s rosemary, that’s for remembrance. / Pray you, love, remember. And there is

pansies, / that’s for thoughts.” lines 199-201 I feel like she is just naturally grieving, I

don’t see why her actions pose unusual, she’s just trying to remember her father

Scene summary:

Ophelia goes “mad” due to the death of her father. She comes singing about not only the death of

her father, but also about the betrayal brought upon her via the nature of his death.

Scene 6:
 ● Poetry

● I wonder how the sailor got in contact with Horatio to give him the letter

● The letter just tells Horatio of how Hamlet has made his journey back to Denmark.

Scene summary:

Hamlet is miraculously saved from his presumed to be deadly trip to England. This is because

pirates had abducted him, and brought him back to Denmark. Hamlet lets Horatio know of this

occurrence via a letter.

Scene 7:

● Poetry

● “Therewith fantastic garlands did she make / Of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long

purples,” lines 192-193 if sh prepared stuff then it must have beena suicide, right?

● “Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia,” line 211 I think this is a metaphor for that

she had too many troubles causing her to drown mentally cause her to drown physically

● Laertes is really going to kill Hamlet now

Scene summary:

Claudius gets Laertes to agree to help him kill Hamlet. They plan to poison Hamlet during a

fencing match. Ophelia drowns

Act 5

Scene 1:
 ● There are debates whether or not Ophelia should be allowed burial since it seems she

committed suicide, which is a sin.

● “’Tis e’en so. The hand of little employment / hath the daintier sense.” lines 71-72

metaphor, comparing roughness of hand to amount of work done

● Line 140 knave - a dishonest or unscrupulous ( without morals ) man

● Gravedigger enlightens Hamlet that no matter your status when you are alive, we all just

turn into the earth one day after death.

● After confronting Laertes, Hamlet announces he actually did love Ophelia.

Scene summary:

Hamlet, back in Denmark, stumbles upon a grave digger. He realizes that after death, no matter

who one is, we all turn into skeletons and dust. Hamlet then discovers that the grave was being

dug for Ophelia. Laertes comes and curses Hamlet, claiming that he is the cause for Ophelia’s

death.

Scene 2:

● Poetry

● Line 138 Rapier - a thin, light sharp-pointed sword used for thrusting

● E’en - it basically means even

● I feel like if the King actually loved Gertrude, he would’ve made more effort in stopping

her from drinking poison.

● “Why as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric. / He falls. / I am justly killed with mine

own treachery.” lines 336-338 the first part seems like an idiom meaning to mind one’s
 own business. The next lines show that Laertes had morals and feels bad for killing

Hamlet.

● I am proud of Laertes for outing the King

● Even the treacherous Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been killed

● Fortinbras decides to honor Hamlet’s death as a soldier.

Scene summary:

Before I say anything else, I would like to say that Horatio is the best character and such a good

person. Hamlet tells Horatio what he knows, then Hamlet agrees to a duel with Laertes. Claudius

has poisoned a drink, and a sword. During the match between Hamlet and Laertes, Gertrude

drinks from the glass instead of Hamlet, and then she dies. Both Hamlet and Laertes get stabbed

with the poisoned sword. Before Laertes dies, he exclaims that it was the King’s plot. Furious,

Hamlet both drives the poison sword through Claudius and makes him drink from the poisoned

cup. Horatio is left to tell the tale and make Fortinbras of Norway King.