GRADE 12 ENGLISH

LITERATURE 2024

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S

HAMLET
SHAKESPEARE’S WORLD:
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 THE TIME IN WHICH HE WROTE

Shakespeare wrote in the

Queen Elizabeth 1 ruled
Elizabethan era (1558 -
England.
1603)

People were moving away

Superstitions of the
from the belief that God
middle ages, with the
controlled their fate and
belief in witchcraft and
began to believe that they
ghosts remained..
controlled their own fate.

The Anglican Church was

formed and people were
becoming tolerant of
other forms of
Christianity.

CHAIN OF BEING

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People believed that everything had its place in the natural order. According to this
theory, all existing things have their specific function in the universe, and causing any
kind of disorder on the higher links of this chain leads to disaster. In Hamlet, this natural
order is disturbed.
ELEMENTS OF A REVENGE TRAGEDY

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 1. Hero prompted to avenge injustice.
2. The murdered person was held in high esteem – society was thrown out of
balance by the murder.
3. Hero must avenge the death to restore order.
4. Suicide always plays a role.
5. The hero hesitates.
6. The use of some mental illness.
7. Intrigue: spying, plotting, treachery.
8. A resourceful, scheming villain.
9. Philosophical soliloquies by the hero.
10. Usually results in the death of the hero.
11. Moral implications for the audience – they are involved in character’s fate and
feel pride or pathos.

ELEMENTS OF A TRAGIC HERO

According to Aristotle, a tragic hero must have the following characteristics:

1. Must be of noble birth.

2. Must be a good person; people must perceive him as good and noble.
3. Because of his position, his actions have far-reaching effects.
4. Must have a character trait that would normally be considered good, but because
of the circumstances of the play, it proves to be a fatal flaw (such as Macbeth’s
ambition).
5. He usually makes further errors in judgement following his first misdeed.
6. Often has a distorted view of reality; is unable to see the truth.
7. He suffers both outwardly (attacked, war) as well as inwardly (he has a tortured
soul).
8. The audience must both fear him and feel pity for him.
9. He usually recognises his mistakes in the end.
10. He must die.

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5
 SUMMARY OF PLAY

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is home from school to mourn the death of his father, King
Hamlet, who died two months earlier. Hamlet is disgusted by the marriage of his newly
widowed mother, Queen Gertrude, to his Uncle, King Hamlet’s brother, Claudius, who
now has the throne.

Shortly thereafter, a ghost has appeared to guards on nightly watch as well as Hamlet’s
good friend, Horatio, who thinks the spirit has a likeness to the former King Hamlet.
When prompted to speak by Horatio, the ghost will not. Horatio asks Hamlet to wait for
the ghost and see if it will speak to him. The ghost of his father beckons Hamlet to
follow him and reveals that his brother Claudius poisoned him in the ear. Hamlet vows
to avenge his father’s murder.

Meanwhile, Laertes, son to the King’s advisor Polonius, is set to return to France.
Before he leaves, he tells Ophelia, his sister, to be weary of Hamlet’s affections towards
her. Polonius gives Laertes advice on how to act abroad and orders Ophelia to stay
away from Hamlet.

Hamlet’s sanity begins to be questioned by all. Claudius and Gertrude are both
concerned; Polonius suggests it is Ophelia’s rejection of his advances. Claudius and
Polonius decide to spy on Hamlet and Ophelia. Claudius further employs Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern, two childhood friends of Hamlet, to spy on him further. Hamlet quickly
realises their intention

A troupe of players happens to be in town and Hamlet utilises the actors to determine
the validity of his father’s murder. He will have them perform the very act of murder,
killing a king through poison in the ear, which the ghost has claimed. He asks Horatio to
watch Claudius’s reaction throughout the play. While the court is watching, Claudius is
enraged and leaves the play convincing Hamlet that he is the murderer.

Hamlet comes upon Claudius in the chapel, kneeling down to pray. He considers killing
him there and then, but since Claudius is in mid-prayer, and will therefore go to heaven
if he dies, Hamlet decides to wait until Claudius is committing some sin, so that he will
go to hell like Hamlet’s father before him.

Hamlet meets Gertrude in her room and an argument ensues. When he hears Polonius,
who is hiding behind the curtain shout for help, he stabs him thinking it is Claudius. The
ghost appears to Hamlet to refocus him on the task of killing Claudius.

Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, whose father’s lands were seized by the late King,
decides to head to Denmark. Claudius demands that Hamlet, Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern head for England. Claudius has sent a letter with them ordering Hamlet’s
execution during the trip. While at sea, however, Hamlet discovers his planned murder
and switches the orders, causing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to be executed.
Hamlet returns to Denmark.

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Meanwhile back at Elsinore, Ophelia has gone mad with grief. Laertes returns from
France and learns it was Hamlet who has killed his father, Polonius. Claudius suggests
that Laertes duel with Hamlet and poisons the tip of Laertes’s foil for a fatal blow. If
Laertes loses the duel, Claudius will put poison into a drink for Hamlet. Gertrude enters
and announces that Ophelia has drowned.

In the graveyard, Hamlet reminisces on a friend of his whose skull he has found. When
the processional arrives with Ophelia’s corpse, Laertes and Hamlet argue. A duel is
scheduled.

During the fight, Gertrude accidentally drinks from the poisoned chalice and dies.
Hamlet is wounded with the poisoned sword, but in a scuffle, the foils are switched and
Laertes is also wounded with the poisoned foil. In dying, Laertes confesses Claudius’s
plot to kill Hamlet. Hamlet stabs Claudius and Hamlet dies asking Horatio to tell his
story. The Norwegian forces arrive at Elsinore, and Prince Fortinbras seizes control of
Denmark.

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 MAIN CHARACTERS
HAMLET The Prince of Denmark, the title character, and the
protagonist. About thirty years old at the start of the play,
Hamlet is the son of Queen Gertrude and the late King
Hamlet, and the nephew of the present king, Claudius.
Hamlet is melancholy, bitter, and cynical, full of hatred for his
uncle’s scheming and disgust for his mother’s sexuality. A
reflective and thoughtful young man who has studied at the
University of Wittenberg, Hamlet is often indecisive and
hesitant, but at other times prone to rash and impulsive acts.
CLAUDIUS The King of Denmark, Hamlet’s uncle, and the play’s
antagonist. The villain of the play, Claudius is a calculating,
ambitious politician, driven by his sexual appetites and his
lust for power, but he occasionally shows signs of guilt and
human feeling—his love for Gertrude, for instance, seems
sincere.
GERTRUDE The Queen of Denmark, Hamlet’s mother, recently married
to Claudius. Gertrude loves Hamlet deeply, but she is a
shallow, weak woman who seeks affection and status more
urgently than morals or truth. She is at her best in social
situations, when her natural grace and charm seem to
indicate a rich, rounded personality.
OPHELIA Polonius’s daughter, a beautiful young woman with whom
Hamlet has been in love. Ophelia is a sweet and innocent
young girl, who obeys her father and her brother, Laertes.
Dependent on men to tell her how to behave, she gives in to
Polonius’s schemes to spy on Hamlet. Even in her lapse into
madness and death, she remains maidenly, singing songs
about flowers and finally drowning in the river amid the
flower garlands she had gathered.
POLONIUS The Lord Chamberlain of Claudius’s court, a pompous,
conniving old man. Polonius is the father of Laertes and
Ophelia.
HORATIO Hamlet’s close friend, who studied with the prince at the
university in Wittenberg. Horatio is loyal and helpful to
Hamlet throughout the play. After Hamlet’s death, Horatio
remains alive to tell Hamlet’s story.
LAERTES Polonius’s son and Ophelia’s brother, a young man who
spends much of the play in France. Passionate and quick to
action, Laertes is clearly a foil (someone whose strengths
highlight another character’s weakness) for the
reflective Hamlet.
THE GHOST The spirit of Hamlet’s recently deceased father. The ghost,
who claims to have been murdered by Claudius, calls upon
Hamlet to avenge him. However, it is not entirely certain
whether the ghost is what it appears to be, or whether it is
something else. Hamlet speculates that the ghost might be a
devil sent to deceive him and tempt him into murder, and the

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 question of what the ghost is or where it comes from is never
definitively resolved.
ROSENCRANTZ Two slightly bumbling courtiers, former friends of Hamlet,
AND who are summoned by Claudius and Gertrude to discover
the cause of Hamlet’s strange behaviour. Hamlet discovers
GUILDENSTERN them spying and has them executed.
FORTINBRAS The young Prince of Norway, whose father, the King (also
named Fortinbras) was killed by Hamlet’s father (also named
Hamlet). Now Fortinbras wishes to attack Denmark to
avenge his father’s honour, making him another foil for
Prince Hamlet. After Hamlet dies, Fortinbras takes control of
Denmark and honours the name of Hamlet.

MINOR CHARACTERS:

Osric The foolish courtier who summons Hamlet to his duel with
Laertes.
Voltimand And Courtiers whom Claudius sends to Norway to persuade the
Cornelius king to prevent Fortinbras from attacking Denmark.
Marcellus And The officers who first see the ghost walking the ramparts of
Bernardo Elsinore and who summon Horatio to witness it. Marcellus is
present when Hamlet first encounters the ghost.
Reynaldo Polonius’s servant, who is sent to France by Polonius to
check up on and spy on Laertes.

THEMES AND POSSIBLE ESSAY TOPICS

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 Definition: Power of the mind to think, understand and form
PASSION VS judgements logically. The ability to make choices (will) based
REASON on self-knowledge and understanding. (wit)
Strong, barely controllable emotion. Putting your heart, mind,
body and soul into something you strongly believe in.

Character Reason Passion Consequences

His reason stops/ Ghost’s demand By not taking

inhibits the act of for revenge gears immediate action
revenge. him up for murder. and again not acting
Morally he feels he His initial when Claudius is
must check the emotional praying, Hamlet
veracity of the response is rash allows Claudius to
ghost’s accusation. and his passion establish his
He does not want almost overtakes position and plot
to be damned his reason. against Hamlet.
because he has His antic Ophelia’s broken
listened to a ghost disposition reveals heart and suicide
that might be his desperation. are unintended
Hamlet
tricking him. Seeing Fortinbras consequences of
He uses the scene take action makes Hamlet’s lack of
in the play to “catch him distraught – he action.
the conscience of thinks he is a This procrastination
the king” coward and results in four
In his soliloquies ‘should not live.’ deaths.
Hamlet reveals his Polonius’ murder is
intellect and reason the result of
as he questions impulsive action as
himself and all that Hamlet thinks
is going on around Claudius is
him. listening.

Gertrude feels guilt She tries to make Her marriage

for her “o’erhasty it sound like causes a rift
marriage” and Hamlet is between her and
Gertrude
knows that it is part remorseful after her son and colours
of the root of killing Polonius. his opinion of all
Hamlet’s misery. women.

Claudius He tells Hamlet that His decision to kill Claudius is

his grief is unmanly his brother starts constantly watching
as it is part of life - the action of the his back as he
“your father lost a play. This is fuelled attained the throne
father’. He uses by thirst for power. through devious
Polonius, Ophelia, He marries means (murder).

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 R & G to spy on Gertrude(lust) and Claudius dies when
Hamlet as he sees manipulates R & G Hamlet makes him
him as a threat. & Laertes as he drink the poison and
constantly has to stabs him with the
watch for threats poisoned sword.
from Hamlet and
others.

Laertes realises Laertes rushes Laertes dies by his

that he has been back to Denmark own poisoned sword
used by Claudius to avenge his and his revelation of
and confesses to father’s death. the plot results in
plotting against He confronts the death of
Hamlet “I am killed Claudius and Claudius by
Laertes
by mine own demands answers. Hamlet’s hand
treachery”. He allows Claudius before Hamlet
to fan these flames himself dies.
and plots to
murder Hamlet in a
duel.

Although Hamlet, Laertes and Fortinbras are all concerned with their
revenge for their fathers' death, they choose different ways of realising
their desire. Shakespeare shows revenge driven by emotions (Laertes),
REVENGE
a well-thought-out retaliation (Fortinbras) and a real vendetta with
sacrifices (Hamlet). All feel a filial (family honour) and a moral obligation
(sense of duty) to avenge their fathers’ deaths.

Character
Hamlet - He grieves deeply for his father.
- The appearance of the ghost leads to Hamlet’s understanding of
his father’s murder: “If thou didst ever thy dear father love—
Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (Hamlet, Act I,
Scene 5, Lines 23 and 25),”The serpent that did sting thy father’s
life now wears his crown,” (Hamlet, Act I, Scene 5, Lines 38-39).
- Hamlet gives his promise to avenge his father and is initially keen
to take action.
- He is worried about the consequences and shows doubts and
regrets about having to do it.
- He does not want to be ‘damned’ so he decides to put ‘an antic
disposition’ on and pretend madness while he verifies the truth.
- He overanalyses each detail and eventually he is hesitating in
everything.
- He contemplates suicide and feels overwhelmed with the
responsibility of vengeance.
- Hamlet also feels ashamed of his inability to take decisive action.
(Player’s passionate speeches; Fortinbras travelling across

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 Denmark to recapture a small piece of land).
- His procrastination results in Claudius plotting against him; the
accidental murder of Polonius; Hamlet being sent to England; R &
G’s deaths; his return to Denmark and the death of the Danish
royal family and Laertes.
- The fencing duel provides him his chance to kill Claudius – but
not before Laertes, Gertrude and Hamlet are dead or dying too.
- Fortinbras is ruled by passion in his quest for revenge, hasty in
wanting to carry it out and having no thought for anyone who
might suffer in the process.
- Fortinbras plans a military campaign against Denmark to avenge
Fortinbras the death of his father at the hands of the Late King Hamlet.
- He is convinced by his uncle to stand down and he goes to
Poland to reclaim a piece of land instead. This shows that he is
able to respond to reason.
- He is named the new king of Denmark by Hamlet before he dies.
- Returns to Denmark as soon as possible and challenges
Claudius demanding answers. Springs immediately into action.
Claudius tells him that Hamlet is responsible.
- He wants to take revenge against Hamlet for killing Polonius and
being a driving force in Ophelia’s madness/death. He is even
Laertes prepared to fight him in church.
- The need for revenge allows Claudius to manipulate him and he
agrees to a duel with Hamlet with a poisoned sword.
- He sees revenge as a matter of honour.
- He is rash and takes revenge in the wrong manner. (poisoned
sword)

Some related scenes:

Act 1 Scene 5: Hamlet promises his father to revenge his murder but laments the
responsibility he now bears.
Act 2 Scene 2: Hamlet berates his own passivity and contrasts it with the passion of
the first actor for long dead, legendary figures.
Act 3 Scene 3: Coming upon Claudius confessing the murder while trying to pray,
Hamlet thinks the better of killing the king when he is penitent.
Act 3 Scene 4: The ghost visits Hamlet while he is with his mother and reminds him
he has not yet revenged his murder.
Act 4 Scene 4: After his encounter with Fortinbras, Hamlet marvels that people kill
one another over so slight a gain as 'a little patch of land' and
resolves that from now on all his thoughts will be 'bloody.'
Act 4 Scene 5: In contrast to Hamlet's reflectiveness, Laertes determines on revenge
without hesitation.
Act 5 Scene 2: Claudius's plot results in the death of most of the major characters.
Before he dies, Hamlet kills Claudius.

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 Throughout the play, most of the characters appear to be honest
Appearance
and sincere; however, they are the complete opposite:
vs Reality
manipulative, deceitful, and dishonest.
CHARACTER APPEARANCE
Hamlet - Gertrude tells Hamlet that
he seems to be grieving
more than necessary. His
response “Seems, Madam!
Nay it is, I know not
‘seems’”; she implies that
he is putting on a show of
grief.
- Does not trust the ghost so
Hamlet decides that before
he takes action, he must
verify that Claudius
murdered his father.
- In order to do this he puts
“an antic disposition on”
pretending to be mad in
order to investigate freely.
- He appears to be
deranged and speaks in
riddles to Polonius,
appears to Ophelia half-
dressed and denies he
ever loved her.
- Hamlet puts on the play for
the entertainment of the
king.
Claudius - Behaves like a generous
king but he is not
interested in the affairs of - He is driven by lust for power
Denmark. “May smile and
smile and be a villain”
- Portrays himself as a very
honourable, trustworthy,
and upset due to the loss
of his brother.
- He also pretends to be an
eager ‘father’ to Hamlet.
- Claudius uses impressive - He tries to get Hamlet killed.
language to cover up his
shameful deeds as
prostitutes use make-up to
hide syphilis scars. “The
harlot’s cheek, beautified
REALITY
- Hamlet’s grief is real and
intense. This conversation
introduces the idea that there is
a schism (split) between
appearance and reality.
- Hamlet is not mad; he is merely
pretending to be mad as a
means to an end. However,
after he kills Polonius and
drags him off by his foot, the
audience wonder if he is indeed
mad as he shows no remorse
remarking that he was a
“foolish old man”. Hamlet is
frustrated as he thought that it
was Claudius.
- We also question his reason
when he sends R & G to their
deaths.
- Hamlet’s treatment of Ophelia
shows that he feels betrayed by
her.
- Hamlet is using the play to
establish the guilt of the king.
“The play’s the thing wherein I’ll
catch the conscience of the
king.”
- Responsible for King Hamlet's
death.
and for Gertrude.
- His behaviour in court is to
curry favour and gain support.
- His concern focusses on how
much of a threat Hamlet is to
his position as king. This is why
he uses Polonius, Rosencrantz
and Guildenstern as spies.
- He hears Laertes is a good
fencer and creates plan A and
plan B to kill Hamlet. (poisoned
sword and poisoned wine)
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 with plastering” ; “My deed
to my most painted word”
- Claudius asks R & G to
spy on Hamlet apparently
out of concern for his grief
and madness.
Rosencrantz - Pretend to be Hamlet’s old -
and friends.
Guildenstern
Polonius - King Claudius's royal
assistant.
- A caring and loving
person.
- A trusting and supportive
father.
- Tells Ophelia the ‘truth’
about Hamlet not really
loving her but using her.
Gertrude - A loving mother.
- Grieving wife of Hamlet’s
father.
- Appears honourable,
“most seeming-virtuous
queen”
Ophelia - An innocent and loving
young woman.
- Sees only the good in
Hamlet.
They are false friends.
- They are spying on the prince
for Claudius.
- Unknowingly escort Hamlet to
his own execution.
- A hypocrite, evil, and selfish.
- Lectures Laertes on how not to
appear to be a bad person
rather than how to be a good
person. “tender yourself more
dearly, [or] you’ll tender me a
fool” (1.3.116-118).
- Only cares and worries about
his comforts and does only
what he feels is best for him.
- Worried about how he appears
to others.
- He sends Reynaldo to spy on
Laertes. “You shall do
marvellous wisely, good
Reynaldo, / Before you visit
him, to make inquire / Of his
behaviour,” (2.1.3-5).
- Polonius spies on Hamlet &
Ophelia with Claudius and
spies on the conversation
between Hamlet and Gertrude.
- Remains a loving mother -
shown by her feelings of guilt
for her “o’er hasty marriage”.
- Unable to see how her
faithlessness (marrying her
brother-in-law) affects Hamlet.
- She says Hamlet kills Polonius
because he is mad and that he
feels remorse.
- Gertrude does not grieve
appropriately and then marries
Claudius within two months of
her husband’s death.
- Betrays Hamlet by agreeing to
spy on him.
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 - Obedient daughter and
loving sister.
- She appears to love
Hamlet and is upset by his
harsh treatment and loss
of sanity.
Horatio - Horatio will only believe if - Horatio remains to tell the story
he sees the ghost. “I might and give Hamlet’s dying vote to
not this believe without the Fortinbras.
sensible and true avouch
of mine own eyes”
- Is loyal to Hamlet and
faithful when others doubt
him.
- He helps Hamlet confirm
the guilt of the king.

Examples:

Act 1 Scene 3: Polonius instructs Ophelia to disassociate herself from Hamlet who
he insists does not love her whatever he says. The reality is that later
in the play, Gertrude says she was hoping that Ophelia would be her
daughter-in-law.

Act 2 Scene 1: Ophelia, distraught, tells her father of Hamlet's recent bizarre
behaviour and Polonius speculates that Hamlet is mad with love. The
reality is that Hamlet is pretending to be mad.

Act 2 Scene 2: Polonius tells Gertrude and Claudius of Hamlet's strange behaviour
and they agree to watch him secretly. Polonius talks with Hamlet who
appears to be mad. Later in the scene Hamlet concocts his plan to
trick the king with the Mousetrap scene, performed by the travelling
players.

Act 3 Scene 1: In the 'nunnery scene' Ophelia is bewildered by Hamlet's

contradictory assertions and his anger and mourns the 'noble mind'
that has been 'o'erthrown.' In reality, Hamlet is angry with Ophelia for
breaking things off and his mother’s hasty marriage.

Act 3 Scene 2: The performance of the Mousetrap play appears to reveal Claudius's
guilt.

Act 3 Scene 4: Hamlet demands his mother face the truth of her disloyalty and says
he will trust Rosencrantz and Guildenstern no more than he would
'adders fanged', knowing they have been dishonest in their dealings
with him.

Act 4 Scene 7: Claudius concocts a plot with Laertes to kill Hamlet.

Hero = is a man of distinguished courage, admired for his noble

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 Hero vs qualities.
Villain
Villain = their actions result in destruction and chaos.

HAMLET IS A HERO HAMLET IS A VILLAIN

- Hamlet wants to avenge his father’s
murder out of filial duty and a sense
of duty.
- Does not rush to action – wants to
verify what the ghost has told him is
true.
- He struggles to determine the right
course of action.
- Finds the responsibility of carrying
out revenge heavy and wants to do
the moral thing. (strong sense of
morality)
- Uses the play to confirm the king’s
guilt.
- The corruption he sees in Claudius
sickens him.
- He kills Claudius for his treachery at
the duel and gives Fortinbras his
vote as new king. (Denmark is now
in safe hands)
- Fortinbras admires Hamlet for his
noble qualities.
- Hamlet asks Laertes for forgiveness
before he dies.
- He prevents Horatio from suicide to
ensure his story is told.
- Hamlet’s antic disposition has
consequences – Ophelia is rejected,
Claudius is suspicious, Gertrude is
worried.
- Treatment of Gertrude “What have I
done, that thou darst wag thy tongue
in noise so rude against me?”
- Procrastination – deaths of Polonius,
Laertes and Gertrude could have
been avoided; Not killing Claudius
when he is praying lest he go to
heaven.
- Killing Polonius – no remorse.
- Switching letters so that R & G are
executed.
- Madness causes chaos in Denmark.

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 HAMLET’S BEHAVIOUR HAS UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES
Hamlet intends his antic disposition to
mislead his enemies and allow him to
investigate the Ghost’s claims.
Hamlet’s introspection, self-doubt and
anxiety cause him to procrastinate.
Hamlet has the perfect opportunity to kill His delay gives Claudius time to come
Claudius while he is praying.
Hamlet decides against it because he
does not want Claudius’ soul to ascend Claudius sends Hamlet to England
to heaven.
Hamlet boards the pirate ship.
Hamlet unintentionally kills Polonius
when he realises he is being spied on in
his mother’s room.
Hamlet’s cruel treatment of Ophelia is a
result of his disillusionment with his
mother and women in general.
Claudius poisons the wine at the duel
so that Hamlet is sure to die.
Claudius becomes suspicious of him
and this leads to Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern spying on him and
ultimately leads to their deaths.
This gives Claudius the opportunity to
act against him.
up with a plan to kill Hamlet as he has
realised that Hamlet is a threat.
where he will be executed by the king.
This enables him to return to Denmark.
Laertes is determined to avenge his
father’s death.
Hamlet’s brutal rejection of Ophelia and
her father’s death at Hamlet’s hand
causes Ophelia to descend into
madness and she drowns soon after.
Gertrude dies after drinking the
poisoned wine meant for Hamlet.
Fortinbras becomes King of Denmark
after the death of both Claudius and
Hamlet.
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 OPHELIA AND GERTRUDE ARE VICTIMS OF THE PATRIARCHAL (MALE
DOMINATED) SOCIETY IN WHICH THEY LIVE

- Women’s roles shaped by their patriarchal society.

- Women were under male power, which affects their public rights and
personal lives.
- This places dominance over females by males – women are defined
through the males in their lives.
- Women are denied an education and a chance to hold public office; study
law or medicine.
- Childbearing was considered a great honour.
- The common belief is that women need someone to look after them.
- No women could vote.
- An unmarried woman could not inherit property.
- Custom: Lament period = 6 months; wearing lament clothes = 2 years.
- A woman could not take her place in society for 1 year.
GERTRUDE OPHELIA
- Gertrude is guilty in a patriarchal - Ophelia cannot behave as she wants
society as she does not observe a – the royal family restricts her
year of mourning, but marries actions, attitudes, emotions and
Claudius within two months. She thoughts.
does not seem to grieve/seems - Hamlet refers to her as ‘frail’.
disloyal “wanton widow and lustful - She is at the mercy of the male
woman”. figures in her life.
- Claudius and Hamlet shape her guilt. - Ophelia accepts men’s rules.
- “A bloody deed – almost as bad, - She does not have alternative
good mother as kill a king and marry thoughts/ voices.
with his brother” - She does not know how to decide on
- Gertrude is guilty of not grieving her own.
appropriately and taking away - She echoes what they say to her.
Hamlet’s heirship. – She and - She expresses acquiescence,
Claudius will create new direct heirs uncertainty, and obeisance. She
to the throne. utters half lines – her voice is
- Their relationship is considered unheard.
incestuous. - Ophelia has no story without Hamlet.
- She feels responsibility to her son. - Ophelia’s self-hood and her speech
- Gertrude has to be subject to the are forbidden by the males.
men around her. She is oppressed - Her utterances are not free – she
by male dominance. does not know what to think; how to
- As a woman living in a misogynistic think and how to use her language.
society, she may have been killed or - Her expectations are determined by
forced into an unfavourable marriage the male rules in her society.
if she refused Claudius. - “I think nothing, my Lord”
- Therefore, Gertrude's decision to - Ophelia represents weak, silent,
marry him could be seen as an passive women – she needs men.
attempt to survive in a very - Her life has no direction without a
precarious situation. man.
- Laertes and Polonius treat her like a
child who has no understanding of

18
 the ways of the world.
- Laertes speaks to Ophelia in
platitudes, establishing control.
- Ophelia accepts his advice. “Tis in
my memory locked and you yourself
shall keep the key of it”
- She does not question what Laertes
and Polonius say against her
relationship with Hamlet. She blames
herself when Hamlet appears mad.
- She is encircled by these three men
but Laertes leaves; Hamlet rejects
her and Polonius dies.
- Without protest, she allows herself to
be used by these men.
- Her madness is caused by the loss
of her father and Hamlet’s betrayal
and cruel treatment.
- She is a ruled woman, subject to her
society. “I shall obey my Lord”
- Her obedience leads to her own
destruction.
- Her love has been forbidden.
- She spies on Hamlet and reports
back to Polonius and Claudius.
- She must obey Polonius and ignore
her loyalty to Hamlet.

Both women are subjects to mistreatment by men; both are used as pawns; both
are torn between the desires of two powerful men in their lives; both do what
society is telling them to do; both appear naïve – unaware of the duplicitous world.
They make decisions based on lust/ romance/ love.

19
 - Is defined as the quality or condition of mental illness or
derangement. The state of being mentally ill, extremely foolish
behaviour and a state of chaotic activity.
MADNESS - Madness plays as a domino effect in most of the characters, which
always lead to death and revenge.
- Both real and feigned.

HAMLET
- Hamlet decides to put on an ‘antic
disposition’ after hearing the Ghost’s
story. He does this as a ruse to elude
the suspicious Claudius and be left free
to investigate the Ghost’s claims.
- As the play progresses, Hamlet
remains stuck in his own confusion and
inaction. There are times when he
appears to stray into genuine madness.
- It would not be unreasonable for his
circumstances to make him paranoid
and weaken his mental state. The
pressure of feeling obliged to kill
Claudius, in spite of his strong moral
and philosophical objections combined
with the fact that he knows people he
cannot trust surround him.
- Hamlet pretends to be mad in front of
Claudius, Polonius, Ophelia,
Rosencrantz, Guildernstern and
Gertrude. He behaves normally when
he is with Horatio, Francisco and
Bernardo.
- Hamlet also demonstrates his madness
when he questions his presence and
purpose on earth and thinks about
suicide.
- Hamlet's mental state and erratic
behaviour speaks to the play's overall
atmosphere of uncertainty and doubt.
OPHELIA
- Overwhelmed by grief, Ophelia
appears to lose her grip on reality and
wanders about, singing songs and
handing out flowers. The flowers she
chooses to give each person are
symbolic. (Due to loss of father,
absence of brother and betrayal of
Hamlet).
- Her grief-driven madness ends,
tragically, when she drowns in the
river.
- Ophelia’s madness becomes a foil to
Hamlet’s madness. Her madness is
genuine, and without ambiguity.
Whereas Hamlet’s madness is an
ambiguous deception, driven by an
ulterior motive.
- Ophelia cracks under the strain of
Hamlet's abuse and the weight of
patriarchal forces.

20
 CONTEXTUAL QUESTIONS

ACT 1
1. By referring to the use of diction and imagery, discuss how Shakespeare
creates an atmosphere of fear and tension in the opening scene. (3)

2. Who is Horatio and what is your first impression of him? (2)

3. Why does Horatio think that the ghost will speak to Hamlet even though it
refuses to speak to anyone else? (2)

4. Discuss Hamlet’s reaction to the ghost. What does his reaction tell us about
his character? (2)

5. What does Claudius’s first speech to his courtiers tell us about his character?
(2)
6. 6.1. Contrast Claudius’s words to Hamlet with those to Laertes. (2)
6.2. Why do you think his words are different? (2)

7. Examine Hamlet’s first soliloquy.

What do his words reveal about him? (3)

8. Examine the characters of Polonius and Laertes in Scene 3.

How are they similar in thought and action? (3)

9. Discuss how Hamlet is portrayed as a hero in this act. (2)

10. In Scene 4, Marcellus says “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”.

How does this line echo what Hamlet says earlier? (2)

11. In the fourth scene, Shakespeare shows us a very thoughtful Hamlet.

Explain how he does this. (3)

12. Account for Hamlet’s change in attitude toward the ghost at the end of Scene
5. (2)

13. By carefully referring to the text in Scene 5, discuss whether Hamlet’s

reactions can be considered irrational. (3)

21
Read the extract below and answer the questions that follow.

EXTRACT A
HAMLET [Aside]
A little more than kin, and less than kind. 1
CLAUDIUS
How is it that the clouds still hang on you?
HAMLET
Not so, my lord; I am too much i' the sun.
GERTRUDE
Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted colour off,
And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark. 5
Do not for ever with thy vailed lids
Seek for thy noble father in the dust:
Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die,
Passing through nature to eternity.
HAMLET
Ay, madam, it is common. 10
GERTRUDE
If it be,
Why seems it so particular with thee?
HAMLET
Seems, madam! nay it is; I know not 'seems.'
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black, 15
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly: these indeed seem, 20
For they are actions that a man might play:
But I have that within which passeth show;
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
CLAUDIUS
'Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, Hamlet,
To give these mourning duties to your father: 25
But, you must know, your father lost a father;
That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound
In filial obligation for some term
To do obsequious sorrow: but to persever
In obstinate condolement is a course 30
Of impious stubbornness; 'tis unmanly grief;
It shows a will most incorrect to heaven,
A heart unfortified, a mind impatient,
An understanding simple and unschool'd:
For what we know must be and is as common 35
As any the most vulgar thing to sense,
Why should we in our peevish opposition
Take it to heart? Fie! 'tis a fault to heaven,
A fault against the dead, a fault to nature,

22
 To reason most absurd: whose common theme 40
Is death of fathers, and who still hath cried,
From the first corse till he that died to-day,
'This must be so.' We pray you, throw to earth
This unprevailing woe, and think of us
As of a father: for let the world take note, 45
You are the most immediate to our throne;
And with no less nobility of love
Than that which dearest father bears his son,
Do I impart toward you. For your intent
In going back to school in Wittenberg, 50
It is most retrograde to our desire:
And we beseech you, bend you to remain
Here, in the cheer and comfort of our eye,
Our chiefest courtier, cousin, and our son.

GERTRUDE
Let not thy mother lose her prayers, Hamlet: 55
I pray thee, stay with us; go not to Wittenberg.
HAMLET
I shall in all my best obey you, madam.
CLAUDIUS
Why, 'tis a loving and a fair reply:
Be as ourself in Denmark. Madam, come;
This gentle and unforced accord of Hamlet 60
Sits smiling to my heart: in grace whereof,
No jocund health that Denmark drinks to-day,
But the great cannon to the clouds shall tell,
And the king's rouse the heavens all bruit again,
Re-speaking earthly thunder. Come away.
Exeunt all but HAMLET 65

1.1. Place this passage in context. (3)

1.2. Refer to line 1: “A little more than kin, and less than kind.”
Comment on Hamlet’s attitude toward Claudius in this line. (2)

1.3. Refer to lines 4-9: “Good Hamlet, cast … nature to eternity.”

Discuss the motivation behind Gertrude’s advice to Hamlet. (3)

1.4. Refer to line 10: “Ay, madam, it is common.”

By referring to Hamlet’s tone, discuss what is meant in these lines. (3)

1.5. Refer to lines 13-23: “Seems, madam! … suits of woe.”

By making close reference to the diction used, comment on Hamlet’s state of
mind. (3)

1.6. Refer to lines 43-54: “This must be … and our son.”

Explain the irony in what `Claudius is saying. (3)

23
ACT 2

1. Discuss what is revealed about Polonius’s character in the first scene of this
act. (2)

2. Account for Ophelia’s agitation in the first scene. (2)

3. What is revealed about Ophelia by her reaction to Polonius? (2)

4. Account for Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s presence at the court. (2)

5. Explain how Polonius intends to prove that Hamlet is mad. (2)

6. Hamlet calls Polonius a “fishmonger”. Critically discuss whether this

accusation is valid. (3)

7. Read Hamlet’s second soliloquy

In your own words, explain Hamlet’s plan to prove Claudius’s guilt. (3)

8. Account for Hamlet’s reaction to the arrival of Rosencrantz and

Guildenstern. (2)

9. Explain the irony in Polonius’s criticism of the actor’s speech. (2)

10. Examine Hamlet’s soliloquy (pg. 491 – 548)

Comment on why Hamlet is so angry with himself. (2)

Read the extract below and answer the questions that follow.

EXTRACT B
GUILDENSTERN
My honoured lord!
ROSENCRANTZ
My most dear lord!
HAMLET
My excellent good friends! How dost thou,
Guildenstern? Ah, Rosencrantz! Good lads, how do ye both?
ROSENCRANTZ
As the indifferent children of the earth. 5
GUILDENSTERN
Happy, in that we are not over-happy;
On fortune's cap we are not the very button.
HAMLET
Nor the soles of her shoe?
ROSENCRANTZ
Neither, my lord.
HAMLET
Then you live about her waist, or in the middle of 10
her favours?

24
GUILDENSTERN
'Faith, her privates we.
HAMLET
In the secret parts of fortune? O, most true; she
is a strumpet. What's the news?
ROSENCRANTZ
None, my lord, but that the world's grown honest.
HAMLET
Then is doomsday near: but your news is not true. 15
Let me question more in particular: what have you,
my good friends, deserved at the hands of fortune,
that she sends you to prison hither?
GUILDENSTERN
Prison, my lord!
HAMLET
Denmark's a prison.
ROSENCRANTZ
Then is the world one. 20
HAMLET
A goodly one; in which there are many confines,
wards and dungeons, Denmark being one o' the worst.
ROSENCRANTZ
We think not so, my lord.
HAMLET
Why, then, 'tis none to you; for there is nothing
either good or bad, but thinking makes it so: to me
it is a prison. 25
ROSENCRANTZ
Why then, your ambition makes it one; 'tis too
narrow for your mind.
HAMLET
O God, I could be bounded in a nut shell and count
myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I
have bad dreams.
GUILDENSTERN
Which dreams indeed are ambition, for the very 30
substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream.
HAMLET
A dream itself is but a shadow.
ROSENCRANTZ
Truly, and I hold ambition of so airy and light a
quality that it is but a shadow's shadow.
HAMLET
Then are our beggars bodies, and our monarchs and 35
outstretched heroes the beggars' shadows. Shall we
to the court? for, by my fay, I cannot reason.
ROSENCRANTZ GUILDENSTERN
We'll wait upon you.
HAMLET
No such matter: I will not sort you with the rest

25
 of my servants, for, to speak to you like an honest 40
man, I am most dreadfully attended. But, in the
beaten way of friendship, what make you at Elsinore?
ROSENCRANTZ
To visit you, my lord; no other occasion.
HAMLET
Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks; but I
thank you: and sure, dear friends, my thanks are 45
too dear a halfpenny. Were you not sent for? Is it
your own inclining? Is it a free visitation? Come,
deal justly with me: come, come; nay, speak.

2.1. Explain why Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are in Denmark. (2)

2.2. Discuss the irony in Hamlet addressing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as

“good friends” (line 18). (3)

2.3. What does the arrival of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern imply about Gertrude
and Claudius? ` (2)

2.4. Discuss the significance of Hamlet’s claim that he “cannot reason” (line 41).
(3)
2.5. Refer to lines 50-52: “Were you not … come, nay, speak.”
What do these lines reveal about Hamlet’s state of mind at this point in the
play. (3)

ACT 3
1. 1.1. Explain Hamlet’s treatment of Ophelia. (2)

1.2. Do you think his actions toward Ophelia are justified? Provide a reason
for your answer. (3)

2. “To be or not to be …”
Discuss the meaning of this famous soliloquy. What does Hamlet reveal about
himself in these lines? (3)

3. Discuss the differing opinions that Polonius and Claudius have regarding what
is wrong with Hamlet. (3)

4. Does The Mousetrap achieve its intended aims? Justify your answer. (3)

5. What is Shakespeare satirising in the players’ play? (2)

6. Explain how Hamlet ridicules Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Polonius. (2)

7. Account for Claudius’s altered opinion of Hamlet. (2)

8. Explain the irony in Hamlet’s refusal to kill Claudius while he is praying. (2)

26
9. Discuss the importance of the changes in attitude and behaviour that take
place in both Hamlet and Gertrude at the end of this act. (3)

Read the extract below and answer the questions that follow.

EXTRACT C
OPHELIA
Could beauty, my lord, have better commerce than
with honesty?
HAMLET
Ay, truly; for the power of beauty will sooner
transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the
force of honesty can translate beauty into his 5
likeness: this was sometime a paradox, but now the
time gives it proof. I did love you once.
OPHELIA
Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.
HAMLET
You should not have believed me; for virtue cannot
so inoculate our old stock but we shall relish of 10
it: I loved you not.
OPHELIA
I was the more deceived.
HAMLET
Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be a
breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest;
but yet I could accuse me of such things that it 15
were better my mother had not borne me: I am very
proud, revengeful, ambitious, with more offences at
my beck than I have thoughts to put them in,
imagination to give them shape, or time to act them
in. What should such fellows as I do crawling 20
between earth and heaven? We are arrant knaves,
all; believe none of us. Go thy ways to a nunnery.
Where's your father?
OPHELIA
At home, my lord.
HAMLET
Let the doors be shut upon him, that he may play the 25
fool no where but in's own house. Farewell.
OPHELIA
O, help him, you sweet heavens!
HAMLET
If thou dost marry, I'll give thee this plague for
thy dowry: be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as
snow, thou shalt not escape calumny. Get thee to a 30
nunnery, go: farewell. Or, if thou wilt needs
marry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enough
what monsters you make of them. To a nunnery, go,

27
and quickly too. Farewell.
OPHELIA
O heavenly powers, restore him! 35
HAMLET
I have heard of your paintings too, well enough; God
has given you one face, and you make yourselves
another: you jig, you amble, and you lisp, and
nick-name God's creatures, and make your wantonness
your ignorance. Go to, I'll no more on't; it hath 40
made me mad. I say, we will have no more marriages:
those that are married already, all but one, shall
live; the rest shall keep as they are. To a
nunnery, go.
Exit
OPHELIA
O, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown! 45
The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword;
The expectancy and rose of the fair state,
The glass of fashion and the mould of form,
The observed of all observers, quite, quite down!
And I, of ladies most deject and wretched, 50
That suck'd the honey of his music vows,
Now see that noble and most sovereign reason,
Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh;
That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youth
Blasted with ecstasy: O, woe is me, 55
To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!
Re-enter KING CLAUDIUS and POLONIUS
KING CLAUDIUS
Love! his affections do not that way tend;
Nor what he spake, though it lack'd form a little,
Was not like madness. There's something in his soul,
O'er which his melancholy sits on brood; 60
And I do doubt the hatch and the disclose
Will be some danger: which for to prevent,
I have in quick determination
Thus set it down: he shall with speed to England,
For the demand of our neglected tribute 65
Haply the seas and countries different
With variable objects shall expel
This something-settled matter in his heart,
Whereon his brains still beating puts him thus
From fashion of himself. What think you on't? 70
LORD POLONIUS
It shall do well: but yet do I believe
The origin and commencement of his grief
Sprung from neglected love. How now, Ophelia!
You need not tell us what Lord Hamlet said;
We heard it all. My lord, do as you please; 75
But, if you hold it fit, after the play

28
 Let his queen mother all alone entreat him
To show his grief: let her be round with him;
And I'll be placed, so please you, in the ear
Of all their conference. If she find him not, 80
To England send him, or confine him where
Your wisdom best shall think.
KING CLAUDIUS
It shall be so:
Madness in great ones must not unwatch'd go.
Exeunt

3.1. Account for Hamlet’s treatment of Ophelia. (3)

3.2. Refer to lines 36-38: “I have heard … make yourselves another.”

Account for Hamlet’s attitude toward women. (3)

3.3. Refer to lines 45-56: “O, what a … see what I see!”

By referring to the diction, comment on Ophelia’s feelings toward Hamlet. (3)

3.4. Does Claudius agree with Polonius about Hamlet’s madness? Quote from the
extract to support your answer. (3)

3.5. Comment on the accuracy of Claudius’s claim that “Madness in great ones
must not unwatch’d go.” (line 83). (2)

Read the extract below and answer the questions that follow.

EXTRACT D
HAMLET
O good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word for a
thousand pound. Didst perceive?
HORATIO
Very well, my lord.
HAMLET
Upon the talk of the poisoning?
HORATIO
I did very well note him. 5
HAMLET
Ah, ha! Come, some music! come, the recorders!
For if the king like not the comedy,
Why then, belike, he likes it not, perdy.
Come, some music!
Re-enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN 10
GUILDENSTERN
Good my lord, vouchsafe me a word with you.
HAMLET
Sir, a whole history.
GUILDENSTERN
The king, sir,--

29
HAMLET
Ay, sir, what of him?
GUILDENSTERN
Is in his retirement marvellous distempered. 15
HAMLET
With drink, sir?
GUILDENSTERN
No, my lord, rather with choler.
HAMLET
Your wisdom should show itself more richer to
signify this to his doctor; for, for me to put him
to his purgation would perhaps plunge him into far 20
more choler.
GUILDENSTERN
Good my lord, put your discourse into some frame and
start not so wildly from my affair.
HAMLET
I am tame, sir: pronounce.
GUILDENSTERN
The queen, your mother, in most great affliction of 25
spirit, hath sent me to you.
HAMLET
You are welcome.
GUILDENSTERN
Nay, good my lord, this courtesy is not of the right
breed. If it shall please you to make me a
wholesome answer, I will do your mother's 30
commandment: if not, your pardon and my return
shall be the end of my business.
HAMLET
Sir, I cannot.
GUILDENSTERN
What, my lord?
HAMLET
Make you a wholesome answer; my wit's diseased: but, 35
sir, such answer as I can make, you shall command;
or, rather, as you say, my mother: therefore no
more, but to the matter: my mother, you say,--
ROSENCRANTZ
Then thus she says; your behavior hath struck her
into amazement and admiration.
HAMLET
O wonderful son, that can so astonish a mother! But 40
is there no sequel at the heels of this mother's
admiration? Impart.
ROSENCRANTZ
She desires to speak with you in her closet, ere you
go to bed.
HAMLET
We shall obey, were she ten times our mother. Have 45

30
 you any further trade with us?
ROSENCRANTZ
My lord, you once did love me.
HAMLET
So I do still, by these pickers and stealers.
ROSENCRANTZ
Good my lord, what is your cause of distemper? you
do, surely, bar the door upon your own liberty, if 50
you deny your griefs to your friend.
HAMLET
Sir, I lack advancement.
ROSENCRANTZ
How can that be, when you have the voice of the king
himself for your succession in Denmark?

3.6. Refer to lines 1-2: “O good Horatio … Didst perceive?”

By referring to Hamlet’s tone, explain his reaction in these lines. (3)

3.7. Account for Claudius being “with choler” (line 17). (2)

3.8. Explain why Gertrude wishes to see Hamlet. (2)

3.9. What is the ultimate consequence of this meeting? (3)

31
ACT 4

1. Why is Claudius afraid to have Hamlet arrested? (2)

2. Explain what Claudius does instead. (2)

3. Is Hamlet aware of Claudius’s intentions? Provide a reason for your answer.

(2)
4. Account for Hamlet’s reaction to Fortinbras’s reason for fighting a war. (2)

5. Provide a reason for Claudius’ anguish at the beginning of Scene 5. (2)

6. Explain Gertrude’s and Claudius’s reaction to Ophelia. (2)

7. Why is Laertes so angry? (1)

8. Discuss how Claudius persuades Laertes to fight Hamlet. (2)

9. Why is Laertes so easy to convince? (1)

10. Do you think Laertes is simply a victim of Claudius’s manipulation? Provide

a reason for your answer. (2)

11. How can Laertes’s plan be considered ironic? (2)

12. Comment on Claudius’s hypocrisy at the end of Scene 7. (3)

Read the extract below and answer the questions that follow.

EXTRACT E
KING CLAUDIUS
What, Gertrude? How does Hamlet?
QUEEN GERTRUDE
Mad as the sea and wind, when both contend
Which is the mightier: in his lawless fit,
Behind the arras hearing something stir,
Whips out his rapier, cries, 'A rat, a rat!' 5
And, in this brainish apprehension, kills
The unseen good old man.
KING CLAUDIUS
O heavy deed!
It had been so with us, had we been there:
His liberty is full of threats to all; 10
To you yourself, to us, to every one.
Alas, how shall this bloody deed be answer'd?
It will be laid to us, whose providence
Should have kept short, restrain'd and out of haunt,
This mad young man: but so much was our love, 15

32
We would not understand what was most fit;
But, like the owner of a foul disease,
To keep it from divulging, let it feed
Even on the pith of Life. Where is he gone?
QUEEN GERTRUDE
To draw apart the body he hath kill'd: 20
O'er whom his very madness, like some ore
Among a mineral of metals base,
Shows itself pure; he weeps for what is done.
KING CLAUDIUS
O Gertrude, come away!
The sun no sooner shall the mountains touch, 25
But we will ship him hence: and this vile deed
We must, with all our majesty and skill,
Both countenance and excuse. Ho, Guildenstern!
Re-enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN
Friends both, go join you with some further aid: 30
Hamlet in madness hath Polonius slain,
And from his mother's closet hath he dragg'd him:
Go seek him out; speak fair, and bring the body
Into the chapel. I pray you, haste in this.
Exeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN 35
Come, Gertrude, we'll call up our wisest friends;
And let them know, both what we mean to do,
And what's untimely done.O, come away!
My soul is full of discord and dismay.
Exeunt 40
Scene 2. Another room in the castle.
Enter HAMLET
HAMLET
Safely stowed.
ROSENCRANTZ:GUILDENSTERN
[Within] Hamlet! Lord Hamlet!
HAMLET
What noise? who calls on Hamlet? 45
O, here they come.
Enter ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN
ROSENCRANTZ
What have you done, my lord, with the dead body?
HAMLET
Compounded it with dust, whereto 'tis kin.
ROSENCRANTZ
Tell us where 'tis, that we may take it thence
And bear it to the chapel. 50
HAMLET
Do not believe it.
ROSENCRANTZ
Believe what?
HAMLET
That I can keep your counsel and not mine own.

33
 Besides, to be demanded of a sponge! what
replication should be made by the son of a king? 55
ROSENCRANTZ
Take you me for a sponge, my lord?
HAMLET
Ay, sir, that soaks up the king's countenance, his
rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the
king best service in the end: he keeps them, like
an ape, in the corner of his jaw; first mouthed, to 60
be last swallowed: when he needs what you have
gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you
shall be dry again.

4.1. Comment on the accuracy of Gertrude’s claim that Hamlet is “Mad as the sea
and wind.” (line 2). (3)

4.2. Refer to lines 10-12: “His liberty is … to everyone.”

Discuss the irony in these lines. ` (3)

4.3. Explain what Claudius plans to do by “[shipping] him hence” (line 26). (2)

4.4. Account for Hamlet refusing to hand over Polonius’s body. (3)

4.5. What is Hamlet implying about Claudius when he agrees with Rosencrantz
that he is a “sponge” (line 54). (3)

Read the extract below and answer the questions that follow.

EXTRACT F
Enter LAERTES, armed; Danes following
LAERTES
Where is this king? Sirs, stand you all without.
Danes
No, let's come in.
LAERTES
I pray you, give me leave.
Danes
We will, we will. 5
They retire without the door
LAERTES
I thank you: keep the door. O thou vile king,
Give me my father!
QUEEN GERTRUDE
Calmly, good Laertes.
LAERTES
That drop of blood that's calm proclaims me bastard, 10
Cries cuckold to my father, brands the harlot
Even here, between the chaste unsmirched brow
Of my true mother.

34
KING CLAUDIUS
What is the cause, Laertes,
That thy rebellion looks so giant-like? 15
Let him go, Gertrude; do not fear our person:
There's such divinity doth hedge a king,
That treason can but peep to what it would,
Acts little of his will. Tell me, Laertes,
Why thou art thus incensed. Let him go, Gertrude. 20
Speak, man.
LAERTES
Where is my father?
KING CLAUDIUS
Dead.
QUEEN GERTRUDE
But not by him.
KING CLAUDIUS
Let him demand his fill. 25
LAERTES
How came he dead? I'll not be juggled with:
To hell, allegiance! vows, to the blackest devil!
Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit!
I dare damnation. To this point I stand,
That both the worlds I give to negligence, 30
Let come what comes; only I'll be revenged
Most thoroughly for my father.
KING CLAUDIUS
Who shall stay you?
LAERTES
My will, not all the world:
And for my means, I'll husband them so well,
They shall go far with little. 35
KING CLAUDIUS
Good Laertes,
If you desire to know the certainty
Of your dear father's death, is't writ in your revenge,
That, swoopstake, you will draw both friend and foe,
Winner and loser? 40
LAERTES
None but his enemies.
KING CLAUDIUS
Will you know them then?
LAERTES
To his good friends thus wide I'll ope my arms;
And like the kind life-rendering pelican,
Repast them with my blood. 45
KING CLAUDIUS
Why, now you speak
Like a good child and a true gentleman.
That I am guiltless of your father's death,
And am most sensible in grief for it,

35
 It shall as level to your judgment pierce 50
As day does to your eye.
Danes
[Within] Let her come in.
LAERTES
How now! what noise is that?
Re-enter OPHELIA 55
O heat, dry up my brains! tears seven times salt,
Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye!
By heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight,
Till our scale turn the beam. O rose of May!
Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia! 60
O heavens! is't possible, a young maid's wits
Should be as moral as an old man's life?
Nature is fine in love, and where 'tis fine,
It sends some precious instance of itself
After the thing it loves. 65

4.6. Account for Laertes’s return to Denmark. (3)

4.7. Why does Claudius believe that they do not need to fear Laertes? (2)

4.8. Contrast Laertes’s revenge to that of Hamlet’s. (3)

4.9. Discuss how Claudius uses Laertes’s need for vengeance to his advantage.
(3)
4.10. Refer to lines 61-62: “Is’t it possible … old man’s life?”
By referring to what has happened to Ophelia, account for the comparison
Laertes makes in these lines. ` (3)

ACT 5
1. What is the purpose of the gravedigger scene? (2)

2. “Alas poor Yorick …”

Explain the significance of this speech. (3)

3. Refer to lines 236 – 246: “… Swounds, show me what thou’t do …”

By referring to Hamlet’s tone in this speech, account for his feelings toward
Laertes. (3)

4. Explain how Claudius takes advantage of the relationship between Hamlet

and Laertes. (2)

5. Refer to lines 1 – 80.

Explain how Hamlet has changed from the beginning of the play. (3)

6. Account for Hamlet’s state of mind before his duel with Laertes. Justify your
answer by referring to the text. (2)

36
7. Explain Claudius’s plan to kill Hamlet. (2)

8. How does this plan go awry? (2)

9. Discuss the appropriateness of Fortinbras’s arrival at the end of the play. (2)

Read the extract below and answer the questions that follow.

EXTRACT G
Lord
My lord, his majesty commended him to you by young
Osric, who brings back to him that you attend him in
the hall: he sends to know if your pleasure hold to
play with Laertes, or that you will take longer time.
HAMLET
I am constant to my purpose; they follow the king's 5
pleasure: if his fitness speaks, mine is ready; now
or whensoever, provided I be so able as now.
Lord
The king and queen and all are coming down.
HAMLET
In happy time.
Lord
The queen desires you to use some gentle 10
entertainment to Laertes before you fall to play.
HAMLET
She well instructs me.
Exit Lord
HORATIO
You will lose this wager, my lord.
HAMLET
I do not think so: since he went into France, I 15
have been in continual practise: I shall win at the
odds. But thou wouldst not think how ill all's here
about my heart: but it is no matter.
HORATIO
Nay, good my lord,--
HAMLET
It is but foolery; but it is such a kind of 20
gain-giving, as would perhaps trouble a woman.
HORATIO
If your mind dislike any thing, obey it: I will
forestall their repair hither, and say you are not
fit.
HAMLET
Not a whit, we defy augury: there's a special 25
providence in the fall of a sparrow. If it be now,
'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be

37
 now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the
readiness is all: since no man has aught of what he
leaves, what is't to leave betimes? 30
Enter KING CLAUDIUS, QUEEN GERTRUDE, LAERTES, Lords, OSRIC, and
Attendants with foils
KING CLAUDIUS
Come, Hamlet, come, and take this hand from me.
KING CLAUDIUS puts LAERTES' hand into HAMLET's
HAMLET
Give me your pardon, sir: I've done you wrong; 35
But pardon't, as you are a gentleman.
This presence knows,
And you must needs have heard, how I am punish'd
With sore distraction. What I have done,
That might your nature, honour and exception 40
Roughly awake, I here proclaim was madness.
Was't Hamlet wrong'd Laertes? Never Hamlet:
If Hamlet from himself be ta'en away,
And when he's not himself does wrong Laertes,
Then Hamlet does it not, Hamlet denies it. 45
Who does it, then? His madness: if't be so,
Hamlet is of the faction that is wrong'd;
His madness is poor Hamlet's enemy.
Sir, in this audience,
Let my disclaiming from a purposed evil 50
Free me so far in your most generous thoughts,
That I have shot mine arrow o'er the house,
And hurt my brother.
LAERTES
I am satisfied in nature,
Whose motive, in this case, should stir me most 55
To my revenge: but in my terms of honour
I stand aloof; and will no reconcilement,
Till by some elder masters, of known honour,
I have a voice and precedent of peace,
To keep my name ungored. But till that time, 60
I do receive your offer'd love like love,
And will not wrong it.
HAMLET
I embrace it freely;
And will this brother's wager frankly play.
Give us the foils. Come on. 65

5.1. What does the Lord mean when he says Hamlet must “play with Laertes” (line
4)? (2)

5.2. Comment on the accuracy of Horatio’s claim that Hamlet will “lose this wager”
(line 13). (3)

5.3. Discuss the irony in Laertes receiving Hamlet’s “love like love” (line 61). (3)

38
5.4. By referring to events later in the play, discuss how this passage seals the
fate of most of the characters. (3)

39
EXAM TYPE QUESTIONS
EXTRACT A
ACT 1 SCENE 4
Ghost beckons HAMLET
Horatio
It beckons you to go away with it,
As if it some impartment did desire
To you alone.
Marcellus
Look, with what courteous action
It waves you to a more removed ground: 5
But do not go with it.
Horatio
No, by no means.
Hamlet
It will not speak; then I will follow it.
Horatio
Do not, my lord.
Hamlet
Why, what should be the fear? 10
I do not set my life in a pin's fee;
And for my soul, what can it do to that,
Being a thing immortal as itself?
It waves me forth again: I'll follow it.
Horatio
What if it tempt you toward the flood, my lord, 15
Or to the dreadful summit of the cliff
That beetles o'er his base into the sea,
And there assume some other horrible form,
Which might deprive your sovereignty of reason
And draw you into madness? think of it: 20
The very place puts toys of desperation,
Without more motive, into every brain
That looks so many fathoms to the sea
And hears it roar beneath.
Hamlet
It waves me still. 25
Go on; I'll follow thee.
Marcellus
You shall not go, my lord.
Hamlet
Hold off your hands.
Horatio
Be ruled; you shall not go.
Hamlet
My fate cries out, 30
And makes each petty artery in this body
As hardy as the Nemean lion's nerve.

40
Still am I call'd. Unhand me, gentlemen.
By heaven, I'll make a ghost of him that lets me!
I say, away! Go on; I'll follow thee.
Exeunt Ghost and HAMLET 35
Horatio
He waxes desperate with imagination.
Marcellus
Let's follow; 'tis not fit thus to obey him.
Horatio
Have after. To what issue will this come?
Marcellus
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.
Horatio
Heaven will direct it.
Marcellus 40
Nay, let's follow him.
(Act 1, Scene 4)

1.1 Place the extract in context. (2)

1.2 Refer to lines 1 - 3. “It beckons you to go … you alone.”

Account for the behaviour of the ghost in this scene. (2)

1.3 Why would Marcellus and Horatio be wary of the ghost’s motives? (3)

1.4 Comment on Hamlet’s determination to hear from the ghost. (3)

1.5 Account for Marcellus remarking that “Something is rotten in the

state of Denmark.’ (3)

EXTRACT B
Hamlet
No such matter: I will not sort you with the rest
of my servants, for, to speak to you like an honest
man, I am most dreadfully attended. But, in the
beaten way of friendship, what make you at Elsinore?
Rosencrantz
To visit you, my lord; no other occasion. 5
Hamlet
Beggar that I am, I am even poor in thanks; but I
thank you: and sure, dear friends, my thanks are
too dear a halfpenny. Were you not sent for? Is it
your own inclining? Is it a free visitation? Come,
deal justly with me: come, come; nay, speak. 10
Guildenstern
What should we say, my lord?
Hamlet
Why, any thing, but to the purpose. You were sent
for; and there is a kind of confession in your looks

41
which your modesties have not craft enough to colour:
I know the good king and queen have sent for you. 15
Rosencrantz
To what end, my lord?
Hamlet
That you must teach me. But let me conjure you, by
the rights of our fellowship, by the consonancy of
our youth, by the obligation of our ever-preserved
love, and by what more dear a better proposer could 20
charge you withal, be even and direct with me,
whether you were sent for, or no?
Rosencrantz
(Aside to Guildenstern)
What say you?
Hamlet
(Aside) 25
Nay, then, I have an eye of you.--If you
love me, hold not off.
Guildenstern
My lord, we were sent for.
Hamlet
I will tell you why; so shall my anticipation
prevent your discovery, and your secrecy to the king 30
and queen moult no feather. I have of late--but
wherefore I know not--lost all my mirth, forgone all
custom of exercises; and indeed it goes so heavily
with my disposition that this goodly frame, the
earth, seems to me a sterile promontory, this most 35
excellent canopy, the air, look you, this brave
o'erhanging firmament, this majestical roof fretted
with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to
me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.
What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! 40
how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how
express and admirable! in action how like an angel!
in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the
world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me,
what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not 45
me: no, nor woman neither, though by your smiling
you seem to say so.
Rosencrantz
My lord, there was no such stuff
(Act 3 Scene2)

1.6 Refer to lines 1-4: “No such matter … you at Elsinore?”

Account for Hamlet’s suspicious attitude to Rosencrantz and

Guildenstern.
(2)

42
1.7 Discuss Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s reluctance to be honest
with Hamlet. (2)

1.8 Refer to lines 30 – 38: “You have of late … to vapours”

By referring to the diction used in these lines, discuss Hamlet’s
state of mind. (3)

1.9 Refer to lines 40 - 47.

Critically discuss Hamlet’s comments about man. (3)

EXTRACT C
A room in the castle.
Enter KING CLAUDIUS, ROSENCRANTZ, and
GUILDENSTERN
King Claudius
I like him not, nor stands it safe with us
To let his madness range. Therefore prepare you;
I your commission will forthwith dispatch,
And he to England shall along with you:
The terms of our estate may not endure 5
Hazard so dangerous as doth hourly grow
Out of his lunacies.
Guildenstern
We will ourselves provide:
Most holy and religious fear it is
To keep those many many bodies safe 10
That live and feed upon your majesty.
Rosencrantz
The single and peculiar life is bound,
With all the strength and armour of the mind,
To keep itself from noyance; but much more
That spirit upon whose weal depend and rest 15
The lives of many. The cease of majesty
Dies not alone; but, like a gulf, doth draw
What's near it with it: it is a massy wheel,
Fix'd on the summit of the highest mount,
To whose huge spokes ten thousand lesser things 20
Are mortised and adjoin'd; which, when it falls,
Each small annexment, petty consequence,
Attends the boisterous ruin. Never alone
Did the king sigh, but with a general groan.
King Claudius
Arm you, I pray you, to this speedy voyage; 25
For we will fetters put upon this fear,
Which now goes too free-footed.
Rosencrantz
Guildenstern
We will haste us.

43
Exeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN
Enter POLONIUS
Lord Polonius
My lord, he's going to his mother's closet:
Behind the arras I'll convey myself, 30
To hear the process; and warrant she'll tax him home:
And, as you said, and wisely was it said,
'Tis meet that some more audience than a mother,
Since nature makes them partial, should o'erhear
The speech, of vantage. Fare you well, my liege: 35
I'll call upon you ere you go to bed,
And tell you what I know.
King Claudius
Thanks, dear my lord.
Exit POLONIUS
O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon't, 40
A brother's murder. Pray can I not,
Though inclination be as sharp as will:
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent;
And, like a man to double business bound,
I stand in pause where I shall first begin, 45
And both neglect. What if this cursed hand
Were thicker than itself with brother's blood,
Is there not rain enough in the sweet heavens
To wash it white as snow? Whereto serves mercy
But to confront the visage of offence? 50
And what's in prayer but this two-fold force,
To be forestalled ere we come to fall,
Or pardon'd being down? Then I'll look up;
My fault is past. But, O, what form of prayer
Can serve my turn? 'Forgive me my foul murder'? 55
That cannot be; since I am still possess'd
Of those effects for which I did the murder,
My crown, mine own ambition and my queen.
May one be pardon'd and retain the offence?
In the corrupted currents of this world 60
Offence's gilded hand may shove by justice,
And oft 'tis seen the wicked prize itself
Buys out the law: but 'tis not so above;
There is no shuffling, there the action lies
In his true nature; and we ourselves compell'd, 65
Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults,
To give in evidence. What then? what rests?
Try what repentance can: what can it not?
Yet what can it when one can not repent?
O wretched state! O bosom black as death! 70
O limed soul, that, struggling to be free,
Art more engaged! Help, angels! Make assay!
Bow, stubborn knees; and, heart with strings of steel,

44
Be soft as sinews of the newborn babe!
All may be well. 75

(Act 3 Scene 3)

1.10 Account for Claudius’s fear of Hamlet. (3)

1.11 Comment on the response of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. (2)

1.12 1.12.1 Discuss Polonius’s motivation for eavesdropping on (2)

the conversation between Hamlet and his mother.

1.12.2. Comment on the consequences of Polonius’s spying. (2)

1.13 Refer to line 40.

Discuss the use of allusion in this line. (2)

1.14 Refer to lines 45: ‘I stand in pause …”

Explain the dilemma Claudius faces. (3)

1.15 Refer to lines 51 - 53: “And what is … Or pardon’d being down”?

In your own words, explain Claudius’s opinion on the use of prayer. (2)

1.16 Refer to lines 60 - 67: In the corrupted currents …. to give in

evidence.”
Comment on the irony in these words. (3)

1.17 Refer to lines 67 - 74: “What then? … of the newborn babe!”

1.17.1 Explain the course of action Claudius decides on. (2)

1.17.2 Discuss the consequences of this decision on both Hamlet

and Claudius. (3)

1.18 Refer to Claudius’ soliloquy.

Critically discuss what is revealed by his character. (3)

45
EXTRACT D
Enter KING CLAUDIUS and LAERTES
King Claudius
Now must your conscience my acquaintance seal,
And you must put me in your heart for friend,
Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear,
That he which hath your noble father slain
Pursued my life. 5
Laertes
It well appears: but tell me
Why you proceeded not against these feats,
So crimeful and so capital in nature,
As by your safety, wisdom, all things else,
You mainly were stirr'd up. 10
King Claudius
O, for two special reasons;
Which may to you, perhaps, seem much unsinew'd,
But yet to me they are strong. The queen his mother
Lives almost by his looks; and for myself--
My virtue or my plague, be it either which-- 15
She's so conjunctive to my life and soul,
That, as the star moves not but in his sphere,
I could not but by her. The other motive,
Why to a public count I might not go,
Is the great love the general gender bear him; 20
Who, dipping all his faults in their affection,
Would, like the spring that turneth wood to stone,
Convert his gyves to graces; so that my arrows,
Too slightly timber'd for so loud a wind,
Would have reverted to my bow again,
And not where I had aim'd them. 25
Laertes
And so have I a noble father lost;
A sister driven into desperate terms,
Whose worth, if praises may go back again,
Stood challenger on mount of all the age
For her perfections: but my revenge will come. 30
King Claudius
Break not your sleeps for that: you must not think
That we are made of stuff so flat and dull
That we can let our beard be shook with danger
And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear more:
I loved your father, and we love ourself; 35
And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine--
ENTER A MESSENGER
How now! what news?
Messenger
Letters, my lord, from Hamlet:
This to your majesty; this to the queen.

46
King Claudius 40
From Hamlet! Who brought them?
Messenger
Sailors, my lord, they say; I saw them not:
They were given me by Claudio; he received them
Of him that brought them.
King Claudius
Laertes, you shall hear them. Leave us.
EXIT MESSENGER
(Reads) 45
'High and mighty, You shall know I am set naked on
your kingdom. To-morrow shall I beg leave to see
your kingly eyes: when I shall, first asking your
pardon thereunto, recount the occasion of my sudden
and more strange return. 'HAMLET.' 50
What should this mean? Are all the rest come back?
Or is it some abuse, and no such thing?
Laertes
Know you the hand?
King Claudius
'Tis Hamlets character. 'Naked!
And in a postscript here, he says 'alone.' 55
Can you advise me?
Laertes
I'm lost in it, my lord. But let him come;
It warms the very sickness in my heart,
That I shall live and tell him to his teeth,
'Thus diddest thou.' 60
King Claudius
If it be so, Laertes--
As how should it be so? how otherwise?--
Will you be ruled by me?
Laertes
Ay, my lord;
So you will not o'errule me to a peace.

(Act 4 Scene 7)

1.19 Refer to lines 1-5: “Now must your … pursued my life”.

Account for Claudius’s advice to Laertes. (3)

1.20 Refer to lines 11-26: “O, for two … had aim’d them.”
Comment critically on Claudius’s reasons for not arresting Hamlet
for murder. (3)

47
1.21 Refer to lines 26 – 31: “And so have … revenge will come”
Explain Laertes’s reason for wanting “vengeance”. (3)

1.22 Refer to lines 32 - 35: “Break not your sleeps …. And think it
pastime”
How does this statement reflect Claudius’s state of mind? (2)

1.23 Refer to line 40: “From Hamlet!

Account for Claudius’s tone in this line. (3)

1.24 What is the ultimate aim of Claudius and Laertes? (2)

EXTRACT E
King Claudius
Set me the stoops of wine upon that table.
If Hamlet give the first or second hit,
Or quit in answer of the third exchange,
Let all the battlements their ordnance fire:
The king shall drink to Hamlet's better breath; 5
And in the cup an union shall he throw,
Richer than that which four successive kings
In Denmark's crown have worn. Give me the cups;
And let the kettle to the trumpet speak,
The trumpet to the cannoneer without, 10
The cannons to the heavens, the heavens to earth,
'Now the king dunks to Hamlet.' Come, begin:
And you, the judges, bear a wary eye.
Hamlet
Come on, sir.
Laertes
Come, my lord. 15
(They play)
Hamlet
One.
Laertes
No.
Hamlet
Judgment.
Osric
A hit, a very palpable hit.
Laertes
Well; again. 20
King Claudius
Stay; give me drink. Hamlet, this pearl is thine;
Here's to thy health.
(Trumpets sound, and cannon shot off within)
Give him the cup.
Hamlet
I'll play this bout first; set it by awhile. Come.

48
(They play)
Another hit; what say you? 25
Laertes
A touch, a touch, I do confess.
King Claudius
Our son shall win.
Queen Gertrude
He's fat, and scant of breath.
Here, Hamlet, take my napkin, rub thy brows;
The queen carouses to thy fortune, Hamlet. 30
Hamlet
Good madam!
King Claudius
Gertrude, do not drink.
Queen Gertrude
I will, my lord; I pray you, pardon me.
King Claudius
(Aside)
It is the poison'd cup: it is too late.
Hamlet
I dare not drink yet, madam; by and by. 35
Queen Gertrude
Come, let me wipe thy face.
Laertes
My lord, I'll hit him now.
King Claudius
I do not think't.
Laertes
(Aside)
And yet 'tis almost 'gainst my conscience.
Hamlet
Come, for the third, Laertes: you but dally; 40
I pray you, pass with your best violence;
I am afeard you make a wanton of me.
Laertes
Say you so? Come on.
(They play)
Osric
Nothing, neither way.
Laertes
Have at you now! 45
LAERTES wounds HAMLET; then in scuffling, they change
rapiers, and HAMLET wounds LAERTES
King Claudius
Part them; they are incensed.
Hamlet
Nay, come, again.
QUEEN GERTRUDE falls
Osric
Look to the queen there, ho!

49
Horatio
They bleed on both sides. How is it, my lord?
Osric
How is't, Laertes? 50
Laertes
Why, as a woodcock to mine own springe, Osric;
I am justly kill'd with mine own treachery.
Hamlet
How does the queen?
King Claudius
She swounds to see them bleed.
Queen Gertrude
No, no, the drink, the drink,--O my dear Hamlet,-- 55
The drink, the drink! I am poison'd.
(Dies)
Hamlet
O villany! Ho! let the door be lock'd:
Treachery! Seek it out.
Laertes
It is here, Hamlet: Hamlet, thou art slain;
No medicine in the world can do thee good; 60
In thee there is not half an hour of life;
The treacherous instrument is in thy hand,
Unbated and envenom'd: the foul practise
Hath turn'd itself on me lo, here I lie,
Never to rise again: thy mother's poison'd: 65
I can no more: the king, the king's to blame.
(Act 5 Scene 2)

1.25 Outline the plan that Claudius has arranged in order to ensure
Hamlet’s death. (3)

1.26 Refer to lines 1-13: “Set me the … a wary eye”.

Explain how Hamlet’s refusal to drink ultimately affects Gertrude. (2)

1.27 Discuss the dramatic irony in this scene. (2)

1.28 Refer to lines 51 – 52: “Why, as a … own treachery.”

Is Laertes’s statement valid? Justify your answer. (3)

50
HAMLET LITERATURE ESSAY: EXAMPLE AND
REMINDERS
REMINDERS FOR A LITERATURE ESSAY:

FORMAT

- Write your essay in the PRESENT TENSE (Hamlet is … not Hamlet was .. )
- Make sure you UNDERLINE the title of the play (this helps you distinguish
between Hamlet the character and Hamlet the play).
- Do not use CONTRACTIONS – so, Hamlet is not mad, NOT Hamlet isn’t mad
(remember this is an academic essay)

CONTENT:

- Do not RETELL THE STORY. Use only the examples that are relevant to the
TOPIC.
- Justify your argument by using examples from the play (Eg. Hamlet can be
considered mad at many points in the play, for example, when he kills Polonius,
showing no remorse for his death and then dragging his body through the castle)
– you have supported your statement using the story.
- You do not have to agree with the topic – you can pick a side (so, Hamlet is
mad / Hamlet is not mad) OR you can offer a “mixed response” – there are times
when he seems mad and other times when he seems in full control of his sanity)
– a mixed response is often the better argument.
- Your introduction should cover the topic and outline the argument you are going
to make. It MUST include the title of the play.

AN EXAMPLE:

TOPIC:
Hamlet is blaming his actions on his
madness
“His madness is poor Hamlet’s enemy”
- Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2.
Can we blame his
madness for what he
Critically discuss the extent to which you agree with this statement.
does in the play?
Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of
400–450 words (2–2½ pages).

Now that you know what the topic is asking, you can decide whether you agree or not
and what evidence from the play you can use.

The essay has been written for you below. You are going to write a different one,
using the same format.

51
Introduction
In William Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet, Hamlet Mention the play and playwright and
tells Laertes that he cannot be blamed for his underline title.
actions, it is his madness that is to blame. Topic mentioned and outlined.
While there are many examples in Hamlet’s
behaviour throughout the play that may
suggest that he is mad, there are also many
other instances where Hamlet seems in full
control of the circumstances around him.
Thus, Hamlet cannot blame his actions You have focussed on your
entirely on his madness. argument.
Paragraph 1.
When Hamlet discovers that his father has Point made with evidence.
been killed by Claudius and that he will be
required to exact revenge, his plan is to put
on an “antic disposition”, a false mask to
pretend that he is mad in order to gain the Reason.
information he requires to prove Claudius’s
guilt. Your argument.
At this point in the play, Hamlet seems sane
and rational as he is able to think up a plan to
establish Claudius’s guilt.
Paragraph 2.
As the play progresses, Hamlet’s “madness” is Point made.
evident. He approaches Ophelia half dressed, Evidence from the text.
he speaks in riddles and even his mother is
convinced that he has lost his mind. It can Argument.
still, however be argued that he is merely
“pretending” to be mad in order to overhear
conversations that may implicate Claudius in
Hamlet’s father’s death. When Rosencrantz Evidence.
and Guildenstern are summoned by the king
to find the cause of Hamlet’s madness, he
continues to “pretend” madness, even
convincing his old friends of his unstable mind,
yet he is in full control of his actions as he is Argument.
completely aware that they have been sent to
spy on him and thus he has to continue his
“antic disposition”.
Paragraph 3.
Further evidence of Hamlet’s sanity is his Point.
construction and implementation of “The
Mousetrap”. When actors arrive in Denmark, Evidence.
Hamlet sees this as an opportunity to “catch
the conscience of a king”. He cleverly gets the
players to reinact the murder of his father in
order to see Claudius’s reaction in order to
establish his guilt in the murder of the king.
The plan is well thought out and crafty, a Argument and link to topic.
sign that Hamlet is fully aware of what he is

52
doing and is sane enough to craft a clever
plan.
Paragraph 4.
It is not until after Claudius’s reaction and Argument.
Hamlet’s subsequent conversation with
Gertrude that there is any sign of Hamlet being
really mad. His confrontation with Gertrude Evidence.
shows his heightened emotional state, where
he physically threatens her. This is not a sign
of a man of sound mind. When Hamlet hears
Polonius hidden behind the arras, he does not
hesitate to stab him, thinking it is Claudius.
This rash killing of another person can be
considered evidence of a man perhaps being
driven mad by grief and anger. After he
discovers that it is Polonius he has killed,
Hamlet shows no remorse for taking a life,
instead he drags the body through the castle,
refusing to tell anyone where the body is. This Argument and link to topic.
is a definite sign that Hamlet may be losing
his grip on his sanity.
Paragraph 5.
When Hamlet is sent to England with Point.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he is able to
find the letter from the king ordering his death,
changed the letter, reseal it and escape the
doomed ship, returning to Denmark. This Link to topic.
shows that Hamlet is of sound mind as he is
able to escape Claudius’s plan to have him
killed by using only his wits. Despite this
evident sanity, Hamlet shows one more sign Point.
of genuine insanity when Ophelia dies. Hamlet
jumps into Ophelia’s grave, claiming to have Evidence.
loved her more than Laertes. This is a sign of Link to topic.
a disturbed mind. However, once Hamlet has
returned to Denmark, he seems to be
completely sane, he apologises to Laertes for
the pain he has caused, indicating that he is Argument and link to topic.
fully aware of his actions and their possible
consequences. Hamlet dies a sane man, fully
aware of what has happened, he is even sane
enough to leave Horatio behind to tell his tale.
He is buried as a soldier and a noble man.
Conclusion.
Although Hamlet suggests that his enemy is Sum up final argument – no new
his madness, and there are moments we can evidence introduced in conclusion.
consider him mad, through most of the play
Hamlet is in full control of his actions and thus
his actions cannot be blamed on his madness,
but perhaps rather on the awful circumstances

53
in which he finds himself.
ESSAY QUESTIONS
1. Hamlet’s actions throughout the play leads to unexpected consequences.

Discuss the validity of this statement.

Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450

words

(2–2½ pages).

2. Hamlet is no “sweet prince”. In pursuit of revenge, he becomes increasingly

ruthless, callous and cruel.

By referring to Hamlet’s actions throughout the play, comment on the validity of

this statement.

Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450

words
(2–2½ pages).

3. Hamlet is placed in a position where his noble qualities are made ineffective by
his indecision.

Critically comment on the accuracy of the statement.

Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450

words
(2–2½ pages).

4. Claudius is a weak king, ruled by passion and ambition. Gertrude is a foolish

woman, insensitive to the effect of her actions. They are both to blame for the
corrupt kingdom in which Hamlet finds himself.

To what extend is this statement accurate?

Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450

words
(2–2½ pages).

5. “Confused, bewildered and frightened.”

“conniving, cunning and in full control.”

Consider Hamlet’s character in light of these two extremes.

Your response should take the form of a well-constructed essay of 400–450

words
(2–2½ pages).

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