A I,SI We are now entering a royal palace at ________ in the land of __________It’s cold, it’s midnight. In a country preparing for war, the sentries who guard the castle are nervous. What are their names? And why are they nervous? What is an apparition? They ask their friend named ________ to accompany them, as they very much value his opinion. What happens next? Why does the ghost disappears before he can talk to Horatio? Elsinor Denmark Horatio

A1,S2 The New King Claudius addresses the Danish court at Elsinore. What is his speech about? What is he saying concerning the young Fortinbras? What is the king advising Hamlet to do? What does he mean by impious stubbornness And what is his mother wish concerning his studies in Wittenberg? Lets look at some of the tricky words and expressions. with and auspicious and a dropping eye importing the surrender of… p.46, L65 P.160, L 131. What is H saying here?

So excellent a king, that was to this Hyperion to a satyr. “Frailty, thy name is woman” Like Niobe all tears. Remember Achilles talking about her to Priam? Don’t ever boast and brag about your children to another parent. You might affront her/him greatly. Remember Sundiata and how Sassouma affronted Sogolon by ridiculing her disabled son? Have you ever felt a “truant disposition”? Cap- à- pie A countenance more in sorrow than in anger Satyr

A1,S3 Laertes warns Ophelia not to put too much trust into prince Hamlet’s advances and his warning is echoed by Polonius, her father who comes to say goodbye to his son and to give Laertes some words of worldly wisdom. What does L mean when he says about H that “he himself is subject to his birth”? Ophelia’s response to his brother advice is:” …do not, as some ungracious pastors do, show me the steep and thorny way to heaven. Polonius’s advices: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be. How about this one: “To thy own self be true.” What is your perception of Polonius so far. And that Ophelia?

A1,4 Synapses: Hamlet joins Marcellus and Horatio for the midnight watch while the King and his court enjoy a drunken revelry insight the castle. The ghost reappears and it beckons Hamlet to follow him. What do his friends do? What is Hamlet’s response to their attempts? What are his friends’ fear? Who pronounces the famous phrase: “There is something rotten in the state of Denmark”?

A1,5 How does the ghost unfold himself? How does he describe his murder? Why is the murder described as “foul, strange and unnatural”? When young Hamlet exclaims: “oh my prophetic soul” what does he mean by it? What is the ghost demanding from Hamlet and what does he say concerning his wife? At the end of the scene the prince demands something from his companions. What is it? He also says to Horatio:” There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt in your philosophy” Why? And how will an “antic disposition” help him in his inquiry and plan for revenge? Why should his friends say nothing about his bizarre behavior? Before they exit Hamlet says that the time is out of joint. What does he mean by it?

A 2,1 Polonius sends his man to Paris to spy on his son and Ophelia tells her father about Hamlet’s antic disposition. Why does Polonius want to tell lies about his son in Paris? And what does Polonius now suspect that the nature of Hamlet’s madness might be? Why does he want to disclose Hamlet’s love of Ophelia. Why is the troop of actors on the road instead of staying in the city?

2,2 What is ironic about Polonius’ statement that brevity is the soul of wit? (2,2 L90) How would you explain the queen’s response to him by telling him: “more matter with less art.” (2,2 L96) What does Hamlet think of his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? What good tidings they bring to Hamlet? What will the actors perform for the prince? Why does Hamlet need more proof about the villain king? Doesn’t he trust the ghost? Hamlet says at the end of 2,2: “ The play is the thing wherein I will catch the conscience of the king.” Explain.