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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where is Elsinore in Act 1, Scene 1?

2. Hamlet enters about halfway through Act 3, Scene 3. When he comes in, what is Claudius doing?

3. What does Polonius ask Reynaldo to give to his son?

4. After Hamlet's behavior during the play-within-a-play, what do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern agree to do with Hamlet?

5. What is the Prince of Norway's name?

Short Essay Questions

1. Early in the play, Laertes gives Ophelia advice about her love life. What does she say in response?

2. In Act 3, Claudius becomes convinced that Hamlet is insane. What does he decide to do with Hamlet?

3. After talking to the ghost at the end of Act 1, what does Hamlet decide to do about his father's death?

4. When Hamlet first sees the ghost, he tries to talk to it. How does the ghost respond?

5. When Hamlet follows the ghost, what do his friends decide to do?

6. Hamlet says "O, that this too too solid flesh would melt...." This soliloquy in Act 1, Scene 2, is the first introduction of a theme that Hamlet will talk about repeatedly in the play. What does he talk about doing or wanting to do in this soliloquy?

7. What does Hamlet ask Horatio to do during the play-within-a-play?

8. During Hamlet's first conversation with the ghost, the ghost asks for revenge. Who does the ghost want revenge on and why?

9. Once alone after the play-within-a-play, Claudius bemoans his crimes and falls to his knees in prayer. But at the end of the scene, what does he say about his praying?

10. How does Hamlet act towards Ophelia during the play-within-a-play?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Compare and contrast the characters of Gertrude and Ophelia, focusing on the following points:

-- To what extent is each of them a victim of what happens?

-- To what extent does each of them cause what happens?

-- Does Gertrude affect Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia? If so, how? Does Ophelia affect Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude? If so, how?

-- How do the other men in the play treat Gertrude and Ophelia? How does that contribute to our overall sense of them? Focus specifically on the ghost, Claudius, Laertes, and Polonius.

-- Does it matter that these are essentially the only two female characters in the play? Why?

Essay Topic 2

There are so many characters in a Shakespeare play that it is sometimes easy to lose track of them. Find a scene in which an important character is mostly silent -- for example, the scene where Polonius and Claudius spy on Hamlet and Ophelia. Why is that character still in the scene? How is the audience's sense of the scene changed by knowing that character is present? How does the character make its silent presence felt?

Essay Topic 3

Shakespeare is well known for adding comic characters to his most serious plays. In Hamlet, these characters may include Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Osric, and the gravediggers. Choose one or two of these characters/pairs of characters. Identify how they add comic relief to the script and at what point in the action does Shakespeare include them. How is that scene changed by having humor included?

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