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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. In their first conversation together, what important information does Hamlet reveal to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

2. What does Claudius say in Act 3, Scene 3 about his own thoughts and words?

3. What does Hamlet tell his friends about his meeting with the ghost?

4. Who does the ghost claim to be?

5. How does Horatio describe the ghost to Hamlet?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the setting (time and place) of Act 1, Scene 4?

2. Does the Ghost at the beginning of the play talk to the watchers?

3. The first time Claudius appears on stage, he gives a speech describing the current state of affairs in Denmark. He identifies and explains three major events. What are those events?

4. In Act 2, Scene 2, what play does Hamlet ask the players to perform and why?

5. Laertes and Polonius are both concerned about Ophelia's romance. In Act 1, Scene 3, what do they tell her?

6. In Act 1, Scene 2, how does Hamlet act toward Claudius and Gertrude? When he is left alone, what does he say about his feelings toward them?

7. What is the point or theme of Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech?

8. What does Claudius learn about Norway when the Ambassadors he sent at the beginning of the play return?

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

10. Polonius sends Reynaldo to Laertes with very specific instructions. What does Polonius tell Reynaldo to do, and how does Polonius tell him to do it?

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

Is Hamlet really crazy? Take a stand on this topic and support your stance with specific examples from throughout the text.

Essay Topic 3

At the start of the play, Hamlet is mourning his father's death and his mother's hasty re-marriage. It is hard to remember, sometimes, that Hamlet has actually lost something else quite valuable: the throne. Hamlet never consistently expresses unhappiness at losing the throne, though he is reassured he can have it after Claudius's death. How would the play be different if Hamlet wanted to kill Claudius to gain control of the kingdom?

(see the answer keys)

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