1 Name Date Class Period Literary Terms Act 1 Tragedy Tragic Flaw Soliloquy Aside Study Guide Blank Verse Prose Iambic Pentameter Comic Relief External Conflict Internal Conflict Dramatic Irony Imagery 1. Based upon what you may have heard or seen, what do you think happens in the play? 2. What character traits do you feel permit a national leader like the President of the United States to be popular? What character traits do you feel permit a national leader to be effective? What can a national leader do to be both popular and effective? 3. If you father had died only a few months ago, how do you think you d react to your mother remarrying? How would your feelings change if your mother married your father s brother, your uncle? 4. If you had just seized power of a small but powerful country, what would you do to secure your position as President? scene 3 5. If you were a young man going back to college, what advice would you give to your teenage sister about boys and dating? 6. If you were a father, what advice would you give your son before sending him off to college? scenes 4 and 5 7. Do you think that the ghost is the spirit of s dead father or an evil spirit? 8. What do you think the ghost will tell? apparition assail usurp martial harbinger discretion obsequies prodigal beguile sepulcher scenes 1-2 Francisco, Bernardo, Cornelius, and Voltemand Marcellus scenes 3-5 Marcellus Ghost Ophelia
2 1. How soon after King s death did marry? 2. What can the audience infer from s elaborate justification to the court of his marriage to? 3. How does the imagery in s first soliloquy help to establish a major theme of Act I? 4. How was King murdered? 5. Why does the ghost seek to be avenged? 6. Why do you think behaves so strangely after the ghost departs in Scene V? V. Viewing Act 1, 1. What business must attend to during this scene? 2. What seems to be s attitude towards and the recent changes in his life? What seems to motivate and how does he regard? 3. How do the actor s facial expressions, tones of voice, and gestures enhance Shakespeare s words? 1. Why does feel that should be wary of the ghost? 2. What argument does use to try to comfort over the death of his father? 3. What advice does give to Ophelia about? 4. Why does Ophelia agree to the promise about with? 5. Why does extract an oath from and the others about the ghost? Act 2 1. Now that has sworn to avenge the murder of his father and decided to pretend to be insane, what do you think he might do to convince and of his insanity? 2. What might do to convince Ophelia and of his insanity? 3. Based upon what you ve seen of, what do you think he might do to discover the source of s melancholy? 4. How do you think will respond to any sudden changes to life at the royal court, such as surprise visitors or a traveling troupe of actors? peruse brevity arras rogue
3 scenes 1-2 Reynaldo, Cornelius Ophelia, First Player Rosencrantz Guildenstern Voltemand, 1. What has done to alarm Ophelia? 2. How does Ophelia interpret this behavior? How does interpret it? 3. In scene i, the audience learns that Fortinbras s uncle has ordered him not to attack Denmark and that Fortinbras has vowed obedience. How does Fortinbras s behavior contrast with s? 4. How does the opening of scene ii parallel the opening of scene i? 5. For what reason does use wordplay in his exchange with the king and queen? In general, how does his use of wordplay differ from s? 6. s second soliloquy is written in blank verse, but it also contains two very short lines and ends with a couplet, a pair of rhymed lines. How do the short lines and the couplet strengthen the speech? 7. In his soliloquy, asks, Am I a coward? Do you think is a coward? Why or why not? 8. What is s plan involving and the play? V. Viewing Act 2, 1. Why do you think Rosencrantz and Guildenstern agree to help? 2. How do and regard explanations about what is causing s strange behavior? 3. What enables to see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern s motives? 1. Why does Ophelia come to see her father after her encounter with? 2. According to, what is the source of s strange behavior? 3. Why does enlist the help of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? 4. How does manage to thwart use of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? 5. How does plan to make use of the troupe of traveling players?
4 Act 3 1. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to that they have failed to discover the source of s strange behavior, what might do next? 2. believes that s behavior comes from this thwarted love for Ophelia. What might do to prove his theory to and? 3. How might alter the plot of The Murder of Gonzago to trick into revealing himself as the murderer of King? scene 3 4. What do you think will do to after being humiliated publicly by s revision of the play? scene 4 5. If and were to meet in private, what would you expect them to say to each other? affront visage consummation coil orison scenes 1-2 Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Lucianius Ophelia First Player, Player King Chorus, Player Queen calumny occulted confound mandate perdition scenes 3-4 Guildenstern Rosencrantz Ghost 1. What question does consider in his famous soliloquy in scene i? 2. Why do you think treats Ophelia with such coarse brutality in scene i? 3. What do s instructions to the players reveal about his personality? 4. What is ironic about s decision not to kill while is praying? 5. In his soliloquy, what distinction does draw between earthly justice and heavenly justice? 6. What future events might the death of foreshadow? 7. In Act I, the ghost is visible to all present,, and Marcellus. However, in Act IV, scene iv, only sees the ghost; does not. Does this signify that is truly made? Explain.
5 V. Viewing Act 3, 1. How do s language and actions change as he speaks first to the players, then to, and finally as a member of the audience watching the play? 2. How does the director use the camera to show reaction to the play and how either or respond to it? 3. When once confronts Rosencrantz and Guildenstern at the end of the scene, in what ways has his distrust of them changed? 1. How do and plan to discover the source of s strange behavior? 2. What do and believe they have learned from their plan? 3. What leads to believe that has revealed himself to be the murderer of King? 4. Why does fail to kill when he has the change? 5. What promise does make to when they are alone in her chambers? Act 4 1. Based upon what you know about, how do you expect him to react to the news that has killed? 2. Because continues to pretend to be mad, how might he respond to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern s request for body? scene 3 3. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern fail to recover body, what do you think might do to secure his position as King and still punish? scene 4 4. How do you think will feel about himself as a prince and as an avenger of his father s murder if he were to encounter Prince Fortinbras of Norway, who is leading an army against the Poles? scene 5 5. How do you think Ophelia might respond to the death of her father after being separated from her brother and losing s love? scenes 6, 7 6. wants to avenge his father s death., in order to retain his throne, has sent to England with orders for the English to kill him. If were to return suddenly, what might and do to takes revenge on? contend providence knavish conveyance rabble commune obscure
6 scenes 1-4 Rosencrantz Guildenstern Fortinbras Captain scenes 5-7 Gentlemen, Sailor, Messenger Ophelia Other Danes Servant 1. What plan of s heightens the level of suspense in scene iii? 2. How is s plan later thwarted? 3. How are s madness and Ophelia s madness different? How are they similar? 4. How does s letter bear on the issue of whether or not he is a coward? 5. What plot do and devise in scene vii? 6. What fact does conceal from? V. Viewing Act 4, scene 5 1. How do and respond to Ophelia s insanity? 2. How does respond to Ophelia s insanity? 3. How do the actors tones of voice, facial expressions, and gestures enhance the meaning of Shakespeare s words? 1. Why is concerned that has killed? 2. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to inquire about body, how does respond? What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern believe about as a result of the encounter? 3. What does hope to gain by sending to England? 4. What causes Ophelia to drown herself? 5. How does finally enlist the help of? Act 5 1. Based upon what you know about the characters of and, how would you expect each to react to the funeral of Ophelia?
2. If and plan succeeds, will kill with the poisoned sword during the duel. What alternative ending can you construct that would lead to a more satisfying conclusion to the play? 7 maimed outface indiscretion Sexton Gravedigger Priest Osric Lord, First Ambassador Fortinbras 1. Who was Yorick? 2. What is unaware of during his exchange with the gravedigger? How does this unawareness increase the suspense of the scene? 3. What is ironic about the gravedigger s explanation of s trip to England? 4. How does justify the deaths of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? How might this reasoning be flawed? 5. What question does resolve just before the duel? How does he resolve it? 6. Briefly explain how and are fatally wounded. 7. Why is the conclusion of especially tragic? V. Viewing Act 5, 1. What has the director done to let you know as a viewer that s wine has been poisoned? 2. When and scuffle, how do you know that they ve managed to exchange weapons? 3. How do the actors tones of voice, facial expressions, and gestures enhance the meaning of Shakespeare s words? Post-reading Small Group Discussion Questions 1. What complaint do the gravedigger and sexton have as they prepare Ophelia s grave? 2. Why does feel that the gravedigger is a complete knave? 3. Why does jump into Ophelia s grave? 4. What did learn about as a result of his interrupted voyage to England? 5. What prompts to reveal plan to poison?