Hamlet Act III

Act 3

Scene 1:
1. What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to Polonius?
2. How does Claudius react when Polonius says, "…with devotion's visage, And pious action we do sugar o'er/ The devil himself"?
3. What plan do Polonius, Claudius and Ophelia now put into action?
4. What is the nature of Hamlet's soliloquy, lines 57-91?
5. What is Hamlet's main argument against suicide?
6. Why does Hamlet treat Ophelia as cruelly as he does? What has changed him?
7. What thinly veiled threat to Claudius does Hamlet voice, after he becomes of his hidden presence? (lines 148-150)
8. At the end of this scene, what does the King decide to do with Hamlet?

Scene 2:
9. What qualities in Horatio cause Hamlet to enlist his assistance?
10. What does Hamlet ask Horatio to do?
11. Summarize what happens in the play-within-a-play.
12. Why, in line 233, does Hamlet refer to the play-within-a-play as "The Mouse-trap"?
13. What is the King's reaction to the play?
14. In lines 354-363, to what object does Hamlet compare himself? Why?
15. As Hamlet goes to his mother at the end of this scene, what does he admonish himself to do?

Tuesday

Remember that there is a vocabulary quiz on Friday!

Monday

Today we will go over Act II Scene II questions and then I'll break you up into groups to review and create an acting project.  We will go over this tomorrow.  You will also have a quiz on Act II tomorrow.

QUESTIONS TO DEVELOP THESIS STATEMENTS ABOUT AND ANSWER

1. Polonius is sometimes played as a senile old fool, sometimes as a shrewd and worldly old man.  Which interpretation do you agree with and why?
2. Pick one character who could, at some point, have changed the whole chain of events.  Discuss.
3. Analyze the three appearances of the ghost seen in the play.  Where did he appear; to whom did he appear?  How does the third appearance differ from the first two?  What is the significance of this?
4. Discuss the reasons for Hamlet’s apparent delay in seeking revenge for his father.  What is your opinion regarding his procrastination?
5. Compare and contrast Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras as avengers.
6. What is Hamlet’s attitude towards life and people?  How does it affect his actions?
7. Apply the following quote to Hamlet: “A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good.  Therefore, it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how to not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case.”  -- THE PRINCE, Machiavelli
8. Examine the reoccurring pun on sun and son.  How does this symbol work in the overall meaning of the play.
9. Was Ophelia pregnant with Hamlet’s child?
10. Did Hamlet slip into madness?
11. It is Hamlet who causes the downfall of Denmark.
12. What is the meaning of the pirates?
13. Is Hamlet Jesus Christ?  How is Horatio either John the Baptist or an apostle.
14. Why or how is Denmark the Garden of Eden?
15. Gertrude knows about the murder?
16. The meaning of prostitution in Hamlet?
17. Can Hamlet be compared to our current society?  If so, how?
18. Perhaps others—as we read or when we finish
    

    
    Scale/Rubric relating to learning goal:

    
    4 – The student is able to combine more than one question into a thesis statement, and answer it by evaluating the text and using specifics to back up his/her position.

    3 – The student can choose a question, develop it into a thesis statement, and analyze the text using specific evidence to back up their position.

    2 – With some direction/help from the teacher the student can choose a question, develop it into a thesis statement, and analyze the text using specific evidence to back up their position.

    1 – Even with help from the teacher the student is unable to choose a question, or develop it into a thesis statement, and analyze the text using specific evidence to back up their position.

Act II Scene II

Unit Learning goal: Students will demonstrate an understanding of Hamlet by choosing a prompt from below, developing a thesis statement out of it, and answering the thesis statement by analyzing and using direct evidence from the text.  

QUESTIONS TO DEVELOP THESIS STATEMENTS ABOUT AND ANSWER

1. Polonius is sometimes played as a senile old fool, sometimes as a shrewd and worldly old man.  Which interpretation do you agree with and why?
2. Pick one character who could, at some point, have changed the whole chain of events.  Discuss.
3. Analyze the three appearances of the ghost seen in the play.  Where did he appear; to whom did he appear?  How does the third appearance differ from the first two?  What is the significance of this?
4. Discuss the reasons for Hamlet’s apparent delay in seeking revenge for his father.  What is your opinion regarding his procrastination?
5. Compare and contrast Hamlet, Laertes, and Fortinbras as avengers.
6. What is Hamlet’s attitude towards life and people?  How does it affect his actions?
7. Apply the following quote to Hamlet: “A man who wishes to make a profession of goodness in everything must necessarily come to grief among so many who are not good.  Therefore, it is necessary for a prince, who wishes to maintain himself, to learn how to not to be good, and to use this knowledge and not use it, according to the necessity of the case.”  -- THE PRINCE, Machiavelli
8. Examine the reoccurring pun on sun and son.  How does this symbol work in the overall meaning of the play.
9. Was Ophelia pregnant with Hamlet’s child?
10. Did Hamlet slip into madness?
11. It is Hamlet who causes the downfall of Denmark.
12. What is the meaning of the pirates?
13. Is Hamlet Jesus Christ?  How is Horatio either John the Baptist or an apostle.
14. Why or how is Denmark the Garden of Eden?
15. Gertrude knows about the murder?
16. The meaning of prostitution in Hamlet?
17. Can Hamlet be compared to our current society?  If so, how?
18. Perhaps others—as we read or when we finish
    

    
    Scale/Rubric relating to learning goal:

    
    4 – The student is able to combine more than one question into a thesis statement, and answer it by evaluating the text and using specifics to back up his/her position.

    3 – The student can choose a question, develop it into a thesis statement, and analyze the text using specific evidence to back up their position.

    2 – With some direction/help from the teacher the student can choose a question, develop it into a thesis statement, and analyze the text using specific evidence to back up their position.

    1 – Even with help from the teacher the student is unable to choose a question, or develop it into a thesis statement, and analyze the text using specific evidence to back up their position.

Vocabulary # 1
1)    Countenance

2)    Perilous

3)    Sullied

4)    Apparition

5)    Portentous

6)    Calumnious

7)    Prodigal

8)    Discourse

9)    Canon

10) Imminent

1)    What is does Polonius tell Reynaldo in the opening of Act II?  How does he plan to trap his son?

2)    What does this say about Polonius?

3)    What particularly in Act II scene 1 has disturbed Ophelia?

4)    Why have Rosencrantez and Guildenstern been sent to Denmark?

5)    What does Hamlet ask the players to recite?  How does the allusion mimic Hamlet’s position?

Identify the following speaker of the following lines and discuss to whom the lines are being delivered, and what do the lines mean?

6)    “No, my lord, but as you did command/ I did repel his letter, and denied his access to me”

7)    “More matter less art”

8)    “That I, the son of a dear father murdered,/ Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell/ Must like a whore unpack my heart with words,

9)    “Your bait of falsehood take this carp of truth/ And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,/ with windlasses and with assays of bias,/ By directions find directions out.”

10) “For if the sun breeds maggots in a dead dog, being a good kissing carrion-Have you a daughter?”

11) List three metaphors (1 direct, 1 implied, 1 extended) from the play.

12) What proof does Polonius have that he believe indicates Hamlet’s love for Ophelia? 

13) Explain the quote, “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”  How does this relate to Hamlet.

14) What is a fishmonger?

15) Who was Jephthah?

Thursday

Today - we need to hear you scenes and then take some notes on the following:

Scene 1 - Fortinbras

Scene 2 - The Garden

Hamlet's soliloquy

Scene 3 - Continue of the Garden
Laertes vs. Polonius

Scene 4/5 The Garden continued

Plot outline.

Hamlet scene 3

Act 1 scenes 3-4

1)    What is Laertes advice to Ophelia?

2)    How does “The canker galls the infants of the spring/ too oft before their buttons be disclos’d” fit into the ideology of the decaying garden?

3)    What analogy does Ophelia give to her brother as an answer to his advice?  What does she mean?

4)    List five of the “few precepts” that Polonius gives to Laertes.

5)    In lines 105-109, what is the metaphor that Polonius uses to describe Hamlet’s words of love?

6)    List and explain one metaphor found in the lines 115-135.

7)    What is Polonius’ command to Ophelia?

8)    In scene 4, what is Hamlet talking about in lines 13-38?

9)    Why doesn’t Horatio want Hamlet to follow the ghost?

10) What is Hamlet’s command to the three guards?

Hamlet Themes

Revenge
The Meaning of Death and Mortality
Religion
Art - Culture - particularly Drama
Lies and Deceit
The Corruption of Power
Family

Wednesday

 Today we go over your Poetry Out Loud poems and then read Act 1 Scene 1.  Homework tonight will be working on your poems and answering the following "DISCUSSION QUESTION".

Hamlet ACT 1 Scene 1


1) How is interest created in the opening scene?
2) What information are we given to help us understand the situation?
3) What happens at the end of the scene to create suspense and keep up the reader’s interest?
4) What is the mood of the scene?
5) Why are the sentries apprehensive (there are two reasons)?
6) What reasons are suggested by Horatio for the appearance of the late King’s ghost?
7) Who are the characters present in the scene?
8) List one thing Horatio says about the former King?
9) Who is young Fortinbras?
10) What does Horatio say happened in Rome after Julius Caesar was murdered?
11) How does Horatio differ from Marcellus and Barnardo in scene 1?
12) What is Horatio’s purpose in scene 1 (why is he present)?
13) What past history (Denmark’s history) is revealed in scene 1?