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Shakespeare

Hamlet

A daily lesson plan for each scene, reading quizzes, a study guide, questions on character, structure, and imagery, soliloquy practice, and essay prompts for Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Daily lesson plans

Fourteen days of discussion questions with answers, one for each reading assignment, plus an alternate plan that uses the film.

Hamlet, Day 0: Introducing the Play

Lesson plan for the first meeting of the Hamlet unit. Students get the play and the packet, then read Act 1, Scene 1.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 1: Act 1, Scene 1

Lesson plan for day 1 of the Hamlet unit. The tense opening on the battlements, Horatio's doubt, and the Fortinbras background.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 2: Act 1, Scene 2

Lesson plan for day 2 of the Hamlet unit. Hamlet in black among the happy court, Claudius on grief, and the first soliloquy.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 3: Act 1, Scenes 3 and 4

Lesson plan for day 3 of the Hamlet unit. Advice from Laertes and Polonius, Ophelia's replies, and Hamlet's dilemma over the ghost.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 3, Alternate Plan: Act 1, Scenes 3 and 4

An alternate plan for day 3 of the Hamlet unit. The class watches the film, then discusses the advice scenes and the ghost's first appearance to Hamlet.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 4: Act 1, Scene 5 and Act 2, Scene 1

Lesson plan for day 4 of the Hamlet unit. The ghost's story and command, Hamlet's antic disposition, and Polonius spying on Laertes.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 5: Act 2, Scene 2

Lesson plan for day 5 of the Hamlet unit. Spies, the Fortinbras news, Polonius's long speeches, the players, and Hamlet's soliloquy.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 6: Act 3, Scene 1

Lesson plan for day 6 of the Hamlet unit. The "To be or not to be" soliloquy, the scene with Ophelia, and two plans to learn Hamlet's secret.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 7: Act 3, Scene 2

Lesson plan for day 7 of the Hamlet unit. Appearance and reality, Horatio as Hamlet's ideal friend, and the play within the play.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 8: Act 3, Scene 3

Lesson plan for day 8 of the Hamlet unit. Claudius at prayer and the reason Hamlet spares him.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 9: Act 3, Scene 4

Lesson plan for day 9 of the Hamlet unit. The closet scene, the ghost that only Hamlet can see, and Hamlet's pretense of madness.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 10: Act 4, Scenes 1 to 4

Lesson plan for day 10 of the Hamlet unit. Claudius's fear of Hamlet, the death of Polonius, and Fortinbras as a model of action.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 11: Act 4, Scenes 5 and 6

Lesson plan for day 11 of the Hamlet unit. Ophelia's madness, Laertes' return, and Hamlet's escape from the pirates.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 12: Act 4, Scene 7

Lesson plan for day 12 of the Hamlet unit. Claudius persuades Laertes to join the plot against Hamlet.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 13: Act 5, Scene 1

Lesson plan for day 13 of the Hamlet unit. The grave diggers, Hamlet's age, and Ophelia's burial.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Hamlet, Day 14: Act 5, Scene 2

Lesson plan for day 14 of the Hamlet unit. Hamlet's account of the voyage, Osric, the duel, and Fortinbras's closing words.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Lecture notes Lesson plan

Reading quizzes

Short quizzes on the introduction and on Acts 1, 2, and 5.

Hamlet Reading Quiz: Introduction

A ten question quiz on the editors' introduction, Shakespeare's language, and his life.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Quiz

Hamlet Reading Quiz: Act 1

A ten question quiz on the ghost, the family ties, and the advice that Ophelia hears.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Quiz

Hamlet Reading Quiz: Act 2

A short quiz on the spies, Hamlet's love letter, and his orders to the players.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Quiz

Hamlet Reading Quiz: Act 5

A ten question quiz on the grave diggers, the duel, and the end of the play.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Quiz

Study aids

Study questions for every scene and a practice exercise in Shakespeare's language.

Hamlet Study Guide

Study questions for every scene of Hamlet, to answer before each class.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Study guide

Practice: Shakespeare's Language

An exercise that asks students to put five lines from Act 1, Scene 1 into contemporary English.
Shakespeare Hamlet Shakespeare's language Exercise

Analysis questions

Questions on character, structure, and imagery for essays and class discussion.

Analyzing Hamlet: Character

Questions on Hamlet's personality, the characters who reflect him, and Norman Holland's view of thought and action.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Close reading Essay questions

Analyzing Hamlet: Structure

Questions on the two waves of the play, the soliloquies, and other theories of how Hamlet is built.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Close reading Essay questions

Analyzing Hamlet: Diction and Imagery

Questions on flowers and water around Ophelia, animals around Gertrude, and images of disease and decay.
Shakespeare Hamlet Drama Close reading Essay questions

Soliloquy analysis

Seven soliloquies of Hamlet and one of Claudius, each with an AP style essay prompt.

Soliloquy 1: Act 1, Scene 2

An AP style essay prompt on Hamlet's soliloquy at 1.2.133-164. Students explain how form reveals the speaker's attitude.
Shakespeare Hamlet Close reading AP practice Soliloquy

Soliloquy 2: Act 1, Scene 5

An AP style essay prompt on Hamlet's soliloquy at 1.5.99-119. Students explain how form reveals the speaker's attitude.
Shakespeare Hamlet Close reading AP practice Soliloquy

Soliloquy 3: Act 2, Scene 2

An AP style essay prompt on Hamlet's soliloquy at 2.2.576-634. Students explain how form reveals the speaker's attitude.
Shakespeare Hamlet Close reading AP practice Soliloquy

Soliloquy 4: Act 3, Scene 1

An AP style essay prompt on Hamlet's soliloquy at 3.1.64-98. Students explain how form reveals the speaker's attitude.
Shakespeare Hamlet Close reading AP practice Soliloquy

Soliloquy 5: Act 3, Scene 2

An AP style essay prompt on Hamlet's soliloquy at 3.2.419-432. Students explain how form reveals the speaker's attitude.
Shakespeare Hamlet Close reading AP practice Soliloquy

Soliloquy 6: Act 3, Scene 3

An AP style essay prompt on Hamlet's soliloquy at 3.3.77-101. Students explain how form reveals the speaker's attitude.
Shakespeare Hamlet Close reading AP practice Soliloquy

Soliloquy 7: Act 4, Scene 4

A tone exercise on Hamlet's soliloquy at 4.4.34-69. Students mark the tonal shifts, the words that support each tone, and the images.
Shakespeare Hamlet Close reading AP practice Soliloquy

Claudius's Soliloquy: Act 3, Scene 3

An AP style essay prompt on Claudius's prayer at 3.3.40-76. Students explain how form reveals his attitude.
Shakespeare Hamlet Close reading AP practice Soliloquy

Essay prompts and projects

AP style essay prompts and directions for the writing project.

AP Essay Prompt: Good and Bad

A 40 minute AP essay prompt on Hamlet's remark that thinking makes a thing good or bad.
Shakespeare Hamlet Essay prompt AP practice

Essay Prompts: Three Choices (A)

Four AP style prompts on imagery, reflectors, the opening lines of a work, and persuasion. Students choose one.
Shakespeare Hamlet Essay prompt AP practice

Essay Prompts: Three Choices (B)

A second set of four AP style prompts on imagery, characters' comments, opposing traits, and persuasion.
Shakespeare Hamlet Essay prompt AP practice

Writing Project: Hamlet

Directions for a two to three page paper that grows from the note-gathering project.
Shakespeare Hamlet Assignment Writing

Writing and grading

The passage analysis homework, student samples, a grammar review, and the grading form.

Passage Analysis Homework

The schedule and guidelines for three written analyses of key passages in Hamlet, with a student sample.
Shakespeare Hamlet Close reading Assignment

Sample Passage Analysis: Hamlet's First Soliloquy

A student model of the homework: a paraphrase and an analysis of Hamlet's first soliloquy.
Shakespeare Hamlet Close reading Student sample

Sample Essay: Corruption Imagery in Hamlet

A student model essay on the images of sickness, poison, incest, weeds, and birds.
Shakespeare Hamlet Close reading Student sample

Review of Usage, Sentence Structure, and Mechanics

A review of the subjunctive, sentence fragments, run-ons, sentence variety, commas, and possessives, with examples from Hamlet.
Shakespeare Hamlet Grammar Writing

Grading Form: Hamlet Soliloquy Analysis

The grading form for the soliloquy essay, with levels from A to F.
Shakespeare Hamlet Rubric AP practice