Hamlet

Assignment to have been completed: Students should have read Act 1.2 of Hamlet while following the study guide questions.

Activities:

• A. Use the following questions (and answers) to facilitate a discussion of Act I, Scene ii of Hamlet.

  Act I, Scene ii

  • 1. What tone(s) does this scene establish? How does Shakespeare use Hamlet’s clothing (80-81) to help establish tone?

    This scene provides a strong contrast with the previous scene. The words and actions express security and satisfaction - with the lone exception of the apparently alienated figure of Prince Hamlet.

    Hamlet is attired in black [’Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, / Nor customary suits of solemn black, / Nor windy suspiration of forc’d breath, / No, nor the fruitful river in the eye, / Nor the dejected haviour of the visage, / Together with all forms, modes, shows of grief, / That can denote me truly.], the color of mourning, a mood quite different from the confidence and spirit of celebration that flows from the court.

  • 2. What does Hamlet reveal about his character when he says, “I know not ‘seems’” (79)?

    Hamlet despises falseness and hypocrisy. He is what he is seen to be.

  • 3. What is Claudius’s response to Hamlet’s mourning? Why does he not want Hamlet to return to his studies in Wittenberg? How long ago did Hamlet’s father die?

    He professes to respect Hamlet’s grief, but he exhorts Hamlet to remember that death is a part of the natural cycle. Consequently, excessive mourning is unnatural and unreasonable. Claudius even asserts that Hamlet’s grief is “unmanly.”

    This is an OPEN QUESTION. Students may correctly suppose that Claudius wants to keep an eye on Hamlet so that he does not gather supporters around him to challenge Claudius’s ascension to the throne in Hamlet’s stead.

    In line 142, Hamlet asserts that his father died not quite two months ago.

  • 4. What is Hamlet’s attitude and state of mind as reflected in lines 133-164?

    Hamlet continues to mourn but moves toward contemplation of suicide. His anger over his father’s death and his mother’s marriage to his uncle (his father’s brother) have begotten a contempt for life.

  • 5. Which statement by Hamlet connects his thoughts to Scene i, even though he knows nothing about the events of that scene? What attitude do lines 265-267 reveal in Hamlet?

    Hamlet seems resolute and curious.

Assignment for next class meeting: Read Act 1.3-4 of Hamlet. Do the corresponding study questions.