hamlet synthesis questions 1

Hamlet synthesis questions. Below are a list of questions we will be discussing next week (depending on your class day). You will be assigned one questions will serve both as a quiz grade AND a basis for our class discussion. This assignment has two parts: 1. A brief research portion, where you will paraphrase a critic’s point 2. Your own opinion of the question with at least 5 quotes to back up your position. Remember, we are going to look at the entire play—your response should include a discussion of this.
Your grade will be all based on your ORAL response; however, you need to turn in your outline to the question which should contain a paragraph paraphrase of the website consulted. Please cite this in proper MLA format. Please fill out the answer sheet to serve as an outline for your discussion.
1. Explore the character of Fortinbras, the prince. Was his claim on the throne justified? What is his purpose in the play? You should explore the “Fortinbras’ claim” section of this website: http://elsinore.ucsc.edu/DaneFrame.html
2. What drove Ophelia crazy? How did Shakespeare use her character to further his purpose? Explore the “Ophelia” section of this website: http://elsinore.ucsc.edu/DaneFrame.html
3. What is Horatio’s purpose in the play? Find an article/critical interpretation that deals with this. Then, decide for yourself.
4. Who spies on whom in this play? Why? What is Shakespeare’s purpose in using this motif?

5. Marcellus famously declares that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark." What other natural imagery is used to describe the corruption of the Danish court? What "unnatural" events or behaviors preceded the events recounted in the play? What "unnatural" events or behaviors occur during the play?
6. One of the great paradoxes of this play is that Hamlet, the hero of one plot, is the villain of the other. This realization reflects directly the duality of human nature. What other characters does Shakespeare use to advance similar notions? How?
7. Hamlet deals a great deal with plotting and scheming. Who in Hamlet sets plans in motion? To what ends?
8. Shakespeare fills this play with an abundance of juxtapositions. Explore the contrast of (dark/light) and what purpose it serves
9. Explore the contrast of reality/fiction motif and discuss what purpose it serves.
10. Hamlet seems to find a great deal of fault with Gertrude. Why? Is his criticism justified? You may wish to discuss his Oedipal complex
11. How well does Hamlet fulfill his role as revenger?
12. Does Hamlet undergo any developmental changes throughout the play? Does he grow psychologically? Morally? Spiritually?
12.What is the role of Ophelia? Gertrude? How do they compare and contrast?
13. Describe Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia. What is her purpose in the play? Does Hamlet ever really love her? Be sure to back your claims up with textual details.
14. How much did Gertrude know about King Hamlet's murder? What evidence can you find that she might have known? Evidence of her innocence? Which is more feasible?
15. How are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern characterized? How are we supposed to feel about them? Compare their roles with that of Horatio.
16. What purpose does Osric serve? How does this affected courtier contribute to the play's themes

17. Opinions differ as to Polonius. How do you see him—as a garrulous fool, an overbearing albeit wise father, an opportunist with an eye to the main chance, a valuable advisor to the king, or an obsequious courtier?

18. Some modern readers overlay a Freudian Oedipal interpretation on Hamlet's relationship to his mother (see Mel Gibson's 1990 film version, which makes this approach blatantly obvious)—though certainly there is a wide divergence of opinion on the subject. What do you think—is Hamlet in love with his mother? At the very least, would you say he has an unhealthy obsession with her sex life? Yet it is also said that Hamlet is well justified in resenting his mother's physical display of fondness for her second husband—especially in that her affections come so soon after her first husband's death. What do you think?
19. Consider Claudius, a fascinating character in his own right. Might he be viewed as a decisive ruler, perhaps wiser and steadier in dire times than a young, untested prince? (Consider the court scene in which Claudius dispatches his envoys to Norway [I.ii.33]). Or is Claudius an out and out villain?
20. Talk about Hamlet and Ophelia. What is the nature of their relationship? Why do both Laertes and Polonius* instruct Ophelia to maintain her distance from Hamlet (I.iii.5-44 and 88-135)? What about Hamlet's treatment of her during the spy scene? Why does he tell her to "get thee to a nunnery" (III.i.90-153)? (In Shakespeare's time, a "nunnery" is both a monastery and a joking reference to a brothel.) Is Hamlet's anger toward her justified? Is she a passive or an active agent in the court's intrigue?

21. After Hamlet kills Polonius, Ophelia descends into madness. We see her pitiable state in the flower scene before her death (IV.v.145). Read the scene aloud and do some research into the language of plants in Renaissance England. What are the symbolic meanings behind the flowers that Ophelia presents to Claudius, Gertrude and Laertes? What is being said?

22. Is Hamlet a misogynist? Or is his anger toward Ophelia a spill-over from his disppointment at his mother's hasty marriage? A particularly good version of the confrontation between the two is Kenneth Brannagh's Hamlet and Kate Winslet's Ophelia in the 1996 film version.
23. Why do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern betray Hamlet? Are they willing or unwitting accomplices? What about Hamlet's switching the letters on the way to England? Are his actions fair or just? Was there any alternative? How do they reinforce themes?
24. Hamlet returns to Denmark after pirates have rescued him from the ship to England. He meets Horatio in the graveyard and holds up the most famous Hamlet icon of all—the skull of Ulric. Once again, Hamlet meditates on human mortality. What does he say about the passage of life and our inexorable movement toward death (V.i.189-223)? How is this applicable to the entire play?
25. Immediately following his Ulric speech, Hamlet sees the funeral cortege for Ophelia. Talk about his response to her death. Had he, in fact, loved her? Does he have a right to claim grief at her death? Laertes certainly thinks not.
26. Shakespeare creates a contrast between two sons, both set on avenging their fathers' deaths. One is resolute while one seems anything but. Talk about the difference between the two young men. Are we to admire Laertes over Hamlet because of his doggedness in pursuing his goal? Or are there flaws in Laertes's character, as well?
27. At what point...and why...does Hamlet seem to accept that he will die? What does he mean when he says to Horatio before the duel with Laertes, "there is special providence in the fall of a sparrow" (V.ii.223-224)?
28. Discuss The Responsibility of Choice And Action. Consider this quote: “His will is not his own….” Why doesn’t Hamlet simply kill Claudius? Consider, especially, the answers to the previous question (Hamlet’s sanity).

Name:_____________________________________________________________ Block:
This answer sheet will be turned in after your “oral quiz”. It will serve as an outline. You should elaborate on your textual references and summarize your own paraphrase. Your response should not exceed 5 minutes
MLA citation for website(s) consulted:
Paraphrase of information found. This MUST be in your own words

Assertion which answers the question:

Textual references/quotes/incidents to back up position (These must be from at least two different acts)
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.