| Horatio | Hamlet’s best friend who is a student and attends Wittenberg |
| Bernardo, Marcellus, Fransisco | guards of Denmark who are all afraid because they keep seeing the ghost |
| Polonius | Aide to King Claudius |
| Laertes | son of Polonius who wishes to return to France for college |
| Fortinbras | Prince of Norway, looking to avenge the death of his father and reclaim land from Denmark. |
| Gertrude | The Queen of Denmark, mother of Hamlet and wife of Claudius |
| Ophelia | Polonius’ daughter who is in love with Hamlet even though his royal position would prevent their marriage. |
| Claudius | King of Denmark, Uncle to Hamlet, brother of the former king |
| Hamlet | Prince of Denmark, recently returned from school in Wittenberg |
| The Ghost | Appears to Hamlet and tells how the former king died. |
| what do most people think was the cause of king hamlets death? what was the actual cause of his death? | bit by a snake; claudius poured poison in his ear |
| what does the ghost want hamlet to do | avenge him and seek revenge on claudius |
| what is hamlets response to the ghosts request | he agrees |
| when king hamlet was alive, did he live a life free of sin? cites passage that leads you to this conclusion | no; said he was cut off in the blossoms of his sin |
| king hamlets ghost tells us that he was killed when his brother dropped poison into his ear. metaphorically, what might be shakespeares message to us about the power of words | words can kill you |
| why did hamlet swear his friends to secrecy | he doesn’t want hamlet to kill her; he does want people to think he’s crazy and doesn’t want it to get back to claudius that claudius killed hamlet |
| what is hamlets strategy in dealing with his murderous uncle | he’s going to act crazy |
| hamlet believes in the idea of destiny. how would such a belief affect hamlets behaviors? | feels like he doesn’t have a choice and he has to kill claudius; he believes if he has a purpose, he won’t kill himself |
| Where does Act 1 Scene 4 take place? | ___________ at platform |
| What time of day is it in Act 1 Scene 4? | Just after 2 |
| As Hamlet and others wait to see the ghost in Act 1 Scene 4, what do they hear in the distance? | trumpets & cannons |
| What is the King doing during Act 1 Scene 4? | Drinking & celebrating |
| As they wait for the ghost, Hamlet describes the king’s nightly tradition. What does Hamlet think about his tradition? | others will criticize |
| How does Hamlet react when he sees the ghost for the first time? | startled |
| When Hamlet sees the ghost, what does he call it? | King |
| What does the host do to Hamlet in Act 1 Scene 4? | Motions for Hamlet to follow him |
| When Hamlet and his friends first see the ghost, what do Hamlets friends tell him to do? | Stay away |
| Does Hamlet think the ghost can harm him? | No |
| What does Horatio say the ghost might do to Hamlet? | drive him crazy |
| Once Hamlet follows the ghost, why do Hamlet’s friends decide to do? | Follow them |
| Ophelia | Who is Laertes sister? |
| falling in love with Hamlet | What does Laertes warn Ophelia about? |
| they are not to be trusted | What does Laertes tell her about Hamlet/ men in general? |
| he should put his words into deeds | What does Laertes advise about their relationship? |
| Polonius | Who arrives to interrupt their discussion? |
| if you get into a fight, finish it | What is Polonius’ fatherly advice? |
| because she believes Hamlet loves her | Why does Polonius get mad at Ophelia? |
| not talk to Hamlet | What does he order her to do? |
| What was the reason behind King Claudius getting married so close to his brother-in-laws death? | He thinks that even though it’s a sad fact that the king was killed, life goes on after someone dies. He thinks that they should mourn the death, but also care about his well being and wedding. |
| Cornelius and Voltemand are sent to Norway for what reason? | To try to convince the uncle of Fortinbras to make him stop the planned attack on Denmark |
| Why does Claudius want Hamlet to get over the death of his father so fast? | So there are two big reasons here-He thinks that Hamlet should get over it fast because like apparently everyone’s fathers die. You know how it is. -He wants Hamlet to accept him as the new king of Denmark |
| Where is Hamlet supposed to return to? | Wittenberg |
| After seeing the relationship between King Claudius as well as Gertrude, what did he want to do to himself (if it wasn’t against God’s law?) | He wanted to commit suicide ALSO HE THINKS THIS IS INCEST THEIR RELATIONSHIPS |
| Hamlet questions Horatio from not being at Wittenberg. What is his excuse? | Horatio just responds blankly stating he felt like skipping school (2 kool 4 school) |
| “My lord, I came to see your father’s funeral””I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow student.I think it was to see my mother’s wedding” | Hamlet jokes with Horatio that he is not their to mourn his father, but to celebrate the wedding of Claudius and Gertrude. |
| After Marcellus and Horatio tells Hamlet about the ghost of his father, what does he decide to do? | He wants to try to communicate with the ghost. He thinks that something may be wrong, considering the fact the ghost is armed. He thinks foul play might be to blame. |
| Bernardo comes to relieve the duty of this character. He is a watchman for Denmark. | Francisco |
| Bernardo and Marcellus convince Horatio to stand with them at the Night watch because of this reason. | They hope that the apparition of Hamlet’s dead father will appear that they have been seeing. They wanted to show him this. (Remember too that Horatio does not believe that the ghost they are seeing is real) |
| What does Horatio notice on the ghost that convinces him that it is the Ghost of Hamlet’s father? | He is wearing the same armor that he used while fighting Norway. |
| What does Horatio think that the ghost represents? | Impending doom for Denmark and a military attack |
| What prevents Horatio from talking to the ghost? | The cock crowing. Also, the boys threaten it with violence, which they think may have chased it away too. Horatio that also states ghosts must return back where they came from when the cock crows. |
| Why does Fortinbras hold a grudge against Denmark and Hamlet? | Hamlet (as in Hamlet’s father) murdered his father. When he was killed, all of the territory was surrendered to his conqueror. Fortinbras wants to now fight to get the territory that his kingdom lost. |
| “But soft, behold! Lo, where it comes again.I’ll cross it though it blast me.—Stay, illusion!” | Speaker: HoratioSpoken To: The ghostWhy is this quote important?: Horatio is frightened that Denmark is in trouble with the appearance of this ghost. He tries to make the ghost come to him, and talk to him. He wants to know if they can do anything to prevent disaster. At the end he also questions if maybe the ghost is hiding some treasure that makes him restless. |
| Who do Marcellus, Horatio, and Bernardo want to tell about the experience with the ghost? | Hamlet |
Hamlet Act 1
August 26, 2019