1. What are the two clowns doing while they talk? Who is the "she"? Why, according to the second clown, is she really being given a Christian burial?
2. How does Hamlet respond to the Gravedigger before speaking to him? What happens in the discussion between Hamlet and the Gravedigger? What does Hamlet learn from his confrontation with Yorick's skull? What does he learn from his meditation on Alexander and Caesar? How does the mood here differ from that in Act 4, Scene 3?
3. How old is Hamlet? How old was he when Yorick died? (Use your math skills) Surprised? How old was Hamlet when Yorick died?
4. What do we learn from Gertrude's farewell to Ophelia? Would Polonius have been surprised if he had heard this?
5. What happens when Hamlet appears to the others? What is significant about him calling himself "Hamlet the Dane"? Why is he so angry?