Response Question Two (Act II)
As the plot develops, we find that Hamlet is surrounded by people that he cannot trust. Review the following questions and answer
• Why does this act open with Polonius and Reynaldo? What does this tellus about Polonius's character, and what theme or motif does it introduce in the play?
• How does the interaction between Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern help to explain what's wrong with Hamlet? Why are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Denmark?
• Why is the first player's speech important to the play?
• What does he decide to do at the end of this speech?
Response Question Three (Act III)
Please respond to the first two questions for Act III:
1. What does Hamlet's soliloquy, or the famous "to be or not to be" speech, reveal about Hamlet's character? [Soliloquy means, he's talking to himself again.]
2. When Hamlet e encounters Ophelia walking the great hall, he speaks harshly to her. Why is he so cruel to her?
The following questions you don't have to respond to but you will need to understand them before writing an academic essay covering this play:
1. What happens during the "play-within-a-play?" How do the speeches and actions reflect what is going on in the state of Denmark? How does the king respond? Is Hamlet's technique wise or effective? What does it prove?
2. How is Hamlet's second major interaction with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern different from his first encounter with them? What does Hamlet mean when he says that they cannot play him like a flute? Who are they really working or spying for?
3. Do you think that Gertrude knew that about the murder?