Prepping for Your Hamlet Test

Next week shall mark the end of our Hamlet study, and you shall take a test. Literature tests are quite different from

biology or chemistry tests because they are written by English teachers, and we all know what English teachers love, do

we not?

Words. Lots and lots of words, but not the empty kind. English teachers love words of thoughtful explanation,

supported by evidence from the text (quotes from the play, poppets) and written in standard, formal language. While

this test will include some objective questions (true/false, multiple choice), the bulk of it will be short essay questions.

Look! There they are, below. I’ve written eight essay questions for the test and included them here, so that you can

practice your answers. This is a gift. You are welcome to use my gift or ignore it; if you use it, you will draft or outline

possible answers to each question as you study this week. You may not bring your outlines to the test, but at least you

will have prepared yourself better than those who ignore my gift! You may, though, have your copy of Hamlet handy

during the exam.

Of these eight questions, I shall choose four for the actual test. Of the four on the test, you will choose two to write on.

1. Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a tragedy. What makes it so? Review your notes on the characteristics of a

tragedy and relate those to the events of this play. Be sure to discuss the protagonist’s “fatal flaw” and

“catharsis” for the audience.

2. Hamlet could have killed Claudius while he was praying, but didn’t. Why not? What does this

demonstrate about Hamlet’s fatal flaw and the Elizabethan view of sin and repentance?

3. What have we learned about Gertrude? How would you characterize her? Why might she have

remarried so quickly? How do you explain her guilt in the bedroom scene? Where do her loyalties lie --

to her son, husband, former husband, or herself? Defend your answer with one or more quotes from

the play.

4. Trace Hamlet’s arguments throughout his famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy. How does Hamlet

think through his question? What excuses does he use? What are his fears? What are his options?

What resolution does he come to?

5. Many critics take a deterministic view of Hamlet’s plot, arguing that the prince’s inability to act and

tendency toward melancholic reflection is a “tragic flaw” that leads inevitably to his demise. Is this an

accurate way of understanding the play? Why or why not? Given Hamlet’s character and situation,

would another outcome of the play have been possible?

6. Shakespeare includes characters who are foils for Hamlet, including, most obviously, Horatio,

Fortinbras, King Claudius and Laertes. Compare and contrast Hamlet with two of these characters. How

are they alike? How are they different? How does each respond to the crises with which he is faced?

7. Throughout the play, Hamlet claims to be feigning madness, but his portrayal of a madman is so

intense and so convincing that many readers believe that Hamlet actually slips into insanity at certain

moments in the play. Do you think this is true, or is Hamlet merely play-acting insanity? What evidence

can you cite for either claim?

8. Think about Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia. Does he love her? Does he stop loving her? Did he ever

love her? What evidence can you find in the play to support your opinion?