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Hamlet Acts 1-3

Total questions: 15

Worksheet time: 9mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

At the beginning of the play, how long has King Hamlet been dead?

a)

Less than two months

b)

Just over a week

c)

Just under a year

d)

Roughly six months

2.

King Claudius is related to Hamlet because he is his (a)   (one word)?

3.

Laertes warns Ophelia before leaving for France saying, "Perhaps he loves you now...but you must fear, his greatness weighed, his will is not his own, for he himself is subject to his birth." This means he may love her but his duty is to Denmark and the crown. Which character is Laertes talking about?

a)

Polonius

b)

Claudius

c)

Horatio

d)

Hamlet

4.

The king's ghost reveals to Hamlet that he was murdered by what means?

a)

snake bite

b)

suffocation

c)

spiked drink

d)

poison in his ear

5.

Twice the king's ghost comes to Hamlet to tell him to NOT harm which character?

a)

Ophelia

b)

Gertrude

c)

Claudius

d)

Hamlet

6.

Why are Hamlet's friends from school, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Denmark?

a)

To visit Hamlet and Ophelia

b)

To spy on Hamlet for the king & queen

c)

For the wedding of the King and Gertrude

d)

Because Polonius tells them Hamlet is mad

7.

What is Hamlet planning in order to "catch the conscience of the King" and confirm that he is guilty?

a)

Write a play scene that re-enacts the murder

b)

Fake suicide so he can haunt him as a ghost

c)

Spy on him during confession

d)

Make him think the plague is caused by his guilt

8.

In the famous "to be or not to be" soliloquy, what keeps Hamlet from taking his own life?

a)

Because he must get revenge first

b)

Because his father would attack him in the beyond

c)

Because he is in love with Ophelia

d)

Because he doesn't know what comes after death

9.

Why won't Hamlet kill Claudius when he finds him after the play praying?

a)

Because he is still not sure he is guilty

b)

Because he might go to heaven while praying

c)

Because he is a coward

d)

Because his mother is waiting for him

10.

Whom does Hamlet kill during his altercation with his mother after the play?

a)

Gertrude

b)

Claudius

c)

Ophelia

d)

Polonius

11.

Key Quote #1: Complete this famous quote from Act 1: "This above all; to thine own self be (a)   ."

12.

Key quote #2: Complete this famous quote from Act 1: "Something is rotten in the state of (a)   "

13.

Key quote #3: Five times Hamlet tells Ophelia to get thee "to a _______________."

a)

nunnery

b)

dungeon

c)

church

d)

apothecary

14.

Author connection: Hamlet was written shortly after Shakespeare lost his son. His son's name was:

a)

Hamlet

b)

William

c)

Horatio

d)

Hamnet

15.

What is your opinion at this point in the play? Is Hamlet going mad?

a)

Yes, he is going mad

b)

No, he is faking it to mess with others

c)

Yes and no- he is suicidal but also quite smart

d)

Other