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William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Total questions: 50

Worksheet time: 38mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

ACT I: Where did this story take place?

a)

France

b)

Denmark

c)

America

d)

Ireland

2.

Who was Hamlet?

a)

The prince of Denmark

b)

The King

c)

A librarian

d)

A bread maker

3.

Who was the ghost, and what happened to him?

a)

late King Hamlet; Claudius killed him

b)

Some random guy who died of old age

c)

Horatio, Hamlet's friend; he jumped off a cliff

d)

A wealthy businessman; he died in a car crash

4.

How long had it been since the king died and the queen remarried?

a)

2 years

b)

5 days

c)

10 years

d)

2 months

5.

Who did Hamlet seek revenge against?

a)

Polonius because he's a weird man

b)

Claudius for killing his father

c)

The queen for stealing his favorite sword

d)

Horatio for betraying him

6.

ACT II: What did Ophelia see that frightened her?

a)

A snake

b)

A spider

c)

A ghost

d)

Hamlet disheveled (messy hair) and crazy looking

7.

Why does the king send Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet?

a)

He is mad at Hamlet

b)

He wants to know Hamlet's secrets

c)

He is concerned as to why Hamlet has gone mad

d)

He has nothing better to do

8.

What letter does Polonius bring to the king and queen?

a)

A letter from Fortinbras declaring war

b)

Love letters from Hamlet to Ophelia

c)

The queen of England inviting them over for tea

d)

A letter from the president of the united states

9.

Who does not die by the end of the play?

a)

King Claudius

b)

Laertes

c)

Horatio

d)

Polonius

10.

What does the ghost of King Hamlet want Hamlet to do?

a)

Avenge his death

b)

Kill Hamlet's mother for betraying him

c)

Figure out who killed him

d)

Take his rightful place as king

11.

Who spied on Hamlet for the king and queen?

a)

Rosencrantz

b)

Reynaldo

c)

Horatio

d)

Guildenstern

12.

What piece of advice does Polonius NOT give Laertes?

a)

Don't lend or borrow money

b)

Be true to yourself

c)

Be friendly, but not too friendly

d)

Stay close to home

13.

Who said "the serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown?"

a)

Hamlet

b)

King Hamlet's ghost

c)

Queen Gertrude

d)

Polonius

14.

How does Queen Gertrude die?

a)

King Claudius stabs her with the poison sword

b)

She drinks the poison meant for Hamlet

c)

She kills herself out of grief for her dead son

d)

She is stabbed by Hamlet

15.

How does Hamlet find out that he was to be killed upon arriving in England?

a)

He steals the letter Claudius wrote to the king of England

b)

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell him

c)

He overhears Claudius talking to Laertes

d)

His father's ghost tells him

16.

How did King Hamlet really die?

a)

He was poisoned by his brother

b)

He died in a battle with King Fortinbras

c)

He was stung by a serpent

d)

He killed himself

17.

How does Polonius die?

a)

He is eavesdropping (spy) and Hamlet mistakes him for Claudius 

b)

Hamlet stabs him while he's eating dinner

c)

Hamlet stabs him during a duel

d)

King Claudius poisons him

18.

Who takes over as ruler of Denmark at the end of the play?

a)

Marcellus

b)

Osric

c)

Horatio

d)

Prince Fortinbras

19.

Who commands the death of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

a)

Fortinbras

b)

King Claudius

c)

Laertes

d)

Hamlet

20.

What does Hamlet mean by "to be, or not to be?"

a)

to live or die

b)

to stay or go

c)

To seek revenge or not

d)

to flow or give up

21.

Why does Hamlet not kill Claudius the first time he has the opportunity?

a)

His mother was there

b)

He wasn't sure wether or not his uncle was guilty

c)

Claudius was praying

d)

The ghost of his father asked him to stop

22.

How does Hamlet plan on discovering if his uncle is guilty or not?

a)

Mention it casually in a conversation

b)

Have actors act out his father's death

c)

Spread it as a rumor and see how the king reacts

23.

What does Hamlet compare Rosencrantz to?

a)

A snake

b)

A sponge

c)

A lion

d)

A curtain

24.

Who truly goes mad in the play?

a)

Hamlet

b)

Ophelia

c)

Laertes

d)

Polonius

25.

Whose skull does Hamlet hold?

a)

His father's

b)

Osric's

c)

Yorick's

d)

Ophelia's

26.

How does Hamlet get the letter to the King of England to seem real?

a)

Uses his father's sealing ring

b)

Steals his Uncle's sealing ring

c)

He does not care if it seems real or not

d)

He is careful not to rip the original sealing

27.

Where does young Fortinbras return victorious from at the end of the play?

a)

Denmark

b)

Sweden

c)

Finland

d)

Poland

28.

What is Claudius and Laertes' backup plan for Hamlet?

a)

Poison the sword tip

b)

Send him to England

c)

Poison a drink

d)

Make him look like a traitor

29.

What demand does Polonius make of Ophelia?

a)

Marry Hamlet

b)

Go to a nunnery

c)

Stay away from Hamlet

d)

Go with her brother to France

30.

Whose death is considered to be a suicide?

a)

Ophelia's

b)

Hamlet's

c)

Laertes'

d)

Queen Gertrude's

31.

What does Laertes say when he is mortally wounded?

a)

He knows the truth about King Claudius

b)

He killed Ophelia

c)

He was planning on being the next king

d)

He is killed because of his own treachery (disloyalty)

32.

What happens at Ophelia's funeral?

a)

Laertes kills himself

b)

Hamlet and Laertes fight

c)

Horatio makes Hamlet stay hidden

d)

King Claudius blames Hamlet for her death

33.

Who are Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

a)

Hamlet's enemies from childhood

b)

Hamlet's childhood friends

c)

Palace guards who are friends with Hamlet

d)

Hamlet's friends from school in Wittenberg

34.

What is Hamlet's mother's name?



(a)  

35.

As a character, Horatio can be BEST described as:

a)

intelligent, skeptical, and loyal

b)

aggressive, angry, and mean

c)

wild, emotional, and moody

d)

weak, disloyal, and cowardly

36.

What does Polonius think is the cause of Hamlet's madness?

a)

upset that his mother remarried so soon

b)

clinical depression

c)

upset that his mother married his uncle, who took the throne

d)

heartbreak over Ophelia

37.

Where was William Shakespeare born?



(a)  

38.

What era did Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in?

a)

1830-1907

b)

1250-1310

c)

1599-1615

d)

1450-1510

39.

Who was Shakespeare's wife?

a)

Anne Hathaway

b)

Charlotte Bronte

c)

Kate Winslet

d)

Elizabeth Windsor

40.

All but one are plays that Shakespeare wrote-which is the fake?

a)

A Midsummer Night's Dream

b)

Romeo and Juliet

c)

West Side Story

41.

The theater most commonly associated with Shakespeare is the



(a)  

42.

Who were the actors performing Shakespeare's plays?

a)

Men-and they also played the parts of women.

b)

Men and Women

c)

Men, women and children

43.

How many plays did Shakespeare write?



(a)  

44.

What age/literary period was Hamlet written in?

a)

Renaissance

b)

Middle ages

c)

Baroque

d)

Realism

45.

What was the name of the group of actors Shakespeare created to perform his plays?

(a)  

46.

Shakespeare's plays with unhappy endings were called...

(a)  

47.

Where was William Shakespeare born? (town)

(a)  

48.

What's the name of the plague that broke out in London so the theatre had to close?

(a)  

49.

Who was first on the throne of England when Shakespeare lived and wrote his plays?

(a)  

50.

Which king, who loved the theatre, books and reading organized an easier translation of the Bible so that more people could read it?

(a)