WorksheetsHamlet Acts 3,4, and 5
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 10mins
(Act 3) Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy is in Scene One. Which of the following paraphrases his main points?
He questions whether love, either romantic or family love, is worth all of the pain it causes.
He is pondering whether a miserable life is better than the unknown of death.
He questions whether peace of mind is a good substitute for material wealth.
He questions the traditions about succession to the throne in Denmark. He feels that either he or his mother should be the rightful successor to his dead father
(Act 3) What do the King and Polonius decide about Hamlet's condition after eavesdropping on Hamlet and Ophelia?
They decide he is love-sick, and the only cure is to find him another love.
Claudis decides he is not love-sick; rather; he has some other trouble deep in his soul. Polonius still thinks Hamlet is love-sick.
They decide his father's death has left him troubled.
They decide he's not sick at all; he's just being a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum.
(Act 3) Why does Hamlet give instructions to the players?
In his madness, he believes that he is really a great actor, not the Prince of Denmark.
He is helping them remember their lines because he does not want to disappoint his mother when she watches the play.
He is merely showing off his superiority, to keep in character with his masquerade of being mad.
He does not want the parts to be over-acted. He wants it to appear as natural and as real as possible, so it will hit home to the King.
(Act 3)What was the King's reaction to the play, and what did Hamlet and Horatio decide his reaction meant?
The King had no reaction to the play. They decided it meant they were wrong, and that he was innocent after all.
The King laughed and laughed. They decided he didn't really get the point, and they would have to be more direct the next time.
The King got up and called for the lights. They were convinced that the ghost had been correct.
The King clenched his teeth and gripped the arms of his chair, but said nothing. They thought they were on the right track, but would need to do something else to force the King into making a confession.
(Act 3) What message does Rosencrantz deliver to Hamlet from the Queen?
She is angry and won't speak to him for one month.
She wants to see him.
She is arranging for him to have dinner with a girl she thinks he will like.
She wants him to go to Norway immediately.
(Act 3) What does Claudius do that makes Hamlet hesitate killing him (at least for a little while)?
Appears to pray for forgiveness
Apologizes
Mourns in the graveyard by his father's tomb
Treats him with great respect
(Act 3) Why doesn't Hamlet kill the King when the King is kneeling?
Hamlet wants his mother to be there to witness the deed.
Hamlet loses heart, and realizes that his father would not have wanted another murder committed.
Hamlet wants the King to die without a chance for a last confession. If he is praying, he may not be in enough sin to get eternal punishment.
He thinks he hears noises in the hallway. He is afraid that someone will see him. He decides to wait until he can be sure they are alone.
(Act 3) What does Hamlet criticize?
Marriage
Ophelia
Women
All of these choices
(Act 4) When the King asks Hamlet where Polonius is, what is Hamlet's answer?
First he says he has "brought the fair body to the chapel." Then he says it is in a place where no harm will come to it.
First he says it is with the other vermin. Then he says it is on its way to England, so as not to desecrate good Danish soil.
First he says it is "not where he eats, but where he is eaten." Then he tells the King to look for him in Heaven, and if he can't find Polonius there, to go to "the other place" (hell) himself.
First he says Polonius is now "keeping company with my dear dead father." Later he tells the King he has put the body on display in the marketplace for all the people to see, telling them that this is what happens to those who disobey the King.
(Act 4) What is the content of the letters the King sends with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to England with Hamlet?
The King wants Hamlet to be killed as soon as he reaches England.
The King sends money to the King of England to pay for Hamlet's upkeep for one year.
The King sends a document saying that Hamlet is mad, and asking that he be imprisoned in the Tower of London until he regains his sanity.
It is a letter thanking the King of England for his help, and inviting him and his wife to visit Denmark the following spring.
(Act 4) What prompts Hamlet to say, "My thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!"?
He feels guilty for killing Polonius.
He realizes that his father has been murdered, his uncle is a murderer, his mother is living in an incestuous marriage, and the soldiers he has just seen are going to kill each other over a little piece of land which is not worth anything.
He decides to offer Rosencrantz and Guildenstern more money than the King is giving them, in the hopes that they will turn traitor on the King and murder him for Hamlet. He realizes that he is committing a wrong, but decides to do it anyway.
He realizes that he has been thinking about death and destruction almost constantly. He feels sad, and wonders if he will ever again be able to think peaceful thoughts.
(Act 4) What has happened to Ophelia?
She has married another man, chosen by her father.
She has gone to a convent in Norway.
She has defied her father and announced that she is going to England to be with Hamlet.
She has gone crazy.
(Act 4) Why does Laertes force his way in? What does he want?
He wants to marry Ophelia.
He wants to kidnap the Queen and hold her for ransom.
He wants to avenge his father's death.
He wants to be given the title to his father's lands.
(Act 4) What is the content of Hamlet's letter to Horatio?
He says he has escaped from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern onto a pirate ship, where he is being well treated. He asks Horatio to give letters to the King and Queen, and then to come to see him as quickly as possible.
He tells him about his old friend Yorick.
He expresses his regrets about the way he has treated Ophelia, but says that he has acted this way for a greater good.
He asks Horatio to talk to the Queen for him; he thinks she might listen to Horatio.
(Act 4) What plan do the King and Laertes discuss to kill Hamlet?
They will go to see him, disguised as beggars. Then they will rob him and kill him.
They plan to set up a duel between Laertes and Hamlet. Either Laertes will kill Hamlet, or, if he survives, the King will poison him.
They plan to go to him and escort him back to Denmark. On the way, they will stage a shipwreck. They will leave Hamlet in the water to perish, and they will be rescued by another ship.
They plan to force Horatio to do it. If he refuses they will kill all the members of his family.
(Act 4) The Queen tells Laertes that Ophelia is dead. How did she die?
She has taken poison.
She has died of a broken heart.
She has fallen on her own knife.
She has drowned.
(Act 5) What does Claudius place in the cup as Laertes and Hamlet duel?
A necklace
A pearl
More wine
A Coin
(Act 5) Who said this: "Forty thousand brothers/Could not, with all their quantity of love,/Make up my sum."
Hamlet
Claudius
Laertes
Horatio
(Act 5) Before the dueling match,
Hamlet apologizes to Laertes
Hamlet apologizes to Gertrude
Hamlet apologizes to Claudius
Laertes apologizes to Hamlet
(Act 5) Whose skull does Hamlet hold during Act V, Scene i?
His father's
Osric's
Yorick's
Ophelia's
