WorksheetsHamlet Final Exam Review
Total questions: 50
Worksheet time: 25mins
What is the setting of the first scene in Hamlet?
On a beach; there had just been a shipwreck
In the court of the king; Claudius is just about to give a speech
On the ramparts or outside of the castle late at night; two guards see a ghost
A pirate ship
What is Hamlet upset about when we first encounter him in the play?
His father’s ghost has visited him and it troubles him.
His father has died recently and his mother has too-quickly married his uncle, who has become king.
Ophelia has stopped talking to him.
He has learned that his uncle murdered his father.
After the king, queen, and the rest of the court leave Hamlet alone (on stage) for the first time, he recites a _________________ that indicates to the audience how he is feeling inside.
Speech
Monologue
Sonnet
Soliloquy
Who does Hamlet trust the most in the play?
Rosencrantz
Ophelia
Claudius
Horatio
What do the king and queen do to try and find out why Hamlet is acting so “crazy”?
They force Polonius to spy on him and then report to them what he sees.
They ask him directly what is wrong.
They ask Ophelia to try and figure out what is wrong with him and then report to them.
They ‘hire’ two old friends of his from childhood: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on him and report to them.
Which of the following is NOT something the ghost tells Hamlet?
That he has to wander around at night and burn in fires during the day because he never got a chance to ‘purge’ himself of his sins before he died.
To revenge this “foul and most unnatural murder”
That Hamlet’s mother conspired with his uncle to murder him
That he was murdered by his brother in the garden with poison
Which of the following is NOT one of the main reasons that Shakespeare’s “language” is difficult to understand?
It is written in “old English” and not a “modern” form of English.
There are words that meant different things 400 years ago than they do now (for example doubt=suspect)
The plays are partially written in prose and partially in verse (poetry), which can be confusing if not identified.
Shakespeare uses inverted sentence structures which can sometimes be confusing (“him I hit”).
Why don’t Laertes and Polonius’ support Ophelia’s claims that Hamlet loves her?
They know he loves someone else.
They don’t want Ophelia to get too close to Hamlet because they are plotting to kill him and take over Denmark.
They don’t think men are truly capable of love, so they are trying to keep Ophelia away from all men.
They think it is lust only; he would not necessarily be able to keep his word to marry her later because he may not get to choose who he marries.
After his father’s ghost tells Hamlet to kill his uncle, why doesn’t Hamlet do it right away?
He loves his uncle too much
He is worried that it will upset his mother
He is morally opposed to murder
He’s not convinced that the ghost is telling the truth; he thinks it might be a “bad” spirit trying to trick him into committing a senseless murder (which, he believes, would condemn him to hell).
Which of the following characters does not attempt to take revenge on their father’s murderer at some point in the play?
Fortinbras
Hamlet
Claudius
Laertes
Why doesn’t Hamlet act against his uncle when he finds him alone in the chapel?
He and his uncle agreed that the chapel would be “home base” at the beginning of the play, and no one could kill anyone else there.
He promised Horatio that he would wait until things “calmed down” before he killed the king.
He doesn’t want to be late to his mother’s room – she would be mad and when she gets mad she yells. Hamlet doesn’t like yelling.
The king happens to be praying and he doesn’t want his father’s murderer to be forgiven for his sins and be sent to heaven.
Which of the following is the probably the best explanation for Ophelia’s madness?
She was driven mad by a combination of things – most notably by her father’s death at the hands of her “lost” love.
Her father’s death only.
Hamlet’s rejection of her and his mean-ness to her throughout the play only.
She was poisoned in the garden – someone poured poison in her ear which drove her mad.
Why does Hamlet kill Polonius?
He was sick and tired of him spying on him all the time.
He decided it was too much trouble to kill the king, so he decided to kill the king’s “right-hand” man.
The ghost told him to.
He blindly struck at someone who was hiding behind the arras in his mother’s room. He didn’t know he had killed Polonius until after he was dead.
Why do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to Elsinore?
They were summoned by the King and Queen and didn’t know why until they arrived at the castle.
They came to see the players (the traveling group of actors).
They heard that Hamlet, their friend from childhood, was acting crazy and they thought they might be able to use the situation to their advantage.
They hadn’t seen their friend Hamlet for a while and just wanted to pay him a visit.
Which of the following is the LEAST plausible explanation of what Hamlet is saying in his “To be or not to be” speech?
He is wondering aloud whether life is really worth living.
He is wondering aloud why he has to live in a place that is so grey and rainy.
He is expressing his fear about what happens after we die.
He is contemplating whether he should end his own life or not.
Which of the following is NOT a true statement about how Shakespeare uses VERSE (poetry) in his plays?
Shakespeare uses blank verse, or non-rhyming verse, for “regal” characters such as kings because it makes things sound more formal.
Shakespeare uses rhyming verse for scenes of love, such as the dialogue between Romeo and Juliet because it sounds romantic.
Shakespeare uses prose (or regular speech) for the clowns (or comedic characters) to make them sound more like the “regular,” lower-class people who might be in the audience.
Shakespeare uses rhyming verse exclusively; there is no non-rhyming verse in his plays.
When Hamlet sees Fortinbras’ army marching through Denmark, what does the captain of that army tell him?
That he could join the fight and become a soldier if he wanted to.
That Fortinbras has requested a meeting with him in his tent.
That the army is going to attack Denmark – and to not tell anybody.
That the army is going to gain a little piece of land that isn’t large enough to bury all the soldiers that will die battling for it that day.
How does Laertes’ behavior upon learning of his father’s murder contrast with Hamlet’s behavior?
Laertes never learns of his father’s death while Hamlet does.
Laertes flies to his revenge as swiftly as possible while Hamlet contemplates and thinks about his.
Laertes doesn’t care that much about his father’s death while Hamlet does.
Laertes contemplates and thinks about his revenge while Hamlet flies to his revenge as swiftly as possible.
Which of the following is NOT one of the main themes or questions explored in the play?
What is man’s purpose on earth?
What happens after death?
Can one be redeemed after committing a terrible atrocity?
That people should get along better and not fight for stupid or arbitrary reasons.
Which of the following characters remain alive at the end of the play?
Hamlet & Horatio
Gertrude & Ophelia
Horatio & Fortinbras
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern
Shakespeare wrote all of his plays and sonnets in England
True
False
The play “Hamlet” is set in Scotland – it was written as a gift for King James, who was Scottish.
True
False
Hamlet has three foils in the play that serve to emphasize and contrast his characteristics
True
False
All of Shakespeare’s plays are divided into five “acts” and within each act there are anywhere from two to eight scenes
True
False
Hamlet doubts his own sanity at times during the play.
True
False
One of the things that makes Ophelia go crazy is losing her father
False
True
The word “rivals” in “Hamlet” means “opponents” or “enemies”
True
False
The players perform a play called “The Mousetrap” for the king.
True
False
Hamlet is NOT convinced by his uncle’s reaction to the play that he committed the murder.
True
False
The ghost appears to both Gertrude and Hamlet in her bedroom
True
False
Ophelia is the only main character to survive at the end of the play.
TRUE
FALSE
The gravedigger scene appears at the beginning of Act Five mostly for comic relief.
TRUE
FALSE
Horatio becomes the new king at the end of the play.
TRUE
FALSE
The queen dies after accidentally pricking her finger on the poisoned sword.
TRUE
FALSE
The king conspires with Hamlet to kill Laertes during the duel.
TRUE
FALSE
There is evidence that Hamlet, at one point, truly loved Ophelia
TRUE
FALSE
Kills his brother who happens to be the king; then becomes king
POLONIUS
CLAUDIUS
HORATIO
FORTINBRAS
The most comical character in the play
HORATIO
ROSENCRANTZ
GRAVEDIGGER
OPHELIA
Is plotting to attack Denmark to take back the lands lost by his father in battle
CLAUDIUS
KING FORTINBRAS
FORTINBRAS
HAMLET
Advises his sister to not fall in love with a prince
POLONIUS
HAMLET
HORATIO
LAERTES
One of the guards that sees the ghost at the beginning of the play
MARCELLUS
HORATIO
FORTINBRAS
HAMLET
Is stabbed through a curtain while eavesdropping
HAMLET
CLAUDIUS
POLONIUS
GERTRUDE
Tells Hamlet to revenge this “foul and most unnatural murder”
HORATIO
ROSENCRANTZ
GERTRUDE
THE GHOST
Grieves both for his father’s death and his mother’s strange marriage
FORTINBRAS
HORATIO
LAERTES
HAMLET
Marries her dead husband’s brother
GERTRUDE
OPHELIA
Recites a speech about the murder of King Priam by Pyrrus during the Trojan War
HAMLET
HORATIO
THE GRAVEDIGGER
THE PLAYER KING
Was killed in battle by Hamlet’s father before the beginning of the play
KING FORTINBRAS
YORRICK
HORATIO
THE PLAYER KING
Dies by drowning
ROSENCRANTZ
OPHELIA
LAERTES
HAMLET
Untrustworthy childhood friend of Hamlet
Rosencrantz
LAERTES
HORATIO
MARCELLUS
Hamlet’s truest friend in the play
OPHELIA
KING HAMLET
HORATIO
ROSENCRANTZ
