J - Hamlet, Acts 4-5 (Leithart 150-?)
1. How does Shakespeare show chaos following in the wake of Polonius's murder?
2. How is Ophelia's confusing of Hamlet and Polonius in her songs doubly significant?
3. How does Laertes mirror Hamlet? How is his mirroring significantly different, specifically as regards his philosophy of revenge?
4. How is Claudius like Hamlet's father's ghost?
5. How does Claudius plan for Laertes to take revenge on Hamlet, and what is significant about this method?
6. What is the purpose of Act 5 beginning in a graveyard . . . with Hamlet talking to a skull?
7. Why is it fitting for the play to end with a fencing match?
8. What is significant about how the major characters die in the final scene?
9. What is Fortinbras's situation at the end of the play and why is this significant?
J - Hamlet, Act 3 (read Leithart 141-149)
1. Though fundamentally opposites, how are Ophelia and Claudius similar, according to Leithart?
2. What tendencies do Hamlet and Claudius share?
3. How is Claudius a complex character (in other words, how is he more than mere monster)?
4. What factors contribute to Hamlet's hatred of marriage (and women in particular)?
5. What is the double-edged nature of the play (what is doubly significant about the death of the player king and his murderer)? In other words, how does the court interpret it? How does Claudius interpret it
6. What is Claudius struggling with when Hamlet finds him praying? Explain his biblical allusion ("primal eldest curse"), his distinction between earthly and heavenly justice, and his subsequent dilemma (what would be required of true repentance?).
7. Explain how Hamlet's deliberation in killing Claudius shows us he is increasing in madness (specifically as it pertains to vengeance).
8. Explain several of the ways in which the death of Polonius is the turning point ("lynch pin") of the play.
9. What is ironic about Hamlet's attempt to hold up a mirror to Gertrude? What does this tell us about Hamlet's moral constitution?
10. Given that the murder of Polonius is the murder of another father, what can we expect to see in the immediate future?
J - Hamlet Act 2 (Leithart 130-139)
1. Why does Act 2 begin with Polonius's seeming impertinent dialogue with Reynaldo?
2. What are the two results of spying?
3. What is extremely significant about the ambassadors' news upon returning from Norway (and what does it have to do with Hamlet)?
4. What is so significant about Hamlet's alleged madness? In other words, why is everyone so concerned about him?
5. What are the theories concerning Hamlet's madness and who holds each theory?
6. What is Hamlet's purpose behind his "verbal fencing"?
7. What are the implications to Hamlet's calling Polonius a "fishmonger"?
8. Explain the meaning behind Hamlet's warning to Polonius: "For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, being a god kissing carrion--Have you a daughter? . . . Let her not walk i' the sun. Conception is a blessing, but as your daughter may conceive--friend' look to 't."
9. Explain why Hamlet reacts so emotionally upon hearing the first player's speech.
10. How will the play The Murder of Gonzago relate to the theme of spying?
J - Hamlet, Act 1 (Leithart 121-129)
Read Leithart (pgs. 120-129) and answer the following questions (Remember that Leithart is the PDF posted on GC that you used to do the first Hamlet journal):
1. What dramatic and thematic purposes does young Fortinbras, the young prince of Norway, serve?
2. Contrast the late King Hamlet (the ghost) with Claudius (his brother and present King of Denmark).
3. What is significant (and ironic) about fathers, particularly about most of the fathers in this drama?
4. Cite two textual examples of how Shakespeare develops the theme that sometimes appearances mask reality.
5. What is the purpose of Shakespeare's "ghosts"?
6. Discuss the important question concerning the "nature" of the ghost (where it comes from) and how we know.
7. How was King Hamlet killed? What imagery does the ghost use to describe his death, and why is this (biblically) significant?
Journal - Intro: Tragedy and Hamlet (Leithart 111-120)
Read Leithart (document posted on Google Classroom "GC" under Hamlet Docs) pages 111-120 and answer the following ten questions:
Introduction: Tragedy (111-113)
1. According to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, what makes a drama a tragedy?
2. What kind of protagonist is generally required for a successful tragedy and why?
3. List several of the ways that Shakespearean tragedy differs from Sophoclean (or Greek) tragedy.
4. Given that the shape of Hamlet is a "Fall story," what types of characters, events, and ideas ought we to be looking for as we read?
Introduction: Hamlet (115-120)
5. Why is Hamlet such a popular drama?
6. What are two of the minor textual problems in Hamlet? What is one major problem?
7. Give two examples of the way Hamlet shows signs of compositional unity.
8. Cite two reasons why Leithart considers Hamlet a drama that condemns the revenge ethic.
9. Rather than viewing Hamlet as having "contradictions" and "loose ends," Leithart suggests that Shakespeare was making what profound observation?
10. How is Hamlet healthy reading for those who live in an age "dominated by scientific idolatry"?
