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Hamlet Act 3 Notes

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41 views2 pages

Hamlet Act 3 Notes

Uploaded by

rkenokwx
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Reading Guide: Hamlet Act 3

Plot Comprehension Questions – Answer the following questions as you read

How would you summarize the range of


emotions and distress that Ophelia is
experiencing at the end of Scene 1?

What is odd/confusing about Hamlet’s


actions and words in his interaction with
Ophelia in Scene 2?

Why does Hamlet seem to decide not to


kill Claudius after Claudius’ private
“confession” in Scene 3?

What is the ghost referring to when he


discusses Hamlet’s “almost blunted
purpose” in their confrontation in Scene
4?

Based on Hamlet’s words, as well as his


treatment of the body, how would you
summarize the way that Hamlet thinks
about his accidental murder of Polonius?

Early in Act 3, Claudius refers to a plan


for Hamlet that involves “the seas and
countries different with variable objects”
(Scene 1). How does Claudius follow
through with this plan at the end of the
Act, and what is Claudius’ secret agenda
in this decision?

Plot Analysis Questions – Answer the following questions as you read

What is Hamlet’s true purposes of


comparing the “suit of sables” (Act 3,
Scene 2) worn by Claudius and Gertrude
to the “inky cloak” (Act 1) for mourning
Hamlet wore earlier in the play?

How does the line “my tongue and soul in


this be hypocrites” (Scene 2) illustrate
some of Hamlet’s internal conflicts at this
point in the play?

What is the purpose/effect of the


apostrophe Claudius uses in Scene 3? (“O
wretched state”)

What is Hamlet implying about


Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when he
uses the metaphor involving an “adder”—
a type of snake? (Scene 4)
One of the major psychological questions
about Hamlet is whether or not he
actually sees or only imagines his father’s
ghost. What happens in Act 3 that might
bring up that question to the audience?

On the last page of Act 3, we see the very


famous idiom, “hoist with his own
petard,” which refers to a plan that
backfires or when someone is the cause of
his own suffering. Considering its
context, what exactly is Hamlet referring
to in the statement?

Paraphrasing Skills! – Use context clues and background knowledge to paraphrase (or interpret) the following quotes in your own words

“With more offenses at my beck than I


have thoughts to put them in” (Scene 1)

“we will both our judgments join in


censure of his seeming” (Scene 2)

“How is’t with you, that you do bend your


eye on vacancy and with the incorporal air
do hold discourse?” (Scene 4)

“This is the very coinage of your brain”


(Scene 4)

Literary Device Analysis Skills! – Answer the following questions about particular literary devices used by Shakespeare

Keeping in mind that the word “honesty”


in Shakespeare’s time is closer to meaning
“purity” or “honor,” what is the point of
the paradox Hamlet discussed in Scene 1
as he talks with Ophelia?

In Shakespeare’s time, the word


“nunnery” could mean either a nun’s
convent or a brothel. How could you
argue, then, that this well-known pun of
telling Ophelia “get thee to a nunnery”
(Scene 1) could also relate to the overall
struggles of Hamlet, not just in relation to
Ophelia?

Ophelia uses “honey” (Scene 1) as a


metaphor for what?

“Wring your heart” (Scene 4) is used


figuratively to mean what?

Hamlet’s use of “rose” (Scene 4) implies


that it is a symbol for what?

What is meant by the use of


personification in this line: “O shame
where is thy blush” (Scene 4)?

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