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Teacher’s Notes

Hamlet

By William Shakespeare

Summary

The King of Denmark, is dead and has been succeeded not by his son, Hamlet, but by his brother, Claudius. Soon after the funeral, Claudius marries his brother’s widow, Gertrude. Hamlet, still upset by his father’s death, sees the ghost of his father, who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. The Ghost asks his son to avenge his death. Hamlet pretends to go mad. Polonius, the Lord Chamberlain, forbids his daughter, Ophelia, to see Hamlet. Spied on by Polonius and Claudius, Ophelia returns Hamlet’s love letters and is violently rejected by him. A group of travelling actors arrive at the court. Hamlet asks them to perform a play in which a king is murdered by his nephew. He hopes that the story, which is similar to the murder of his father by Claudius, will force Claudius to betray his guilt. Hamlet is right: Claudius is upset by the play. Hamlet is summoned to his mother’s room, where he angrily criticises her for her hasty marriage. He accidentally kills Polonius, who is hiding behind a curtain, believing him to be Claudius. Claudius sends Hamlet to England, planning to have him murdered. Laertes, Polonius’s son, returns to Denmark from France, demanding revenge for his father’s death. Ophelia, mad with grief, drowns herself. Hamlet returns from England, having discovered Claudius’s plot to have him killed. He confronts Laertes and Claudius at Ophelia’s funeral. Claudius plots with Laertes to kill Hamlet with a poisoned sword in a swordfight. The plot goes wrong and Laertes dies. GertrudedrinksfromapoisonedcupintendedforHamletand dies. Hamlet, wounded by the poisoned sword, kills Claudius before he, too, dies. Young Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, enters and claims the throne of Denmark for himself.

About William Shakespeare

Although Shakespeare is one of the world’s greatest writers, surprisingly little is known about his life, especially his early years in Stratford. However, we do know that:
• he was born on 23rd April 1564 and died on his 52nd birthday, in 1616.
• his mother, Mary Arden, came from a higher social background than his father, who was a civil servant.
• he went to a good school but did not attend university.
• in 1582 he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children.

From 1590, his plays began to be performed on the

London stage. Over a period of 23 years (1590–1613), he

wrote 37 plays, sometimes writing three plays a year! He also wrote poetry, including a number of beautiful sonnets. Some of his plays: The Taming of the Shrew (1591), Richard III (1592), A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1594), Romeo and Juliet (1595), The Merchant of Venice (1596), Henry V (1599), Much Ado About Nothing (1599), Julius Caesar (1599), Twelfth Night (1600), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1605), Antony and Cleopatra (1606), Macbeth (1605), The Tempest (1611).

Background and themes

Shakespeare’s plays are famous throughout the world for their poetry and their insights into the nature of life and the human condition. A large number of them are set in the south of Europe, particularly Italy. However, he chose gloomy northern European landscapes for three of his darkest tragedies: Macbeth, King Lear and Hamlet. The story of Hamlet is found in the folk literature of Iceland, Ireland and Denmark. The earliest reference we have to Hamlet is in an eleventh-century Icelandic poem. Shakespeare’s play is as widely read, seen and performed today as it was four hundred years ago. One of the main reasons is that Hamlet himself is a character that people will always identify with. He is a complex character – his sense of honour and duty is in constant conflict with his inner doubts and uncertainties. This confusion leads to delay and indecision and, ultimately, to final tragedy.

Apart from the complex nature of Hamlet himself, there are other themes:
• One of the main themes is madness. Hamlet pretends to be mad to conceal his indecision. But this ploy backfires, leading to, among other things, Ophelia’s genuine descent into madness over Hamlet’s unintentional murder of her father.
• Another theme of the play is disease and poison – ‘Something is rotten in the state of Denmark’. Poison is the main instrument of death in the story.
• A further theme is revenge. In a traditional revenge tragedy, the hero plans his revenge. In Hamlet, the tragedy stems from the hero’s doubt and uncertainty. Many lives would have been saved if Hamlet had just killed his uncle earlier.
• Aninterestingthemeisdestinyandfate – theappearance of the Ghost is responsible for everything. Does Hamlet have a choice in what he does, or is there some great plan which makes everything inevitable?

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Teacher’s Notes

Many films have been made of the play. The most wellknown were made in:
• 1948 – with Laurence Olivier as Hamlet. It won 4 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor.
• 1969 – with Nicol Williamson as Hamlet and Anthony Hopkins as Claudius.
• 1996 – with Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet and Kate Winslet as Ophelia.

Communicative activites

The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections of text as the exercises at the back of the Reader, and supplement those exercises. For supplementary exercises covering shorter sections of the book, see the photocopiable Student’s Activities pages of this Factsheet. These are primarily for use with class Readers but, with the exception of discussion and pair/group work questions, can also be used by students working alone in a self-access centre.
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK
Act 3

1 Put students into small groups to discuss these questions.

What does Hamlet think about (a) life and death? (b) women? (c) Claudius when he is praying? (d) his mother’s marriage? (e) Polonius’s death?
Do you agree with him? Why/why not?

2 Put students into groups of three. Ask them to act out this imaginary courtroom scene.

Student A: You are Claudius’s lawyer. Tell the judge why Hamlet is guilty of Polonius’s murder. What punishment should Hamlet have? Why?

Student B: You are Hamlet’s lawyer. Tell the judge why Hamlet should not be punished for Polonius’s murder.

Student C: You are the judge. Listen to the lawyers’ arguments. Ask them questions. Make your decision.
1 Put students into small groups. Ask them

(a) what Shakespeare plays they know. (b) what they know about the characters/story/setting

of any of these plays. (c) what they know about Hamlet.

Discuss group findings as a class. 2 Write these words on the board:

castle ghost grave mad poison revenge wicked

Ask students to write sentences using these words. Ask students to read out their sentences and write the best ones on the board.

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION Act 1 1 Put students into groups to discuss these questions. (a) How do these people feel about each other? Why? (1) Hamlet and Gertrude (2) Hamlet and Claudius (3) Polonius and Hamlet
(b) What does the Ghost want Hamlet to do? Why?

2 Put students into pairs. Ask them to act out this imaginary conversation.

Student A: You are Hamlet. Tell Ophelia about the

Ghost and your plans for revenge. Student B: You are Ophelia. You don’t think Hamlet should listen to the Ghost. Tell him why.

Act 2 Put students into small groups to discuss these questions. (a) What secrets do these people want to know? How do they plan to find them? (1) Hamlet (2) Claudius (3) Polonius
(b) Will their plans succeed? Why/why not?
Act 4

Put students into small groups to discuss these questions.

(a) What news does Hamlet have for Horatio, do you

think? (b) What is Claudius’s plan for Hamlet? Will it succeed? Why/why not?
Act 5

Put students into groups of three. Ask them to act out this conversation.

Student A: You think everything is Hamlet’s fault. Say

why. Student B: You think everything is Claudius’s fault. Say

why. Student C: You think everything is the Ghost’s fault. Say why.
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK

Put students into small groups. Ask them to choose one scene from the play. Ask them to choose parts and read the scene together. When they are ready, they act out the scene in front of the class.

Word list

It will be useful for your students to know the new words found on page 56 of the Reader. They are practised in he ‘Before You Read’ sections in the back of the book. (The definitions are based on those in the Longman Active Study Dictionary.)
© Pearson Education Limited 2006

Published and distributed by Pearson Longman Factsheet written by Chris Rice

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Student’s Activities

Hamlet

By William Shakespeare

These activities can be done alone or with one or more other students. Pair/group only activities are marked*.
ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK

1 Look at the pictures in the book. On which pages can you see:

(a) a sword? (b) a ghost? (c) a curtain? (d) a servant? (e) a lord? (f) poison?

2 Read the introduction on pages v-viii and choose the right answer.

(a) Hamlet wants to find / forget / punish his uncle. (b) Hamlet is a story about love / mystery / revenge. (c) Hamlet was written 200 / 300 / 400 years ago. (d) In the 1996 film, Hamlet is played by

Robin Williams / Gerard Depardieu / Kenneth Branagh. (e) Shakespeare was unknown / unpopular / successful in his lifetime.

ACTIVITIES WHILE READING THE BOOK Act 1 1 Put these people in the order that Hamlet talks to them.

(a) Horatio (b) Claudius (c) Marcellus (d) the Ghost (e) Gertrude

2 Who says these things? What do the underlined words mean?

(a) ‘It is a crime against God.’ (b) ‘That was the worst day of my life.’ (c) ‘My Lord, I think I saw him last night.’ (d) ‘I order you to stay away from him.’ (e) ‘He’s listening too much to his imagination.’ (f) ‘He won the heart of my queen.’

Act 2 1 Choose the right answer.

(a) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have come to help

(1) Hamlet. (2) Claudius. (3) Ophelia. (b) Polonius feels

(1) amused by (2) angry with (3) sorry for

Hamlet.

(c) Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he

(1) is bored with life. (2) loves Ophelia. (3) does not like plays.
2 Which of these words describe Hamlet, and why?

angry brave nervous pleased rude strange unsure wise

Act 3 1 Are these sentences about Hamlet right or wrong?

(a) He is afraid of death. (b) He wants to marry Ophelia. (c) He sits next to Ophelia during the play. (d) He is excited after the play. (e) He is angry with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. (f) He decides to forgive Claudius. (g) He kills Polonius by mistake. (h) He tries to kill his mother.
2 Which of these words describe Claudius, and why?

amused unhappy
Act 4

angry frightened pleased worried
1 Who talks about these things, and why?

(a) worms (b) flowers (c) a letter (d) revenge (e) swords (f) poison (g) icy water
2 Are these people angry with Hamlet? Why/why not?

(a) Gertrude (b) Claudius (c) Rosencrantz (d) Ophelia (e) Laertes

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Student’s Activities

Act 5 Who are these sentences about?

(a) He talks to a skull. (b) They fight near a grave. (c) They die in England. (d) They ask for forgiveness. (e) She drinks poison. (f) He kills Hamlet. (g) He is the next King of Denmark.

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK 1 Work in pairs and discuss these questions.

(a) Who do you feel most sorry for at the end of the

play? Why? (b) Why doesn’t Hamlet kill Claudius earlier? Is he right

to wait? Why/why not? (c) What is the worst thing that Hamlet does? (d) Is Hamlet a strong or a weak man? Why? 2 Discuss these lines from the play with another student. What do they mean? Do you agree with them? Why/ why not?

(a) ‘Too much sadness is not the grief of a real man.’ (b) ‘Weakness, your name is Woman!’ (c) ‘When a young man’s blood burns with love, his

tongue easily finds fine words.’ (d) ‘To be, or not to be? That’s the question.’ (e) ‘Clever words mean nothing to a stupid ear.’ 3 You are Horatio. Write a speech about your friend, Hamlet. Say why your country has lost a great, future king.
© Pearson Education Limited 2006 Published and distributed by Pearson Longman

Penguin Readers Answer Key Hamlet

Answers to Book Activities  1  Open answers

2  (a) people: lord / nephew / servant     parts of a play: act / scene     things that are found in the

ground: grave / skull / worm     things that can kill: poison /  revenge / sword   (b)  Open answers

3  (a) Denmark   (b) Claudius   (c) perfect   (d) simple   (e) 1,700 years ago   (f)  24   (g) between 1598 and 1602
4  Open answers

5  (a) Claudius – Hamlet’s uncle   (b) Fortinbras – the King of Norway’s

nephew   (c) Polonius – the King of Denmark’s

friend   (d) Laertes – Polonius’s son   (e) Gertrude – Hamlet’s mother   (f)  Horatio – Hamlet’s friend   (g) Ophelia – Laertes’s sister  6  (a) lost land to Hamlet’s father.   (b) did not really love his father.   (c) does not want his daughter to get

into trouble.   (d) punish the King.  7  (a) Open answers   (b) (possible answer) weakness   (c) Open answers   (d) (possible answer) to watch him  carefully
8  (a–b) Open answers

9  (a) (4)  (b) (5)  (c) (1)  (d) (3)  (e) (2)  (f) (6)

10   (a) wrong – he is not really mad   (b) wrong – Polonius does   (c) right   (d) wrong – she has shown them to  her father, but has returned them  to Hamlet   (e) wrong – they are not sure   (f)  right   (g) wrong – only Horatio, Marcellus  and Barnardo know about the  Ghost

(h) wrong – he is not sure that the  Ghost was honest   (i)  right

11   (a) (possible answers)     Polonius thinks that Hamlet is mad  with love for his daughter. He feels  a bit sorry for him.

Ophelia loves Hamlet, but she is  afraid of his mad actions.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern  seem to like Hamlet, but they are  spying on him for the King.

Gertrude is really worried about  Hamlet and wants him to get  better.

Claudius is more afraid of Hamlet  than worried about him.   (b) Open answers
12  (a–b) Open answers

13   (a) live   (b) stupid   (c) does not believe   (d) afraid of   (e) honest   (f)  are   (g) does not feel   (h) does not know   (i)  cannot   (j)  Claudius
14  Open answers

15   (a) when   (b) if   (c) but   (d) because / when   (e) during   (f)  so   (g) after   (h) while / because   (i)  before   (j)  until

16   (a) Claudius – Hamlet hates him and     wants to kill him.     Rosencrantz and Guildenstern  – Hamlet does not like them  because they are spies.

Ophelia – Hamlet is probably  afraid of her. He has acted badly  with her, and has killed her father  by mistake.

Polonius – Hamlet thinks that he  was a silly old man. But he is sorry  that he is dead.

Gertrude – He is less angry with  her than before. He wants to  forgive her.   (b) Claudius is afraid of him.     Rosencrantz and Guildenstern  want to be friendly, but do not  understand him.

Ophelia probably hates him for  killing her father.     Polonius is dead.     Gertrude pities him. She thinks  that he is mad.

17   (a) Hamlet will want to kill Claudius.     Claudius will probably want to kill

Hamlet.   (b) Hamlet has killed Ophelia’s father.

Ophelia will hate Hamlet.   (c) Laertes will be angry about  his father’s death. Perhaps he  will think that Claudius is the  murderer.

Claudius will be afraid of Laertes.  But perhaps he can make Laertes  angry with Hamlet.

(d) Hamlet will be worried because  he has killed Laertes’s father.  Laertes will want revenge. 18  (a) Hamlet / Polonius   (b) Ophelia / Polonius   (c) Claudius / Hamlet, Polonius’s  death, Ophelia’s madness,  Laertes’s return   (d) Laertes / Ophelia’s madness   (e) Hamlet / his journey to England   (f)  Claudius / Hamlet   (g) Laertes / Hamlet   (h) Gertrude / Ophelia

19   (a) (worm) dog    (b) (brother) father    (c) (Hamlet) Laertes    (d) (Claudius) No one    (e) (money) help    (f)  (three) two    (g) (sad) glad, happy, pleased,     excited    (h) (gun) sword    (i)  (food) drink    (j)  (jumped) fell

20   (a) mad   (b) kind   (c) secret   (d) stupid   (e) fat / thin   (f)  safe   (g) afraid   (h) unbelievable   (i)  patient   (j)  thirsty
21–22  Open answers

23   (a) Hamlet   (b) Yorick   (c) Gertrude   (d) Hamlet   (e) Osric   (f)  Horatio   (g) Claudius   (h) Laertes   (i)  Horatio   (j)  Fortinbras 24  (a) (1) Hamlet’s father     (2) Polonius     (3) Ophelia     (4) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern     (5) Gertrude     (6) Laertes     (7) Claudius     (8) Hamlet   (b) Hamlet’s father – in his garden.     Polonius – behind a curtain in

Gertrude’s room.     Ophelia – in an icy stream.     Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

– in England.     Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius and  Hamlet – the large room in the  castle.

(c–d) Hamlet’s father – murdered by  Claudius.

Polonius – killed accidentally by  Hamlet.

Ophelia – fell out of a tree into the  water.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern  – killed by the King of England  because Hamlet had secretly  changed the letter from Claudius.

Gertrude – poisoned accidentally  by Claudius.

Laertes – killed by the poison on  his own sword.     Claudius – killed by Hamlet.     Hamlet – killed by the poison on  Laertes’s sword.   (e) Open answers
25–35  Open answers
© Pearson Education Limited 2006
Published and distributed by Pearson Longman

Answers to Factsheet Activities Communicative Activities ACTIVITIESBEFOREREADINGTHEBOOK 1–2  Open answers ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION

Act 1  1  (a) Hamlet is unhappy because     Gertrude married Claudius.  Gertrude wants Hamlet to stop  being unfriendly to Claudius.

Hamlet hates Claudius because  he murdered his father. Claudius  is friendly to Hamlet.

Polonius does not want his  daughter to see Hamlet. We do  not know how Hamlet feels about  Polonius.   (b) The Ghost wants Hamlet to     punish Claudius for murdering  him.
2  Open answers

Act 2  1  (a) Hamlet wants to know if Claudius   really murdered his father. He  wants Claudius to watch a play  about a similar crime.

Claudius wants to know why  Hamlet is acting strangely.  He asks Rosencrantz and  Guildenstern to help him.

Polonius wants to prove that  Hamlet is mad because of love  for his daughter. He plans to  watch Hamlet and Ophelia in  secret.   (b) Open answers

Act 3 1  (a) Hamlet thinks that life is not as     frightening as death.   (b) He thinks that prettiness is a bad

thing.   (c) He does not want to kill Claudius  while he is praying. He does not  want Claudius to go to Heaven.

(d) He thinks that his mother’s  marriage is wicked.

(e) He thinks that Polonius was silly,  but he is sorry that he is dead.  2  Open answers

Act 4
Open answers

Act 5
Open answers

ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK Open answers Student’s Activities ACTIVITIESBEFOREREADINGTHEBOOK

1  (a) a sword – pages 7, 25, 35, 45   (b) a ghost – page 7   (c) a curtain – pages 13, 35   (d) a servant – page 45   (e) a lord – page 45   (f)  poison – page 45

2  (a) punish   (b)  revenge   (c)  400   (d)  Kenneth Branagh   (e)  successful
ACTIVITIES WHILE READING THE BOOK

Act 1  1  (a)  3
(b)  1
(c)  4
(d)  5
(e)  2

2  (a) Claudius / too much sadness (b) Hamlet / the day of his father’s   death

(c)  Horatio / the Ghost or Hamlet’s   father   (d)  Polonius / Hamlet   (e)  Horatio / Hamlet   (f)  the Ghost / Claudius

Act 2  1  (a) Claudius   (b)  sorry for   (c)  is bored with life

2  pleased – because there is going to

be a play   rude – to Polonius   strange – he seems to be mad   unsure – he does not know if the  Ghost is honest

Act 3  1  (a) right   (b)  wrong   (c)  right   (d)  right   (e)  right   (f)  wrong   (g)  right   (h)  wrong

2  angry – about the play   frightened – of Hamlet after the play   pleased – that Hamlet is interested in

the play   unhappy – because he cannot ask

God for forgiveness   worried – about the secret in Hamlet’s  heart

Act 4  1  (a) Hamlet – Polonius is dead

(feeding the worms).   (b)  Ophelia – There are no flowers on

her father’s grave.   (c)  Claudius – He receives a letter

from Hamlet.   (d)  Laertes – He wants revenge on

Hamlet for killing his father.   (e)  Claudius and Laertes – they plan

to kill Hamlet in a swordfight.   (f)  Claudius and Laertes – Laertes     will put poison on the end of his  sword. Claudius will put poison in  Hamlet’s cup.    (g)  Gertrude – she brings news about     Ophelia’s death in a cold stream.

2  (a) No – She wants Hamlet to forgive

her.   (b)  Yes – Hamlet has killed Polonius.     Claudius thinks that he is  dangerous.   (c)  Yes – Hamlet is rude to him.   (d)  No – She is mad.   (e)  Yes – His father and sister are     dead because of Hamlet.

Act 5  1  (a) Hamlet   (b)  Laertes and Hamlet   (c)  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern   (d)  Hamlet and Laertes    (e)  Gertrude   (f)  Laertes   (g)  Fortinbras
ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK
1–3  Open answers
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