Hamlet, Act I William Shakespeare
1. After the ghost enters in Scene I, whom does Barnardo say it resembles?
2. What doe the ghost do just after the cock crows?
3. Near the end of Scene I, what does Horatio predict the ghost will do in Hamlet's presence?
4. In what way were King Hamlet and Cladius related? In Scene ii King Claudius notes the general mourning for the late King Hamlet. Who married soon after King Hamlet's funeral?
5. Claudius advises Hamlet to put aside his grief and notes that the "death of fathers" is an experience every person must accept. How does the king then ask Hamlet to think of him?
6. Queen Gertrude asks Hamlet to remain in Denmark rather than return to school in Wittenberg. With what words does Hamlet answer her?
7. Horatio and his two friends inform Hamlet of the ghost's appearance, and Hamlet questions them about the ghost's face, eyes, and beard. What does Hamlet then say he will do that night if "it assume my noble father's person"?
8. In Scene iii Laertes informs Ophelia that Hamlet's choice of a wife will affect many people. Upon what does Laertes say Hamlet's choice depends?
9. At the end of Scene iii, Polonius discourages Ophelia's interest in Hamlet. What is her response to her father's injunction not to spend time with Hamlet?
10. In Scene iv the ghost appears before Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus. According to Horatio, why might the ghost be beckoning to Hamlet?
11. In Scene v the ghost informs Hamlet that he was murdered. According to the ghost, who was the murderer?
12. After the ghost describes the murder, he cries out "O, horrible! O, horrible! Most horrible!" What two things does he then ask Hamlet to do, if Hamlet "has nature" in him?
13. Which of the ghost's words does Hamlet repeat after the ghost has gone and just before the arrival of his two friends?
14. At Hamlet's insistence his friends twice swear to keep secret what they saw. Hamlet then takes them aside a third time to swear secrecy. What does Hamlet imply about how he might behave in the future?