Hamlet Detailed Study

This is an in-class exercise designed to give you close reading practice (IOC style) and a detailed knowledge of Hamlet. It will count for your Hamlet exam grade. Your achievement on this exercise will determine the homework over the holiday break. It is INDEPENDENT work, but you may consult with MsB at any time, and we will share findings during the last 10 minutes of each period.

v Your grade will depend on the quality of your analysis, and the number of passages analyzed.

v When you finish a passage analysis, bring it to MsB for review and to pick up your next one.

v If you are absent one of the days, you must arrange a makeup time before/after school.

v Your homework is to prepare for the next day's passages:

for Wednesday: remainder of Act 3, through Act 4 Scene 4 (p. 199 ERC)

for Thursday: remainder of Act 4, through Act 5 Scene 2 (p. 257 ERC)

Don't panic about the number of pages...remember we read odds only!

You will need: [*=take advantage of these now – you will not have access in real IOC!]

Passage/s (one at a time)

*Complete Hamlet text (your book)

*Close Reading for IOC handout

*A dictionary

*Drama Features handout

For each passage:

1. In the heading, fill in your name and the Act/Scene/Line of this passage. (MsB has provided the Act numbers for the first day – scene summary on back of this page)

2. On the back of the page, write in complete sentences and LABEL each sentence:

Content (summary of passage)

Context (position in and significance to story – how does it relate to action immediately before/after, and/or other scenes in play?)

3. On the passage text itself:

Define one to three crucial vocab words (not on left-facing page)

Annotate as many literary features as you can find in five minutes.

(Annotate = colormark and label)

Mark and label significant structural features (tone change, plot movement, character development etc.)

4. At the bottom of the front, write an analytical claim about the effect of the most significant literary feature/s on this text and its role in the total meaning of play as a whole. In the real IOC, this would be your thesis. One approach is to assess how the 10x features (e.g. symbolism) affect the 1x features (character, setting, plot, theme). Be sure you could fully support your claim with a detailed discussion...because you may have the chance to do exactly that!!

5. On your Drama Features handout (green), write the act number (and scene, if you wish) by each feature you identified in this passage. How many different features can you find?

page	Hamlet Scene Summary – Quick Reference – add detail as you discover it
	ACT 1
7	•Act 1, Scene 1: The Ghost.
21	•Act 1, Scene 2: The new king and his court . . . Hamlet's 1st soliloquy "O that this too too sullied flesh would melt" (1.2.129-159) . . . Hamlet learns of the ghost.
39	•Act 1, Scene 3: Laertes and Polonius warn Ophelia to stay away from Hamlet.
50	•Act 1, Scene 4: Ghost appears to Hamlet.
55	•Act 1, Scene 5: The Ghost's message. Hamlet's 2nd soliloquy "O all you host of heaven! O earth! what else?" (1.5.92-111)
	ACT 2
73	•Act 2, Scene 1: Polonius sends Reynaldo to check up on Laertes . . . Ophelia tells Polonius of Hamlet's strange visit
81	•Act 2, Scene 2: The King tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to investigate Hamlet's madness . . . Polonius's theory of Hamlet's madness - he examines Hamlet (fishmonger). . . Rosencrantz and Guildenstern examine Hamlet . . . The players arrive . . . Hamlet's 3rd soliloquy "O what a rogue and peasant slave am I!" (2.2.549-607)
	ACT 3
123	•Act 3, Scene 1: The King and Polonius use Ophelia as bait, so they can spy on Hamlet . . . Hamlet's 4th soliloquy "To be, or not to be, that is the question" (3.1.56-89) . . . The King decides to send Hamlet to England, but Polonius wants to overhear what Hamlet might say to his mother.
135	•Act 3, Scene 2: Performance of "The Murder of Gonzago" . . . The King rises . . . Hamlet summoned to speak with his mother.
163	•Act 3, Scene 3: The King tries to pray . . . Hamlet passes up a chance to kill him. 5th soliloquy "Tis now the very witching time of night" (3.3.380-392) 6th soliloquy "Now might I do it pat, now a' is a-praying" (3.3.73-96)
169	•Act 3, Scene 4: Hamlet and his mother . . . Hamlet kills Polonius . . . Final appearance of the Ghost.
	ACT 4
189	•Act 4, Scene 1: The Queen reports the killing of Polonius . . . Rosencrantz and Guildenstern sent to find Hamlet.
193	•Act 4, Scene 2: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern try to get Hamlet to tell them where he has hidden the body of Polonius.
195	•Act 4, Scene 3: Hamlet is sent to England.
199	•Act 4, Scene 4: Hamlet sees Fortinbras leading his army to Poland . . . 7th soliloquy "How all occasions do inform against me" (4.4.32-66)
205	•Act 4, Scene 5: Ophelia's madness . . . Laertes demands revenge for Polonius' death.
221	•Act 4, Scene 6: Sailors tell Horatio that Hamlet has returned to Denmark.
223	•Act 4, Scene 7: The King and Laertes plot their revenge on Hamlet . . . Queen Gertrude tells the story of Ophelia's drowning.
	ACT 5
239	•Act 5, Scene 1: Hamlet and the gravediggers . . . Ophelia's funeral.
259-	•Act 5, Scene 2: Hamlet tells Horatio how he returned to Denmark . . . Osric invites Hamlet to fence with Laertes . . . The match and the deaths of Laertes, Queen, King, Hamlet.