Hamlet

In the middle of Hamlet, we watch a play within a play, “The Mousetrap.” But first, we hear Hamlet’s opinions on theater: The stage should hold up a mirror to nature. What role does “The Mousetrap” play in Hamlet’s examination of the nature of reality?

Hamlet’s lines, particularly when he is pretending to be mad, are riddled with puns and wordplay. What does the play have to say about the slipperiness of language?

In Ophelia’s last scene, she appears with bushels of flowers, and speaks of their symbolism as she hands them out. Shortly thereafter, Gertrude makes a similar catalogue of plants in describing Ophelia’s death. How does Hamlet make symbolic use of nature and the natural?

Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” soliloquy is one of the most famous in literature—and for that reason, it can be difficult to read it with fresh eyes. Reread the soliloquy carefully, and choose one of its images to examine in depth. How does this image contribute to the speech’s larger meaning?

Reread the last scene of the play. Why do you think Hamlet’s last words are, “the rest is silence”? What do those words reveal about his development as a character?

The ghost at first appears to several people but will speak only to Hamlet. As the play goes on, Hamlet seems to be the only person who can see him. How does the ghost’s changing behavior affect your reading of Hamlet’s madness, and what does “madness” mean in this play?

Shakespeare’s plays were originally performed on a mostly empty stage, but modern productions make a wide range of choices about how to present these stories. Design a set and costumes for a production of Hamlet. How might you communicate your understanding of the play through visual elements?

Women, in Hamlet, are surrounded by questions and anxieties about their sexual purity. How do Hamlet’s judgments of women drive the action of the play? How do the female characters work with—or against—the cultural ideals of womanhood around them?