Hamlet Unit Test
To understand --- in a drama, the reader must weigh a character's words against other
information in the text.
acts
characterization
structure
setting - ANSWERScharacterization
Read the excerpt from Hamlet, Act I, Scene ii.
Horatio: My lord, I came to see your father's funeral.
Hamlet: I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow-student;
I think it was to see my mother's wedding.
Horatio: Indeed, my lord, it follow'd hard upon.
Hamlet: Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral bak'd meats
Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables.
In the excerpt, Shakespeare characterizes Hamlet as
amused that he was able to attend his own mother's wedding.
disgusted that Gertrude and Claudius married so quickly.
grateful that his mother did not have to remain a widow for long.
resentful that Gertrude and Claudius wasted so much food. - ANSWERSdisgusted that
Gertrude and Claudius married so quickly.
Read the excerpt from Hamlet, Act I, Scene ii.
Claudius: Take thy fair hour, Laertes; time be thine,
And thy best graces spend it at thy will.
But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son,—
Hamlet: [Aside.] A little more than kin, and less than kind.
Claudius: How is it that the clouds still hang on you?
Hamlet: Not so, my lord; I am too much i' the sun.
, What is the most likely reason that Shakespeare chose this point in the play to give
Hamlet his first aside?
Shakespeare is alerting the audience to the conflict between Claudius and Hamlet.
Shakespeare is making sure the audience knows early on that Hamlet is a tragic hero.
Shakespeare is contrasting Hamlet with Laertes to create suspense for the audience.
Shakespeare is hinting to the audience that Claudius will cause an unhappy ending for
Hamlet. - ANSWERSShakespeare is alerting the audience to the conflict between
Claudius and Hamlet.
Read the excerpt from Hamlet, Act I, Scene ii.
[Hamlet:] Must I remember? why, she would hang on him,
As if increase of appetite had grown
By what it fed on; and yet, within a month,
Let me not think on 't: Frailty, thy name is woman!
A little month; or ere those shoes were old
With which she follow'd my poor father's body,
Like Niobe, all tears; why she, even she,—
O God! a beast, that wants discourse of reason,
Would have mourn'd longer,—married with mine uncle,
My father's brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules . . .
In this excerpt, Hamlet characterizes his mother as
eager.
fickle.
loyal.
sickly. - ANSWERSfickle.
In Hamlet, Act I, Scene ii, which dramatic convention does Shakespeare employ most?
He inserts unexpected humor.
He introduces a major conflict.
He hints at a happy ending.
He resolves the earlier suspense. - ANSWERSHe introduces a major conflict.
Read the excerpt from Hamlet, Act I, Scene ii.
Claudius: Take thy fair hour, Laertes; time be thine,
And thy best graces spend it at thy will.
But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son,—
Hamlet: [Aside.] A little more than kin, and less than kind.
