1. Why do we read Shakespeare?

2. Spectrum of Belief
1 - Our country is generally headed in a positive direction
2 - I believe in ghosts
3 - Parental advice is usually right, even if it's not what I want to hear
4 - I'm impulsive
5 - Sometimes, revenge is warranted

3. Table Talk
How common do you believe the act of revenge is in everyday life? Recall specific incidents, including any in which you were involved or have witnessed.

4. Juicy Quotes
“That for which we find words is something already dead in our hearts. There is always a kind of contempt in the act of speaking.” –Nietzsche
“Our wills and fates do so contrary run/That our devices still are overthrown,/Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own.” –The Player Kind in Hamlet
“This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man.” –Polonius Hamlet
“To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them?” –Hamlet Hamlet
I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.” –Hamlet Hamlet

5. Act 1 Scene 1 Discussion Questions
The play begins on a dark winter night outside Elsinore Castle in Denmark as a few watchmen (Bernardo and Marcellus) and a friend of Prince Hamlet (Horatio) have a conversation. What is revealed in this conversation?
Why does Horatio now believe Bernardo and Marcellus? What does Horatio notice about the physical appearance of the ghost?
Why does Horatio think this ghost is making an appearance?
What is important about Horatio’s allusion to Julius Caesar?
How does scene 1 conclude?
Analyze the mood of the opening scene? How is it established?
What do you think the ghost symbolizes? What does it generally mean when ghosts come up in literature?

6. Film Opening Directed by Kenneth Branagh
Analyze Branagh’s interpretation, evaluating how he interprets the play’s text. THINK—what is emphasized? What is left out? What is the effect?