1. Do Now: Refer to the beginning of Act 5 Scene 2. How does Hamlet seal the fates of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? What does this show about him?

2.   Why doesn’t Hamlet feel bad for sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern off to their deaths?  Did they deserve what they got? “They are not near my conscience…”

3.   “But I am very sorry, good Horatio, / That to Laertes I forgot myself; / For by the image of my cause I see / The portraiture of his.”  What does Hamlet realize about Laertes?  Is this a sign of Hamlet’s maturity? Laertes as Mirror Image

4.   Notice how Hamlet speaks of himself in third person when addressing Laertes.  How does Hamlet’s rhetorical style mimic his content? OR How does his way of speaking mimic what he’s actually talking about?  “I’ll be your foil, Laertes”  Indeed! Again with the word play! “The readiness is all.”

5.   Why does Hamlet request that Fortinbras take over the throne?  What does Fortinbras offer the throne?  Legitimacy  Decisiveness  Strength Fortinbras as King

6.  “The rest is silence.”

7.   How do the following die?  Gertrude  Laertes  Hamlet  Claudius  Let’s not forget Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, Ophelia and Polonius. The Body Count

8.   Hamlet famously asks his dear friend, Horatio, to tell his story. Therein lies a recurring motif of Shakespeare’s – that when contemplating life, death and meaning, the to be or not to be, the realization is that ultimately what is written is what will last. Tell my story

9.   Pick a scene from Hamlet. Retell it! You can pick a famous scene or a minor scene. In your retelling…  Choose your format – would it be a staged scene, filmed scene, musical piece, paraphrased by chickens, etc? How would it be different from the original?  Choose a cast – Who would you cast as the characters?  Create a vision – Describe in detail how the scene would proceed. Would you use the original language, change the language, modernize it?  This will be collected. You tell the story…