Brief Questions in Hamlet

• Who is William Shakespeare?

• Which period is known as the Elizabethan Age?

• When was ‘The Globe’ established?

• Who were the owners of ‘The Lord Chamberlain’s Men’?

• When was Hamlet written and published?

• What was the original title of Hamlet?

• What is the modern title of Hamlet?

• What are the sources of the play Hamlet?

• When does the Ghost appear?

• How does Bernardo describe the Ghost?

• What happens when Horatio questions the Ghost?

• Who is Claudius?

• How does Claudius justify his remarriage to Gertrude?

• Why is Hamlet driven to the thoughts of suicide?

• What prevents Hamlet from committing suicide?

• Why is the marriage between Claudius and Gertrude considered incestuous?

• Why does Hamlet call this world “an unweeded garden”?

• Who was Niobe?

• What is the meaning of “Frailty, thy name is woman”?

• What does Polonius say about borrowing money?

• When does the Ghost appear for the second time?

• How does the Ghost identify itself to Hamlet?

• Who, according to the Ghost, is responsible for his death?

• Why is Ophelia distressed and frightened?

• Who act as the King’s spies against Hamlet?

• How does Hamlet plan to prove Claudius’ guilt?

• What is the meaning of “To be or not to be”?

• How does Hamlet end his ‘To be or not to be’ speech?

• Why does Hamlet advise Ophelia to go to a nunnery?

• How does Ophelia lament for Hamlet’s madness?

• How is Claudius’s guilt confirmed?

• Why does Hamlet fail to kill the King at prayer?

• Why does the Queen fail to see the Ghost?

• What is the King’s motive in sending Hamlet to England?

• What does Hamlet do when pirates attack his ship?

• Why are the gravediggers introduced in the play?

• Who was Yorick?

• What is the last intrigue of Claudius against Hamlet?

• How does Claudius plan Hamlet’s murder in the duel?

• How does the Queen die?

• How does Hamlet kill the King at last?

• What kind of funeral is given to Hamlet’s body?

• How is Hamlet betrayed by Ophelia?

• At which university had Hamlet been studying?

• What, according to Polonius, does borrowing do to a borrower?

• What is the famous line spoken by Horatio when Hamlet dies?

• Who becomes the King of Denmark at the end of the play?

• Who remains alive in the last scene of Hamlet?

• What is comic relief?

• What is the name of the play within the play?

• What is an “aside”?

• When and where was Shakespeare born?

• In what sense are Fortinbras and Hamlet contrasted?

• Who says, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”?

• Who informs Hamlet of the appearance of the Ghost?

• Who is Fortinbras?

• What is the setting of the play Hamlet?

• What is “The Mouse Trap”?

• What is the name of the play within the play?

• Why is Fortinbras preparing war against Denmark?

• How does Polonius die?