Senior Honors English - Rohlfs Hamlet - Act V - Study Guide

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Senior Honors English - Rohlfs Hamlet - Act V - Study Guide 1. Why do the gravediggers question Ophelia’s burial in this cemetery? 2. As the grave is prepared, what visual reminders on stage stress the physical reality of death? 3. What has the gravedigger heard about Hamlet? 4. Who was Yorick? What does Hamlet do with his skull? 5. When Hamlet sees the approaching funeral procession, of what is he unaware? 6. Consider the clowns’ comments and Hamlet’s observation about the procession in comparison with Gertrude’s description of Ophelia’s death. What conclusions do you reach? 7. Why does Laertes jump into Ophelia’s grave? How does Hamlet react? 8. For the first time we hear Hamlet speak in utter sincerity about Ophelia. What does he say? 9. If Hamlet loved Ophelia, why did he treat her so badly? Is he responsible for her death? 10. Hamlet harshly berates his mother for infidelity and treason. Is Hamlet equally unfaithful in his own relationships? 11. Hamlet tells Horatio, “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends. Rough-hew them how we will.” What does he mean? What led him to this conclusion? 12. What did Hamlet do about the ship when he found himself troubled and sleepless? 13. What did he find? What proof does he now have? 14. What did Hamlet then do? Does he now regret it? Use the scales of justice and decide whether Hamlet’s actions are justified. Do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern deserve their fate? 15. Body Count: List who is dead at the end of Act V and how. .

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