Questions for discussion block 1

The following are the questions for our class discussion of Hamlet on Friday. Be sure to read Act V, if you have not already.

Hamlet

Questions for discussion

 

Directions: Read the following questions and mark pages in your book to prepare for the graded discussion.

 

1. Memory and the proper relationship of the past to the present is an overwhelming concern in the play. Identify three places in the play where memory is a concern. Then, explain the significance of memory to the play as a whole (don’t forget Hamlet’s dying speech!)

 

 

2. The motif of father and son relationships is almost obsessive in the play. Identify three instances of the motif in the play. What the significance to the play as a whole?

 

3. Hamlet contains 427 questions and begins with the question “Who’s there?” What’s the significance of this question as well as the general obsession with questions to the play, now that you have read the entire play?

 

4. The play seems to comment women and sexuality in general. What are the messages about women and sexuality that emerge from your reading of the play?

 

5. The play is very self-conscious, and at times seems to draw attention to the fourth wall of theater and to the nature of art itself. That is the play comments extensively about art, the role of art, theater, actors etc… Find five references that suggest a this self-consciousness. What is the larger significance of this to the play?

 

6. Look over Hamlet’s soliloquies in the play. Does Hamlet change as the play progresses? If so how? What are the changes? If not, why not?

 

7. The play explores the nature of reality and whether or not it is possible to know, or whether there is a knowable truth. Where is this reflected in the play? What’s the significance of the question to the play?

 

8. The play is very conscious of language and how it works. Find passages in the play that indicate this. What comments doe the play make about the nature of language…. “words, words, words” in Hamlet own words!

 

9. The play uses eyes and ears almost obsessively. Where are these motifs used and why?

 

10. What is the significance of corruption and decay in the play?

 

11. What does the play seem to say about the question of fate and free will?