hamlet act 1

• a soliloquy is a speech of a character's internal thoughts
• the difference between a monologue and a soliloquy is that a monologue is a speech given to an audience by a single person and a soliloquy is a speech given to oneself of their internal thoughts
• in act 1 scene 5, the ghost of king hamlet reveals himself and confesses that he was murdered by his brother, claudius
• claudius killed king hamlet by putting poison in his ear while he slept
• king hamlet advises hamlet to seek revenge on claudius for murdering him and corrupting his wife
• hamlet says in his soliloquy "frailty, thy name is woman," this quote shows how hamlet views women as morally weak, especially after the disloyal actions of his mother.
• how does hamlet's view on women affect his relationship with ophelia?

  he no longer trusts women or the strength of marriage
• is laertes' description of hamlet's intentions to ophelia accurate?

  no, hamlet did truly love ophelia
• although hamlet is grieving his father's death, what bothers him the most?

  his mother's remarriage to his uncle
• what is the purpose of hamlet's allusion to a sartyr?

  to mock claudius for being immoral
• what is the purpose of hamlet's allusion to hercules?

  to describe how he is just as different from hercules than claudius is to a sartyr
• what is the purpose of hamlet's allusion to niobe?

  to emphasize how he views his mother as vain and immoral
• what theme topics are talked about in act 1?

  revenge and appearance vs. reality
• how is the theme appearance vs. reality portrayed?

  hamlet cannot tell if the ghost is really his father or if it is the devil in disguise as his father & he cannot tell if claudius is sincere in his explanation of why he married gertrude or if there was an ulterior motive for the marriage
• what does hamlet reveal to marcellus and horatio at the end of act 1, scene 5?

  that the ghost is real and is his father, but he makes them swear not to tell a soul
• hamlet warns his friends to ignore his antic disposition, what is antic disposition?

  acting and appearing crazy
• why does hamlet put on this antic disposition?

  to get claudius to confess to murdering king hamlet and to buy time to figure out more things about the ghost
• what is dramatic irony?

  when the audience knows something the character doesn't
• example of dramatic irony in hamlet would be how claudius does not know that hamlet knows that he killed king hamlet
• how is gertrude portrayed?

  incestuous and immoral
• was king hamlet aware of the affair occurring between gertrude and claudius?

  king hamlet says gertrude is not who she seems and claudius is not who he seems, implying he is aware of what was happening between them before he died