Hamlet Act I Quiz

Short Answer
1. Give two reasons why Hamlet is depressed
a. His father died
b. His mother married his uncle
2. Why have Marcellus and Bernardo invited Horatio to join them on their watch?
a. To see the ghost that has been appearing
3. Briefly relate the murder of the king as told to Hamlet by the ghost.
a. The story that was told was that a serpent bit Old King Hamlet and he died, but Old
King Hamlet recalls of a story where his brother Claudius sneaks into the orchard
that King Hamlet is sleeping in and he pours poison into his ear.
4. What do both Laertes and Polonius tell Ophelia about Hamlet?
a. Hamlet doesn’t really love Ophelia, he just wants her for sex. She is inferior to him.
And she must stop seeing him from here on out.
5. After hearing the details of his father's murder, Hamlet decides to "put an antic
disposition on." What does this mean?
a. To pretend to go mentally insane

Identify the speaker and listener.

1. "Tis sweet and commendable in your nature, *******,/ To give these mourning duties to
your father."
a. Claudius, Hamlet
2. "Neither a borrower nor a lender be,/For loan oft loses both itself and friend/And
borrowing dulleth the edge of husbandry."
a. Polonius , Laerets
3. "The serpent that did sting thy father's life now wears his crown."
a. King Hamlet’s ghost, Hamlet
4. "...the time is out of joint: O cursed spite,/That ever I was born to set it right..."
a. Hamlet, Horatio and Marcellus

Summarize the meaning of the following lines

O that this too too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!
Or that the Everlasting had not fixed
His canon ‘gainst self-slaughter! O God! God!
How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable
Seem to me all the uses of this world!

1. Who is saying these lines? Summarize the meaning.

a. Hamlet, this is the part where he wants to commit suicide. The reason he wants to
commit suicide is that his mother is married to his uncle now. He doesn’t like the
fact that his mother is married to his uncle. He is also very upset with his father’s
death. His father was far superior to his uncle and loved his mother dearly.