Graded Assignment

Unit Test: Hamlet

Below are five questions on Hamlet. Answer Question 1, Question 2, and Question 3 with responses of
at least one paragraph. Then answer either Question 4 or Question 5 in a literary essay of at least five
paragraphs. Remember to incorporate textual evidence in all of your responses. You may refer to your
copy of Hamlet and your notes as you write.

Answer Questions 1, 2, and 3.

Total score: ____ of 100 points

(Score for Question 1: ___ of 15 points)

1. Explain both the literal and symbolic meaning and importance of pouring poison in a person’s ear in
Hamlet.
Answer:
Hamlet uses the phrase “…Anon comes in a fellow, takes off his crown, kisses it, pours poison in the
sleeper's ear and leaves him." The literal meaning of pouring poison in a person’s ears refer to Claudius
telling lies to people of Denmark to mislead them. Symbolically though this act represents the story of
Snake and Eve where Eve was deceived to eat from the Tree of Eden leading her to his trap. Hence all
the lies that Claudius tells people are so that they do things against their better judgment.

(Score for Question 2: ___ of 15 points)

2. What purpose do the soliloquies that Hamlet delivers over the course of the play serve? What do
readers and audience members learn about Hamlet from what he says in these speeches?
Answer:
The soliloquies were meant to progress the story by revealing Hamlet’s inner thought process to
audience influencing the play’s mood. It helped the readers understand Hamlet’s character better and
helped readers understand why he was so sad and in depression. His soliloquy "To Be or Not to Be"
depicts how he was overwhelmed by his situation contemplating death and suicide, weighing the pain and
unfairness of life against the alternative, which might be worse.

(Score for Question 3: ___ of 15 points)

3. In drama, a character’s tragic flaw is the character trait that leads directly to his or her downfall in the
work. Many critics and scholars argue that Hamlet’s tragic flaw is his tendency toward inaction—his
inability to act. Do you agree? Why or why not? Cite specific examples from the text to support your
response.
Answer:
This is true for most of dramas and is also true for Hamlet. Hamlet lacked decisive action and if he would
have acted timely, he could have saved the tragic outcomes that were to come later in the play. Just to
give an example of this when Hamlet came to know about his father’s death, he could have easily had his
revenge on his enemies, he even wanted revenge of his father but ends up not doing anything to trick the
ones who murdered his father. This does not mean though that Hamlet didn’t want to act intentionally
When he’s informed of his father’s death he says “O, fie! Hold, hold, my heart; And you, my sinews, grow
not instant old; But bear me stiffly up.” Meaning that he was willing to act and asked his heart the strength
to go through with his revenge plan.
(Score for Question 4: ___ of 55 points)

4. As you know, Laertes and Fortinbras are two characters in Shakespeare’s play that serve as foils for
Hamlet. How does each figure expose or highlight certain traits in Hamlet’s character, and how does
each character’s behavior in the play relate to the themes of advice and duty, action versus inaction,
and sanity versus madness?
Answer:
Laertes and Fortinbras act as foil character. Foil characters serve as a replacement to original character
and depict what would have been different if someone else was the main character of the play. In the play
all three characters are in a similar situation.
All three of there father’s have died and now they are all seeking revenge. Fortinbras is the prince of
Norway whose father got killed in a land dispute. Laertes is not a prince but highly regarded counsellor at
Danish court, his father too was killed at the hands of Hamlet.
Each of them reacts differently in a way that Hamlet only wants to get back throne and keeps on deviating
as to when to take action. Fortinbras also wants to get revenge and clean his family name. We see
Fortinbras taking a small army in scene “four” to capture the small piece of land. Laertes on the other
hand didn’t knew initially about the murder of his father but when he learns it was Hamlet, he vows to
avenge his father and takes irrational decisions in a hasty manner without thinking of consequences.
Unlike Laertes, Hamlet is a thinker. Unlike Fortinbras, he is not a natural soldier, Hamlet is a philosopher
and takes time to process his thought together. Even though he knows that Claudius is the killer he can’t
seem to take decisive action as Hamlet is not a natural killer.
In the end though all three of them end up avenging their father, Hamlet kills Claudius, Laertes kills
Hamlet and Fortinbras ends up regaining the crown of Denmark for himself.