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Hamlet Act 3 Quiz

_____ 1. Who does Hamlet ask about the king’s reaction to the play?
A. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern
B. Horatio
C. Ophelia
D. The actors

_____ 2. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern tell Hamlet that the king is very disturbed, what does Hamlet
suggest as the reason?
A. He feels guilty
B. He has been poisoned
C. He is drunk
D. He has a fever

_____ 3. What does Hamlet compare himself to while speaking with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
A. A dog
B. An actor
C. A hawk
D. A pipe

_____ 4. What does Hamlet tell Ophelia she should do?

A. Become a nun
B. Tell the truth
C. Stand up for herself
D. Lie to Polonius

_____ 5. Why is Gertrude angry with Hamlet after the play?

A. He sat next to Ophelia instead of her
B. He embarrassed Claudius in front of everyone at the castle
C. He wrote the lines in the play that called her old
D. She is only pretending to be angry

_____ 6. When Hamlet talks to Polonius, why does he keep changing what he thinks the cloud overhead looks
like?
A. To show how Polonius will change his opinion based on others
B. To stall because he is afraid to see his mother
C. To prove that Polonius is planning to spy on him
D. Because Polonius compared him to one of the clouds

_____ 7. Which of these is an accurate summary of Hamlet’s “tis now the very witching time of night”
soliloquy?
A. He is questioning the truthfulness of the ghost now
B. He will first take revenge on his mother, then on Claudius
C. Now is the perfect time for murder, but he will not harm Gertrude
D. The ghost is trying to trick him into committing murder
_____ 8. What does Claudius tell Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to prepare for?
A. Hamlet’s attack
B. They will accompany Hamlet to England
C. To spy on Gertrude if she defends Hamlet
D. They must return to college because they have failed as spies

_____ 9. What is Polonius going to do while Gertrude talks to Hamlet?

A. Move the king to a secure location
B. Confront Opelia about her love for Hamlet
C. Write to Laertes that he must return to Denmark
D. Hide behind a tapestry and listen to them

_____ 10. What is revealed by Claudius’s soliloquy, beginning with ‘O, my offense is rank, it smells to
heaven’?
A. Claudius is plotting to kill Gertrude
B. Claudius will send Hamlet to England
C. Claudius murdered the old king
D. Claudius believes Hamlet is the king’s murderer

_____ 11. What is Claudius doing when Hamlet walks by and sees him?
A. Praying
B. Writing a letter
C. Arguing with Gertrude
D. Plotting to kill Hamlet

_____ 12. Why won’t Hamlet kill Claudius in Scene 3?

A. He knows he isn’t guilty
B. He wants to kill him in the act of a ‘sin’ or crime
C. He feels sorry for his mother
D. He has already poisoned Claudius’s drink

_____ 13. Why is Act 3, Scene 2 such a complex and difficult scene in the play?
A. It features a complicated sword fight
B. It requires detailed, outdoor scenery
C. It features the ghost
D. It is the ‘play within the play’ where the acting troupe performs

_____ 14. What is something Ophelia, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern all have in common?
A. Hamlet plans to kill them all
B. Hamlet warns each of them to stay out of the situation in Denmark
C. They have all come back from college to talk to Hamlet
D. The king is relying on them to report back about Hamlet’s actions

_____ 15. Why does Claudius say ‘Words without thoughts never to heaven go’?
A. He thinks prayers without true intent are never answered
B. His words can doom Hamlet to death
C. He is planning to kill Hamlet personally
D. His petition to Fortinbras’s uncle failed to arrive