AP English Literature and Composition - Wikispaces

AP English Literature and Composition

MAJOR WORKS DATA SHEET

Title: ___Hamlet__________________________
Author: __Shakespeare____________________

Biographical Information about the author:

Plot Summary

ACT 1:
The guards see a ghost which they believe is the last King Hamlet. They decide to tell his son, Hamlet, to see if he can get
it to speak. Hamlet is very upset because of the death of his father, the quick marriage of his mother Gertrude to his Uncle
Claudius, and his love Ophelia isn't talking to him. When Hamlet speaks to the ghost, it tells him that his father was killed
by Claudius in order to get power and to marry Gertrude. Hamlet begins to plan avenging his father.

ACT 2:
Polonius sends a servant to France to check up on his son, Laertes. Polonius declares to the King and Queen that Hamlet
is in love with Ophelia and that is the cause of his madness. Old friends of Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are
asked by the King and Queen to figure out what is wrong with Hamlet.

ACT 3:
Claudius and Polonius spy on Ophelia and Hamlet - witness the "to be" speech. Hamlet takes advantage of a play put on
by traveling actors to see if Claudius acts guilty. Claudius admits to his guilt, but Hamlet does not kill him because he
seems to be in prayer. Hamlet confronts his mother in her bedroom where he kills Polonius.

ACT 4:
Claudius ships Hamlet off to England, where he is supposed to be killed. Fortinbras is marching through Denmark on his
way to Poland, which embarrasses Hamlet for not avenging his father. Ophelia has gone mad- she drowns herself later in
the Act. Laertes bursts in, wanting to avenge his father's death, but Claudius gets him on board to kill Hamlet.
Horatio receives a letter saying that Hamlet's ship was kidnapped by pirates and he is being brought back to Denmark.

ACT 5:
Hamlet arrives back in Denmark. He holds the skull of Yorick, a jester, and acknowledges the mortality of men.
Hamlet comes upon Ophelia's funeral and is stricken with grief.
Laertes and Hamlet jump into the grave and fight.
Laertes and Hamlet have a fencing duel. They ask each other for forgiveness first.
Laertes's sword has poison on it and it manages to scrape both of them during a scuffle.
Gertrude accidentally drinks a poisoned cup that was meant for Hamlet.
Hamlet forces Claudius to drink to the rest of the cup.
Forntibras and Horatio take over Denmark.

Describe the author’s style An example that demonstrates that style

 Blank Verse (not rhyming) My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,
 Iambic Pentameter (stress on the Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced;
No hat upon his head; his stockings fouled,
second syllable) Ungartered, and down-gyvèd to his ankle;
 10 syllables per line Pale as his shirt; his knees knocking each other;
 Occassionally breaks to prose,
And with a look so piteous in purport
usually when Hamlet is “mad” As if he had been loosèd out of hell
To speak of horrors—he comes before me.

Memorable Quotes

Quotation Significance

“Therefore our sometime sister, now our Claudius here is twisting his words to as to mask the significance of his
Queen… Have we… in equal scale marrying his brother’s wife. He does not want to be accused or yelled at

weighing delight and dole, Taken to for his incest, so he twists his words with contradictions
wife.” (I.ii.8-14)

“Nay, it is, I know not “seems.”… These In these lines, Hamlet describes the deep nature of his grief to his
mother, trying to emphasize that he isn’t just being a drama king, but
indeed seem, for they are actions that a
man might play, But I have that within actually depressed after his father’s death.

which passes show; These but the
trappings and the suits of woe.” (I.ii.76-

86)

“But to persever in obstinate In this quote, Claudius is chastising Hamlet for his unending grief,
calling him a wimp in a sense.
condolement is a course of impious
stubbornness. ‘Tis unmanly grief.”

(I.ii.92-94)

“I have heard that guilty creatures In this quote, Hamlet formulates his plan for finding out Claudius,
deciding to use the play to unmask Claudius’ crimes
sitting at a play Have by the very
cunning of the scene Been struck so to he

soul that presently They have
proclaimed their malefactions.”

(II.ii.601-604)

“To be, or not to be: that is the question: In this speech, it seems like Hamlet is considering suicide, but in reality
Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer he is being very contemplative over the entirety of life as a whole,
showing one of his deepest (in terms of insight) thoughts.
The slings and arrows of outrageous

fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of
troubles, And by opposing end them.”

(III.i.56-60)

“Look here upon this picture, and on In this quote & scene, Hamlet finally confronts his mother over her
this, The counterfeit presentment of two marrying Claudius, accusing her of betraying his father and of being
brothers see what a grace was seated on
blind in her ability to get over his father so quickly in favor of

this brow… This was your husband. Claudius.
Significance
Look you now what follows. Here is your
husband… Have you eyes?”

(III.iv.54-65)

Characters

Name Role in the Story Adjectives

Hamlet Principle Character; Tragic Hero Moves the plot forward with his Emotional,
Claudius response to his father’s ghost; Distraught,
King of Denmark; Hamlet’s uncle causes general unrest in the Temperamental,
& stepfather; antagonist
kingdom Pensive

Murders Hamlet’s father & thus Sly, conniving,
starts the events that form the scheming,

story; keeps the plot twisted with unrepentant
his various attempts to stop

Hamlet & Hamlet’s associates

Ghost Hamlet’s dead father; alerts Without his presence, Hamlet Mournful,
Gertrude Hamlet to the problems within the would never have acted and thus Vengeful, Wise
Polonius moved the plot forward: instigator
kingdom and the circumstances
surrounding his death of the story

Hamlet’s mother & aunt Part of Hamlet’s distraught nature Ignorant,
is contributed to by Gertrude’s passionate,
incestual, loving,
marriage to Claudius; is loyal to
sneaky
both Claudius and Hamlet and

must pick a side

Claudius’ councilor; Ophelia & Sycophant to the King who often Oblivious,
Laertes’ father gets in the way of both Hamlet’s sycophantic, nosy

and Claudius’ plans

Laertes Son of Polonius Is a foil to Hamlet; eventually kills Temperamental,
Ophelia Hamlet and brings about the chaos angry, protective
Horatio Daughter of Polonius; Hamlet’s
love interest at the end of the play
Rosencrantz &
Guildenstern Hamlet’s friend and confidant Both distracts Hamlet from his Morose, licentious,
current task and drives him into oblivious, forceful
Hamlet’s false friends
further grief with her death

The only person who knows of Loyal, quiet, wise
Hamlet’s troubles and his plans,

he both advises Hamlet and sort of

sits quietly by

They are the oblivious, Ignorant,
sycophantic friends of Hamlet Traitorous,
(unfortunately murdered in his Scheming

stead)

Fortinbras Prince of Norway Another foil to Hamlet, he gives Passionate,
another example of the grief that commanding,

can occur due to the loss of a angry
father

Setting Significance of opening scene

Significance of ending/closing scene

Symbols Old AP Questions
 Ghost and Yorick’s Skull: Reminders of mortality
1988. Choose a distinguished novel or play in which
and death some of the most significant events are mental or
 The Poison: A character can bring themselves down psychological; for example, awakenings, discoveries,
changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay,
through their bad intentions describe how the author manages to give these internal
 The Play within a play: symbol for the play as a events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax
usually associated with external action. Do not merely
whole and for Claudius’s guilt summarize the plot.
Gardens: There are no pretty gardens in Hamlet (his 1994. In some works of literature, a character who
appears briefly, or does not appear at all, is a
father was killed in the garden) Can be seen as the significant presence. Choose a novel or play of literary
spoiled Garden of Eden full of sin- so gardens are a merit and write an essay in which you show how such
a character functions in the work. You may wish to
place where sin takes place. discuss how the character affects action, theme, or the
development of other characters. Avoid plot summary.
1997. Novels and plays often include scenes of
weddings, funerals, parties, and other social occasions.
Such scenes may reveal the values of the characters
and the society in which they live. Select a novel or
play that includes such a scene and, in a focused essay,
discuss the contribution the scene makes to the
meaning of the work as a whole. You may choose a
work from the list below or another novel or play of
literary merit.
1999. The eighteenth-century British novelist
Laurence Sterne wrote, “No body, but he who has felt
it, can conceive what a plaguing thing it is to have a
man’s mind torn asunder by two projects of equal
strength, both obstinately pulling in a contrary
direction at the same time.”
From a novel or play choose a character (not

necessarily the protagonist) whose mind is pulled in
conflicting directions by two compelling desires,
ambitions, obligations, or influences. Then, in a well-
organized essay, identify each of the two conflicting
forces and explain how this conflict with one character
illuminates the meaning of the work as a whole. You
may use one of the novels or plays listed below or
another novel or work of similar literary quality.
2000. Many works of literature not readily identified
with the mystery or detective story genre nonetheless
involve the investigation of a mystery. In these works,
the solution to the mystery may be less important than
the knowledge gained in the process of its
investigation. Choose a novel or play in which one or
more of the characters confront a mystery. Then write
an essay in which you identify the mystery and explain
how the investigation illuminates the meaning of the
work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

Possible Themes