Summary The King of Denmark, is dead and has been succeeded not by his son, Hamlet, but by his

brother, Claudius. Soon after the funeral, Claudius marries his brother s widow, Gertrude. Hamlet, still upset by his father s death, sees the ghost of his father, who tells him that he was murdered by Claudius. The Ghost asks his son to avenge his death. Hamlet pretends to go mad. Polonius, the Lord Chamberlain, forbids his daughter, Ophelia, to see Hamlet. Spied on by Polonius and Claudius, Ophelia returns Hamlet s love letters and is violently rejected by him. A group of travelling actors arrive at the court. Hamlet asks them to perform a play in which a king is murdered by his nephew. He hopes that the story, which is similar to the murder of his father by Claudius, will force Claudius to betray his guilt. Hamlet is right: Claudius is upset by the play. Hamlet is summoned to his mother s room, where he angrily criticises her for her hasty marriage. He accidentally kills Polonius, who is hiding behind a curtain, believing him to be Claudius. Claudius sends Hamlet to England, planning to have him murdered. Laertes, Polonius s son, returns to Denmark from France, demanding revenge for his father s death. Ophelia, mad with grief, drowns herself. Hamlet returns from England, having discovered Claudius s plot to have him killed. He confronts Laertes and Claudius at Ophelia s funeral. Claudius plots with Laertes to kill Hamlet with a poisoned sword in a swordfight. The plot goes wrong and Laertes dies. Gertrude drinks from a poisoned cup intended for Hamlet and dies. Hamlet, wounded by the poisoned sword, kills Claudius before he, too, dies. Young Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, enters and claims the throne of Denmark for himself. About William Shakespeare Although Shakespeare is one of the world s greatest writers, surprisingly little is known about his life, especially his early years in Stratford. However, we do know that: he was born on 23rd April 1564 and died on his 52nd birthday, in 1616. his mother, Mary Arden, came from a higher social background than his father, who was a civil servant. he went to a good school but did not attend university. in 1582 he married Anne Hathaway and they had three children. From 1590, his plays began to be performed on the London stage. Over a period of 23 years (1590 1613), he wrote 37 plays, sometimes writing three plays a year! He also wrote poetry, including a number of beautiful sonnets. Some of his plays: The Taming of the Shrew (1591), Richard III (1592), A Midsummer Night s Dream (1594), Romeo and Juliet (1595), The Merchant of Venice (1596), Henry V (1599), Much Ado About Nothing (1599), Julius Caesar (1599), Twelfth Night (1600), Hamlet (1601), Othello (1604), King Lear (1605), Antony and Cleopatra (1606), Macbeth (1605), The Tempest (1611). Background and themes Shakespeare s plays are famous throughout the world for their poetry and their insights into the nature of life and the human condition. A large number of them are set in the south of Europe, particularly Italy. However, he chose gloomy northern European landscapes for three of his

darkest tragedies: Macbeth, King Lear and Hamlet. The story of Hamlet is found in the folk literature of Iceland, Ireland and Denmark. The earliest reference we have to Hamlet is in an eleventh-century Icelandic poem. Shakespeare s play is as widely read, seen and performed today as it was four hundred years ago. One of the main reasons is that Hamlet himself is a character that people will always identify with. He is a complex character his sense of honour and duty is in constant conflict with his inner doubts and uncertainties. This confusion leads to delay and indecision and, ultimately, to final tragedy. Apart from the complex nature of Hamlet himself, there are other themes: One of the main themes is madness. Hamlet pretends to be mad to conceal his indecision. But this ploy backfires, leading to, among other things, Ophelia s genuine descent into madness over Hamlet s unintentional murder of her father. Another theme of the play is disease and poison Something is rotten in the state of Denmark . Poison is the main instrument of death in the story. A further theme is revenge. In a traditional revenge tragedy, the hero plans his revenge. In Hamlet, the tragedy stems from the hero s doubt and uncertainty. Many lives would have been saved if Hamlet had just killed his uncle earlier. An interesting theme is destiny and fate the appearance of the Ghost is responsible for everything. Does Hamlet have a choice in what he does, or is there some great plan which makes everything inevitable? Pearson Education Limited 2006 Penguin Readers Factsheets Teacher s Notes Hamlet By William Shakespeare Level 3 Pre-Intermediate Hamlet

Level 3 Pre-Intermediate Hamlet Act 3 1 Put students into small groups to discuss these questions. What does Hamlet think about (a) life and death? (b) women? (c) Claudius when he is praying? (d) his mother s marriage? (e) Polonius s death? Do you agree with him? Why/why not? 2 Put students into groups of three. Ask them to act out this imaginary courtroom scene. Student A: You are Claudius s lawyer. Tell the judge why Hamlet is guilty of Polonius s murder. What punishment should Hamlet have? Why? Student B: You are Hamlet s lawyer. Tell the judge why Hamlet should not be punished for Polonius s murder. Student C: You are the judge. Listen to the lawyers arguments. Ask them questions. Make your decision. Act 4 Put students into small groups to discuss these questions. (a) What news does Hamlet have for Horatio, do you think? (b) What is Claudius s plan for Hamlet? Will it succeed? Why/why not? Act 5 Put students into groups of three. Ask them to act out this conversation. Student A: You think everything is Hamlet s fault. Say why. Student B: You think everything is Claudius s fault. Say why. Student C: You think everything is the Ghost s fault. Say why. ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK Put students into small groups. Ask them to choose one scene from the play. Ask them to choose parts and read the scene together. When they are ready, they act out the scene in front of the class. Word list It will be useful for your students to know the new words found on page 56 of the Reader. They are practised in he Before You Read sections in the back of the book. (The definitions are based on those in the Longman Active Study Dictionary.) Many films have been made of the play. The most wellknown were made in: 1948 with Laurence Olivier as Hamlet. It won 4 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Actor. 1969 with Nicol Williamson as Hamlet and Anthony Hopkins as Claudius. 1996 with Kenneth Branagh as Hamlet and Kate Winslet as Ophelia. Communicative activites The following teacher-led activities cover the same sections

of text as the exercises at the back of the Reader, and supplement those exercises. For supplementary exercises covering shorter sections of the book, see the photocopiable Student s Activities pages of this Factsheet. These are primarily for use with class Readers but, with the exception of discussion and pair/group work questions, can also be used by students working alone in a self-access centre. ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK 1 Put students into small groups. Ask them (a) what Shakespeare plays they know. (b) what they know about the characters/story/setting of any of these plays. (c) what they know about Hamlet. Discuss group findings as a class. 2 Write these words on the board: castle ghost grave mad poison revenge wicked Ask students to write sentences using these words. Ask students to read out their sentences and write the best ones on the board. ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION Act 1 1 Put students into groups to discuss these questions. (a) How do these people feel about each other? Why? (1) Hamlet and Gertrude (2) Hamlet and Claudius (3) Polonius and Hamlet (b) What does the Ghost want Hamlet to do? Why? 2 Put students into pairs. Ask them to act out this imaginary conversation. Student A: You are Hamlet. Tell Ophelia about the Ghost and your plans for revenge. Student B: You are Ophelia. You don t think Hamlet should listen to the Ghost. Tell him why. Act 2 Put students into small groups to discuss these questions. (a) What secrets do these people want to know? How do they plan to find them? (1) Hamlet (2) Claudius (3) Polonius (b) Will their plans succeed? Why/why not? Penguin Readers Factsheets Teacher s Notes Pearson Education Limited 2006 Published and distributed by Pearson Longman Factsheet written by Chris Rice Factsheet series developed by Louise James

Penguin Readers Factsheets Student s Activities Hamlet By William Shakespeare Level 3 Pre-Intermediate Hamlet Photocopiable These activities can be done alone or with one or more other students. Pair/group only activities are marked*. ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK 1 Look at the pictures in the book. On which pages can you see: (a) a sword? (b) a ghost? (c) a curtain? (d) a servant? (e) a lord? (f) poison? 2 Read the introduction on pages v-viii and choose the right answer. (a) Hamlet wants to find / forget / punish his uncle. (b) Hamlet is a story about love / mystery / revenge. (c) Hamlet was written 200 / 300 / 400 years ago. (d) In the 1996 film, Hamlet is played by Robin Williams / Gerard Depardieu / Kenneth Branagh. (e) Shakespeare was unknown / unpopular / successful in his lifetime. ACTIVITIES WHILE READING THE BOOK Act 1 1 Put these people in the order that Hamlet talks to them. (a) Horatio (b) Claudius (c) Marcellus (d) the Ghost (e) Gertrude 2 Who says these things? What do the underlined words mean? (a) It is a crime against God. (b) That was the worst day of my life. (c) My Lord, I think I saw him last night. (d) I order you to stay away from him. (e) He s listening too much to his imagination. (f) He won the heart of my queen. Act 2 1 Choose the right answer. (a) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have come to help (1) Hamlet. (2) Claudius. (3) Ophelia. (b) Polonius feels Hamlet. (1) amused by (2) angry with (3) sorry for (c) Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he (1) is bored with life. (2) loves Ophelia. (3) does not like plays. 2 Which of these words describe Hamlet, and why? angry brave nervous pleased rude

strange unsure wise Act 3 1 Are these sentences about Hamlet right or wrong? (a) He is afraid of death. (b) He wants to marry Ophelia. (c) He sits next to Ophelia during the play. (d) He is excited after the play. (e) He is angry with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. (f) He decides to forgive Claudius. (g) He kills Polonius by mistake. (h) He tries to kill his mother. 2 Which of these words describe Claudius, and why? amused angry frightened pleased unhappy worried Act 4 1 Who talks about these things, and why? (a) worms (b) flowers (c) a letter (d) revenge (e) swords (f) poison (g) icy water 2 Are these people angry with Hamlet? Why/why not? (a) Gertrude (b) Claudius (c) Rosencrantz (d) Ophelia (e) Laertes Pearson Education Limited 2006

Penguin Readers Factsheets Student s Activities Level 3 Pre-Intermediate Hamlet Photocopiable Pearson Education Limited 2006 Published and distributed by Pearson Longman Factsheet written by Chris Rice Factsheet series developed by Louise James Act 5 Who are these sentences about? (a) He talks to a skull. (b) They fight near a grave. (c) They die in England. (d) They ask for forgiveness. (e) She drinks poison. (f) He kills Hamlet. (g) He is the next King of Denmark. ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK 1 Work in pairs and discuss these questions. (a) Who do you feel most sorry for at the end of the play? Why? (b) Why doesn t Hamlet kill Claudius earlier? Is he right to wait? Why/why not? (c) What is the worst thing that Hamlet does? (d) Is Hamlet a strong or a weak man? Why? 2 Discuss these lines from the play with another student. What do they mean? Do you agree with them? Why/ why not? (a) Too much sadness is not the grief of a real man. (b) Weakness, your name is Woman! (c) When a young man s blood burns with love, his tongue easily finds fine words. (d) To be, or not to be? That s the question. (e) Clever words mean nothing to a stupid ear. 3 You are Horatio. Write a speech about your friend, Hamlet. Say why your country has lost a great, future king.

Answers to Book Activities 1 Open answers 2 (a) people: lord / nephew / servant parts of a play: act / scene things that are found in the ground: grave / skull / worm things that can kill: poison / revenge / sword (b) Open answers 3 (a) Denmark (b) Claudius (c) perfect (d) simple (e) 1,700 years ago (f) 24 (g) between 1598 and 1602 4 Open answers 5 (a) Claudius Hamlet s uncle (b) Fortinbras the King of Norway s nephew (c) Polonius the King of Denmark s friend (d) Laertes Polonius s son (e) Gertrude Hamlet s mother (f) Horatio Hamlet s friend (g) Ophelia Laertes s sister 6 (a) lost land to Hamlet s father. (b) did not really love his father. (c) does not want his daughter to get into trouble. (d) punish the King. 7 (a) Open answers (b) (possible answer) weakness (c) Open answers (d) (possible answer) to watch him carefully 8 (a b) Open answers 9 (a) (4) (b) (5) (c) (1) (d) (3) (e) (2) (f) (6) 10 (a) wrong he is not really mad (b) wrong Polonius does (c) right (d) wrong she has shown them to her father, but has returned them to Hamlet (e) wrong they are not sure (f) right (g) wrong only Horatio, Marcellus and Barnardo know about the Ghost (h) wrong he is not sure that the Ghost was honest (i) right 11 (a) (possible answers) Polonius thinks that Hamlet is mad with love for his daughter. He feels a bit sorry for him. Ophelia loves Hamlet, but she is afraid of his mad actions.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern seem to like Hamlet, but they are spying on him for the King. Gertrude is really worried about Hamlet and wants him to get better. Claudius is more afraid of Hamlet than worried about him. (b) Open answers 12 (a b) Open answers 13 (a) live (b) stupid (c) does not believe (d) afraid of (e) honest (f) are (g) does not feel (h) does not know (i) cannot (j) Claudius 14 Open answers 15 (a) when (b) if (c) but (d) because / when (e) during (f) so (g) after (h) while / because (i) before (j) until Hamlet hates him and 16 (a) Claudius wants to kill him. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Hamlet does not like them because they are spies. Ophelia Hamlet is probably afraid of her. He has acted badly with her, and has killed her father by mistake. Polonius Hamlet thinks that he was a silly old man. But he is sorry that he is dead. Gertrude He is less angry with her than before. He wants to forgive her. (b) Claudius is afraid of him. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern want to be friendly, but do not understand him. Ophelia probably hates him for killing her father. Polonius is dead. Gertrude pities him. She thinks that he is mad. 17 (a) Hamlet will want to kill Claudius. Claudius will probably want to kill Hamlet. (b) Hamlet has killed Ophelia s father. Ophelia will hate Hamlet.

(c) Laertes will be angry about his father s death. Perhaps he will think that Claudius is the murderer. Claudius will be afraid of Laertes. But perhaps he can make Laertes angry with Hamlet. (d) Hamlet will be worried because he has killed Laertes s father. Laertes will want revenge. 18 (a) Hamlet / Polonius (b) Ophelia / Polonius (c) Claudius / Hamlet, Polonius s death, Ophelia s madness, Laertes s return (d) Laertes / Ophelia s madness (e) Hamlet / his journey to England (f) Claudius / Hamlet (g) Laertes / Hamlet (h) Gertrude / Ophelia 19 (a) (worm) dog (b) (brother) father (c) (Hamlet) Laertes (d) (Claudius) No one (e) (money) help (f) (three) two (g) (sad) glad, happy, pleased, excited (h) (gun) sword (i) (food) drink (j) (jumped) fell Penguin Readers Answer Key Hamlet Level 4 Pre-Intermediate Hamlet Pearson Education Limited 2006 Published and distributed by Pearson Longman Factsheet written by Chris Rice Factsheet series developed by Louise James 20 (a) mad (b) kind (c) secret (d) stupid (e) fat / thin (f) safe (g) afraid (h) unbelievable (i) patient (j) thirsty 21 22 Open answers 23 (a) Hamlet (b) Yorick (c) Gertrude (d) Hamlet (e) Osric (f) Horatio (g) Claudius (h) Laertes (i) Horatio (j) Fortinbras 24 (a) (1) Hamlet s father (2) Polonius

(3) Ophelia (4) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (5) Gertrude (6) Laertes (7) Claudius (8) Hamlet (b) Hamlet s father in his garden. Polonius behind a curtain in Gertrude s room. Ophelia in an icy stream. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in England. Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius and Hamlet the large room in the castle. (c d) Hamlet s father murdered by Claudius. Polonius killed accidentally by Hamlet. Ophelia fell out of a tree into the water. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern killed by the King of England because Hamlet had secretly changed the letter from Claudius. Gertrude poisoned accidentally by Claudius. Laertes killed by the poison on his own sword. Claudius killed by Hamlet. Hamlet killed by the poison on Laertes s sword. (e) Open answers 25 35 Open answers

 Pearson Education Limited 2006 Published and distributed by Pearson Longman Factsheet written by Chris Rice Factsheet series developed by Louise James Answers to Factsheet Activities Communicative Activities ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK 1 2 Open answers ACTIVITIES AFTER READING A SECTION Act 1 1 (a) Hamlet is unhappy because Gertrude married Claudius. Gertrude wants Hamlet to stop being unfriendly to Claudius. Hamlet hates Claudius because he murdered his father. Claudius is friendly to Hamlet. Polonius does not want his daughter to see Hamlet. We do not know how Hamlet feels about Polonius. (b) The Ghost wants Hamlet to punish Claudius for murdering him. 2 Open answers Act 2 1 (a) Hamlet wants to know if Claudius really murdered his father. He wants Claudius to watch a play about a similar crime. Claudius wants to know why Hamlet is acting strangely. He asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to help him. Polonius wants to prove that Hamlet is mad because of love for his daughter. He plans to watch Hamlet and Ophelia in secret. (b) Open answers Act 3 1 (a) Hamlet thinks that life is not as frightening as death. (b) He thinks that prettiness is a bad thing. (c) He does not want to kill Claudius while he is praying. He does not want Claudius to go to Heaven. (d) He thinks that his mother s marriage is wicked. (e) He thinks that Polonius was silly, but he is sorry that he is dead. 2 Open answers Act 4 Open answers Act 5 Open answers ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK Open answers Student s Activities

ACTIVITIES BEFORE READING THE BOOK 1 (a) a sword pages 7, 25, 35, 45 (b) a ghost page 7 (c) a curtain pages 13, 35 (d) a servant page 45 (e) a lord page 45 (f) poison page 45 2 (a) punish (b) revenge (c) 400 (d) Kenneth Branagh (e) successful ACTIVITIES WHILE READING THE BOOK Act 1 1 (a) 3 (b) 1 (c) 4 (d) 5 (e) 2 2 (a) Claudius / too much sadness (b) Hamlet / the day of his father s death (c) Horatio / the Ghost or Hamlet s father (d) Polonius / Hamlet (e) Horatio / Hamlet (f) the Ghost / Claudius Act 2 1 (a) Claudius (b) sorry for (c) is bored with life 2 pleased because there is going to be a play rude to Polonius strange he seems to be mad unsure he does not know if the Ghost is honest Act 3 1 (a) right (b) wrong (c) right (d) right (e) right (f) wrong (g) right (h) wrong 2 angry about the play frightened of Hamlet after the play pleased that Hamlet is interested in the play unhappy because he cannot ask God for forgiveness worried about the secret in Hamlet s heart Act 4 1 (a) Hamlet Polonius is dead (feeding the worms). (b) Ophelia There are no flowers on her father s grave. (c) Claudius He receives a letter

from Hamlet. (d) Laertes He wants revenge on Hamlet for killing his father. (e) Claudius and Laertes they plan to kill Hamlet in a swordfight. (f) Claudius and Laertes Laertes will put poison on the end of his sword. Claudius will put poison in Hamlet s cup. (g) Gertrude she brings news about Ophelia s death in a cold stream. 2 (a) No She wants Hamlet to forgive her. (b) Yes Hamlet has killed Polonius. Claudius thinks that he is dangerous. (c) Yes Hamlet is rude to him. (d) No She is mad. (e) Yes His father and sister are dead because of Hamlet. Act 5 1 (a) Hamlet (b) Laertes and Hamlet (c) Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (d) Hamlet and Laertes (e) Gertrude (f) Laertes (g) Fortinbras ACTIVITIES AFTER READING THE BOOK 1 3 Open answers