hamlet
hamlet
For a modern translation, read here. http://nfs.sparknotes.com/hamlet/
For a full text version of the original play, choose this.
Here's a an audio (Librivox) recording.
And here's the 1964 video, Hamlet at Elsinore.
And the acting in this outdoor production in 3 parts is quite good.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Riddles are in part 2, 44 minutes in.
For a very brief video synopsis of the plot of hamlet, view here or here.
For help with characters and plot, etc., read here. http://www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/
To hear an audio version (Librivox) of the Hamlet, click here.
Trouble with Shakespeare's diction? See this glossary of Shakespeare's words.
Act 1 Quizlet (borrowed)
Act 2 Quizlet (borrowed with plenty of conventions errors but good info)
Act 3 quiz (borrowed)
Act 4 quizlet (borrowed)
Act 5 Quizlet (borrowed)
For important quotations, see Hamlet--Importantquotations from Sparknotes.doc and here hamletquotes.doc
To practice a Sparknotes quiz click here.
And just to see a couple of intriguing reads about Ophelia, read "5 Reasons Why Ophelia is Crazy" and "By the Way, Ophelia is Pregnant."
For practice with possible essay questions, look here. worksheet--practiceessayquestions-gm.doc
Hamlet take-home essay test 2010 Hamlet essays 2012
Hamlet's Madness sample essay - This essay is beyond my expectation for a take-home test, but it will give you some ideas if you choose the topic of Hamlet's madness. MLA format is generally correct, but parenthetical references to "Hamlet" should cite act, scene and line as follows: (1.1.17). For a more thorough discussion of MLA citations or Shakespeare, see this web site.
Some things to know for the objective test:
Here's a Sparknotes test you can try for practice, and the quizlets above might be of help, too.
1. Know characters and how they interact with each other. You should have little trouble with major characters if you have been keeping up with the reading. You might need to give attention, however, minor characters such as Yoric, the "chap-fallen jester" that has lain in the grave 23 years; Osric, the courtier who invites Hamlet to a duel with Laertes; Reynaldo, who is sent by Polonius to spy on Laertes in France; and the nameless delvers (gravediggers) who discuss (while joking) whether Ophelia should be allowed a Christian burial.
2. Know the places the characters go: Wittenberg, Germany - Hamlet (to study); England - Hamlet (Claudius sends him in pretense that he would collect tribute.); France - the place Laertes goes to study; Elsinore - the royal castle in Denmark; Norway - Fortinbras is from Norway; Poland - Fortinbras Jr. is leading a skirmish in Poland. Etc.
3.Know the background of the play's writing (year play was written, whose history the play was based on, etc.) That information can be found on Sparknotes in the Context section.
4. Know events of the story. Read Sparknotes summaries and practice by using the Sparknotes test.
5. Review the quotations at Sparknotes and on this web site (the ones I handed out to you and that we discussed in class). Know the context for quotations and be able to explain word meanings and images. Quotations comprise approximately 40 percent of the test.
6. Be familiar with these words from Shakespeare's day:
bare bodkin - an unsheathed dagger
argal - ergo (therefore)
aught - any; ex. "Let not thy soul contrive against thy mother aught."
matter - substance (getting to the point)
art - poetry
hyperion - Titan god of heavenly light.
satyr - a Roman god with goats' ears, tail, legs and horns
fardels - burdens ex. Hamlet: Who would fardels bear?
soliloquy - a speech when no one else is on stage
unction of a Mountebank - a liquid poison that can be poured from a vase
ramparts - defensive wall of a castle
chapfallen - with one's jaw hanging from exhaustion
delver - gravedigger
mad - crazy
fishmonger - seller of fish
unproportioned thought - thought not carefully weighed
familiar - friendly
vulgar - common
fast in fires - do penance in purgatory
knavish - rascally, mischievous
galled - chafed (from being saddled)
jade - worn-out horse
winch - wince, flinch, recoil
withers - the highest part of the horse's back
unwrung - not rubbed sore (not chafed)
hypocrite - opposite (In today's speech, one who says one thing but does another.)
shent - shamed
seal - the king's stamp of approval
augury - the future foretold by the flight of birds
providence - the will of God or the provision of God
tinct - tint, stain
base - dishonorable, low, unworthy
wax - to become
rub - problem, hindrance