By Isabel Smith-Bernstein
1. Compare Hamlet’s two best friends, Horatio and Ophelia. How are they different from each other? How the same? How do they help Hamlet?
2. Who in our world is like Claudius?
3. Hamlet is a play about a series of choices. If one thing were different how would the play have changed? For instance, if Hamlet hadn’t believed the Ghost? Or if Hamlet had killed Claudius when he was praying?
4. Why doesn’t Hamlet share the truth with other people if he is seeking honesty?
5. Why does Hamlet feign madness? Is it all feigned? What about Ophelia?
6. Would Hamlet’s fate in the afterlife have been an important consideration for an Elizabethan audience?
7. In what ways could Hamlet be a metaphor for the English monarch?
8. Is there any Shakespeare play where a heroine in love betrays her love? Please consider Jessica, Rosalind, and Juliet.
