Hamlet Journal Prompts Directions At the beginning of

Hamlet Journal Prompts

Directions • At the beginning of class each day, I will give you some time to respond to this prompt. • After we have finished Hamlet, you will need to type all of your responses and turn them in on turnitin. com • Each needs to be one page typed • At least one direct quote from the text using proper citation • MLA heading in upper left margin

Prompt #1 • Knowing what you know about Shakespeare’s time and theatre, would you consider being a theatre-goer at that time? Why or why not? Consider the lives of typical people in the late 1500 s/early 1600 s.

Prompt #2 • Does Hamlet believe he has a purpose in life? If so, what is it? If not, what is the reasoning? (You may have to look in I. 5 for this)

Prompt #3 • From what you know about the characters, which character is the most important in Hamlet’s life? Most irritating? Why? Analyze their relationships to Hamlet.

Prompt #4 • Let’s say that you were to stage a play to “catch” someone (as Hamlet does Claudius). Who would you catch, why, and what would you do about it?

Prompt#5 (End of Play) • Reflect back on Polonius’s advice to Laertes in I. 3: “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man. ” • Choose one character from the play and explore how he or she does not follow this advice, and how that impacts what happens to that character.