Hamlet

1)What role does Gertrude play in the tragedy of Denmark?To answer this question, you will need to wrestle
with the following questions: What role did she play in the king’s murder?
[Given that it is clear that she did not know of the deed, itself]. Was she having an adulterous relationship with
Claudius? What does she think about Hamlet’s “madness?” What does she think of Claudius? Do her views of
Hamlet and Claudius change? Is she ignorant? Weak? Crafty? How does the Ghost of her late husband view
her? Does she see the Ghost when he appears to Hamlet in her bedroom?
2)Compare and contrast Hamlet with young Fortinbras and Laertes in respect to the tension between reason
and action.To answer this question well, you will need to explore the soliloquies in which Hamlet speaks about
his own self-understanding in respect to this issue. You will also have to explore the plot in terms of how
Fortinbras and Laertes act/reason—including their final judgments of Hamlet.
You need to think through the role of fear and the final outcomes for each of these characters—as well as their
impact on others. For this paper to be good, you need to engage the complexities of the play.
3)Explain the meaning and broader significance of the passage that you chose to perform in class. What does
it mean? How does it contribute to the larger meaning of the play?In effect, this paper is a small commentary
on a specific passage. You need to develop the meaning of specific words, phrases and sentences--both in
themselves and in relation to surrounding words, phrases and sentences