Quiz: Hamlet

1. Who is the Prince of Denmark in Shakespeare's play Hamlet?

**Hamlet**

2. Who is Hamlet's father who was recently killed? 

**King Hamlet**

3. Who is now married to Gertrude, Hamlet's mother?

**Claudius** 

4. What is the name of the castle where much of the play takes place?

**Elsinore**

5. What is the name of Hamlet's good friend?  

**Horatio**

6. What is the name of the player who performs a play within the play?

**The Player**

7. What is the name of the play performed within the play?

**The Mousetrap**

8. What is Hamlet's first major soliloquy where he contemplates suicide?

**"To be or not to be"**

9. What is the name of the daughter of Polonius who is loved by Hamlet?

**Ophelia**

10. What is the name of Polonius' son who accompanies Ophelia to spy on Hamlet?

**Laertes** 

11. What is the name of the castle where Ophelia drowns herself?  

**Elsinore**

12. What object does Hamlet use to kill Polonius, thinking it is Claudius?

**A rapier**

13. Where does Hamlet confront his mother Gertrude?

**Her bedroom**

14. What is the name of the city where Hamlet, Horatio and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern attend school?

**Wittenberg**

15. What is the last name of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Hamlet's childhood friends?

**Rosencrantz and Guildenstern**

16. Where does Hamlet travel with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern at Claudius' request?  

**England**

17. What is the name of Hamlet's uncle, now king of Denmark who married Gertrude?

**Claudius**

18. What letter does Hamlet receive from Horatio stating that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern have been killed?

**A letter**

19. Who ultimately kills Claudius?

**Hamlet**

20. How does Hamlet kill Claudius?

**He forces him to drink poisoned wine intended for Hamlet** 

21. At the end of the play, who becomes the new King of Denmark?

**Fortinbras**

22. What is the last name of Laertes, Ophelia's brother?  

**Laertes**

23. What object does Laertes use in his plot to kill Hamlet?

**A poisoned foil**

24. What is the name of the gravedigger who has a humorous conversation with Hamlet?

**The gravedigger**

25. What is the cause of Ophelia's madness and eventual suicide?

**Hamlet's rejection and her father's death**

26. What object does Ophelia claim to have received from Hamlet that was not from him?

**Happy flowers**  

27. During the fencing match, what does Laertes cut Hamlet with unbeknownst to Hamlet?  

**A poisoned foil**

28. During the fencing match, what does Gertrude unwittingly drink that was poisoned?

**The poisoned wine**

29. How is the fencing match concluded between Hamlet and Laertes?

**They exchange foils during the bout and both are mortally wounded by the poison**

30. Who is the first to die as a result of the poisoning during the fencing match?  

**Gertrude**

31. As he is dying, what does Laertes confess to Hamlet about the poison plan?  

**That the foil was poisoned and the wine as well**

32. Before dying, what does Hamlet ask Horatio to live to do?

**To tell Hamlet's story**

33. How does Hamlet die after being wounded by the poison?

**In Horatio's arms**

34. Who does Horatio say should now be king since everyone else is dead?

**Fortinbras** 

35. What relation is Fortinbras to the former King of Norway?

**Nephew**

36. What conflict was there between Denmark and Norway that related to Fortinbras' father?

**A territorial dispute in which Fortinbras' father was killed**

37. How does the play end with Fortinbras marching in with his army to see the aftermath?  

**With Fortinbras claiming the kingship of Denmark and ordering a military funeral for Hamlet**

38. What is Polonius' full title and role at the beginning of the play?

**Lord Chamberlain of Denmark**

39. What effect does the ghost of Hamlet's father have on Hamlet after their first meeting?

**It convinces Hamlet that Claudius murdered his father** 

40. What drastic change does Hamlet go through after seeing the ghost?

**He takes on a melancholic, madness-feigning persona to investigate**

41. What famous soliloquy does Hamlet give early in the play where he contemplates suicide?

**"To be or not to be"**

42. Why does Hamlet initially refuse to duel Laertes, according to his own reasoning?

**Because he fears divine retribution for killing his uncle**

43. How does Claudius describe his marriage to Gertrude in her presence?

**As blessed and as honest a thing as e'er the sun shone on**

44. What object does Hamlet use to murder Polonius, thinking it is Claudius hiding behind an arras?

**His sword or rapier** 

45. What proposal does Hamlet make to the players in order to test the King's reaction?

**To stage a play resembling what Hamlet says his uncle did**

46. What effect does seeing the play have on Claudius according to Hamlet's interpretation?  

**It causes Claudius to react guiltily, confirming Hamlet's suspicions**

47. What is the occupation or role of Hamlet's parents, Claudius and Gertrude?

**The ruling monarchs of Denmark (the King and Queen)**

48. Where does Hamlet tell Ophelia her brother Laertes has gone?

**To France**

49. What cruel tricks does Hamlet play on Ophelia after their breakup?

**He sends her love letters and then appears mad when she tries to return his previous gifts**

50. How does Hamlet describe his feelings for Ophelia after their breakup?  

**As childhood and foolish things that he has outgrown**

51. Where does the rattled King Claudius send Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to accompany Hamlet?

**England with a sealed letter requesting Hamlet's execution** 

52. What effect does Hamlet's "madness" have on Polonius according to his analysis?

**It seems a lovesickness caused by Ophelia's rejection of him**

53. What advice does Polonius give Claudius and Gertrude about spying on Hamlet?  

**To "loose" upon him and secretly watch his behaviors** 

54. What is Hamlet's famous "to be or not to be" soliloquy really contemplating?

**Whether it is better to live or take arms against a sea of troubles and end them**

55. What is the name of the city where Hamlet, Horatio and Rosencrantz & Guildenstern attended school?

**Wittenberg**

56. What does Hamlet do with Polonius' corpse after killing him?  

**Drags it behind the arras**

57. How does Ophelia die according to reports in the play?

**By drowning in a brook or river after going mad upon her father's death**

58. Why does Laertes initially agree to Claudius' plot against Hamlet?

**For revenge of his father Polonius' death**

59. What land is Fortinbras from and planning to wage war against in reclaiming lost territories?

**Norway, he wants to attack Denmark's lands** 

60. What role does Ophelia occupy in the play before her madness and death?

**A lover of Hamlet whom he rejects**

61. What are Hamlet's last words as he dies in Horatio's arms at the conclusion of the play?

**"The rest is silence."**

62. What is the occupation of Hamlet's love interest Ophelia's father Polonius?  

**An advisor and lord to the King**

63. What effect does Hamlet's gruesome prank with Polonius' corpse have on his mental state according to Horatio?  

**It seems to push Hamlet further into a real madness**

64. How does Hamlet describe his persona and behavior to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when they arrive?  

**As "antic" and outside his usual disposition**

65. What conclusion does Claudius come

66. What conclusion does Claudius come to about Hamlet's madness according to his speech to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? 

**He believes it is due to Ophelia's rejection and his father's death**

67. What do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report of Hamlet's behavior during their journey to England according to Horatio?  

**That he seemed in excellent spirit until their ship was attacked by pirates**

68. What practical joke does Hamlet play on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to determine if they are spies?  

**He has a letter rewritten replacing their names with another's to send them to their deaths**

69. What biblical allusion does Hamlet make about his darkened soul while talking to Rosencrantz?  

**That his soul is like "that inner form" of a baboon or ape** 

70. What prop does Hamlet request the players use in putting on their play to mirror his uncle's murder of his father?  

**A poisoned cup or bowl**

71. How does Hamlet describe his delay in avenging his father's ghost according to his soliloquy prior to the play?  

**As a weakness and flaw in himself that procrastinates action** 

72. What is the last request Hamlet makes of Horatio before his death?  

**To spread the true story of what really happened**

73. What effect does seeing the play have on Gertrude according to Hamlet's recounting?  

**She faints at its similarity to her husband's murder**

74. How does Polonius describe his daughter Ophelia's behavior after Hamlet's rejection?  

**As mopish and disconnected from her usual self**

75. Why does Hamlet initially refuse to duel Laertes according to his own logic?  

**Because he believes no man should kill another in private over a personal quarrel** 

76. What is Ophelia driven to do by her madness according to reports in the play?  

**She drowns herself in a river or brook**

77. What terrible secret does Claudius' guilt cause him to confess to Laertes according to Hamlet?  

**That he is the one who murdered Hamlet's father**

78. Where does the fatally poisoned Hamlet go after collapsing in the fencing match?  

**Into the arms of his friend Horatio**

79. What does Hamlet request of Horatio as his dying wish?  

**To live to tell Hamlet's story to the world**

80. How does Gertrude unwittingly contribute to her own death?  

**By drinking from the poisoned goblet of wine intended for Hamlet**

81. What motivation does Osric give Laertes for his challenge to duel Hamlet?

   **To settle Ophelia's honor since Hamlet scorned her.**

82. What prophetic statement does Hamlet make to Horatio before telling him about the Ghost?

   **That they are bound to tell stories that will coldly shudder future ears.** 

83. Where does Hamlet confront his mother Gertrude about his father's death?

   **In her private chambers.**

84. What does Hamlet do with Polonius' body to confuse Claudius and Gertrude?  

   **Drags it behind the arras to be seemingly killed by him.**

85. What effect does Hamlet's madness have on Ophelia according to her brother Laertes?

   **It drives her to suicidal depression and instability.**

86. What evidence does Hamlet use to confront his mother about her hasty marriage?

   **The wedding ring his father gave her.**

87. Why does Horatio initially doubt Hamlet's report of seeing the Ghost?

   **He thinks it may be a delusion or the Devil in disguise.**

88. How does Hamlet convince Horatio the ghost is real and not a delusion?

   **He has Horatio witness it himself.** 

89. What gift does Ophelia return to Hamlet after their breakup according to her brother?

   **Letters and remembrances he had previously sent her.**

90. What is Hamlet's final request to Horatio as he dies?

   **To spread the true story of what transpired.**

91. What revelation does the dying Laertes make about the plot?

   **That both foils and the wine were poisoned.**

92. How does Hamlet respond when accused by Laertes of killing Polonius? 

   **With evasiveness and dark humor, admitting some fault.**

93. What effects does watching the play have on Claudius according to Hamlet?

   **It causes a guilty show of discomfort and perturbation.** 

94. Why is Hamlet unable to kill Claudius while praying?

   **He doesn't want to send Claudius' soul to heaven while in a penitent state.**

95. What does Hamlet learn from his conversation with the players?

   **Advice on acting naturally and passion in delivery of speeches.**

96. Why does Hamlet pity Ophelia according to his "get thee to a nunnery" speech?

   **Because her beauty and simplicity have been abused.**

97. How does Polonius describe Ophelia's madness after Hamlet's rejection?

   **As a frenzy of grief, love, and uncounseled passion.**

98. What is unusual about Ophelia's madness according to descriptions?

   **She sings bawdy songs and distributes flowers, losing her senses.** 

99. What task does King Fortinbras have men doing throughout Denmark?  

   **Cutting down trees to make siege engines and ramps.**

100. How does Horatio finally die after telling the full story?

   **Taking his own life as was his promise to the dying Hamlet.**