Act IV Study Guide Assignment

• Turn in your work! You need your own copy.

• If you have a perfect score on this

assignment, you will not be required to take the Act IV quiz.

• If you finish early, you can prepare for your vocab quiz on the Act IV list.

Act IV Scene i

• Death of Polonius revealed by Gertrude to Claudius

• Claudius immediately thinks of his own danger

Read the text of this scene and answer the questions which follow.

Click here for the modern text or see page 95.

Act IV Scene ii

• Comic relief (follow the link if you don’t know what this is)

• Mistrust of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

Read the text of this scene and answer the questions which follow.

Click here for the modern text or see page 97.

Act IV Scene iii

• Continued comic relief – dark, double meaning in Hamlet’s lines

• Whereabouts of Polonius’ body is revealed• Hamlet to go to England by order of Claudius• Claudius reveals a secret plot

Read the text of this scene and answer the questions which follow.

Click here for the modern text or see page 98.

Act IV Scene iv

• Fortinbras army is in Denmark• Hamlet’s soliloquy “How all occasions do

inform against me…”Read the text of this scene and answer the questions which follow.

Click here for the modern text or see page 101.

Act IV Scene v• Read pages 104- line 75 on

page 107.• Answer 1-4

• Don’t worry if Ophelia’s lines don’t seem to make sense…they don’t…

Act IV Scene v

Read pages 107-112

Answer 5-8

Act IV Scene vi• Horatio receives a message from Hamlet which is delivered by a sailor. Read the

letter below. Answer 9-11.

'Horatio, when you read this, give these fellowssome way to talk to the king. They have letters for him.Before we were even at sea for two days, a very nastylooking pirate chased us. Finding ourselves sailing tooslow, we put up a great fight, and, in the skirmish, Iboarded them. Just then, they sailed away from our ship,so only I became their prisoner. They have dealt with melike thieves of mercy. but know what they had done, I amto do a good turn for them. Let the king have the letters Ihave sent, and cometo see me with as much haste as you would fly death. Ihave words to speak into your ear will make youspeechless, but are they much too light for the heart ofthe matter. These good fellows will bring you to where Iam. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are still going toEngland. I have much to tell you about them. Goodbye.He that you knows you, HAMLET. '

Act IV Scene viiRead the text of this scene and answer the questions which follow.

Click here for the modern text or see page 114.

Answer 12- 20.

You’re finished!