Topic - William Shakespeare (Hamlet) [#Q14/L/WS/060725]
1. In Hamlet, what function does the Ghost serve in initiating the dramatic action?
2. Why is Hamlet’s hesitation to kill Claudius during prayer significant?
3. What philosophical theme is central to the 'To be, or not to be' soliloquy?
4. How does Shakespeare use the play-within-a-play ('The Mousetrap') structurally?
5. Which trait best defines Ophelia’s character arc?
6. Why is Hamlet’s feigned madness crucial to the play’s tension?
7. How does Fortinbras contrast with Hamlet as a foil character?
8. Why is Gertrude’s role in Hamlet’s tragedy ambiguous?
9. What literary device dominates Hamlet’s soliloquies?
10. Why is Yorick’s skull scene symbolically powerful?
11. What is the role of Polonius in the play’s thematic development?
12. What emotion dominates Hamlet’s final acceptance of fate in Act V?
13. Which critical interpretation views Hamlet as suffering from Oedipal conflict?
14. Why is Claudius’s soliloquy 'O, my offence is rank' pivotal?
15. What is revealed by Hamlet’s interaction with the Gravedigger?
16. Why is Hamlet often seen as a Renaissance figure?
17. What is the function of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the plot?
18. How is Laertes positioned as a foil to Hamlet?
19. What effect does dramatic irony produce when the audience knows Claudius is guilty, but others do not?
20. What is the symbolic meaning of poisoned weapons and wine in the final act?
