'Hamlet' Quiz

The ghost claims to be Hamlet's dead father, the king. He says that he was murdered by Claudius, that Claudius put poison in his ear while he slept, and that Gertrude slept with Claudius even before his death. The ghost orders Hamlet to avenge the murder, but not to punish his mother.

The performance of 'The Murder of Gonzaga' is an example of a play-within-a-play. Hamlet commissions a theater troupe to perform the play—with a few additional passages written by Hamlet himself—because the play features a man who murders a king and marries the king's wife. Hamlet believes that he will be able to determine Claudius's guilt by observing his reaction to the play.

Hamlet comes close to killing Claudius while Claudius is praying in church. However, he stops with the question of the afterlife in mind: if he kills Claudius while he is praying, Hamlet wonders, does that mean Claudius will go to heaven?

Gertrude and Hamlet have a bitter fight in Gertrude's bedchamber. When Hamlet hears a noise behind the tapestry, he stabs the intruder. The supposed intruder turns out to be Polonius, who dies.

Laertes and Claudius both die at Hamlet's hand, but the killings are no mistake. It is implied that Ophelia dies by suicide.

As soon as he hears of his father’s murder, Laertes returns to Denmark in order to wreak revenge on those responsible. Once Claudius convinces him that Hamlet is at fault for the death, Laertes is firmly aligned with Claudius and against Hamlet.