The Rotten State of Denmark - a Study of Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Essay Topics

Passage-based Tasks

1.	Act 1 Scene 2 lines 129-159:   "Oh that this too too sullied flesh....hold my tongue"
Use this passage as a starting point for a discussion of corruption in Hamlet. 

2.	Act 3 Scene 3 lines 36-end of scene: "O, my offence is rank...."
Discuss the presentation of Claudius in Hamlet, using this passage as a starting point. 

3.	Act 3 Scene 4 lines 139 - 181   "This is the very coinage of your brain...worse remains behind".
To what extent is the mood of Hamlet in this passage typical of his disposition in the play as a whole?

Open Questions

1.	"Hamlet is an exploration of a corrupt world."
Discuss, supporting your views with detailed evidence from the play.

2.	"The most rotten aspect of Denmark is that one can never rely on appearances".  Discuss the way in which deception is a key theme in Hamlet.

3.	How far are female characters presented as victims in the court of Elsinore in Hamlet?

2004 Level 3 Exam questions (see http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/nqfdocs/ncea-resource/exams/2004/90722-exm-04.pdf) for this standard are also available on the NZQA website. 

© Ministry of Education, Wellington, New Zealand (First published 1998)