Hamlet - Analysis & Annotation Worksheet
English
Year 9
9 questions
~18 mins
1 views0 downloads
About This Worksheet
A worksheet focusing on analysing and annotating key passages from Shakespeare's Hamlet, designed for Year 9 students to develop their understanding of language, themes, and theatrical techniques.
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Hamlet - Analysis & Annotation Worksheet
Subject: EnglishGrade: Year 9
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Untitled Worksheet
Grade Year 9
A
Extract from Hamlet's Soliloquy - Act 3, Scene 1
To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,
And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause—there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of th'unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscover'd country from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have,
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pith and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry,
And lose the name of action.
1.
Identify two literary devices used in this extract and explain their effect.
[3 marks]2.
What is the central dilemma Hamlet is contemplating in this soliloquy?
[2 marks]3.
Explain the significance of the phrase 'the sleep to say we end The heart-ache' in the context of Hamlet's thoughts.
[3 marks]4.
Identify and explain the function of the caesura in the line: 'To die, to sleep; / No more;'
[3 marks]5.
In your annotations, underline instances of alliteration and discuss their effect.
6.
Describe the tone of Hamlet in this soliloquy and support your answer with textual evidence.
[2 marks]7.
Discuss how Shakespeare's word choice in this extract reflects Hamlet's inner conflict.
8.
Identify the structural feature at the beginning of the extract and explain its importance.
[2 marks]9.
Create a brief annotated diagram indicating the progression of Hamlet's thoughts throughout the soliloquy.
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Details
- Created
- 12/31/2025
- Updated
- 12/31/2025
- Type
- worksheet