Hamlet - Themes: Madness
English
GCSE
9 questions
~18 mins
1 views0 downloads
About This Worksheet
A comprehension worksheet focusing on the theme of madness in Hamlet, with a detailed extract and analytical questions aimed at GCSE students.
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Hamlet - Themes: Madness
Subject: EnglishGrade: GCSE
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Untitled Worksheet
Grade GCSE
A
Exploring Madness in Hamlet
HAMLET: 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;
1.
Identify one literary technique Shakespeare uses in this extract and explain its effect.
[2 marks]2.
What does Hamlet suggest about the nature of death and the afterlife in this soliloquy?
[2 marks]3.
Explain how Hamlet’s language reveals his state of mind regarding his own madness.
4.
Discuss how Shakespeare uses philosophical questioning in this passage to develop Hamlet’s character.
5.
Identify and explain the significance of the phrase 'the undiscover’d country' in the extract.
[2 marks]6.
How does Hamlet’s soliloquy reflect the theme of internal conflict? Provide specific examples.
7.
Compare Hamlet’s contemplation of death with a modern fictional character’s view on madness or death. Briefly describe the similarities.
[2 marks]8.
Create a brief monologue from Hamlet expressing his feelings about the uncertainty of death. Use your own words but keep the tone similar to Shakespeare’s.
9.
In your opinion, how does Shakespeare portray Hamlet’s mental state through this extract? Support your answer with specific references.
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Details
- Created
- 12/31/2025
- Updated
- 12/31/2025
- Type
- worksheet