Below are five questions on Hamlet. Answer Question 1, Question 2, and Question 3 with responses of at least one paragraph. Then answer either Question 4 or Question 5 in a literary essay of at least five paragraphs. Remember to incorporate textual evidence in all of your responses. You may refer to your copy of Hamlet and your notes as you write.

1. Explain both the literal and symbolic meaning and importance of pouring poison in a person's ear in Hamlet.

2. What purpose do the soliloquies that Hamlet delivers over the course of the play serve? What do readers and audience members learn about Hamlet from what he says in these speeches?

3. In drama, a character's tragic flaw is the character trait that leads directly to his or her downfall in the work. Many critics and scholars argue that Hamlet's tragic flaw is his tendency toward inaction-his inability to act. Do you agree? Why or why not? Cite specific examples from the text to support your response.

4. As you know, Laertes and Fortinbras are two characters in Shakespeare's play that serve as foils for Hamlet. How does each figure expose or highlight certain traits in Hamlet's character, and how does each character's behavior in the play relate to the themes of advice and duty, action versus inaction, and sanity versus madness?

5. Why is the idea of playing a role or acting a part so important to Hamlet over the course of the play? How does role-playing affect several major events in the plot and the relationships between various characters?