Hamlet Act 1 Scene 2 Close Reading Worksheet

This worksheet challenges high school readers to go beyond basic comprehension and practice close reading analysis skills while engaging with Act 1.2 of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Whether assigned as independent homework or a collaborative classroom activity, this formative assessment promotes learning accountability and prepares students for the rigors of advanced placement classes. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats.

By engaging with this close reading analysis activity, students will:

• Explain Hamlet’s beliefs about life and death and how these ideas reflect his inner conflict
• Analyze Hamlet’s attitude toward God and how his views shape his emotional state
• Infer how Hamlet’s disillusionment with his mother affects his worldview and his trust in others
• Identify how Hamlet’s reflections on morality and human nature reveal central themes of the play
• Determine the tone of Hamlet’s language and explain how diction and imagery convey despair, disgust, or frustration
• Interpret metaphors, similes, and other examples of figurative language (e.g., garden full of weeds)
• Explain examples of hyperbole and situational irony