Hamlet Act 5 Scene 1 Close Reading Worksheet

Help high school students go beyond basic comprehension, explore literary devices, and improve critical thinking skills with this close reading inference worksheet covering Act 5, scene 1, of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. An answer key is included. Materials are delivered in editable Word Document and printable PDF formats. Consider using this resource as an in-class group activity; it may facilitate deeper conversations about characters, plot developments, and literary craft. By engaging with this close reading analysis activity, students will:

• Identify what the text states explicitly and implicitly
• Consider how aristocratic class privileges influence plot development
• Explore how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop
• Discern the function of the gravedigger
• Discern the tone of given passages
• Apply knowledge of literary devices including metaphor, simile, hyperbole, allusion, alliteration, dramatic irony, situational irony, and more
• Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant textual evidence
• Write about Shakespearean drama with clarity, accuracy, and precision