Name: Jacob Fitterer

Anticipation Guide For: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet

Part A. As you read the following statements, indicate whether you agree or disagree. Your
initial answers will be marked in the left side column, as we are completing this activity before
engaging with the text. Be prepared to defend and support your opinions with examples. After
reading the text you will compare your opinions on these statements with the author’s implied
and/or stated messages.
Before Reading Statement After Reading
Agree Disagree Agree Disagree
X Families generally have a member’s X
best interests in mind.

X Having a clear goal, and the X

ambition to achieve it, is honorable.

X Power eventually corrupts the people X

who have it.

X Revenge is the only way to gain true X

justice.

X A person’s immoral choices can X

come back to haunt him/her.

X One must take a stand against X

injustice, even if the personal cost is
great.

X A person has to confront death in X

order to understand life’s meaning.

X Moral courage is more difficult to X

accomplish than physical courage.

X Evil often spirals out of control. X

Part B. With a partner, share your results and discuss. Did you agree or disagree with every
statement? Identify positions that differs from your partner and discuss why you hold the stance
you are defending. Document your partners’ statement stance below and why they have taken
the stance they hold.
My partner, Rachael, agreed on almost all of our statement choices. However, we had a
difference of opinion on the statement “One must take a stand against injustice, even if the
personal cost is great.” I disagreed with the notion. Rachael argued that taking a stand for social
progress was ultimately more important than simply protecting oneself. I disagreed, and felt that
while standing against injustice was important, and arguably idolized, the consequences that can
play out from that can be harmful not only to one’s self, but to others in your immediate social
circle as well.
Part C. Each of the statements in Part A hones in on an important theme in our play. Please
select the statement and position you feel most strongly about, and construct an argument
defending your position. Feel more than welcome to include any personal experiences you may
have regarding the statement you choose. Remember that a good argument is supported by
numerous examples.
I chose to disagree with the statement “Revenge is the only way to gain true justice.” Without
having read the play itself, I have been exposed to the ideals of revenge countless times thanks to
multimedia sources: film, television, and video games. Typically, the plot of these films revolves
around the titular character seeking revenge for having been wronged in some way: a family
member died, their livelihood (business/career) was ruined, and so on. The way these films carry
out their story beats and resolve is unsatisfying: I don’t personally believe the character is
delivering justice in any sense. They feel more like senseless power fantasies or glorifying
murder than anything else. We don’t see such attitudes in just entertainment either. On the news,
we’ll witness cases of capital punishment and members of the community debating over it.
Sometimes vigilantes or militias are formed, and try to accomplish something that puts others in
grave danger while fulfilling whatever purpose that drives them. From everything I have been
exposed to, getting revenge simply isn’t the only way to gain true justice.
Part D. Now that we have finished reading Shakespeare’s Hamlet, revisit the statements we
looked at before our reading. Signify whether you continue to agree with your initial stance or if
you have changed your mind. If you changed your mind on a statement or multiple, explain your
reasoning. Pull evidence from the play to support your stance. If you didn’t change your mind on
any statement, revisit the statement you explored from Part C and include evidence from the
play to support your stance.
Having read the play, I have mostly maintained the same stance on all the statements present
here. The one stance I switched my position on was regarding “Families generally have a
member’s best interest in mind”. In my own personal life, I feel blessed to have been raised in an
environment where I truly feel everyone has best interests for all involved. This applies to my
extended family as well. After experiencing pivotal moments in the play, and talking with my
peers about their familial experiences, I can no longer completely agree with the statement. The
family relationships in Hamlet have an effect to constantly take revenge on one another. Hamlet
and Claudius are family, however Hamlet desires to avenge him for killing his father.
Throughout the play, Hamlet proceeds to distance himself from his family, especially Gertrude,
his mother. In the process of Hamlet attempting to kill Claudius, he accidentally kills Polonius
instead. Claudius ends up killing Gertrude.
Aside from having desire for murder displayed by multiple characters, the way they treat each
other is also despicable. Hamlet ends up resenting Gertrude simply because he views her
marrying Claudius so soon after her husband’s death as sickening:
“She married. O, most wicked speed, to post with such dexterity to incestuous sheets! It is not
nor it cannot come to good: But break, my heart; for I must hold my tongue.” (Act 1, Sc 4., Pg.
31)
Hamlet and Claudius barely had an existing relationship in the first place, and bother
immediately assume the other is acting suspiciously/has done something wrong. Even the side
characters act out of control out of misguided goals. Polonius and Laertes are concerned for
Ophelia and her relationship with Hamlet. While not problematic on the surface, Polonius
exhibits behavior that is too controlling and Laertes demonstrates he is willing to do anything to
avenge his dad and sister:
“I would not, in plain terms, from this time forth Have you so slander any moment leisure As to
give words or talk with the Lord Hamlet. Look to ‘t, I charge you. Come your ways.” (Act 1, Sc
4., Pg. 49)
Without a doubt, all these characters in Hamlet demonstrate they would have done anything for
there family. However, there actions betray the notion behind the statement “Families generally
have a member’s best interest in mind.”

W.11-12.1a: Write arguments to support claims in an analysis of substantive topics or texts,

using valid reasoning and relevant and sufficient evidence. (a) Introduce precise,
knowledgeable claim(s), establish the significance of the claim(s), distinguish the claim(s)
from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that logically sequences
claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.