Topic Four (1.4): Reading the Play – Act III

Introduction

In this topic, you will continue to read Hamlet. You will now focus on Act III, making detailed notes and annotations as you go.

Read and Make Notes

Read and make notes on Act III, on pages 309 to 384, using the resources and guidance below.

Tasks

• Deal with one scene at a time.
• For every scene, you should:
  • Highlight important quotations as you go along;
  • Read the accompanying notes in the text at the same time;
  • Use the Sparknotes summary and analysis to consolidate your understanding once you have finished reading:

EXPLORE – Scene by Scene Summary and Analysis (Sparknotes) Links to an external site.

• • Make a very brief summary of the scene, listing key events using simple bullet points. This will be an important ‘map’ of the events of the play to which you can refer later on.

Terminology

Make sure you understand any new literary terminology covered in this topic. You may like to make flashcards of key terms now, to help you with revision later on.