Act 3 Reading with Purpose 1. Read Claudius’s soliloquy aloud. Mark or underline words and phrases that stand out as particularly crucial to the significance of his speech. After you have finished, answer the following questions and discuss your answers with your group.

What does Claudius wish he could pray for? He doesnt wanna sin and for the murder of his brother.

How does Claudius perceive himself? Consider the following three passages when you compose your
- “And, like a man to double business bound, / I stand in pause where I shall first begin, / And both neglect”
- “And what’s in prayer but this twofold force, / To be forestalled ere we come to fall / Or pardon’d being down?”
- “O limèd soul, that struggling to be free / Art more engag’d!”

What do we know about Claudius’s state of mind now that you would not know if you had not read this soliloquy?

2. Read Hamlet’s soliloquy aloud. Mark or underline words and phrases that stand out to you as particularly crucial to the significance of his speech. After you have finished, answer the following questions and discuss your answers with your group.

· Hamlet comes upon Claudius alone and defenseless and immediately thinks to kill him; why does the thought of sending Claudius’s soul to heaven make Hamlet hesitate?