Hamlet Vocabulary | 10 Essential Words | William Shakespeare

Study 10 essential vocabulary words from Shakespeare's Hamlet, including soliloquy, procrastination, and existential, with definitions, book examples, and a practice quiz.

CRAMBOOKNOTES Vocab Series

Essential Vocabulary

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

AP Literature Grades 10-12 10 Key Words Shakespearean Tragedy

Need a full summary? Check out our Hamlet - 5-Minute Cram Notes

Read Cram Notes

These 10 words describe both how Hamlet reveals his mind and what is happening around him. Half of them (soliloquy, existential, procrastination, feign) describe Hamlet's own way of thinking, doubting, and stalling out loud. The other half (corruption, treachery, usurpation, revenge) describe the crime he is stalling about: a murder and a stolen throne that poison the entire Danish court. Learning these words in context makes them easier to recall on both a literature exam and the SAT, since several of them (soliloquy, ambiguity, existential) show up constantly in AP Lit essay prompts.

Word List

Word	Part of Speech	Definition	Example from the Book
Soliloquy	noun	A speech in which a character alone on stage reveals private thoughts to the audience	"Hamlet delivers his most famous soliloquy, asking whether it is nobler to suffer life's hardships or to end them by death"
Corruption	noun	Moral decay caused by power; dishonest behavior in those who hold authority	"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark - the corruption begins with Claudius's secret murder of his own brother"
Ambiguity	noun	Uncertainty of meaning; open to more than one interpretation	"Shakespeare leaves Ophelia's death in ambiguity - it is never made clear whether she fell or let herself drown"
Revenge	noun	The act of harming someone in return for a wrong they have committed	"The ghost demands revenge, sending Hamlet on a quest to punish Claudius for his father's murder"
Feign	verb	To pretend or fake a feeling, illness, or condition	"Hamlet decides to feign madness so he can investigate his uncle's guilt without raising suspicion"
Mortality	noun	The state of being subject to death; awareness that life will end	"Holding Yorick's skull in the graveyard forces Hamlet to confront his own mortality directly"
Treachery	noun	Betrayal of trust; deceitful action against someone who trusts you	"Claudius's treachery against his own brother is the original crime that poisons the entire Danish court"
Procrastination	noun	Delaying or postponing an action that needs to be done	"Hamlet's procrastination keeps him from killing Claudius even when he finds his uncle alone and unguarded"
Usurpation	noun	The wrongful or illegal seizure of power or a position	"Claudius's usurpation of the throne combines with murder and marriage to steal everything that was Hamlet's father's"
Existential	adjective	Concerned with the meaning, value, and purpose of human existence	"Hamlet's existential questioning reaches its peak in the to be or not to be soliloquy about the nature of life and death"

Look-Alike Words

Related but Distinct · An Act vs. Its Result

Treachery

Betraying someone's trust through deceitful action.

Usurpation

Wrongfully or illegally seizing power or a position.

Tip: Claudius's treachery against his own brother is the deceitful act itself. Usurpation is what that act achieves: taking the throne that was never rightfully his.

Commonly Confused · Delay vs. Uncertainty

Procrastination

Putting off an action that needs to be done.

Ambiguity

Uncertainty of meaning, open to more than one interpretation.

Tip: Hamlet's procrastination is about not acting. Ophelia's death being left in ambiguity is about not knowing, whether it was accident or suicide is never resolved.

Commonly Confused · Performance vs. Genuine Thought

Feign

Pretending or faking a feeling, illness, or condition.

Existential

Genuinely concerned with the meaning and purpose of existence.

Tip: Hamlet feigns madness as a strategy, a performance he controls. His existential questioning in "to be or not to be" is not a performance at all, it is real doubt about whether life is worth continuing.

Vocabulary Video

Watch - Essential Vocabulary from Hamlet

Practice Quiz

Hamlet - Vocabulary Quiz

Question 1 of 10

In his most famous __________, Hamlet debates whether it is nobler to endure life's suffering or to end it.

Question 2 of 10

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark - the __________ that begins with Claudius's secret murder spreads through the whole royal court.

Question 3 of 10

Shakespeare leaves Ophelia's death shrouded in __________ - readers can never be sure if she fell by accident or let herself sink.

Question 4 of 10

The ghost of King Hamlet demands __________ against Claudius for the murder that stole both his crown and his queen.

Question 5 of 10

Hamlet decides to __________ madness so he can investigate his uncle's guilt without raising suspicion.

Question 6 of 10

Holding Yorick's skull in the graveyard forces Hamlet to confront his own __________ face to face.

Question 7 of 10

Claudius's __________ against his own brother, poisoning him in the garden, sets the entire tragedy into motion.

Question 8 of 10

Hamlet's __________ keeps him from killing Claudius even when he catches him alone and unguarded.

Question 9 of 10

Claudius's __________ of the Danish throne is the original crime - one act of murder that poisons everything that follows.

Question 10 of 10

Hamlet's __________ questioning reaches its peak in the to be or not to be soliloquy, as he weighs the meaning of life and death itself.

out of 10 correct

Full explanations for every question appear below after you check your answers.

Answer Key & Explanations

1Soliloquy. A speech alone on stage debating whether to endure or end life's suffering is exactly what a soliloquy is, a character revealing private thoughts to the audience.

2Corruption. Moral decay spreading outward from Claudius's secret murder describes corruption, not a single act of treachery or usurpation.

3Ambiguity. Leaving Ophelia's death open to more than one interpretation, accident or suicide, is exactly what ambiguity means.

4Revenge. The ghost demanding punishment for a wrong already committed against him is asking for revenge, not simple corruption.

5Feign. Pretending to be mad as a strategy to investigate without raising suspicion is feigning, not genuinely experiencing madness.

6Mortality. Holding a skull and confronting the fact that everyone dies is confronting mortality directly.

7Treachery. Murdering his own trusting brother is treachery, a betrayal of trust, distinct from the usurpation of the throne that follows it.

8Procrastination. Repeatedly failing to act even when the opportunity is right in front of him is procrastination, not simple revenge.

9Usurpation. Illegally seizing the Danish throne through murder is usurpation, the wrongful taking of a position, not corruption itself.

10Existential. Weighing the meaning and value of life and death itself is existential questioning, distinct from ambiguity or treachery.

CramBookNotes.com - Free study guides for students & educators - Back to Home