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Hamlet: Context, Themes and Questions for AS/A Level (first teaching 2015)

Comprehensive notes, questions and exam-prep material. This pack investigates the key social, historical and theatrical contexts for a fuller, more sophisticated understanding of Hamlet. Updated with the 2015 A Level specifications in mind, this informative guide inspires students to go the extra mile in their journey towards exam success.

Expert contextual insight

Hamlet in its time
  • Explores the influential contexts of the play in depth including the religious setting, Renaissance ideas, Early Modern English society and other popular tragedies
  • Includes a carefully constructed historical timeline
Structured to promote discussion and deepen student understanding of core aspects of the play including characters, style, genre and theme.

Exam focus (New)

  • Original exam-style questions – great practice for the real thing!
  • Exam tips and sample essay answers with commentary – students know what to aim for and how much context to include in exams
  • Perfectly pitched to 2015 specs! – OCR, AQA, Edexcel and Eduqas

PLUS a critical bibliography with helpful quotations for essay answers!

A partner to the teacher's delivery of the text; it provides summaries of key aspects of the play. S Owen, English Teacher & Independent Reviewer


Feedback about previous editions of this resource
'I thought the resource was excellent. It is well-written, interesting and informative. Good advice is given on how to apply contexts to the text, with primary focus on the text itself. It provides a range of well-judged context material; socio-historical, theatrical, critical and so forth that will complement a close reading of the play. Advice on how to use these contexts is also pertinent and helpful to students.' N Bowen, Head of English and Independent Reviewer
'An appropriate, comprehensive resource for A Level students. Good structure and coverage... The advice given on how much context to give in examination situations is useful because this is something that many students find difficult to get to grips with at A Level.' S Alsop, English Teacher and Independent Reviewer
'The resource provides some useful information regarding the nature of tragedy, which would be tremendously useful for students as they work on the analytical essay for the drama unit.' A Farrell, Head of English and Independent Reviewer