Component 1: Drama and poetry pre-1900

Hamlet — Act 3 Scene 1 To be, or not to be, that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep, No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub: For in that sleep of death what dreams may come, When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause—there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life. Discuss Shakespeare's presentation of Hamlet's state of mind in this extract.

Hamlet Discuss the view that Hamlet is 'a play about the impossibility of certainty'. In your answer you should consider different interpretations and relevant contexts.

Section B — Family 'Family loyalty is always in conflict with personal desire.' Compare the ways in which writers explore family relationships in the drama and poetry texts you have studied.