Hamlet

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1. 
   luannw Teacher
   High School - 11th Grade

   In Act 4, sc. 5, Laertes asks Claudius why his father's funeral was so limited - why Polonius wasn't given any military rites or formality.  Claudius merely responds that Laertes has a right to question how Polonius died and that he hopes the guilty party will be punished by death.  Then in sc. 7 of that act, Laertes asks Claudius why Hamlet wasn't dealt with like a criminal since Hamlet killed Polonius.  The question regarding the limited funeral isn't addressed directly.  Claudius explains though that he couldn't deal with Hamlet like any other criminal because Hamlet is so loved by the people of Denmark.  He says that any faults Hamlet has are turned into virtues by the people so if he, Claudius, tried to punish Hamlet, the people would have turned against Claudius.  Claudius goes on, later in the scene, to tell Laertes that he has a plan that may allow Laertes to kill Hamlet.   

   Sources:

   http://www.enotes.com/hamlet

   http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/act-iv-scene-5-summary-analysis

   http://www.enotes.com/hamlet/act-iv-scene-7-summary-analysis

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   Posted by luannw on Tuesday April 22, 2008 at 9:41 AM
   
   

2. 
   muskwagirl2008 Student
   High School - 12th Grade

   polonius was from the court and was an important person to the kingdom, he didn't want anyone to know who killed polonius, so he had the funeral private because denmark loved hamlet and it was an accident that hamlet killed polonius, he thought it was claudius behind the curtain.

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   Posted by muskwagirl2008 on Thursday April 24, 2008 at 10:42 AM