Hamlet Group
Question:
tina-blina
Student
High School - 12th Grade
Answers:
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clane Teacher
High School - 10th GradePosted by clane on Friday December 7, 2007 at 6:20 PMHe will not tell Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and the others who have come where the body is because he knows that they are not his friends. Hamlet knows that they are in the employ with the king and are trying to find some fault in Hamlet. If he tells them where the body is, the king might finally have the fuel he needs to get rid of Prince Hamlet for good, therefore enjoying the spoils of his first murder even more. Hamlet tries to tell them all that the king is just using them and that he's deceitful, but they are not wise and do not understand. In the end the King tells Hamlet that he must go to England for "his safety".
Hamlet is wise and approaches the situation with caution so this is not an act of madness on his part.
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malibrarian Teacher
High School - 12th GradePosted by malibrarian on Monday December 17, 2007 at 9:48 AMI believe this to be a continuation of Hamlet's feigning madness, but I doubt that Hamlet is truly mad. Remember that he had decided to put on this act for everyone, to initially keep Claudius from suspecting that he knew of Claudius' guilt for the murder. In addition, Hamlet has no clue who he can trust other than Horatio, so this pretending to be mad helps keep everyone at a distance from him. Refusing to tell where Polonius' body is seems to be just a continuation of this act of madness, although I think it was also a way for Hamlet to toy with Claudius by giving his rather gruesome thoughts on death and how "a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar."
Also keep in mind that Hamlet does eventually tell them that the body can be found under the stairs. Hamlet was keeping control over the situation for as long as he could, throwing Claudius more and more off balance, before allowing them to find Polonius for burial.