Questions and Answers for Hamlet
Hamlet
In act 1, scene 3, of Hamlet, what is Polonius's advice to Laertes?
Polonius gives his son, Laertes, lots of advice prior to Laertes leaving Denmark to return to the European continent. He says, Give thy thoughts no tongue, Nor any unproportioned thought thy act...
Hamlet
Why does Hamlet tell Ophelia to go "to a nunnery," and what does he give as his reason?
Though the precise meaning of Hamlet's outburst is by no means clear, particularly owing to the double meaning of "nunnery," there is no denying that his words are positively dripping with...
Hamlet
Explain the significance of Hamlet's soliloquy in act 2, scene 2 of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. (Please include...
Hamlet's soliloquy is important for a number of reasons. Firstly, he made a pledge to his father's ghost to act swiftly to avenge his father's murder. In the soliloquy, Hamlet expresses anger at...
Hamlet
Why didn't Hamlet kill Claudius when he had the chance at the end of act 3, scene 3?
Now might I do it pat, now he is praying;And now I'll do't. And so he goes to heaven,And so am I revenged. (3.3.76-78) In these opening lines of his famous speech in act 3, scene 3 of...
Hamlet
What literary devices are used in the "To be or not to be" soliloquy in Shakespeare's Hamlet?
Hamlet’s most celebrated soliloquy is particularly full of metaphors and arresting visual images. We have the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” taking arms against a sea of troubles (a...
Hamlet
What is the importance of the gravedigger scene in the story of Hamlet?
In act 5, scene 1 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, often referred to as the "gravedigger scene" or the "Alas, poor Yorick" scene, not only does Shakespeare provide the audience with a scene of comic...
Hamlet
What does "A little more than kin, and less than kind" mean?
When Hamlet's father, King Hamlet, dies suddenly and unexpectedly, Hamlet comes home for the funeral. Close on the heels of the funeral—so close that Hamlet can darkly joke that Claudius uses...
Hamlet
What happens to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in Hamlet?
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two of Hamlet's friends who agree to work for King Claudius but become the unfortunate victims of his wicked plot to kill the prince. When Rosencrantz and...
Hamlet
How does Claudius react to Hamlet's play?
In act three, scene two, Hamlet has the players reenact his father's assassination during the play The Murder of Gonzago in order to unveil Claudius's innocence or guilt in the death of his father....
Hamlet
How Did King Hamlet Die
Well, let us look at the actual text. In this way, we can see the ghost's description of his death first proclaimed as "murder most foul." First, the ghost sets the scene and gets right to the...
Hamlet
What is the meaning of the following quote? "My words fly up, My thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never...
Effectively, what Claudius is saying here is that he has not been praying in earnest, and therefore God will not hear his words. Claudius says that his "words fly up," as he offers them to heaven,...
Hamlet
What does it mean when Ophelia says, “Lord, we know what we are, but not what we may be." How do these ideas relate...
One should understand that Ophelia, at this point, is experiencing a mental breakdown. She has been confused by Hamlet's ambiguous words and actions and has been admonished by both her father and...
Hamlet
What does "time is out of joint" mean to Hamlet?
As always when examining a quotation, it's important to know the precise context in which it was uttered. In the case of this particular quotation from Act 1, Scene 5 of Hamlet, the title character...
Hamlet
What are some quotations from Hamlet that indicate that Hamlet wants to kill Claudius at the right moment, when he is...
I'll just add a bit to sfwriter's excellent answer above, concerning Shakespeare's Hamlet. When Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius while the king is at prayer because he doesn't want to send the...
Hamlet
In act 2, scene 2, what use does Hamlet plan to make of the players?
In act 2, scene 2 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, it's not until very near the end of this very long scene that Hamlet's intentions regarding the troupe of travelling players (actors) becomes clear. It's...
Hamlet
Why Does Claudius Send Hamlet To England
Claudius first decides to send Hamlet to England because he's afraid of what Hamlet knows about his murdered father, and because Claudius thinks that a change of scenery might help cure his...
Hamlet
Metaphors In Hamlet
A simple but highly effective metaphor comes in act 2, scene 2 of Hamlet when Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern bluntly that Denmark's a prison. (II, ii, 227) This is a clear example of a...
Hamlet
Why does Hamlet decide to pretend to be mad? After his interview with his father's ghost, Hamlet makes Horatio and...
If Hamlet pretends to be mad he is only going to attract more attention to himself. Everybody will be watching him and gossiping about him. How is this going to help him plot against Claudius?...
Hamlet
In which act and scene does Hamlet say/decide to act crazy? I am writing a paper about Hamlet.
After Hamlet sees the ghost of his father in act 1, scene 5 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet tells Horatio and Marcellus that he intends "To put an antic disposition on" (1.5.192). The common...
Hamlet
"I could be bounded in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams." -...
Hamlet has been, up to this point, a relatively sane individual. He seemed to do all the expected things for a young prince. I think that the clues in this passage are about his royalty and...
Hamlet
Why does Hamlet kill Polonius?
Hamlet impulsively stabs Polonius, who is hiding behind an arras in Gertrude's room, because he believes that Polonius is Claudius. Hamlet unintentionally kills Polonius, and the accident is...
Hamlet
What is "The Murder of Gonzago" in Hamlet, II.ii?
Hamlet tells the audience in act 2, scene 2 that he will have the players, who arrive at Elsinore in this scene, "Play something like the murder of my father / Before mine uncle." He intends, in...
Hamlet
What does Claudius say he gained by killing King Hamlet?
In act 3, scene 3, Polonius leaves Claudius by himself to pray at his altar, where Claudius admits his motivation for killing his King Hamlet. Interestingly, Claudius mentions that he will not ask...
Hamlet
How does Hamlet react to the death of his father in Hamlet?
Hamlet is utterly devastated about his father's death and is disgusted that his mother, Gertrude, has already married his uncle in less than two months after King Hamlet's death. Prince Hamlet...
Hamlet
What advice does Polonius give his son, Laertes, in Hamlet?
Giving unsolicited advice seems to be a character trait of the people in Polonius's family. In act 1, scene 3 of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Laertes is preparing to board a ship to France, which is the...
Hamlet
In Hamlet, what does Hamlet mean when he says, "I am too much i' the sun"?
Hamlet is being sarcastic in regards to his new relationship with Claudius. Two months ago, Claudius was his uncle, now he is Hamlet's step-father. That is kind of mind-boggling and gross to us,...
Hamlet
How did Ophelia die in William Shakespeare's Hamlet?
In Hamlet, by William Shakespeare, Ophelia is the daughter of the king's counselor, Polonius, and the woman Hamlet loves. Whether or not Hamlet's love for Ophelia is real, it is clear that Ophelia...
Hamlet
Why does Hamlet call Polonius a fishmonger?
In Act II, scene ii, of Hamlet, Polonius approaches Hamlet to incite a display of Hamlet's madness to be able to give confirmation and explanation of it to Queen Gertrude and King Claudius. When...
Hamlet
What is the Hecuba speech in Shakespeare's Hamlet about?
This soliloquy at the end of Act II scene ii shows Hamlet considering the way the acting he has just witnessed was able to access such powerful depths of emotion even though the performance was...
Hamlet
In Hamlet, why does Polonius send Reynaldo after Laertes?
This is what Polonius has to say about that: “What was I about to say? By the mass, I was about to say something! Where did I leave?” In other words, not even Polonius really knows why he sends a...
Hamlet
What are some of Hamlet's internal conflicts?
Hamlet feels betrayed by everyone around him, and this causes great internal conflict. His greatest fear is that the Ghost's words are true and that his uncle has actually murdered his father. If...
Hamlet
What's the meaning of this quote from Hamlet: "We're oft to blame and this is just too much proved that with...
The literal meaning of this quotation from Hamlet is that people are often hypocrites. We use an appearance of religious devotion and piety to cover the evil in ourselves. This sounds like one of...
Hamlet
Does Hamlet feel guilty about killing Polonius? Is there a quote for it?
As an audience, we tend to identify strongly with Hamlet and his anguish over his father's death. We feel even more sympathy for him when we find out that his father was murdered by his own brother...
Hamlet
Hamlet tries to kill Claudius three times. What are they?
The first of Hamlet's three attempts to kill Claudius takes place in act 3, scene 3. Claudius is kneeling down at prayer, seeking forgiveness for the murder of his brother, old King Hamlet. Hamlet...
Hamlet
What moral lessons can be learned from Shakespeare's Hamlet?
Shakespeare's Hamlet is full of moral instructions. For example, there is Polonius' famous advice to his son Laertes in Act 1, Scene 3. Polonius is portrayed as old and rather senile. Hamlet calls...
Hamlet
Describe Hamlet's behavior towards Polonius.
Hamlet treats Polonius with contempt because Polonius is a sycophant and a meddler. The older man's motivations center around gaining favor in high places. He tries to present the love of Ophelia...
Hamlet
What Happens At The End Of Hamlet
Hamlet accepts Laertes' challenge to a duel. Hamlet is pricked with Laertes sword, which is laced with poison. They take a break and the King urges Hamlet to drink from the poisoned cup....
Hamlet
What does the ghost tell Hamlet to do in the early part of Hamlet?
In act 1, scene 5, the ghost of Hamlet's father urges the prince to seek revenge. At first, Hamlet expresses pity for the ghost's plight, but the ghost tells him not to feel bad for him. Instead,...
Hamlet
What is Hamlet all about? What are the themes and messages throughout the play?
Hamlet is arguably one of Shakespeare's most famous plays. It is tragedy (by the end of it, nearly all the main characters are dead) that centers around the corruption of the Danish court. The old...
Hamlet
In act 4 of Hamlet, what do Ophelia's songs imply?
From early in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Ophelia's brother, Laertes, and her father, Polonius, express concern to Ophelia about her relationship with Hamlet. The first time Ophelia appears in the play,...
Hamlet
In Act II of Hamlet, why does Hamlet call Polonius a "fishmonger"?
Hamlet's first reason for calling Polonius a fishmonger is probably to make the old man think he is insane--i.e. that he really doesn't recognize him but thinks he is a complete stranger. Hamlet...
Hamlet
Describe Hamlet's appearance as he appeared to Ophelia in her "closet." What was her reaction to him?
There's dramatic irony in this encounter, meaning that we as an audience know something that neither Ophelia, nor her father Polonius, to whom she's telling the story, do: that Hamlet has run to...
Hamlet
In "Hamlet", when does Claudius admit he is guilty during prayer?
Claudius is overcome by guilt in Act lll, Scene 3. Before he kneels down to pray for redemption, he utters a long-winded monologue in which he confesses his crime. Claudius states that his crime is...
Hamlet
How does Ophelia take the news of her father’s death in Hamlet?
The last time we see Ophelia on stage, prior to her father's murder by Hamlet, is just before the start of the play by which Hamlet hopes to get his uncle/stepfather, Claudius, to betray himself as...
Hamlet
Why does Hamlet call the world "an unweeded garden"?
Hamlet is comparing humanity to the things growing in an unweeded garden that grows to seed. Such neglected gardens are commonly seen where houses have been standing vacant for a long time. Hamlet...
Hamlet
What role do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern play and what is Hamlet's attitude towards them? Why?
Tom Stoppard wrote a play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which is a “’worm’s-eye view of Hamlet,’” presented from the perspectives of these two minor characters.” The title of the play, of...
Hamlet
In Hamlet, what does the quote "If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not now, yet it will come" mean?
During the course of the play, Hamlet grows and changes. Early in the play, he is filled with anguish about whether God is real (he questions whether death id oblivion or there is an afterlife). He...
Hamlet
What are some examples of irony in Hamlet? Mainly in the first 3 acts of the play, what are some examples of dramatic...
Irony creates such pleasure in the reader because we like to feel smart -- like we know more than everyone else. Sometimes we know more story facts; sometimes we appreciate a particular tone of...
Hamlet
What does Polonius assign Reynaldo to do in Hamlet, act 2, scene 1?
The character of Polonius, in Shakespeare's Hamlet, proves himself to be a questionable parent at best when he asks "his man" Reynaldo to search out Laertes in France in order to examine Laertes'...
Hamlet
What is the significance of this quote in Shakespeare's Hamlet? "I have of late—but wherefore I know not..." I have...
In this scene (Act Two, scene two) of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet is extremely depressed. His father is dead—murdered by his uncle; his mother has seemingly forgotten her loving marriage to Old...
Showing 1-50 of 4227