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Hamlet thinks Polonius is Claudius. He says, "Is't not the king?" His mistake is reasonable, since Polonius is hiding behind a curtain in Gertrude's bedroom, not the place where one would suspect men other than her husband.
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What events led up to hamlet's death?
Laertes challenges Hamlet to a Fencing contest. Laertes treats his blade with poison and Claudius has a backup plan of poisoning Hamlet's wine.
Who is the friend of shakespeare in hamlet?
Hamlets friends are Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Horation. However throughout the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern turn against Hamlet (not going to spoil how!) which leads to their downfall. Horation never goes against Hamlet, he is always there for him when Hamlet needs him. Hamlet is the best play by Shakespeare!!
Which females played many of the leads in shakespeares plays?
Very few, since the leads are more often than not male roles. Not that this has stopped some actresses. Sarah Bernhart's Hamlet was much remarked on. So was Charlotte Cushman's Romeo (she preferred the male roles anyway). Diane Venora has not only played Ophelia (to Kevin Kline's Hamlet) and Gertrude (to Ethan Hawke's Hamlet) but has also played Hamlet, although on stage, not on film. The roles of Cleopatra and Rosalind (in As You Like It) are the closest Shakespeare comes to true female leads, and every Shakespearean actress worth her salt has had a whack at them.
What is the name of the antagonist in Hamlet?
Claudius, the king is Hamlet's major antagonist. He is a shrewd, lustful, conniving king who contrasts sharply with the other male characters in the play. Whereas most of the other important men in Hamlet are preoccupied with ideas of justice, revenge, and moral balance, Claudius is bent upon maintaining his own power. The old King Hamlet was apparently a stern warrior, but Claudius is a corrupt politician whose main weapon is his ability to manipulate others through his skillful use of language. Claudius's speech is compared to poison being poured in the ear-the method he used to murder Hamlet's father. Claudius's love for Gertrude may be sincere, but it also seems likely that he married her as a strategic move, to help him win the throne away from Hamlet after the death of the king. As the play progresses, Claudius's mounting fear of Hamlet's insanity leads him to ever greater self-preoccupation; when Gertrude tells him that Hamlet has killed Polonius, Claudius does not remark that Gertrude might have been in danger, but only that he would have been in danger had he been in the room. He tells Laertes the same thing as he attempts to soothe the young man's anger after his father's death. Claudius is ultimately too crafty for his own good. In Act V, scene ii, rather than allowing Laertes only two methods of killing Hamlet, the sharpened sword and the poison on the blade, Claudius insists on a third, the poisoned goblet. When Gertrude inadvertently drinks the poison and dies, Hamlet is at last able to bring himself to kill Claudius, and the king is felled by his own cowardly
Does Hamlet enjoy confusing Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when they come to tell him to go to his mother?
Oh, yes, he loves it. He wilfully misunderstands them and leads them off on tangents just to baffle them. Eventually, in this scene, he gets tired of fencing with them and outright accuses them of attempting to manipulate him so as to find out more about him (which, of course, is exactly what they are doing). Guildenstern gives the mealy-mouthed answer "Oh, my lord, if my duty be too bold, my love is too unmannerly" which is to say "We're only doing this because we care about you." and Hamlet gets really mad at them and compares what they are doing to playing a musical instrument. Basically, by the end of the scene he tells them to get lost, and for the rest of the play he holds them in utter contempt (see the next time they meet when Hamlet calls Rosencrantz a sponge)
What trap does Polonius set for Hamlet?
Basically, he knows that Hamlet usually walks alone through the lobby of the castle, and, at such a time, they (Polonius and Claudius) could hide behind an arras (a curtain or wall hanging) while Ophelia confronts Hamlet, allowing them to see for themselves whether Hamlet's madness really emanates from his love for her.
What is Hamlet's character flaw and explain how it causes his downfall.?
Hamlet's character flaw is that he is too patient about waiting for the perfect moment in time to kill King Claudius. His patience is what leads to the death of him and the ones he and the audience care about. The Queen, Polonius, Ophelia, Laertes, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern perhaps, and Hamlet himself.
How does Polonius respond to his daughter?
Polonius may actually care about his daughter, Ophelia but it's not very evident in his actions. He clearly is more concerned with his own personal reputation than his 2 children, Laertes and Ophelia.
What does the term grave mistake mean?
A mistake that leads to a death or curious effect
What events led up to hamlet's death?
Laertes challenges Hamlet to a Fencing contest. Laertes treats his blade with poison and Claudius has a backup plan of poisoning Hamlet's wine.
Consider how the episode of Hamlet in Ophelia's closet promises to contribute to the overall calamity of the tragic plot?
It prefigures the difficulty in Hamlet's relationship with Ophelia. Hamlet is figuring out that she cannot be trusted to keep his secrets or to understand the complexities of his situation. That is why he gives her a long hard look (as if he would draw her) but yet says nothing. Ophelia's tragedy is that she does not have the ability to plan her way through the dangerous world of the Danish court. Laertes knows she is weak-willed and advises her and then disappears to France. Polonius gives her a bunch of advice and then uses her shamefully. Hamlet pushes her away. They all abandon her which leads to madness and death.
Who is the friend of shakespeare in hamlet?
Hamlets friends are Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and Horation. However throughout the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern turn against Hamlet (not going to spoil how!) which leads to their downfall. Horation never goes against Hamlet, he is always there for him when Hamlet needs him. Hamlet is the best play by Shakespeare!!
What is the revenge in Hamlet?
Revenge is what drives the majority of the action of the play. It is the obligation Hamlet is given by the ghost of his father early on in the play and shapes most of the interactions between characters from that moment on. The complicated morality of revenge is a large part of Hamlet's torment. The revenge motive is what makes Hamlet "feign" madness and establishes the chain of events that leads to Ophelia's madness and death, as well as the enormous body count that amasses by the end of the play.
Which females played many of the leads in shakespeares plays?
Very few, since the leads are more often than not male roles. Not that this has stopped some actresses. Sarah Bernhart's Hamlet was much remarked on. So was Charlotte Cushman's Romeo (she preferred the male roles anyway). Diane Venora has not only played Ophelia (to Kevin Kline's Hamlet) and Gertrude (to Ethan Hawke's Hamlet) but has also played Hamlet, although on stage, not on film. The roles of Cleopatra and Rosalind (in As You Like It) are the closest Shakespeare comes to true female leads, and every Shakespearean actress worth her salt has had a whack at them.
What are the themes of Hamlet?
Revenge. Madness and abnormal states of mind/ melancholy Play within a play Antique disposition Death & Disease supernatural Intrigue and deception the impossibility of certainty is also quite important as all of Hamlets procrastinating and deliberating, and attempting to justify his actions over killing the king, unfortunately not only leads to the kings death, but also Laertes, Gertrude, Ophelia, Polonius and his own.
Whom do the phelps's mistake huck for?
The Phelps mistake Huck for Tom Sawyer, which leads to confusion and mistaken identity throughout their interactions with him. Huck goes along with the mistake in order to help Jim escape.
Many of Hamlet's problems stem from?
If there was a simple answer to this, everyone would have forgotten about the play long ago. Here are some suggestions. 1. Hamlet has a defective character, in that he is indecisive which does not change or alter during the play and which prevents him from carrying out his revenge. Sort of hard to reconcile with his decisiveness during the pirate attack and in the Closet Scene. 2. Hamlet loves his mother too much and is secretly jealous of his stepfather. He would have approached the matter more sensibly had he not had this Oedipal problem. This problem is apparent before he even hears about the ghost, in his "O that this too too solid flesh" speech. 3. Hamlet is a man caught between the medieval duty of revenge and the modern sensibility that such behaviour leads to chaos. Torn between these poles, he sometimes acts like a medieval man and sometimes like a modern man. 4. Hamlet is actually insane and delusional. He has projected his hatred of the king into the mouth of the ghost. The fact that Claudius did actually kill Hamlet's father is a coincidence. 5. Hamlet's problems all come from Claudius. He is the villain of the piece, and caused the problems by killing Hamlet Sr., then by planting spies on Hamlet (including Polonius who is killed because he is a spy), then by sending Hamlet to England, and finally by arranging the fencing match with Laertes. Hamlet is thrown that way and this while trying to dodge these constant attacks.
