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Why has Shakespeare made the choice for the Ghost to be seen and heard only by Hamlet?
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∙ 7y ago
He did not. The ghost is only heard by Hamlet but Bernardo, Marcellus and Horatio see it. This is a clue to us that the ghost is not just a figment of Hamlet's imagination. Gertrude, however, cannot see or hear the ghost even when it is present in the same room. This suggests that the ghost can appear to anyone if that suits its purpose; it is important to be seen by the guards so they will bring it to Hamlet's attention, but also important that he not be seen to be involved by his widow. But the real reason, as ever in a Shakespeare play, is dramatic. The scenes where the ghost appears to the guards is a dramatic scene good for opening the play, and the fact that they have seen the ghost allows for a number of wonderful scenes: Horatio's description of the ghost in 1,2, the attempts by Horatio to hold Hamlet back in 1,3, and Hamlet's insistence that they swear an oath of secrecy. All of this would be lost if the Ghost was visible only to Hamlet. But in Act 3, the scene is between Hamlet and Gertrude, and the ghost is a minor distraction. Having him appear to Gertrude would necessitate some kind of confrontation between them, and the scene would become one between Gertrude and the Ghost and Hamlet would be superfluous. Since such a scene is not necessary to the plot (Hamlet will convince Gertrude of Claudius's guilt without the help of the ghost), Shakespeare wisely avoided it.
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∙ 7y ago
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Hamlet swears horatio for two things what are they?
Hamlet and Horatio do not run into each other at the very beginning of the play; it Act I Scene 2 before they meet, and Hamlet already has one soliloquy under his belt. Nor does he talk at all about swearing until after he has seen and talked to the ghost, in Scene 5. Then he asks Horatio and Marcellus to swear "Never make known what you have seen tonight," and "Never to speak of this that you have seen," and "Never to speak of this that you have heard, " which are all pretty much the same thing. He also gets them to swear "never, so help you mercy, how strange or odd soe'er I bear myself . . . note that you know aught of me." This is a bit different. The first three oaths are "don't tell anyone about the ghost." but the fourth one is "If I start acting weird, don't let on that you know the reason why."
What are the 5 tragedies of Shakespeare?
Shakespeare's five greatest tragedies are Hamlet, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Macbeth. Those five plays are used in countless English classes throughout the world and are also highly translated.
What is shakspeares most internationally famous play?
It is difficult to say. Most people have heard of Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet. They know the plays they studied in school. Many of them will not have any contact with Shakespeare after.
Did Shakespeare write only 15 plays?
No. Shakespeare wrote over 38 plays. Some of them you may not have heard about, however.
What was shakespeares most famous quotes?
There is no objective way to prove that something is more famous than something else. However, just about everyone will have heard the quotation "To be or not to be; that is the question" from Hamlet. Also from Hamlet, the quotation, "Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him Horatio", usually misquoted as "Alas poor Yorick, I knew him well." Many people have also heard of "O, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo" although it is frequently misunderstood by those who do not know the meaning of "wherefore". Some lines from Shakespeare have seeped into our everyday speech in altered form so that we do not recognize them as Shakespeare quotations any more, such as "there's method in his madness" ("Though this be madness, yet there's method in't"-Hamlet), "all that glitters is not gold" ("All that glisters is not gold"-The Merchant of Venice), or "gilding the lily" ("to gild refined gold, to paint the lily"-King John).
In Act I Hamlet swears Horatio to two things. What are they?
"Never to speak of this that you have heard", by which he means the appearance of the ghost, although Horatio heard nothing from the ghost's lips. Also, "How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself . . .that you, at such times seeing me, never shall . . . note that you know aught of me." Horatio and Marcellus are not to suggest even that they have an idea why Hamlet is doing what he is doing.
What happened just before Hamlet sees the ghost in Act I Scene 4?
He and Horatio heard a cannon go off to celebrate a toast the king was making. Hamlet thinks it is a custom more honoured in the breach than the observance.
Why has horatio been asked to join the night watch?
Hamlet wants to find out who the ghost is and why it is coasting around at night. Hamlet has heard from the guards that work nights that there is a mess in Denmark. So being brave, Hamlet goes along with the guards one night and mets up with his father's spirit.
Was Hamlet the character based upon Shakespeare's father?
There is no reason to believe so. The story of Hamlet was well-known long before Shakespeare heard about it, and some of the lines of his character were already drawn. Whether he was inspired to change aspects of that character by someone he knew is anyone's guess.
What are William Shakespeare's two most famous plays?
Probably the most famous are Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet; those are the two everybody seems to have heard of. Hamlet is also considered to be one of Shakespeare's greatest plays along with King Lear, Macbeth and Othello. Romeo and Juliet does not usually make this list. There is a prejudice in favour of Shakespeare's tragedies; for some reason a lot of people seem to think that sad plays are "greater" than happy ones.
How do you say have in Elizabethan English?
Shakespeare's language was English and "have" in English is "have". "I have of late, but wherefore I know not . . ." (Hamlet) "I have another daughter" (King Lear) "We have heard the chimes at midnight" (2 Henry IV)
What is a line which the audience hears but the other characters don't?
In the play "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare, the line "The lady doth protest too much, methinks" is heard by the audience watching the play within the play, but the characters onstage do not hear it. This line reveals the queen's guilt in the murder of King Hamlet.
What is the paragraph talking about at the end of act 2 in hamlet?
Hamlet is making comparisons between the emotions which the actors portray and real emotions as they are felt by people. Just prior, the lead actor had given a very moving speech and had managed to make tears run down his face, now Hamlet, who has every cause for an emotional tirade, must hold his own emotions in check until he can prove Claudius's guilt, and he plans on using the play to make Claudius betray himself.
Whose ghost may be heard?
According to A.B. (Banjo) Paterson, the ghost of a jolly swagman may be heard, as it sings in the billabong.
Hamlet swears horatio for two things what are they?
Hamlet and Horatio do not run into each other at the very beginning of the play; it Act I Scene 2 before they meet, and Hamlet already has one soliloquy under his belt. Nor does he talk at all about swearing until after he has seen and talked to the ghost, in Scene 5. Then he asks Horatio and Marcellus to swear "Never make known what you have seen tonight," and "Never to speak of this that you have seen," and "Never to speak of this that you have heard, " which are all pretty much the same thing. He also gets them to swear "never, so help you mercy, how strange or odd soe'er I bear myself . . . note that you know aught of me." This is a bit different. The first three oaths are "don't tell anyone about the ghost." but the fourth one is "If I start acting weird, don't let on that you know the reason why."
What are the 5 tragedies of Shakespeare?
Shakespeare's five greatest tragedies are Hamlet, King Lear, Romeo and Juliet, Othello, and Macbeth. Those five plays are used in countless English classes throughout the world and are also highly translated.
What is the emotion Hamlet has through out the play?
Hamlet shows the same emotion throughout the play only in very bad productions. In reality he shows a number of emotions: he is disgusted by his mother, excited by the appearance of the ghost, then frightened by it, then stunned by what he has heard. He is sarcastic with Polonius and angry at Ophelia. He shows regret after killing Polonius and fighting with Laertes. In the closet scene with his mother he is at once angry with her and full of love for her. In Shakespeare, no character is trapped in one emotion; they go from emotion to emotion as they go from line to line, because their emotions are a by-product of the situation of the moment. That is one reason they are so real.
