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Hamlet
Includes questions specifically asking about this Shakespeare play. Questions about the movie version should be placed under "Movies." Questions about Shakespeare should be placed under his category under Authors and Poets.
2,117 Questions
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.
Who does not dies the court in hamlet?
As with most Shakespearian tragedies, most of the characters end up dying - Hamlet is no exception.
Polonius - mistakenly stabbed by Hamlet when he discovers Polonius spying on a conversation between him and Gertrude.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern - executed in England after delivering what they suppose to be orders from Claudius (Hamlet is in fact supposed to be executed by the English, but after discovering Claudius' plot Hamlet changes his own name on his death warrant to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern's)
Ophelia - drowned when gathering flowers near a body of water. There is speculation (within and without the play) as to whether or not Ophelia commits suicide after being driven mad by Hamlet's rejection of her and Polonius' death. In the play it states 'Her clothes spread wide/ and mermaid-like awhile they bore her up/ Which time she chanted snatches of old lauds/ As one incapable of her own distress', but it is unknown whether she knew that she was going to drown and didn't care, or if she just did not understand the significance of her situation. Or Gertrude could be intentionally making it look like an accident to spare Laertes's feelings.
Gertrude - drinks poisoned wine intended for Hamlet (Claudius poisons the wine). It's not clear whether she knew it was poisoned or not.
Claudius - poisoned and also stabbed by Hamlet, after Hamlet is fatally wounded.
Laertes - poisoned by his own sword in a duel with Hamlet. Laertes has poisoned the sword to ensure Hamlet's death, but during the duel Laertes drops his sword and it gets switched with Hamlet's.
Hamlet - Hamlet is poisoned by the same sword as Laetes, before Laertes drops his sword.
So, the final score is:
Two possible accidents or possible suicides (Gertrude and Ophelia)
One person killed by Laertes (Hamlet)
Five people killed by Hamlet (Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Laertes, Claudius)
Nobody killed by Claudius, unless you count King Hamlet who died before the play starts.
How is the major external conflict of Hamlet solved?
"There's a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them as we may." He finally comes to the conclusion that he cannot control the way events go, as much as he tries to. It is not up to him to create the perfect opportunity for revenge on Claudius, but to take the opportunity when and if it does present itself.
There are many, many twenty-first century people who think that they can control all possibilities and all chances. They think that they are in charge of the universe. They need to see this play.
What is meant by the whether clause in Hamlet's To be or not to be speech?
The other day I read To be or not to be (Shakespeare) -From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (2012 / 05 / 23) which I had happened to print out. It says in Interpretation that the third main point of disagreement about this speech is what the apparent theme of endurance vs. action (" to suffer..or..take arms ") has to do with being and nonbeing, and is further elaborated as follows, "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer...Or to take arms…" seems clearly to ask whether it is better to be stoically passive to life's troubles or heroically active against them. The trouble is how this relates to 'to be or not to be' ...
There is a considerable disagreement over the very question presented here in Interpretation ( how the theme of the whether clause relates to 'to be or not to be'), and I do not think that this quite reasonable question is attached as much importance as it should be.
The following is my interpretation of the first few lines of Hamlet's famous "to be or not to be" soliloquy, (To be, or not to be: that is the question:/ Whether 'tis nobler ~/And by opposing end them? [ To die: to sleep; / No more;]).
I would appreciate it very much if I could have any comments on it.
First of all, I assume that 'to be' means 'to live, to exist, to be alive, or to continue to exist' and 'not to be' 'to die, to cease to exist, or to commit suicide' and that in this soliloquy Hamlet uses 'to be' to allude to life and action and 'not to be' to death and inaction, though he is not talking directly about himself and thinking more generally about life or death; and I discuss the question on the premise that this assumption is correct.
The whether clause, which is most probably an amplification, seems generally thought to have much the same meaning as a common Japanese translation of this part: 'Which is nobler, to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?' But it is unreasonable and I do not agree, because 'To be, or not to be: that is the question.' and 'Whether 'tis nobler ~to suffer ~ , or to take ~?' are then two different questions that have different meanings, and the whether clause does not function as a consistent elaboration on the question of whether to continue to exist or not. I will give a supplementary explanation below.
In my judgment, the "or" in line 1 does not parallel the "or" in line 4, and to suffer ~ and to take ~ are two contrasting examples used to explain 'to be', and there is little doubt that Hamlet uses 'to be' to allude to life and action and 'not to be' to death and inaction (like killing himself with a bare dagger)(ll.20-21). 'Not to be' does not imply life and action as some think it does, much less heroic action (like taking arms ~and end them)(ll.4-5); it means death without doing anything.
Besides, as is clearly shown by a certain Japanese translation ( Which way of life is nobler, to suffer ~, or to take arms ~ ? ), to suffer ~ and to take arms ~ are both ways of life -courses of action open for Hamlet in his present difficult situation, though noticeably different from each other, stoically passive vs. heroically active. Thus the question of whether to continue to exist or not is again totally different from the question of which is nobler of the two ways of living - two courses of action; there is no logical connection between the two.
My (grammatical) interpretation of the whether clause is as follows. Although the pronoun 'it' in 'tis indicates to suffer ~ and to take arms ~ , the whole clause does not mean 'Which is nobler, to suffer ~ , or to take arms ~?' It means 'Is to be nobler (than not to be)?', that is to say, ' Is to suffer ~, or to take arms ~ ( no matter which ) really nobler ( than to die )?' Taken literally, 'to take arms ~' obviously implies life and action, and that heroic action, ("though perhaps with the loss of life") and does not equal 'not to be' as some think it does. So the equivalence is between 'to be' and 'to suffer ~, or to take arms ~' and between 'not to be' and 'To die' (l.5), which is the other alternative not expressed but understood in the whether clause. Thus I do not think, as some do, that Hamlet, without any sort of transition, suddenly starts to contemplate death. He merely begins to talk about the other alternative of nonbeing after talking about the alternative of being; and therefore the whether clause and 'To die: to sleep; / No more;' fit together well and logically and they form a united whole.
I think this is the only way to make the whether clause a more consistent elaboration on the question of whether to continue to exist or not, and that "Shakespearean grammar" would permit this explanation.
'Hamlet' can certainly be viewed that way. Technically, it's a tragedy, because of the deaths, and the shattered romance of Hamlet and Ophelia. However, the play contains significant comedic elements, much more than you'll read about in the average book, or see in the average performance.
Who killed polinius in Hamlet?
Hamlet killed Polonius when he asumed Claudius was hidding behind the curtain when it was actually Polonius.
What do you think hamlet means when he says conscience does make cowards?
The context demands that Hamlet is using conscience in the French sense of "consciousness" ,"awareness". It is the anticipation of death - or of its possible sequel in an afterlife that Christianity would have us believe highly unpleasant for those committing the sin of suicide - that makes us shy away from this "consummation devoutly to be wished".
Which character dies after drinking from a poisoned wine glass in hamlet?
The poisoned wine is intended for Hamlet, but his mother - Gertrude - drinks it by mistake.
What is Hamlet's excuse for his behavior?
; Claudius mentions more than one thing. From Act 4 scene 3:
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Clau: Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety
Which we do tender, as we dearly grieve
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Claudius claims there that he's concerned for Hamlet's well being. We know it's a lie, of course, since Claudius has set up the mission to England to kill Hamlet.
Also Act 4 scene 7:
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Clau: Oh, for two special reasons : Which may to you perhaps seem much unsinewed,
But yet to me they're strong; the Queen, his mother
Lives almost by his looks, and for myself,
My virtue or my plague, be it either which,
She is so concleave to my life and soul,
That as the star moves not but in his sphere
I could not but by her; the other motive,
Why to a public count I might not go,
Is the great love the general gender bear him,
Who, dipping all his faults in their affection,
Work like the spring that turneth wood to stone:
Convert his gyves to graces, so that my arrows,
Too slightly timbered for so loved, armed,
Would have reverted to my bow again,
But not where I have aimed them. ; -------
In talking to Laertes, Claudius says he needs Gertrude's political support, and she dotes on Hamlet. That's true.
Then, the "public count" idea is that Claudius doesn't want to challenge Hamlet before the general public, because he's afraid people, in general, might like Hamlet better than they like him. Politics, in other words. So altogether, Claudius basically mentions two things. The first one is the lie that he has personal affection for Hamlet. The second is true, that he's worried about his political support against Hamlet, and he doesn't want to risk people turning against him in favor of Hamlet.
Of course when Laertes led his mob to storm the castle, that got Claudius thinking about how popular he was, and it obviously didn't look good for him.
Why does laertes force his way in and what does he want in act 4 of hamlet?
He wants to get at Claudius, who he blames for his father's death. The crowd backing him are shouting "Laertes shall be king", so the idea is that he will replace Claudius, after he kills him to revenge the death of Polonius. But Laertes is far too dimwitted to be king, and Claudius outwits him without difficulty.
Why does Hamlet apologize to Laertes?
I believe he apologizes because he is ultimately responsible for the death of Ophelia and his father Polonius. Also, Hamlet finally sees how similar they are to each other and offers his apology to prevent him from following the same destructive path Hamlet did.
Would the king rather have Hamlet stay at Elsinore or return to Wittenberg?
Well, I must first of all say that my statement is of my own interpretation of the story. However, it may be possible that Claudius was planning on killing off Hamlet (or at least spy on him) from the very beginning. By looking at Claudius's personality, namely his willingness to kill for power, it can be implied that Claudius is fearful of loosing his power in the same way. Of all that may pose a threat to Claudius, Hamlet seems to be the most likely threat as he is in direct line to the throne (after all why not kill off the king and become the new king a little ahead of schedule?). So due to Claudius's paranoid nature, it may be possible that he intended to keep Hamlet in Elsinore so that he could plot to get rid of him.
What line spoken by Gertrude indicates that she was not involved in King Hamlet's murder?
"Hamlet: To kill a king and marry with his brother.
Gertrude: To kill a king?
Hamlet: Ay, lady, that was my word."
What are Claudius's chief concerns about the murder?
He storms out just after the player king is murdered.
Who are the three soldiers who open the play in hamlet?
There are as many - or as few- revengers in Hamlet as you want there to be.
One could say that Hamlet is seeking vengeance for his father's murder, Laertes is seeking vengeance for his father's murder, and Fortinbras is seeking vengeance for his father's murder - but that is only one way of counting the revengers.
There are more sensible ways of approaching this play.
Who said Good night sweet prince and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest?
it's been nagging at the back of my mind. I remember it being a cartoon movie, and someone just died, i think. I the one is crying saying 'goodnight, sweet prince'. but its not shakspear, i know that. its a line from hamlet.
I say 'goodnight sweet prince to my friends and family all the time, after a few months of trying to remember what movie its from I have resorted to the people of the internet. can you help me?
What does Claudius do that makes Hamlet hesitate in killing him?
Claudius did not choose to punish Hamlet for his crimes for two reasons. One he loved Gertrude, Hamlets mother too much and two, the people loved Hamlet and Claudius feared punishing him would cause a revolt.
What was Hamlet's plan to avenge his father?
hamlet avenged his father by stabbing his uncle who married his fathers wife to get the throne. hamlet did this because his fathers ghost visited and told him that hamlets uncle (his fathers brother) killed him... in the end everyone ended up dying
What does Hamlet get the actors to do?
Hamlet plans to use the actors to prove whether or not Claudius was guilty. This would be achieved by instructing the actors to portray the murder of Gonzago, which would make Claudius feel guilty if he did indeed commit the murder.
Who does Hamlet kill in the play?
hamlet killed king Claudius, Polonius, and laertes. (he technically killed rosencrantz & guildenstern because of a letter telling the king of England to kill them)
Was king Hamlet killed while he was sleeping?
The ghost says that he is stuck in purgatory because he did not have a chance to confess before he died. It would have been less cruel to have killed him as he stepped out of the confessional, but give Claudius some credit here--he's not going to kill Hamlet in such a way that Claudius was going to get caught.
Claudius might have chosen a less nasty poison, one supposes. That would have been less cruel.
What mistake leads to Hamlet attacking Polonius?
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.
Why might hamlet have decided to throw off his disguise at the gravesite?
He doesn't. He jumps in the grave, on top of Ophelia's dead body. On the stage of a theatre like the Globe there would be a trap door and hole in the stage which the actor would jump into. It is usually done that way even today. His reason for doing this is that Laertes had done it first, and Hamlet thought he was showing off.
