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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

Why are the players travelling in hamlet?

Hamlet asks Ros and Guil this question in the play. Companies of actors did not like to travel; their makeshift theatres in small country towns could not hold the audiences the city theatres could, and the towns did not have enough people to supply such audiences. Therefore revenues were down, and costs (which included the costs of transport for the actors, their costumes and props) were up. Many theatre companies went broke by doing it. Hamlet sums this up by saying "Their residence, both in
reputation and profit, was better both ways". Rosencrantz says that it is because of the new innovation which is stealing their city audiences. Which innovation? Companies of child actors, says Rosencrantz, "an eyrie of children, little eyases, that cry out on the top of question and are most tyrannically clapp'd for't. These are now the fashion." Shakespeare was alluding to the companies of child actors who were very popular around the turn of the century, especially the Children of the Chapel and the Children of St. Paul's

Why does polonius hide behind the queen curtain does she know that he is there?

It's actually an arras that Polonius hides behind.

Both times Polonius hides behind an arras, he does so to eavesdrop on what Hamlet says to somebody else. First, Polonius hides to listen to Hamlet talk to Ophelia, then later, he hides to listen to Hamlet talk to Gertrude.

Who else sees and hears the ghost in hamlet?

His father's ghost telling him to avenge his death.

Discuss Hamlet as a Savior of Denmark?

Hamlet's role in Denmark's future is that he leads to the dissolving of the current governing by the deceptive murderer Claudius and his being replaced by Fortinbras who brings peace and stability back to Denmark.

Does Gertrude tell claudius that Hamlet is missing?

Not entirely. Her account of the killing of Polonius is generally correct, but following the lead Hamlet has given her, she describes him as mad and does not reveal that she knows he is faking. She also does not reveal that she now knows about Claudius's guilt in the death of her first husband.

What is an example of irony in Hamlet?

One of ironies in Hamlet is that Hamlet's father has died because his brother killed this a poison and he showed himself to Hamlet to ask his son to revenge his unfair father's death. And Hamlet wants to revenge his father's death but he is not sure because the ghost who he saw could easily being the devil himself disguised as his dead father.

And he starts to think about this and he says: "To be or not be, there's the dilemma"

and the irony takes place when he decides to pretend to be crazy and find out the truth about his father's suspicious death.

He only could prove his uncle is really guilty, dying not only him. His mother, his uncle, the woman he loved died.

Which declares Hamlet as one of the most greatest written tragedies of the human history and gives us a lesson about the revenge, the death and the family honor and how could this could be lost for a vendetta.

Who becomes Claudius's new ally in the plot against Hamlet?

Polonius is about the only friend Claudius had and maybe the faithful guards and courtiers. Though even his allegiance is questionable, as he also would have served Hamlet Sr. similarly. Truly, Claudius does not have any notable friends in the play as most of the major roles are taken by his subordinates and enemies. For instance, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern followed their orders until their doom; however they were really just doing their jobs. It can be argued that Gertrude was Claudius' friend, considering she was his wife. But it is possible that like Polonius, she just shifted loyalties to suit who ever was in the seat of power.

How many words in hamlet 1604 version?

Two different good versions of 'Hamlet' were printed, first in 1604-5, and then in 1623. They're not identical. They have different numbers of words. So it's impossible to give an exact answer. It depends on which of the original printings you mean.

Why is Horatio interested in Hamlet?

Horatio finds Hamlet asleep in the middle of a dirt road.

Who does Hamlet mistake for Claudius and accidentally kill?

Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, the father of his love interest Ophelia and the advisor to King Claudius, Hamlet's deceased father's brother who recently married Hamlet's mother.

Polonius is hiding behind a tapestry in the room of Hamlet's mother Gertrude, planning to eavesdrop on their discussion about Hamlet's apparent madness of late. They all assume it is because Ophelia has broken up with him. However, in reality it is a ploy to keep from arousing suspicion as he plots to kill Claudius, because Hamlet was visited by the ghost of his father telling him that Claudius had murdered him to usurp the throne and instructing Hamlet to avenge his death.

When Hamlet hears a noise behind the tapestry, he assumes it is Claudius and stabs into the curtain, killing Polonius.

This occurs at the beginning of Act 3, Scene 4.

In hamlet What is the king's response?

"The King rises." Of course the text is not clear about exactly what Claudius is feeling when he rises. Certainly the representation of his murder of Hamlet Sr. has hit home--we know that from the following scene where he struggles with his guilt. On the one hand Claudius may rise because he is horrified by the memory of his crime, and he is distracted. On the other, Claudius may recognise the play for exactly what it is, may understand exactly what is troubling Hamlet, and rises because he refuses to put up with any more. The first may be called the "Claudius out of control" reading and the latter may be called the "Claudius in control" reading. Either one works.

Who does laertes say will goven hamlet's marriage choice?

Public policy, the good of the state, since Hamlet is the heir apparent to the throne.

When does Hamlet bury his father?

Hamlet isn't buried. He dies at the end and is carried out of the room respectfully.

Who killed Gertrude in Hamlet?

Technically, King Cladius Kills Gertrude in Hamlet, but not intentionally. King Cladius poisons the wine for Hamlet to drink but he refuses it to keep fencing Laertes but when hamlet makes the second strike the Queen wants to drink to him and when she does she drinks from the poisoned cup and dies.

Why does hamlet have strange appearance and behavior in scene two act two?

he trusts no one. To throw everyone off the scent of his search for the truth of the ghost's statement that his uncle killed his father, he decides to act mad. Not necessarily a clever strategy, but certainly an entertaining one.

What happens after polonius death by hamlet?

Gertrude's account of Ophelia's death is not clear on the point. Her account says that Ophelia was hanging flowers on a tree branch overhanging a stream. The branch broke and she fell in. She floated downstream singing until her clothes became waterlogged and pulled her under, thus drowning her.

Here are some approaches:

1. The gravedigger's approach. If she goes to the water, she drowns herself. Had she not wanted to drown she would have made some effort to get to shore, but she was happy just to lie there. Therefore she must have intended to die.

2. The insanity defence. But Ophelia is mad, and not in her proper senses. She may not have understood that she would ultimately have drowned. She did not try to escape because she didn't understand, not because she wanted to die, so it's not suicide.

3. Suicide traditions. It may sound strange but women who committed suicide because they were pregnant and unwed used to commit suicide by throwing themselves in the river. This was a tradition. According to some people, the fact that she drowned in the river tells the whole story. Who else did you think she was singing about when she sang "Quoth she, 'Before you tumbled me, you promis'd me to wed.' He replies 'So would I ha' done, by yonder sun, if thou hadst not come to my bed.'"?

4. Sparing the feelings of the bereaved. Gertrude is not telling this tale just to Claudius, but also to Laertes, who is still reeling from the death of his father. In order to spare Laertes' feelings, she is leaving out details which would confirm it as suicide. Likewise, when the priest says, "Her death was doubtful", he really means, "I have not got the slightest doubt that your wicked sister killed herself."

The situation may well be that Ophelia's death was an accident, but that everyone around believed that it was suicide. Thus poor Ophelia is deprived of a Christian burial which, according to the beliefs of the time, would have denied her access to heaven. She is an innocent victim of those who should have cared for her (her father, her brother, Hamlet, the Queen, the church) in death as in life.

IS hamlet a real person or just a play?

Hamlet is based off of a true story, but it is not the same and some say different things. One person says that there was a danish scholar who wrote down the story of "Amlet," but the debate continues. Short answer, yes. Sorry i dont know more about WHO he is

Why does Polonius send Reynaldo to France?

Reynaldo is being sent to spy on Laertes. Polonius authorizes him to accuse Laertes of all kinds of immoral behaviour to find out from his associates whether he is in fact involved in it. The fact that this will tarnish Laertes's reputation in the process does not seem to bother him.

How is the word fortune characterized in Hamlet?

Fortune is characterized as a malicious or capricious prostitute. In Hamlet's discussion with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Guildenstern starts with the metaphor "On Fortune's cap we are not the very button.", and so they explore just what part of Fortune they might be worn on and conclude that their fortunes are middling so they are worn in her middle, whereupon Hamlet says "In the secret parts of Fortune? True, she is a strumpet." This might be thought to be a throwaway joke except that the First Player's speech about Hecuba includes the line, "Out, out, thou strumpet Fortune."

In his famous soliloquy Hamlet talks about "the slings and arrows of outrageous Fortune", suggesting that Fortune is malicious. His line to Horatio, that he is "a man that Fortune's buffets and rewards have ta'en with equal thanks" suggests a more equanimical view of Fortune. He goes on to say "Blest are those whose blood and judgment are so well commingled that they are not a pipe for Fortune's finger to sound what stop she please." This echoes Romeo's line "O I am Fortune's fool!"

What role does the ghost portray in the play Hamlet?

The Ghost used to be when he was alive Hamlet's father Hamlet Sr., who was the king of Denmark. Now he is dead and spending all day in Purgatory having his sins purged and the hours between midnight and dawn lurking about the battlements of Elsinore hoping that someone will push his son in his direction.

When Hamlet encounters his ghost, the spirit tells him of his sad fate - he was poisoned by his own brother in order to usurp the crown. Hamlet's father then tells him to seek revenge by killing his uncle, who has stolen his crown and his wife, the Queen.

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.

What does hamlet mean by putting on an antic disposition what do you think he hopes to accomplish?

When Hamlet decides to put on an "antic disposition" he is suggesting that he should act like a madman. In Shakespeare's time antic meant disturbingly or even threateningly bizarre or irrational. By acting crazy, Hamlet hopes to confuse the king and make him uneasy.

Why doesn't Hamlet just come out and kill his uncle?

A number of reasons:

1. A king is surrounded by bodyguards who might prevent him from succeeding.

2. The ghost might have been lying in which case it would be murder.

3. Hamlet wants to kill him at the right time.