Hamlet Act I Questions and Answers
Jacqueline Chung Ms. Ledman AP Literature 5 March 2012 Hamlet Act I . How do the setting and events and style of the first several lines of Act I, scene 1, establish a mood of foreshadowing or impending disaster? Cite and explain specific words, details, techniques, and events. Within the first few lines of the Act I of Hamlet, Shakespeare already establishes a tense, dark atmosphere when two soldiers, Barnardo and Francisco, exchange a few words about their guard shifts on the platform of the Elsinore castle at midnight in Denmark and Francisco describes his shift: "'Tis bitter cold, And I am sick at heart" (I.i.7-8). The cold, dark, and depressing atmosphere shares the negative connotation with evil since cold and darkness are usually considered evil, which foreshadows the evilness within the play. The atmosphere then further heightens when Horatio and Marcellus accompany Barnardo on guard duty and Marcellus asks if "this thing appeared again tonight," the "thing" representing the ghost that Bernardo and Marcellus encountered a few times in the past. The ghost suddenly appears and Barnardo describes the ghost as "the same figure like the king that's dead," Hamlet's father who passed away not too long ago (I.i.41). The presence of the ghost establishes the mood of impending disaster because a ghost appears for one of three reasons: an omen, unfinished business, or
Hamlet Act 3 scene 4
Act 3 Scene 4, so called the closet scene, is the first time we see Hamlet and Gertrude together alone. In this scene Hamlet releases his anger and frustration at his mother for the sinful deed she has committed i.e. her marriage to her brother-in-law and the murderer. We can see that Gertrude is unaware of her husband's murder when she says `As kill a King?' and it is the first time she confronts her own behavior. There is a conflict between the two; Hamlet gives powerful replies `Mother you have my father much offended' `Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue' Hamlet takes control of the conversation from the very beginning of the scene although it is Gertrude who was meant to be rebuking him and doing much of the talking. Hamlet succeeds in shaming her until the point when she begs him to stop. Hamlet having the upper hand in the conversation, asks his mother to change her ways, which she agrees to and asks for his advice, showing that she has submitted herself to her son. Hamlet does not really show much respect for his mother while reproving her and forcing her to sit down but he does love her. Some critics believe that his love shows sexual connotation and that is a reason why he gets so upset at her remarriage. There is a point in this scene when Gertrude thinks her life is in danger of Hamlet and gets frightened, which shows us that she considers him to be mad
Analysis of Hamlet Act II.2
Carina Comment on the Presentation of Hamlet in Act 2 Scene 2 Act 2, Scene 2 is an important scene for the audience's impressions of Hamlet, as it is the first time we can see the "antic disposition" of which he has previously spoken. He enters the scene on page 50, and immediately enters into conversation with Polonius. We can see that the act of his madness relies upon rhetoric devices such as puns and double meanings, which are deliberately intended to confuse. On page 51, for example, when Polonius asks him what matter he reads, he replies: HAMLET: Between who? In this, Hamlet is playing on the double meaning of the word "matter"- although Polonius intends it to mean his reading matter, Hamlet knows it could also mean personal matters, and picks the wrong interpretation, intending Polonius to think that his mental instability is such that he cannot follow the conversation. Although there are these occasions upon which Hamlet seems to be truly mad, the audience can see that he is being rather clever in constructing his act. When Polonius clarifies the meaning of the word "matter" which he intended, Hamlet responds with a thinly veiled attack on him: HAMLET: The satirical rogue says here that old men have grey beards, (...) and that they have a plentiful lack of wit. Here, Hamlet pretends to discuss the "slanders" of which he reads, but the audience can see that he is
Analysis of Act 1 - Hamlet
Analysis of Act 1 The supernatural appearance of the ghost on a chilling, misty night outside Elsinore Castle indicates immediately that something is wrong in Denmark. The ghost serves to enlarge the shadow King Hamlet casts across Denmark, indicating that something about his death has upset the balance of nature. The appearance of the ghost also gives physical form to the fearful anxiety that surrounds the transfer of power after the king's death, seeming to imply that the future of Denmark is a dark and frightening one. Horatio in particular sees the ghost as an ill omen boding violence and turmoil in Denmark's future, comparing it to the supernatural omens that supposedly presaged the assassination of Julius Caesar in ancient Rome (and which Shakespeare had recently represented in Julius Caesar). Since Horatio proves to be right, and the appearance of the ghost does presage the later tragedies of the play, the ghost functions as a kind of internal foreshadowing, implying tragedy not only to the audience but to the characters as well. This supernatural theme is illustrated from the outset when, only 25 lines into the book the subject of the ghost is introduced when Horation says "What, has this thing appear'd tonight?". Later on into the scene Hamlet after being told about the ghost, decides to see it for himself and after he does so he has a great deal of
Hamlet ACT I Scene I:1
ACT I Scene I:1 After encountering the ghost of his deceased father Hamlet gains a new view of Claudius. He finds that the new king, his uncle, murdered his father, King Hamlet. Claudius is more than just a committee of incest. The ghost reveals this information to Hamlet first in lines 38 and 39 of the scene, "The serpent that did sting thy father's life Now wears his crown," (Shakespeare, 34). After examining the ghost's description of the murder the following images and themes can be found to represent key events and symbols in Hamlet: Angelic (pg. 35, line 55): Gertrude is described by King Hamlet's ghost to be a radiant angel, thus forbidding Hamlet to ever hurt her in his plot of revenge. Demonic (pg. 35, lines 10-13): King Hamlet is a ghost, sentenced to walk the earth and in hell for a "certain term". This is central to the novel as Hamlet ultimately commits certain crimes in order to set his father's spirit free. Sleep (pg. 36, line74-75): sleep symbolizes death, "Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother's hand of life, crown, of queen, at once dispatched." Garden (pg. 34, line 36): the garden is a leitmotif which is representative of Denmark. "Tis give out that, sleeping in my orchard..." Poison (pg. 35, line 62): "With juice of cursed hebenon..." King Hamlet was poisoned by his brother, Claudius. Milk (pg. 35, line 69): "And curd, like eager droppings into
Analysis of Hamlet in Act 1
Hamlet’s first Soliloquy (I.2.129-159): Purpose: Shakespeare uses soliloquy so Hamlet can share with the audience feelings he could not voice in public. Overall Structure: The verse starts and stops, punctuated by expression of pain and confusion. The disjointed rhythm and dislocated progress of Hamlet’s thoughts conveys to us his inner turmoil. Hamlet's thoughts are not fluent; he often interrupts himself with his own expressive comments, as evident in the lines: ‘That it should come to this - But two months dead, nay not so much, not two-‘ (I.2.137). Analysis: ‘O, that this too too solid flesh would melt’. (I.2.129) - We start off with a whimper: he's moaning about how depressed he is over his father's death and mom's remarriage, and wishing that his ‘flesh’ would ‘melt’ - i.e., that he'd die. The duplication of ‘too’ intensifies Hamlet's feelings of regret. Textual Note: Some modern editions of the play read ‘sullied flesh’ instead of ‘solid flesh.’ (I.2.129). ‘Sullied flesh’ - suggests that Hamlet feels that he personally has been soiled, stained, or contaminated by his mother's incestuous relationship with his murderous uncle. Given how he seems to feel about sex, we'd buy that. ‘melt, / Thaw, and resolve itself into a dew.’(I.2.130) - He wishes that his physical self might just cease to exist. He complains that his
Hamlet - Summary Act 5 sc. ii.
Summary Act 5 sc. ii At Elsinore Castle, Hamlet tells Horatio how he had overcome Claudius's scheme to have him murdered in England. Hamlet had replaced the letter that was being carried by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, which called for Hamlet's execution. The new letter called for the death of the bearers of the letter- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern themselves. He tells Horatio that he does not feel any guilt for setting up the execution for his former friends who had betrayed him. However, he does feel sorry for having behaved with hostility towards Laertes. Similar to Laertes, Hamlet also wants to avenge his father's death. Their conversation is interrupted by Osric, who is a eccentric courtier. He has come to tell Hamlet that Claudius wants Laertes and Hamlet to fence, furthermore, the king has made a wager with Laertes that Hamlet will win. A lord enters, asking Hamlet if he is ready to fight. Against Horatio's advice, Hamlet agrees to fight. As the two fencers enter the hall, Hamlet asks Laertes to forgiveness. Hamlet claims that it was his madness, and not his own will, that murdered Polonius. LAertes refuses to forgive Hamlet, but in the meanwhile, he will accepts Hamlet's offer of love. As they select their foils (swords used in fencing), the king says that if Hamlet wins the first or second hit, he will drink to Hamlet's health. He will then throw a valuable gem
HAMLET In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet discloses his true feelings, in Act 4, scene 4. In this soliloquy, Hamlet illustrates his mental
HAMLET In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet discloses his true feelings, in Act 4, scene 4. In this soliloquy, Hamlet illustrates his mental instability by contrasting himself and Fortinbras. He illustrates himself as being a coward who does not has the will to initiate plans to revenge his father's death. Hamlet finds himself grasping for an answer as whether to kill his uncle who has done his family and great injustice by killing his father and sleeping with the mother. This outrages Hamlet and creates an inner struggle and it is in this stage where Hamlet idealizes Fortinbras in his words and actions. In Hamlet's soliloquy, He contrasts the differences between Fortinbras and himself, and implying his desire to be more like Fortinbras in action. Hamlet admires Fortinbras for the mere fact that he is the head of state and he is control of a powerful army, while Hamlet can barely control himself. Fortinbras holds a position that Hamlet was destined for, yet Claudius intervened and took Hamlet's rightful position. This fact may imply that Hamlet sees his father's actions personified in Fortinbras. Although Hamlet seems to admire the dominance and will power that Fortinbras displays, he also criticizes him and his unattainable dream. " The imminent death of twenty thousand men that for fantasy and trick of fame." In this statement Hamlet is declaring that he thinks Fortinbras
Commentary of Hamlet Act 3 Scene 4.
Commentary of Act 3 Scene 4 A brief summary of this scene is that Polonius hides in Gertrude's private room behind a tapestry to listen to Gertrude talk to her son Hamlet about his behaviour that he has possessed recently. At Hamlets arrival, Gertrude begins to launch into lecturing her son, however before she has a chance, Hamlet has already turned the tables and accuses his Mother of being in the wrong, not himself. Hamlet is in such a rage with his mother that he acts aggressively towards her and Polonius makes his presence known to save her, but before he can do anything, Hamlet stabs him through the wall hanging, thinking it was Claudius. Hamlet then goes straight back into telling his mother what he thinks of her relationship with Claudius, even after realizes it was Polonius behind the tapestry, until the ghost of Old Hamlet appears to Young Hamlet, and Young Hamlet alone; causing Gertrude to presume that her son is mad, talking to thin air. However, Hamlet convinces his Mother that he is not mad and tells her of Claudius' plan involving Rosencrantz and Guildenstern taking him to England. Hamlet then exits dragging Polonius' body behind him. The scene opens with Polonius and Gertrude talking about their plan. Polonius says, "I'll silence me" - line 4. This is known as dramatic irony as it is his vow of silence that he makes then contradicts that gets him killed in
Hamlet - themes and speeches in Act lll
ACT III . ACT III SCENE II lines 1 – 36 ‘Speak the speech’ In this extract Hamlet discusses the difference between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ acting with the players, this can be seen as a cue from Shakespeare on his views of acting and theatre. Shakespeare uses a number of alliteration ‘speak the speech...’ and ‘trippingly on the tongue...’ to illustrate Hamlet’s instructions. . Hamlet’s soliloquy ‘to be or not to be’ Hamlet’s third soliloquy is established through the use an antithesis ‘To be or not to be’; this rhetorical device contains a contrast of ideas which draws attention to the theme of moral legitimacy of suicide in an unbearable world, uncertainties that exist outside the realm of our understanding and Predetermination and Freewill. ‘To be or not to be’ also serves as a rhetorical question that reveals Hamlet’s internal conflict and turmoil. His internal struggles between Predetermination and Freewill is highlighted through the ‘slings’ and ‘arrows’ which constructs rhetorical images of instruments associated with war that relates capriciousness of fate suggested by the ‘outrageous fortune’. ‘To take arms’ juxtaposes the idea ‘to suffer’ and is further continued with the use of ‘opposing’, Shakespeare uses the proverb ‘to take arms against the sea of troubles’ to express hamlets futility, this
