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Summary: Act I, scene ii. The morning after Horatio and the guardsmen see the ghost, King Claudius gives a speech to his courtiers, explaining his recent marriage to Gertrude, his brother’s widow and the mother of Prince Hamlet. Claudius says that he mourns his brother but has chosen to balance Denmark’s mourning with the delight of his ...
- Act I: Scene I
Terrified, Horatio acknowledges that the specter does indeed...
- No Fear Translation
The king was wearing exactly this armor when he fought the...
- Quick Quiz
Why does Marcellus say, “Something is rotten in the state of...
- What Does The Ending Mean
Claudius and Laertes set Hamlet’s ending in motion when they...
- Character List
About thirty years old at the start of the play, Hamlet is...
- Key Facts
Major Conflict Hamlet feels a responsibility to avenge his...
- Act I: Scene I
- Summary: Act I, Scene V
- Summary: Act II, Scene I
- Analysis: Act I, Scene v–Act II, Scene I
In the darkness, the ghost speaks to Hamlet, claiming to be his father’s spirit, come to rouse Hamlet to revenge his death, a “foul and most unnatural murder” (I.v.25). Hamlet is appalled at the revelation that his father has been murdered, and the ghost tells him that as he slept in his garden, a villain poured poison into his ear—the very villain...
Polonius dispatches his servant Reynaldo to France with money and written notes for Laertes, also ordering him to inquire about and spy on Laertes’ personal life. He gives him explicit directions as to how to pursue his investigations, then sends him on his way. As Reynaldo leaves, Opheliaenters, visibly upset. She tells Polonius that Hamlet, unkem...
The ghost’s demand for Hamlet to seek revenge upon Claudius is the pivotal event of Act I. It sets the main plot of the play into motion and leads Hamlet to the idea of feigning madness, which becomes his primary mode of interacting with other people for most of the next three acts, as well as a major device Shakespeare uses to develop his characte...
Summary. Analysis. Inside the walls of Elsinore, Claudius —the new king of Denmark—is holding court. With him are his new wife Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother and the queen; Hamlet himself; Claudius’s councilor Polonius; Polonius’s children Laertes and Ophelia; and several members of court. Claudius delivers a long monologue in which he ...
It is dangerous, and they do not trust the ghost or the situation. When hamlet decides the follow the ghost, he says that "each petty artery" in his body is as hardy as the Nemean Lion's nerve". Explain why this is an interesting simile for hamlet to use. He feels like he is invincible like the mythical lion(The Nemean lion was a vicious ...
Analysis. In the final scene, the violence, so long delayed, erupts with dizzying speed. Characters drop one after the other, poisoned, stabbed, and, in the case of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, executed, as the theme of revenge and justice reaches its conclusion in the moment when Hamlet finally kills Claudius.
Study with Quizlet and memorize flashcards containing terms like While Hamlet is out with Horatio and the guards looking for the ghost of King Hamlet, what is King Claudius doing? Why does Hamlet find this offensive? (Act 1, Scene 4), when hamlet sees the ghost of his father, heh says "it will not speak. I will follow it." why do you suppose, hamlet refers to the ghost as it instead of him ...
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Hamlet enters and sees Claudius praying. He is grateful to at last be alone with the man, believing now is the chance to kill him and take his revenge. Hamlet, however, finds himself in a conundrum—if he kills Claudius while the king is praying, Claudius’s soul will go to heaven. To send Claudius to heaven would be the opposite of the ...
