Hamlet

Question 1

Role: Polonius

Answer 1

Polonius is an elderly, pompous, and talkative courtier who serves as advisor to King Claudius. He is deeply concerned about his children’s behavior and uses them to spy on Hamlet, which leads to tragic consequences.

Question 2

Significance: Polonius

Answer 2

Polonius’ actions drive several key events in the plot, including the spying on Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship. His overbearing nature and constant surveillance reflect themes of loyalty, trust, and manipulation. His death, at the hands of Hamlet, serves as a turning point in the play, escalating the conflict between Hamlet and Claudius.

Question 3

Role: Ophelia

Answer 3

Ophelia is a young noblewoman, deeply in love with Hamlet but caught between her loyalty to him and her obedience to her father and brother. After Polonius’ death and Hamlet’s cruelty toward her, Ophelia descends into madness and eventually drowns in what is often interpreted as a suicide.

Question 4

Significance: Ophelia

Answer 4

Ophelia is a tragic figure, representing innocence, vulnerability, and the effects of male-dominated social structures. Her madness and death contribute to Hamlet’s sense of despair and the play’s larger themes of madness, grief, and loss. Her relationship with Hamlet also underscores the themes of love and betrayal.

Question 5

Role: Laertes

Answer 5

Laertes is a passionate and impulsive young man who is studying in France when his father is killed. After the death of Ophelia and his father, he returns to Denmark, seeking revenge against Hamlet.

Question 6

Significance: Laertes

Answer 6

Laertes serves as a foil to Hamlet, sharing his desire for revenge but acting quickly and without hesitation. His relationship with Hamlet culminates in a duel, where both meet their end. Laertes’ willingness to forgive Hamlet in his final moments highlights themes of reconciliation and the consequences of vengeance.

Question 7

Role: Horatio

Answer 7

Horatio is one of Hamlet’s few trusted friends and a scholar at the University of Wittenberg. He is rational, loyal, and calm, serving as a foil to Hamlet’s emotional turmoil. Horatio is present during the appearance of the ghost and is one of the few characters who survives the play.

Question 8

Significance: Horatio

Answer 8

Horatio’s role is primarily to provide emotional support to Hamlet and to act as a stabilizing force. He also serves as the play’s narrator at the end, telling Hamlet’s story to the world. His survival represents the restoration of order after the tragedy unfolds.

Question 9

Role: Rosecrantz and Guildenstern

Answer 9

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two childhood friends of Hamlet, summoned by Claudius to spy on him and figure out the cause of his madness. They are manipulated by Claudius and ultimately meet their end in England, executed due to Hamlet’s cleverness.

Question 10

Significance: Rosecrantz and Guildenstern

Answer 10

These two characters are symbolic of the theme of betrayal. Their actions underscore Hamlet’s sense of isolation, as they are unable to understand or support him. Their fate also reflects the play’s exploration of fate and justice, with Hamlet orchestrating their deaths as an act of revenge for their treachery.

Question 11

Role: The Ghost

Answer 11

The Ghost of King Hamlet appears to Hamlet and reveals that he was murdered by Claudius, setting the stage for Hamlet’s quest for revenge. The Ghost is ambiguous, and his appearances raise questions about the nature of the afterlife and Hamlet’s psychological state.

Question 12

Significance: The Ghost

Answer 12

The Ghost is the inciting force of the play, initiating Hamlet’s desire for revenge and setting the tragic events in motion. It also represents themes of guilt, duty, and the supernatural, urging Hamlet to take action while leaving him with deep moral questions.

Question 13

Role: Fortinbras

Answer 13

Fortinbras is the young prince of Norway, whose father was killed by King Hamlet (Hamlet’s father). Fortinbras seeks to reclaim the lands lost by his father and eventually invades Denmark at the end of the play.

Question 14

Significance: Fortinbras

Answer 14

Fortinbras serves as a foil to Hamlet. While Hamlet delays avenging his father’s death, Fortinbras acts decisively to avenge his own. His actions provide a contrast to Hamlet’s procrastination and serve as a resolution to the play’s political unrest. Fortinbras’ rise to the Danish throne represents the restoration of order following the destruction caused by Hamlet’s indecision and the resulting chaos.

Question 15

Role: The Players (Actors)

Answer 15

A group of traveling actors who come to Elsinore and perform “The Murder of Gonzago” at Hamlet’s request. This play mirrors the murder of Hamlet’s father and is used by Hamlet to gauge Claudius’ guilt.

Question 16

Significance: The Players

Answer 16

The Players serve as instruments of Hamlet’s plan to confirm Claudius’ guilt through the “play within a play.” Their performance is a key moment in the plot, and they represent the power of theater and art to reveal truth. The famous “play within the play” also reflects Hamlet’s obsession with appearance versus reality.

Question 17

Role: Gravedigger

Answer 17

The Gravedigger is a minor character who provides some comic relief in the midst of the play’s darker themes. He is in charge of digging Ophelia’s grave and engages in a conversation with Hamlet, unknowingly discussing the fate of Yorick, the court jester whom Hamlet once knew.

Question 18

Significance: Gravedigger

Answer 18

The Gravedigger scene is one of the most philosophically rich moments in the play, as it prompts Hamlet to reflect on mortality, death, and the passage of time. The Gravedigger also provides a moment of levity and a reminder of the inevitability of death, which is a central theme of the play.

Question 19

Role: Voltimand and Cornelius

Answer 19

Voltimand and Cornelius are sent by Claudius to deliver a message to the King of Norway, Fortinbras, asking him to stop his military campaign against Denmark.

Question 20

Significance: Voltimand and Cornelius

Answer 20

While their roles are small, Voltimand and Cornelius contribute to the political backdrop of the play. Their mission underscores the threat from Norway, providing context for Fortinbras’ eventual arrival at the end of the play.

Question 21

Role: Marcellus and Bernardo

Answer 21

Marcellus and Bernardo are the sentinels who first encounter the Ghost of King Hamlet on the battlements of Elsinore. They bring Horatio to witness the Ghost and later stand guard during Hamlet’s encounter with the spirit.

Question 22

Significance: Marcellus and Bernardo

Answer 22

Marcellus and Bernardo introduce the supernatural element to the play and help establish the atmosphere of unease and political instability in Denmark. Their role in bringing Horatio into the plot also connects Hamlet’s intellectual and emotional journey to the outside world.

Question 23

Role: Osric

Answer 23

Osric is a foppish and sycophantic courtier who announces the fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes. He is often mocked for his mannerisms and overly elaborate speech.

Question 24

Significance: Osric

Answer 24

Osric serves as a minor character who, though often played for comic relief, also reflects the court’s shallow and pretentious nature. His role in organizing the duel is pivotal, as it leads to the final tragic confrontation.

Question 25

Role: Gertrude

Answer 25

Hamlet’s mother, who has just remarried her brother in law after her husband has passed

Question 26

Significance: Gertrude

Answer 26

Gertrude holds a lot of love over her son but ultimately sides with Claudius and portrays her complicity in the violence that ensued against her ex husband.

Question 27

This business is well ended.
My liege, and madam, to expostulate1180
What majesty should be, what duty is,
Why day is day, night is night, and time is time.
Were nothing but to waste night, day, and time.
Therefore, since brevity is the soul of wit,
And tediousness the limbs and outward flourishes,1185
I will be brief. Your noble son is mad.
Mad call I it; for, to define true madness,
What is’t but to be nothing else but mad?
But let that go.

Answer 27

Polonius: Ironic quote. This quote exemplifies Polonius’ self-assured and self-centered nature. While Polonius argues that being succint is much better than making long winded comments, but he himself makes long winded comments to make himself appear more wise.

Question 28

Alas, how is’t with you,2515
That you do bend your eye on vacancy,
And with th’ encorporal air do hold discourse?
Forth at your eyes your spirits wildly peep;
And, as the sleeping soldiers in th’ alarm,
Your bedded hairs, like life in excrements,2520
Start up and stand an end. O gentle son,
Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper
Sprinkle cool patience! Whereon do you look?

Answer 28

Gertrude: Concerned with Hamlet after he claims he sees his father’s ghost. Conveys her guilt and complicity in Claudius’ plot against her ex husband