Hamlet 4:7

Question 1

why doesn’t Claudius tell Laertes his plan for Hamlet?

Answer 1

• perhaps self-preservation in case it got out, trying to maintain distance
• perhaps testing Laertes’ resolve

Question 2

‘Now must your conscience…’

Answer 2

Now must your conscience my acquittance seal,/ And you must put me in your heart for friend,/ Sith you have heard, and with a knowing ear,/ That he which hath your noble father slain/ Pursu’d my life.’ - Claudius

Question 3

‘It well appears…’

Answer 3

‘It well appears. But tell me/ Why you proceeded not against these feats,/ So crimeful and so capital in nature,/ As by your safety, wisdom, all things else, You mainly were stirr’d up.’ - Laertes
- doesn’t full by Claudius’ story
- why hasn’t he taken action against Hamlet given the death-penalty deserving crimes and threat against Claudius (of course Claudius has but he hasn’t told Laertes this)?

Question 4

what are the reasons Claudius gives for not taking action against Hamlet? (note that he did actually take action but L doesn’t know it)

Answer 4

‘O, for two special reasons […] The Queen his mother [and the…] public’ - Claudius

Question 5

‘O, for two special…’

Answer 5

‘O, for two special reasons,/ Which may to you, perhaps, seem much unsinew’d,/ But yet to me th’are strong.’ - Claudius

Question 6

‘The Queen his…’

Answer 6

‘The Queen his mother/ Lives almost by his looks; and for myself,/ My virtue or my plague, be it either which -/ She is so conjunctive to my life and soul/ That, as the star moves not but in his sphere,/ I could not but by her.’ - Claudius
- one of the reasons he hasn’t taken action against Hamlet is because of Gertrude who controls Claudius’ actions because of his great love for her
- presents an altruistic, self-sacrificing image of himself

Question 7

‘The other motive…’

Answer 7

‘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, […] Convert his gyves to graces’ - Claudius
- the other reason for not taking action against Hamlet as that he is greatly loved by the public, they love him so much that they convert his ‘gyves to graces’ making him innocent

Question 8

‘so that my arrows,/ Too…’

Answer 8

‘so that my arrows,/ Too slightly timber’d for so loud a wind,/ Would have reverted to my bow again./ But not where I have aim’d them.’ - Claudius
- if he tried to take down Hamlet, it would simply fire back on himself - his power (arrows) is easily turned by the strong wind of public opinion

Question 9

‘And so have I a…’

Answer 9

‘And so have I a noble father lost;/A sister driven into desp’rate terms,/ Whose worth, if praises may go back again,/ Stood challenger on mount of all the age/ For her perfections. But my revenge will come.’ - Laertes
- Ophelia is idealised, Laertes raising her above all others - she used to be perfect

Question 10

‘Break not your…’

Answer 10

‘Break not your sleeps for that. You must not think/ That we are made of stuff so flat and dull/ That we can let our beard be shook with danger,/ And think it pastime. You shortly shall hear more.’ - Claudius
- perhaps a bit insensitive
- effectively saying that he will take action and protect himself from the threat

Question 11

‘I lov’d your…’

Answer 11

‘I lov’d your father, and we love our self;/ And that, I hope, will teach you to imagine -‘ - Claudius

Question 12

‘Letters, my lord, from…’

Answer 12

‘Letters, my lord, from Hamlet:/ These to your majesty; this to the Queen.’ - Messenger

Question 13

‘[Reads] ‘High and Mighty. You shall…’

Answer 13

‘[Reads] ‘High and Mighty. You shall know that I am set naked on your kingdom.’ - Claudius reading Hamlet’s letter
- very stiff and formal opening - ‘High and Mighty’
- Hamlet has returned to denmark unarmed (‘naked’)

Question 14

‘To-morrow shall I beg leave…’

Answer 14

‘To-morrow shall I beg leave to see your kingly eyes; when I shall, first asking your pardon thereunto, recount the occasion of my sudden and more strange return.’ - Claudius reading Hamlet’s letter
- wants a meeting with C. - is it to kill him?
- Hamlet’s return will mean much more to Claudius than Laertes as he knows Hamlet was not meant to return

Question 15

'’Tis Hamlet’s character…’

Answer 15

'’Tis Hamlet’s character. ‘Naked’!/ And in a postscript here, he says ‘alone’./ Can you devise me?’ - Claudius
- ‘devise’ - explain (making Laertes think they are partners, manipulation)

Question 16

‘I am lost in…’

Answer 16

‘I am lost in it, my lord. But let him come;/ It warms the very sickness in my heart/ That I shall live and tell him to his teeth/ ‘Thus didest thou’.’ - Laertes
- ‘Thus didest thou’ - ‘This is your doing’

Question 17

‘If it be so, Laertes…’

Answer 17

‘If it be so, Laertes -/ As how should it be so, how otherwise? -/ Will you be rul’d by me?’ - Claudius
- placatory tone (suggestion of doubt - ‘If it be so’) shows how Claudius is working to keep L on side

Question 18

‘Ay, my lord…’

Answer 18

‘Ay, my lord;/ So you will not o-errule me to a peace.’ - Laertes
- will follow Claudius as long as he does not ask him to make peace with Hamlet

Question 19

‘I will work him…’

Answer 19

‘I will work him/ To an exploit now ripe in my device,/ Under the which he shall not choose but fall’ - Claudius
- has a plan in which Hamlet will die no matter what choices he makes

Question 20

‘And for his death…’

Answer 20

‘And for his death, no wind of blame shall breathe;/ But even his mother shall uncharge the practice/ And call it accident.’ - Claudius
- even Gertrude will not be able to blame anyone for Hamlet’s death

Question 21

‘My lord, I will be…’

Answer 21

My lord, I will be rul’d/ The rather, if you could devise it so/ That I might be the organ.’ - Laertes
- wants to be the means of Hamlet’s death

Question 22

‘You have been talk’d of…’

Answer 22

‘You have been talk’d of since your travel much,/ And that in Hamlet’s hearing, for a quality/ Wherein they say you shine.’ - Claudius

Question 23

‘Your sum of parts…

Answer 23

‘Your sum of parts/ Did not together pluck such envy from him/ As did that one; and that, in my regard,/ Of the unworthiest siege.’ - Claudius
- of all Laertes’ attributes this one provokes the most envy in Hamlet
- by withholding which skill it is he is talking about, he both intrigues Laertes and creates a sense of general superiority over hamlet

Question 24

How does Claudius try to heighten Laertes’ competitiveness?

Answer 24

• by withholding the specific skill and introducing it through the use of a notorious fighter ‘Lamord’ who (according to Claudius) gave Laertes a ‘masterly report’ and said he didn’t think anyone could match him (again according to Claudius) this makes Hamlet envious
• Lamord is described by Laertes as ‘the brooch indeed/ And gem of all the nation’
• Lamord sounds like ‘la mort’ the french word for death, suggesting his lethal skill

Question 25

‘He made confession of…’

Answer 25

‘[Lamord] made confession of you;/ And gave you such a masterly report […] he cried out ‘twould be a sight indeed/ If one could match you.’ - Claudius
- uses Lamord to build excitement in Laertes and make him think he is significantly better than Hamlet

Question 26

‘Sir, this report…’

Answer 26

‘Sir, this report of his/ Did Hamlet so envenom with his envy. That he could nothing do but wish and beg/ Your sudden coming o’er, to play with you.’- Claudius
- use of the word ‘envenom’ foreshadows the use of poison to kill Hamlet, perhaps the idea wasn’t Laertes at all
- creating rivalry between Hamlet and Laertes, making L more confident, he then goes on to mention Laertes’ father, asking if his grief is real, to push Laertes into fencing against Hamlet

Question 27

‘Laertes, was your father…’

Answer 27

‘Laertes, was your father dear to you?/ Or are you like the painting of a sorrow,/ A face without a heart?’ - Claudius
- asking if his grief is genuine or only surface level, used to build the resentment and impatience in Laertes

Question 28

‘Not that I think you did not…’
‘That we would do/ We…’

Answer 28

‘Not that I think you did not love your father;/ But that I know love is begun by time, […] There lives within the very frame of love/ A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it’ - Claudius
‘That we would do/ We should do when we would; for this ‘would’ changes, […] And then this ‘should’ is like a spend-thrift’s sigh/ That hurts by easing.’ - C
- suggesting that love can burn itself out over time and, therefore, we should act in the heat of love rather than letting it become a ‘should’
- this perhaps echo’s Hamlet’s experiences with trying to act from love for his father
- ‘spend-thrift’s sigh’ - useless regret of one who has spent all their money

Question 29

‘But to the quick of…’

Answer 29

‘But to the quick of th’ulcer:/ Hamlet comes back; what would you undertake/ To show yourself in deed your father’s son/ More than in words?’ - Claudius
- trying to encourage Laertes to act against Hamlet soon (before he has time to think)

Question 30

What does Laertes say he will do to prove that he is his father’s son and feels real grief? P265

Answer 30

‘To cut his throat i’th’church.’ - Laertes
- this would be incredibly shocking, as Laertes knows
- echoes Hamlet’s opportunity to kill Claudius in the church, furthering the comparison of these two characters

Question 31

‘No place, indeed…’

Answer 31

‘No place, indeed should murder sancturize;/ Revenge should have no bounds.’ - Claudius
- revenge should not be limited by areas seen as sanctuary

Question 32

‘We’ll put on those shall…’

Answer 32

‘We’ll put on those shall praise your excellence,/ And set a double varnish on the fame/ The Frenchman gave you; bring you, in fine, together,/ And wager on your heads.’ - Claudius
- set up to manipulate a duel between L and H on which others will ‘wager’ to give it the appearance of sport

Question 33

Hamlet ‘Will not peruse the…’

Answer 33

‘Hamlet ‘Will not peruse the fouls; so that with ease/ Or with a little shuffling, you may choose/ A sword unbated’ - Claudius
- since Hamlet will not checking the swords, one will be unblunted which Laertes will choose, allowing him to avenge his father “by accident”

Question 34

‘And for that purpose I’ll…’

Answer 34

‘And for that purpose I’ll anoint my sword./ I bought an unction of a mountebank,/ So mortal that but dip a knife in it,/ Where it draws blood [nothing…] can save the thing from death’ - Laertes
- poisoning someone was generally considered a feminine and cowardly way to die, parallel to Claudius’ murder of his brother
- ironic use of ‘anoint’ which has religious connotations

Question 35

‘I’ll touch my point…’

Answer 35

‘I’ll touch my point/ With this contagion, that, if I gall him slightly,/ It may be death.’ - Laertes
- another layer to the plan

Question 36

‘As you make your bouts more violent to that…’

Answer 36

‘As you make your bouts more violent to that end -/ and that he calls for drink, I’ll have preferr’d him/ A chalice for the nonce; whereon but sipping,/ If he by chance escape your venom’d stuck,/ Our purpose may hold there.’ - Claudius

Question 37

‘One woe doth tread upon…’

Answer 37

‘One wo doth tread upon another’s heel,/ So fast they follow. Your sister’s drown’d,/ Laertes.’ - Gertrude
- protection Ophelia and the court (withholding the suspicion of suicide we learn later)

Question 38

‘There is a willow grows…’

Answer 38

‘There is a willow grows aslant the brook/ That shows his hoar leaves in the glass stream’ - Gertrude
- ‘willow’ - suffering, sadness
- trying to make it seem calm - guilt?
- the ‘aslant’ willow could perhaps reflect Ophelia reaching out for help

Question 39

‘Therewith fantastic garlands…’

Answer 39

‘Therewith fantastic garlands did she make/ Of crowflowers, nettles, daisies, and long purples’ - Gertrude
- suggests a sort of naivety in Ophelia, childlike, feminine quality

Question 40

‘and long purples/ That liberal…’

Answer 40

‘and long purples/ That liberal shepherds do give a grosser name,/ but our cold maids do dead men’s fingers call them.’ - Gertrude
- a strange detail to include, inappropriate for announcing a young woman’s death - perhaps Gertrude herself is distracted

Question 41

‘There, on the pendent boughs…’

Answer 41

‘There, on the pendent boughs her coronet weeds/ Clamb’ring to hand, an envious sliver broke;/ when down her weedy trophies and herself/ Fell in the weeping brook.’ - Gertrude
- interesting account that suggests Ophelia’s death was an accident, there is no way G could have known this unless there were witnesses, perhaps she is trying to protect Ophelia’s reputation from suicide rumours
- ‘envious sliver’ - malicious branch, passing off the blame away from O.

Question 42

‘Her clothes spread…’

Answer 42

‘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’ - Gertrude
- still telling details that she couldn’t know
- unnecessary description, mythologising ophelia

Question 43

‘Or like a creature native and…’

Answer 43

‘Or like a creature native and indued/ Unto that element; but long it could not be/ Till that her garments, heavy with their drink,/ Pull’d the poor wretch from her melodious lay/ To muddy death.’- Gertrude
- insensitive ending, ruins the peaceful imagery she had built

Question 44

‘Too much of water hast thou…’

Answer 44

‘Too much of water hast thou, poor Ophelia,/ And therefore I forbid my tears; but yet/ It is our trick; nature her custom holds,/ Let shame say what it will. When these are gone,/ The woman will be out.’ - Laertes
- Ophelia has already had too much water so he will not add to it by crying but it is a normal reaction, let people think it is shameful, once his is done the ‘woman’ or weaker part of him will be gone

Question 45

‘Adieu, my lord./ I have a …’

Answer 45

‘Adieu, my lord./ I have a speech o’ fire that fain would blaze/ But that this folly doubts it.’ - Laertes