Hamlet Act 1 Flashcards
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Hamlet takes place 10,000 years ago in the royal palace of Denmark called Eisinore
Why do the Bernardo and Marcellus ask horario to speak to the ghost
Horatio is a scholar and knows Latin
Horatio asks the ghost 5 questions
1 Who are you
2 Maybe you have left something undone
3 do you know the future
4 maybe you have buried treasure
5 do you know something about your death
Explain the first question- Horatio to the ghost
Are you really the dead king or are you the devil in disguise
Explain the second question- Horatio to the ghost
Do you have unfinished business here I would be honored to complete it for you
Explain the third question- Horatio to the ghost
Do you know something about the future of this country that can help us
Explain the fourth question- Horatio to the ghost
Tell me where your buried treasure is and I’ll retrieve it for you
Explain the fifth question - Horatio to the ghost
Did you come back to tell us something about your death that we didn’t know about (this question wasn’t rly asked cause there was no time but he was supposed to ask this)
Who is planning to attack Denmark
Fortinbras the prince of Norway is going behind his father, the kings back (the king is sick), and trying to win back his land
What is Denmark doing in anticipation to this attack (2)
Horatio increases the guards and starts to make more weapons (24 hrs a day)
Define apparition
Ghost
4 issues the king Claudius addressed in his opening speech
1 he married his sister in law which according to the Catholic Church she’s his sister so he thanks them for allowing him to marry her
2 Fortinbras thinks he doesn’t know how to rule so Claudius is proving him wrong
3 laertis the son of polonius, the kings advisor, asks the king for permission to go to Paris as a courtesy
4 hamlet is depressed and Claudius tells him to move on that it’s been the way of the world since the first corpse - this is a biblical allusion to Cain and Abel - this might be hinting to him killing the king
Explain “a little more then kin and less then kind” - hamlet to Claudius
Hamlet says yes we are technically related but I don’t like you
Explain “this is too too solid flesh would melt” - hamlet soliloquy
Hamlet wants to commit suicide but it goes against his religious beliefs
Explain “tis an unweeded garden to seed things gross and rank in nature” - hamlets soliloquy
This is an example of decay imagery - hamlet is disgusted with the world and his mother
Explain “when my mother carried the kings coffin she wore new shoes and they were still new when she wore them to her wedding” - hamlets soliloquy
The time between the wedding and the funeral was so short that the shoes she wore to the funeral were still like brand new when she wore them to her wedding
Explain “she cried bitter tears by the funeral and by the wedding the salt was still in her eyes they were still red” - hamlets soliloquy
The time between the funeral was so short that the same tears she cried by the funeral were still in her eyes by her wedding
Explain “thrift thrift Horatio the funeral baked meats did coldly furnish the marriage tables” - hamlet to Horatio
Again hamlet is explaining how quickly the marriage happened after the funeral
What does laertis tell ophelia
He tells her to be careful around hamlet cause she’s not royal like him and he might not be able to marry her which would bring her shame
How does Ophelia respond to laertis warning about hamlet
She agrees to listen to him but also that he should consider his own advise for himself
Explain poloniuss advice on quarreling, friendship, clothing, and borrowing and lending money
Be careful of who you become friends with
Don’t get into fights but if u do hold ur ground and win
Dress well but don’t be showy
Whether u lend or u borrow it lll cause u to loose so don’t do either
Explain “springs to catch woodcocks” - polonius to Ophelia
Hamlet is trapping her with his words just like a spring traps a woodcock
Explain the interaction btwn Polonius order to Ophelia
He orders her to stay away from hamlet and she obeys because women were portrayed as weak in tragedy’s
According to hamlet how to drinking parties harm the image of Denmark
People associate others mainly with their faults rather then their accomplishments
Why don’t Horatio and Marcellus want hamlet to follow the ghost
They believe the ghost will try to kill hamlet and prevent him from having an afterlife
Why is the ghost in purgatory
Because he didn’t have time to Arron for his sins since he was murdered
How did the people think the king died vs how he rly died
The people thought the king was poisoned by a snake bite but rly he was poisoned by Claudius- he poured a poison into his ear that cracked his skin and curdled his blood - replicating a snake bite
What does the ghost tell hamlet to do about revenge
He says to take revenge on Claudius but to leave his mother, Gertrude, alone and let heaven deal with her
What are hamlets requirements of Horatio and Marcellus (2) (s5)
He has them swear that they will never tell anyone about the interaction with the ghost and that they won’t let on that they know about hamlets motives
Explain “the time is out of joint oh cursed spite that I was ever born to set it right” - hamlet to ghost
It doesn’t make sense it’s not normal for a brother to kill another brother and it’s annoying that I’m the one that has to deal with it now
