Hamlet act 2 Flashcards
who said ‘Hamlet can be privileged in madness to say things about the corruption of human nature’
Mack
what does Hamlet refer Polonius as in 2.1
a ‘fishmonger’
Why does Hamlet call Polonius a fishmonger.
means Brothel holder or pimp suggesting he is a fool and his daughter Ophelia is a wh*re
‘Hamlet seems ___ of deliberate action’ (Hazlitt)
Incapable.
what did Bradley say was the reason for Hamlet’s delay.
‘Hamlet’s delay is due to… a form of melancholy’
AO3 for Act 2. (1570)
In 1570, Elizabeth 1 had been excommunicated by pope Pius for making the country a protestant nation. This made Elizabeth an enemy of the catholic state. Due to the threat Elizabeth established the spy network around England to avoid her assassination.
Who led Elizabeth the 1st spy network.
Sir Fransis Walsingham and William Ceasil.
Who did Catholic’s want to replace queen Elizabeth with?
Mary Queen of Scots.
Summarise what happens in 2.1?
Polonius instructs his servant Reynaldo (meaning sly fox) his servant to go and spy on his son Laertes While Polonius’ other child (Ophelia) enters the scene in a state of affright due to a recent incident involving Hamlet when he enters her room half undressed.
‘To be ____… is to be one man/ picked out of ____ _______’ (2.2, 178-179)
Honest, Ten thousand.
What does hamlet mean by ‘To be honest… is to be one man/ picked out of ten thousand.’
He looks down on Polonius as if he is a commoner compared to him and highlights Polonius’s foolishness as he pretends to not know who he is and acts mad around him.
‘Tedious old ____’
fool
Why does Hamlet refer to himself as ‘a rouge peasant slave’
He doesn’t see himself as fit to fulfil his noble role as he has become a slave to the ghost of his father however is not angry enough to act on it.
‘I am ___ ___ and lack gall’
Pigeon Liver’d
‘Must like a ___ unpack my heart with ___’
Whore, words
