Hamlet key scenes and quotes

Question 1

creation of antic disposition and analysis

Answer 1

61= his madness is conscious and strategic= uses madness as a tool to manipulate= mask his true intentions and expose the truth
= tactic to mislead people around him

Question 2

language when acting

Answer 2

• ‘I am but mad north-north west’ 101
  = nonsensical language yet has double meaning
  = symbolise his sense of direction of every action and word he makes
  = play on words= hawk is metaphor= symbolic of sharpness and focus like Hamlet during his various plans
• ‘excellent well you are a fishmonger’
  = bitter jests @ P= used madness as reason to openly mock him

Question 3

his main soliloquy

Answer 3

• ‘to be or not to be’ 127 soliloquy
  = reflects inner conflict and emotional contradictions= echoes existential question of human life LINK major philosophical ideas during Renaissance era was the existential questioning of life and self
• martial imagery like “arrows” and “slings” portrays the idea that life is a battle each must suffer through day in and day out= life is a relentless battle and barrage of pain and suffering
• motif of human life as a “mortal coil” suggests that all humans truly are, are a body of flesh, wrapped around the coil of our soul, laying on this earth and waiting to die
• language choices create tone of underlying darkness and inevitability of death= de-humanises humans into a graphic and heartless image
  = melancholy perception of life
• T. S. Eliot essay ‘Hamlet and His Problems’= his mental state as one of “paralysis and self-doubt”= his inability to decide between life and death is seen as a result of his overwhelming sense of futility

Question 4

describe his language when mad

Answer 4

• erratic and cryptic remarks= challenge boundaries between sanity and insanity
• nonsensical and play on words= everything is calculated
• seems controlled then centrists to dramatically erratic
• madness serves as vehicle to express innermost feelings

Question 5

Contemplating death

Answer 5

• ‘conscience does make a coward of us all’ 127
  = fear of the unknown ‘puzzles the will’= keeps people alive
  = ironic= he’s suicidal and himself scared of death= paralysed by hesitation and over thinking= his contemplation may be a sign of deteriorating mind

Question 6

view of women

Answer 6

• ‘god has given you one face and you make yourselves another’ 131
  = women pretend to be good and honest creatures of god but actually disguise themselves= adopt a false persona to hide true identity
  = women hold a face of purity and innocence but must conceal true desires
• disillusionment of expectations towards reality= can’t accept G’s sexual desires and betrayal= deep mistrust of women= emotional turmoil conflicted w love, betrayal and loyalty
  = his words are an expression of emotional anguish and mistrust for ppl around him