Brief Questions in Hamlet

Brief Questions in Hamlet

• Who is William Shakespeare?

Ans: William Shakespeare was the greatest poet and dramatist of the Elizabethan Age.

• Which period is known as the Elizabethan Age?

Ans: The period from 1558 to 1603 is called the Elizabethan Age.

• When was ‘The Globe’ established?

Ans: ‘The Globe’ Theatre was established in 1598.

• Who were the owners of ‘The Lord Chamberlain’s Men’?

Ans: The owners were actors, including Shakespeare.

• When was Hamlet written and published?

Ans: Hamlet was written around 1601 and published in 1603.

• What was the original title of Hamlet?

Ans: The original title was The Tragical Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

• What is the modern title of Hamlet?

Ans: The modern title is The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.

• What are the sources of the play Hamlet?

Ans: The sources are Ur-Hamlet, Historia Danica, and The Tragic Stories.

• When does the Ghost appear?

Ans: The Ghost appears as Bernardo begins to describe its visits.

• How does Bernardo describe the Ghost?

Ans: Bernardo says the Ghost looks like the late King Hamlet in armour.

• What happens when Horatio questions the Ghost?

Ans: When Horatio speaks to the Ghost, it disappears.

• Who is Claudius?

Ans: Claudius is the present King of Denmark and Hamlet’s uncle.

• How does Claudius justify his remarriage to Gertrude?

Ans: Claudius says he married Gertrude to protect Denmark’s peace.

• Why is Hamlet driven to the thoughts of suicide?

Ans: Hamlet feels deep sorrow over his mother’s quick remarriage.

• What prevents Hamlet from committing suicide?

Ans: Hamlet avoids suicide because it is against God’s law.

• Why is the marriage between Claudius and Gertrude considered incestuous?

Ans: It is incestuous because she married her husband’s brother.

• Why does Hamlet call this world “an unweeded garden”?

Ans: He thinks his mother’s marriage made the world dirty and wild.

• Who was Niobe?

Ans: Niobe was a woman who lost all her children for her pride.

• What is the meaning of “Frailty, thy name is woman”?

Ans: Hamlet says women are weak, blaming his mother’s action.

• What does Polonius say about borrowing money?

Ans: Polonius says borrowing or lending money causes loss.

• When does the Ghost appear for the second time?

Ans: The Ghost appears for the second time in Act I, Scene 4.

• How does the Ghost identify itself to Hamlet?

Ans: The Ghost says it is Hamlet’s father’s spirit suffering in purgatory.

• Who, according to the Ghost, is responsible for his death?

Ans: The Ghost says Claudius killed him by poison.

• Why is Ophelia distressed and frightened?

Ans: She is frightened by Hamlet’s strange and wild behavior.

• Who act as the King’s spies against Hamlet?

Ans: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spy on Hamlet for the King.

• How does Hamlet plan to prove Claudius’ guilt?

Ans: He plans a play to watch Claudius’s guilty reaction.

• What is the meaning of “To be or not to be”?

Ans: It means whether to live or to die.

• How does Hamlet end his ‘To be or not to be’ speech?

Ans: He says fear of death stops people from ending life.

• Why does Hamlet advise Ophelia to go to a nunnery?

Ans: He wants to save her from the evil of the world.

• How does Ophelia lament for Hamlet’s madness?

Ans: She cries that Hamlet’s sweet love has turned bitter.

• How is Claudius’s guilt confirmed?

Ans: Claudius’s reaction during the play confirms his guilt.

• Why does Hamlet fail to kill the King at prayer?

Ans: He thinks killing a praying man will send him to heaven.

• Why does the Queen fail to see the Ghost?

Ans: The Queen cannot see it because of her sinful life.

• What is the King’s motive in sending Hamlet to England?

Ans: The King plans to have Hamlet killed in England.

• What does Hamlet do when pirates attack his ship?

Ans: He boards the pirate ship and is taken prisoner.

• Why are the gravediggers introduced in the play?

Ans: They provide comic relief in the tragic story.

• Who was Yorick?

Ans: Yorick was the King’s jester and Hamlet’s childhood friend.

• What is the last intrigue of Claudius against Hamlet?

Ans: He arranges a fencing match between Hamlet and Laertes.

• How does Claudius plan Hamlet’s murder in the duel?

Ans: He poisons Laertes’s sword and prepares poisoned wine.

• How does the Queen die?

Ans: She drinks the poisoned wine meant for Hamlet and dies.

• How does Hamlet kill the King at last?

Ans: He stabs Claudius and makes him drink the poisoned wine.

• What kind of funeral is given to Hamlet’s body?

Ans: Hamlet is given a royal military funeral by Fortinbras.

• How is Hamlet betrayed by Ophelia?

Ans: She returns his gifts and obeys her father to spy on him.

• At which university had Hamlet been studying?

Ans: Hamlet studied at Wittenberg University in Germany.

• What, according to Polonius, does borrowing do to a borrower?

Ans: He says borrowing makes a man wasteful and careless.

• What is the famous line spoken by Horatio when Hamlet dies?

Ans: Horatio says, “Now cracks a noble heart… good night, sweet prince.”

• Who becomes the King of Denmark at the end of the play?

Ans: Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, becomes the King.

• Who remains alive in the last scene of Hamlet?

Ans: Only Horatio remains alive at the end.

• What is comic relief?

Ans: A comic scene that lightens the sadness in a tragedy.

• What is the name of the play within the play?

Ans: The name of the play is The Murder of Gonzago.

• What is an “aside”?

Ans: It is a speech spoken to the audience, not to others on stage.

• When and where was Shakespeare born?

Ans: He was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.

• In what sense are Fortinbras and Hamlet contrasted?

Ans: Fortinbras acts quickly, but Hamlet delays in action.

• Who says, “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”?

Ans: Marcellus says this line.

• Who informs Hamlet of the appearance of the Ghost?

Ans: Horatio tells Hamlet about the Ghost.

• Who is Fortinbras?

Ans: Fortinbras is the young Prince of Norway.

• What is the setting of the play Hamlet?

Ans: The play is set in Elsinore Castle, Denmark.

• What is “The Mouse Trap”?

Ans: It is the name Hamlet gives to the play he stages.

• What is the name of the play within the play?

Ans: It is called The Murder of Gonzago, also called The Mouse Trap.

• Why is Fortinbras preparing war against Denmark?

Ans: He wants to regain the land lost by his father to Denmark.

• How does Polonius die?

Ans: Hamlet kills him by stabbing through the curtain.