The Sponge (Sc. 2, Beginning Line 13)-
Hamlet refers to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern both as sponges for the King. A sponge is a tool used for cleaning up messes, as well as soaking up material and expunging the material once again. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are the King's sponges. He uses them to try to fix Hamlet, aka "The Mess". They are also used as spies to gather information and tell it to the King.
The Worm (Sc. 3, Beginning Line 23)-
This is a symbol and an allusion both. The allusion is to the Diet of Worms which was an event in Rome. More importantly, in my opinion, is the worms' association with death and how Hamlet uses them to degrade the King. First, worms are decomposers. They are a symbol that everything and everyone living must die. The worms decompose all equally; none escape. Second, the worms are used to bring down the King because not only does everybody have to die, but the same worm that decomposes the King's body can be used by a lowly poor man for fishing.
The Owl was a Baker's Daughter (Sc. 5, Line 44-45)-
This line struck me as odd, so I looked it up. As the story goes, the Baker's Daughter was making bread for Jesus but decided the dough was too big and so reduced it in half. It swelled anyways, and scared her. She cried out three times, sounding like an owl does today, and was turned into the creature. The change the woman underwent to become the owl became linked with trauma over the years. This must be the reason why Ophelia said this line.
I didn't even think about the sponge as a symbol. That's the perfect way to describe Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Thats really is there only job, to follow the kings orders and either try to find out things from Hamlet. They seem like cowards to me, they used to be Hamlets friends and now there betraying him by associating with the king and helping him work against Hamlet.
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