Clarification Questions:
1. Why does the ghost of Hamlet's father appear but not speak to Horatio or the others?
2. What advice does Laertes give to Ophelia?
3. Why does Polonius not want Ophelia to be with Hamlet?
4. What's the deal with the trumpets sounding? Why is that relevant? (Scene 4)
5. Does Hamlet officially tell the others about the conversation with the ghost and that his father was murdered by his uncle? What does he tell them?
Erika (Answer's to questions 2,3,5):
ReplyDelete2. Laertes advises Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet. Laertes, Ophelia's brother, explains that Hamlet, as heir to the throne of Denmark, must ultimately do what benefits the country. That means that though he may love Ophelia now, he will never be able to marry her because she is not of royal blood so it would not reflect well on the country, and because Denmark must come first, their relationship is doomed to end. Laertes says that Hamlet's affections for Ophelia is strictly flirtation and is going nowhere.
3. Polonius does not want Ophelia to be with Hamlet because he does not think that Hamlet truly loves Ophelia. He basically says that Hamlet is a young guy and offers her affection because he wants her, not because he loves her. He advises that Ophelia should stop seeing Hamlet because what she thinks is love is simply lust. He also doesn’t want Ophelia’s reputation to be ruined due to these petty acts.
5. Hamlet does not officially tell the others about the conversation with the ghost and that his father was murdered by his uncle. He tells them that he won’t tell them because he thinks that they will tell other people what the ghost had told him. Hamlet claims the ghost they saw was real; however, he can’t tell them the conversation between the two. So he said don’t even bother asking him about the information that was exchanged because he can’t tell them. And finally he asks them to swear that they won’t tell anyone about what they saw that night.
Carli
ReplyDeleteOwn answer to 5
He doesn't tell the others about the conversation with the ghost. He simply makes them swear not to mention anything about seeing the ghost or any events that happened that night. But he keeps the actual conversation with the ghost a secret.