0
A lot of what happens in Hamlet has to do with death, especially Hamlet's two most Famous Speeches. The "To be or not to be" speech wonders why, since life is so crappy, people don't just kill themselves all the time like lemmings. The "Alas poor Yorick" speech and Hamlet's ensuing conversation with Horatio ponders the fact that, no matter how vital, funny, important or powerful you are, you still end up as a dirty, stinking bunch of bones. Hamlet also thinks about the "circle of life" when he thinks about worms eating kings, and then that same worm being eaten by a fish which is eaten by a beggar. The phenomenon of worms eating dead bodies also interests him: he says that Polonius is at supper, "not where he eats, but where he is eaten."
At the same time, the play talks about our spiritual life after death, especially in the revelation by the Ghost that, yes, there is a Purgatory, and it's pretty miserable, so it does make a difference if a priest gives you the sacrament of Extreme Unction or not.
Hamlet's obsession with mortality may be a result of his belief that we should be able to be masters of our fate, even to the extent of mastering death. (This is why he has such a hard time accepting his father's death and his mother's quick recovery from it.) But in the end, after facing the imminent possibility of his death at the hands of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and then at the hands of the pirates, he learns to adopt a more fatalistic approach: "If it be not now, yet it will come . . . the readiness is all." Only when he does so is he able to carry out his revenge.
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
What about hamlet has convinced ophelia that he is crazy?
He speaks to the ghost of his father, which she cannot see.
What have the watchmen seen just before the following excerpt from Act you scene you of Hamlet?
The curtain went up, or the house lights went down. Anyway, something happened to tell the audience that the play had started. And of course Francisco has to be seen by Bernardo before Bernardo can say the opening line of the play.
Why does hamlet visit ophelia in scene 1?
When you say, "the former Hamlet" you mean the late King Hamlet, right? She remembers him briefly in the play-within-a-play scene ("Nay, it is twice two months, my lord.") in which Hamlet uses her as a straight man to set up his cutting remarks to his mother, "What? Two months dead and not forgotten already?"
Which of Hamlet's plans does Claudius say is most retrograde to our desire?
"As for your intent in going back to school in Wittenberg, it is most retrograde to our desire." Act I Scene 2.
What does the King want from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the scene 2?
The king and queen want them to cozy up to Hamlet and find out what's troubling him.
Why is the quote to be or not to be?
Because that is what Shakespeare wrote for Hamlet to say early in Act 3 Scene 1 of the play Hamlet. It is the beginning of a longish but extremely famous speech.
Did Hamlet say to be or not to be?
He did indeed. It's the most famous thing he says. He says it in Act III Scene 1 of the play.
How do you say eternity in Shakespeare?
"Shakespeare" is not a language. Shakespeare wrote in modern English and thus "eternity" is expressed by the English word "eternity" As in, "all that lives must die, passing through nature to eternity." (Hamlet Act 1, Scene 2)
What about hamlet has convinced ophelia that he is crazy?
He speaks to the ghost of his father, which she cannot see.
What have the watchmen seen just before the following excerpt from Act you scene you of Hamlet?
The curtain went up, or the house lights went down. Anyway, something happened to tell the audience that the play had started. And of course Francisco has to be seen by Bernardo before Bernardo can say the opening line of the play.
Why does hamlet visit ophelia in scene 1?
When you say, "the former Hamlet" you mean the late King Hamlet, right? She remembers him briefly in the play-within-a-play scene ("Nay, it is twice two months, my lord.") in which Hamlet uses her as a straight man to set up his cutting remarks to his mother, "What? Two months dead and not forgotten already?"
What is the Kannada word for 'nature'?
In Kannada, we would say: Prakruthi or Swabhava(as in human nature).
Which of Hamlet's plans does Claudius say is most retrograde to our desire?
"As for your intent in going back to school in Wittenberg, it is most retrograde to our desire." Act I Scene 2.
What is to be or not to be?
It is the opening line of a famous Shakespearean soliloquy from the play Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 1. Some people think that in this speech Hamlet debates whether it is better to kill himself, or go on living in misery. Others think that he is talking about whether to risk death by pursuing his revenge. Still more would say that it is not about Hamlet specifically at all, but rather about the human tendency to hang on to life no matter how awful it is (You will note that, unlike all his other soliloquys, Hamlet never uses the words "I" or "me" in this one).
What does the King want from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the scene 2?
The king and queen want them to cozy up to Hamlet and find out what's troubling him.
What does hamlet ask his mother to do in scene 4?
Hamlet is still mourning his father's death while his mother has quickly ended her mourning and has remarried. The "nighted colour" is the colour of night, which is to say, black. Gertrude wants Hamlet to cast off his black clothes, to stop mourning.
Why did Shakespeare say to be or not to be?
The line appears in "Hamlet". In the play, Hamlet's father had been murdered, and his brother had usurped the throne. The ghost of Hamlet's father demands that Hamlet take revenge on his terrible murder. Torn between his word for vengeance and his conscience, he ponders wether or not he should go on living, hence, the "To Be Or Not To Be" soliloquy.
