Hamlet: act 3, scene 2 – Flashcards
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at the beginning of this scene, shakespeare gives the audience a glimpse into his true feelings about actors and audiences through the words of Hamlet. Paraphrase Hamlets message about these two groups from his first paragraph of the scene. then, explain whats humorous about shakespeares opinion of the groundlings in the audience, given the timeless popularity of this play
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shakespeare is saying that he is deeply offended by bad actors who dont do a good job delivering their line. he is also irritated by the groundlings because they only enjoy the dumb bits of a play. he says actors who are not good at their craft ought to be whipped. this is ironic because audiences of all social classes continue to attend, study and enjoy his play
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according to hamlet, why is a compliment given to a poor person more valuable that one given to a nobleman
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its better to compliment the poor because they can't give anything in return
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of all the characters in the play, which one does hamlet trust the most? how do you know this?
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horatio; he says he loves horatio and sees him as a true and faithful friend
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when Hamlet speaks to king claudius, he equates himself with a chameleon in a string of babble that the king doesn't understand. why is a chameleon an interesting comparison for Hamlet to make
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because he will change his appearance to hide his true nature to gain an advantage
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polonius tells us that in college he played Julius Caesar and was assassinated by men he thought were his friends. How is this foreshadowing
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polonius is going to die; caesar also evokes the idea of not knowing who to trust
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hamlet makes the murderer in the play the kings nephew, not his brother. give two reasons why halt may have made this choice
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he doesn't want to be completely obvious; the suggestion of a nephew killing is a threat to claudius
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in the murder of gonzago, the queen character says that a second marriage would only be for one reason. whats the reason?
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financial gain
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in criticizing the performance of the queen in the play, gertrude says that the lady doth protest too much methinks. what does this line mean?
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means that the person is lying because when a person swears her innocence excessively, it should make us pause and doubt the persons true innocence
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while talking to rosencrantz and guildenstern, hamlet compares himself to recorder. ins hat way is hamlet like a recorder
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says his friends are trying to "play" him and manipulate and handle him the just the right way to get information out of him for claudius
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torward the end of the scene, Hamlet mentions to polonius that he sees the shape of a camel, a weasel, and a whale in the colds. whats hamlet doing here? what does this brief bit show us about polonius?
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he is trying to seem crazy but also proving that polonius is nothing more than a man agreeing to whatever hamlet says
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in the soliloquy at the end of the scene, what power does hamlet seek in his own heart
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he asks his heart to allow him to be cruel to his mother but withhold the urge to kill her
