Act 3 Scenes 3 & 4

Scene III

1) What does Claudius plan to do with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and Hamlet?

· He is going to send all three of them to England. Now that Hamlet has killed Polonius he has good reason to exile him for a while, and he is sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern along to keep an eye on him and probably to let the King know when he has stopped acting mad.

2) What is Polonius going to do while Hamlet speaks with his mother?

· He is going to hide behind the tapestry in her room and listen to the conversation Hamlet and her have. He is betting on her yelling at him.

3) List three important things about Claudius’ soliloquy. 4) Why is it odd that Hamlet sees the king praying? 5) Why doesn’t Hamlet take this opportunity for revenge?

· Claudius is talking about how guilty he feels for killing his brother. He really wants to pray but he can’t because he is still living and benefiting from his brother’s murder and he isn’t willing to give up everything he gained, such as the queen and the crown. Because of this he is incapable of praying. He wants to be able to pray because otherwise that means he is going to hell because God cannot forgive his sins. However when Hamlet walks in on him he thinks he is praying and Hamlet believes if you are praying when you die that you will go to heaven. Since Claudius doesn’t deserve to go to heaven Hamlet decides to pass up his perfect opportunity and wait to kill him.

(4&5 are above)

Scene IV

1) Describe Polonius’ advice to Gertrude.

· He basically says she needs to scold him and tell him that his pranks and all the bad things he has been doing are bad and that they are having harsh effects on her and the King.

2) What is the significance of the following quote: “How now, a rat? Dead! For a ducat, dead!

· Hamlet realizes that Polonius is spying on them so he stabs him with his sword. He knew it couldn’t be the king because he just saw him praying. He calls him a And often times people who spy and sneak around are compared to rats.

3) What is odd about the following quote: A bloody deed; almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king and marry with his brother.

· This is the first time Hamlet shares his theory that Claudius killed the king. And he is also implying here she is actually the one who killed the king and then married his brother, which is not what he originally had in mind. He may have been doing this, not only to see her reaction, but to see if she would blame Claudius for it instead of herself, therefore confirming Hamlet’s theory.

4) Why might Gertrude say, “What have I done, that thou dar’st wag thy tongue in noise so rude against me.”

· This is her reaction to Hamlet accusing her of killing her husband. This kind of shows us that she most likely didn’t kill the king because she seems so surprised, but it also reinforces the idea that she doesn’t find anything wrong with marrying her brother in law so shortly after her husbands death.

5) What descriptions does Hamlet use to compare his father and his uncle?

King Hamlet

· A gentleman

· With curly hair and a forehead with a Greek God.

· He had the natural ability to command and have control

· He was very agile

· Seemed as though God created him especially for a greater purpose, like being a king.

Claudius

· He compares him to a mildewed ear of corn

· There is no comparison between the two men, Old King Hamlet was obviously of higher standing and quality then Claudius

6) What point does Hamlet make by comparing the men?

· He is showing his mother how big of a mistake she made by going from her gallant strong husband to marrying his worthless brother.

7) What is disturbing about the following: Nay, but to live in the rank sweat of an enseamed bed; stewed in corruption; honeying, and making love over the nasty sty.”

· What’s right about it? Hamlet is talking about his mothers sex life and telling her that it is gross to sleep with Claudius because he considers it incest. Also they are having sex in the same bed as her and Old King Hamlet had before.

8) What stops Hamlet’s ranting and raving at Gertrude? What does this figure tell Hamlet?

· His fathers “ghost” appears again. However Gertrude cannot see him. He tells Hamlet that he is confusing and overwhelming his mother and he needs to back off and just talk to her regularly. Also that his need for revenge is starting to fade and it isn’t his primary focus, and it needs to be.

9) By the end of the act, Hamlet has made many statements about humanity, in general. Explain a few of his points. Do his opinions reflect his madness.

· He talks about Denmark being a prison and says that the afterlife would be better because he hates everyone around him, mostly being his mother and Claudius. And these thoughts come in after he found out his father’s ghost was walking around so he maybe thinking killing himself would bring him closer to his father. These could be words of madness. He also blames women for making men act like monsters and says that by putting on make up and doing up their faces adds to the world dishonesty, which is somewhat true but also pretty irrational and crazy.

10) Explain the differences between the ghost in Act I with the ghost in Act III. Why might these differences reflect Hamlet’s insanity?

· In act 1 the ghost is all gung-ho and adamant about getting revenge and killing Claudius. But in act 3 the ghost sees how overwhelmed and upset his ex wife is and he tells Hamlet to back off. He tells him that he is after Claudius not his mother. This shows that the Old King still cares about his wife.