Hamlet: Key Themes and Characters

Hamlet doesn't really give them straight answers. The boys tell Claudius of Hamlet's interest in the theater troop. Claudius tells them to encourage Hamlet's interest in the play.

Hamlet talks about whether it's better to live or commit suicide. He fears what happens after death; it's against the Catholic religion to commit suicide, leading people to suffer out of fear of the afterlife.

Hamlet is angry and tells Ophelia to become a nun and to never marry or have children, reasoning that children become terrible. He appears to be losing his sanity.

<p>Claudius thinks Hamlet is sad, while Polonius believes he is mad due to unrequited love for Ophelia.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Hamlet wants them to perform a scene similar to how he believes his father's murder was enacted, aiming to observe Claudius’s reaction to judge his guilt.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Claudius stops the play. Hamlet and Horatio interpret this as a sign that the King is guilty of poisoning King Hamlet, as the ghost indicated.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The Queen wants to talk to Hamlet before he goes to bed for an 'attitude adjust' with him.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The King wants them to go to England with Hamlet to protect the country from the danger of Hamlet's madness getting out of control.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Hamlet refrains from killing the King while he is praying because he believes that Claudius is repenting his sins, and he wants to wait to kill him when Claudius will go to hell instead of heaven.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Polonius dies from being stabbed while hiding behind a tapestry, as he accidentally startles Hamlet, who stabs him without realizing who it is.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>He wants her to stop engaging with the new King and to confess and repent her sins, not revealing to King Claudius that Hamlet's madness is an act.</p> Signup and view all the answers