<u>Question 3: What does this act and line from the play show the audience in regard to Hamlet’s character development?</u>
Hamlet finally made a decision and acted on it, which he had not been able to do up to this point.
Polonius' assassination shows how Hamlet's character has developed and Polonius' cause of death.
<u>Question 4: What literary device is used in Ophelia’s song from the play?</u>
Simile.
A simile compares two things usually using "as" or "like." In this case, the simile is "his beard was as white as snow." The beard is being compared to the snow.
<u>Question 5: What does this line tell the audience of Hamlet’s planned personality changes?</u>
He plans to pretend that he has gone mad.
Hamlet plans to pretend that he has gone mad in order to confuse the king and his attendants.
<u>Question 6: What message is he attempting to convey to his old 'friends' and the audience?</u>
Hamlet is saying that his madness changes like the weather, and that he is only mad some of the time.
This basically means that he is trying to tell them that he is not actually mad and that he is just pretending.
<u>Question 7: Hamlet’s character is best understood through ______ because _________.</u>
Hamlet's character is best understood through <em>his soliloquies</em> because <em>his inner thoughts and feelings come out in this way. </em>
Hamlet has to pretend being mad to hide his intentions and carry out his mission of killing Claudius. Only his inner thoughts and feelings allow us to see his real character.
<u>Question 8: Why does Hamlet hesitate?</u>
Hamlet does not want to murder Claudius while he is praying because he does not want him to die while he is confessing his sins, which may result in him going to Heaven.
Since his father is a ghost, he doesn't think this is an even exchange.
<u>Question 9: What is Gertrude revealing about herself here?</u>
She feels guilty for her sins and yet she cannot face the reality of what she has done.
Gertrude doesn't want to face her sins, which is why she tells Hamlet, "speak no more."
<u>Question 10: All of the following thematic ideas appear in the play Hamlet except...</u>
Triumph of love over hatred
All of the other thematic ideas are present in the play.
