Question

Read the excerpt from Act IV of Hamlet. Danes: [Within.] Let her come in. Laertes: How now! what noise is that? Re-enter OPHELIA. O heat, dry up my brains! tears seven times salt, Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye! By heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight, Till our scale turn the beam. O rose of May! Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia! O heavens! is 't possible a young maid's wits Should be as mortal as an old man’s life? Nature is fine in love, and where 'tis fine It sends some precious instance of itself After the thing it loves. Which statement best describes how this plot event shapes Laertes?
Laertes’s shock at his sister’s condition fuels his anger.
Laertes’s disappointment in Ophelia makes him judgmental.
Laertes’s sadness about his sister’s state weakens his resolve.
Laertes’s sorrow about Ophelia renders him melancholy.

Answer 1

Laertes in act IV is extremely affected by the death of his beloved father and is determined to take the life of the man responsible for it assuming it was Claudius, the king. While he is talking to the king, Ophelia enters affected by madness. The condition of Laertes's sister weakens his resolve for finding out who kileed Polonius, his father. The third option is the right one.

Answer 2

The answer is A. Laertes's shock at his sister's condition fuels his anger.
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