Act IV and V Questions

Act IV

1. What is the real reason, as revealed at the end of 4.3, Claudius has sent Hamlet away?

He was sent in order to be killed.

2. What has Hamlet done with the body of Polonius? What kind of a funeral did Polonius receive, according to the King (4.5)?
He has put the body in the main hall upstairs. Hamlet feels barely anything after the murder, and even jokes the worms are eating him. The king quickly buried him, with little ceremony.

3. On his way out of Denmark, Hamlet encounters a captain from the army of Fortinbras (4.4). Where are they headed? What are they fighting for?
They are headed to Poland with plans of invasion.

4. How is Ophelia described in the stage direction that marks her entrance to 4.5? What does she sing about in her songs? What does she hand out to the court?
She is described as someone who has lost her mind, talking nonsense and doing meaningless gestures. She sings about her father’s death. She then hands out flowers, each symbolizing there own idea.

5. What news does the Messenger bring of Laertes in 4.5? Has he returned to Denmark alone? Compare his state to Hamlet’s report at 4.7.
He has come back to Denmark. He has returned alone, but has followers demanding he be king.

6. Note how Laertes describes his motivation for revenge in 4.5. What is driving him?
His father- he wants revenge in order to still have the title of being a good son.

7. What turn of events does Hamlet report to Horatio in his letter in 4.6?
He was captured by pirates on the way to England, and is the only prisoner on board.

8. Claudius comes up with a very complicated plan for Laertes to execute his revenge in 4.7. What is it? Notice what Laertes wants to do (4.7)!

Laertes is to murder Hamlet by stabbing him with his sword, which will be poisoned, in his room. If that plan does not work, Claudius will put poison in his drink to not raise suspicions.

9. How do we learn of Ophelia’s death? What are its odd circumstances?

Gertrude comes and tells Claudius and Laertes. She has drowned, but it is clearly a suicide. Gertrude does no attempt to save her.

Act V
1. At the opening of act five, one of the two Clowns (rustics, or men of lower class, not clowns as we understand the word) is puzzled that Ophelia will receive a proper burial. Why? How does the Second Clown explain this treatment (5.1.22)? (Also, note the Priest’s reluctance in the proceedings)
It is not proper for a person that committed suicide to have a Christian burial. He says the rich have an advantage to be buried the way they want to, even if it isn’t proper.

2. Whose skull does Hamlet recognize in the graveyard?

It is Yorick’s- the king’s jester, who is described by Hamlet as a silly guy, that made everyone laugh with jokes and songs.

3. How long has the “grave-­‐maker” been working at his craft? What events coincided with his first day on the job?
He has been there ever since King Hamlet overcame Fortinbras. It was the same day Hamlet Jr. was born.

4. Hamlet imagines that the dirt that the Clown is digging could actually be who? What happens to these great figures in Hamlet’s imagining?
Alexander the Great. The dirt that is converted to mud is used to stop holes according to Hamlet, whether it is a wall or beer barrel.

5. There are two surprising stage directions in 5.1: Laertes, then Hamlet, “leaps into the grave.” What are they fighting over?

They are fighting over who loves Ophelia more. Hamlet says he would do anything to grieve for her because he loved her.

6. Hamlet did inherit something from his father that proves quite useful in his stratagem against Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. What is it?
He inherited his father’s signet, which had the Danish seal.

7. What causes Hamlet’s death (and is also the cause of death for the entire Danish court (including Hamlet I))?
The sword he was stabbed with was poisoned. Everyone has been poisoned, either by a sword or a poisoned drink. 

8. What is Laertes’s dying wish? Is it fulfilled?
He asks for forgiveness from Hamlet, as he also apologizes. Hamlet replies Heaven will grant him forgiveness.

9. Just before Hamlet dies, he offers his “dying voice” to Fortinbras. What does he mean by this? What is going to happen to Denmark after the play?
He has given the crown to Fortinbras. Fortinbras will soon rule Denmark again.

10. What orders does Fortinbras give at the end of the play? What is the significance, do you think, of this action?

He orders his soldiers to shoot for respect for Hamlet. Even though Hamlet was seen as almost insane as time went on, he was still viewed as a heroic figure. All his actions justified his end.