Hamlet Act Two

Question 1

What is the name of Polonius’ servant who he sent to spy on Laertes?

Answer 1

Reynaldo

Question 2

What word (beginning with e) means to be cut off from the church?

Answer 2

excommunicated

Question 3

In what year was Elizabeth I excommunicated by the Pope?

Answer 3

1570

Question 4

Why was Elizabeth I excommunicated by the Pope in 1570?

Answer 4

For making England a Protestant nation

Question 5

Why did Elizabeth I establish a spy network?

Answer 5

To combat the threat posed by her Catholic enemies in Europe and in England; they wanted to overthrow the Protestant Elizabeth I and replace her with a Catholic ruler (Mary QoS)

Question 6

Which word (beginning with s) refers to ideas of close observation, and is one of the play’s major themes?

Answer 6

surveillance

Question 7

‘Put on him what _______ you please’

Answer 7

forgeries

Question 8

Who says ‘put on him what forgeries you please’ and what is being referred to here?

Answer 8

Polonius tells Reynaldo to spread untruthful stories about Laertes in order to find out about his recent behaviour.

Question 9

What does the name Reynaldo mean?

Answer 9

fox-like

Question 10

How does Reynaldo respond to Polonius’ instructions that he slanders Laertes?

Answer 10

He is concerned that such untruthful suggestions would taint Laertes’ honour.

Question 11

‘I have been so ___________’

Answer 11

affrighted

Question 12

Who says ‘I have been so affrighted’

Answer 12

Ophelia - after Hamlet bursts into her chamber acting erratically (and maybe feigning madness)

Question 13

Which quotation means to feign madness?

Answer 13

‘antic disposition’

Question 14

What does Hamlet mean when he says that he intends to put on an ‘antic disposition’

Answer 14

He means that he intends to feign madness

Question 15

How does Polonius respond to Ophelia’s ‘affrighted’ emotional state in 2.1?

Answer 15

He tells Ophelia ‘go we to the king’, using his daughter’s distress to gain favour with Claudius.

Question 16

In 2.2, what does Claudius ask Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to do?

Answer 16

spy on Hamlet and ‘gather/So much as from occasion you may glean’

Question 17

Who does Claudius grant ‘quiet pass’ through Denmark?

Answer 17

Young Fortinbras

Question 18

Why does Claudius grant Young Fortinbras ‘quiet pass’ through Denmark

Answer 18

Because he has made ‘vow before his uncle never more/To give the assay of arms against’ Claudius. Instead, he will travel through Denmark to invade Poland.

Question 19

In 2.2, how does Polonius metaphorically describe the news he has of Hamlet’s strange behaviour?

Answer 19

‘the fruit to that great feast’ - this conveys his self-importance and pomposity.

Question 20

Who describes his thoughts as being ‘the fruit to that great feast’?

Answer 20

Polonius

Question 21

In 2.2, what does Gertrude instruct Polonius, suggesting she sees him as being unnecessarily verbose?

Answer 21

‘More matter, with less art.

Question 22

In 2.2, how does Shakespeare craft Polonius’ language to present him as self important and somewhat ridiculous.

Answer 22

Shakespeare gives Polonius language that is unnecessarily complex with his syntax muddled. E.g. when speaking of Hamlet, Polonius says: ‘That he is mad, ‘tis true: ‘tis true ‘tis pity; And pity ‘tis ‘tis true’

Question 23

In 2.2, what does Hamlet call Polonius?

Answer 23

A fishmonger

Question 24

Why might Hamlet’s insult to Polonius (calling him a ‘fishmonger’) be considered a pun.

Answer 24

A fishmonger was another name for a brothel-keeper (or a fleshmonger - a seller of ‘flesh’). Hamlet is suggesting Polonius treats Ophelia like a prostitute, using her for his own gain.

Question 25

'to be ___________, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand'

Answer 25

honest

Question 26

Who says the following, to whom? 'to be honest, as this world goes, is to be one man picked out of ten thousand'

Answer 26

Hamlet to Polonius.

Question 27

After Polonius exits the scene in 2.2, what does Hamlet say in reference to the royal advisor?

Answer 27

'these tedious old fools'

Question 28

What was the Babington Plot?

Answer 28

A plot in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I and replace her with the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots,

Question 29

When did The Babington Plot take place?

Answer 29

1586

Question 30

What does the word eponymous mean?

Answer 30

A person giving their name to something.

Question 31

What is the significance of 'the rainbow portrait'?

Answer 31

The eyes and ears patterned on Elizabeth's dress in this portrait link to her spy network and the surveillance of the time.

Question 32

How weary, stale, flat, and ____________// Seem to me all the uses of this world!

Answer 32

unprofitable

Question 33

How does Shakespeare structure the rhythms of Hamlet's speech in his first soliloquy, e.g.

Answer 33

The frequent punctuation creates a much slower rhythm, representing Hamlet's melancholic state. This is a direct contrast to the free flowing nature of Claudius' speech that opens 1.2

Question 34

Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing // Quarreling ____________'

Answer 34

drabbing

Question 35

Who says the following: 'Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing, Quarreling drabbing'?

Answer 35

Polonius - he instructs Reynaldo to make up shocking stories about Laertes to discover the nature of his behaviour in Paris.

Question 36

What does 'drabbing' mean and who uses this word?

Answer 36

Drabbing = using prostitutes. Polonius says this when telling his servant (Reynaldo) to spread untruths about Laertes.

Question 37

What technique is used here: 'Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing // Quarreling, drabbing'

Answer 37

Listing. Shakespeare uses this to show how far Polonius will go to discover the nature of Laertes' behaviour and, more importantly, to protect his own reputation.

Question 38

What is the name of the play that Hamlet asks the players to perform?

Answer 38

The Murder of Gonzago

Question 39

Hamlet can be privileged in madness to say things about the corruption of __________/___________ (Mack)

Answer 39

human behaviour

Question 40

Which critic says the following: 'Hamlet can be privileged in madness to say things about the corruption of human behaviour.'?

Answer 40

Mack

Question 41

Which word (beginning with e) means to feel weaker and deprived of a male identity?

Answer 41

emasculated

Question 42

What word (beginning with i) means lacking honour?

Answer 42

ignoble

Question 43

What does ignoble mean?

Answer 43

Lacking honour

Question 44

'Rogue and _________ slave'

Answer 44

peasant

Question 45

Why does Hamlet call himself a 'rogue and peasant slave'?

Answer 45

He sees his behaviour as lowly and ignoble. He calls himself a 'slave' as he feels trapped - by his own moral indecision and the pact he has made with his father.

Question 46

'___________ liver'd'

Answer 46

pigeon

Question 47

'must like a __________ unpack my heart with words'

Answer 47

who*re

Question 48

Why does Hamlet call himself a 'who*re who must 'unpack my heart with words'

Answer 48

He feels that his inaction is cheap and undignified. Hamlet feels a sense of self loathing that he feels compelled to constantly unpick his emotions, rather than acting.

Question 49

'___________ of my cause'

Answer 49

unpregnant

Question 50

'The play's the thing/Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the ___________'

Answer 50

king

Question 51

Why is a rhyming couplet used at the end of Hamlet's soliloquy in 2.2

Answer 51

It represents him reaching a resolution and finding a relative sense of certainty.

Question 52

Which critic? 'Hamlet seems incapable of deliberate action'

Answer 52

Hazlitt

Question 53

'Hamlet seems incapable of ___________ action' (Hazlitt)

Answer 53

deliberate

Question 54

'Hamlet's delay is due to...a form of _____________' (Bradley)

Answer 54

melancholy

Question 55

Why does Hamlet call himself 'pigeon liver'd'

Answer 55

In the Elizabethan era, the liver was seen as the storehouse or courage. Hamlet is therefore saying that he is cowardly for not taking action.