Act 4 Sc 3 & 4

Act 4 Sc 3 & 4

Claudius Exercises Caution

• Claudius is still at a loss for what to do about the Danish prince.

• He thinks it's dangerous to let Hamlet run loose around the country, but he also knows that he must act carefully because ''He's loved by the distracted multitude, who like not in their judgment, but their eyes,'' meaning that the uninformed people of his kingdom like Hamlet; not for any moral reason, but more for his appearance.

 Claudius thinks the people will be angry with him.

He is worried that if he punishes Hamlet too harshly. Criticizing people for the importance they place on appearances seems like an ironic statement coming from Claudius, who is very concerned with appearances himself and would not fare well if people judged him solely based on his morality.

Rosencrantz enters and Claudius asks what has happened, seeing that he does not have the body of Polonius. Rosencrantz answers that they could not get Hamlet to tell where he put the body.

Hamlet Discusses Polonius's Remains

• Guildenstern enters with Hamlet

• Claudius asks Hamlet where Polonius is, and Hamlet answers with the same kind of sarcastic and puzzling tone as when he spoke to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in the previous scene. He tells Claudius that Polonius is at supper.

Discussion of Polonius' Remains Cont.

• Claudius is understandably confused.

• Hamlet states, ''Not where he eats, but where he is eaten: a certain convocation of politic worms are e'en at him…we fat all creatures else to fat us, and we fat ourselves for maggots."

• Hamlet, in this riddle, is saying that Polonius is in the ground, probably being eaten by worms. He goes on to say that we all end up as food for worms, no matter how important we are while we're alive.

Hamlet's Attitude

• Hamlet's strange response indicates that Hamlet has a fatalist viewpoint, which means that he is resigned to the idea that death is inevitable and, whether good or bad, rich or poor, we all are going to end up in the same place

• This is radically different from a viewpoint Hamlet displayed earlier when he refrained from killing Claudius while he was praying because he thought dying while praying might get him into heaven.

Where is Polonius?

• Claudius continues to prod Hamlet to reveal where he put Polonius, and Hamlet answers, ''In heaven…if your messenger find him not there, seek him i' the other place yourself''.

• Hamlet is telling Claudius that he should go to hell to look for Polonius himself. Eventually, he reveals that he put the body of Polonius under the stairs in the lobby of the castle, and Claudius sends a servant to go look for it.

• Claudius then carefully explains to Hamlet that because of his murderous deed, they will be sending him to England for his own safety. Everyone knows that Claudius was planning to send Hamlet away before he murdered Polonius, but he wants Hamlet to think it is because he is trying to protect him. Hamlet is surprisingly agreeable about being sent away.

Claudius Reveals a Plan

Hamlet exits the scene, and Claudius urges Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to follow him and make sure that he gets on the ship as soon as possible. When they leave, Claudius muses to himself that he hopes the sealed orders he is sending to the powers that be in England are obeyed; we learn that he is ordering Hamlet put to death. The scene ends, like many, before it has, with Claudius uttering a rhyming couplet to himself: ''till I know 'tis done, Howe'er my haps, my joys were ne'er begun.' In other words, Claudius will not be happy again until he knows that Hamlet is dead.

Multiple Choice

Why does Claudius feel he cannot punish Hamlet harshly for killing Polonius in Act 4 Scene 3 of Hamlet?

• Claudius also hated Polonius and doesn't blame Hamlet

• He still wants Hamlet and Ophelia to get married

• He doesn't want to upset Gertrude

• He knows the general public likes Hamlet

Multiple Choice

How does Hamlet react when Claudius tells him that he needs to go to England in Act 4 Scene 3 of Hamlet?

• He insults Claudius and threatens to reveal his secret

• He refuses to go

• He kills Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and runs away

• He willingly agrees to go

Multiple Choice

In Act 4 Scene 3 of Hamlet, what does Claudius say needs to happen for him to be happy again?

• Hamlet and Ophelia need to get married

• His brother needs to come back to life

• Gertrude needs to have a child

• Hamlet needs to be dead

Multiple Choice

Where does Hamlet first tell Claudius he should go look for Polonius in Act 4 Scene 3 of Hamlet?

• In the lake

• Under the ground in the garden

• In the family crypt

• Hell

Multiple Choice

The idea that Hamlet expresses in Act 4 Scene 3, that we spend our lives fattening ourselves up to be food for worms, demonstrates what kind of viewpoint?

• Insane

• Realist

• Fatalist

• Optimist

Multiple Choice

Claudius is the king. He clearly has the power to punish Hamlet for a crime as heavy as murder. Why is Claudius careful about punishing Hamlet too quickly and too harshly?

• He doesn't want to create a scenario where Gertrude ends up siding with Hamlet. Basically he doesn't want to lose the love of his life.

• He is just flat out lazy. He knows he should, but he's just not doing it.

• He is sacred that Hamlet will retaliate and conspire to kill him if he punishes him right now.

• The public loves Hamlet and Claudius cares too much about his political-influence/power-dynamics to be rash in his decisions.

Multiple Choice

When Claudius asks Hamlet where Polonius is, Hamlet says that Polonius is "at supper." What does he mean by this?

• He is saying that Polonius is currently eating right now.

• He is saying that Polonius is currently being eaten by the insects and the soil of the earth (Polonius' body is being decomposed).

• He is saying that Polonius is at supper because he is trying to pretend like Polonius is still alive.

• He is just trying to sound crazy in front of Claudius.

Multiple Choice

Claudius is now fully acting upon his plan to send Hamlet off to England along with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. What is the real plan behind all of this?

• Claudius wants the King of England to kill Hamlet.

• Claudius wants the King of England to put Hamlet behind bars and never let him out of England again.

• Claudius wants Guildenstern to kill Hamlet.

• Claudius wants to kill Gertrude when Hamlet is gone.

Multiple Choice

Where did Hamlet say he left Polonius’s body?

• Up the stairs in the lobby

• Gertrude's room

• In the courtyard

• Under the stairs

Fortinbras Wages War

• Fortinbras, a captain, and several other soldiers are traveling across a plain, on their way to wage a war in Poland.

• Fortinbras instructs the captain and some members of his group to go to the castle to ask Claudius permission to travel through Denmark.

• The captain remains in the scene while Fortinbras and the other men exit.

On the Way to the Ship

Hamlet, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern enter the scene and cross paths with the captain on their way to their ship to England. Hamlet asks where the men are from and what they are doing there. The captain replies that they are from Fortinbras's army and they are on their way to start a war in Poland over ''a little patch of ground that hath in it no profit but the name.'' In other words, Fortinbras plans to send soldiers to Poland to fight over a small piece of land that no one really cares about.

Hamlet Ponders his Lack of Action

• The captain leaves and Hamlet, alone, thinks out loud to himself.

• He delivers a monologue, or speech given by one person, about how all of his encounters keep reminding him that he has not followed through on his mission to avenge his father's death by killing Claudius. Hamlet marvels at how men waste their lives just barely surviving like animals: ''What is a man, if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed?''

Continues to Ponder

Hamlet then bemoans people who waste their lives, unfulfilling the purpose that God bestowed on them: ''Sure, he that made us with such large discourse, looking before and after, gave us not that capability and god-like reason to fust in us unused.'' Hamlet knows that he himself is guilty of this and calls himself a coward for spending all of his time thinking about Claudius but doing nothing.

Fortinbras is a Man of Action

Hamlet knows that the war that Fortinbras is starting will probably involve thousands of people risking their lives for no reason and for little gain, which is morally questionable. And yet it still impresses Hamlet that Fortinbras is able to mobilize so many people for such a meaningless cause. Hamlet compares this to his own situation, where seeking revenge on Claudius does involve greater gain for him, and yet he still has not taken action.

Hamlet Will Act?

Hamlet is disappointed in himself but resolves to renew his commitment to killing Claudius and vows at the end of the scene, ''O, from this time forth, my thoughts be bloody or nothing worth!'' This shows that he intends to stay focused on his goal, thinking that anything thought that is not geared towards killing Claudius is worthless.

Multiple Choice

What is Fortinbras's title?

• Prince of Norway

• Commander of the Norwegian Army

• Prince of Denmark

• President of Poland

Multiple Choice

What does Fortinbras instruct his captain to do?

• Invade Denmark

• Take Hamlet with them to Poland

• Ask Claudius if they can travel through his land

• Stay at the castle

Multiple Choice

In Act 4, Scene 4 of Hamlet, which country does Fortinbras plan to invade?

• Norway

• Denmark

• Germany

• Poland

Multiple Choice

What does Hamlet decide to do at the end of Act 4, Scene 4?

• Join Fortinbras in Norway so that he can learn from him

• Get more focused about his mission to kill Claudius

• Kill himself because he is a coward

• Hide away so that he misses his boat to England

Multiple Choice

In Act 4, Scene 4 of Hamlet, what impresses Hamlet the most about Fortinbras?

• He is physically agressive

• He seems very wise

• He is a man of action

• He has a wonderful reputation of being beloved by his subjects

Multiple Choice

Hamlet compares himself to Fortinbras and realizes what?

• He realizes that Fortinbras would be a good ally.

• He realizes that Fortinbras is no match for him when he becomes king.

• He realizes that Fortinbras could be hired to kill Claudius.

• He realizes that Fortinbras is a man of action and the he is not. He respects Fortinbras and his men for their willingness to act upon what they believe in.

Multiple Choice

What do we learn about Fortinbras’ army in this scene?

• Fortinbras' army is preparing military meals for Poland

• Fortinbras' army is en route to attacking Poland

• Fortinbras' army is weakened by their recent battle against Norway

• Fortinbras' army is heavily addicted to drugs to cope with the horrors of war

Multiple Choice

Why is Hamlet surprised by the nature of the conflict between Poland and Norway?

• He found the conflict to be unimportant to him

• He didn't understand that starting a war was so complex

• That people were willing to die for their country

• The conflict began because of a misunderstanding

Multiple Choice

Who says the following quote “O, from this time forth my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth!”The CaptainFortinbrasHamletGuildenstern

• The Captain

• Fortinbras

• Hamlet

• Guildenstern

Multiple Choice

Claudius is the king. He clearly has the power to punish Hamlet for a crime as heavy as murder. Why is Claudius careful about punishing Hamlet too quickly and too harshly?

• He doesn't want to create a scenario where Gertrude ends up siding with Hamlet. Basically he doesn't want to lose the love of his life.

• He is just flat out lazy. He knows he should, but he's just not doing it.

• He is sacred that Hamlet will retaliate and conspire to kill him if he punishes him right now.

• The public loves Hamlet and Claudius cares too much about his political-influence/power-dynamics to be rash in his decisions.