which three conditions did the ghost tell Hamlet to perform the revenge? in (IV,v,76), Ophelia's madness causes Claudius to say, "When sorrows come, they come not as single spies, But in battalions." State the three sorrows which weigh heavily with Claudius at this time. 'O, for two special reasons.' Here Claudius gives Laertes two reasons why he didn't have Hamlet executed in Denmark. What were the two reasons?

-- laura pronand (lauand01@nwrc.sk.ca), November 23, 2000

Answers

because claudius killed his father. and married his mother.

-- jamil abbasi (jamilabbasi@yahoo.com), March 31, 2001.

I think this is what you want: (A) The ghost (Hamlet's father, Old Hamlet) explains to Hamlet that Claudius 1)murdered him, 2)committed adultery and incest by desiring and then marrying Gertrude, Old Hamlet's wife and Hamlet's mother, 3)killed Old Hamlet while he was unshriven, thereby sending him to Purgatory instead of Heaven (cf. OTHELLO V.ii.26 - 34).

(B) Claudius spells out all the sorrows in IV.v.75 - 90. There are more than three. The ones that would weigh heavily on Claudius might be the death of Polonius and the resulting confusion and murmering amongst the people (which threatens C's security), perhaps Ophelia's madness, and Laertes' having come secretly from France and now hearing bad things from people about C.

(C) C's 2 reasons are 1) Gertrude dotes on Hamlet and Claudius, because he loves her, won't harm Hamlet because it would hurt her, 2) Hamlet is so popular with the people of Denmark that they would turn against Claudius if he harmed Hamlet openly.

-- catherine england (catherineamer@hotmail.com), October 05, 2001.