Q&A SummaryStory

Shakespeare uses a prologue to inform the audience that… the lovers from the feuding families will die. Adjectives that describe the character of Tybalt are… saucy and hotheaded. When Benvolio first talks with Romeo, he finds his cousin… temperamental because…

adversary n. An opponent or enemy alderman n. A member of the city government anguish n. Great mental or physical suffering assailing adj., Attacking violently boisterous adj. Stormy or violent convert v. To change into another form or thing counsel…

What drawn and talk of peace I hate the word as I hate hell all Montague’s and Thee. Have at thee coward! Tybalt Rebellious subjects enemies to the peace, profanities of this neighbor stained-steel. will they not hear? What ho!…

Romeo The son and heir of Montague and Lady Montague. A young man of about sixteen, Romeo is handsome, intelligent, and sensitive. Though impulsive and immature, his idealism and passion make him an extremely likable character. He lives in the…

personification non human person place or thing that is given human qualities poetic justice virtue is ultimately rewarded or vice punished often in modern literature by an ironic twist of fate pun humorous take off on a word words sound…

Claudius’s comment in Scene 1 that he is happy to hear of Hamlet’s interest in the troupe of actors is an example of dramatic irony because the audience knows that Claudius will be made unhappy by the play What is…

“Goodnight sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.” Horatio What is ironic about Hamlet’s decision not to kill Claudius in Act 3? Hamlet thinks Claudius was praying, however, he was not praying after all “Rich gifts…

Act 4 scene 1 – Gertrude tells Claudius that Hamlet killed Polonius. She knows he is not mad now and to protect him she gives a distorted version of events. Claudius sends R & G to fetch Hamlet and they…

1952 Heilburn defends Gertrude arguing that the text never hints she knew of the murder Gertrude is misinterpreted Gertrude is misinterpreted as male critics judge her based on what Hamlet says about her Gertrude is merely Gertrude is merely adapting…

Gertrude: ‘Hamlet, thou has thy father much offended,Hamlet: ‘Mother, you have my father much offended.” Gertrude speaks of Claudius as Hamlet’s father already, showing how she has forgotten of the Old Hamlet within a short space of time. This once…