Hamlet Act 4 Questions

Act IV, Scene 1

1. What is Claudius' main fear in the immediate aftermath of Polonius' death?

Claudius’s main fear after Polonius’s death is that the slander that will spread across the world about Hamlet’s madness and murder will ruin his reputation. He fears that Hamlet will grow to be even madder over time; and while he recognizes his life is at risk too, he is more afraid about the slander. 

Act IV, Scene 2

1. What does Hamlet refuse to tell Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

Where he has hidden the body of Polonius.

Act IV, Scene 3

1. What image does Hamlet use to warn Claudius he's only king temporarily?

Upon being questioned by Claudius about the whereabouts of Polonius’s body, Hamlet wonders out loud that a man can catch a fish using a worm that has eaten the dead body of a king, and when Claudius asks what he means by that, he replies that: “Nothing but to show you how a king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar.” (31) Giving him a clear warning that there is a high possibility Claudius isn’t going to be living too long.

2. Claudius ends the scene by writing a letter: to whom, and what order does it contain?

Claudius ends the scene by writing a letter to the King of England, stating he knows how much ruin Denmark has caused them, indirectly threatening him so that he fulfills his order: that Hamlet is killed when he reaches England, as soon as possible. 

Act IV, Scene 4

1. What's the value of the land Fortinbras' army is marching to capture in Poland? What will the invasion itself cost)?

Fortinbras’s army is invading Poland only for the land, that apparently the Captain of Norway’s troops thinks is not that valuable. Two thousand men and twenty thousand ducats the beginning cost of this invasion. 

2. Hamlet's soliloquy is self-critical; summarize his main fault.

Hamlet ends up stalling; because of his own mistake of killing the wrong person.

Act IV, Scene 5

1. Ophelia's songs during her first appearance in this scene deal with love, death, and sex. 

Why? What do they tell us about her at the moment? What might they reveal about Her, Hamlet and Polonius?

The main root of Ophelia’s singing is her descent into madness after her father’s death. She sings metaphorically about a lot of things; mostly indicating her manipulation and abuse by the men around her. Her relationship with her father, and how Hamlet revoked his love from her are the main focuses of her words.

2. Why is Laertes a danger to Claudius' throne? (Actually two or three related reasons.)

1. He’s threatening Claudius with death because he thinks Claudius killed Polonius. 
2. He’s being motivated for revenge by Opjhelia’s lack of sanity.

3. What does Claudius offer as assurance that he had no part in Polonius' death?

“Laertes, I must commune with your grief,/ Or you deny me right. Go but apart…To you in satisfaction. But if not,/ Be you content to lend your patience to us,/ And we shall jointly labor/ with your soul/ To give it due content.” (170). Claudius offers to Laertes that he will stand before people and if he’s accused by all the witnesses he will accept his fate.

Act IV, Scene 6

1. Horatio receives a letter from Hamlet explaining how he escaped from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. How did he?

The ship he boarded was raided with another ship of pirates; they took him as a prisoner on that ship, and supposedly based on what he said to them, they want him to do a favor for them, so they’re treating him well. 

Act IV, Scene 7

1. What reason does Claudius give Laertes for Hamlet's killing of Polonius?

That Hamlet originally wanted to kill Claudius. 

2. What are his two reasons for not charging Hamlet with murder?

1. He loves Gertrude and she is devoted to Hamlet. 
2. Everyone in the kingdom is fond of Hamlet; and if he tried to tarnish the reputation of Hamlet, it would fire back to him.

3. Claudius reveals that Laertes is famous for his skill with the rapier (a fencing weapon)

and that Hamlet is envious of this fame.  What is the purpose for this?

To inflate his ego enough that he himself kills Laertes; and leading into the proposal that he use his special talents and Hamlet’s “envy” to distract him and kill him.

4. How does Claudius plan to exploit this envy to give Laertes a chance for (publicly) guiltless revenge?

He thinks that if he brings enough people who will praise Laertes in front of Hamlet, Hamlet will be distracted enough to not test the swords while Laertes uses it against him to kill him with a poisoned sword. 

5. How does Laertes refine the plan?

He wants to add a poisonous oil on the sword to make sure he dies. 

6. What announcement does Gertrude make to end Act IV?

That Ophelia has drowned while she was making wreaths of flowers; she fell and drowned with the weight of her wet clothes.