Hamlet Key 2 There must be a serious reason for Hamlet’s dead father to appear as a ghost. He possibly wants to tell Hamlet about his death or about something that happened before he died that no one knows about. 3 Hamlet must be feeling lonely because he has lost his father, who was probably a stabilising force in his life. He is probably also confused as he finds it hard to understand why his uncle took the throne. He must be angry with his mother, even disgusted, since she betrayed him and his father and got married so soon after her husband’s death. Finally, he may be worried or even scared about the future of Denmark now that his uncle has a lot of power in his hands. Think! Gertrude reveals no guilt in her marriage with Claudius after the sudden death of her husband, King Hamlet. This suggests that she might have been involved in the murder, especially since she hardly mourned her husband’s death before remarrying. Her behaviour is open to various interpretations, though. The affection she shows towards her son, for example, makes one doubt whether she is evil. She might have married Claudius to make up for the insecurity and instability King Hamlet’s death has caused her and the country as a whole.
Episode 2 Before Reading 1 (Suggested Answers) 1 The people in the first picture are Hamlet, the ghost of his father and his friend Horatio. They are on the battlements of the castle because this is where the ghost appears. Hamlet probably wants to find out the truth about his father’s death. 2 Hamlet could be begging the ghost to talk to him. He may be feeling respect for or even fear of the ghost. While Reading 2 (Suggested Answers) 1 They meet on the battlements of the castle. 2 Horatio warns Hamlet to be careful because the ghost might put Hamlet’s life in danger. 3 Hamlet ignores his friend’s advice because he thinks his life is meaningless.
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4 Claudius has told everyone that his brother was bitten by a serpent while he was sleeping in his orchard. 5 Claudius poured poison into the King’s ear while he was sleeping in his orchard. 6 The ghost wants Hamlet to avenge his murder. 7 After Hamlet promises to take revenge for his father’s death, he decides to act like a madman for a while so that no one will find out what his real intentions are. After Reading 3 (Suggested Answers) 1 Hamlet probably feels astonished, even shocked, to see his father as a ghost. He may also be worried or afraid that something bad has happened and is anxious to find out what it is. 2 Although astonished at first, Hamlet seems to be very angry when he finds out the truth about his father’s death, and also assured of his original suspicion that his father has been murdered. 3 Hamlet has actually started planning his revenge. He thinks that if he pretends to be mad, he will be able to find out what really happened and avenge his father’s death without anyone suspecting him. 4 Hamlet might confront his uncle and his mother about what happened, or he might confide in Horatio and ask him to help him. In any case, he will certainly start pretending to be mad, as he has planned. Think! Shocked at the sight of the ghost, the guard accompanying Hamlet and Horatio expresses his fears that “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark”. Denmark is corrupt, infected by some mysterious force, well-hidden and pending. The feeling of anxiety established in the first episode is here confirmed by the appearance of the ghost, whose words reveal corruption through an effective symbolic image. The new King poured poison into the old King’s ears sending him to death. Like the poison running through the old King’s body and eating him away, corruption is now oozing through the state of Denmark making it a decaying body.