Hamlet, Part 1: An Introduction to Elizabethan Theater — Quiz
Question 7 • British Literature and Composition
Read the excerpt from Hamlet, Act I, Scene ii. Horatio: My lord, I came to see your father’s funeral. Hamlet: I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow-student; I think it was to see my mother’s wedding. Horatio: Indeed, my lord, it follow’d hard upon. Hamlet: Thrift, thrift, Horatio! the funeral bak’d meats Did coldly furnish forth the marriage tables. In the excerpt, Shakespeare characterizes Hamlet as
Answer
A
disgusted that Gertrude and Claudius married so quickly.
B
grateful that his mother did not have to remain a widow for long.
C
amused that he was able to attend his own mother’s wedding.
D
resentful that Gertrude and Claudius wasted so much food.
Explanation
Hamlet points out that his mother’s wedding followed soon after his father’s funeral. The “funeral bak’d meats” were used to serve food at the wedding, which he calls “thrift” with bitter irony. His words convey disgust and resentment about how quickly Gertrude and Claudius married, not concern about wasting food.
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