Hamlet, Part 5: Characteristics of Elizabethan Drama — Quiz
Question 5 • British Literature and Composition
Read the excerpt from Act III of Hamlet . Claudius: Have you heard the argument? Is there no offence in ’t? Hamlet: No, no, they do but jest, poison in jest; no offence i’ the world. Claudius: What do you call the play? Hamlet: The Mouse-trap. Marry, how? Tropically. This play is the image of a murder done in Vienna: Gonzago is the duke’s name; his wife, Baptista. You shall see anon; ’tis a knavish piece of work: but what of that? your majesty and we that have free souls, it touches us not: let the galled jade wince, our withers are unwrung. Hamlet’s character is complex in the excerpt because
Answer
A
his play provides a spiritual lesson.
B
he conceals his true motivation.
C
he is unable to explain the play.
D
his actions symbolize cruelty.
Explanation
Hamlet calls the play a joke and says it is harmless, but he then explains that it depicts a murder resembling the one he suspects Claudius committed. By presenting the performance as entertainment while using it to provoke and observe Claudius, Hamlet disguises his real purpose. This shows that he conceals his true motivation.
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