Hamlet, Part 5: Characteristics of Elizabethan Drama — Quiz
Question 17 • British Literature and Composition
Read the excerpt from Act III of Hamlet . Hamlet: O God, your only jig-maker. What should a man do but be merry? for, look you, how cheerfully my mother looks, and my father died within’s two hours. Ophelia: Nay, ’tis twice two months, my lord. Hamlet: So long? Nay, then, let the devil wear black, for I’ll have a suit of sables. O heavens! die two months ago, and not forgotten yet? Then there’s hope a great man’s memory may outlive his life half a year; but, by ’r lady, he must build churches then, or else shall he suffer not thinking on, with the hobby-horse, whose epitaph is, ‘For, O! for, O! the hobby-horse is forgot.’ How does the excerpt exemplify Elizabethan drama?
Answer
A
by praising the lives of saints
B
by addressing political policies
C
by exploring human emotions
D
by referencing Biblical concepts
Explanation
The excerpt explores Hamlet’s feelings about his father’s death and his mother’s apparent lack of grief. His jokes about the time since the death reveal bitterness and his concern that people are quickly forgotten. This focus on grief, anger, and remembrance exemplifies Elizabethan drama’s exploration of human emotions, so the correct choice is “by exploring human emotions.”
AI-written and checked against the verified answer.