Read the excerpt from Act IV of Hamlet.Danes: [Within.] Let her come in.Laertes: How now! what noise is that?Re-enter OPHELIA.O heat, dry up my brains! tears seven times salt, Burn out the sense and virtue of mine eye! By heaven, thy madness shall be paid by weight, Till our scale turn the beam. O rose of May! Dear maid, kind sister, sweet Ophelia! O heavens! is 't possible a young maid's wits Should be as mortal as an old man’s life? Nature is fine in love, and where 'tis fine It sends some pre
Answer
L
Laertes’s shock at his sister’s condition fuels his anger.
L
Laertes’s disappointment in Ophelia makes him judgmental.
L
Laertes’s sadness about his sister’s state weakens his resolve.
L
Laertes’s sorrow about Ophelia renders him melancholy.
Explanation
Laertes is horrified to see Ophelia mad, crying, “O heat, dry up my brains!” and calling her “Dear maid, kind sister.” His grief quickly turns into anger as he vows that her madness “shall be paid by weight,” suggesting he will seek repayment from whoever is responsible. This supports the choice that shock at his sister’s condition fuels his anger.
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