4
QuizMultiple Choice

Hamlet, Part 8: Themes — Unit test

Question 4 • *HSA 26-27 English IV A -IC

Which statement best explains why Shakespeare alludes to Hecuba throughout Act II, Scene ii of Hamlet?

Answer
A
Like Gertrude, Hecuba has married the brother of her dead husband.
B
Like Gertrude, Hecuba shows little emotion after the death of her husband.
C
In contrast to Gertrude, Hecuba takes revenge on her husband’s killer.
D
In contrast to Gertrude, Hecuba is the ideal image of a grieving widow.

Explanation

The player describes Hecuba’s overwhelming grief after her husband, Priam, is killed. Hamlet compares that powerful display of mourning with Gertrude’s quick remarriage after his father’s death, which makes Hecuba seem like the ideal grieving widow. So the allusion highlights the contrast between Hecuba’s grief and Gertrude’s apparent lack of it.

AI-written and checked against the verified answer.

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