FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHT POET AND OTHERS
HAMLET
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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If you do not ask for forgiveness, you can never go to heaven,
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Now that I have confessed to heaven I will be free.
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I can pray, but if I don’t mean it I can’t be forgiven.
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If only I had wings to fly on, the way my prayers do, I would take heaven for myself.
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Detailed explanation-1: -He concludes “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below; words without thought never to heaven go.” What Claudius means is that if he is just mouthing the words, but not putting intention behind them, then heaven won’t forgive him (because he doesn’t truly mean it).
Detailed explanation-2: -In a rhyming couplet at the end of the scene, he says, “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. / Words without thoughts never to heaven go” (III. iii 97-98). Claudius understands that his prayers are worthless, because, though he knows his deeds are wrong, he cannot bring himself to feel bad about them.
Detailed explanation-3: -Act 3, Scene 3-Video Note: “Words without thoughts never to heaven go” | myShakespeare.
Detailed explanation-4: -Hamlet decides to wait, resolving to kill Claudius when the king is sinning-when he is either drunk, angry, or lustful. He leaves. Claudius rises and declares that he has been unable to pray sincerely: “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below” (III.
Detailed explanation-5: -If Claudius dies in prayer he will go straight to Heaven, unlike Hamlet’s father. This scene is ironic since, even though Claudius is praying, he says they are just words flying up with no meaning to them. This scene shows a significant theme that runs through the play.