FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHT POET AND OTHERS
HAMLET
|
Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
|
|
|
that he is only acting mad.
|
|
|
that he is good with handsaws.
|
|
|
that he is into falconry.
|
|
|
that he broke wind.
|
Detailed explanation-1: -southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw. Hamlet directs these lines to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. His words imply that, just as the wind only occasionally blows from the north-north-west, so too is he only occasionally struck by madness. These words also contain a warning.
Detailed explanation-2: -Return. Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2, line 378. Hamlet is warning Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he is much more often sane than mad.
Detailed explanation-3: -Hamlet wishes to point out that there is method and cunning behind his “madness.” THe imagery involves bad weather and hunting birds. Beyond the chaos, Hamlet is saying that he knows a hunting hawk from a hunted “handsaw” or heron. Hamlet means that he is able to distinguish his enemies and friends.
Detailed explanation-4: -” what is Hamlet’s relationship with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern? Why have they come to Elsinore? what does Hamlet mean when he says “I am but mad north-northwest: when the wind is southerly, I know a hawk from a handsaw"?