ENGLISH LITERATURE (CBSE/UGC NET)

Detailed explanation-1: -The people of Denmark were told that King Hamlet’s cause of death was a snakebite when in actuality the king was killed by poison.

Detailed explanation-2: -The events narrated by Shakespeare in his tragedy Hamlet1 are the following: King Hamlet of Denmark dies suddenly and his brother Claudius a few weeks later marries the widow, his sister-in-law, Queen Gertrude; according to the official explanation, a snakebite was the cause of his death.

Detailed explanation-3: -Remember that Claudius killed King Hamlet by pouring poison into his ear.

Detailed explanation-4: -When the ghost claims that “the serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown.” This seems a direct reference to the snake in the garden of Eden, that caused Adam and Eve’s fall from grace.

Detailed explanation-5: -The first thing that he said was that he did not died by a snake bite, but killed by his brother Claudius. The ghost told Hamlet to take revenge of Claudius. The second thing that the ghost told Hamlet was that he should do no harm to his mother, even though she married her husband’s murderer.