FAMOUS PLAYWRIGHT POET AND OTHERS
HAMLET
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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He is trying to become friends with Hamlet.
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He must appear that he is supporting his “son” so that he does not appear guilty.
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He is trying to please his wife Gertrude because she loves her son.
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He is angry with Laertes and knows that Hamlet will cheat and win.
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Detailed explanation-1: -Why would Claudius make a wager in Hamlet’s favor when everyone knows that Laertes is more skilled at fencing? He is angry with Laertes and knows that Hamlet will cheat and win. He must appear that he is supporting his “son” so that he does not appear guilty.
Detailed explanation-2: -Osric’s two differing descriptions of the wager is a minor inconsistency by Shakespeare: In a match of 12 bouts, Laertes must score at least 3 more hits than Hamlet to win the bet. If he scores 7 hits to Hamlet’s 5, he loses the bet. He needs at least 8 hits to Hamlet’s 4.
Detailed explanation-3: -They select their foils (blunted swords used in fencing), and the king says that if Hamlet wins the first or second hit, he will drink to Hamlet’s health, then throw into the cup a valuable gem (actually the poison) and give the wine to Hamlet.
Detailed explanation-4: -At this point, a messenger arrives with the letters Hamlet has sent in Horatio’s care. Now knowing that Hamlet is still alive, Claudius offers Laertes an opportunity to show his love for Polonius by joining him in a plot to kill Hamlet by engaging in swordplay with him.
Detailed explanation-5: -Claudius: We’ll make a solemn wager on your cunnings: This is part of Claudius’s scheme as a cover for Hamlet’s murder. If things go according to plan, Hamlet will appear to have been killed accidently by Laertes’s unbated foil. By wagering on the contest, it is given the air of plausibility and normality.