Here are answers to some questions about the dialogue, events, and characters of Hamlet. The answers may differ from what you were taught in school, or have read in books, or have seen in performances. Most people who write about Hamlet, or perform it, don't really know the play.
Is the Saxo Grammaticus story of Amleth, which served as a major source for Hamlet, a story of madness?- No. Amleth doesn't pretend to be mad, he pretends to be stupid, which is a different thing.
How old is Hamlet?- Hamlet is sixteen years old. The relevant word in the speech of the Sexton Clown is "Sexten" in Q2, which the Folio then clarified to "sixeteene."
Where was Hamlet when his father was murdered?- At school in Wittenberg.
Is there any point in the play where Hamlet pretends to be mad?- No, not exactly that. Hamlet does like to tease.
What does Hamlet's phrase "Anticke disposition" mean for Hamlet's behavior during the rest of the play?- Basically, nothing. In subsequent events, it serves only the minor purpose of keeping Horatio in his seat at the 'Mousetrap' play, a point which is nearly unnoticeable.
How old is Ophelia?- Probably 15.
Who's the Ghost?- The Ghost is the Devil, or the Devil's henchman, which amounts to the same thing.
How does Horatio recognize the Ghost's armor?- He's seen King Hamlet's armor on display as part of the memorial exhibits.
Was Fortinbrasse Sr the King of Norway?- No, he was the king's brother.
Do Horatio and Marcellus swear on Hamlet's sword?- No. Hamlet changes his mind.
How did Claudius become king?- He was duly elected.
Did Gertrude commit adultery with Claudius?- No.
Does Gertrude love Claudius?- No.
Does Claudius love Gertrude?- No. He did once, years earlier.
What's the message from Fortinbrasse that pesters Claudius?- It's a challenge to single combat, from Fortinbrasse to the King of Denmark.
Why did Gertrude marry Claudius?- She was afraid that Hamlet, despite being fat and scant of breath, would accept the challenge to single combat from Fortinbrasse, to the King of Denmark, and that Hamlet, as King, would get himself killed. She married Claudius as a political endorsement of him, and she used her influence with the electors to make Claudius, King. Essentially, then, Gertrude married Claudius to set him up to die. She wanted Fortinbrasse to kill Claudius instead of Hamlet.
Did Gertrude know about Claudius's poisoning scheme against King Hamlet?- No.
What happened to Reynaldo?- Laertes killed him.
Why doesn't Hamlet try to kill Claudius immediately, the next day after the Ghost tells Hamlet about Claudius?- Hamlet has a nightmare which gives him more to think about.
Why does Hamlet appear in Ophelia's room with his clothing in disarray, and with a hellish expression?- He had a terrifying nightmare about her, and hastened to her, to make sure she was alright.
Why isn't Ophelia present when Polonius reads the love letter from Hamlet to Ophelia?- Polonius locked Ophelia in her room.
Why would Polonius lock Ophelia in her room?- To be certain Ophelia wouldn't tell Hamlet that Polonius had purloined Hamlet's private correspondence. Hamlet is the Prince of the nation, and Polonius certainly has no permission to read Hamlet's private mail, so he's worried about Hamlet finding out.
Is "To be or not to be" a meditation on suicide?- No. When Hamlet says that, he is talking about his revenge, his basic goal in the play, (and the fundamental theme that drives the play.) The issue in "to be or not to be" is Hamlet's Revenge.
Why does Hamlet lecture and berate Ophelia in the Nunnery Scene?- Hamlet mistakenly concludes that Ophelia has become Claudius's courtesan.
When Ophelia tells Hamlet, in the Nunnery Scene, that Polonius is "at home" is she lying?- No. For one thing, Polonius and his family live in the castle. Since Polonius is within the castle, he is "at home." Also, when performed properly, Ophelia will glance at the arras as she gives her reply, thus informing Hamlet with her body language exactly where Polonius is. There is more to human communication than spoken words, and there is more to a play than the words in the script. Plays have action.
At the time of the 'Mousetrap Play' how long has King Hamlet been dead?- Two months.
What does Ophelia's word "twice" mean?- It means she lisps, as Hamlet mentioned.
Why does Claudius not react to the Dumb Show?- The Dumb Show, when properly done, is emblematic. The poisoner at the Dumb Show portrays "the serpent in the garden."
It is a known fact of Elizabethan times that dumb shows were either for additional action, which couldn't be shown in a play, or dumb shows were emblematic (symbolic.) Correctly done, the Hamlet Dumb Show villain slithers in, being "The Serpent." The "Serpent" then poisons the king using his "fangs." The poisoner holds his hands at his mouth, with curved index fingers, to represent a serpent's curved fangs. He then moves his hands to the sides of the king's head, the ears, thus inflicting his poison "bite" to the ears, symbolically. Claudius does not understand that as representing him. It looks like an odd representation of the official coroner's verdict about King Hamlet's death: snake bite. Claudius's conscience is not caught by what he sees as a symbolic presentation of the official coroner's verdict. Claudius doesn't know the Ghost called him a "serpent."
Why does Hamlet make indecent remarks at the 'Mousetrap Play'?- He's trying to shame Ophelia and Claudius, in public, with Gertrude there, about Ophelia being Claudius's courtesan - but since Ophelia is really no such thing, Hamlet only ends up looking crazy.
What are the twelve or sixteen lines Hamlet added to the 'Mousetrap Play'?- They are the play queen's two eight-line speeches.
Which Player does Hamlet speak to about the twelve or sixteen lines?- The lad. Hamlet calls the lad "old" to tease Polonius.
What's the significance of Gonzago to Claudius?- The Gonzago news story, about a murder in Vienna, is what inspired Claudius to try to kill his brother. Claudius, himself, didn't think of using poison in the ears - who would? - it's something he read, or heard, in a news report.
Does Claudius flee the 'Mousetrap Play' because the play caught his conscience?- No. Hamlet, himself, causes Claudius to flee with what Hamlet says about the Gonzago murder case. Hamlet doesn't realize it wasn't the 'Mousetrap' play that "caught" Claudius, but rather, he did it himself, with his talk about Gonzago.
Why does Hamlet refrain from killing Claudius in the Prayer Scene?- Claudius caught Hamlet's conscience. Hamlet doesn't admit it, because he despises Claudius, and won't give him credit for anything.
Why does the Ghost appear in the Closet Scene?- Polonius accidentally summoned him.
Why can't Gertrude see the Ghost in the Closet Scene?- The Ghost cast a spell on her.
What is the "neighbor room?"- The King's Room, Claudius's room.
Why doesn't Hamlet take Polonius's body into Claudius's room and kill Claudius?- Hamlet has to change his plan because R & G are in Claudius's room.
Is Fortinbrasse really on his way to attack Poland?- No.
What "Poland" does the Captain mean?- He means "Polonia," the land of Polonius - Elsinore Castle, that is.
What do the pirates want Hamlet to do for them?- They want Hamlet to kill the King of Denmark - Claudius, that is.
Do R & G know that the mission to England is intended to kill Hamlet?- No. We can be certain of this simply because they keep going without Hamlet.
Who is the Gentleman?- Shakespeare.
Otherwise, which play character represents the author?- Horatio. Horatio is the one beseeched by Hamlet to "tell my story," and, for Hamlet, the "story teller" is Shakespeare. Being the "story teller" equates Horatio to Shakespeare.
When Ophelia goes mad, is it because she's mourning for her father?- No, she's glad her father is dead.
To whom does Ophelia give flowers?- Laertes, only.
Is Ophelia pregnant?- No, she dies a virgin.
Does Ophelia kill herself?- No, Ophelia dies by accident, exactly as Gertrude reports. The reason why Gertrude's speech is in the play is to inform the audience of the facts of Ophelia's death.
In the "gravedigger scene," Shakespeare was showing how "good Christians" at the local church are spreading false and malicious gossip about Ophelia's death. The sexton Clown, and the cleric who presides at Ophelia's funeral, are a satire on a certain kind of "good Christian": the kind who's always ready to believe, and to say, the worst about others, even without knowing any facts of a situation.
What real person is the sexton Clown based on?- Ben Jonson. The Clown character is a lampoon of Jonson as an argumentative, arrogant, ignorant, indignant, drunken, insulting, oblivious, hypocritical, self righteous sexton Clown.
How long did Hamlet attend the university?- Three years. Or, at least that's how long he's known Horatio, and we know they're university friends.
What does the name "Yorick" mean?- The name is formed from the English word "yore" with the "-ick" suffix to give it the form of a Danish name. It means "a Danish person of yore."
Why does Hamlet challenge Laertes at Ophelia's funeral?- Hamlet is outraged that Laertes isn't showing proper respect.
Do both Hamlet and Laertes jump down into the grave?- Yes. However, the grave is not done yet. The sexton Clown was mostly talking instead of digging. Also, Ophelia hasn't been placed in the grave yet, because it isn't done. The grave excavation is less than waist deep, so Hamlet and Laertes are clearly visible as they struggle. The sexton Clown will return from his duty of ringing the bell during the funeral, and finish the grave later.
When the courtier who becomes known as Ostrick says that the fencing match is "twelve for nine" what does it mean?- It means the courtier is a dunce who cannot calculate the match correctly.
When does Claudius poison Hamlet's wine?- When he drops in the "onyx."
How does the foil switch occur?- Laertes does it, reflexively, without thinking, from his intense training as a fencer. Between Hamlet and Laertes, Laertes is the one who has the training it would take to make such a foil switch.
Does Hamlet kill Claudius?- No, Hamlet only injures Claudius. Claudius is killed by his own poison.
Why is the historical commentary on Hamlet so wrong?- Historically, most commentators have been lazy, or have been too self-indulgent in wanting to present their own ideas, and have tried to explain the play based on a few isolated quotes, taken out of context, usually out of order, and garbled together, instead of basing their commentary upon a careful, systematic study of the entire play. In other words, most commentary on Hamlet has been written by people who were largely ignorant of what Shakespeare actually wrote. Also, scholars have tended to read what others have written about the play, rather than studying the play, itself, which has only resulted in the perpetuation of a large number of serious errors.
Is the Second Quarto of Hamlet a playhouse script?- No, at least not for the common stage. The full-length version of the play, as printed, is closet drama, for reading. The theoretical possibility exists that the full version might have been done in private performance at the home of an aristocratic patron, where the time limit of the common stage might not have applied.
What real person inspired the Hamlet character?- Probably Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford.
Did Edward de Vere write Hamlet?- No. For one thing, the First Folio printing of Hamlet has many minor changes to the play dialogue, as compared to the Second Quarto printing of 1604-5. Many of those changes give every appearance of being authorial, and they can be reasonably interpreted as occurring after the Second Quarto printing. It would not have been possible for the Earl to have made changes after the Second Quarto was printed, because he died in 1604.
Did Claudius kill his brother?- What kind of silly question is that? Everybody knows he did. The Ghost tells us he did. Well, if the Ghost is an evil spirit he might lie, but Claudius, himself, admits to murdering his brother. Claudius speaks of it, expressly. Claudius wouldn't say he murdered his brother unless he did. That's self evident. Besides, every book, and every other writing about Hamlet, in the entire world, simply states it as a given, that Claudius killed his brother. It isn't possible they could all be wrong. So really, it's a stupid question. Of course Claudius killed his brother. What's the point of bothering people with nonsense questions?
The thing is, Hamlet is a play, and for a play, the words are only part of the story. There's also action, in a play. If you only know the words, you don't really know the play at all. Shakespeare wrote, using his Hamlet character: "suit the action to the word, the word to the action." When that's done, with great care, one will see some surprising things in Hamlet. Surprising, indeed. Downright astonishing.
(Regained)