ACT IV - Scene III Practice Quiz — Hamlet
by William Shakespeare — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: ACT IV - Scene III
What is Claudius doing at the beginning of Act IV, Scene 3?
Claudius is telling his attendants that he has sent people to find Hamlet and recover Polonius's body, while acknowledging Hamlet is dangerous but too popular to punish openly.
Where does Hamlet say Polonius is when Claudius first asks?
Hamlet says Polonius is "at supper" — meaning not where he eats, but where he is eaten by worms.
Where is Polonius's body actually hidden?
Under the stairs leading up to the castle lobby. Hamlet tells Claudius that if he doesn't find Polonius within a month, he will "nose him" (smell the decomposing body) going up the stairs.
What does Claudius tell Hamlet he must do immediately?
Claudius tells Hamlet he must leave for England at once, claiming it is for his own safety after killing Polonius.
What do the sealed letters Claudius sends to England contain?
They contain orders for the King of England to execute Hamlet immediately upon his arrival.
How does Claudius justify not punishing Hamlet directly for killing Polonius?
Claudius says Hamlet is "lov'd of the distracted multitude" (loved by the common people), who judge by appearances rather than reason, making direct punishment politically risky.
What role do Rosencrantz and Guildenstern play in this scene?
They serve as Claudius's agents: they bring Hamlet before the King under guard and are then ordered to escort him to the ship bound for England, unknowingly carrying the letters ordering his death.
How does Hamlet respond when Claudius calls himself Hamlet's "loving father"?
Hamlet insists on calling Claudius "mother," reasoning that father and mother become one flesh in marriage — a deliberate refusal to accept Claudius as his father.
What theme does Hamlet's "food chain" speech illustrate?
Death as the great equalizer: a worm eats a king, a fish eats the worm, a beggar eats the fish — showing that death erases all distinctions of rank and power.
How does the theme of appearance versus reality operate in this scene?
Claudius pretends to send Hamlet to England for his safety while secretly plotting his execution. Hamlet pretends to be mad while delivering pointed philosophical truths. Both characters perform for their audience of courtiers.
What theme does Claudius's concern about public opinion reflect?
Political corruption and the manipulation of appearances. Claudius must frame Hamlet's banishment as a "deliberate pause" (carefully planned policy) rather than a panicked reaction to murder.
What is the dramatic irony in Claudius's closing soliloquy?
The audience learns that Hamlet's voyage to England is actually a death sentence, while Hamlet and the court believe it is for his protection. This creates tension as the audience knows something the protagonist does not.
What extended metaphor does Hamlet use when discussing Polonius's body?
The food chain metaphor: worms eat kings, fish eat worms, beggars eat fish — tracing a king's "progress through the guts of a beggar" to illustrate the cycle of decay and the leveling power of death.
What metaphor does Claudius use to describe Hamlet in his soliloquy?
Claudius compares Hamlet to a disease — "like the hectic in my blood he rages" — portraying Hamlet as a fever in his bloodstream that England must "cure" through execution.
What does "distracted multitude" mean in Claudius's speech?
It refers to the confused, easily swayed common people. Claudius uses the phrase to explain why he cannot punish Hamlet openly — the populace loves Hamlet and would judge the punishment, not the crime.
What does "cicatrice" mean in Claudius's soliloquy?
A scar. Claudius refers to England's "cicatrice" that "looks raw and red after the Danish sword," meaning England still bears the wounds of Danish military conquest and owes Denmark obedience.
Who says: "Your worm is your only emperor for diet"?
Hamlet, as part of his darkly comic speech about death. He argues that worms are the ultimate rulers because all creatures, no matter how powerful, eventually become food for them.
Who says: "I see a cherub that sees them"?
Hamlet, in response to Claudius's veiled hint about his "purposes" for the England trip. Hamlet suggests he has divine or intuitive insight into Claudius's true intentions, though he departs for England anyway.
Who says: "Diseases desperate grown / By desperate appliance are reliev'd, / Or not at all"?
Claudius, in his opening speech. He compares Hamlet to a desperate disease that requires an equally desperate remedy — foreshadowing the extreme measure of ordering Hamlet's execution.