ACT IV - Scene VII Practice Quiz — Hamlet
by William Shakespeare — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: ACT IV - Scene VII
What two reasons does Claudius give Laertes for not punishing Hamlet publicly?
First, Queen Gertrude loves Hamlet so deeply that acting against him would alienate her. Second, the common people love Hamlet and would turn any punishment into sympathy for him.
What news does the messenger bring during Claudius and Laertes's conversation?
A letter from Hamlet announcing his unexpected return to Denmark. He writes that he has been "set naked" (stripped of everything) on Danish soil and requests to see the King.
What is the first element of the plot to kill Hamlet?
During a fencing match, Laertes will choose an unblunted ("unbated") sword instead of a standard practice foil, allowing him to inflict a real wound.
What is the second element of the plot to kill Hamlet?
Laertes will anoint his sword with a deadly poison purchased from a mountebank. Even a scratch ("but scratch'd withal") will be fatal, with no antidote ("cataplasm") able to save the victim.
What is Claudius's backup plan if the poisoned sword fails?
He will prepare a poisoned chalice for Hamlet to drink from when he becomes hot and thirsty during the fencing match.
How does Ophelia die, according to Gertrude?
Ophelia fell from a willow tree into a brook while gathering flower garlands. Her clothes kept her afloat briefly as she sang old tunes, but eventually became waterlogged and pulled her under to a "muddy death."
How does Claudius manipulate Laertes into agreeing to the murder plot?
He flatters Laertes's swordsmanship, tells the story of the Norman Lamound who praised Laertes, questions whether Laertes truly loved his father, and philosophizes about how delay weakens resolve.
How does Laertes serve as a foil to Hamlet in this scene?
Both seek to avenge their fathers' deaths, but while Hamlet deliberates and delays, Laertes acts immediately and without moral hesitation, declaring he would "cut his throat i' th' church."
What does Claudius's behavior in this scene reveal about his character?
It reveals his mastery of political manipulation. He redirects Laertes's anger away from himself and toward Hamlet, devises a plan that conceals murder as accident, and ensures he maintains plausible deniability.
Who is Lamound, and what role does he play in the scene?
Lamound is a Norman horseman and swordsman who praised Laertes's fencing skills to Claudius. Claudius uses this report to flatter Laertes and to claim that Hamlet became envious of Laertes's reputation.
What is the significance of the willow tree in Gertrude's account of Ophelia's death?
The willow is a traditional symbol of grief and forsaken love, connecting Ophelia's drowning to her abandonment by Hamlet and the losses that drove her to madness.
How does the theme of appearance versus reality appear in this scene?
The fencing match will appear friendly but conceal lethal intent; the unbated sword will look normal; the poisoned cup will seem an innocent drink. Claudius designs the entire plot so even Gertrude will "call it accident."
What theme does Ophelia's drowning introduce or reinforce?
It reinforces the theme of innocence destroyed by the corruption of the court. Ophelia, the play's most blameless character, perishes amid the escalating cycle of revenge and political violence.
What literary device does Shakespeare use by having the audience watch the murder plot being laid?
Dramatic irony. The audience knows about the poisoned sword and chalice, creating tension as they anticipate the fencing match in Act 5 where the plan will go disastrously wrong for everyone involved.
What effect does Shakespeare achieve by juxtaposing the murder plot with Ophelia's drowning?
The juxtaposition heightens the emotional impact of both: the cold-blooded scheming makes Ophelia's lyrical death more poignant, while her innocent drowning underscores the moral ugliness of the conspiracy.
What is notable about the imagery in Gertrude's drowning speech?
It uses rich pastoral imagery—the willow, garlands of crowflowers and daisies, the glassy stream—to create a scene of terrible beauty, turning a death report into one of the most lyrical passages in the play.
"There lives within the very flame of love / A kind of wick or snuff that will abate it." What does this mean?
Claudius argues that love and resolve naturally diminish over time, like a candle consuming its own wick. He uses this philosophy to pressure Laertes into acting immediately rather than waiting.
"One woe doth tread upon another's heel, / So fast they follow." Who says this and what does it mean?
Gertrude says this as she enters to announce Ophelia's death. It means that sorrows come in rapid succession, each one arriving before the last has passed—echoing the play's accelerating cascade of tragedies.
What does "unbated" mean in the context of the fencing plot?
Unbated means not blunted. Fencing foils normally have blunted tips for safety; an unbated sword has a sharp point capable of drawing blood, making it a concealed weapon.
What is a "mountebank" as used in this scene?
A mountebank is a traveling charlatan or quack doctor who sells dubious remedies. Laertes bought his deadly poison ("unction") from one, suggesting the substance comes from the underworld of deception.