Hamlet Act 4 Quiz
Questions: 16 · 10 minutes
1. According to Hamlet’s letter to Horatio, how does Hamlet return to Denmark instead of continuing to England?
He discovers Claudius’s order and secretly leaves the ship in a Danish harbor.
He boards a pirate ship during a sea fight, and the pirates bring him back to Denmark.
Fortinbras intercepts the ship and grants him safe passage home.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern agree to reverse course after Hamlet confronts them.
2. What secret instruction does Claudius send with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern when Hamlet is dispatched to England?
England should imprison Hamlet until Denmark’s unrest has ended.
England should recruit Hamlet to fight against Fortinbras.
England should arrange a marriage that keeps Hamlet away from Denmark.
England should have Hamlet put to death.
3. Laertes initially suspects Claudius of responsibility for Polonius’s death. How does Claudius redirect his anger?
He promises to surrender the throne before discussing the death.
He claims that Polonius died while secretly helping Fortinbras.
He blames Gertrude and orders Laertes to question her alone.
He invites Laertes to investigate the facts and presents Hamlet as the person responsible.
4. When Hamlet says Polonius is “at supper,” he means that Polonius is being eaten by worms. Which Act 4 idea does this image most directly develop?
Death reduces social distinctions because kings and beggars enter the same material cycle.
The dead continue to direct political events from beyond the grave.
Ceremony protects rulers from the physical consequences of death.
Polonius’s political influence will survive through his children.
5. After comparing himself with Fortinbras’s soldiers, what resolution does Hamlet express at the end of his soliloquy?
From that point forward, his thoughts must be bloody or be worth nothing.
He will abandon revenge and remain in England.
He will ask Fortinbras to carry out the revenge for him.
He will reveal Claudius’s crime publicly before taking any further action.
6. Ophelia’s fragmented songs most strongly connect which subjects?
Death, lost love, and sexual betrayal
Military honor, national borders, and royal succession
Religious forgiveness, political reform, and lawful judgment
Childhood education, family wealth, and courtly entertainment
7. What does the Norwegian captain tell Hamlet about the land Fortinbras’s army is going to contest?
It contains a fortress that would give Norway control of Denmark.
It has little economic value, but the soldiers are prepared to fight for honor and reputation.
It is fertile territory that Poland recently seized from Fortinbras’s family.
It offers a direct route for a planned attack on Elsinore.
8. Who describes Ophelia’s drowning near the end of Act 4?
Horatio
The gravedigger
Laertes
Gertrude
9. Hamlet calls Rosencrantz a “sponge.” What criticism does this metaphor express?
Rosencrantz forgets information as quickly as he hears it.
Rosencrantz tries to cleanse the court of corruption without confronting Claudius.
Rosencrantz absorbs the king’s favor and commands but can be discarded once he has served his purpose.
Rosencrantz changes his loyalties according to whichever prince appears strongest.
10. During Ophelia’s distribution of flowers and herbs, which item does she explicitly associate with remembrance?
Fennel
Rue
Rosemary
Violets
11. Why does Laertes return to Elsinore with an angry crowd behind him?
He wants to claim the territory Fortinbras is crossing.
He seeks answers and revenge for his father’s death and secretive burial.
He intends to prevent Ophelia from being sent to England.
He believes Hamlet has taken the Danish throne during his absence.
12. What plan do Claudius and Laertes devise to kill Hamlet while making his death appear accidental?
They will weaken a palace balcony before Hamlet meets Gertrude there.
Laertes will use a poisoned, unblunted fencing weapon, with a poisoned drink prepared as a backup.
They will poison a letter that Horatio is expected to hand to Hamlet.
They will send Hamlet into battle without armor and blame Fortinbras.
13. After Gertrude tells Claudius that Hamlet has killed Polonius, what does Claudius do next?
He sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find Hamlet and recover Polonius’s body.
He orders Laertes to arrest Hamlet inside the palace.
He publicly accuses Gertrude of helping Hamlet escape.
He immediately challenges Hamlet to a formal trial before the court.
14. Which sequence places these Act 4 events in the correct order?
Laertes returns; Hamlet meets the Norwegian captain; Ophelia appears distracted; Horatio receives Hamlet’s letter.
Ophelia appears distracted; Claudius sends Hamlet to England; Laertes returns; Hamlet meets the Norwegian captain.
Horatio receives Hamlet’s letter; Hamlet is sent to England; Laertes returns; Gertrude reports Ophelia’s drowning.
Claudius sends Hamlet toward England; Hamlet meets the Norwegian captain; Ophelia appears distracted; Laertes returns.
15. Which comparison best captures how Act 4 presents Hamlet, Fortinbras, and Laertes as responses to injured honor?
All three carefully reject violence and wait for a public trial.
Fortinbras and Laertes hesitate over moral questions, while Hamlet acts immediately.
Fortinbras leads organized military action, Laertes rushes toward personal revenge, and Hamlet criticizes his own delay before renewing his resolve.
Hamlet and Laertes pursue national conquest, while Fortinbras seeks private revenge for a murdered father.
16. Why does Claudius say he has not openly punished Hamlet for Polonius’s death?
He believes Danish law gives princes immunity from punishment.
He lacks any witnesses who can confirm that Polonius is dead.
Gertrude is deeply attached to Hamlet, and the public tends to view Hamlet favorably.
He has promised the Norwegian king that Hamlet will inherit the throne.