Question
Read the passage from Act V of Hamlet.
Hamlet: Let me see.—[Takes the skull.]—Alas! poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning?
One purpose of Hamlet’s speech is to
A: develop the theme “death conquers all.”
B: question the theme “revenge is destructive.”
C: introduce the theme “truth is hard to discern.”
D: contradict the theme “curiosity is dangerous.”
Hamlet: Let me see.—[Takes the skull.]—Alas! poor Yorick. I knew him, Horatio; a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy; he hath borne me on his back a thousand times; and now, how abhorred in my imagination it is! my gorge rises at it. Here hung those lips that I have kissed I know not how oft. Where be your gibes now? your gambols? your songs? your flashes of merriment, that were wont to set the table on a roar? Not one now, to mock your own grinning?
One purpose of Hamlet’s speech is to
A: develop the theme “death conquers all.”
B: question the theme “revenge is destructive.”
C: introduce the theme “truth is hard to discern.”
D: contradict the theme “curiosity is dangerous.”
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The purpose of Hamlet’s speech in the passage is to reflect on the inevitability of death and the futility of life, emphasizing how death ultimately eradicates the vibrancy of existence, even for someone who was once lively and full of humor, like Yorick. Therefore, the correct answer is:
A: develop the theme “death conquers all.”
A: develop the theme “death conquers all.”