Question

Read the excerpt from Act II of Hamlet.

Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wann’d,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in ’s aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing!
For Hecuba!

Shakespeare’s allusion to Hecuba suggests that Hamlet

is irritated by the actor’s emotional performance of the speech.
is impressed by the actor’s ability to cry for a fictional character.
wishes the actor had shown more emotion during the speech.
feels that the actor does not know who Hecuba really was.

Answer 1

is impressed by the actor’s ability to cry for a fictional character.

Explanation: Hamlet marvels that the actor can summon real tears and powerful emotion for "Hecuba"—a character he has no real reason to mourn—while Hamlet himself cannot induce similar feeling about his father's murder.