Question

Read the excerpt from Act III of Hamlet.

The oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely,
The pangs of dispriz’d love, the law’s delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns
That patient merit of the unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin?

What does Hamlet mean when he refers to the "pangs of dispriz’d love"?

courtship
romance
passion
heartache

Answer 1

heartache

Hamlet means the pain and suffering of love that is rejected or scorned — the anguish of unrequited/ despised love.