Question

Hamlet: Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor: suit the action to the word, the word to the action; with this special observance, that you o’erstep not the modesty of nature; for anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold, as ’twere, the mirror up to nature . . .

–Hamlet,
William Shakespeare

Which details from the passage support the idea that actors should try to represent people as they really are? Check all that apply.

“with this special observance”
“o’erstep not the modesty of nature”
“anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing”
“both at the first and now”
“to hold . . . the mirror up to nature”

Answer 1

Answers:
- “o’erstep not the modesty of nature” — warns against exaggeration; actors should stay true to natural behavior.
- “anything so overdone is from the purpose of playing” — says overacting defeats the play’s purpose of realistic depiction.
- “to hold . . . the mirror up to nature” — explicitly states the play’s aim is to reflect real life.

Not selected: “with this special observance” (just a transitional phrase) and “both at the first and now” (refers to time, not realism).