Hamlet Act 4

Polonius is with King Claudius in the chapel.

Polonius is with King Hamlet, the dead king not with Claudius the living king.

Polonius has gone to meet the Norwegian King.

Polonius has gone to London to discuss politics with the King.

He calls them leeches, saying they associate themselves with the King to appear superior to other

commoners.

He calls them monsters, saying they are selfish and look for ways to destroy others.

He calls them sponges that that soak up the king’s approval, his rewards, and his decisions.

He calls them monkeys, saying they follow the King's orders without thinking.

He wishes to forget the guilt he feels for killing his brother by protecting his brother’s son.

He needs to save all of his strength for fighting the enemies from other countries.

Hamlet's mother would not want him harmed. The people of Denmark like him and would be upset if anything happened to him.

He is protecting his wife. He thinks that Hamlet might try to hurt her if he is provoked.

First he says it is with the other vermin. Then he says it is on its way to England, so as not to desecrate good Danish soil.

First he says it is "not where he eats, but where he is eaten" Then he tells the King to look for him in Heaven, and if he can't find Polonius there, to go "to the other place"(hell) himself.

First he says Polonius is now "keeping company with my dear dead father." Later he tells the King he has put the body on display in the marketplace for all the people to see, telling them that this is what happens to those who disobey the King.

First he says he has "brought the fair body to the chapel." Then he says it is in a place where no

harm will come to it.

The King sends money to the King of England to pay for Hamlet's upkeep for one year.

The King wants Hamlet to be killed as soon as he reaches England.

The King sends a document saying that Hamlet is mad, and asking that he be imprisoned in the Tower of London until he regains his sanity.

It is a letter thanking the King of England for his help, and inviting him and his wife to visit Denmark the following spring.

He expresses his regrets about the way he has treated Ophelia, but says that he has acted this way for a greater good.

He asks Horatio to talk to the Queen for him; he thinks she might listen to Horatio.

He says he has escaped from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern onto a pirate ship, where he is being well treated. He asks Horatio to give letters to the King and Queen, and then to come to see him as quickly as possible.

He tells him that King Hamlet’s ghost has visited him on the pirate ship and asked him to return to Denmark and fight to retake him throne.

They plan to frame Hamlet with the murder of King Hamlet and then let the people decide on his punishment.

They will hire the grave digger Yorick to murder him.

They plan to go to London and bring him back to Denmark and make him stand trial for Polonius’s murder.

They plan to set up a duel between Laertes and Hamlet. Laertes will poison his sword in case he cannot honorably kill Hamlet, or, if Hamlet survives, the King will offer him a poison drink.

She has fallen onto her own knife.

She has died of a broken heart.

She has taken poison.

She has drowned.