Question

this excerpt is from shakespeare’s hamlet, a play about a prince who struggles to get revenge for the murder of his father. hamlet has just listened to an actor give a moving speech that dramatizes the reaction of hecuba, the queen of ancient troy, to the death of her husband in battle.
is it not monstrous that this player here,
but in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
could force his soul so to his own conceit
that from her working all his visage wanned,
tears in his eyes, distraction in his aspect,
a broken voice, and his whole function suiting
with forms to his conceit—and all for nothing!
for hecuba!
what’s hecuba to him, or he to hecuba,
that he should weep for her? what would he do
had he the motive and the cue for passion
that i have? he would drown the stage with tears...
which statement best expresses how shakespeare draws on the story of hecuba from the iliad?
choose 1 answer:
a shakespeare alludes to the story of hecuba to suggest that hamlet’s strong emotions are not appropriate for a prince.
b shakespeare uses the story of hecuba to make a comparison that shows the depth and strength of hamlet’s grief.
c shakespeare highlights similarities between hamlet and hecuba to suggest that hamlet is boastful and conceited.
d shakespeare describes hecuba’s experiences as “a dream of passion” to suggest that hamlet is also dreaming.

Explanation:

• Option A: The excerpt focuses on Hamlet's reflection on the actor's emotion, not on whether Hamlet's emotions are inappropriate for a prince. Eliminate A.
• Option B: Hamlet compares the actor's strong emotional reaction to Hecuba (a fictional story) with what his own reaction would be (since he has a real motive for passion—his father's murder). This comparison shows the depth of Hamlet's grief. This fits.
• Option C: The excerpt does not suggest Hamlet is boastful or conceited. The focus is on emotion, not his character flaws in that way. Eliminate C.
• Option D: "A dream of passion" refers to the actor's performance (fiction), not Hamlet being dreaming. The context is about emotional reaction, not Hamlet's state of consciousness. Eliminate D.

Answer:

B. Shakespeare uses the story of Hecuba to make a comparison that shows the depth and strength of Hamlet’s grief.