| Quote #7 […] and there put on him |
In a long tradition of helicopter parenting, Polonius spies on his kid while he's away at college. And he's not the only one. Claudius, Hamlet's step-father / uncle, also goes to great lengths to find out what Hamlet's up to and even tries to have him murdered. We know that Hamlet idealizes his own father, but we wonder —if Old Hamlet were still alive, would he be any better than Claudius and Polonius?
| Quote #8 O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven; |
As King Claudius prays, he acknowledges that, by murdering his brother, Old Hamlet, he has brought upon himself the first ("primal") and oldest ("eldest") "curse," which is a reference to the biblical story of Cain, who committed the first murder when he killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4.10-12). Apparently, family feuds go way back. Way back.
| Quote #9 QUEEN GERTRUDE HAMLET |
This is basically Hamlet saying, "Ugh, mom. It's not like he's my real dad"—only classier.