Hamlet Contents
- Social / political context
- Religious / philosophical context
- The Theatre
- Act I
- Act II
- Act III
- Act IV
- Act V
Act IV, Scene i
Synopsis of Hamlet Act IV, scene i
Gertrude tells Claudius that Hamlet has killed Polonius. He sends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to find Hamlet and the body.
Commentary on Hamlet Act IV scene i
It had been so with us had we been there — Claudius (using the royal plural ) indicates his worry about his own safety, which seems to concern him more than Polonius' death.
So haply slander … transports his poisoned shot … may miss our name — Claudius sees rumour as a poisoned weapon which he hopes to avoid — ironically, given that he poisoned the ear of the Old King and of the country with false reports (see Act I scene iv).
The use by a monarch of the plural pronoun 'we', 'us' and 'our' to indicate that he and she embodies the whole state.
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