Hamlet Act I, Scene 2 questions.?

Question

Hamlet Act I, Scene 2 questions.

1) What news does King Claudius announce at the opening of scene 2.

2) Why does Claudius send Cornelius and Voltimand to Norway (lines 27-39) ?

3) What bothers Claudius and Gertrude about Hamlet's dress?

4) Why does Claudius want Hamlet to remain at court?

5) About how long has Hamlet's father been dead?

6) Explain why Hamlet says, "Frailty, thy name is woman!" (line 146).

7) At the end of scene 2, what is Hamlet's plan?

Answer 1

The first thing to realize is that Hamlet is not written in English. It's not only mostly poetry, it's in Early Modern English--a closely related but not identical chronolect (time-related dialect). And the prose is in some respects farther away from modern English than the poetry is!
So go at it the way you would a text in a foreign language class: Using the notes in the copy your school gave you, and a dictionary if necessary, figure out what the ?!? it *says.* If you need to write down a running translation, do it. If your hard-copy materials don't help, or even if they do, there are all sorts of materials on the Web. I've just done a search on
hamlet "act 1 scene 2 " notes
and found a bunch.
Probably the best one for your purposes is http://www.clicknotes.com/hamlet/One2.html
but I certainly wouldn't limit myself to just one.
I do want to comment on question 1: Unless I'm misreading horribly (yeah, like I think THAT'S possible), most of the King's first interminable speech is NOT "news." Claudius is merely reciting what everybody already knows: His brother King Hamlet is dead, he and Gertrude have been married with everybody's input and approbation--or so he says--and Fortinbras's demands are specifically marked with "that you know." Which means the answer to question 1 is the same as the answer to question 2! (For the love of a good grade, don't quote me as an authority! Having been given guidance, prove it to yourself, and write up the proof for your teacher, or just possibly come to a different conclusion.)

Answer 2

1.Hamlet warns Horatio that he will begin to act strangely. Sure enough, when Claudius asks how he is, his response seems quite insane: “Excellent, i’ faith; of the chameleon’s dish: I eat the air, promise-crammed” (III.ii.84–86). 2. 3. 4. Polonius enters and reminds the king of his plan to hide in Gertrude’s room and observe Hamlet’s confrontation with her 5.Hamlet slips quietly into the room and steels himself to kill the unseeing Claudius. But suddenly it occurs to him that if he kills Claudius while he is praying, he will end the king’s life at the moment when he was seeking forgiveness for his sins, sending Claudius’s soul to heaven. From Sparknotes, hope that helps a little bit.