Hamlet - Symbols

Question 1

the skull and crossbones - piracy

Answer 1

• driven by characters and themes, so it has less symbolism than usual
• don’t learn the theme so much through symbols

Question 2

skull-death

Answer 2

• helps hamlet to rationalize that death is real

- allows hamlet to consider mortality and sets up the reader for hamlet’s death

Question 3

hamlet’s black clothes

Answer 3

grief

Question 4

flowers - many symbols

Answer 4

• ophelia explicitly explains the symbolism of all the flowers but does not say who all the flowers are given to

Question 5

ophelia’s thoughts

Answer 5

pansies

Question 6

answers

Answer 6

• it represents the sorrow and turmoil
• object in literature stands for something
• it represents death
• represents different things
• dressing in all black
• the ghost of his father
• represent different things
• intense internal sorrow