Hamlet Animal Comparison

After finishing Hamlet, you should have a pretty strong sense of the main character's
personalities. Your job is to choose 1 character and compare them to an animal from the play.
You will need to find at least two quotes from the play to justify your answer. Copy the quotes
and give the Act and Scene numbers. For the explanation, explain BOTH how the quote
shows the personality of the character as well as how the quote shows the animal
characteristic. For example, If you choose Claudius as your character and compare him to a
snake, you must explain how the quote shows he is a snake as well as what you learn about his
personality through the quote.

Character Claudius
Animal Snake

Quote #1 (Copy and Paste)

"Upon my secure hour thy uncle stole with juice of cursed hebona in a vial, and in the porches of
my ears did pour." (Act 1, Ghost)

Explanation: (2-3 sentences)

The ghost tells Hamlet that his uncle Claudius poisoned his father, just as a snake would poison
his enemies. Before the play even begins, Claudius also uses venom as a method of killing, for
example on the sword tip in the last fight.

Quote #2 (Copy and Paste)

“Laertes, was your father dear to you?
Or are you like the painting of a sorrow,
A face without a heart?” ( Act 4, Cladius)

Explanation (2-3 sentences)

Cladius is asking if Laertes feels grief for his father’s death, showing that Claudius is incapable
of understanding feelings and doesn’t have any ethics or morality. He acts only based on instinct
(like a snake) and doesn’t feel grief for Hamlet or Gertrude. As a snake would take out other
animals to try to survive in the animal kingdom.
 Hamlet Animal Comparison

After completing the quotes and explanations, you must come up with at least
two SYMBOLS that work for the character and the animal. For example. If you choose Hamlet
as your character and compare him to a Kangaroo, the mother Kangaroo could be a symbol for
Gertrude, his mother.

Character Claudius
Animal Snake

Symbol #1: Fang

Explanation:
The poison of a serpent is deadly and is ejected from the fangs. Claudius utilizes poison, just
like a serpent. He also feels zero grief and is hungry for power and wealth. Just as a serpent is
hungry to survive in the food chain and also feels zero grief. Claudius sees Hamlet as a threat
and wants to kill him, even though that is his wife’s son.

Symbol #2: Serpent’s Den

Explanation: All serpents are said to be very silent and stealthy when attacking their prey. Some
serpents hide in underground burrows to surprise their prey with a deadly attack. Claudius’s den
is Denmark itself because he is hiding in plain sight and slowly taking out his prey. He is a
imposter that is rotted the state of the country to gain more power and wealth.