WAEC SSCE - Literature In English - 2006 (Objective)

Question 1 Report

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE: Hamlet

Read the extract below and answer the question

If thou hast any sound, or use of voice,
Speak to me;
If there be any good thing to be done,
That may to thee do ease and grace to me,
Speak to me:
If thou art privy to the country's fate,
Which, happily foreknowing may avoid,
O, speak!
Or if thou has uphoarded in thy life,
Extorted treasure in the womb of earth,
For which, they say, you spirits oft walk in death,
Speak of it;
(Act One, Scene I, lines 128 - 139)

The speech was made after

the killing of Polonius

Hamlet's arrival at the palace

the arrival of the players

the appearance of the ghost

Answer Details

The speech was made after the appearance of the ghost. The extract is from Act One, Scene I, and the ghost first appears in Scene IV. In this speech, the speaker is addressing the ghost and asking him to speak if he has any information that could be useful. The speaker asks the ghost to speak if he has any knowledge of good deeds that could ease the speaker's burden, or if he has any information about the country's fate. The reference to "spirits oft walk in death" suggests that the speaker is addressing a ghost or spirit, which would be consistent with the appearance of the ghost in Scene IV.






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