Question

the tragedy of hamlet, prince of denmark
act iii, scene i.
a room in the castle.
enter claudius, gertrude, polonius, ophelia, rosencrantz,
and guildenstern.
claudius: and can you, by no drift of circumstance,
get from him why he puts on this confusion,
grating so harshly all his days of quiet (5)
with turbulent and dangerous lunacy?
rosencrantz: he does confess he feels himself distracted;
but from what cause he will by no means speak.
guildenstern: nor do we find him forward to be sounded,
but, with a crafty madness, keeps aloof. (10)
when we would bring him on to some confession
of his true state.
gertrude: did he receive you well?
rosencrantz: most like a gentleman.
guildenstern: but with much forcing of his disposition. (15)
rosencrantz: niggard of question, but of our demands
read the excerpt from hamlet.
hamlet: the fair ophelia! nymph, in thy orisons
be all my sins rememberd.
when hamlet refers to ophelia as a nymph, this is an example of a(n)
☑ allusion
apostrophe
metaphor
simile

Explanation:

In literature, an allusion is a reference to a mythological, historical, or literary figure/concept. Nymphs are mythological beings, so referring to Ophelia as a nymph references mythological lore, fitting the definition of allusion. An apostrophe is addressing an absent/dead entity, a metaphor is a direct comparison without "like/as", and a simile uses "like/as"—none of these match as well as allusion here.

Answer:

allusion