Question

the tragedy of hamlet, prince of denmark, act iv, scene vii by william shakespeare as you read, highlight details that show you how characters have changed over the course of the play. take notes to keep track of plot events that affect character development. queen gertrude reports that ophelia was decorating a tree with flowers when she fell into the nearby brook and drowned. act iv, scene vii. in this part of the play, king claudius tells laertes that hamlet how does the letter from hamlet telling of his return to denmark affect claudius and laertes? they decide to tell hamlet of ophelia’s death, in hopes he will confess. they question if their plan to murder hamlet will work or if they need lamord’s help. they devise a plan to murder hamlet, rather than have the english do it. they argue over whether they should murder hamlet at ophelia’s funeral, or afterward.

Explanation:

In Act IV, Scene vii of "Hamlet", when Claudius and Laertes learn of Hamlet's return (via the letter), they shift their plan. Originally, they had arranged for the English to kill Hamlet, but upon his unexpected return, they decide to create a new plan to murder him themselves (using the fencing match with Laertes and a poisoned rapier/poisoned wine as part of the scheme). The other options are incorrect: the first option is about telling Hamlet of Ophelia’s death (not related to the letter’s impact on their murder plan), the second option about questioning the plan and Lamord is not accurate to the scene, and the fourth option about arguing over when to murder at the funeral/afterward is not the immediate effect of the letter about Hamlet’s return.

Answer:

They devise a plan to murder Hamlet, rather than have the English do it.