Question

select the correct answer.
which theme is reinforced in the excerpt below from shakespeares hamlet?
rightly to be great
is not to stir without great argument,
but greatly to find quarrel in a straw
when honors at the stake. how stand i, then,
that have a father killd, a mother staind,
excitements of my reason and my blood,
and let all sleep?
a. appearance versus reality
b. complexity of action
c. impossibility of certainty
d. mystery of death

Explanation:

The excerpt from Hamlet discusses the idea of taking action. The lines "Rightly to be great / Is not to stir without great argument, / But greatly to find quarrel in a straw / When honor's at the stake" show the complexity of deciding when to act. Hamlet has a father killed and a mother "stain'd," which should be reasons to act, but he questions why he "let all sleep[?]". This reflects on the complexity of taking action.

Answer:

B. complexity of action