Who Is Hamlet Talking To When He Says Get Thee To A Nunnery?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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‘Get thee to a nunnery’ is a phrase that occurs in Shakespeare’s play, Hamlet. It is something Hamlet says to

Ophelia

, the young woman with whom he is having a relationship at a moment when he is at his wit’s end.

Why does Hamlet tell Ophelia to get the to a nunnery?

Essentially, Hamlet is telling

Ophelia that she is both pure and impure

. It is possible that Hamlet tells Ophelia to ‘get thee to a nunnery’ as a gesture of protection. He may feel that a nunnery would keep her away from the afflications and dangers of this world.

Who was advised to join a nunnery in Hamlet?

His behavior at Ophelia’s funeral in Act 5, Scene 1shows how deeply he loved her–more than “forty thousand brothers” could love her. When he states “get thee to a nunnery” to

Ophelia

, he is expressing pent-up anger towards his mother, who he feels has been unfaithful and incestuous when she married his uncle.

Who said Get thee to a nunnery why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners I am myself indifferent honest but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me I am very proud revengeful ambitious?


Hamlet and Ophelia

begin to lock horns. In the first couple sentences, Hamlet ultimately dismantles Ophelia’s ego when he says, “Get thee (to) a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners?” A nunnery means convent (used mockingly to refer to brothel). Brothel, is a house where men can visit prostitutes.

What did Shakespeare mean by nunnery?

Most serious Shakespeare scholars now agree that, in ”Hamlet,” ”nunnery” means

a convent or cloister

. It was not until 1936 that Dover Wilson, in his ”What Happens in Hamlet,” first suggested that it meant a brothel, along with other silly notions, most of them Freudian.

Is Ophelia pregnant in Hamlet?

Before we broached the concept of the possible pregnancy, the losses of her father and then Hamlet were the usual suspects. … So by the time of Hamlet’s killing of Polonius and enforced departure for England,

Ophelia could have been anywhere between one and three months pregnant

.

Why is Hamlet rude to Ophelia?

Why is Hamlet so cruel to Ophelia? Hamlet is cruel to Ophelia

because he has transferred his anger at Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius onto Ophelia

. … Hamlet may also know that Ophelia is helping Claudius and Polonius spy on him and talks to her with this betrayal in mind.

What is Hamlet referring to when he asks himself to be or not to be?

The soliloquy is essentially all about life and death: “To be or not to be” means “

To live

or not to live” (or “To live or to die”). Hamlet discusses how painful and miserable human life is, and how death (specifically suicide) would be preferable, would it not be for the fearful uncertainty of what comes after death.

Who is Hamlet’s most trusted friend?

His role in the play is that he is Hamlet’s most loyal and trusted friend, despite his poor status. While Hamlet’s other friends, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, turn on him,

Horatio

demonstrates his loyalty throughout the play.

Does Hamlet know he is being watched in the nunnery scene?

Aware that they are being watched,

Hamlet stages his own response

and argues that he gave her nothing and that he has never loved her. He tells her to go to a nunnery, assaulting her with another double entendre insult.

What does Hamlet mean when he asks Ophelia if she is fair and if she is honest?

SARAH: Hamlet asks Ophelia two questions. The first is about her honesty — or

her virtue

. Honesty could mean being truthful, or being virtuous in general, but for a woman, it could also mean her chastity. RALPH: The second question is about her being fair, or physically beautiful.

What scene does Hamlet tell Ophelia he doesn’t love her?

One piece of evidence showing that Hamlet really did love Ophelia is when he tells her, “I did love you” (

III. i. 125

). Hamlet confesses that he loved her, but then goes on to say that he never loved her.

Why does Hamlet tell Ophelia he doesn’t love her?

Hamlet declares his love for Ophelia as she is lying in her grave and as unexpectedly, he has witnessed the scene of her burial. … First because he has,

feigning madness

, rejected her, and second because he (the man she loved) has killed her father. Therefore, Laertes has all the reasons in the world to hate Hamlet.

Who is called Nun?

A nun is

a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service

, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery. … In the Buddhist tradition, female monastics are known as Bhikkhuni, and take several additional vows compared to male monastics (bhikkhus).

Is a nunnery a convent?

Technically, a “

monastery” or “nunnery” is a community of monastics

, whereas a “friary” or “convent” is a community of mendicants, and a “canonry” a community of canons regular. … In historical usage they are often interchangeable, with “convent” especially likely to be used for a friary.

What does the phrase brevity is the soul of wit mean?

Brevity is the soul of wit comes from the play Hamlet, written by English poet William Shakespeare around 1603. Polonius says it in act 2, scene 2. Simply put, brevity is the soul of wit means

that clever people can express intelligent things using very few words

.

Amira Khan
Author
Amira Khan
Amira Khan is a philosopher and scholar of religion with a Ph.D. in philosophy and theology. Amira's expertise includes the history of philosophy and religion, ethics, and the philosophy of science. She is passionate about helping readers navigate complex philosophical and religious concepts in a clear and accessible way.