“My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: Words without thoughts never to heaven go.” Which character in Shakespeare’s Hamlet utters these lines?
A) Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle ü B) Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother C) Horatio, Hamlet’s friend D) Ophelia, Hamlet’s fiancé
In Act III, scene iii, Hamlet has at last decided that his father’s death can be laid indisputably at Claudius’ door, and that his plan of deadly revenge can now move forward. On arriving at Claudius’ chamber, however, he finds his uncle at prayer, and decides to postpone killing him for fear of accidentally dispatching his soul to heaven: “This is hire and salary, not revenge.” But as Claudius then realizes, the attempt at prayer is ineffectual after all: “Words without thoughts, never to heaven go.”
