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GATE 2024 XH2 (English) – Question 40

History of English Literature and Literary Studies · English Literary Traditions across Time: Chaucer to contemporary English literature · 1 mark · Multiple choice

In the line, “What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba?” “he” refers to _______ .

  1. Virgil, the author of the Aeneid
  2. An actor performing a scene from the Trojan War in Hamlet
  3. Helen’s husband Priam who left her for Hecuba
  4. A fairy king who abandoned his daughter Hecuba at birth

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Correct answer: (B) An actor performing a scene from the Trojan War in Hamlet

Explanation

Hamlet says this about the First Player, who wept while reciting a speech about Hecuba, the queen of Troy, although she meant nothing to him.