Question

Which one of the following lines helps to establish that something unnatural and wrong has happened, leading to the appearance of the ghost in hamlet?

a) "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark."
b) "to be, or not to be: that is the question."
c) "The lady doth protest too much, methinks."
d) " Neither a borrower nor a lender be."

Answer 1

The line that helps to establish that something unnatural and wrong has happened is A: "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark". It is mentioned by one of the characters when the ghost appears, and it is also commonly used to indicate that something suspicious is happening. The word rotten describes something spoiled that usually smells bad. In this case, the situation does not "smell good".