Question

Read the excerpt from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Then, answer the question that follows. HAMLET That I can keep your counsel and not mine own. Besides, to be demanded of a sponge! what replication should be made by the son of a king? Using the context clues in the passage, what is the best paraphrase of the bolded line?

Answer 1

The best paraphrase of the bolded line is 'what reply should be given by the son of a king when someone asks him like a sponge.'

Step-by-step explanation:

The best paraphrase of the bolded line is 'what reply should be given by the son of a king when someone asks him like a sponge.' In this context, Hamlet is expressing his frustration at being questioned like a sponge – someone who absorbs information without giving anything in return. Hamlet is saying that he is capable of keeping someone's secret, but he wonders why he should be expected to do so when he is not trusted with his own secrets.