Question

Read the following extract and answer the questions:

'For in the sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil'

1. What do you understand by the phrase 'mortal coil'?
2. Shuffling off this mortal coil refers to ______.
3. What dreams does one have in 'the sleep of death'?

Answer 1

1. ‘Mortal coil’ refers to the troubles, struggles and difficulties of earthly life.
2. Shuffling off this mortal coil refers to dying or leaving the physical world behind.
3. Hamlet wonders what unknown experiences or consequences may follow after death. Since no one knows what lies beyond death, this uncertainty makes people afraid to die.