directory
home contact

Philological Examination Questions on Hamlet

Question: Explain "black and grained spots." III. iv. 90.

Answer: "Such black and grained spots as will not leave their tinct."
Grained, primarily meant dyed in grain. Grain was the name of a dye obtained from the coccus insect, a scarlet dye, which retained its color. Gradually this meaning was lost, and the term came to be applied to all colors that would "not leave their tinct."


Back to the Philological Examination Questions main page.



How to cite this article:

Mertins, Emma. Shakespeare Examinations. Ed. William Taylor Thom, M. A. Boston: Ginn and Co., 1888. Shakespeare Online. 10 Aug. 2010. (date when you accessed the information) < http://www.shakespeare-online.com/plays/hamlet/examq/thirteen.html >.
______________

Related Articles

 Hamlet: Problem Play and Revenge Tragedy
 The Elder Hamlet: The Kingship of Hamlet's Father
 Hamlet's Relationship with the Ghost
 The Significance of the Ghost in Armor

 Hamlet as National Hero
 Claudius and the Condition of Denmark
 The Charges Against King Claudius
 The Death of Polonius and its Impact on Hamlet's Character

 Revenge in Hamlet
 Deception in Hamlet
 The Hamlet and Ophelia Subplot
 The Norway (Fortinbras) Subplot

 Blank Verse and Diction in Shakespeare's Hamlet
 Hamlet's Silence
 Analysis of the Characters in Hamlet
 An Excuse for Doing Nothing: Hamlet's Delay
 Shakespeare's Fools: The Grave-Diggers in Hamlet

 Hamlet's Humor: The Wit of Shakespeare's Prince of Denmark
 All About Yorick
 Hamlet's Melancholy: The Transformation of the Prince
 Hamlet's Antic Disposition: Is Hamlet's Madness Real?
 Foul Deeds Will Rise: Hamlet and Divine Justice

 Soliloquy Analysis: O this too too... (1.2.131)
 
Soliloquy Analysis: O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!... (2.2.555-612)
 
Soliloquy Analysis: To be, or not to be... (3.1.64-98)
 
Soliloquy Analysis: Tis now the very witching time of night... (3.2.380-91)
 
Soliloquy Analysis: Now might I do it pat... (3.3.77-100)
 
Soliloquy Analysis: How all occasions do inform against me... (4.4.35-69)

 
What is Tragic Irony?
 Seneca's Tragedies and the Elizabethan Drama
 Characteristics of Elizabethan Drama

 Sources for Hamlet
 Quotations from Hamlet (with commentary)
 Hamlet Study Quiz (with detailed answers)
 Hamlet: Q & A