Read the excerpt from Act IV of Hamlet. Claudius: He made confession of you, And gave you such a masterly report For art and exe

rcise in your defence, And for your rapier most especially, That he cried out, 'twould be a sight indeed If one could match you; the scrimers of their nation, He swore, had neither motion, guard, nor eye, If you oppos'd them. Sir, this report of his Did Hamlet so envenom with his envy That he could nothing do but wish and beg Your sudden coming o'er, to play with him. Now, out of this,— Laertes: What out of this, my lord? Claudius: Laertes, was your father dear to you? Or are you like the painting of a sorrow, Why does Shakespeare include this plot event? to establish Claudius’s respect for Laertes to illustrate Claudius’s skills of manipulation to showcase Claudius’s wartime experience to present Claudius’s interest in competition