What does Hamlet mean when he says in Act 4, Scene 2, "I am glad of it: a knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear"?

At this point in the play Hamlet has hidden Polonius' body and Rosencrantz (and Guildenstern and others) wants to know where it is so he can give him a proper burial. Hamlet is no fool and refuses to tell him where the body is. He proceeds to tell Rosencrantz (and Guildenstern and others) that he is a "sponge" to the king, he is basically saying that the king is using Rosencrantz and when his purpose has been served he will no longer find favor there. When he says this line "a knavish speech sleeps in a foolish ear" he is telling Rosencrantz that his good advice has been lost on his "friend's" stupidity and desire to be in the good graces of the king. The "knavish speech" speaks to is Hamlet's own insight to see the king for what he really is, decpetive and the "foolish ear" is speaking to Rosencrantz foolishness in trusting the king so blindly.

How is Nirvana Samsara in Siddhartha?

Nirvana and
sansara are two common and important terms of Hindu philosophy.
These terms are also equally applicable to Buddhist philosophy which are in essence
variations of the basic Hindu, or if you want to use a non-religion related word,
ancient Indian philosophy. As suggested by Mkcapen in her reply posted above, these
terms may also have been used in the novel Siddhartha, But I am not
aware to what extent the novel correctly reflects the original
concepts.

Sansara is the simpler one
of the two terms. It simply refers to the physical world or the universe that we see and
experience as ordinary human beings. However, as per the Hindu philosophy the world is
not as much of a physical reality as it appears. It exists only as a collection of
perception by the souls occupying the soul, somewhat like a dream seen by a person in
sleep. Just a s person experience joys and distress in a dream, but on waking up the
experiences of the dream appear meaningless, the happiness and miseries of the
sansara experienced by the soul will become when the soul realizes
its true nature. When the soul sort of wakes up. When this happens soul experiences a
sense of extreme ecstasy without any pain or distress associated with the physical life
of sansara.

The soul is unable to come
out of this state of experiencing the sansara because of reasons that we do not need to
go into. But as a result of this inability individual soul must go through repeated
cycles of birth - life - death - and rebirth. Nirvana refers to a
state of realising the true nature of one's soul that leads to release from bondage of
cycle of birth and death.

So we can say that
nirvana is the state of realization of true nature of the soul.
Which also implies the realization of the sansara as being unreal
like a dream.

Which of Gandhi's four ideas (truth, non-violence, renunciation, self-rule) is most important?

Among all the ideas supported by Gandhi and used by him to
lead and guide the people of his country (India) and rest of the world, the concept and
practice of Non-violence is the most important. He used this ideas intensively and
extensively in his approach to public action, as a philosophy of life, and a way of life
for himself.

The next in importance, according to me is
truth. But I must say that Gandhi himself asserted truth as the most important. He
claimed his life to be a constant search for truth, and therefore, titled his
autobiography as My Experiments With Truth. In placing, truth, next
to non-violence rather than before it I am not contradicting the value placed by Gandhi
on truth. I am only saying that the non-violence is more prominent, as compared to
truth, in teachings and programs of Gandhi.

I am not sure
if renunciation is a central feature of Gandhi's approach. In a way, Gandhi opposes,
rather than supports renunciation when he asked people to struggle for their rights
rather than just be satisfied with whatever the fate has to
offer.

Self-rule is a political goal pursued by Gandhi for
India. In contrast non-violence, self-renunciation, and truth are policies of self
conduct and political action that guide the action for achieving self-rule and other
political objectives. It must be noted that individuals may shift from new goal they
achieve the existing ones or find them to be no longer appropriate under changed
condition. However the basic policies remain unchanged under all conditions, Therefore
the policies are more important than any objectives which may be achieved by application
of those policies.

Is Romeo's love for Juliet based on physical appearance in Romeo and Juliet?|I am analyzing attitudes toward women at the time of the play.

The play itself is the classic example of "love at first
sight."  Considering that love builds up after a long period of time, physical
attraction certainly played a major factor in Romeo and Juliet.  Now, was it purely
pysical?  The relationship was consummated after marriage, and the couple definately
 enjoyed their time together.  There are other factors to
consider:

• Romeo's love for another woman
  (Rosaline) was lost the moment he layed eyes on
  Juliet.


• Juliet was betrothed to Paris, and may have done
  anything to get out of marrying him.


• Teenagers often
  think they have experienced love instead of infactuation.  Juliet is only
  13.


• Romeo and Juliet had no time at all to get to know
  each other.

Professor Gayle Whittier writes
that "Juliet ... suggests that she both represents and defeats a translation of sonnet
into flesh."  It could be true that Shakespeare tried to create a "soul mate" story but,
because he worked within the realms of a play, may not have been able to prove to every
reader that the plot was sincere.

Romeo and Juliet is one
of my all-time favorite plays.  The sheer beauty of the of the prose within the play is
breath-taking on its own.  I do think that Romeo's love for Juliet was, on many levels,
physical: but this is all Shakespeare really had to work
with.  

I suppose it all depends on whether or not one
believes that soul mates exist, and that they can love each other in a very short amount
of time. 

Finally, ask yourself: would superficial love
cause lovers to end their lives?  I think this is a vital question, and will be
different for each of us depending on our life experience and outlook towards romantic
love.  Perhaps that is how Shakespeare wanted it.

Who are the main characters in the Merchant of Venice?

The major characters in The Merchant of Venice are:

Shylock - A Jewish moneylender in Venice.

Portia - A wealthy heiress from Belmont.

Antonio - The merchant whose love for his friend Bassanio prompts him to sign Shylock’s contract and almost lose his life.

 

Bassanio - A gentleman of Venice, and a kinsman and dear friend to Antonio.

 

Graziano - A friend of Bassanio’s who accompanies him to Belmont.

 

Jessica - Shylock’s daughter, Jessica hates life in her father’s house, and elopes with the young Christian gentleman, Lorenzo.

Lorenzo - A friend of Bassanio and Antonio, Lorenzo is in love with Shylock’s daughter, Jessica.

 

My questions is, What would be a great twist for the ending of my short story, one that will shock everyone in the class?I am going to be writing a...

There are several directions and plot twists you could
take depending upon the details of your story.

For example,
perhaps these four students are the best of friends and are completely inseparable. May
the only way to defeat these blood thirsty creatures is by becoming blood thirsty
creatures themselves. They win the battle, but at what cost? Will they, then, turn on
one another?

Or perhaps they defeat the creatures at the
camp and then return to their college only to reek havoc on other students there. Who
then saves the college?

What is the main problem or theme in Out of the Dust?There are so many problems in the story that I can't figure out the main problem.

You are absolutely right; Out of the Dust does, indeed, have very many problems.  The main problem, though, seems to be survival in very harsh situations.   Billie Jo Kelby, the fourteen/fifteen year old girl from whose first person point of view the story is told, in journal form, survives an unbelievably harsh life during the Depression in the Oklahoma Dust Bowl.  Follow the link below for more information about Out of the Dust.