Hamlet (27 page)

Lines 1–89:
Claudius greets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, former schoolfellows of Hamlet. He explains that he is worried about Hamlet and suggests that they might spend time with him and find out whether there is anything “unknown” afflicting him. Although Claudius presents this as kindly concern, revealing his capacity as an “actor,” we are reminded of Polonius’ attempts to spy on Laertes. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern agree to help, and are taken to find Hamlet. Polonius brings the news that the ambassadors have arrived back from Norway and adds that he has found the “very cause of Hamlet’s lunacy.” He insists that Claudius sees the ambassadors first, however, and goes to fetch them. The ambassadors report that the king of Norway believed Fortinbras was preparing for war on Poland,
but found out that it was really against Denmark. He ordered Fortinbras to cease plotting against Denmark and genuinely prepare to fight Poland. The king of Norway sends a request that Claudius will grant him “quiet pass” through his lands, and Claudius promises to consider it.

Lines 90–227:
Despite declaring that he will be brief, Polonius embarks on a lengthy and rambling explanation of Hamlet’s madness that demonstrates his obsequious attitude to the king and queen. He reads out a love letter from Hamlet to Ophelia and explains that he instructed Ophelia not to encourage Hamlet because of the difference in their status. He explains that Hamlet’s madness stems from being “repulsèd” by Ophelia. Claudius and Gertrude ask Polonius if he is certain and he offers to prove it, suggesting a plan: he will “loose” Ophelia to Hamlet, and then hide behind an arras with Claudius to watch the encounter. His choice of vocabulary reduces Ophelia to the level of an animal, demonstrating her powerlessness and her status as one her father’s possessions. Claudius agrees to the plan and, as Hamlet enters, he and Gertrude leave. Polonius greets Hamlet, who appears not to recognize him. Hamlet’s disjointed and nonsensical speech suggests madness, but many of his remarks contain implicit comments/criticisms on Polonius’ character. This uncertainty as to the extent and veracity of Hamlet’s madness has been the subject of much debate in the play’s critical history, as the audience remains uncertain as to whether he is really mad or merely acting, or, perhaps, there is a genuine disturbance due to his father’s death that he is exaggerating for his own purposes. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern arrive and Polonius leaves.

Lines 228–372:
Hamlet seems pleased to see Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, but asks them why they have come to the “prison” of Denmark. They cheerfully claim that they have come solely to see Hamlet, but he tells them that he knows that Claudius and Gertrude sent for them. Our perception of Hamlet’s sanity is further confused during this exchange, as his manner toward Rosencrantz and Guildenstern is introspective and melancholy, but shows nothing of the “madness” he portrayed to Polonius. Rosencrantz tells him that
they have engaged a group of “Players,” “the tragedians of the city,” that Hamlet has previously enjoyed watching. The presence of the Players further develops the theme of theater/performance and the conversation about them establishes a metatheatrical commentary on the conventions of genre, as Hamlet lists various recognizable “roles” (the “adventurous knight,” the “lover” and the “clown,” for example). A flourish announces the arrival of the Players and Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that they are “welcome to Elsinore,” adding that his “uncle-father and aunt-mother are deceived” about his madness, a description that emphasizes the “incestuous” nature of Claudius and Gertrude’s relationship, and the uncomfortably close nature of various family dynamics in the play.

Lines 373–533:
Polonius returns, and Hamlet switches back to a more disjointed pattern of speech. He breaks off to welcome the Players and asks one man to recite a speech about the fall of Troy, which he begins and which is then taken up by the player, emphasizing Hamlet’s potential role as an “actor.” Pleased with the recital, Hamlet asks Polonius to “see the players well bestowed” and asks for a performance of
The Murder of Gonzago
the next day, adding that he has written “some dozen or sixteen lines” that he would like them to add.

Lines 534–591:
Hamlet’s soliloquy reveals his anguish at his own inaction, a factor that conflicts with his potential role of revenge-hero and one of the ways in which the play challenges expectations of genre. He comments that the player who gave the speech was able to summon emotion for a character in a play, whereas he himself is a “dull and muddy-mettled rascal” who remains unmotivated by a genuine “cue for passion.” The tensions between actions and words are explored again, as Hamlet comments that, despite being “Prompted to [his] revenge by heaven and hell,” all he does is “unpack” his heart “with words.” He outlines his plan to establish Claudius’ guilt: the players will act out “something like” the death of his father, while he watches Claudius’ reaction. This will give him proof that Claudius really did commit the murder and allay his concern that the spirit might have been “the devil,” working to damn him, rather than the genuine ghost of his father.

Lines 1–61:
Claudius questions Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. They report that they cannot find out what is troubling Hamlet, who has evaded their questions “with a crafty madness.” The king tells them to encourage Hamlet’s interest in the players and they leave. Claudius asks Gertrude to leave, so that he and Polonius may secretly observe the arranged meeting between Ophelia and Hamlet. Polonius “directs” Ophelia in how she is to act, drawing attention once more to theater/performance and appearance/reality as he comments on how a “pious action” can “sugar o’er / The devil himself.” This prompts an aside about his “conscience” from Claudius, the first implicit acknowledgment of his guilt that he has made. Hearing Hamlet approach, they withdraw, forming a dual audience to the action, further revealing the play’s self-conscious theatricality.

Lines 62–166:
Hamlet appears to be contemplating suicide as he asks himself: “To be, or not to be,” although the question can be considered in a more abstract way than just Hamlet’s choice over whether to live or die, and can potentially transcend the action of the play as a philosophical argument. It returns us to the concept of “balance,” between flesh/spirit and action/inaction, as Hamlet is torn between a passive acceptance of life’s events, “to suffer / The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,” and definitive resistance to them: “to take arms against a sea of troubles, / And by opposing end them.” Hamlet breaks off as he sees Ophelia, who tries to return some love-tokens that he has previously given her. Hamlet’s disjointed responses become a wild verbal attack on Ophelia that further complicates our understanding of his mental state, seeming too extreme to be merely acting. It is also difficult to distinguish whether Hamlet’s outburst is personal and related directly to his feelings for Ophelia, or an attack on all women and their sexuality, possibly generated by his disgust at his mother’s relationship with his uncle. He repeatedly tells Ophelia to go “to a nunnery,” and then leaves abruptly. Ophelia laments the loss of Hamlet’s “sovereign reason.”

Lines 167–194:
Claudius and Polonius discuss what they have overheard. Claudius is not convinced that Hamlet’s madness is the result
of love, nor, indeed, that Hamlet is actually mad. He says that there is something in Hamlet’s soul “O’er which his melancholy sits on brood” and that he is worried that the “hatch and the disclose” of this thing will be “some danger” (although he does not acknowledge aloud the fear that the danger will be to himself). He resolves to send Hamlet to England, claiming that the change might “expel” the “something-settled matter” from his heart. Polonius agrees, but still insists that Hamlet’s problem is “neglected love.” He suggests a further test of this: Queen Gertrude will speak “all alone” to her son, and “entreat him / To show his griefs,” while Polonius will conceal himself again and listen to the exchange.

The performance of the play-within-the-play makes the theme of theater/performance explicit and focuses attention on the nature of “reality.” The presence of a dual audience also emphasizes the theme of sight/perception, as we watch the characters watching a play, and, more specifically, Hamlet secretly observing Claudius (neatly reversing their roles of observed/observer from the previous scene).

Lines 1–129:
Hamlet directs the players as to how he wants them to deliver the lines he has written, urging them to “suit the action to the word, the word to the action”—an ironic instruction given the apparent disparity between words and actions in the wider play. The players go to prepare and Hamlet sends Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to “hasten” them. Horatio arrives and Hamlet excitedly explains his plan and tells him to watch Claudius. Horatio agrees, and the king and queen enter in a formal procession with other members of the court, accompanied by guards and torchbearers. This ceremony emphasizes the public setting for this scene, which contrasts with the concealed secrets, emotions and intentions of the various characters. Hamlet continues to disconcert everyone with his changeable speech, including some bawdy wordplay directed at Ophelia that emphasizes his fixation with women in terms of their sexuality. Music sounds, and the dumb show begins.

Lines 130–256:
The dumb show establishes the plot of the play-within-the-play, and the events surrounding the death of Hamlet’s father in the wider play. This paralleling of storylines creates meta-theatrical awareness, emphasized by Ophelia’s comment, “Belike this show imports the argument of the play.” The full performance begins, with asides from Hamlet as he comments on and explains the action for the others. Ophelia says that he makes a “good chorus,” emphasizing his capacity as an “actor” but also highlighting that, despite this, he is often slightly distanced from the action, observing and commenting rather than participating. Hamlet responds to Ophelia with his usual harsh, deliberately sexual, wordplay. As we reach the point in the play-within-the-play where “Lucianus” kills “Gonzago” by pouring poison in his ear, Claudius rushes out, calling for light and throwing the court into confusion.

Lines 257–379:
Hamlet and Horatio discuss Claudius’ behavior and Horatio’s more measured response contrasts with Hamlet’s wild exclamations of conviction as to his uncle’s guilt. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come to report that the king is “marvellous distempered” and that they have been sent by Gertrude to fetch Hamlet. Despite their attempts to make Hamlet respond in a more reasoned way and put his “discourse into some frame,” he continues to disconcert them with his unpredictable speech and behavior. He accuses them of trying to “play” him as they might play a musical instrument. Polonius interrupts and tells Hamlet to go to his mother. When he is left alone, Hamlet prepares himself to see Gertrude, declaring that he will be “cruel,” but “not unnatural” and that although he will “speak daggers” he will “use none.”

Claudius tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that he is sending Hamlet to England immediately as he does not feel that it is safe “To let his madness range.” He instructs them that they are to accompany Hamlet, and they go to prepare for the voyage. Polonius brings the news that Hamlet is going to speak to Gertrude and that he intends to conceal himself so as to “hear the process.” Once alone, Claudius
makes his first direct admission of guilt: he has committed an act that has “the primal eldest curse upon’t, / A brother’s murder.” Claudius’ conscience appears to be troubling him as he tries to pray but cannot and, although he wishes to be forgiven for his sin, he does not wish to give up the “effects” it has brought him: his “crown,” his “ambition” and his “queen.” He wonders whether it is possible to “be pardoned and retain th’offence.” He kneels and attempts to pray. Hamlet enters and, seeing Claudius, prepares to kill him. Once more, however, the expected progress of the revenge tragedy is frustrated as Hamlet shifts from a definite declaration of action, “now I’ll do’t,” to further uncertainty. Emphasizing the opposing concepts of the physical/spiritual aspects to humanity, he considers the spiritual consequences of killing Claudius. He argues that, if he kills Claudius while he is at prayer, then Claudius’ soul will go to heaven, which would be more of a reward than a punishment. Deciding to wait until Claudius is “about some act / That has no relish of salvation in’t” so that “his soul may be as damned and black / As hell, whereto it goes,” Hamlet puts up his sword and leaves. Claudius, unaware of his presence, rises and ironically announces that he could not pray, as “Words without thoughts never to heaven go.”

Lines 1–44:
Polonius arranges with Gertrude that he will conceal himself behind the arras to overhear her conversation with Hamlet. Hamlet arrives, and Gertrude accuses him of offending his father (meaning Claudius). He responds that it is she who has offended, referring to his actual father. He continues to parry her attempts to question him, demonstrating his characteristic verbal dexterity, and then insists that she sit down so that he may show her “the inmost part” of herself. Frightened that Hamlet intends to attack her, Gertrude cries out and Polonius responds, calling for help from behind the arras. In an unusual moment of spontaneous action, Hamlet stabs the concealed figure, believing it to be Claudius. When he discovers that he has killed Polonius, he is unmoved, merely saying “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell,” before turning once more to his mother.

Lines 45–105:
Gertrude asks what she has done to deserve Hamlet’s anger. He shows her two pictures, one of his father and one of Claudius, “The counterfeit presentment of two brothers,” a visual symbol of the theme of identity. He urges her to look at the picture of his father, “Jove himself,” and to compare it with a picture of Claudius, who is “like a mildewed ear” of corn. He asks her how she could “step” from one to the other, showing his bitterness and disgust. Despite Gertrude’s attempts to stop him, he continues to accuse her, focusing particularly on the sexual aspect of her betrayal. Distressed, Gertrude claims that Hamlet has revealed her “very soul,” which has “such black and grained spots.” As she begs “No more!” the Ghost appears.