IOC.2015

More Hamlet Notes

Soliloquies in Hamlet

• Act 1 

• I.2.133-164

• “Too sullied flesh would melt”

• “Or that the everlasting had not fixed his common against self-slaughter”

• Thinks about suicide, but that would be a sin

• “Tis an unweeded garden that grows to seed”

• Possible allusion to parable of the seeds and weeds

• “But two months dead…within a month”

• Motif of time, very fast, no mourning, father replaced quickly

• “Frailty thy name is woman!”

• Again referring to how his mother didn’t mourn for her husband. Just married new king.

• “A little month”

• Repetition of time

• “Like Niobe” ”All tears”

• Although his mother seemed to mourn it was only tears, not actually longing or sadness

• “But not more like my father than I to Hercules”

• Worse than king hamlet, weak. Mostly mad his mother married his uncle.

• Anger not towards uncle, towards mother

• “Oh most wicked speed”

• Motif of time

• “but break my heart for I must hold my tongue”

• Keep it inside since Claudius is king, can’t offend him, or accuse him.

• I.5.99-116

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• “o all you host of heaven! O earth! What else? Should I couple hell?”

• Calling on everything , for his father was killed and he will pursue his vengeance

• “But bear stiffly up”

• Don’t fail me body in my revenge, just interacted with ghost  who can’t physically act, so he must act instead

• “Remember thee?...Remember thee?”

• repetition important, calling for remembrance, needs to remember his father and avenge him

• “Ill wipe away all trivial fond records”

• Remove anything without goal of vengeance

• “And thy commandment alone shall live”

• Revenge is everything (All consuming, dangerous)

• “O villain, Villain, smiling damned villain”

• Uncle, working himself up, preparing to revenge, can’t have any remorse or guilt

 

• Act 2 

• • Scene 2

    • Defines his inner conflict

      • Wants to avenge his father, but cant find it in himself to do so.

        • Against hamlet’s character to murder, even if it is for revenge

      • Becomes more and more frustrated with the situation he faces

      • He talks himself into commiting murder against Claudius, but then talks himself out of it again

        • When doing he decides that he will find more evidence against Claudius before enacting revenge

    • Use of simile

      • Calls himself a whore (line 579)

    • Use of alliteration

      • “…been stuck so the soul that presently” (II.2.586)

    • Use of metaphors

      • Used throughout soliloquy

        • Hamlet compares his lack of ability to avenge his father to bad actor

    • Struggles with the inappropriate relationship between Claudius and Gertrude

      • Hates the fact he hasn’t done anything about it

        • His only plan in dealing with it is to wait and let god be the judge of them

    • He results in letting actors perform a play in which they act on his fathers murder so he can watch claudius’ reaction to it.

      • Dosen’t trust that the ghost he has seen is not playing with his emotions forcing him into actions that are not justified

    • Use of personification

      • “For murder though it have no tounge, ill speak with most miraculous organ…”

        • Claudius emotions will reveal his murderous ways

          • Why this lit feature is used

    • This soliloquy shows that characters never really act on what they saw.

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• Act 3 

 

• Scene 1 “To be or not to be” 64-98

  • One of the most famous and well known lines in Shakespeare.

  • First line contemplates death and existence

  • Relates directly back to the motif of death and dealing with religion(hell or heaven)

  • This considers the merits of dealing with people in life or simply ignore them and kill yourself

  • “To die to sleep to dream”

    • Shakespeare constantly relates death to an endless sleep

  • line 96”soft you now”

    • talking to oneself is often considered a sign of insanity

• scene two lines 419-end

  • This soliloquy occurs after the play within a play. Hamlet is about to go speak with his mother and is attempting to decide what to say to her. He is extremely angry and determined to seek his revenge in the beginning.

    • He references the witching time of night

      • motif of supernatural

    • However in the end he decides to “speak daggers’ instead of killing his mother with daggers.

• Scene 3 lines 40-76

  • Begins by stating, “my offense is rank”

    • refers to the motif of decay and rotting

  • Claudius attempts to pray but is unable to as he feels so incredibly guilty.

  • He questions the merits of prayer in general saying “ But oh, what form of prayer can serve my turn, “Forgive me my foul murder” 56

  • He knows that everything will not turn out ok however.

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• Act 4 

  • Scene 3 Lines 67-77 Claudius

    • Here, Claudius reveals to the audience that in his attempt to send Hamlet to England, he is in fact just going to send him to his death there. He’s praising England for how great it is just because it’s where Hamlet could die, and make all his worries disappear.

      • “Pays homage to us, thou mayst not coldly set our sovereign process, which imports at full, by letters congruing to that effect, the present death of Hamlet.” (IV.3.71)

  • Scene 4 Lines 34-69 Hamlet

    • Hamlet is found here after meeting with Fortinbras pondering how he is going about avenging his father, and how Fortinbras is doing so. He says that he must do as Fortinbras does because he is being much more successful. This results in Hamlet promising to use gore and violence to kill his uncle once and for all.

      • “My thoughts be bloody, or be nothing worth!”(IV.4.56) However note that he says thoughts and not actions, showing how he may have the intention to do something, but just as we have seen through the story up to this point, he fails to come through very often.

  • Scene 5 Lines 22-25 Gertrude ***?

    • This is just Gertrude saying aside to herself how rotten Ophelia and everyone is with sin (being equal to sickness)” To my sick soul (as sin’s true nature is)” (IV.5.22)

    • She then says how guilt can make you full of unnecessary suspicions, to the point where you can give yourself away accidentally… “So full of artless jealousy is guilt, It spills itself in fearing to be spilt” (IV.5.24). This might be a signal that Gertrude actually did know about the plot in the first place. She knows that she has to be wary about her guilt, in order to not be caught.

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• Act 5

Act 5 has a distinct lack of soliloquies, and not for a lack of reason. With Hamlet finally deciding on being resolute with his actions, he also discards his necessity to fight with himself. By now realizing that he needs to be firm with his decisions, he no longer has the sense of inner conflict seen throughout the play, thus, attributing to the lack of soliloquies in Act 5.

 

 

Power - Shifts and Desires in Hamlet

 

Act 1

“Therefore our sometime sister, now our queen,

Th' imperial jointress to this warlike state,

Have we—as ’twere with a defeated joy,

With an auspicious and a dropping eye,

With mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage,

In equal scale weighing delight and dole—

Taken to wife. Nor have we herein barred

Your better wisdoms, which have freely gone

With this affair along.” (I.II.8-15)

 

“Good Hamlet, cast thy nighted color off,

And let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.

Do not forever with thy vailèd lids

Seek for thy noble father in the dust.

Thou know’st ’tis common. All that lives must die,

Passing through nature to eternity.” (I.II.70-75)

 

“But you must know your father lost a father,

That father lost, lost his, and the survivor bound

In filial obligation for some term

To do obsequious sorrow. But to persever

In obstinate condolement is a course

Of impious stubbornness. 'Tis unmanly grief.

It shows a will most incorrect to heaven,

A heart unfortified, a mind impatient,

An understanding simple and unschooled.” (I.II. 93-101) - Claudius expresses his desire for power when he’s harsh on Hamlet for mourning. Claudius wants to push back the memory of Hamlet Sr.

 

“Why, what should be the fear?

I do not set my life in a pin’s fee,

And for my soul—what can it do to that,

Being a thing immortal as itself?

It waves me forth again. I’ll follow it.” (I.IV.73-76) - Hamlet is in danger of doing anything to revenge his father because he feels he has nothing to lose.

 

“So art thou to revenge when thou shalt hear…

Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder...

'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard,

A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark

Is by a forgèd process of my death

Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth,

The serpent that did sting thy father’s life

Now wears his crown...

Thus was I, sleeping, by a brother’s hand

Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched,

Cut off even in the blossoms of my sin.” (I.V.8, 25, 36-42, 76-79) - The Ghost of Hamlet Sr. is so intent on getting revenge that he has Hamlet do so for him. The power that Claudius strives for is demonstrated in the ghost's story of how he was murdered.

 

 

Act 2 

“Polonius: Marry, well said, very well said. Look you, sir, Inquire me first what Danskers are in Paris, And how, and who, what means, and where they keep What company at what expense…” (II.1.6-9)

• Polonius is ordering his servant to spy on Laertes and encounter on his personal life.

• Polonius has a desire for power over his son

 

“Ophelia: No, my good lord. But as you did command I did repel his fetters and denied His access to me. Polonius: That hath made him mad I am sorry that with better heed and judgment I had not quoted him. I feared he did but trifle And meant to wreck thee. But beshrew my jealousy!” (II.5.108-114).

• Polonius needed power over Ophelia and is now realizing that he was at fault.

• Ophelia calling her father “my good lord” shows that their relationship is not a normal, casual father-daughter relationship, and is instead that Polonius is in charge and Ophelia is below him, not only as a younger but as a female

 

“Rosencrantz: Both your majesties Might, by the sovereign power you have of us, Put your dread pleasures more into command Than to entreaty.Guildenstern: But we both obey And here give up ourselves, in the full bent, To lay our service freely at your feet To be commanded.” (II.2.25-32)

 

 

Act 3

“There is a play tonight before the King.

One scene of it comes near the circumstance

Which I have told thee of my father’s death.

I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot,

Even with the very comment of thy soul

Observe my uncle.” (III. 2. 80)  -  In this instance, Hamlet is trying to gain some measure of power over Claudius and the Ghost by making Horatio watch his uncle’s reaction.  He is trying to determine his course of action based on whether Claudius exhibits a large reaction to the scene that mirrors what he did to his brother.

 

“I like him not, nor stands it safe with us

To let his madness range.  Therefore prepare you.

I your commission will forthwith dispatch,

And he to England shall along with you.”  (III. 3. 1)  Here Claudius is trying to retain some power against Hamlet by sending him to England.  This will ensure that he cannot bring damage to Claudius’ regime in addition to protecting his own life from Hamlet.

 

“Now might I do it pat, now he is a-praying,

And now I’ll do’t…

And so I am revenged…

Up sword, and know thou a more horrid hent.

When he is drunk asleep, or in his rage,...

Then trip him.”  (III. 4. 77) - In this instance Hamlet has ultimate power over Claudius as he is kneeling to pray.  However, it shifts when Hamlet begins to doubt himself because his uncle is praying and fears that he will go to heaven if he were to kill him now.  

 

 

Act 4 

(IV. 2. 14-21) Rosencrantz: “Take you me for a sponge, my lord?” Hamlet: “Ay, sir, that soaks up the King’s countenance, his rewards, his authorities. But such officers do the King best service in the end. he keeps them like an ape an apple in the corner of his jaw, first mouthed, to be last swallowed. When he needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again.”

• Hamlet is undermining the King’s power over his servants by discrediting his relationship with them

• Comment on the King’s abuse of power

 

(IV. 4. 59-61) Hamlet: “Farewell, dear mother.” King: “Thy loving father, Hamlet.” Hamlet: “My mother. Father and mother is man and wife,/ Man and wife is one flesh, and so, my mother.”

• Hamlet is insulting the king and refusing to acknowledge his relationship with him

• Shows lack of respect and detracts from king’s power

 

(IV. 4. 68-77) Claudius: “And England, if my love thou hold’st at aught/ As my great power thereof may give thee sense,/ Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red/ After the Danish sword, and thy free awe/ Pays homage to us, thou mayst not coldly set/ Our sovereign process, which imports at full,/ By letters congruing to that effect,/ The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England,/ For like the hectic in my blood he rages,/ And thou must cure me. Til I know ‘tis done,/ Howe’er my haps, my joys will ne’er begin.”

• King uses Denmark’s power over England to get Hamlet killed

• Also reveals that he sees Hamlet as a threat to his power

 

(IV. 5. 101-103) Claudius: “O, my dear Gertrude, this,/ Like to a murd’ring piece, in many places/ Gives me superfluous death.”

• The public’s positive view of Hamlet and Ophelia will undermine the King’s power when they find out they’ve gone mad

• The lack of ceremony in Laertes’s funeral will give them more ammunition against him

• Claudius is now in a defensive position as far as protecting his power

 

Act 5

V.1.120

Hamlet- “ By the Lord, Horatio, these three years I have taken a note of it. The age is grown so picked that the toe of the peasant comes so near the heel of the courtier he galls his kibe.—How long hast thou been a grave-maker?”

 

• according to Hamlet, the peasants desire all the power that he and the royal family have

 

Decay in Hamlet

Act 1

"O that this too too sullied flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew (I, II, 130)"

"seems to me all the uses of this world... Things rank and gross in nature posses it merely (I, II, 136)."

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (I, IV, 90)

Most lazar-like with vile and loathsome crust all my smooth body (I, V, 72)."

 

 

Act 2

“And with a look so piteous in purport, As if he had been loosed out of hell, To speak of horrors,—he comes before me.” (2.1 84)

This quote show how Hamlet’s madness is causing him to decay

The humor of the gravedigger contrasts death

In Act 2, sc. 1, when Hamlet is toying with Polonius and pretending to be mad, Hamlet says, in lines 182-183, "For if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog, / being a good kissing carrion - Have you a daughter?"

In Act 2, sc. 2, when Hamlet is talking to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, he refers to Denmark as a "...foul and pestilent congregation of vapors," (ll. 307-308). The line suggests a rotten quality to Denmark.

“this majestical roof fretted, with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to, me than a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours.” (2.2.290-294)

"Roasted in wrath and fire thus o'ersized with coagulate gore (II, II, 431)," shows the decay of Hamlet and Denmark.

 

 

Act 3

Scene 1:

“When we have shuffled off this mortal coil” (3.1.75) shows the decay of life

“The native hue of resolution / is sicklied o’er with the pale casts of thought” (3.1.92-93) shows the decay of Hamlet’s confidence in his actions.

“With this regard their currents turn awry” (3.1.95) shows the decay of Hamlet’s confidence in his actions and his drive to commit the murder.

Rivers that lose momentum and become stagnant

“I’ll give this plague for thy dowry” (3.1.146) shows the decay of the worth of women

“Ladies most deject and wretched… out of time and harsh” (3.1.169-172) shows the decay of the love Ophelia feels for Hamlet.

 

Scene 2:

“If his occulted guilt / do not itself unkennel in one speech” (3.2. 85-86) shows the decay of Claudius’ hidden guilt (deterioration of Claudius’ deception)

Play within a play “This realm dismantled” (3.2.308) shows the decay of the power royalty has.

“While the grass grows- the proverb is something musty” (3.2.371-372) (the horse starves” and something means somewhat stale.

Grass is Claudius and Hamlet is the horse. Decay of the power royalty has?

Scene 3:

“To let his madness range” (3.3.2) decay of Hamlet’s sanity

“The terms of our estate may not endure hazard” (3.3.5) decay of Claudius’ position as king

“My strongest guilt defeats my strongest intent” (3.3.44) decay of Claudius’ resolution / confidence in his choice to kill King Hamlet

 

Scene 4:

“Like a mildewed ear/ Blasting his wholesome brother” (3.4.75) decay of Hamlet’s father’s reputation.

 

 

Act 4

• Ironically, since Claudius is himself the disease from which the country is suffering he (in Act IV scene i) sees Hamlet as an illness with which he should have dealt:

‘But like the owner of a foul disease,

To keep it from divulging, let it feed

Even on the pith of life'

• In Act IV scene iii Claudius again sees Hamlet as a disease attacking him:

‘Like the hectic in my blood he rages.'

 

It warms the very sickness in my heart / That I shall live and tell him to his teeth, / “Thus didest thou”

Act 4 Scene 7

 

Act 5

 

• graves and stuff

• skull of dead person making Hammie contemplate life

  • “Why, sir, his hide is so tanned with his trade that he will keep out water a great while; and your water is a sore decayer of your whoreson dead body. Here’s a skull now hath lien you i’ th’ earth three-and-twenty years.” (175)’

• “No, faith, not a jot; but to follow him thither, with modesty enough and likelihood to lead it, as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust; the dust is earth; of earth we make loam; and why of that loam whereto he was converted might they not stop a beer barrel?” (215-220)

 

 

Hamlet Becoming a Man

 

Act 1:

(1.2: 135)

“Tis an unweeded garden That grows to seed. Things rank and gross in nature Possess it merely. That it should come to this. But two months dead—nay, not so much, not two.”

Hamlet is lamenting how without his father, the kingdom is like an untended garden, that he must care for.

 

(1.3: 11)

“Think it no more. For nature, crescent, does not grow alone In thews and bulk, but, as this temple waxes, The inward service of the mind and soul Grows wide withal.”

Laertes is talking about how love aids in becoming a man.

 

(1.4: 46)

“Thou comest in such a questionable shape That I will speak to thee. I’ll call thee “Hamlet,”
“King,” “Father,” “royal Dane.” O, answer me! Let me not burst in ignorance.”

Hamlet laments the loss of his father and is struggling to find a way to address his father’s ghost, now that he is gone.

 

(1.5: 29)

“Haste me to know ’t, that I, with wings as swift As meditation or the thoughts of love, May sweep to my revenge.”

Hamlet, by vowing revenge for his father’s death, takes a big step towards manhood, as he has undertaken a challenge too difficult for a boy.

 

 

Act 2:

 

Act 3:Act 3 S 2

Line 100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“No thanks, good mother. Here’s metal more attractive. (sits next to Ophelia)”

 

Hamlet's mother wanted him to sit by her but didn't want to. He wanted to sit by Ophelia distracting his old boyish ways of sitting with his mom and rather with a pretty girl whom he is interested in.

 

Line 105

“That’s a fair thought to lie between a maids’ legs.”

 

This sexual reference shows the transitioning of Hamlet’s thoughts from boyish to a man. This is a big part in any male becoming a man.

 

Line 325

“You can push my buttons, but you can’t play me for a fool.”

 

Hamlet is talking a stance and defending himself against Guildenstern whom had lied to him. By doing this, it shows Hamlet’s dominance and rage but this dominance shows his becoming of a man because many men are dominant.

 

Line 345->

“By and by is easily said.”

 

By Hamlet not going to see his mother right away, he is becoming a man because a boy would run directly to his mother’s wishes whereas men come to their mothers gradually and patiently when they are needed.

 

 

Act 3 S 3

Line 71

“Bow stubborn knees, and heart with strings of steel.”

 

Claudius is becoming a men here by owning up to his mistake and finding remorse for it within himself through praying. (some would argue that that could be becoming a man) Taking responsibility for his actions.

 

Act 3 S 4

Line 90

“In the rank sweat of an enseamed bed, stewed in corruption, honeying, and making love.”

 

Hamlet’s speaking to his mother about adult things relating to sexual activities and that in itself shows maturity and manhood.His mother feels embarrassed by it.

 

 

Act 4:

(IV.3.30)

"A man may fish with the worm that hath eat of a king and eat of the fish that hath fed of that worm."

 

He’s calling out Claudius on how he took advantage of the broken hierarchy to assert himself. He also saying that the monarch takes advantage of the poor and they live of the work of the poor without anything in return. He is trying to tell CLaudius that a real man makes his way to the top by his character not by cheating. Also, he’s saying that a man doesn’t have to stand on the backs of others to be great.

 

“A beast, no more.

Sure He that made us with such large discourse,

Looking before and after, gave us not

That capability and godlike reason To fust in us unused.”

 

Hamlet is comparing himself to young fortinbras who he is using as a benchmark for a man. He describe a man as an animal who is gifted with qualities of a God and he believes that through his quest he is becoming this man.

 

"By heaven, thy madness shall be paid with weight” (5.180)

 

Laertes has always been a party guy all his life but the death of his father has inspired something within him that gives him drive. He becomes a man through his grief.

 

 

Act 5:

OSRIC: “It is indifferent cold, my lord, indeed.

HAMLET: But yet methinks it is very sultry and hot for my complexion.

OSRIC: Exceedingly, my lord; it is very sultry…”(V.2.110-113)

 

This gives Hamlet and Horatio poor opinions of Osric: When Osric exits, Horatio comments, “This lapwing runs away with the shell on his head.” (V.2.199-200)

 

Horatio thinks that Osric is young and untried, because he is kissing up to Hamlet and Horatio and trying to get in their good graces. Here, Shakespeare is saying that you need to not worry too much about the favor or good graces of other people, or you will actually lose their respect.

 

In Scene 1, Hamlet recognizes that to be a person means to live for only a short time, and that all people are equally insignificant in death, saying: “To what base uses we may return, Horatio! Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander till he find it stopping a bunghole?” (V.1.209-211)

This shows how he is re-dedicating himself to doing his father’s will, because he realizes that, even if he dies, it’ll be OK because nobody will expect anything of him and he will be free from his father’s pressure. Also, he kind of starts to disbeleive in any sort of afterlife, focusing instead on the temporal decomposition of the body.

 

Free Will vs. Duty
 

Act 1

"A little more than kin and less than kind" (I.2.67)

Here this line shows Hamlet's feelings toward Claudius. Because Claudius is related to Hamlet and Hamlet does not have positive feelings toward him more negative feelings, hamlet's relations with Claudius are juxtaposed with his previous relations with his father and with his mother. This reflects what Hamlet feels is his duty vs. What he feels is his free will toward Claudius and his father. Hamlet feels he is only acting in moderate kindness toward Claudius because of his duty. If it were in his free will he would likely disregard any authority Claudius has over him.

"Give these mourning duties to your father" (I.2.92)

This line, spoken by Claudius, shows that Claudius wishes for hamlet to act solely out if duty in his mourning for his father instead of in his own free will. Claudius wants this to improve his authority over hamlet. By associating free will, the stronger more personal aspect with himself and the more removed and general aspect of duty with Hamlet's father, he strengthens, or wants to, his relationship with hamlet and therefore his authority over hamlet.

"And thy commandment all alone shall live/ Within the book and volume of my brain"(I.5.109-110)

This quote shows that hamlet is acting out of duty to his father. Because Hamlets father asks him to enact revenge upon Claudius and Hamlet says that he will follow his commandment showing hamlet is merely following his father. This implies he is acting out of a sense of duty instead of free will because hamlet was not the one to suggest enacting revenge, his father had to ask, or tell, him to take his revenge on Claudius for him.

" swear by my sword" (I.5.175)

Hamlet repeats this or similar lines often in the end of act 1. He seems overly insistent on the swearing of Horatio and Marcellus. He is so insistent in their swearing because he seems not to trust them to do as he asks of their own free will. This reflects on his character because it shows his lack of trust in others even that are dear to him possibly suggesting that he would not trust himself to carry out acts instructed to him if he were not required to do so. For these reasons it seems as if he is acting out of duty instead of free will when he promises to enact his revenge on Claudius as asked for by his father. He seems to be bound by his act of duty just as he is trying to bind Horatio and Marcellus by having them swear and swear by his sword.

"What should we do?" (I.4.62)

Hamlet asks this to Horatio and Marcellus when the ghost approaches them at the end of act one. Hamlet clearly here does not go with the ghost altogether willingly, first he asks for advice from Horatio and Marcellus and then he only goes when the ghost beckons toward him and Horatio and Marcellus suggest he go. While this may seem a sign of only the fright and surprise Hamlet has at seeing the ghost, it could also reflect upon the lack of choice Hamlet feels in his interactions with the ghost. It could suggest that when he follows the ghosts orders is is more from a sense of duty than free will.

"Then I will follow it" (I.4.70)

This quote shows as well Hamlets resistance to the ghosts commands as the ghost beckoned him to come with him far before this and hamlet only now is willing to go with the ghost. This helps to prove that in act one Hamlets sense of duty toward his father is far more overwhelming than his sense of free will in his actions, this does not mean however he is against complying with his father's wishes, it just proves he is more comfortable carrying out actions with a sense of duty toward one with a purpose instead of just having himself to rely on for purpose.

 

Act 2

“Give him this money and these notes, Reynaldo” (II.1.1)

 

This is the start of a long series of duties that Polonius gives to Reynaldo, his servant, on how to spy on his son, Laertes.  This is an example of the motif of free will vs. duty because it is Reynaldo’s duty to follow Polonius’s orders because Polonius is in a role of power over Reynaldo.  On the other hand, it is Polonius’s free will to send somebody to go spy on his son.  Nobody told Polonius to find out what Laertes was up to so it was all Polonius’s lack of trust that caused him to send Reynaldo to spy on Laertes.

 

“My lord, as I was sewing in my closet,/ Lord Hamlet, with his doublet all unbraced,/ No hat upon his head, his stockings fouled,/ Ungartered, and down-gyved to his ankle,/ Pale as his shirt, his knees knocking each other,/ And with a look so piteous in purport/ As if he had been loosed out of hell/ To speak of horrors - he comes before me”(II.1.87-94).

 

In this passage Ophelia is reporting back to Polonius of her encounter with Hamlet.  In this case of free will vs. duty, it was Ophelia’s duty to follow her father’s orders and talk with Hamlet to try to figure out why he has gone mad.  This scene is simply Ophelia following through with her duty, showing her obedience and loyalty to her father opposed to Hamlet.

 

“But we both obey,/ And here give up ourselves in the full bent/ To lay our service freely at your feet,/ To be commanded”(II.2.31-34)

 

In this scene, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern express that it is their duty to obey the King’s orders even if it means betraying their friend.  This scene demonstrates the power that the King has relative to Hamlet by him being able to get some of Hamlet’s closest followers to support Claudius over Hamlet.

 

“This, in obedience, hath my daughter shown me”(II.2.133)

 

This line shows the motif of duty in two ways.  First, it represents Ophelia’s duties to obey her father’s orders and report to him about any contact she has with Hamlet.  Secondly, it shows Polonius’s duty to royal family.  This quote and the duty that is shown in the passage as a whole is used to develop a hierarchy of power and introduce the reader to the system of who has to follow orders from who.

 

“Were you not sent for? Is it your own inclining? Is it a free visitation? Come, come, deal justly with me. Come, come; nay, speak”(II.2.295-298).

 

In this line Hamlet is trying to determine whether Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were there to visit him out of duty or their own free will.  This clarification in Hamlet’s mind is crucial because he knows that if they were sent out of duty he would not be able to trust them because it would prove their allegiance is to the King.  However, if they had been there to visit Hamlet out of their own free will, Hamlet would have been able to trust them more because it shows more of an allegiance to him

 

“Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell”(II.2.614)

 

In this soliloquy Hamlet is questioning why he doesn’t have the courage and the passion needed to avenge his father’s death and when he brings up that he was “prompted” to get revenge the reader learns that Hamlet’s mind, it is his duty to revenge his father’s death and the order was given by the supernatural (“heaven and hell”).  In this passage we see the internal conflict caused by Hamlet’s sense of duty telling him to get revenge on his father where if it were left up to his own free will he would likely not take any action and let events unfold as they may.

 

Act 3

Quotes:

“To be or not to be- that is the question:/ Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer/ The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,/ Or to take arms against a sea of troubles/ And, by opposing, end them” (III.1.64-68).

 

This quote shows the way Hamlet struggles throughout the play with the decision between free will and duty. He is having trouble balancing the duty that he feels to avenge his father’s death and the choice he wants to have about whether to save his own soul from the torment he would put it through if he were to kill. He wants to know whether it is “nobler” to suffer for what he knows is his duty to his father and state or whether it is okay for him to take the cowardly way out and save himself the “sea of troubles.”

 

“No traveler returns, puzzles the will/ And makes us rather bear those ills we have/ Than fly to others that we know not of?/ Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,/ And thus the native hue of resolution/ Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought/… And lose the name of action” (III.1.91-96).

 

This is a very similar quote. Again, Hamlet ponders whether he truly has free will. He wants to make his own decision but he fears that it makes him a coward in the face of duty. He feels the guilt of not having acted yet to avenge his father’s death. However, he also is feeling the weight of his own conscience that is telling him this is a bad idea in terms of his own self-preservation. Thus, he thinks that the “pale cast of thought” is sickly because it is so difficult to decide between the choices.

 

“Soft, now to my mother./ O heart, lose not thy nature; let not ever/ The soul of Nero enter this firm bosom” (III.2.425-427).

 

Hamlet feels a great deal of duty to his mother throughout the entire play. Even though she has done unspeakable things to him and his father, he remains loving with her. He spares her his wrath when he is plotting to kill Claudius and in this scene decides that he will not try to kill her even though he totally could. The allusion to Nero shows that he is serious because Nero killed his mother and Hamlet wants very badly not to do this. It shows that while he is acting out of duty towards his mother, he is also trying to keep his own free will and chose not to act like that towards her.

 

“Let me be cruel, not unnatural./ I will speak daggers to her, but use none./ My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites...” (III.2.428-430).

 

In this quote Hamlet shows his free will towards his mother. He choses not to hurt her but to instead hurt her with his words. By saying, “My tongue and soul in this be hypocrites,” he shows that he is choosing not to hurt her, but cannot help himself from speaking badly to her. Duty is forcing him back, even though he would like to get back at her for his father’s death but free will is allowing him some respite in the form of emotional damage levelled against her.

 

“My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent,/ And, like a man to double business bound,/ I stand in pause where I shall first begin/ And both neglect. What if this cursèd hand/ Were thicker than itself with brother’s blood?” (III.3.44-48).

 

This shows Claudius’ take on duty vs. free will. He chose to kill his brother and deluded himself into thinking that he a had a duty to the state and to himself to murder. However, in this quote he realizes the repercussions of his free will. He begins to question his previous actions and ask himself, “Was it worth it?” His guilt is increasing in a similar way to Hamlet’s, except it is opposite because his is over something he did of free will and Hamlet’s is from what he must do for duty.

 

“But ‘tis not so above:/ There is no shuffling; there the action lies/ In his true nature, and we ourselves compelled,/ Even to teeth and forehead of our faults,/ To give evidence” (III.3.64-68).

 

Claudius has decided that whether an action is done for duty or out of free will, the result is always the same. In the end all must justify their actions in front of God. He thinks that it doesn’t matter that he chose to kill his brother or that Hamlet felt compelled by duty to kill him: the end is the same. This is important because the whole play centers around the conflict of duty vs. free will and this shows that the debate is a moot point.

 

“A villain kills my father, and for that,/ I, his sole son, do this same villain send/ To heaven./ Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge” (III.3.81-84).

 

This is showing that Hamlet feels duty to kill Claudius. He wants to know that if he does his duty, punishment will come where it is deserved. He doesn’t want to kill him but feels that it is necessary. He wants to know that he will have company in hell if he fulfills his duty.

 

“Do you not come your tardy son to chide,/ That, lapsed in time and passion, lets go by/ Th’ important acting of your dread command?” (III.4.122-124).

 

This shows Hamlet’s debate between duty and free will in the entire play. He is exclaiming to the ghost about his guilt in what he has done. He knows that he has wasted time and lost passion for the actions of duty. However, he also still knows that he has this duty to his father if he is ever to be able to leave purgatory and get his rightful end. Hamlet must make the decision between free will and duty soon or everything will be lost.

 

“Do not forget. This visitation/ Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose” (III.4.126-127).

 

This is the ghost reminding Hamlet that he does have a duty to kill Claudius. He wants him to not forget the true purpose of his mission because he is scared and doesn’t want to risk his soul. The ghost feels that Hamlet has forgotten him and that he has forgotten his duty. He wants Hamlet to keep his mission. You can also see that it is possible the ghost is an apparition of Hamlet’s imagination since Gertrude can’t see him. This means that the ghost is a manifestation of his own conscience telling him that he needs to fulfill his duty.

 

Act 4

Quotes:

“Ah, mine own lord, what have I seen tonight?” (IV.1.5)

“In his lawless fit, / Behind the arras hearing something stir, / Whips out his rapier, cries ‘A rat, a rat,’ / And in this brainish apprehension kills / The unseen good old man.” (IV.1.8-12)

The motif of free will vs. duty in seen in the first seen when Gertrude is explaining to Claudius what Hamlet has done to poor Polonius. It was her duty to report the crime and explain what had happened, but her alliances are brought into question because it is difficult to determine if she is attacking Hamlet by reporting him as the murder and pleasing Claudius by accusing Hamlet or whether she is solely protecting herself. Was her accusation made out of free will or because she had a duty to prove Hamlet’s insanity?

 

“Friends both, go join you with some further aid. / Hamlet in madness hath Polonius slain,” (IV.1.34-35)

As soon as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enter the seen they are assigned another duty by the King. At this point in the play, we must question whether these gentlemen are really friends of Hamlet or just servants to the king. Claudius has set them up with many tasks to either help or learn about Hamlet and they have completed all of them out of free will, but it may seem as though their only allegiance is to the King.

“Of nothing. Bring me to him.” (IV.2.30)

Hamlet also orders his friends around and gives them endless duties, which shows the lack of respect and trust he has for anyone associated with his uncle.

 

“The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England, / For like the hectic n my blood rages, / And thou must cure me. Till I know ‘tis done, / Howe’er my haps, my joys will ne’er begin.” (IV. 3.74-77)

On his own free will, Claudius condemns Hamlet to death in order to get rid of any threats to his power or the throne. Once Hamlet is eliminated, Claudius will be “cured” of his guilt.

 

“I do not know / Why yet I live to say ‘This thing’s to do,’ / Sith I have cause, and will, and strength, and means / To do ‘t. Examples gross as Earth exhort me: / Witness this army of such mass and charge, / Led by a delicate and tender prince, / Whose spirit with divine ambition puffed” (IV.4.46-52)

During Hamlet’s soliloquy, he questions Fortinbras ability to carry out orders and kill with ease. Hamlet feels that he has a duty to his father to seek revenge on Claudius and he wants to carry out that duty but is still hesitant. He lacks complete will to kill and the ruthlessness to act upon the King effectively.

 

“To hell, allegiance! Vows, to the blackest devil! / Conscience and grace, to the profoundest pit! / I dare damnation. To this point I stand, / That both the worlds I give to negligence, / Let come what comes, only I’ll be revenged / Most thoroughly for my father.” (IV.5.149-154)

“Hadst thou thy wits and didst persuade revenge, / It could not move thus.” (IV.5.192-193)

As soon as Laertes discovers his father’s death he demands revenge at all costs and wants to punish the murderer. This is an example of free will because he explains that he will only be at peace once the murderer is taken away at whatever cost. Laertes anger and willingness is different from Hamlet’s weak attempts at revenge for his father’s death because Laertes was acting on free will, while Hamlet was carrying out a duty.

 

“She is so (conjunctive) to my life and soul / That, as the star moves not but in his sphere, / I could not but by her.” (IV.7.16-18)

“The other motive. / Why to a public count I might not go / Is the great love the general gender bear him,” (IV.7.18-20)

While the King and Laertes conspire to kill Hamlet, The King gives two reasons as to why he can’t commit the crime. The King has duties to his wife and the public that prevent him from being a murderer. There are far less consequences for Laertes as a murderer. Both men have the will to kill Hamlet, but the selfish king would rather put the blame on someone else.

 

Act 5

Act 1

“Is she to be buried in Christian burial when she willfully seeks her own salvation?” (V.1. 1-2)

-Obviously, the gravedigger doesn’t believe that Ophelia should get a proper burial because the church, which had an extremely large influence at the time, viewed suicide as a sin, and typically those who committed it would not receive a proper burial. The gravedigger goes on to state how the aristocracy and the rich have more freedoms than others, and the only reason she is receiving a proper burial is because she was wealthy. However, his duty was to give her a proper burial, as ordered by the king. So, he did just that.

“She should in ground unsanctified have lodged Till the last trumpet. For charitable prayers Shards, flints and pebbles should be thrown on her. Yet here she is allowed her virgin crants, Her maiden strewments, and the bringing home Of bell and burial.” (V.1.233-242)

-Similarly to the doctor/priest/whoever is burying her, if it were up to him, Ophelia wouldn't receive a burial, instead be buried outside of the graveyard with stones thrown upon her corpse. However, the king ordered them to do otherwise. However, he does refuse to sing the same songs and say the same prayers that other people received, because it would be dishonoring them.

 

“Does it not, think thee, stand me now upon— He that hath killed my king and whored my mother, Popped in between th' election and my hopes, Thrown out his angle for my proper life (And with such cozenage!)—is ’t not perfect conscience To quit him with this arm? And is ’t not to be damned To let this canker of our nature come In further evil?” (V.2.72-80)

-Hamlet is struggling with deciding whether or not to kill Claudius. His self proclaimed duty and free will overlap in this moment as he debates whether or not it is his job to kill the man who killed his father. His will is also urging him towards killing Claudius and getting revenge because he hates the man.

 

“But I am very sorry, good Horatio, That to Laertes I forgot myself, For by the image of my cause I see The portraiture of his. I’ll court his favors. But sure the bravery of his grief did put me Into a towering passion.”(V.2.85-90)

Hamlet reflects on how his will and emotional state took over his behavior when he encountered Horatio. Although he should have acted cordially and been respectful at the funeral of his past love interest, free will took over when he got in a scuffle with Laertes over Ophelia’s death.

 

 

“I am satisfied in nature,

Whose motive in this case should stir me most

To my revenge. But in my terms of honor

I stand aloof, and will no reconcilement

Till by some elder masters, of known honor,

I have a voice and precedent of peace

To keep my name ungored. But till that time

I do receive your offered love like love

And will not wrong it.” (V.2.230-238)

-Laertes points out that even though his will tells him that he wants revenge on Hamlet, he will carry out his duty of being cordial.

“Never believe it. I am more an antique Roman than a Dane. Here’s yet some liquor left. (lifts the poisoned cup)” (V.2.336-339)

-Here, Horatio abandons his duty to Hamlet of telling anyone the true story about Claudius. His free will takes over when he considers taking his life. The recent tragic events cause him to battle between life and death.

 

 

Power

Act 1

• Claudius gains the throne after he murders his brother

  • causes Hamlet to seek revenge for his father’s death

• Gertrude keeps her power as she marries her dead husband’s brother, Claudius, who is also the new king

  • gain power through acts that can be considered “rotten”

  • “Murder most foul, as in the best it is. But this most foul, strange and unnatural.”

  • 1.5. 27-28

  • “Now, Hamlet, hear. 'Tis given out that, sleeping in my orchard, A serpent stung me. So the whole ear of Denmark Is by a forgèd process of my death Rankly abused. But know, thou noble youth, The serpent that did sting thy father’s life Now wears his crown.”

  • 1.5.34-40

• shifts in power are difficult

• Hamlet

  • has power over his friends, Marcellus and Horatio

  • mocks them

    • “Hillo, ho, ho, boy. Come, bird, come.”

  • 1.5. 117

• Laertes and Polonius have power over Ophelia

  • “For Hamlet and the trifling of his favor, Hold it a fashion and a toy in blood, A violet in the youth of primy nature, Forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting, The perfume and suppliance of a minute. No more.”

  • 1.3.5-10

  • “Marry, I’ll teach you. Think yourself a baby That you have ta'en these tenders for true pay, Which are not sterling. Tender yourself more dearly,”

  • 1.3.105-107

 

Act 2

Scene 1

• Polonius gives Laertes the sense of independence and power by letting him go to France by himself, but behind his back, he sends Reynaldo to spy on him. Triggering the motif of disguise and unhealthy relationship between Polonius and Laertes.

  • “Before you visit him, to make inquire of his behavior.” Line 4-5

  • “‘And in part him, but,” you may say, “not well.But, if ’t be he I mean, he’s very wild.Addicted so and so.—” And there put on him What forgeries you please” Lines 17-20

• Then Polonius manipulates Reynaldo to get the information he wanted of Laertes in a roundabout way.

  • “And thus do we of wisdom and of reach,With windlasses and with assays of bias,By indirections find directions out. So by my former lecture and advice Shall you my son.” Lines 64-68

• Polonius seems to have a lot of power at this point, demanding Reynaldo to do things but at the same time he is also powerless  because being a father, he had to get to know his son in an unnatural way instead of just asking Laertes. 

  • “Observe his inclination in yourself.” Line 70.

• Polonius’s power over his family is shown later in scene 1, when Ophelia came in to tell him about her encounter with Hamlet. Ophelia is powerless compared to Polonius  because she does whatever Polonius tells her to do.

  • “No, my good lord. But as you did command did repel his fetters and denied His access to me.” lines 108-110

 

Scene 2

• A similar thing is happening here with King Claudius. Instead of observing Hamlet himself, he asked two of his closest friends to spy on him and his actions. Compared to Polonius, King Claudius is almost as powerless as a “father” of Hamlet but he is powerful as the King of the nation.

  • “That you vouchsafe your rest here in our court Some little time so by your companies To draw him on to pleasures and to gather,So much as from occasion you may glean,Whether aught, to us unknown, afflicts him thus That, opened, lies within our remedy” Lines 13-18

• Rosencrantz and Guildenstern seems unwilling to carry the king and queen’s wishes but they cannot deny their demands because of their power.

  • “Both your majesties Might, by the sovereign power you have of us,Put your dread pleasures more into command Than to entreaty….But we both obey And here give up ourselves, in the full bent,To lay our service freely at your feet To be commanded.” lines 25-32

• Gertrude acts as an re enforcement of King Claudius’s power by repeating everything he says to visitors.

  • “To show us so much gentry and good will As to expend your time with us awhile For the supply and profit of our hope, Your visitation shall receive such thanks As fits a king’s remembrance.” lines 22-26

  • “Thanks, Guildenstern and gentle Rosencrantz.And I beseech you instantly to visit My too much changèd son. Go, some of you,And bring these gentlemen where Hamlet is.” lines 34-36

• When Polonius meets King Claudius, it is clear that King Claudius is one with more power, and Polonius tries to please King Claudius as much as possible.

  • “Have I, my lord? I assure my good liege,I hold my duty as I hold my soul, Both to my God and to my gracious king.” Lines 43-35

• Next, King Claudius seemed to have lost his power because Polonius is one with the information that he wants to know of Hamlet, as if he’s manipulating the King for the pleasure of it.

  • Claudius, “Oh, speak of that. That do I long to hear.” Line 50

  • Polonius, “Give first admittance to th' ambassadors.My news shall be the fruit   to that great feast.” Lines 51-52

• Upon encountering Hamlet, Polonius definitely lost his power and Hamlet ruled over him.

  • “You cannot, sir, take from me any thing that I will more willingly part withal—except my life, except my life, except my life.” Lines 25-27

• Hamlet showed equal power with his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern by joking with them.

  • “In the secret parts of Fortune? Oh, most true. She is a strumpet. What news?“ Lines 223-225

  • “No such matter. I will not sort you with the rest of my servants, for, to speak to you like an honest man, I am most dreadfully attended.” lines 252-254

• Then Hamlet gained power over her friends and made them tell him the truth.

  • “That you must teach me. But let me conjure you, by the rights of our fellowship, by the consonancy of our youth, by the obligation of our ever-preserved love, and by what more dear a better proposer could charge you withal: be even and direct with me whether you were sent for or no.” lines 263-266

• By the end of scene, Hamlet mocks Polonius through the actors

  • Polonius: “My lord, I will use them according to their desert.”

  • Hamlet : “ God’s bodykins, ,man, much better. Use every man after his desert, and who should’ escape whipping? Use them after your own honor and dignity. The less they deserve, the more merit is in your bounty. Take them in.

 

Act 3

kings power over others

“ROSENCRANTZ

We shall, my lord.

Exeunt ROSENCRANTZ and GUILDENSTERN”

“It shall be so:” all he needed to say for them to obey

polonius power over ophelia

“Ophelia, walk you here. Gracious, so please you,

We will bestow ourselves.”

 

hamlets power over claudius through fear

The king rises.

HAMLET

What, frighted with false fire!

Kings power over all but hamlet and horatio

KING CLAUDIUS

Give me some light: away!

All

Lights, lights, lights!

Exeunt all but HAMLET and HORATIO

 Internal power struggle hamlet

“To be, or not to be: that is the question:”

Hamlet power over ophelia always referring to him as lord

“What means your lordship?”

“Indeed, my lord”

“OPHELIA

You are merry, my lord.” Trying to please him

Hamlet power over players

“HAMLET

Speak the speech,”

“O, reform it altogether. And let those that play

your clowns speak no more “

Hamlet power over polonius

“HAMLET

Bid the players make haste.

Exit POLONIUS”

 

Act 4

Claudius:

•  “O Gertrude, come away” (4.1.29)

• “Bring him before us” (4.3.17)

• “Go, seek him there” (4.3.42)

• “Follow him at foot; tempt him with speed aboard Delay it not” (4.3.63-64)

• “Follow her close; give her good watch, I pray you” (4.5.79)

• “Let him go, Gertrude” (4.5.137 and 4.5.141-142)

  • Claudius is commanding people to do his will because he wants to be in control and have all the power

• “I have sent to seek him and to find the body” (4.3.1)

  • Claudius is trying to control the situation because he wants to have all the power

• “I will work him To an exploit, now ripe in my device, Under which he shall not choose but fall” (4.7.71-73)

  • Claudius wants to kill Hamlet so as not to risk his own power and position as King of Denmark

• “When in your motion you are hot and dry (As make your bouts more violent to that end) And that he calls for drink, I’ll have prepared him A chalice for the nonce, whereon but sipping, If he by chance escape your venomed stuck our purposed may hold there” (4.7.179-185)

  • Claudius will go as far as killing Hamlet, his nephew/son, in order to maintain his position as king and his power

 

Hamlet:

• “When he needs what you have gleaned, it is but squeezing you, and, sponge, you shall be dry again” (4.2.19-21)

  • Hamlet tells Rosencrantz and Guildenstern that Claudius is only using them to maintain his own power

• “Bring me to him” (4.2.30)

  • Hamlet uses his power as a member of the royal family to command people

• “A king may go a progress through the guts of a beggar” (4.3.34-35)

  • Hamlet is questioning Claudius’ power by suggesting that when he dies, Claudius, a king, will have no more power than a beggar

• “Farewell, dear mother” (4.3.58)

  • Hamlet is mocking Claudius’ power and masculinity by saying he is the same as Gertrude

• “My thoughts be bloody or be nothing at worth!” (4.4.69)

  • Hamlet is telling himself that he needs to think more violently if he is going to avenge his father by killing Claudius and removing him from power

• “Tomorrow I shall beg leave to see your kingly eyes, when I shall (first asking<your> pardon) thereunto recount the occasion of my sudden <and more strange> return” (4.7.50-53)

  • Hamlet is being vague in this letter in order to psych out Claudius and threaten his power  

  • Hamlet has also disobeyed Claudius by returning to Denmark so he is undermining Claudius’ authority as king

 

Act 5

Scene 1

• “The very conveyances of his lands will scarcely lie in this box, and must th’ inheritor himself have no more, ha?” (5.1.112-114)

  • Everyone ends up in the grave, no matter who they were in their life

  • Power doesn’t matter once a person is dead-- they all end up the same (rotting skulls and bones)

  • Makes Hamlet realize that status will not matter in the end

• “…as thus: Alexander died, Alexander was buried, Alexander returneth to dust; the dust is earth…” (5.1.215-217)

  • even Alexander the Great is dead, and he became the same as everyone else

  • power had no effect on his inevitable end

Scene 2

• “Thy state is the more gracious, for ‘tis a vice to know him. He hath much land, and fertile. Let a beast be lord of beasts and his crib shall stand at the king’s mess.” (5.2.96-100)

  • Hamlet states that Osric only has power because of his money and status

  • Wealth can buy power

  • The king is easily persuaded by those with wealth, and values it to much

  • Anyone with money and property can be welcomed by the king and have a position of power

• “If it be now, ‘tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now, if it  be not now, yet it will come.” (5.2.234-236)

  • Hamlet stops trying to control everything

  • Realizes what happens will happen, and his amount of power can’t necessarily stop that from occurring

  • Letting go of power-- allowing anything to happen

• “Gertrude, do not drink.” “I will, my lord; I pray you pardon me.”(5.2.317-318)

  • The queen disobeys Claudius and does what she wants to

  • Queen is taking some power back, not letting Claudius control her every move

• “Here, thou incestuous, murd’rous, damned Dane, Drink off this potion.”(5.2.356-357)

  • Claudius’s status didn’t matter in the end, he still died

  • Hamlet seized the power and was able to finally get revenge

  • Power was transferred from Claudius to Hamlet-- Hamlet was able to successfully get rid of Claudius

  • Everyone dies in the end-- all equal in death

• “For me, with sorrow I embrace my fortune.”(5.2.431)

  • Fortinbras inherits the land of Denmark- a new power

  • Power is easily transferred and is never truly belonging to one person