In scene one, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, Polonius, Ophelia, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern enter a room in the castle to discuss Hamlet’s recent odd behavior. They think that Hamlet is going crazy but they were still unsure if his behavior was due to genuine madness or his love for Ophelia. The group talks together and conjures up a plan to use Ophelia as bait in order to figure out Hamlet’s intentions. The King and Polonius hide leaving Ophelia to pretend she is simply reading a book. Hamlet enters and contemplates whether or not he should stand up and take action against the wrongful doings of King Claudius through his “To be or not to be” soliloquy. He eventually notices Ophelia’s presence and the two begin conversing. He claims that he never really loved her …show more content…
Hamlet sees Claudius and was about to kill Claudius in that moment, but seeing that Claudius was “repenting” led him to wait instead of following through. Hamlet wanted to be sure that Claudius would suffer like his father and not have a chance of going to heaven or enjoying the afterlife. In scene four, Polonius is hiding in Queen Gertrude’s room in order to listen in on Hamlet and Gertrude’s conversation. Hamlet enters and Gertrude tells him that he has insulted Claudius. The two continue their discussion and Hamlet appears to be very enraged and emotional which prompts the Queen to tell Hamlet that he shall not murder her. After hearing the Queen’s distress, Polonius calls for help, but Hamlet hears him and stabs Polonius. After murdering Polonius, Hamlet discusses his father’s murder and the Queen is made aware of why he has been acting out of character. Then, the ghost enters and tells Hamlet to not forget his visits, but Gertrude is left confused because she cannot see the ghost. Hamlet then leaves and drags Polonius’ dead body with
At first, Hamlet is successful, and society is convinced Ophelia is the reason for his madness, thus granting Hamlet more time to plot Claudius’s murder. This is achieved in Hamlet’s “to be or not to be speech” [3,1,57] when Claudius and Polonius spy on the conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia. During the Act, Ophelia displays traits of dishonesty and Hamlet uses this to his benefit and appears to go insane to convince Ophelia, Claudius and Polonius that Ophelia is responsible for his madness. Hamlet insists his madness is an “antic disposition” [1,5,179] and that “Thou this be madness, yet there is method in it”. [2,2,204] In the play, Hamlet uses his “antic disposition” [1,5,179] to refuse Ophelia’s affections, which is powerfully portrayed when he exclaims to her “get thee to a nunnery.” [3,1,138] By denying Ophelia’s love, Hamlet’s power in the relationship is effectively demonstrated, and it is shown he is in control of their relationship. In addition, this is reflected in Ophelia’s self-destruction, as she has no purpose to live a life without Hamlet or a man. Overall, Hamlet is successful in using his power over Ophelia for the sake of his
Act II scene i of William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a scene in which a lot is revealed. In this scene Polonius sends his servant, Reynaldo, to France to see Laertes and also to spy on him. As Reynaldo is on his way out, Ophelia comes into the scene and she is very distraught. She explains to Polonius that Hamlet had confronted her in a very unkempt state. Hamlet had grabbed her wrist and held her there for a few moments and then sighed. In this entire encounter Hamlet did not speak. Polonius is convinced that Hamlet is madly in love with Ophelia and that in addition to Polonius forcing Ophelia to distance herself from Hamlet is that is the reason for this encounter. The scene ends with Polonius going to see Claudius of his idea. This scene shows evidence of dramatic irony because Polonius is convinced that Hamlet is mad because he is in love with Ophelia but the audience knows that Hamlet is only pretending to be mad.
They decided to invite some of his college friends to watch over him. The Queen offered many thanks for their decision to watch him. “For the supply and profit of our hope, / Your visitation shall receive such thanks / As fits a king’s remembrance.” (2.2.24-26). Claudius asked Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to get answers out of him, making them seem more like spies than helpful friends. When Hamlet shows up to Ophelia’s house, seemingly mentally disturbed, Ophelia tells her father. Polonius decides to tell the King of Hamlet and Ophelia’s relationship that he thinks that may be the source of his problems. The King and Polonius set up a meeting between the two. Seeming to know he is being watched, Hamlet acts very wildly, leading them to believe Ophelia was not the cause of his insanity. The King is not impressed at Polonius. “Love! His affections do not that way tend, / Nor what he spake, though it lacked form a little, / Was not like madness. There’s something in his soul” (3.1.170-72). At this point, Hamlet has started his drastic decline in his mental stability. When he is called by the Queen for a talk, he over hears something behind the draped curtains and stabs through it, killing Polonius. His reaction is not what one would expect, as he does not feel any remorse. Hamlet simply states it was for the best and his bad luck. “Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell. / I took thee for thy
Hamlet's behavior throughout the play, especially towards Ophelia is inconsistent. He jumps into Ophelia's grave, and fights with Laertes in her grave. He professes I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers/Could not, with all their quantity of love,/ Make up my sum [Act V, scene I, lines 250-253], during the fight with Laertes in Ophelia's grave, but he tells her that he never loved her, when she returns his letters and gifts, while she was still alive. Hamlet subtly hints his awareness of his dissolving sanity as he tells Laertes that he killed Polonius in a fit of madness [Act V, scene II, lines 236-250]
Polonius starts to question Hamlet’s sanity and soon enough, Hamlet begins to display this behavior more often and towards more people. Hamlet’s odd demeanor affects Polonius, when he later taunts Polonius by giving vague answers to his questions. For example, when Polonius asks Hamlet about what he reads, Hamlet responds saying “words, words, words” (2.2.210). Hamlet finds other ways to taunt him, such as calling him an old fishmonger, as well as indirectly insulting Ophelia by saying “your daughter may conceive, friend, look to ‘t” (2.2.202-203), meaning Ophelia, his daughter, could be pregnant. Besides Hamlet, other characters possess obvious facades. Claudius also exhibits a fake appearance towards his court and even Hamlet. Near the beginning of the play, Claudius addresses the court, saying how he marries his sister-in-law and how he feels sorrowful for “[his] dear brother’s death” (1.2.1). Claudius presents a facade when he reveals that he holds responsibility for King Hamlet’s death. Nevertheless, Claudius acts innocent and covers up his crime. Hamlet discovers Claudius’s guiltiness after watching the play; Claudius prays and asks for forgiveness for murdering his
Hamlet could not acknowledge what had happened, so he made a guarantee to retaliate for his father’s demise by killing Claudius. The soliloquy exhibited by Hamlet, requesting that whether to be or not to be, is one of the speeches in the play that draws the audience. This is something that the audience can identify with it, and they can expect what is to come and see the advancement of the characters. There is additionally the case of Ophelia, who ends up insane on account of the demise of her father Polonius. Ophelia winds up troubled, crazy, and confused while the other characters start to see her madness when her father is killed. She is one of the characters that move toward becoming seen as a prattling fool all through the play in light of the crazy disturbances she has. This exposition will demonstrate that the Elizabethan audience is targeted by Hamlet through the study of the characters Ophelia and Hamlet. In particular, it will be analyzed; Ophelia and Hamlet's craziness, and the play's connection to regular day to day
Polonius takes this opportunity to spy on Hamlet and informs Gertrude that he will hide behind a tapestry and eavesdrop on their conversation. During their conversation Hamlet forces his mother in front of a mirror as to literally reflect on herself and the betrayal she’s caused him to feel. He tells her that he wants to reveal the figurative inmost part of her, but she takes this literally and thinks that he means he is going to murder her. She cries out for help which causes Polonius to cry out as well. Hamlet, thinking that the voice of the man who had just cried out for help belonged to his uncle, stabs Polonius through the curtain and kills him. Gertrude laments the murder of Polonius calling it a bloody deed and Hamlet retorts, “A bloody deed! Almost as bad, good mother, As kill a king and marry with his brother” (Shakespeare 1862). In this scene, Hamlet reaps revenge on Gertrude by emotionally torturing her so she may feel the utmost guilt for betraying her son and husband. Then, Hamlet’s unremorseful character is revealed in his ability to murder Polonius when he thought it was Claudius he had heard behind the curtain. Hamlet then justifies his murdering Polonius by equating it to Gertrude’s sin of marrying the man, her brother in law, who killed her
Of course, by his delaying his revenge, the entire plot of the play goes in a different direction. Immediately after this scene Hamlet speaks with his mother, unknowing of the fact that Polonius is hiding behind a curtain in the room with them. When the Queen becomes frightened by Hamlet's irate demeanor she cries out for help, as does Polonius. Hamlet mistakes Polonius for Claudius and stabs him to death.
to predict how they will treat other women in their life. Hamlet is a good
The first major action of the third act is the arranged meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia. During this meeting, Hamlet seems to turn on Ophelia, denying that he ever loved her. This apparent reversal of feelings towards Ophelia may appear as a peripeteia at first, but under closer examination will prove to be a continuation of Hamlet's pretense of madness. Hamlet is aware that Ophelia is being used to draw out information from him about the source of his insanity. This becomes evident when Hamlet inquires where Ophelia's father is. At the end of his soliloquy, Hamlet comments on Ophelia's beauty as he sees her approach. This illustrates that he still has affection for her, but in his current state o...
Ophelia trusts the advise given and her obedience is very evident in this matter as she avoids contact with Hamlet until she is told by her father, with the King and Queens approval, to meet up with him by 'accident' in the lobby. Deceit not being in her nature, believing that her father, the king and queen are right and true; that Hamlet is mad; and probably curious to know if Hamlet is "mad in love" with her the young, obedient, powerless Ophelia does her part to search out the truth. But tragically this one forced step outside of her true character begins her downfall. In a precarious predicament, loyalty to her father compelled Ophelia to lie to Hamlet when he asked about her father?s location at that moment saying he was at home instead of behind a tapestry right the...
What wilt thou do for her?” (5.1.263-65) By then its too late, there’s is a saying that goes by “You don’t know what you love until you lose it.” Throughout Hamlet’s disguise of madness to make his plan appear tolerable or understandable to the public people that love him, which has made loving Ophelia his obstacle. Hamlet is not actually the coward that he is made out to be, after all Hamlet is consistently looking for motivation. The motivation that Hamlet occurs to seek is just his from of procrastination. After all Hamlet is sane and simply searching for the truth of the situation. Along with Hamlets search for the truth and is concerned of Denmark. Hamlet assumes a different persona when reacting to the already faked persona, Claudius is conveying, to appear superior and fit as Hamlet’s father figure which will be elaborated
Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, is in some ways the epicentre around which Hamlet's emotions revolve. Her role is difficult to determine; she can be seen, like Desdemona, as the passive victim of male ambition and strife, or she can be placed amongst the likes of Lady Macbeth as privy to her husband's misdeeds, and as sharing his guilt to an equal, if not greater extent. Her attitude to Ophelia seems positive ('Scattering flowers. Sweets to the sweet. Farewell. I hop'd thou shouldst have been my Hamlet's wife'; V.1.236). Her most vital scene is III.4, in which Hamlet attempts to extract a confession from her, and to persuade her to renounce Claudius. Modern productions regularly home in on the Freudian potential by locating this key encounter between mother and son in the former's bedroom. It takes place in her closet.
Hamlet procrastinated only because of his fear of intimacy with his mother, knowing that Claudius was the only person separating he and Gertrude. Although Hamlet has a pious duty to avenge his father’s murder, his desire for his mother is too strong for him to leave an open pathway to her. He tries to find excuses to postpone his killing Claudius. First, he tries to discover whether or not Claudius really did kill King Hamlet, which gives him some time. After he has convinced himself that Claudius is to blame, he attempts to murder him just twice. The first time, he finds Claudius praying, and uses that as a scapegoat so he can again put off his pious duty. Later when he is alone with Gertrude, he thinks that Claudius is behind the curtains, and kills the man there. Unfortunately, Polonius becomes the victim of Hamlet’s dagger.
Monarchs and royalty have ruled over us common people for millennia -excluding the past few centuries- and while there have been some great royals like Qin Shi Huang, Julius Caesar, and the current Queen Elizabeth II, there have certainly been some bad ones too. Caligula, a crazed Roman emperor that raped and killed his sister, and Queen Mary I, a devout Catholic that burned three hundred protestants at the stake and lost the last territories England had on the European continent, are both examples of royals that never should’ve been trusted with the throne. Just because someone is born in the line of succession doesn’t mean that they should be given power. Despite Hamlet’s cunning, intelligence, and support from the people, he would’ve made