Hamlet Themes
The main themes in Hamlet are deception and false appearances, spirituality and revenge, and misogyny and gender.
- Deception and False Appearances: Many characters in the play practice deception, and Hamlet himself feigns madness to uncover the truth about Claudius's crimes.
- Spirituality and Revenge: Hamlet's desire for revenge is complicated by his spiritual questions, and Hamlet spends much of the play contemplating the meaning of life and death.
- Misogyny and Gender: As women in a patriarchal court, Ophelia and Gertrude must navigate the oppressive and contradictory expectations of the men around them, and their powerlessness ultimately leads to their tragic ends.
Deception and False Appearances
Marcellus notes in act 2 that "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark." Indeed, in Hamlet, the truth is rarely easily discerned, and audiences quickly learn that an undercurrent of corruption, violence, and revenge runs just beneath the veneer of civility and order in Denmark’s court. From the very first scenes, Hamlet is shown to be keenly aware of and bothered by the superficiality that he witnesses at court, particularly that of Gertrude and Claudius, whose professed grief for the late king is perceived by Hamlet as insincere. Despite his apparent disdain for false appearances, Hamlet goes on to spend much of the play trying to convince the court that he has gone mad so that he can buy time to evaluate Claudius’s guilt. Even this overt deception may not be what it first appears: Hamlet claims he is merely pretending to be mad, but as his actions and behavior become increasingly erratic, audiences are left to wonder to what extent Hamlet’s madness is not feigned, but real.
Of course Hamlet is not the only character to trade on false appearances: A ghost appears who claims to be Hamlet's deceased father, yet the veracity of the ghost's statements is not certain, and Hamlet knows not whether it is a “spirit of health” or “goblin damned.” Claudius has committed regicide—of his brother, no less—yet he poses as an honorable king and pretends to mourn his brother after stealing his throne and wife. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of Hamlet's old friends, show up at the castle under the pretense of wanting to spend time with Hamlet, yet they have actually been ordered by Claudius to spy on Hamlet. This complex web of deception poisons the court from within, culminating in a public and violent display in the play’s final scene, where the characters’ secrets, grudges, and manipulations are finally brought to light. At the play’s end, the stage is littered with bodies, and even more characters—including Polonius, Ophelia, and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern—lay dead offstage. Ultimately, the effects of the deceptions practiced throughout the play extend to the audience as well, casting doubt on the motivations and reliability of most of the characters and thus making it difficult to judge with certainty where the blame for all this death and destruction rightfully belongs.
Spirituality and Revenge
In act 1, a ghost claiming to be Hamlet’s father accuses Claudius, Hamlet’s uncle, of having stolen the crown, the queen, and the late king's life. Claudius’s punishment, the apparition says, must be death. Murdered before he had the chance to repent for his earthly sins, Hamlet’s father has been sent to purgatory, a state between heaven and hell where he is "confined to fast in fires / Till the foul crimes done in [his] days of nature / Are burnt and purged away." The ghost’s tormented existence in purgatory presents Hamlet with a perplexing and difficult choice: to sin by murdering Claudius may expose Hamlet’s soul to the very same divine punishment his father speaks of, yet to allow Claudius’s sins to go unpunished would mean betraying his deceased father and king. This conflicting choice weighs heavily on Hamlet, whose contemplative nature leads him to reflect at length upon his spiritual and moral obligations. Even when he catches Claudius in an unguarded moment, seemingly at prayer, Hamlet's opportunity to achieve a swift and perfect revenge is thwarted by his religious questions: if Claudius is killed while praying, Hamlet wonders, will Claudius be sent to heaven? This uncertainty stays Hamlet’s sword—though unbeknownst to Hamlet, Claudius's guilt prevent him from engaging in true prayer.
As the play progresses, Hamlet appears to shed his concerns about the spiritual implications of his revenge, a shift that perhaps signals his own mental deterioration. He murders Polonius without regret; manipulates and abuses Ophelia, likely contributing to her madness and death; and vengefully orchestrates the demise of his former friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, dismissing their fate as "not near my conscience." In the graveyard in act 5, Hamlet reflects once again upon what it means to die, yet now he appears preoccupied with the finality and inevitability of physical death rather than what awaits in the spiritual afterlife.
Hamlet is ultimately a product of his religious and social context, which are brought into conflict throughout the play. He has been raised to be a nobleman of honor and loyalty, yet this same honor puts him in the impossible position of choosing between upholding his religious ideals and remaining loyal to his father. As he lays dying, Hamlet says that "the potent poison quite o'ercrows my spirit," referring literally to his fast approaching death but also perhaps figuratively to the corrupting effects of revenge on his immortal spirit.
Misogyny and Gender
Hamlet was written and first performed in a deeply patriarchal society, and this social context is well-represented in the play itself. Through Gertrude and Ophelia, the only two women in the play, modern audiences can come to understand how the limited and challenging gender roles of this period left little hope for a woman’s personal happiness or fulfillment.
Hamlet idealizes his mother and father’s relationship and harshly judges Gertrude for remarrying so soon after his father’s death. It is quite possible, however, that Gertrude's marriage to Claudius was an act of survival rather than of love; Gertrude may have seen an alliance with Claudius as a way to escape her precarious social position as the widowed former queen. Instead of considering the complexity of Gertrude’s situation, Hamlet judges his mother's grief as false, noting the "unrighteous tears" in her "galled eyes." He accuses his mother of weakness, a complaint he then extends to all women: "Frailty, thy name is woman!" In act 3, Hamlet directly confronts his mother, using harsh and, at times, graphically sexual language to accuse her of immodesty and hypocrisy. Confused, Gertrude tells her son that his words are like "daggers" entering her ears and that he has "cleft [her] heart in twain." It is never revealed to what extent Gertrude is aware, if at all, of Claudius’s crimes, but her genuine shock in this scene suggests that she is likely ignorant of his treachery. In the final scene of the play, Gertrude eventually falls victim to Claudius's scheming herself.
Ophelia, a young and innocent beauty who was once the object of Hamlet's affection, finds herself powerless and trapped by the contradictory expectations of the men around her. To her family, Ophelia must embody purity and chastity, whereas Hamlet sees her as an object of desire and romance. The contradictions inherent in Ophelia’s position are highlighted in the conflicting instructions of her family, who initially urge her to reject Hamlet’s romantic advances but then later demand that she exploit Hamlet’s love to further their plans. Once Hamlet realizes that she has been drawn into the schemes of the king, he, too, uses Ophelia as a pawn, toying with her emotions and insisting that his earlier professions of love were lies. He belittles her and dismisses her misery, insisting that women are deceptive by nature. After Hamlet kills her father, Ophelia is driven to madness and dies, presumably by suicide. In her madness, Ophelia’s disjointed stories and songs often touch on themes of sex, betrayal, and innocence, implicating the dueling manipulations of Polonius, Laertes, and Hamlet in her mental breakdown. Ophelia’s apparent suicide, though condemned as a sin, is perhaps the only point in the play where she takes control of her own life's trajectory—though her deteriorated mental state leaves the true extent of her agency unclear.
Life and Death
The theme of life and death is central to Hamlet, exploring the inevitability of mortality and the moral consequences of actions. Shakespeare uses various elements, such as the graveyard scene, the murder of King Hamlet, and the contemplation of Yorick's skull, to delve into these themes. The play examines how death affects the living and the universal truth that all must face their end.
The graveyard scene in Act V highlights the theme of death's universality. As the gravediggers prepare Ophelia's grave, they discuss whether she deserves a Christian burial, given her suicide. This conversation underscores social distinctions but also sets the stage for Hamlet's reflections on mortality. Observing the gravediggers' casual treatment of skulls, Hamlet muses on how even great figures like Alexander the Great return to dust. This moment emphasizes that death is the great equalizer, affecting all regardless of status.
The theme of murder and death is woven throughout the play, beginning with King Hamlet's murder by his brother Claudius. This act of ambition sets off a chain of events leading to multiple deaths, including Polonius, Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, Gertrude, Laertes, Claudius, and Hamlet himself. These deaths explore themes of revenge and the moral implications of taking a life. The play questions the value of life when weighed against the pursuit of power and vengeance.
Yorick's skull serves as a powerful symbol of death's inevitability. When Hamlet encounters the skull, he reflects on the shared fate of all humans. This moment marks a shift in Hamlet's understanding of death, moving from existential despair to acceptance. The skull is a memento mori, reminding Hamlet and the audience of life's transience. Hamlet's acceptance of death is evident in his words to Horatio before the fencing match:
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—the readiness is all. Since no man of aught he leaves knows, what is ’t to leave betimes? Let be. (5.2)This acceptance allows Hamlet to face his fate with a sense of readiness.
Corruption
In Hamlet, corruption pervades the state of Denmark, symbolizing moral decay and the disintegration of social and political order. Shakespeare uses vivid imagery of disease and decay to illustrate the pervasive corruption, which is rooted in Claudius's usurpation of the throne and his incestuous marriage to Gertrude. This theme is woven throughout the play, highlighting the destructive impact of corruption on individuals and the kingdom.
Shakespeare frequently employs disease imagery to convey Denmark's moral corruption. Hamlet describes the air as "a foul and pestilent congregation of vapours," suggesting the pervasive nature of the corruption. The imagery of ulcers, pustules, and other ailments underscores the idea of a nation in decline. Even virtue is not immune, as Hamlet notes, "Virtue itself 'scapes not calumnious strokes: The canker galls the infants of the spring, Too oft before their buttons be disclosed." This imagery extends to mental illness, as Hamlet's "wit’s diseased" reflects the psychological toll of the corruption.
Claudius and Gertrude are central to the corruption in Denmark. Claudius's murder of King Hamlet and his subsequent marriage to Gertrude establish a corrupt regime. Claudius's deceitful nature and schemes to eliminate Hamlet further entrench the kingdom's moral decay. Gertrude's complicity, seen in her lack of remorse and willingness to spy on Hamlet, exacerbates the corruption. Together, they create an environment that Hamlet likens to a prison, with their actions contributing to the kingdom's "rotten" state.
The theme of corruption is also evident in the interactions between characters. Laertes's warning to Ophelia about Hamlet reveals the hypocrisy and authority within the court. His speech, echoing his father Polonius's authoritative tone, highlights the "something rotten" in Denmark. Ophelia's response, "Do not, as some ungracious pastors do, Show me the steep and thorny way to heaven," exposes the duplicity in Laertes's advice, further illustrating the pervasive corruption.
Shakespeare underscores the theme of corruption and decay to emphasize the gravity of Claudius's crime and its impact on Denmark. From Horatio's assertion that something is "rotten in the state of Denmark" to Hamlet's reflections on Yorick's skull, the play is steeped in imagery of decay. This theme highlights the moral disintegration at Denmark's core and Hamlet's obsession with mortality. Through this pervasive theme, Shakespeare illustrates the destructive power of corruption on both the state and the individual.
Expert Q&A
What is the significance of this Hamlet passage: "My father's brother, but no more like my father / Than I to Hercules"?
1 Educator Answer
Quick answer:
This passage from Hamlet is significant because it establishes two key comparisons. First, Hamlet deeply loved and respected his father, King Hamlet, and doesn't believe his uncle possesses any of the qualities that he so loved about his father. Second, Hamlet reveals that he doesn't view himself as particularly strong, which may factor into his long period of inaction before he finally avenges his father's death.
Hamlet voices these lines comparing his uncle to his father during his soliloquy at the end of act one, scene two. Hamlet begins his soliloquy by contemplating suicide and expressing his disdain for his mother's decision to marry his unscrupulous uncle. He is completely beside himself and cannot see how his mother could marry Claudius within a month after his father's death. Hamlet praises his father by comparing him to the sun god Hyperion and commenting on his caring, benevolent nature. In contrast, Hamlet compares Claudius to a grotesque satyr, which is a mythical creature symbolically associated with sexual promiscuity. Hamlet goes on to comment,
O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourned longer!—married with my uncle,
My father’s brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules. (1.2.150–154)
Hamlet's comparison reveals his contempt for Claudius and depicts his low self-image. He views Claudius as the complete antithesis of his father, whom he respects and admires. In Hamlet's opinion, Claudius does not resemble King Hamlet in any way, shape, or form. Hamlet views Claudius as a corrupt, lascivious person and does not understand what his mother sees in him.
Hamlet also reveals his low self-image by admitting that he does possess any heroic qualities like Hercules. This establishes Hamlet as a timid, melancholy character, whose insecurities are significant obstacles standing in his way of avenging his father. Unlike Hercules, Hamlet is weak, diffident, and lacks resolve. He is an insecure, complex character, and the audience sympathizes with his tragic situation. As the play progresses, Hamlet struggles to follow through with his father's directive to revenge his death and continually makes excuses not to murder Claudius when the opportunity arises. Overall, this quote reveals Hamlet's disdain for his uncle and low self-esteem, both of which are highlighted throughout the play.
What is the significance of this passage from Hamlet?
My father's spirit in arms! All is not well.
I doubt some foul play. Would the night were come!
Till then sit still, my soul. Foul deeds will rise,
Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes.
1 Educator Answer
Quick answer:
In the passage from Hamlet, the significance lies in Hamlet's reaction to his father's spirit, which he views as a foreboding sign indicating his father's unnatural death. He suspects that his father was assassinated and believes that the perpetrators' deeds will eventually be revealed. This revelation sets the stage for his conversation with his father's ghost, which instructs him to seek revenge, thus driving the plot of the play.
The former king of Denmark, Hamlet’s father, has appeared as a ghost, an ominous sign in those days. Any spirit could signify that “All is not well,” but a royal specter who is also “in arms,” or dressed in armor, is even more foreboding. Hamlet immediately wonders if there was something unnatural about his father’s death or if there is something else evil afoot. By “doubt,” Hamlet actually means “suspect”: he suspects “some foul play.” He tells his soul to “sit still” because he is no doubt anxious to hear what his father could possibly tell him, wishing that it were night already, the time apparitions are more likely to appear.
Perhaps to calm himself, Hamlet asserts that “Foul deeds will rise, / Though all the earth o'erwhelm them, to men's eyes.” This statement espouses a sense of justice and retribution. No matter how buried or cloaked a wicked act may be, the person who committed that act will eventually be known, via supernatural or natural means. From his meeting with the ghost, Hamlet becomes obsessed with unearthing the truth about his father and uncle. His father’s spirit (or the apparition posing as his father) sets him on an investigative path towards revenge.
The meaning and irony of Claudius's line, "My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: / Words without thoughts never to heaven go" in Hamlet
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Summary:
Claudius's line "My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: / Words without thoughts never to heaven go" in Hamlet highlights his internal conflict and hypocrisy. He prays for forgiveness for his brother's murder, but his lack of genuine repentance means his prayers are ineffective. This irony underscores the futility of insincere actions and Claudius's moral corruption.
What is the meaning of this quote from Hamlet: "My words fly up, My thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go."
Effectively, what Claudius is saying here is that he has not been praying in earnest, and therefore God will not hear his words. Claudius says that his "words fly up," as he offers them to heaven, but his "thoughts" remain below--there is a connotation in "below" in much of Shakespeare, where the word signifies not only the physical earth, but also the lower regions, or Hell; Claudius is ostensibly praying to God, but in his mind, he does not have Godly motivations. Claudius is aware, of course, that God will see through him and that his prayer will be ineffective, because insincere words--"words without thoughts" attached to them--will never "to heaven go." Therefore, the viewer sees that Claudius has been very lucky in having avoided Hamlet's wrath: Hamlet allowed his uncle to continue praying unhampered because he did not wish to cause Claudius's soul to be damned by killing him in the middle of prayer. The irony for the viewer, then, is that, although Claudius himself feels that his prayer has been insincere and believes it cannot have not reached God, the act of this insincere prayer may have saved him after all.
What is the meaning of this quote from Hamlet: "My words fly up, My thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go."
These lines come after Claudius has been trying to pray after he sees the play "The Mousetrap." What he doesn't know is that Hamlet sees him praying and almost kills him during that time. Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius because, according to Elizabethan belief, a person killed in the middle of prayer and confession of sin would go directly to heaven. Hamlet knows his own father was killed when he was sleeping. His father said the murder meant that he was "sent to my account/With all my imperfections on my head." ( Act I,scene v, lines 83-84)In other words, he is not in heaven, but in purgatory waiting for his sins to be burned away.
So Hamlet decides not to kill Claudius because he wants to wait until Claudius is doing something sinful, then kill him so he will be sent to hell or purgatory. Then Hamlet leaves and Claudius says these lines,"“My words fly up, My thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go” In other words, he is not willing to repent of his sin, therefore, the sin will not be forgiven. So Claudius' words are flying up but because he does not have the repentance to go with the words, his words will never reach heaven. Ironically, Claudius is in an unrepentant state and if Hamlet would have killed him, Claudius would not have been set to heaven, but the hell or purgatory as he wished.
What is the meaning of this quote from Hamlet: "My words fly up, My thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go."
Although this could be considered an example of personification, the lines within context also represent situational irony.
These lines fall within Act 3 Scene 3 of Hamlet and at this point, Claudius has just finished viewing the play within a play that Hamlet has devised to determine his guilt. Overcome with emotion, Claudius is found praying for forgiveness. Hamlet finally has both the truth (the ghost was right and Claudius murdered Hamlet's father) and the opportunity (Claudius is alone) for his revenge. However, he decides that he cannot kill Claudius at this moment because according to his beliefs, people killed while praying go straight to heaven. So once again, Hamlet delays and leaves Claudius alive.
When Hamlet exits, Claudius delivers these lines, and the audience learns that Claudius wasn't effectively praying at all. His words had no repentance behind them; he didn't mean what he was saying. This is similar to the saying that one can "feel his prayers bouncing off the ceiling."
Because Claudius isn't repentant, Hamlet could have followed through with his plans at this moment and killed Claudius. Nothing is standing in his way, after all. Since he doesn't realize this, the lines create situational irony.
What is the meaning of this quote from Hamlet: "My words fly up, My thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go."
This particular metaphorical device is called “personification,” where an abstraction is given physical properties to compare the abstraction with a visible, imaginable action. “Just like a bird flies up to the sky, my words fly up to heaven. But because the words are hollow and empty, the thoughts of the speaker do not fly up, but remain on earth and are not received (by a Deity).” It is sometimes called an “animation”; technically, a personification must give human qualities to an inanimate object: “The sun smiled at me today.” These words, a rhyming couplet that gives closure to Hamlet’s soliloquy (another example of Shakespeare’s creative genius, to have someone else’s lines close Hamlet’s soliloquy), are spoken after the king’s prayers, outwardly of penitence. He is praying as Hamlet watches him and decides not to kill him while he prays, because the King’s soul would go to heaven. But the King rises, realizing that the insincerity of his prayers makes them useless—he still is greedy for power and is not really remorseful.
What is the irony in Claudius's line, "My words fly up, my thoughts remain below: / Words without thoughts never to heaven go" in Hamlet?
In act 3, scene 3, Hamlet happens upon Claudius while Claudius is praying alone. Hamlet wants to kill Claudius because he believes that Claudius killed his father so that he could be king. He stands behind Claudius and at first seems eager to take the opportunity to kill him. He says, "now I'll do it." However, Hamlet then changes his mind because he believes that Claudius may be praying for forgiveness. Hamlet believes that if God has forgiven Claudius, then Claudius, should he die at this moment, will go to heaven. Hamlet does not want to send Claudius to heaven, but to hell. He says to himself:
A villain kills my father; and for that,
I, his sole son, do this same villain send
To heaven.
Here, Hamlet is chastising himself for potentially sending the man who killed his father to heaven and in the process betraying the ghost of his father who has called upon Hamlet to take revenge. With this in mind, Hamlet decides that he will not kill Claudius while he is praying but instead to try to catch and kill Claudius when he is committing a sinful act, "in the incestuous pleasure of his bed," or when he is "drunk asleep." In this way, Hamlet believes that he can catch Claudius when "his soul may be as damn'd and black / As hell." Having decided on this course of action, Hamlet exits the stage and leaves Claudius at prayer.
After Hamlet has left the stage, Claudius stands up and says:
My words fly up, my thoughts remain below:
Words without thoughts never to heaven go.
Claudius admits that although he was praying for forgiveness, he was doing so disingenuously. His thoughts were unrepentant and thus "remain(ed) below." This is ironic because Hamlet could indeed have killed Claudius at prayer and still sent him to hell rather than heaven. This also would have been an easy way to take his revenge, without harming anybody else or himself. If Hamlet had killed Claudius in this moment, then he could have avoided the tragic, bloody scene that comes at the end of the play.
Hamlet's perception of "The time is out of joint" and its significance
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Summary:
In Hamlet, the phrase "The time is out of joint" signifies Hamlet's realization that the natural order has been disrupted, primarily due to his father's murder and his mother's quick remarriage. This statement underscores Hamlet's sense of duty to restore order, even though he feels overwhelmed and unsure of how to proceed.
What does Hamlet mean by "The time is out of joint" in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Act 1, Scene 5?
This seemingly simple phrase that Hamlet utters after his horrifying meeting with his father’s ghost is actually another example of Shakespeare’s genius with words. Let’s begin by unpacking the basic meaning of the phrase itself. “The time” would refer to all current events that Denmark is encountering -- domestic, commercial, political, and international. For the phrase “out of joint,” imagine a dislocated shoulder. A joint in the wrong position is extremely painful and needs to be corrected immediately, or permanent damage will result, which could be crippling to the whole body. Anything described as "out of joint" is functioning incorrectly somehow, and requires fixing.
We can look at what this phrase might mean in the context of Hamlet’s situation. He feels he cannot tell the guards or Horatio exactly what the Ghost has revealed to him, but he wants them to know the kingdom is “out of joint,” meaning it is in peril. The Danish people believe that with the late King Hamlet’s brother Claudius on the throne, all is well in Denmark. In truth, there has been a major political upheaval of the throne, which is now in the hands of a murderer. Also, the domestic joining of Hamlet’s queen-mother to her former brother-in-law is rather incestuous. While somewhat accepted for political purposes during the late middle ages (the time period in which Hamlet is set), it was still religiously frowned upon.
Additionally, the guards and Horatio are already aware that something is amiss internationally, as they have been discussing the rumors about why Denmark is frantically preparing for war. The appearance of the ghost confirms in their superstitious minds that “something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Marcellus, Act I, Scene 4). Their new king is already clearly doing a disjointed job of running the kingdom if he hasn’t even informed his guards about the threats of Norway’s Prince Fortinbras to reclaim his kingdom’s land.
With the ghost’s revelation that he was murdered by Claudius, Hamlet becomes horrifyingly aware of just how “out of joint” the whole kingdom is. This is so painful for him to hear that he laments, “Oh cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right!” (Act I, Scene 5). He has little choice, however, for if he doesn't put the political joint back in place, it will indeed be crippling to the whole kingdom. Sadly in the end, it seems the only way to heal the kingdom is to wipe out the entire royal family--replace the joint, if you will--and allow Denmark to be ruled by the much better-hinged Fortinbras.
What does "time is out of joint" mean to Hamlet?
As always when examining a quotation, it's important to know the precise context in which it was uttered. In the case of this particular quotation from Act 1, Scene 5 of Hamlet, the title character speaks these words just after his encounter with the ghost of his father, who's told him how he was murdered by Claudius.
Armed with this information, Hamlet now sees the world in a whole different light. To him, the current state of affairs in the kingdom of Denmark has become “out of joint”, in much the same way as a dislocated shoulder.
Using this medical metaphor allows Hamlet to see himself in the role of a doctor who will set this grievous injury right. He will do this by killing Claudius, his wicked uncle and step-father who murdered his way to the throne by pouring poison down the ear of Hamlet's father as he slept in the garden one day.
It isn't natural for someone to have a dislocated shoulder; it goes against the way our bodies are constituted. By the same token, there's nothing remotely natural about the way things are in Denmark under Claudius. Just as a dislocated shoulder needs to be put back into place, so does some semblance of order and stability need to be brought back to Denmark. In killing Claudius, Hamlet is certain that he will achieve this particular objective.
What does "time is out of joint" mean to Hamlet?
In act one, scene five, Hamlet speaks to this father's ghost, which tells him that Claudius murdered him in the orchard by pouring poison into his ear. The Ghost then instructs Hamlet to avenge his death by murdering Claudius while sparing the queen. When the Ghost leaves, Hamlet meets up with Horatio and Marcellus but does not reveal the details of his conversation with the Ghost. After Hamlet makes his friends swear that they will keep the events a secret and informs them that he will be acting strangely in the upcoming days, Hamlet comments,
The time is out of joint. O cursèd spite, That ever I was born to set it right!
Hamlet is essentially commenting on the current state of affairs in Denmark, which are out of order. He uses the metaphor of a dislocated shoulder to represent Denmark's confused politics. The metaphor is also applied to time, which is mixed up as well. Hamlet recognizes that time is not right, and neither is the world as he knew it or Denmark's confused political hierarchy. He goes on to lament the fact that it is his responsibility to fix the current situation in Denmark at his father's request.
The meaning and context of "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all" in Hamlet
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Summary:
The phrase "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all" from Hamlet reflects Hamlet's realization that overthinking and moral contemplation can lead to inaction. Within the context of his famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy, Hamlet suggests that the fear of the unknown and the consequences of our actions can paralyze us, preventing decisive action.
What is the context and revelation of "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all" in Hamlet, act 3, scene 1?
Hamlet is feeling caught in the dilemma of discerning what to do about the ghost's revelation that Claudius murdered his father. Hamlet was depressed to begin with over his father's death. It is an added blow to think that his father didn't die naturally but was murdered by his uncle, who is now his stepfather. Hamlet also doesn't know if the ghost is telling the truth or has been sent by Satan to tempt him into murdering an innocent man. Hamlet's entire world, in other words, has been turned upside down. The world, once a safe and secure place, now feels overrun with corruption and dishonesty to him.
In this soliloquy, Hamlet weighs whether or not to kill himself. The oblivion of death tempts him, given all the problems besetting him, but he wonders if death will actually bring him oblivion. If there is an afterlife, he reasons, it could be worse for him than this life. That's what Hamlet means by "conscience does make cowards of us:" it is our consciences, our awareness of our sin, that makes us afraid to take our lives.
What does the quote "Thus conscience does make cowards of us all" from Hamlet mean?
It's from the "To be or not to be" soliloquy - and it's the last line of an argument Hamlet's thinking through about death.
He starts by arguing that nobody would bear the burdens ("fardels") of life, unless the fear of what happened after death was worse than life:
Who would fardels bear,
To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death
(The undiscover'd country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns) puzzles the will
This dread - fear - makes us bear what he have to bear rather than gamble our lot by dying.
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.
It's because of this fear that "conscience" (meaning, most likely "consciousness" rather than emotional "conscience") - thinking - makes cowards of everyone. They think their way into acceptance.
Interpretation of Polonius's Quote to Ophelia about Hypocrisy in Hamlet
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Summary:
Polonius's quote to Ophelia about hypocrisy in Hamlet highlights the theme of deceit and pretense. He warns Ophelia to be wary of Hamlet's intentions, suggesting that people often disguise their true motives behind a facade of affection and sincerity. This reflects the broader play's exploration of appearance versus reality.
What does Polonius mean by his quote to Ophelia in Act 3, Scene 1 of Hamlet?
"We are oft to blame in this, / —'Tis too much proved—that with devotion's visage / And pious action we do sugar o'er / The devil himself."
My favorite explanation in a nutshell can be found above in knightlysirjames' response: "The best place for evil to hide, is behind the appearance of virtue." This is one of the best phrases that can sum up Polonius' devious and rambling character who is taken to spying on absolutely everyone: not only Hamlet but also Polonius' own son, Laertes.
Putting Polonius' request in context, consider that the beginning of this scene finds the king and queen discussing how to get the truth out of Hamlet's "mad" condition. They finally turn to Ophelia: the object of Hamlet's affections. It is out of obedience to elders, and not out of deviousness in her own character, that Ophelia obeys. Let's look at the entire response of Polonius so that we can dissect this further:
Ophelia, walk you here. Gracious, so please you,
We will bestow ourselves. Read on this book,
That show of such an exercise may colour
Your loneliness. We are oft to blame in this—
'tis too much proved—that with devotion's visage
And pious action we do sugar o'er
The Devil himself.
Here Polonius is instructing Ophelia, or perhaps I should say demanding of Ophelia, that she walk alone with her book of Roman Catholic prayers and devotions. With Ophelia reading these saintly words, "such an exercise" will "colour" her loneliness. In other words, Ophelia should look like she is finding peace and happiness in God where she had originally been pining for Hamlet. Also, and perhaps more importantly, reading over prayers and devotions should be done in private; therefore, it is a good excuse for her being alone while she runs into Hamlet.
Here we come to the original question. What does this mean: "With devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the Devil himself." And here we come back to knightlysirjames' original answer: "The best place for evil to hide, is behind the appearance of virtue." If you wish to put it closer to the original wording of Polonius (but in modern-day terms), you could say that in looking devout and holy, we hide our own evil in sweetness.
Oh, how ironic it is that Polonius says, "WE are oft to blame in this" and "WE do sugar o'er the Devil"! He certainly IS "oft to blame"! Polonius is one of the most devious characters of Shakespeare's play, and is eventually killed due to his spying.
What does Polonius mean by his quote to Ophelia in Act 3, Scene 1 of Hamlet?
"We are oft to blame in this, / —'Tis too much proved—that with devotion's visage / And pious action we do sugar o'er / The devil himself."
Polonius has promised the Queen that he will have Ophelia try to learn what is causing Hamlet's madness. So, he has his daughter pretend to be reading her daily prayers, or devotions, in order for her state of being alone to be plausible to Hamlet.
Polonius's remark that "with devotion's visage [face] / And pious action we do sugar o'er / The devil himself" means that with the pretense of prayer and saintliness the devil himself can be covered up. Polonius here makes an admission of the duplicity practiced by himself and others and about to be practiced by his daughter. In an aside, the King agrees, saying that the words have touched his conscience and that he carries the "heavy burden," that is, guilt.
What is the meaning of this quote from Hamlet: "We're oft to blame, and this is too much proved, that with devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the Devil himself"?
The literal meaning of this quotation from Hamlet is that people are often hypocrites. We use an appearance of religious devotion and piety to cover the evil in ourselves. This sounds like one of the rebukes that Hamlet himself flings at Ophelia or Gertrude, but in fact, it is an observation made by Polonius to Ophelia as he gives her a prayerbook, which he wants her to read—or at least appear to be reading. Whatever Ophelia thinks of Polonius's comment, it is not lost on Claudius, who immediately recognizes himself in the old courtier's words and says that his conscience is lashed by the dichotomy between his own thoughts and actions.
The most intriguing question, however, is why Polonius should make this comment to his daughter. It suggests not only that he is encouraging her to be a sinful hypocrite, but that he knows he is doing this. Audience members will come up with their own explanations for Polonius's strange behavior, but one point that Shakespeare may be making concerns the distinction between experience and wisdom. Polonius is highly experienced and good at giving advice. Much of it is even good advice. However, despite his experience and knowledge, he is not a wise man, as he does not take the advice himself and has now come to the point where he dispenses his counsel automatically, even when doing the opposite.
What is the meaning of this quote from Hamlet: "We're oft to blame, and this is too much proved, that with devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the Devil himself"?
In act 3, scene 1 Polonius is using his daughter as bait so that he and Claudius may spy on her conversation with Hamlet. He wants Ophelia to act as natural as possible, and so he instructs her to walk exactly where they know Hamlet will walk, and he gives her a book to pretend to be reading, perhaps the Bible or a prayer book, which would add to her sweet and lonely aura. After this direct instruction on how to be deceitful, he admits right in front of her, “We are oft to blame in this / (‘Tis too much proved), that with devotion’s visage and pious action we do sugar o’er / the devil himself.”
Polonius is saying that humans too often act in deceitful ways, for which they are to blame. Not only is he admitting that he knows it’s wrong, he is saying that this has been proven true to him before. Clearly this “wise counselor” is unwilling to learn from his mistakes. In fact, he is currently making another mistake, in teaching his own daughter such behavior. He knows how to put on a fake face of devotion (perhaps to King Claudius?) and pretend that his behaviors are pious in order to cover up his immoral motives.
One must ask, if he is putting on a face of devotion and pretend pious action to his family and to the crown, what is his actual devilish motive that he is sugaring over? What does Polonius stand to gain by proving that Hamlet has gone crazy over unrequited love for Ophelia? Perhaps a daughter married into the royal family? And why does this not occur to King Claudius? Well, it actually might. But in that moment Claudius is too busy dealing with his own guilty conscience for sugaring over his own evil behavior, as we see when he comments in an aside, “O, ‘tis too true!”
What is the meaning of this quote from Hamlet: "We're oft to blame, and this is too much proved, that with devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the Devil himself"?
This quotation is the advice Polonius gives to his daughter Ophelia as he, the king and the queen plan to stage a "chance" meeting between Hamlet and Ophelia. They hope to determine if Hamlet's insanity has been caused by Ophelia's rejection.
Polonious demands that his daughter pretend to be reading a book of prayers even though she is waiting to encounter Hamlet. This is the "devotion's visage and pious action" from the quote. The intent, "to sugar o'er the devil himself," is for Ophelia to appear godly and innocent as she waits.
Truly, all three of the adults here could be talking about themselves. They appear to be good on the outside, but inside they are all guilty of plotting and manipulating.
Appearance vs. Reality in Hamlet
9 Educator Answers
Summary:
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the theme of appearance vs. reality is central, addressing the conflict between what seems to be true and what actually is. Hamlet's grief, Claudius's facade of a noble king, and the Ghost's authenticity all highlight this theme. Hamlet feigns madness to uncover Claudius's guilt, questioning whether the Ghost is truthful or a devil. Characters like Polonius and Rosencrantz also embody deceit, while Gertrude's loyalty and Ophelia's love are ambiguous. This pervasive theme underscores the play's exploration of truth and deception, leading to tragic outcomes.
Discuss the theme of appearance and reality in Hamlet's speech (lines 76–86).
In act I, scene 2, Hamlet speaks at length of the “the trappings and the suits of woe" and of “all forms, moods, shapes of grief, / That can denote me truly” to emphasize the difference between seeming and being—between appearance and authenticity.
In her advice that he cease grieving, Gertrude refers to her son’s “knighted colour,” or black mourning clothes. Hamlet builds on this, referring to “my inky cloak” and “customary suits of solemn black” to emphasize that such conventions are just that: customary. When he speaks of sighing and crying (“windy suspiration of forced breath, . . . the fruitful river in the eye”), in referencing the eye, he responds as well to her request that he support his country: “let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.” Outward looks, Hamlet emphasizes (in four lines that begin with “Nor” or “No”), cannot be genuine. In contrast, his interior state is one of genuine grief: “I have that within which passeth show.”
At the end of this scene, after Gertrude and Claudius exeunt, Hamlet delivers his soliloquy on the solidness of flesh, ending with the line that contains “break, break my heart,” confirming that he is truly suffering.
Seems, madam! nay it is; I know not 'seems.'
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly: these indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man might play:
But I have that within which passeth show;
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
Discuss the theme of appearance and reality in Hamlet's speech (lines 76–86).
*All quotes are taken from the Norton Shakespeare, based on the Oxford Edition.
In Act I, Scene 2, Queen Gertrude and King Claudius have announced their
marriage; then they attempt to convince Hamlet to stop grieving over the death
of his father.
Queen Gertrude explains that death is a part of life, to which Hamlet agrees;
however, Queen Gertrude still does not understand why Hamlet is taking the
death so personally if he knows that death is a part of life ("...Why seems it
so particular with thee?").
Hamlet explains that it does not "seem" to be personal--it is personal. It is
not just the black he wears or his desperate sighs, he is truly grieving
("These indeed 'seem',/For they are actions that a man might play...").
What are some examples of appearance vs. reality in Shakespeare's Hamlet?
In Shakespeare's Hamlet, the theme of appearance vs. reality occurs several times.
The most striking example of this may be Hamlet's "insanity." While this point is strongly debated (is Hamlet truly insane or pretending), his plan to act crazy gives him freedom (without suspicion) to prove what the Ghost has told him: that Claudius murdered Old Hamlet. In Act One, Hamlet says he will act crazy, and swears Horatio and the others that no matter how he acts, they will not give Hamlet away by a knowing nod, a wink or a casual comment.
Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,
How strange or odd soe'er I bear myself—
As I perchance hereafter shall think meet
To put an antic disposition on— (I.v.189-192)
Appearance vs. reality is seen in the Ghost. Elizabethans were believers in the powers of evil, certain that witches and ghosts could serve a dark purpose. Hamlet's reticence to act quickly after the Ghost reveals Claudius' murder of Old Hamlet is seated in the Elizabethans' worry that the powers of darkness would do anything to win a man's soul. Hamlet worries that the Ghost may give the appearance of his dead father, only to trick him into murdering the King. Regicide was considered a mortal sin. For in The Great Chain of Being, Elizabethans believed that God ordained where a man's place in life (his importance) would be. To kill a king was an act—against God. So while Hamlet says that the Ghost is an "honest" one, his desire for proof (for the sake of his soul) is necessary. After all, the Ghost has also reported that he (Old Hamlet) went to his death without the benefit of absolution, and now must walk the earth, tormented in purgatory. (Hamlet would not want this for himself.)
When Hamlet finally gets Claudius to show his guilt at the reenactment of Old Hamlet's murder (in the play, Mousetrap), Hamlet finally has his proof. The King sees the murder and abruptly rises. Hamlet is gleeful—Claudius responds to a pretended act...for this is only a play, Hamlet says...right? (With this theme, the appearance of the murder of a king alludes to the reality of such an action.)
HAMLET:
What, frighted with false fire? (III.ii.255)
Hamlet seems to have struck a nerve when the King ends the play:
KING:
Give me some light. Away! (258)
After the fiasco of the play, Claudius retires to the chapel to pray. Hamlet comes upon him, planning to kill him, but stops: for if Claudius confesses his sins, he goes straight to Heaven, while Old Hamlet is cursed to walk for a time to suffer for his sins. The appearance vs. reality is that Claudius cannot pray (though Hamlet doesn't know it):
KING:
O, my offence is rank, it smells to heaven;
It hath the primal eldest curse upon't,
A brother's murder! Pray can I not,
Though inclination be as sharp as will;
My stronger guilt defeats my strong intent...(III.iii.37-42)
Polonius hides behind the curtain in Gertrude's room to spy. Hamlet believes Claudius is there, in the midst of an incestuous act with Gertrude (for who else but husband would be there), and Hamlet kills the old man.
HAMLET:
How now, a rat? [Draws.] Dead for a ducat, dead! (III.iv.26)
It appears to be the King, but in reality, it is the nosey Polonius.
The theme is even attributed to Gertrude: is she guilty of collusion in her husband's death? The Ghost speaks of...
...The will of my most seeming-virtuous queen. (I.v.51)
Hamlet will discover later that she is innocent, but appearances (again) might be deceiving.
How does the theme of "Appearance vs. Reality" apply to Hamlet?
It is really important to revisit this common theme here. Hamlet, himself, illustrates this theme when he says, "As I perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on." In other words, Hamlet is going to pretend to act crazy for the rest of the play. How does he plan to do this? Sometimes, says Hamlet, it will be through his appearance through "arms encumb'red thus, or this headshake." Sometimes, says Hamlet, it will be because he speaks irrationally "by pronouncing of some doubtful phrase." Now, how is this appearance vs. reality? Well, according to Hamlet, he will "appear" crazy, but he will be sane in "reality." That is one way to look at it. However, there is another interpretation that should be considered. Does Hamlet simply appear crazy, or might he actually be crazy? Does the plan to act crazy actually lead to real mental illness? Is it possible that Hamlet never becomes crazy and always remains sane?
How does the theme of "Appearance vs. Reality" apply to Hamlet?
The chasm between appearances and reality drives characters to become increasingly immoral and cruel as the conflict intensifies.
Hamlet is at the center of this madness. He is determined to find out the truth about Claudius, so he pretends to be mad in order to deceive those around him. He doesn't want to arouse suspicion that he is actually investigating his uncle's motives, so this appearance of madness gives everyone at Elsinore something else to focus on. As Hamlet's demeanor becomes increasingly erratic, he insults Ophelia to the point that she becomes suicidal. In a passionate scene where he accuses his mother of being involved in regicide, Hamlet becomes a murderer. When his former friends prove disloyal, Hamlet arranges for their executions. As the play progresses, Hamlet's feigned madness becomes increasingly real as his world spirals out of control.
The ghost of Hamlet's father is another portrayal of this theme. While he claims to be the former king, Hamlet isn't sure if the apparition speaks the truth. Thus, this vision which appears to be his father is a questionable reality for Hamlet. He wonders whether the ghost is Satan, determined to seal Hamlet's eternal doom. The ghost claims to be trapped between this world and the next, unable to move on until Hamlet fulfills his duties as the son of the murdered king. Once Hamlet comes to believe the words of the ghost, he slips into a world that is nearly singularly focused on murdering his uncle.
The appearance of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern further the theme of appearance vs. reality. When they arrive, Hamlet begs them to be honest with him; he is certain that his old friends have arrived at this particular moment in order to serve as spies for King Claudius. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern avoid Hamlet's questions, making Hamlet increasingly certain of their disloyalty. They remain at the castle not as his friends but as traitors, and they eventually die because of their deception.
Ophelia faces the chaos that follows from Hamlet's feigned madness. She is certain that Hamlet's love was once real, yet she is forced to hear him insult her and insist that she never should have believed his "false" words. As Ophelia attempts to make sense out of Hamlet's "madness," she becomes increasingly mad herself, eventually drowning herself.
The ambiguity between appearances and reality generates conflict between numerous characters and exposes corruption that destroys nearly everyone.
What is the significance of the theme of appearance vs. reality in Hamlet?
The difficulty of assessing what is appearance and what is reality pervades the play. Hamlet does not feel certain of whether Claudius actually killed his father. The Ghost's presence makes it appear that his father may have been killed, but Hamlet is not certain that the Ghost is real, really the Ghost of his father, as opposed to a demon: "the spirit that I have seen/May be a devil, and the devil hath power/T'assume a pleasing shape" (2.2.627-29). Even though Hamlet decides to put on the play-within-a-play as a means of testing Claudius's guilt and claims he's proved it, he ultimately doesn't attack Claudius because the results aren't very conclusive, and he's still not sure. Only when he learns from Laertes that Claudius is responsible for poisoning Hamlet and his mother does he finally directly attack the King. Throughout the play, Hamlet's lack of action has been due to a lack of certainty about what the reality of the situation is.
The representation of the players also picks up on the theme of appearances vs. reality, as we see actors playing actors playing characters. The Murder of Gonzago is transparently a lie, in that it's pretend, not real, but Hamlet also uses this fiction as a tool to try to obtain the truth. The presence of actors in the story may also remind the audience that the actors playing actors really are actors and that this is a play they're seeing. Claudius, as he lies to Hamlet, is an actor pretending to be something he is not, both literally and figuratively.
In Hamlet, what does Shakespeare convey about the theme of appearance vs. reality?
Shakespeare's Hamlet takes a serious look at the theme of "appearance vs reality." This theme is a common occurrence in life; in this story, Shakespeare demonstrates his belief that such behavior can have deadly results.
"Appearance vs reality" is seen when the King and Gertrude encourage Hamlet to pull himself together regarding Old Hamlet's death. Gertrude asks why his mourning seems to be so difficult. He responds that it is not something that "seems:" what she sees is real, not just for show. Hamlet defies the idea that his actions are anything but as they appear.
QUEEN GERTRUDE
...Thou know'st 'tis common; all that lives must die,
Passing through nature to eternity.
HAMLET
Ay, madam, it is common.
QUEEN GERTRUDE
If it be,
Why seems it so particular with thee?
HAMLET
Seems, madam! nay it is; I know not 'seems.'
'Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected 'havior of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly: these indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man might play:
But I have that within which passeth show;
These but the trappings and the suits of woe. (I.ii.76-89)
Another example is when the Ghost appears to Hamlet: it could be his father's spirit or it could be a dark spirit bent upon destroying Hamlet's soul. To kill a king, which is what the Ghost asks of him, is a sin against God; the Elizabethans believed that monarchs were chosen by God. If Hamlet does not have just cause in killing Claudius, he will be committing a mortal sin. He needs proof that the spirit is "honest."
Once Hamlet gets these details from the Ghost, he tries to collect proof that Claudius did kill Old Hamlet. Hamlet decides that he will pretend to be insane when it suits his purpose. In Act One, scene five, Hamlet states that he will present an "antic disposition," and that seeing such, Horatio must not act as if this craziness is anything but real.
Hamlet:
But come— Here, as before, never, so help you mercy,
How strange or odd some'er I bear myself—
As I perchance hereafter shall think meet
To put an antic disposition on— (189-192)
We see this theme again when Ophelia speaks to Hamlet while being spied on by the King and/or Polonius. The men are trying to ascertain the cause of Hamlet's mental collapse. Hamlet is aware that things are not as they appear—that Ophelia is collecting information for the others. (He blames her for this, but what choice does she have?)
Later, Claudius tries to make it appear that he cares for Hamlet as a son. However, it is a lie. After the "play-within-a-play," Hamlet has shown how dangerous he can be. The King tries to have him executed in England. Claudius lets Laertes believe that Hamlet is responsible for all of Laertes' heartache so he will kill Hamlet; the King says he cannot do so because Hamlet is loved by the people, and Gertrude dotes upon her son. Claudius says he is a friend of Polonius and Laertes, but this is also a lie. Later, Claudius acts like he loves Gertrude, but lets her drink the poison intended for Hamlet.
The false "fronts" the characters adopt lead to the death of all of the major characters. Ophelia is the only death that is not based on taking part in palace intrigue: murder, incest, and subterfuge. (She is an innocent.) The false appearances lead to the doom of the royal family and its household.
How do characters and events in Hamlet explore the theme of appearance vs. reality?
The theme of appearance vs. reality is a major motif of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and affects a number of the work’s characters and events, including the following:
- The Ghost. Is the ghost a trustworthy spirit, or is it a devil in disguise? This, for Hamlet, is a crucial question. Others in the play, however, are also puzzled by the ghost, including the wise Horatio. Thus Horatio, referring to the ghost, mentions
. . . Our last king,
Whose image even but now appear'd to us . . . .
Is the ghost really the spirit of Old Hamlet, or is the ghost merely a deceptive “image” of Old Hamlet? This is a question that proves as troubling to us as it does to Hamlet.
- Claudius. Is Claudius a good king, as he pretends to be, or is he the murderer of Hamlet’s father, as the ghost claims? Hamlet spends a good deal of time and effort trying to determine an accurate answer to this question.
- Hamlet. Is Hamlet a sane man involved in a sincere search for the truth, or is he an increasingly insane person who has become unhinged by the appearance of the ghost?
- Ophelia. Is Ophelia truly in love with Hamlet, or is she, as Hamlet suspects, merely being used as a tool by her father and the king to gain information from Hamlet?
- Polonius. Is Polonius a wise, well-intentioned old man, or is he a mere fool, as Hamlet seems to think?
- Gertrude. Is Gertrude a good and worthy mother, or is she, as Hamlet suspects, a woman driven by unsavory sexual impulses?
- Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Are these two men true friends of Hamlet who are genuinely concerned about his welfare, or are they, as Hamlet suspects, mere tools of Claudius?
These are just a few of the many questions about appearance vs. reality raised by Shakespeare’s play. Hamlet is notoriously one of the most perplexing pieces of literature ever written, and its frequent tendency to raise issues about appearance vs. reality is just one of many reasons that this is true.
[For more on this issue, see the three links below.]
Which character best illustrates the theme of appearance versus reality in Hamlet?
I'm guessing you mean "appearance vs. reality"—a prevalent theme in many literary texts.
In Hamlet, Claudius represents this theme, as does Hamlet. Claudius appears to be the mournful brother, lusty husband, and loving uncle; yet, he committed both regicide and fratricide in order to fulfill both his desire for power and probably his desire for Gertrude as well. Almost everything he says has a double meaning. While he pretends to care for his nephew, he actually sees him as a threat to his power and then a threat to his safety—so he plans to murder him.
Hamlet chooses to "disguise" himself and his motives in order to discover the truth. His "madness" (confused by Polonius as a result of Ophelia's rejection of Hamlet's love) has nothing to do with Ophelia and everything to do with uncovering the truth of his father's murder.
Analysis of Hamlet's Final Words "The Rest is Silence" and Their Connection to the 'To be or not to be' Monologue
5 Educator Answers
Summary:
Hamlet's final words, "The rest is silence," signify his acceptance of death and the unknown that follows, connecting to the existential questions he raises in his "To be or not to be" monologue. Throughout the play, Hamlet grapples with life, death, and the afterlife, and his concluding statement reflects his resignation to the inevitable silence of death.
Why are Hamlet's final words "the rest is silence" in Shakespeare's play?
I would ask you to consider the "noise" that Hamlet has been experiencing since his father died. Because Hamlet is a sensitive, philosophical young man, he thinks rather than acts. However, his father has been murdered and demands revenge from his only son. Therefore, Hamlet experiences a lot of emotional "noise" and it tends to be introverted psychologically rather than extroverted (inward, not outward). His erratic thoughts create additional "noise" as does his thwarted love for Ophelia and the deceptions of his two friends.
As Act V concludes, he realizes his end may be near and does not seem afraid. In fact, he seems to have resolved his life to the hand of fate, as the following quotation implies:
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: the readiness is all: since no man has aught of what he leaves, what is't to leave betimes?
After this decision, the "noise" in his head subsides. He seems to think more clearly. The final quote--"the rest is silence"--could represent the true peace that Hamlet feels as both external and internal noise are gone.
Why are Hamlet's final words "the rest is silence" in Shakespeare's play?
Hamlet, who speaks the majority of the lines in the play, is about to die and stop speaking for ever. He has avenged his father's murder, been cut with the poisoned rapier, and, as he has just reflected to Horatio, is about to pass the crown of Denmark (he is, at this moment, effectively the only candidate to be king) to Fortinbras. There will be no familial succession. In that sense, the rest is silence for the line of the Hamlets.
Yet there is (as with so many other things in Hamlet) a meta-theatrical element. Hamlet has just asked Horatio not to commit suicide (Horatio's line 'Here's yet some liquor left' refers to a drop of poison left and his desire to kill himself) but to stay alive and to 'report' Hamlet's story to Fortinbras.
Hamlet cannot voice his choice for succession nor can he tell his own story: he is about to die; there can only be silence from him. But when the play--itself a version of Hamlet's story--comes to an end, part of Horatio's project, even after the curtain has come down, is to re-tell that same story:
So tell him, with the occurrents, more and less,
Which have solicited.
Paraphrase: So tell Fortinbras, with the events and results that came to pass, more or less, which wrongdoing was provoked and incited.
So, perhaps, as we come to the end of a performance of Hamlet in the theatre, we confront Hamlet. Yet, in an odd sort of way, we simply come to the end of a cycle. There is silence at the end of each performance, but every time the play itself is performed, Hamlet's dying wish for his story to be told 'aright' is fulfilled.
HAMLET
Horatio, I am dead;
Thou livest. Report me and my cause aright
To the unsatisfied.
[...]
O good Horatio, ...
If thou didst ever hold me in thy heart
Absent thee from felicity awhile,
And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain,
To tell my story.
Why are Hamlet's final words "the rest is silence" in Shakespeare's play?
The obvious answer is probably the right one here: It was the end of the play. Hamlet dies with these words. For nearly the entire play, Hamlet wrestled with the words of his father's Ghost asking him to take revenge against Claudius for having killed King Hamlet. Now, Claudius is dead by Hamlet's hand. Gertrude, Hamlet's mother and the one the Ghost wanted left alone, is also dead. There is no one left to carry on the family line, Hamlet has named his successor as Fortinbras, so there is silence.
What does Hamlet mean by his final words, "The rest is silence," and how does it relate to the 'To be or not to be' monologue?
I think you could take the connection between "The rest is silence" and the "To Be" soliloquy a bit further, expanding on the idea that we don't know what lies beyond death being the key connect.
From the line quoted above (line 60) to pretty much the end of the speech, Hamlet first goes through all the reasons that death is preferable to life, all the ways in which life is a drag, and then he says that it is this unknown of death that keeps us from taking our own lives:
But that the dread of something after death
The undiscover'd country, from whose bourn
No traveler returns.
So Hamlet is telling Horatio (who will tell not only Fortinbras, but the world -- "And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain/To tell my story".) that there is nothing more that can be said. That all the questions that he has asked about life and death and meaning in the play cannot, and will not be answered. The story just stops at death.
It is also interesting to note that Hamlet is telling this to the audience as well. Audiences (and readers) often like to consider "what might happen next" when they get to the end of a book, play or movie. Shakespeare could be making a small nod to this curiosity and reminding everyone that this is it. The End. There is no more for Hamlet to say because, I, the playwright, chose for him to shut up here. Or maybe even making fun of himself for writing such a long-winded character who is finally done talking? Just an amusing possibility to consider.
What does Hamlet mean by his final words, "The rest is silence," and how does it relate to the 'To be or not to be' monologue?
Hamlet is dying. He will not be alive to make any more noise. That is the simplistic answer. It is more intricate than this. He is too young to die. He probably should have lived a few more decades at least. Those years will not hear his voice or his life. In death, he has been silenced.
Hamlet pleads with Horatio to inform Fortrinbras that he, Fortinbras, is to take the crown. He also asks Horatio to tell his story. Hamlet will not be around to tell anyone of how his uncle murdered his father. He will not be around to explain his anger with his mother. He will not be around to do any of these things because he will be dead. He longs to set the record straight but he will be silent.
He has said all that he can within the limited time he's had on Earth. And we know what a talker Hamlet can be. It is therefore more painful for him to be silenced in this way. He wants to go on talking, to stand up for the reputation of his father and his own. "The rest is silence" indicates that Hamlet will speak no more. He must rely on Horatio to share all of the information he will not live to tell:
But let it be. Horatio, I am dead;
Thou livest; report me and my
cause aright to the unsatisfied. (V.ii.346-48)
The Ghost's Role and Significance in Hamlet
21 Educator Answers
Summary:
The ghost in Hamlet plays a crucial role by setting the plot in motion and establishing an atmosphere of suspense. Initially, it appears to warn of impending doom for Denmark, hinting at political unrest and unresolved conflicts. The ghost reveals to Prince Hamlet that his uncle, Claudius, murdered his father, prompting Hamlet to seek revenge. Its reappearance underscores the moral and spiritual dilemmas faced by Hamlet and emphasizes the play's supernatural elements, while also clarifying Gertrude's innocence in the murder plot.
What reasons for the ghost's appearance are discussed in Act 1 of Hamlet?
Horatio immediately suspects that the ghost's appearance "bodes some strange eruption to our state" (1.1.68). His first concern, then, is that the ghost means bad news for the country; he is not sure what kind of bad news it will be, but the appearance of the dead king wearing his armor seems, at the very least, not good. Next, Horatio grows concerned that the ghost's appearance has to do with the movements of the son of the old, defeated king of Norway. He says,
Now, sir, young Fortinbras,
Of unimproved mettle hot and full,
Hath in the skirts of Norway here and there
Sharked up a list of lawless resolutes,
For food and diet, to some enterprise
That had a stomach in 't, which is no other —
As it doth well appear unto our state —
But to recover of us, by strong hand
And terms compulsatory, those foresaid lands
So by his father lost (1.1.94-103).
They are concerned that the ghost's appearance signals that some attack from young Fortinbras is imminent. Young Fortinbras is apparently getting a ragtag army together to try to reclaim the lands his father lost to Denmark, and it seems possible that he will attack at some point. Perhaps the ghost appears now as a warning to the country.
When Hamlet is with the men pursuing the ghost to hear what he has to say, Marcellus says, "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark" (1.4.94). He fears that something has gone wrong, that something terribly wrong has happened to warrant the ghost's appearance, and he is right!
What reasons for the ghost's appearance are discussed in Act 1 of Hamlet?
Before Hamlet actually speaks to the ghost, Horatio reveals (in scene 1) all of the possible reasons why a ghost would possibly appear -- it is a kind of "ghost-lore" lesson for the audience as well. Horation reveals that a ghost could come to:
1. ask for something to be done to give the deceased some ease in his afterlife.
2. reveal some secret that "that art privy to thy country's fate" which the country could deal with if they knew.
3. reveal where the person has "uphoarded in thy life extorted treasure in the womb of the earth."
In the case of the ghost of King Hamlet, he is coming for reason number one. He wants to tell the truth of how he died so that his murder may be avenged. He will still have to suffer in purgatory, but at least his murderer will be punished and he will have his eternal rest come easier knowing that that unfinished business if completed.
The reason this conversation is important is because these are all the legitimate reasons why a ghost may appear, but it should not be forgotten that a ghost may just be the devil in the disguise of a loved one and intending to cause harm. They must proceed with caution when it comes to understanding and believing this ghost.
What reasons for the ghost's appearance are discussed in Act 1 of Hamlet?
Hamlet's talking with his father's ghost is very important for the plot. It is actually the exciting force which kicks the plot into conflict.
Since the ghost looks and sounds like his father, Hamlet wants to believe the information he receives. Claudius is not his favorite uncle. Hamlet is told by the ghost that while he slept, Claudius poured poison in his ear. Although his death looked natural, it was actually murder. As his son, Hamlet is obligated to revenge his father's murder.
Hamlet's problem is that he received his information from a ghost and although the ghost looked and sounded like his father, it could actually be the devil tempting him into an action which would cause Hamlet to loss his soul.
As a result, Hamlet decides he needs proof before he does anything. The other part of his problem is that if he does kill Claudius, how does he do it and not lose his soul.
Without the ghost, Hamlet would not know that his father was murdered by Claudius.
Why is the ghost important in Act 1 of Hamlet?
The Ghost is important for the information he provides to Hamlet and several other characters, which set in motion the specific events of the plot. He is also important to establish, right from the play’s beginning, an atmosphere of suspense and to introduce supernatural elements, which help create a distance between everyday reality and the otherworldly atmosphere of the play.
At his first appearance in act I, scene 1, the Ghost is presented as having shown up on previous nights and having been observed by three guards. This evening, one of the guards brings Horatio, Hamlet’s friend, who realizes some things the guards had not. For example, the Ghost looks like the deceased former King Hamlet, the father of Prince Hamlet. Before the Ghost leaves, Horatio recognizes that he was wearing King Hamlet’s battle armor. In turn, Horatio relates the Ghost’s military appearance to the brewing international conflicts between Denmark and Norway.
What can be learned about the Ghost is limited by his behavior. When he returns in this same scene, he still does not speak, and he vanishes in advance of the dawn. Still, Horatio has seen enough to conclude that this is a genuine apparition and that the matter should be discussed with Prince Hamlet.
In scene 2, after Hamlet has argued with Claudius about the appropriateness of his mourning, Horatio and the guards appear and tell Hamlet about the Ghost. This news shakes him up, and after agreeing to meet the Ghost later, he muses about the bad deeds implied by the apparition.
In scenes 4 and 5, Hamlet finally not only beholds but also converses with the Ghost, who decries the “foul crimes” that must be “burnt and purg’d away,” commanding Hamlet to exact revenge for his father’s “foul and most unnatural murder.” Claudius's action in poisoning him was evil not just because it was committed against his brother and his country, but also because King Hamlet had to die without the making the proper “reckoning” with God, so his immortal soul cannot be at ease.
Hamlet’s mission is thus established as motivated by spiritual concerns as well as political and family concerns. As he draws Horatio and Marcellus into his confidence and makes them swear they will not reveal what they saw, Shakespeare also establishes the composition of Hamlet’s inner circle and effectively allows the audience into it as well, including the secret that Hamlet is actually sane.
Why is the ghost important in Act 1 of Hamlet?
The ghost that appears in Act One of William Shakespeare's Hamlet is the critical catalyst to the action of the remainder of the play. The ghost--which first appears to Bernardo, Marcellus, and Horatio on the walls of Elsinore--does not speak, but rather wanders in and out of sight. The men tell Prince Hamlet of this strange occurrence, and they gather once more on the rampart to see if the ghost will show itself.
This time, the ghost beckons for Hamlet to follow him. Despite the protestation of the sentries and Horatio, Hamlet does just that. When Hamlet urges the ghost to speak because he is "bound to hear," the ghost replies, "So art thou to revenge, when thou shalt hear." In fact, the ghost is carrying a terrifying message, which we can see in his speech below:
I am thy father's spirit
Doom'd for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confined to fast in fires,
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and purged away...
The ghost asks Hamlet to "[r]evenge his foul and most unnatural murder," revealing that "[t]he serpent that did sting thy father's life / Now wears his crown." In other words, King Claudius (Hamlet's uncle, who has now married Hamlet's mother and assumed his position on the throne) was the one to betray and murder Hamlet's father, the late King Hamlet. Hamlet is called to action to avenge this injustice, and after asking his friends to "[n]ever make known what you have seen to-night," he sets off to make good on his father's request. It is this journey for vengeance that drives the rest of the play.
What is the importance of the ghost appearing in act 1 of Hamlet?
The ghost of King Hamlet who appears in Act I is intrinsic to the plot and the character development of Prince Hamlet.
It is the ghost of his father who alerts Hamlet to the murderous character of his uncle Claudius, as well as "the something rotten in Denmark"(1.4.99). Stirred greatly by his encounter with the ghost, Hamlet vows revenge; however, he moves at first only from one emotional soliloquy to another. For, his melancholic personality mulls over what his father's spirit has told him, and Hamlet feels he must prove that Claudius is, indeed, the murderer of his brother. Then, when the Dumb Show scripted by Hamlet proves that Claudius suffers guilt, Hamlet follows his father's murderer. But, as he sees Claudius in prayer, Hamlet hesitates because he does not want to make a martyr of his uncle:
Now might I do it pat, now 'a is a-praying,
And now I'll do't--and so 'a goes to heaven,
And so I am revenged....
Why, this is hire and salary, not revenge. (3.3.73-79)
Again, Hamlet retreats into his deep melancholy initiated by the ghost and
his knowledge of the rottenness in Denmark. But, in Act III, Scene 4, when
Gertrude summons Hamlet, he storms into her chambers, demanding, "Now, mother
what's the matter?" (3.4.7) and she tells him he has offended his father,
meaning Claudius. Hamlet retorts that it is she who has offended his
father, meaning King Hamlet. Moreover, it is during this interchange that
Hamlet stabs Polonius who is behind the arras, thinking that Claudius is hidden
there.
Angered further by what has occurred, Hamlet denounces his mother for her
incestuous marriage, and he rails against Claudius. Suddenly, the ghost of King
Hamlet intervenes, reminding Hamlet of his true purpose. This ghost points to
the "amazement on thy mother sits" (3.4.114), further directing Hamlet to not
chide his mother because she obviously does not know what Claudius has done.
Because the ghost of his father then asks him to intercede on his behalf with
Gertrude, Hamlet tries to get his mother to see this spirit so she will know
what has happened. However, she is unable to do so, and the ghost
disappears.
Again, although he has been reminded by the ghost of his purpose, Hamlet retreats into his deep melancholy. And, it is not until he witnesses the courage of young Fortinbras who is willing to die, "[E]ven for an eggshell" (4.4.53), in order to avenge his own father that Hamlet finally responds to the demands of his father's spirit. Declaring, "This is I/Hamlet the Dane" (5.1.227-228), Hamlet takes action as he duels Laertes in the final act and kills Claudius, ordering him,
Here, thou incestuous, mur'drous, damned Dane,
Drink off this potion....(5.2.304-305).
Prince Hamlet achieves the revenge sought by his father's ghost, but it is tragically attained at the cost of both his mother's life and his own. And, so the ghost has effected both vengeance and death, dominating both the characterization and action of the drama.
What is the reason for the ghost's appearance in Act 1, Scene 1 of Hamlet?
The appearance of the ghost of Hamlet's father in the beginning of the play serves as the inciting incident that really gets the drama underway. When Hamlet returns to Denmark after leaving school, he comes home to a confusing and troubling situation. His father is dead, his mother has remarried quite hastily, and his uncle is now king. The ghost provides the narrative exposition to let Hamlet (and us) know how these events came to pass, to establish that Hamlet's father had been murdered in a most cowardly way. Once he has seen the ghost and heard the story, Hamlet's moral dilemma sets in. He is obligated to avenge his father's murder, but committing murder is a mortal sin; additionally, killing a king, regardless of the circumstances, is a political act with uncertain consequences. He loves his mother, but now has strongly conflicting feelings toward her. Finally, Hamlet must determine if the ghost were real and the information true, or if he is being misled. The remainder of the play with its twists and turns develops from Hamlet's initial encounter with the ghost.
Why does the ghost reappear in Act 3, Scene 4 of Hamlet?
The reappearance of the ghost has symbolic significance beyond simply spurring Hamlet on to revenge or clearing Gertrude of any wrongdoing. It seems that Shakespeare wishes to associate the depth of his characters’ sensibilities and levels of awareness to their relative sensory experiences of the ghost. For example, the sentries are able to see the ghost but neither hear him nor speak to him. They, as a whole, are aware that something is rotten in the state of Denmark, although they cannot quite deduce the cause of the disintegration. Hamlet, on the other hand, is not only able to see the ghost but he is also able to hear the ghost’s words and speak to him. Hamlet is, of course, fully aware of how rotten the State of Denmark is, as well as of the cause of its disease. The reappearance of the ghost in Act 3, Scene 4, therefore, guides the audience to a more favorable interpretation of the naive Gertrude. Shakespeare intends the audience to regard her as a wholly innocent victim, oblivious to the gambits of her current husband and unaware of the depths of both Hamlet’s psyche and mandate. This interpretation allows the audience to regard Claudius as the true antagonist of the play instead of mistakenly believing Gertrude might serve in this capacity, a grave misinterpretation committed by even some renowned scholars such as T. S. Eliot.
Why does the ghost reappear in Act 3, Scene 4 of Hamlet?
The ghost also hints here that Gertrude might have been involved in the plot to take King Hamlet's life. However, he instructs Hamlet not to take revenge on his mother, but to concentrate on Claudius, who actually poured the poison in King Hamlet's ear as he slept and took over his life.
What is the Ghost's role in Hamlet?
Prior to the ghost's presence and interaction with Hamlet, Hamlet is not concerned with revenge. In fact, he's mostly moping and in a state of hopeless gloom about his father's death and his mother's quick marriage to Claudius. When the ghost finally speaks, to Hamlet, the ghost tells him to take vengeance upon Claudius. This is what sets Hamlet's convoluted plan for revenge in motion.
There has been and continues to be debate amongst critics and readers as to the reality of the ghost. Some say the ghost did actually appear to Horatio, Hamlet, Barnardo, and Marcellus. Others say that the ghost was a hallucination; and although being a hallucination to more than one character is difficult to prove, such critics could argue that these characters were predisposed (perhaps because of a communal openness to the supernatural) to want to see apparitions. Still others, suppose that the ghost was a demon (comparable to the witches in Macbeth) who leads Hamlet on a wild revenge chase.
However, it seems most likely that the ghost did actually appear to Barnardo, Horatio, Marcellus, and Hamlet. So, it is more likely that the ghost was real rather than a hallucination seen by so many different characters. (Note that in III.iv., when Hamlet stabs Polonius, the ghost appears; Hamlet can see him but Gertrude can not. This suggests that the ghost's main purpose has nothing to do with Gertrude, and everything to do with encouraging Hamlet to avenge him by killing Claudius.) The ghost notes that he cannot rest until justice has been served. The further implication from this is that Denmark will not return to its natural state (it is "rotten" according to Marcellus at the end of I.iv.) until justice has been served and the ghost, Old King Hamlet, has been avenged. In Act 1, Scene 5, the ghost says:
I am thy father's spirit,
Doomed for a certain term to walk the night,
And for the day confined to fast in fires
Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature
Are burnt and passed away. (I.v.9-13)
Many critics agree that the ghost is that of Hamlet's murdered father and he's come back to Denmark in order to encourage Hamlet to avenge his death. Therefore, the ghost can not rest until Hamlet avenges him by killing Claudius.
However, other scholars suggest that the ghost is actually a demon who entices Hamlet to seek revenge and thus lead to his own death. This is actually suggested in the play by Hamlet himself.
The spirit that I have seen
May be the devil, and the devil hath power
T'assume a pleasing shape; yea, and perhaps,
Out of my weakness and my melancholy-
As he is very potent with such spirits-
Abuses me to damn me. (II.ii.575-80)
There is also uncertainty as to whether the ghost is real or simply a hallucination, albeit one seen by more than one character (Hamlet, Marcellus, Horatio, and Barnardo). While there is uncertainty about whether or not the ghost was real, the majority consensus is that Shakespeare intended that the audience viewed the ghost to be real, a real manifestation of Hamlet's father's dead soul, having come back to encourage Hamlet to set things right. Whether or not the ghost is real, his is incredibly important because it is he who sets (to Hamlet) the entire revenge plot in motion.
What are the functions of the ghost as a dramatic device in Hamlet?
The guards' talk of the ghost on their foggy, gloomy night watch at the castle and the ghost's appearance at the end of act 1 make for a dramatic and memorable opening to this play, along with vivid imagery of eyes bugging out of heads and hairs on heads unfurling and standing on end.
More importantly, the ghost's appearance is what sets the plot in motion. Up until this time, Hamlet has been depressed by what he believes was the accidental death of his father. Now, he confronts a ghost who claims he is Hamlet's deceased father. The ghost tells him he was murdered by Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. With this news, Hamlet is expected to avenge his father's death.
This revelation throws Hamlet into a turmoil for several reasons. First, he has to determine if the ghost is telling the truth or if it is an evil spirit tempting Hamlet to murder an innocent man. Second, being confronted with such evil as the deliberate murder of his father by his uncle causes Hamlet to distrust the corrupt Danish court and to contemplate suicide. Finally, Hamlet's desire that Claudius not die in a state of grace but unforgiven, like his own father, leads Hamlet to miss the opportunity to kill Claudius at his prayers. Instead, he ends up killing Polonius by mistake, bringing Laertes and his lust for vengeance down on Hamlet. The ghost, in other words, is the catalyst for all the action that follows.
Why does the Ghost appear to Hamlet in the "closet scene"?
The "closet scene" occurs when Hamlet is talking to his mother Gertrude and becoming somewhat violent and abusive in his manner. During Hamlet's first encounter with the ghost he told Hamlet to "leave her [Gertrude]to heaven." In other words, "don't take revenge on your mother". During the bedroom scene, he throws his mother to the bed and begins to yell at her about her marriage to Claudius. She is frightened, not only because he is yelling at her, but he has just killed Polonius whose body is still lying on the floor. The ghost comes in to remind Hamlet to be gentle with his mother and not to frighten her. Of course, she is frightened because she cannot see the ghost and believes her son is mad. But the ghost does succeed in calming down Hamlet so he can be both more persuasive and respectful towards her.
Why does the Ghost appear to Hamlet in the "closet scene"?
I've always been confused, and fascinated, by the ghost. Why would a ghost in purgatory, who wants to go to heaven by sending his murderer to hell, ask his son to commit revenge, a pagan act, thereby sending him to hell as well?
And why does it appear to Hamlet? Most revenge ghosts appear to those that have murdered them. Banquo appears to Macbeth. Caesar appears to Brutus. Why, then, does the ghost appear to Hamlet and not Claudius?
And the ghost exhibits double standards. We are also forgetting that the ghost makes a deal with Hamlet: take revenge upon Claudius but leave Gertrude to heaven. Surely, the ghost would want Hamlet to take revenge on Gertrude too, if not for accessory to murder, then surely for incest.
And the ghost appears twice to Hamlet. Later in the closet scene, as Hamlet is getting rough with his mother, the Ghost appears again and tells him to back off. Freudian (psycho-analytic) critics have had a field day with this reprise of the Oedipal Complex.
I tend to think the Ghost as an instrument of performance. He has the best lines in the play. He's an agent of in medias res, who awakens Hamlet's performance, the same way Mercutio awakens Romeo. As critic Catherine England says:
Perhaps the ghost is a parallel to Polonius: a father sacrificing a child to a principle or a perceived greater good. The ghost doesn't reappear after Act III. Neither does Polonius. The functions of both are completed. Ophelia goes mad and dies. Hamlet, who was never mad, kills Polonius, comes to terms with death, and thus also with life, finally kills Claudius, and dies himself. Good and evil, life and death, married in one man, as is the true nature of mankind. Without the ghost, Hamlet could not reach that fulfillment of himself.
Why does the Ghost appear to Hamlet in the "closet scene"?
I agree with cadena. But this should be added: the ghost cannot be at rest until Hamlet revenges his "foul and most unnatural murder." Thus it falls to young Hamlet to give his father the peace he so sorely needs.
As we see immediately, this task falls heavily on Hamlet, and he sets out on a plan not just of simple revenge, not just the death of Claudius. No, Hamlet wants to kill Claudius when the king is at his most guilty and full of his own evil. This will be, in Hamlet's mind, the ultimate, perfect gift to a father he most loves and reveres.
This is how Hamlet wants to kill Claudius. This revenge will give his father his much-deserved rest (end of Act 4):
When he is drunk asleep; or in his rage;
Or in the incestuous pleasure of his bed;
At game, a-swearing, or about some act
That has no relish of salvation in't
Then trip him, that his heels may kick at heaven,
And that his soul may be as damn'd and black
As hell, whereto it goes.
Then Claudius will be in hell and his father will be in Heaven.
Why does the Ghost appear to Hamlet in the "closet scene"?
The main purpose of the ghost's appearance to Hamlet is to reveal the nature of his murder, and to prompt Hamlet to revenge. One of the first things that the ghost, who is Hamlet's recently deceased father, says to Hamlet is that he needs to
"lend they serious hearing to what I shall unfold...so art thou to revenge when thou shalt hear" (I.V.8-11).
He immediately tells Hamlet to listen closely, because he's going to relay some pretty serious information that will prompt Hamlet to revenge when he's heard it. So, that is the stated objective of the ghost. Also, being a murdered soul, he is filled with unrest, and cannot be at peace. He states that every dawn he goes to "sulphorous and tormenting flames" and is condemned for a certain time to "walk the night" (I.V.5, 14) until his deeds in his life have been atoned for. So another possible reason that he appears to Hamlet is that he is in a state of limbo between life and the afterlife, and cannot rest or move on. The castle is the life he knew, so, he haunts it, waiting for reprieve. However, the main purpose is to relay the information that his own brother has killed him, and that he wants Hamlet to defend his name and honor by getting revenge for that murder.
I hope that those thoughts help a bit; good luck!
What is the purpose of the ghost in Hamlet?
The ghost's appearance has several purposes. Most importantly, it sets the plot into motion. We would have no story without the appearance of the ghost and his stunning revelation to Hamlet that his uncle killed his father.
This revelation upends Hamlet's world and leaves him shattered: it is bad enough that his mother married his uncle with undue haste, but now a ghost, who purports to be his father, is telling him that he has been murdered by this very close relative. The ghost is also pressing Hamlet to avenge his murder.
Beyond the important of the revelation, it is also important that Hamlet receives the news from a ghost. This puts reasonable doubts into his mind as to whether he should move ahead with vengeance: what if the ghost is a spirit sent by Satan to tempt him into murdering an innocent man? If the revelation had been made some other way, such as Hamlet overhearing his uncle telling someone about the murder, or through finding a letter about the crime, his path would not have been so fraught and uncertain.
Finally, the ghost helps to establish the eerie, uneasy, corrupted tone of the play. As Horatio points out, something is wrong in the larger political body when supernatural forces like ghosts start to appear. The sense of disease and unease that Hamlet experiences is not all from his troubled psyche: Denmark really is a country out of joint, preparing for war, with spirits roaming loose and trouble in the air.
What is the purpose of the ghost in Hamlet?
Apart from the foreboding night and the meaning behind that dreary setting, the reader must notice the almost immediate entrance of the ghost in the very first scene of Shakespeare's play. For a moment, leave aside the questions about why the ghost has appeared. Simply the appearance of the supernatural, something that only some people believe in, calls up a common theme: appearance versus reality. Is the ghost real? Are the men tired and lonely and seeing things? Is it a figment of their imagination? Could a ghost actually exist? Thus begins a journey through this theme that will last the entire length of the play.
What occurs when the ghost first appears in Hamlet?
The first appearance of the ghost of Hamlet’s father serves a twofold purpose: it quickly explains the major conflict in the story, and it adds a dramatic supernatural element to it. In Shakespeare’s time, people were more superstitious than we are today. Ghosts could be the spirits of the dead returned, but they could equally be demons in disguise planning to kill someone or drive them insane, as Horatio reminds Hamlet. Whatever the case, something was seriously amiss when a ghost became involved.
The guards have seen the ghost two times and have now enlisted Hamlet’s close friend Horatio to see it as well. They recognize it as the ghost of Hamlet’s father, the late King of Denmark. However, they do not want to speak to the specter themselves. They approach Horatio, Hamlet’s closest friend and a well-respected member of the court.
Horatio initially believes the men are imagining things. He says to Marcellus: “Tush, tush, ‘twill not appear.”
Nevertheless, it does. When the guards point out that it looks exactly like the dead king, Horatio must agree. The guards exhort Horatio to speak to it, which he does:
“What art thou that usurp'st this time of night,
Together with that fair and warlike form
In which the majesty of buried Denmark
Did sometimes march? by heaven I charge thee, speak!”
The ghost leaves without answering, but Horatio is convinced of its existence by the evidence of his own eyes. “In what particular thought to work I know not; / But in the gross and scope of my opinion, / This bodes some strange eruption to our state.”
Through conversation between the guards and Horatio, the audience learns that Denmark is preparing for war with Norway. Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, is planning to attack to reclaim lands lost to Denmark in a battle between his late father and the late King Hamlet.
The ghost returns and the soldiers try ineffectually to attack it with their spears. It vanishes without speaking, and the men agree that Prince Hamlet should be told about the apparition immediately.
Why does the Ghost reappear to Hamlet in Hamlet?
The ghost appears three times in the play—act I, scene I; act I, scenes iv and v; and act III, scene iv—but only twice to Hamlet.
The first time he appears to Hamlet, he confirms that he is Hamlet's father's spirit and says that Hamlet needs to be ready for revenge. There has been a "murder most foul." The ghost says that while everyone was told he was killed by a snake in the orchard, the real snake who killed him "now wears his crown." Claudius poured poison in his ear while he was sleeping. He tells Hamlet that the "royal bed of Denmark" has now become "a couch for luxury and damned incest." Hamlet needs to do something about it. However, he shouldn't harm his mother. Though she is not innocent, he should leave her fate up to God. After a long speech, the ghost disappears.
The second time the ghost appears, Hamlet is talking to his mother Gertrude. The ghost tells Hamlet not to forget to avenge his death. At that moment, Gertrude is shocked that her son is talking to someone that isn't there. Hamlet only shocks her further when he tells her is talking to his father's ghost.
What is the significance of the ghost's appearance in Hamlet?
Whenever ghosts, spirits, and other elements of the celestial or occult sphere appear in Shakespeare, you know things are unnatural and out of order. The ghost appearing in Hamlet is ocular proof that "something is rotten in the state of Denmark". In Shakespeare's cosmology, Angels and spirits which descend the chain of being to speak to men below suggest disorder and an interruption of the natural order. Killing a king, regicide, is very much an unnatural thing because in the great chain of being, Kings are the apex of men.
What is the significance of the ghost's appearance in Hamlet?
The ghost of King Hamlet is the one who sets the action for the rest of the play. The ghost appears in the first scene of the play letting the audience know that the story is going to have a supernatural element and creating a question in the minds of the audience because we are not told why this ghost is appearing. We are told that Denmark is preparing for war, but that still does not seem to fully explain the appearance of the ghost. Next we find out that Hamlet is upset that his mother remarried so soon after his father's death and that she married her brother-in-law. Still, none of this gives the audience an understanding of why the ghost appears. When Hamlet speaks to the ghost, he is at first both horrified and curious. His dead father wishes to speak to him after all. Then when the ghost says that his own brother, Hamlet's mother's new husband, murdered him and that he wants Hamlet to avenge this murder, the audience knows what the main plot is going to be - Hamlet carrying out his father's wishes. This information is finally given to us in the last scene of the first act. The ghost is essential. If Hamlet had simply uncovered the murder of his father through investigation, we would not have the same impact and mysteriousness that we do with the news coming from the murder victim himself. The ghost also helps to explain Hamlet's sluggishness toward action. He finally decides at the end of Act 2, to use the play to determine whether or not the ghost was telling the truth. This lets us know that he's been doubting what the ghost said, or if he even really saw the spirit of his father. The ghost's reappearance at the end of Act 3, further establishes the fact that Hamlet has not acted yet on his father's wishes, and reminds Hamlet, and the audience, that Gertrude is not to be included in Hamlet's quest for revenge. Without the ghost, we would simply have a detective story with an element of revenge in it. With the ghost, we have the question surrounding the veracity of the ghost, why it only speaks to Hamlet and is not even visible to Gertrude, and the spookiness of a ghost itself.
The relationship between Hamlet and his mother in the play Hamlet
3 Educator Answers
Summary:
The relationship between Hamlet and his mother, Gertrude, is complex and strained. Hamlet feels deep resentment towards her for marrying Claudius soon after his father's death, which he views as a betrayal. Despite his anger, there are moments of care and concern, revealing the underlying love and conflict that define their interactions throughout the play.
How would you describe the relationship between Hamlet and his mother?
"Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not “seems”.
Gertrude has asked why Hamlet's grief for his dead father SEEMS so strong in him. He answers bitterly that he is incapable of pretending. He begins the drama by demonstrating that he must be honest in his grief.
Ironically he must be dishonest throughout the rest of the play as he executes the orders of the ghost.
There is a noticable absence of a warm nurturing chat between mother and son as he seems to unravel into insantiy. Meanwhile Polonius, though a fraud, has a reasonbly warm relationship with his children.
It can be said that Hamlet seems preoccupied with his mother's sexuality. He rages as much about the incest as he does the murder, perhaps even moreso. The ghost of his father tells him to leave his mother to God and pursue Claudius but he just can't help himself. He would prefer to torture Gertrude over her... warm bloodedness.
...seriously, what a great play.
How would you describe the relationship between Hamlet and his mother?
The relationship between Hamlet and his mother is a complicated one and somewhat open to interpretation. In Act 1, sc, 2, Hamlet and his mother are close enough that he can insinuate insults to her. He calls her "common", sarcastically calls her "good mother". In his soliloquy in that scene, he says of Gertrude, "frailty, thy name is woman". He's clearly frustrated with his mother and feels betrayed by her rapid marriage to her brother-in-law. In Act 2, sc. 2, Gertrude says that she feels the reason for Hamlet's recent odd behavior is her marriage to Claudius, indicating that due to the closeness of the relationship she formerly had with Hamlet, she knows that the marriage upset Hamlet. Later, in Act 3, sc. 4, when Hamlet goes to see his mother in her chamber after the play and Claudius's reaction to it, the words exchanged between the two of them further suggest that there was a close relationship between Gertrude and Hamlet. Again he feels free to insult her such as when he says, "And (were it not so) you are my mother." By the end of this scene, the two have reconciled and Gertrude asks Hamlet for advice as to what action she should take.
How would you describe Hamlet's relationship with his mother?
Perhaps the best example of Hamlet's relationship with his mother during the course of the play is the exchange in Act 1, Scene 2:
Seems, madam? Nay, it is. I know not “seems”.
‘Tis not alone my inky cloak, good Mother,
Nor customary suits of solemn black,
Nor windy suspiration of forced breath,
No, nor the fruitful river in the eye,
Nor the dejected havior of the visage,
Together with all forms, moods, shapes of grief,
That can denote me truly. These indeed seem,
For they are actions that a man might play.
But I have that within which passes show;
These but the trappings and the suits of woe.
In these lines, Hamlet makes very clear the difference between himself and his mother. Hamlet does not pretend, he truly is sad about his father's death, while is mother only has the "trappings and the suits of woe".
Hamlet's main feeling is disappointment and anger towards his mother. He believes her to be fake, a liar, and to have been trapped into evil acts by Claudius.
Ophelia's reflection on identity and potential in Hamlet
6 Educator Answers
Summary:
Ophelia's reflections on identity and potential in Hamlet reveal her struggle between her own desires and the expectations placed on her by her father and society. Her tragic end illustrates the destructive impact of these conflicting pressures, ultimately leading to her loss of identity and agency.
What does Ophelia's statement, "Lord, we know what we are, but not what we may be," mean, and how does Hamlet struggle with this idea?
"Lord, we know what we are, but not what we may be."
One should understand that Ophelia, at this point, is experiencing a mental breakdown. She has been confused by Hamlet's ambiguous words and actions and has been admonished by both her father and brother about pursuing relations with him. To crown it all, she has just learned that Hamlet has killed her father. All this trauma is enough to make even the most stable of individuals crack.
The question is: Does Ophelia say these words in a moment of brilliant intellectual enlightenment or are these just the ramblings of a mind gone astray? Whatever it may be, Ophelia is making a good point. Her statement is an accurate assessment of our being, our essence. We live in the present. What we know is what we know now and we respond to that; however, we do not know what we may become. We may guess or make assumptions about our futures or how we may respond to a situation, but we cannot be quite sure.
Ophelia, for example, knew that she had affection for Hamlet and that she was loyal to her father, but she did not know that Hamlet would mess around with her so much, confusing her -- telling her in one moment to "get thee to a nunnery" and in the next requesting to sit at her feet. She neither knew the extent of her father's meddling or that he would be killed by Hamlet. Finally, not knowing, she could hardly contemplate how she would react. It is certain that she never thought that she would lose her sanity, or later commit suicide.
It is this uncertainty which is a major theme of the play. Hamlet knows who he is: the son of a murdered king, rightful heir to the Danish throne. Furthermore, he knows what he suspects -- that his uncle had murdered his father and unlawfully usurped the throne, and that his mother may have been complicit in the murder. Hamlet also knows that he has to avenge his father's death, but he also knows that he is not a ruthless killer. After listening to his father's ghost, Hamlet sees his duty as a curse:
O cursed spite,
That ever I was born to set it right!
It is all this that sets Hamlet on the road of doubt and procrastination. He knows what he is, but is uncertain about what he may become. He rationalizes, considers and reconsiders. His intellectual perturbation does not allow him to act and his uncertainty is best expressed in his deep and moving soliloquy:
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? ...
It would be fair to say that, at this point, Hamlet does not even seem sure of what he is and is probably even more doubtful about what he may be. Poor Hamlet! If he had only known that his uncertainty would eventually lead to the tragic demise of so many, including him!
What does Ophelia's statement, "Lord, we know what we are, but not what we may be," mean, and how does Hamlet struggle with this idea?
"Lord, we know what we are, but not what we may be."
Hamlet relates this very idea in each of his soliloquies. Throughout the play, Hamlet is torn between his desire for revenge & his need to live up to his father's legacy, and his crippling inability to act on any impulse. Instead, he continually ruminates over who he is, what exactly is man, the meaning of life...essentially, anything and everything anyone has ever considered. Several times he works himself up to commit murder, steeling himself to kill Claudius. Yet each time he fails. He never can make the leap to actually, physically taking action.
So Hamlet is well aware of his self. He knows how others see him, & he knows how he himself considers his nature. Yet he cannot reconcile this knowledge with his behavior. Instead, he drifts into melancholy, fakes insanity, and eventually commits an inhonorable murder for really no reason, minutes after he failed to kill Claudius. He never knows "who he may be", because he never really makes an effort to be any different. He recognizes the potential, but can never act upon it.
What does Ophelia's statement, "Lord, we know what we are, but not what we may be," mean, and how does Hamlet struggle with this idea?
"Lord, we know what we are, but not what we may be."
This line is from Act IV, Scene 5 in which poor mad Ophelia has lost both father and lover. Bereft without either, the girl tragically comes apart and commits suicide. In the previous scene, having observed Fortinbras, "whose spirit, with divine ambition puffed," decide to risk fortune and death in order to avenge his father, Hamlet is thus inspired to finally avenge King Hamlet's death. Clearly, then, he and Ophelia have both realized the import of her words. However, Fortinbras yet has to learn what he "may be." In the final act, after Hamlet has been pierced by the poison tip of the sword of Laertes, he hears the return of Fortinbras heralded and leaves his kingdom to the "gentle prince" of Norway.
After being thus informed, Fortinbras says,
...with sorrow I embrace my fortune.
I have some rights of memory in this kingdom,
Which now, to claim my vantage doth invite me. (5.2.404-406
Having been "invited" to rule as the head of the kingdom of Denmark, Fortinbras, therefore, faces the challenge of what he "may be" in this new position. He has only begun as leader of Norway and accomplished avenger of his father's death, and he has not yet proven himself a judicious ruler in either country despite Hamlet's faith in his integrity.
In Hamlet, what does Ophelia mean by "we know what we are, but know not what we may be"?
This is part of a very interesting passage. Ophelia has gone mad, and Claudius asks her how she is doing. Part of her response is the quote above—"we know what we are, but know not what we may be"— which means we (including her) know how we are now, but there is no telling what will happen to us in the future. This is a cryptic statement. Claudius calls it a "conceit upon her father," by which he means that she is thinking of the dead Polonius and commenting that we can, like him, be here today and gone tomorrow. This is a plausible interpretation, but then Ophelia says to him, let's not talk about my father. She says, when they ask you what I mean, say this. She then sings a song about Valentine's Day and a maid who shows up at her beloved's window. The ditty ends as follows:
Let in the maid that out a maidNever departed more.
This is about a lover who promises to marry a girl—until she goes to bed with him. After that, he tells her he would have married her if she had not slept with him. It's hard to avoid the conclusion that what Ophelia "may be" is a pregnant, unmarried woman. We have to assume that Hamlet is the father. We don't know if this is true or not, but if it is—or even if Ophelia simply thinks it is true—this may account for her suicide.So would I ha' done, by yonder sun,An thou hadst not come to my bed.
In Hamlet, what does Ophelia mean by "we know what we are, but know not what we may be"?
When Ophelia utters this line, she is in the midst of a mental breakdown. She has experienced so much heartbreak and such unpredictable tragedies that she is no longer capable of functioning successfully. First, she seeks to obey her father, Polonius, by breaking off her relationship with Hamlet, the man she very much loves. Then, Hamlet begins to act mad and treats her in such a degrading and often confusing and contradictory way that both hurts and humiliates her. Worse yet, Hamlet then murders her father, and even hides the body for some time as a part of his supposed madness.
Thus, she has lost her father as well as her lover (who she only throws over in obedience to her father). She is bereft and alone. At this point, having experienced some kind of mental break as a result of all this tragedy, she says, "we know what we are, but know not what we may be," indicating that we can only know ourselves as we are now, in the present moment, and we can have absolutely no idea who we will be if and when tragedy strikes. We can never know what will come or how we will be or feel or do.
In Hamlet, what does Ophelia mean by "we know what we are, but know not what we may be"?
When you are given quotes to analyze, the first thing you should do is consider what the quote actually says. So, what does it say? It says, "King, we know what we are but do not know what we may be." Now, ask yourself, what does the quote mean? Ophelia means that we as humans (even perhaps women) know that we are human; however, we do not know what we will become. Let's face it no one knows what awaits us in the future. Finally, ask yourself, why does this quote matter? Why is it important? This part can be tricky because it depends on the context within the play. She says this following the death of her father. Again, you could view this several ways: Ophelia expressing her views on death; Ophelia expressing her views on the fate of women; Ophelia alluding to her own suicide.
I hope this was helpful.
Women's Representation and Feminist Interpretations in Hamlet
9 Educator Answers
Summary:
In Hamlet, women's roles are shaped by patriarchal constraints, reflecting Elizabethan norms. Gertrude and Ophelia are depicted as passive and subordinate to men. Gertrude's hasty remarriage and Ophelia's obedience highlight their limited agency. Feminist interpretations suggest that Gertrude's actions are scrutinized through Hamlet's biases, while Ophelia's madness and eventual suicide underscore her victimization. The play portrays women as weak and manipulated, with their roles serving to advance male-driven plots and themes of madness, incest, and power dynamics.
What is a feminist approach to Act 3, Scene 4 in Hamlet?
During act 3, scene 4 of Hamlet, the Danish prince confronts his mother, Queen Gertrude, about what he considers her scandalous conduct in marrying Claudius, the late King Hamlet’s brother. Before this scene, he had not found a time to speak with her alone as she was always with her new husband. As Hamlet tries to find out whether Claudius did kill King Hamlet, he continues to worry that his mother had been involved as well. Because of these suspicions, he does not want to take Gertrude into his confidence, so she still believes that he is mad. Gertrude shows both her determination to draw him out and her vulnerability to his attacks, as she demands to know, “What have I done?”
A feminist approach to the scene would shift the focus from Hamlet’s concerns to Gertrude’s perspective on the situation. Analyzing her behavior in this particular scene depends as well on the reader’s understanding of Gertrude’s multiple—and often conflicting—identities. As Denmark’s queen, she is responsible for all her country’s people and apparently has been unable or unwilling to rule alone. In addition, a feminist analysis would consider Gertrude as an adult woman who desires a romantic and sexual partner.
The latter aspect is of great concern to Hamlet, who seems to find it repugnant to think about his mother in sexual terms. He equates her sexual relations with Claudius to the larger corruption that affects Denmark. Analyzing the dialogue between mother and son from a feminist perspective would emphasize her agency, not just her reactions to her son’s challenging statements.
While Hamlet has most of the dialogue in the scene, once he sees his father’s ghost—which she does not see—she takes a more assertive stance. Her speech beginning in line 128, as she challenges his “discourse” with “vacancy”—or speaking to empty space—marks a turning point. As she tries to take control of the situation, Gertrude seems both an authoritative queen and a concerned mother.
How is feminism portrayed in Hamlet?
Feminist literary theory (or feminist literary criticism) revolves around the idea that literature reflects and shapes ideas about men and women and their roles in society. This form of criticism engages with a range of key ideas and questions—and provides an interesting lens through which to consider Shakespeare's Hamlet. Let's go over a few of those ideas and how they apply to the text, with examples.
How are female characters portrayed in the text? To what extent can the reader identify with female characters?
Let's start with Ophelia, Hamlet's love interest, who eventually goes mad. She's not exactly a powerful woman—she's young and innocent, and people talk about her beauty more than any other detail. She's obedient to her father. She doesn't have much to do. Early in the text, she's relatable enough, but this characterization of a young woman seems antiquated. Where's her agency and ambition?
Later, after her father dies and Ophelia loses her sanity, she delivers a few memorable speeches about how terrible young men are—how they're after one thing, and they're not faithful to women, either.
CLAUDIUS
Pretty Ophelia—OPHELIA
Indeed, without an oath I’ll make an end on ’t:(sings)By Gis and by Saint Charity,Alack, and fie, for shame!Young men will do ’t, if they come to ’t.By Cock, they are to blame.Quoth she, “Before you tumbled me,You promised me to wed.”
Let's look at this passage. Note that I am condensing this passage for clarity, indicated by the ellipsis:
CLAUDIUS
Sweet Gertrude, leave us too,For we have closely sent for Hamlet hither,That he, as ’twere by accident, may hereAffront Ophelia.GERTRUDEI shall obey you. And for your part, Ophelia, I do wish That your good beauties be the happy cause Of Hamlet’s wildness.
Does the piece of literature reinforce the oppression of women, whether politically, socially, economically, or socially?
The depictions of both Ophelia and Gertrude are problematic. We've already talked about Ophelia, above, so let's focus on the fact that we, as the readers, only really see the character of Gertude through the perspective of Hamlet, her son. And Hamlet is very troubled by the notion that his mother is a sexual being. He attacks her for remarrying (Claudius is now her husband) and even of killing her husband, Hamlet's father. But his obsession with her sexual life is notable, too:
GERTRUDE
O Hamlet, speak no more!Thou turn’st mine eyes into my very soul,And there I see such black and grainèd spotsAs will not leave their tinct.HAMLET
Nay, but to liveIn the rank sweat of an enseamèd bed,Stewed in corruption, honeying and making loveOver the nasty sty—
This pretty much speaks for itself: Hamlet wants to force his mother into chastity. He doesn't look so good through a feminist critical lens, does he?
How is feminism portrayed in Hamlet?
Feminism is said to give equal rights, both political and social, to women. Unfortunately, in the play Hamlet, the two main female characters are given little voice or equality in comparison to their male counterparts.
Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother and new wife to Claudius, is portrayed as weak. Her hasty marriage to her husband's brother a mere two months after the king's death is considered highly inappropriate by Hamlet. In fact, Hamlet even says, "Frailty, thy name is woman!" (Act I, ii, 150) emphasizing his mother's sexual weakness and applying that weakness to all women. Gertrude becomes the focal point of Hamlet's anger and is partially to blame for the rotten state of Denmark.
Ophelia, Hamlet's love interest, is given little voice as well. She becomes a pawn between her brother, Laertes, and her father, Polonius. Laertes warns her: "Then weigh what loss your honor may sustain if with too credent ear you list his [Hamlet's] songs" (Act I, iii, 33-34). Her brother tells her not to let Hamlet court her, for she may lose her honor. However, a double standard exists as Polonius gives Laertes his blessing to venture off and explore the adult world. Polonius also uses Ophelia to spy on Hamlet.
Hamlet also uses Ophelia as a pawn. In an act of madness, he insults her and belittles her: Hamlet speaks to Ophelia in a derogatory manner so she will not become a "breeder of sinners" (Act III, i, 131-132). He also tells her to go to a nunnery. By the end of the play, Ophelia's suicide seems inescapable as she feels betrayed by those she loves.
Therefore, the women in Hamlet are not feminist characters. The men in this play wield the power. Both women are victims of their own weaknesses and men's manipulation.
What role do women in Hamlet play in portraying the Elizabethan era?
In Hamlet, the role of women was an inferior role. Women were inferior to men. Men dominated. Women had no voice. They were expected to tend the home and care for the children. Women were not considered equal to men.
Ophelia is an example of an inferior woman. Hamlet did not show her the respect she deserved. He toyed with her emotions. He made her think he was interested in her. Then he insisted she go and live in a convent and become a nun:
Go to a convent, go.
Goodbye. Or, if you will marry, make it a fool, by Mary,
for wise men know well enough what monsters you make
of them. To a convent, go, and quickly too. Goodbye.
Cruelly, Hamlet insults Ophelia, insisting that she and her kind make monsters of men. He blames women for men's own flaws.
Women in the time period of Hamlet were not considered equal to men. They had to submit to men. Men were totally in control. Women were considered objects of beauty. They were not considered intellects with their own credible opinions.
Hamlet continues to insult Ophelia. He is bold and abrasive. He tells her she is a loose woman. He is cruel. He has no concern for her feelings. Furthermore, he has no idea how pure Ophelia truly is. Hamlet spits out his fury in hurtful words:
You make...your looseness your ignorance...To a convent, go.
Hamlet has no concern for Ophelia's feelings. When she returns his gifts, he denies having ever given her anything:
Hamlet denies having given her anything and subjects her to several vehement and disjointed statements commenting on the falseness of women....
No doubt, women were considered the weaker sex. Hamlet insists that women are weak. He is disgusted with his mother Gertrude for marrying so soon after his father's death. He quotes that women are frail:
Frailty, thy name is woman.
This is the image that men had of women during Hamlet's time. Women had no rights. They were considered weak and dependent upon men. Hamlet was not the only man who had the opinion that women were weak. Ophelia's father and brother treat her as if she were a child. Truly, Ophelia is dependent on men, particularly her father and brother. She was brought up to be obedient, but at the same time dependent. Polonius reveals Ophelia’s dependence when he challenges Hamlet’s love for her. He asks her, “Do you believe his tenders, as you call them(I iii 103)?” All Ophelia could muster is “I do not know, my lord, what I should think(I iii 104).”
Clearly, Ophelia is an example of a woman who did not know how to think on her own. She was used to depending on her father, even asking him to think for her. No doubt, women in Hamlet's day were dependent on men because they had never been given the opportunity to think for themselves. Men loved having it this way. It gave them power over women.
How does Shakespeare portray women in Hamlet?
The two women in the play, Gertrude and Ophelia, are presented as gentle, loving women. However, within the context of Hamlet's point of view, which dominates the play, women are presented as duplicitous and untrustworthy.
Hamlet's anger at women arises from his distress that his mother so quickly remarried after his father's death and married someone he considers unworthy of her. This colors his view of women, as does the context of his sense of disease and corruption overtaking the Danish court under Claudius's reign.
Ophelia is presented as a dutiful sister and daughter, who is somewhat duplicitous in having conversations with Hamlet when she knows others are eavesdropping. However, she truly loves Hamlet and is badly hurt by his inconsistent and angry behavior towards her. At the Mousetrap play, he makes lewd jokes about lying in her lap. He tells her to get herself to a "nunnery," a word that could mean either convent or brothel.
Hamlet's seeming abandonment of Ophelia, along with his killing her father, causes Ophelia to snap and go mad. Here, Shakespeare is portraying women as fragile and weaker than men. The gentle Ophelia ends up, tragically, committing suicide.
Gertrude is portrayed as a good mother figure to both Ophelia and Hamlet. She wants the best for both of them. She tries as well, to be a good wife to her new husband. Hamlet, however, frightens her with his anger and erratic behavior, creating a difficult relationship between them.
The two women are presented as good-hearted people who are ground up by a corrupt society.
How do female characters in Hamlet further Shakespeare's purposes?
Gertrude and Ophelia are presented as weak women subject to the various actions of men. Throughout the drama they react, rather than act with resolve or firm moral determination. Ophelia's suicide might seem to be an action born of determination, but it is really a reaction to all she has endured in her male-dominated young life.
These female characters in their weakness serve several purposes in the play. First, through them the plot is advanced. Gertrude's seduction by Claudius sickens and infuriates Hamlet, further pushing him into avenging his father's murder. Through his relationship with Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, Hamlet plants the first seeds to suggest that he has gone mad, an integral part of his plan to discover the truth about his father's death. Additionally, it is Ophelia's death that drives Laertes into the plot with Claudius to kill Hamlet.
Also, in his relationships with these two weak women, Hamlet's complex character is more deeply developed. He is appalled by his mother's behavior, but he loves her and tries to save her from further acts of debasement; his relationship with her intensifies his torment. His relationship with Ophelia further torments him. He uses Ophelia in his plot against Claudius, but in doing so, he deliberately pushes her away while loving her deeply. Ophelia's death causes Hamlet great agony.
Gertrude and Ophelia are important in the drama not for the women they are but for the passive roles they play in Hamlet's tragic destruction.
What is the role of mothers in Hamlet?
Hamlet's mother, Gertrude, is the Queen of Denmark, widow of the late king, and wife of Claudius. She is a central character in Hamlet in that her son is consumed with obsessive feelings that his mother has betrayed his father by marrying the suspected murderer of the previous king.
Throughout this play, Gertrude remains ambiguous in that the audience is never privy to her actual feelings and thoughts. She gives no grand introspective soliloquy to the audience that provides a window into her mind and motives. We, like Hamlet, are left asking if she has knowledge of Claudius's guilt. We do not know her true feelings for her new husband or how sincerely she mourns her first husband. We are even left wondering if she carried on an affair with Claudius previous to the death of her husband. We also do not even know if she purposely drinks the poison that is meant for Hamlet in the final act. We know that she is greatly worried in concern to her son's strange behavior. Yet we do not know if this is purely maternal concern or if she worries that he will uncover a hidden truth. All this uncertainty surrounding Gertrude echoes the uncertainty that her son battles with throughout the course of this tragedy. In the end, Hamlet's mother remains enigmatic, and it is up to the reader to determine exactly what role she plays.
What subtopics show the portrayal of women in Hamlet?
In Hamlet, Ophelia and Gertrude are involved in subplots with Hamlet both on and off-stage. As well, they are the focus of two contrasting views of women. Here are some of the matchups and issues:
Gertrude:
- Is she complicit in the murder of her husband?
- Does she love Claudius? Hamlet? King Hamlet, her first husband?
- Is there an Oedipus complex between Gertrude and Hamlet?
- Why does the Ghost convict her of "incest" and yet tell Hamlet to "leave her to heaven"?
- How is she foil for Hamlet? What does her interview with Hamlet in the bedroom reveal about her and the Prince?
- How is she a supplient, one who provides vision of unmitigated suffering and helplessness for Hamlet and Claudius?
Ophelia:
- Why does she go mad? Who is most responsible for her madness, Hamlet, Polonius, or the culture at large?
- Does she commit suicide, or is her death an accident?
- What effect did the closet interview have on her?
- Is she a victim of male pride: being torn apart by Polonius, Hamlet, Laertes, and Claudius?
- Why does her brother jump in her grave? Is there some incest here too?
- How is she foil for Hamlet? What does her interview with Hamlet in the bedroom reveal about her and the Prince?
- How is she a supplient, one who provides vision of unmitigated suffering and helplessness for Hamlet and Polonius?
Overall, the main issues are madness, gender roles, incest, and sexism.
What roles or purposes do women have in the play Hamlet?
I'm afraid, by our standards today, Shakespeare's Hamlet is quite a sexist play. Viewed from a feminist perspective, one might say that the play is the result of a patriarchal or male-dominated society.
The women in the play are victims at best (Ophelia) and dupes at worst (Gertrude).
Gertrude is full of lust, lacks loyalty, is fooled by Claudius, and is killed by mistake from Claudius's treachery.
Ophelia is dominated by her male family members, made by them to spy on Hamlet, goes along with it, is abused and ridiculed by Hamlet, loses her mind and commits suicide.
The action of the drama is furthered, for the most part, by male characters. Strictly speaking, the conflict is between two male powerhouses: Hamlet and Claudius. Women are peripheral.
In all likelihood, this was not an issue in Hamlet's day. From our contemporary perspective, though, the play is really quite sexist. Particularly in the "enlightened" Hamlet's view, the women are nothing more than whores.
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