Hamlet: Prince of Denmark
Key Themes:
Corruption:
Disease and Death imagery:
 “I am sick at heart” begins the corruption and disease imagery
 “vile and loathsome crust”
 “tis an unweeded garden which grows to seed things rank and gross in nature”
 “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”
 “Oh my offence is rank, it smells to heaven”
 Claudius likens Hamlet to s disease- describing him as “the hectic in my blood”
 Hamlet claims that Claudius is a “canker of our nature”
 The use of poison symbioses the corruption of the Danish Court- considered an especially
heinous crime, the practise of evil foreigners
 Gravedigger scene- emphasis on death and decay. Hamlet expresses disgust at the
physical corruption that follows death “Imperious Caesar, dead and turned to clay,/ might
stop a hole, to keep the wind away”
 Characters draw explicit connections between the moral legitimacy of a ruler and the
health of the nation. Denmark is frequently described as a physical body made ill by the
moral corruption of Claudius and Gertrude, and many observers interpret the presence of
the ghost as a supernatural omen indicating that “something is rotten in the state of
Denmark” (I.iv.67).
 Caroline Spurgeon noted that “rank” occurs multiple times throughout the play. These
image clusters enhance the sense of corruption throughout the play and serve to link
certain parts together. Spurgeon identified that a “number of images of sickness,
disease... the idea of an ulcer or tumour, as descriptive of the unwholesome condition of
Denmark morally”
Misogyny:
 Shattered by his mother’s decision to marry Claudius so soon after her husband’s death,
Hamlet becomes cynical about women in general, showing a particular obsession with
what he perceives to be a connection between female sexuality and moral corruption.
 This motif of misogyny, or hatred of women, occurs sporadically throughout the play, but
it is an important inhibiting factor in Hamlet’s relationships with Ophelia and Gertrude.
He urges Ophelia to go to a nunnery rather than experience the corruptions of sexuality
and exclaims of Gertrude, “Frailty, thy name is woman” (I.ii.146).
Claudius:
 Antithesis in Claudius’ first speech to the court: “defeated joy”, “with one auspicious and
one dropping eye” “mirth in funeral and with dirge in marriage”. This implies falseness,
someone who can express simultaneous joy and sorrow or show inappropriate emotions.
There are two views of Claudius : suspicious and corrupted or a magnanimous leader.
Wilson Knight believes Claudius to be “the typical kindly uncle, besides being a good
king” claiming that it is a mistake to judge Claudius “as a hardened criminal”. The
antithesis powerfully expresses conflict and confusion. It suggests a man attempting to
balance conflicting emotions and values
 “the serpent that did sting thy fathers life now wears his crown” metaphor for the snake
as Claudius is a biblical reference highlighting the corruption and devilish characteristics
of Claudius.
 Claudius writes a letter to the English king instructing him to kill Hamlet. Claudius drops
his facade and likens Hamlet to a fever “for the hectic in my blood he rages”
 The thought of revenge “warms the very sickness of my heart” (Laertes) compare this to
Hamlet where the thought of revenge causes the sickness in his heart.
 Claudius uses flattery to obtain Laertes agreement- “gave you such a masterly report”
 “Laertes was your father dear to you? / Or are you like a painting of a sorrow, / A face
without a heart?” Claudius uses emotional blackmail. This echoes Old Hamlet’s
statement: “If thou didst ever thy dear father love... Revenge his foul and most unnatural
murder”. Creates pity towards both Laertes and Hamlet who were blackmailed into doing
the deeds
 “Hyperion to a satyr” – satyrs are lecherous, bestial mythological creatures.
Osric and Polonius:
 Osric is seen as a symbol of the corrupt Danish Court, he seeks to please in order to gain
power. He is a parallel to Polonius.
 Polonius is perhaps the most obviously corrupt character in Hamlet. His corruption has
occurred long before the play begins; the progression is in the extent to which it is
revealed to us. From this courteous, almost comically long-winded member of the court,
emerges a personality that is first dominating (as he instructs Laertes: 'These few precepts
in thy memory/ Look thou character.' [Act I, Sc. iii, 63]), clearly abusive towards
Ophelia: “Affection? Pooh! /You speak like a green girl”, then meddling and subversive,
as he sets spies on his own son, and finally irredeemably and ultimately fatally corrupt
and subversive, as he schemes and plots around Hamlet.
 The comparison of Polonius to Jeptha, who promised to sacrifice the first living thing he
met if he returned safely from war (which turned out to be his daughter), highlight’s
Polonius’ corruption and low morals.
 Polonius’ repetitiveness and circular language create a character who likes the sond of his
own voice.
 Hamlet sees through Osric’s façade dismissing him as “a waterfly”
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern:
 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern epitomize the corruption of the Danish State. They
willingly comply with Claudius’ request that they spy on Hamlet.
 Hamlet sees straight through them “you were sent for – and/ there is a kind of confession
in your looks which your modesties/ have not craft enough to colour. I know the good
king and queen have sent for you.”
 Their deceitful nature is highlighted when the also lie to Claudius. They are anxious to
cover up the cross examination which led to the disclosure that they are being employed
by Claudius.
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Hamlet is a highly complex character displaying a mixture of brilliance, melancholy,
decision, indecision, mania and depression.
In the beginning he is seen as an intelligent young man trapped in a corrupt court, we
observe how he is perceptive and intelligent by his use of “I am too much i’the sun” and
“nay it is I know not seems”. Hamlets perceptive and philosophical nature allows him to
cut through the superficialities of outward appearance and the corruption of the Danish
Court. This can be seen in Hamlet’s almost immediate discovery of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern’s falseness. He likens them to a sponge that “soaks up the kings
countenance”. He sees through Polonius, “these tedious old fools”.
Horatio:
 Horatio serves to highlight the corruption of characters especially Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern. As he too is a friend from university.
 Of all Hamlet’s relationships, his one with Horatio has the most respect and it is to him
that he reveals the most truth. Revealing his plot to catch out Claudius “the Mousetrap”
Appearance vs. Reality:
Appears in 4 forms: Deception, Madness, Theatre and Surveillance.
Deception:
 “This above all, to thine own self be true”. Polonius after telling Laertes to never “be
false to any man” sets a spy on him
 “Do not believe his vows for they are brokers,/ Not of that dye, which their investments
show”
 “Be thou a spirit of health, or goblin damned...”
 3.1.12 Rosencrantz and Guildenstern give a false account of Hamlet’s response adding to
the deceitful nature of Elsinore. Similarly, Gertrude lies to Claudius claiming that Hamlet
is “mad as the sea and wind”
 “God hath given you one face and you make yourselves another”
 The metaphor: “Denmark’s a prison” suggests that behind the facade is a horrible place
full of deception making Hamlet feel isolated.
 Branaugh version: The highlight of this setting is the palace's hall of mirrors, which add
to the grandeur of Elsinore, but also depict the deceptive appearance of Elsinore- the
mirrors may beautify Elsinore, but hide dark secrets. Indeed, something is rotten in the
state of Denmark. While this palace "appears open, rich and inviting as Derek Jacobi's
vigorous, attractive Claudius and his bride . . . sweep down the great hall through lines of
applauding courtiers" the camera's focus on Hamlet, clad in black, shows a figure who
will "expose the black and grained spots which lie just beneath the surface of this lavish
world" (Jackson 227).
Madness:
 The Ghost “might deprive your sovereignty of reason, and draw you into madness?”.
Horatio’s shows considerable foresight: the ghost ultimately does draw /hamlet into
madness/ melancholy.
 “to put an antic disposition on”
 “I am but mad north-north-west. When the wind is southerly, / I know a hawk froma
handsaw”
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“Of the feigned madness of Hamlet there appears no adequate cause, for he does nothing
which he might not have done with the reputation of sanity. He plays the madman most,
when he treats Ophelia with so much rudeness, which seems to be useless and wanton
cruelty.” (Samuel Johnson)
 “Much discussion has turned on the question of Hamlet's madness, whether it be real or
assumed. It is not possible to settle this question.... Shakespeare meant Hamlet to be in a
state of intense cerebral excitement, seeming like madness. His sorrowing nature has
suddenly been ploughed to its depths by a horror so great as to make him recoil every
moment from a belief in its reality. The shock, if it has not destroyed his sanity, has
certainly unsettled him.” George Henry Lewes
 The language form and structure is used by Shakespeare to signify madness. Hamlet uses
rhyming couplets when he is sane; this is used countless times throughout the play.
However when he is feigning insanity Hamlet’s speech often slips into blank verse, this
lack of refinement symbolises the struggle and discord in Hamlet’s mind, which can be
extended to include the struggle and corruption of the Court of Denmark . Ophelia also
uses prose in madness; this signals the loss of reason.
 The willingness of Hamlet to adopt an “antic disposition” shows his alienation from
Denmark and its values by adopting the garb of madness. It has symbolic significance
denoting that Hamlet considers himself a pilgrim and a stranger in his own city.
 Ophelia:
o Ophelia’s madness while not a deceptive appearance serves to divide “from
herself and her fair judgement”
o Ophelia’s mad ravings suggest the deeper preoccupations that have claimed her
mind: the death of a loved one and the utter thwarting of her longing to have her
love for Hamlet returned. CHARACTER FOIL Ophelia’s tragedy, like
Hamlet’s, is the tragedy of obedience to a father. Only she actually goes mad and
doesn’t stop at thinking about suicide (misogynistic element)
 Hamlet’s “antic disposition” serves as a mask for his bouts of melancholy and deep
distress. It also provides him with a fool like persona to match that of Polonius and Osric.
This allows him to engage in seeming frivolous banter in an attempt to penetrate the
deceit that surrounds him without attracting attention to himself. Allows him to deliver
insults without being realised by the other characters. This is not the mrk of a man with
his mind in paralysis.
o Claudius and Polonius perceive that there is something not right about Hamlet’s
madness. “Madness in great ones must not unwatched go”
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Theatre and Acting:
 The recurring notion of “seems”: “most seeming virtuous queen”, “I know not seems”
etc. Introduces the idea of acting as a method of deception.
 “One may smile, and smile, and be a villain”
 “to put an antic disposition on” the notion of acting as a pretence may symbolise
Hamlet’s preoccupation with false appearances
 “With one auspicious and one dropping eye, /With mirth in funeral and dirge in
marriage”- establishes Claudius as hypocritical and contradictory. Claudius hides his
guilty secret behind an outward show of integrity
 “With devotion’s visage,/ And pious action, we do sugar o’er/ The devil himself”
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“I am satisfied in nature” Laertes pretends to accept Hamlet’s apology, whilst preparing
to kill him in a deceitful and dishonourable manner.
 a play-within-a-play -- turns the characters onstage into an audience watching actors, and
confronts the actual audience with the fictional nature of what they are watching.
 Throughout the play, Hamlet switches between very different persona’s: he plays the
fool, a madman, a commoner with whom the gravedigger can associate, as well as the
prince. He often mimics other characters e.g Osric in Act 5.2. He uses puns to great
effect, picking up a speaker’s words and giving them back with a different meaning. His
very first words “A little more than kin, and less than kind” as well as his “nay I am too
much I’the sun” play on Claudius’ use of “son”. The gravedigger is the only other
character in the play who uses this style of ‘deliberate misunderstanding’. Hamlet is
himself an adept actor, this can be seen with his enthusiastic talk with the plays,
instructing them on how best to perform “The Mousetrap”
 Laertes is suspected by both his sister and his father of an inclination towards the
primrose path of dalliance. Polonius advocates reticence, truth and straight dealing but is
loquacious and devious
 Gertrude: The dramatic contrast sets the deep grief of Hecuba against the brief mourning
and unusual speed with which Gertrude remarried. This is emphasised in the Zeffirelli
version where Gertrude is displayed weeping over Old Hamlet’s grave before marrying
Claudius. This highlights the disloyalty and deceitful nature of her character.
Surveillance(Claudius and Polonius):
 Polonius’ plot to spy on his son Laertes introduces the sub theme of surveillance- he asks
Reynaldo to lay a bait of falsehood”
 This is then mirrored in the next scene, serving to link Claudius and Polonius, Claudius
asks Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spy on Hamlet, to “draw him on to pleasures” in
order to find out what’s wrong. These subplots signify the extent of Denmark’s
corruption
 Claudius and Polonius are going to spy on Hamlet and Ophelia’s exchange
 “I will find /where truth is hid, though it were hid indeed /within the centre”
The Nature of the Ghost:
 Marcellus – “this dreaded sight”
- “this apparition”
- “this thing”
 Horatio – “it harrows me with fear and wonder” causes him to “tremble and look pale”
 “this bodes some strange eruption to our state”- ill omen, then likens the apparition to the
ominous signs that preceded the assassination of Caesar.
 Hamlet
- “all is not well./ I doubt some foul play”
- “a spirit of health or goblin damned”
- “airs from heaven or blasts from hell”
- “be thy intents wicked or charitable”
 Horatio- “what if it should tempt you toward the flood my lord/ Or to the dreadful
summit of a cliff... deprive your sovereignty of reason and draw you into madness?”
 Marcellus- “something is rotten in the state of Denmark”
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The ghost suffers in purgatory- “confined to fast in fires,/ Till the foul crimes committed
in my days of nature/ Are burned and purged away”
Hamlet- “Alas poor ghost!” – he is sympathetic
Ghost- “If thou didst ever thy dear father love... Revenge his foul and most unnatural
murder” the Ghost uses emotional blackmail
Evidence of Hamlet’s changing mind – “It is an honest ghost”
- “The spirit that I have seen/ May be a devil”
Develops the play to prove Claudius’ guilt and ensure that the ghost is honest- this
becomes a turning point in the play where the nature of the Ghost is no longer
questioned.
Hamlet- “I’ll take the ghosts word for a thousand pound”
“A beautiful, pure, noble and most moral nature, without the strength of nerve which
makes a hero, sinks beneath a burden which it can neither bear nor throw off” (Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe). Therefore the Ghosts actions were cruel as they ultimately led to
Hamlet depression.
“the nature of the Ghost is intended to be an open question” – adds to the ambiguous
nature of the play. (Nigel Alexander)
Associated with the nature of the Ghost is the question of the morality of what he enjoins
on Hamlet: revenge for murder.
The Ghost represents an explanation and a course of action for Hamlet.
Delay:
 The audience is conscious of Hamlet’s delay most clearly in his two soliloquies: “O what
a rogue and peasant slave am I” and “how all occasions do inform against me”. Hamlet
reproaches himself for his apparent cowardice and lack of action, calling himself
“pigeon- livered” and likening himself to a whore who must “unpack [his] heart with
words”, he then claims that he has “but one part wisdom/ And ever three parts coward”.
He feels that if he were a proper avenger he would exhibit a huge amount of passion like
that of Hecuba. At least part of the reason for his delay so far must be Hamlet’s fear that
he is being deluded by the devil into imperilling the life of Claudius and the fate of his
own soul.
 The ‘to be or not to be’ soliloquy throws everything back into debate he goes from certain
to uncertain. It becomes a question of endurance, of contriving to accept the continuous
punishing hostility of life
 Rather than being to cowardly to act it is apparent that Hamlet is courageous. This can be
seen at the beginning and n the end. When first informed of the Ghost’s existence he
claims that he will “speak to it though hell itself should gape”. This courage can also be
seen in the end where Hamlet calmly confronts Laertes and Polonius. His existential
questions “to be or not to be” turns into the accepting “Let be.”
 The cause of his delay or inaction is his philosophical nature, prone to questioning
himself and others: his “resolution” is “sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought”
 Laertes and Fortinbras act as character foils- they are more active revengers. Fortinbras
however appears devoted to fighting battles over nothing more than points of honour.
Laertes also loses our sympathy by joining Claudius’ plot to poison Hamlet. Hamlet
exclaims “But break my heart for I must hold my tongue” unlike Laertes who storms
Claudius’ chambers at the first hint of a rumour. His restraint is what sets him apart,
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Laertes is too irrational and hot headed. Laertes and Fortinbras confirm Hamlets moral
superiority and intelligence, his “god like reason” is an essential part of what makes him
an attractive character. His consciousness is aligned with that of the audience.
The use of Hamlet’s repetition like “Fie on’t a fie” and “too too” serve to lengthen his
speeches adding to the sense of delay
William Hazlitt claims “Hamlet is not a character marked by strength of will or even of
passion, but by a refinement of thought and sentiment... his powers of action have been
eaten up by thought”. This view is shared by Coleridge who claims “every incident sets
him thinking”
“Shakespeare wished to impress upon us the truth, that action is the chief end of
existence” Hamlet knows perfectly well what he ought to do, but he is constitutionally
averse to action, and his energy evaporates in self reproach. “Hence great, enormous,
intellectual activity, and a consequent proportionate aversion to real action” – Coleridge
Nietzsche dismisses the Coleridgean contemplator. It is not reflection but understanding
which debars action: “the apprehension of truth and its terror”
The Laurence Olivier film, 1948, "This is the tragedy of a man who could not make up
his mind." This is not supported in the text. Hamlet does continually make decisions on
the spur of the moment e.g his decision to follow the ghost, to kill Polonius and
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
The contamination theory- Hamlet’s chief perplexity is one of translation: of finding a
way to convert the Ghost’s injunction into action without being stained by the corruption
of Denmark or becoming like the murderer whom he is to punish. This is echoed by
several critics, Alexander claims “The question remains, how does one deal with such a
man without becoming like him?”
I think Hamlet rather than showing a conscious procrastination displays sense and
practicality. He attempts to ensure that Claudius is guilty before he acts and uses the play
to determine this. He clearly shows that he does not procrastinate with his hasty decisions
like following the ghost and his murder of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. Shakespeare
then compares him to Laertes who upon hearing of his father’s death storms Claudius’
chambers and is all too easily swayed by the king to murder Hamlet instead. Laertes is
rash and unthinking, and does not gain the audiences sympathy because he does not
attempt to identify the guilt or innocence of his target. This begs the thought that Hamlet
certainly would not be better off if he acted more quickly.
Helen Gardner describes the division of the mind that exists for every thinking person in
every age who tries to achieve justice without an outrage to conscience.
Melancholy:
 melancholy, a pessimistic and cynical mindset, a tendency to ruthless self-criticism,
depressed mood and persistent thoughts of suicide.
 Disillusionment or Melancholy is present throughout the play. It can be seen particularly
in the “O that this too too solid flesh would melt” soliloquy. This soliloquy acts as the
first glimpse into Hamlet’s troubled mind. He speaks the truth revealing the depth of his
depression, even contemplating “self-slaughter”. His disillusionment with the world can
be seen in the two lines “tis an unweeded garden/ that grows to seed things rank and
gross in nature” and “how weary, stale, flat and unprofitable/ Seem to me all the uses of
this world”. His shock and disgust he clearly attributes to his father who is “but two
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months dead” , his mother’s marriage with “wicked speed” and the shallowness of her
grief.
Hamlet’s melancholy is brought about by his philosophical and perceptive nature. This is
clearly shown in his speeches to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern in 2:2. Much like the
soliloquy, Hamlets uses imagery to describe the range of his depression: “this majestical
roof fretted with golden fire, why, it appears no other thing to me than a foul and pestilent
congregation of vapours”. His existential notions question what it means to be human,
incorporating questions like whether fate directs him, the purpose of religion and life
after death.
T.S Eliot, G Wilson Knight and L.C Knights create a negative image of Hamlet and
drastically play down the causes of his melancholy. T.S Eliot describes the play as “an
artistic failure” in which Hamlet has an excess of feelings which act to “poison life and
obstruct action”. Wilson Knight presents us with a “sick soul” who “infects the state”.
L.C Knights describes Hamlet as “a man who has given himself over to a false direction
of consciousness”. These views distort the moral universe of the play by ignoring the
simple causes of Hamlet’s melancholy: the murder of his father and subsequent
“incestuous” marriage of his mother. He has a father dead, a crown snatched from him
and a mother disgracefully married. On top of this is the added pressure created by the
ghost, which lays on him “a burden which [he] can neither bear nor throw off”
(Von Goethe)
Bradley claims that Hamlet’s fatal flaw is that he suffers from an “excess of melancholy”.
His delay is a symptom of his melancholy his disgust for life. This morbid condition is
brought about by his mother’s lustful nature and the undue speed with which he
remarried. This paralyses Hamlet making him in capable of decisive action
L.C Knights stressed Hamlet’s immaturity and his lack of ‘a ready responsiveness to life’
Ophelia’s betrayal is highlighted when Hamlet stares at her: this can be interpreted as a
ceremony of questioning, denunciation and separation. By this he cuts the closest tie that
binds him to the court of Denmark, and takes Horatio as his only confidant.
Hamlet may be “sorely distracted” but he always accepts responsibility for his actions.
Hamlet is a man “more sinned against than sinning”. He is the wrong person to enter the
world of corruption and to set it right. This aligns with the views of Von Goethe who
claims that Hamlet struggles under “a burden which [he] can neither bear nor throw off”
Revenge:
 For Hamlet revenge is a morality question
 “Revenge is not just justice, it means acting outside the legal institution in defiance of
legitimate authority.” (Catherine Belsey) In Renaissance times, revenge was a crime but
also an irreligious act, considered a sin. The revenger’s soul was damned. This thought
preoccupies Hamlet’s mind throughout the play.
 Hamlet is an allegorical text, designed to prove the fruitlessness of revenge: Fortinbras
fights pointless wars, Laertes hotheadedness makes him susceptible to manipulation, and
Hamlet’s revenge ultimately brings about the death of 8 people where there should only
have been one.
 The Revengers:
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o Hamlet has 4 revenge plots: Hamlet, Laertes, Fortinbras and Pyrrhus all seek
revenge for their father’s deaths.
o Laertes, Fortinbras and Pyrrhus all act as character foils to Hamlet. They are a
textual device to show Hamlet’s moral integrity and the positive aspects of delay.
The fact that Hamlet considers the fact that the Ghost might be lying to him
shows a superior presence of mind. This is countered by Laertes hot-headed
attack on Claudius, due to gossip and scandal. There is a parallel between the
Ghost and Claudius in these scenes: The Ghost says “If thou didst ever thy dear
father love/... Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” similarly Claudius
blackmails Laertes “was thy father dear to you?/ or are you like the painting of a
sorrow,/ A face without a heart?”. There is a parallel and contrast to how Hamlet
reacts to the death of his father, unlike Hamlet, Laertes takes action. With
language typical of the Elizabethan revenger- “To hell allegiance, vows to the
blackest devil,/ Conscience and grace to the profoundest pit!/ I dare damnation.”,
“To cut his throat i’th’ church”
o Fortinbras like Laertes is an active revengeful son. However he too seems rash,
ordering his soldiers to fight for “a little patch of ground/ That hath no profit but
the name.” He is also described as “of unimproved mettle hot and full”. It is this
which prompts Hamlet’s “but one part wisdom/ And ever three parts coward”.
However the audience can see that it would not be better if Hamlet were more like
Laertes or Fortinbras as they are too rash and do not think things through.
o Pyrrhus son of Achilles wishes revenge for his father’s death at the hands of
Priam. Like Hamlet he delays: “Pyrrhus stood, And like a neutral to his will and
matter,/ Did nothing” The emphasis on the line “Did nothing.” Highlights the
comparison between Hamlet and Pyrrhus. However, Pyrrhus does kill him in a
highly brutal and savage way.
o Subplots are all based on revenge.
o Hamlet is not like Laertes, “I would cut his throat i’the church”. Nor is he like
Fortinbras “of unimproved mettle hot and full”. Or like Claudius who claims
“revenge should know no bounds”. Hamlet is moral, he has scruples, respect for
religion, for God’s canons and man’s laws
The powerful demand for revenge is countered in Hamlet's mind by three questions: Is
revenge a good or an evil act? Is Claudius truly guilty and so to be punished? Is it
Hamlet's responsibility to punish him? Throughout the play Shakespeare raises questions
about whether justice is to be left to the state or taken into one's own hands, and about
whether it is possible, in a cunning and deceitful world, to tell the good man from the
criminal. However not to act is to leave the crime unpunished and allow the murderer to
walk free. “Is’t not to be damned/ To let this canker of out nature come / in further evil?”
“Conscience, which permits passive disobedience, forbids murder, and thus makes
cowards of some revengers. Others are more resolute, like Laertes, and are deaf to its
promptings” (Belsey) – Laertes claims “Conscience and grace to the profoundest pit / I
dare damnation”
Claudius assures Laertes that it is in the nature of revenge “to have no bounds”
The Ghost becomes a symbol of the morality question: “whether it is nobler to suffer in
Christian injustice or to take arms against secular injustice.” (Belsey) To undertake the
ghosts demands is to suffer at the hands of god, as revenge is forbidden by the church,
but not to undertake revenge is to allow a murder to go unpunished. The play explores
the issue of the legitimacy of violence and the responsibility of the individual in pursuing
justice, finding in the revenge convention an extraordinarily rich source of conflict to
exhibit and illuminate the many faces of violence
 “Had Hamlet forgotten both the Ghost’s commands, it would have been well since
Claudius is a good king, and the Ghost but a minor spirit” G. Wilson Knight
 Intertextual references and symbolism- The story of Cain and Abel is brought about
during 1.2.105 and again twice in 3.3.38 and 5.1.65. The first murder shattered the human
family; resulting in man’s falling away from god. The identification of Claudius with
Cain- which he makes himself- gives us context for which Hamlets bitterness does not
seem so “unreasonable”
 He ponders both the spiritual aftermath of death, embodied in the ghost, and the physical
remainders of the dead, such as by Yorick’s skull and the decaying corpses in the
cemetery. Throughout, the idea of death is closely tied to the themes of spirituality, truth,
and uncertainty in that death may bring the answers to Hamlet’s deepest questions,
ending once and for all the problem of trying to determine truth in an ambiguous world.
And, since death is both the cause and the consequence of revenge, it is intimately tied to
the theme of revenge and justice—Claudius’s murder of King Hamlet initiates Hamlet’s
quest for revenge, and Claudius’s death is the end of that quest.
 Heightened, bombastic language, full of hyperbole like “Now could I drink hot blood”
recalls traditional revenge tragedy.
Existential Questioning:
 Linked to the theme of revenge is the great question of Hamlet's inner meditations: Is
there a point to life at all? Much of Hamlet's anguish is caused by his effort to link even
the most trivial event to the order of the universe.
 Is hamlet driven by fate? Hamlet claims “There’s a divinity that shapes our ends” – Does
the will of god determines Hamlet’s life? Or is he responsible for his own decisions? I
believe it is something that Hamlet cannot help- his fatal flaw- its beyond his control.
 Hamlet’s serenity in the face of death as a stoical fatalism or and acceptance of divine
providence? “Let be” as opposed to “to be or not to be”
 Purgatory is shown to have no power to bring about what it wishes and nor has man.
Inscrutable Fate has its way.
 Hamlet is a scholar, this can be seen through his classical allusions. E.g “Hyperion”,
“Hercules”, “Fortune” etc.
 He is deeply concerned with what it is to be human and all the frailties that this entails.
 To Be or Not to be filmic interpretations:
o Kenneth Branaugh version: The use of the two way mirror enhances the theme of
deception and surveillance and highlights Claudius’ immorality, as he is watching
Hamlet’s emotional outburst with no respect for his feelings. The mirror also
provides an interesting camera angle. We watch Hamlet’s reflection as he speaks
the soliloquy. This highlights the very nature of the soliloquy: that it is itself a
reflection of Hamlet’s innermost thoughts and emotions. The bright white of the
court room serves to emphasise Hamlet’s black costume: he is in mourning but
also that he is a dark, conflicted character.
o Zeffirelli version: It is set in the crypt which is an apt setting for Hamlet’s
soliloquy as he contemplates death. The darkness of the scene, so unlike the
Branaugh version, represents Hamlet’s conflicted thought process and the graves
seem to spur on Hamlet’s contemplation of death and the misery of life.0
Conflicting opinions on Hamlet:
Good
Bad
Ophelia- “noble mind”, ”th’ expectancy and Polonius- “Do not believe his vows, for they
rose of the fair state”
are brokers/ Not of that dye which their
investments show”
Fortinbras- “for he was likely had he been put Laertes-“for his choice depends on the sanctity
on, to have proved most royal”
and health of the whole state” – Hamlets love
is just a whim
Bradley- “Shakespeare seems to have decided T.S Eliot describes the play as “an artistic
that his hero should exhibit in his latest hour all failure” in which Hamlet has an excess of
the glorious power and all the nobility and feelings which act to “poison life and obstruct
sweetness of his nature.”
action”.
Henry Mackenzie- believed Hamlet was a man Wilson Knight presents us with a “sick soul”
of exquisite sensibility and virtue “placed in a who “infects the state”. “an element of evil in
situation in which even the amiable qualities of the state of Denmark”
his mind serve but to aggravate his distress and
to perplex his conduct”
Von Goethe- “A beautiful, pure , noble, and L.C Knights stressed Hamlet’s immaturity and
most moral nature, without the strength of his lack of ‘a ready responsiveness to life’
nerve which makes the hero, sinks beneath a
burden which it can neither bear nor throw off”
Incorporate character relationships, dramatic techniques and critical interpretations into these.
Textual Integrity:
 The play is relatable: “It is we who are Hamlet” Hazlitt
 “It absorbs all the problems of our time” Kott
 The unity of a text; its coherent use of form and language to produce an integrated
whole in terms of meaning and value. Evaluating a text in terms of its textual integrity
requires the students to consider the features and elements of a text and the extent to
which it may possess an overall unity, integrated structure and unifying concept.
Students’ close analysis helps them to evaluate how these features and elements function
in different ways, leading to the consideration of the text’s overall coherence and
complexity. In this way, they arrive at a sense of the text’s distinctiveness and enduring,
or potentially enduring, value.