WHAT HAPPENS IN ACT III, HAMLET
Scene I With Polonius and Ophelia present, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern report to the king and
queen that they have failed to find the cause of Hamlet's strange behaviour. When they leave,
Claudius asks Gertrude to leave too, for he and Polonius are about to eavesdrop on Hamlet's
conversation with Ophelia. After the queen leaves, Polonius instructs his daughter to pretend to
read her prayer book. He generalizes that by such pious pretence people often conceal evil
actions. His remark troubles Claudius who has much to conceal himself.
Hamlet comes in, talking to himself about suicide. He says that because life is so difficult, people
might use suicide as an escape if they were not deterred by fear of what might happen after death.
Hamlet then sees and greets Ophelia. She tries to return the gifts he once gave her, but he denies the
giving. He is harsh to her, saying, "I did love you once." He talks cynically of marriage and women,
then leaves her. Poor Ophelia grieves to see him so changed and, like her father, is certain he is mad.
Having heard the conversation, Claudius doubts that Hamlet is mad but believes he is a threat. He
decides to send him to England. Polonius still thinks Hamlet is lovesick and suggests that Gertrude
sound him out. Polonius will eavesdrop on their conversation.
Questions and Answers Act III Scene I
1. What important information was brought to the king by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern bring to the King their report upon Hamlet: he acted like a gentleman by
"the forcing of his disposition", and "with a crafty madness" avoided their questions. He showed
interest in some players who had come to the city and he intended to hear them that night. The king is
pleased that Hamlet shows this interest, and he, himself, will attend the play. He sends away the
queen so that he and Polonius may observe his conduct when he is with Ophelia. This, he thinks, is a
permissible bit of espionage. Ophelia is given a book and is instructed to be pretending to read it. The
two men hide behind a curtain and Hamlet passes, deep in his soliloquy.
2. "With pious action we do sugar o'er the devil himself". Give speaker and context and the reaction of
the king.
Polonius says this as he and the king are hidden, waiting to spy on Ophelia and Hamlet. The king,
touched by this speech, has a twinge of conscience, and confesses (in an aside) that he himself
"outharlots" even a harlot in covering natural ugliness with artificial beauty.
3. Summarize Hamlet's soliloquy, and select the adjectives that you think best describe Hamlet and
the state of mind he here reveals.
"Is life worth living? Is death not better than a life of woes and troubles? Death and the end of all is a
desirable consummation. Ah! but death may not be the end of all for in death, dread dreams may
come and it is fear of these dreams that makes us avoid death and live long in woes and travails. Who
would endure the mischances of life, its injustices, shames and unrequited love, insolent officials,
rudeness from inferiors when he might easily end it all? It is dread of that far, unknown land of death;
we endure all ills here for fear of worse there. Knowledge makes us cowardly, reflection weakens our
will, and so our great projects remain unattempted. Ah! Here is Ophelia, and at prayer. Bright spirit, in
your prayer for pardon, say a prayer for me, too." (These last words of Hamlet's appear to be
sincere. What reason is there to suspect that they are sarcastically said to her? They are a sort of
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ACT III, HAMLET
aside that she is not intended to hear. Hamlet's "Soft you now" suggest this. At any rate, it is pleasant
to think that this great, but storm-tossed soul, is at bottom humble, reverent and respectful to Ophelia
to whom he must now be so unpleasant.
4. What do you think of Hamlet's description of Ophelia (all women) in lines 141-149?
????? He bids Ophelia go to a nunnery - remain unmarried - and so blot out this despicable race of
sinners.
5. What words and actions of Hamlet cause Ophelia to say that he is "blasted with ecstasy?
He denies ever giving her any presents, tells her to get to a nunnery and discusses how women paint
themselves to deceive men.
6. What were the findings of the king and Polonius from their observation of Hamlet with
Ophelia? What course of action does each decide upon?
The king is sure that Hamlet is neither in love with Ophelia nor mad, that he is but in a deep
melancholy, the outcome of which may be dangerous; so he will send him to England to check up on
the lagging taxpayers in that land. ("neglected tribute" - this is a topical allusion to the renewed
attempt on the part of the Danes, during Elizabeth's reign, to reimpose the Daegeld. This was a
payment made by the English kings, since the tenth century, to the Danes.) "Perhaps," he says, "new
scenes and interests will cure him".
Polonius does not disagree with the king, but he still thinks love is at the root of the trouble, so he will
try one more attempt at spying. This time he will spy upon Hamlet and his mother. She will have to be
thorough in her questioning of Hamlet. If Hamlet shows no love for Ophelia, let him be sent to
England, where, as a gravedigger says later, another madman will not be noticed at all!!
7. In your own opinion, what is Hamlet's mental state? Give your reasons.
????? In his soliloquy, Hamlet shows great depth in thought and feeling. He is too sensitive for
this hard life - born, as has been said, with too thin a skin. He gives a fine analysis of life as it is
frequently seen by the poet, the artist, the lover or perfection. He sees only one side of life - the
melancholy. He seems to be an introvert, and he longs for a life of sunshine and flowers. The final
two lines of the soliloquy give a more lovable Hamlet, fair and respectful to Ophelia, aware of his sins
and of his need for pardon. However, in practising his "antic disposition", he is harsh, suspicious, even
coarse, condemning all womankind in a terrible discussion of their faults as he sees them.
8. What is your opinion of Ophelia's mental capacity? of her love for Hamlet?
????? She appears easily overwhelmed. She is obedient, compliant, sensitive, tender and
poetic.
9. Did Hamlet think seriously of suicide, or is his soliloquy merely the emanation (overflow) from a
thoughtful and sensitive mind?
?????
Scene II After instructing the players about their performance, Hamlet talks to Horatio, praising his
even temper and sound judgment. He then tells Horatio his plan to test the king. They agree that they
will both watch Claudius to see if he acts guilty when the stage murder takes place.
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ACT III, HAMLET
Just before the play, the members of the court come in. Instead of sitting with his mother as
she asks, Hamlet sits beside Ophelia, a better vantage point to watch the king. Hamlet is playing
the madman again and continues his cynical remarks to Ophelia. In the play, the actress-queen
vows eternal love for her husband and says that should he die, she would never remarry. She
then leaves the actor king, who falls asleep. The wicked nephew comes in and pours poison into
his ears. Hamlet comments on the play, saying that later the wicked nephew marries the king's wife.
Claudius gets up abruptly to leave, and the rest of the court follow. Hamlet now has the proof of guilt
he needs.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern come in to tell Hamlet that the king is ill and that his mother wants
to, see him. Polonius appears and repeats the summons. They all leave. Hamlet, in a soliloquy, says
he will speak harshly to his mother but do her no bodily harm.
Questions and Answers Act III Scene II
1. What is your opinion of Hamlet's conduct immediately after the play? What might a man of action
have done instead?
?????
2. Outline Hamlet's advice to the players and comment upon it.
Hamlet, who seems to know the laws of acting, is counselling the players on how to act. "Be
temperate, have deep passion but control it, for the best art conceals itself".
3. Why is this scene called the crisis or turning point of the play?
This is the crisis of the play because the guilt of the king has been confirmed, and we assume that it is
only a matter of time before the procrastinating Hamlet acts.
4. There are in the scene two episodes with Horatio. Contrast Hamlet's words and actions in the two
episodes.
Horatio calls Hamlet "dear" and "sweet lord", and the latter gives Horatio one of the most charming of
speeches, a very sincere speech, since as Hamlet says he knows he can get nothing from Horatio,
(evidently a poor man). Only from the rich and pompous do favour-seekers obtain favours. "Since the
time when I was free to choose my friends, I chose you, Horatio, as my soul's mate. You bear
everything as if it were nothing; you maintain an equal mind in fortune and misfortune; lucky are you
and all your kind who are above the caprice of fortune, above the reach of passion. Such a man shall
be the friend of my heart. Enough! I am becoming too sentimental."
Then, once he has found the king guilty, he has no practical words to Horatio on the planning of steps
to have his revenge.
With Horatio he is first a philosopher and friend, sentimental and practical, but later he is wildly excited
and plays the actor.
5. Give an outline of the Mouse-trap in such a way as to show how it succeeded.
Following a custom of that age, the play is enacted in dumbshow. The king sees presented before him
all his criminal action, but he does not wince. After a very brief prologue we are launched upon the play
which is to "catch the conscience of the King"'. Briefly it is as follows: The player-king says that it is
now thirty years since he and his queen were wed. The queen eagerly wishes that they may have
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ACT III, HAMLET
thirty years more together, but she is very much afraid, she says, that the king is not in good
health. The king says that he has little time to live but that she will be happy in another... "marriage"
he was going to say but she cut him short with "Never, Never: I will not marry a second husband
unless I kill my first. Only money-seekers marry a second time". The king is quite sure that she will
forget as soon as he is gone her vow to remain unmarried. She keeps protesting: "Never,
Never". The player-king wishes to sleep, so the queen leaves him alone. There is now some talk by
the spectators and Claudius asks whether there is not some evil significance in the play. Hamlet
explains the nature of the play, and subtly adds that it will never offend "us who have clear
consciences".
Lucianus enters and with appropriate words pours the poison into the king's ear. This is the crisis of
the play. The King, convicted, arises in consternation, calls for a light, orders the play to be
discontinued, and leaves the hall.
6. What comparison does Hamlet make when the players enter with their recorders?
Hamlet compares Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to the players of the recorders. The players produce
what music they wish by the use of stops, fingers and breath. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not
able to do so much as play a recorder, yet they try to elicit from Hamlet what is with his soul. How can
they do the latter if they cannot play the instruments? (Is not this like telling a psychiatrist that he can
not know anything about the healing of the mind if he cannot play a musical instrument? Hamlet has
merely said that he will not tell the cause of his depression, and that they cannot find it out.)
7. How does Hamlet treat Polonius in this scene?
Hamlet treats Polonius very badly. He is made the clown in the scene, not because he is much of a
clown, but because it suited Hamlet. He is made a fool of by being required to see in an ordinary cloud
a camel, a weasel and a whale.
8. Give the outline of Hamlet's brief soliloquy and state what its dramatic function is.
"It is now the evil hour of night and my mood is fitted for any wickedness, even murder. But with my
mother I must not be heartless or be a second Nero (Nero had had his mother drowned). I must be
severe to her in speech, even cruel, but not in act or thought." In his soliloquy, Hamlet is "superior" in
a moral way to his mother and acts the part of judge. He smacks of self-righteous ness - however, at
this stage he probably thinks his mother accessory to the murder of this father. It sets a suspenseful
tone for the upcoming scene.
Scene III On a pretext that mad Hamlet is a threat to him, Claudius asks Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern to take his nephew to England. Polonius then reports that Hamlet is on his way to his
mother's room where Polonius will eavesdrop on the conversation between mother and son. Alone at
last, Claudius tries to pray, but cannot. He acknowledges to himself that he cannot pray for forgiveness
while he keeps the rewards his evil deed brought him - the crown and Gertrude. Claudius does
not see Hamlet come in. Finding his uncle alone and kneeling, Hamlet's first impulse is to kill
him. Then he realizes that if he kills Claudius at prayer, his soul may go to Heaven. Hamlet
decides to wait.
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ACT III, HAMLET
Questions and Answers Act III Scene III
1. Summarize the king's soliloquy.
The king reveals his deep distress. His conscience is troubled. He desires pardon and peace but his
sense of guilt defeats his purpose. "Is there not mercy enough with God to forgive all sins? What are
march and pardon for, except to see and protect us?" He will be strong, will believe that his sin is
gone, and that forgiveness is won. But he cannot repent. "I cannot repent; I sink deeper and deeper; I
will pray for anew heart."
2. What is the king's spiritual state or condition?
The king desperately wants forgiveness, but cannot receive it without being penitent. He rises
unrelieved. Words are meaningless without the will and the intention to make amends.
3. In what way could the king, in the language of evangelists, have "got right with God"?
He could have done this by being truly penitent, which would require to give up the things for which he
did wrong - the throne, his queen and his ambition.
4. Do you feel sympathy or contempt for the king? Explain.
?????
5. Give the essence of Hamlet's speech. What do you think was the real reason for his delay?
"Let me see - he slew my father unconfessed and unabsolved.....this man is at prayer, so if I kill him I
will send him to heaven. This is not taking revenge upon the King, it is giving him a reward. I will wait
until he is in some devilish action that will send him to hell. Moreover my mother is waiting for me, so I
must hasten to her. But Claudius, this is merely a reprieve for you." The reason for the delay - his
incurable procrastination?
6. In what way does this scene reveal the character of Hamlet? of the king?
Hamlet is a greater puzzle than ever. If he wishes to send the king to eternal damnation he shows no
touch of Christian influence. But his failure to kill may be a part of his incurable procrastination. He
cannot do it. He will not act. This reasoning is then merely his self-excuse. The trivial reason he
gives, that his mother is waiting for him, confirms this interpretation of his conduct.
Claudius is seen to be alert, quick and clear in action, for he sees that Hamlet must at once be sent
away. But his prayer-soliloquy shows a different man. Is he merely afraid? Has he really a
conscience? It would seem he has a sense of guilt and this much must be put to his credit. He can
pray. And he seems to have the Christian perception that restitution must precede pardon. Like most
men, he likes to retain what he was won, but is too honest to hope that he can square accounts "up
above". His heart "has strings of steel", and he wants it changed.
Scene IV Hamlet is so harsh to his mother that she fears for her life and cries out. Hidden behind the
wall hanging, Polonius shouts too. Hamlet thinks he hears the king, and he slashes the hanging. killing
Polonius. Hamlet realizes from Gertrude's replies to his accusations that she knew nothing of her
husband's murder. He berates her for marrying Claudius. The ghost appears, but Gertrude
cannot see it. When Hamlet talks to it, she is certain he is mad. He tells her he is only feigning
madness, but she must not let the king know that. He then leaves, taking Polonius' corpse with
him.
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ACT III, HAMLET
Questions and Answers Act III Scene IV
1. Give the events surrounding the death of Polonius and make a conjecture of what the results may
be.
Polonius gives a few words of gratuitous advice to the queen, then hides with both ears to the
curtain. Hamlet enters. His salutation is brusque, soon rude, and then bitter. The queen, ignorant of
all that Hamlet knows, naturally tries to assert her right to superiority. But Hamlet uses force upon
her. She cries out "Help, Help", and Polonius relays the cry along the corridor. Hamlet thrusts his
sword through the curtain in the direction of the voice, and kills Polonius. He thinks he has killed the
king, and easily passes to telling the queen that she had killed a king and married his brother.
Results - Ophelia is so easily disturbed..... and Laertes?
2. What was Hamlet's feeling about his slaying Polonius?
Stupid fool! Good-bye - "I took thee for thy better". Although Hamlet feels sorry that he killed
Polonius, he has no pity for him. When the scene ends, he leaves, dragging the body.
3. Condense Hamlet's speech to his mother.
He paints her act as the lowest of all low acts: degrading to modesty, virtue, innocent love, marriage
and its vows, religion, heaven and even this solid earth. Upon her further questioning he contrasts two
pictures - Hamlet, her first husband, to Claudius her second.
4. Describe in your own words the two kings, lines 53-66.
King Hamlet had had grace, beauty, carriage, dominance, poise, everything that goes with full
manhood; Claudius her second husband is a rotten ear of corn exuding pestilence, a barren and
repulsive desert. How could a mature woman stoop to such indecency as to love him? "You have
feeling, but it is dead; even insane people avoid errors and make judgments. A devil deceived you; all
your faculties failed you. Surely a woman such as you, old and frosty, can restrain her lust and check
her will. If not, what shall passionate adolescents do?"
5. At what point do you think Hamlet believes his mother had nothing to do with the death of his
father?
?????
6. Is Hamlet too severe with his mother?
The queen, terribly crushed, sees her soul as a black blot, feels his words as daggers, and appeals to
him as "sweet Hamlet" to spare her. (NOTE: Since the queen knew nothing of the means of her
husband's death her sins were by no means irredeemable. She had married Claudius too soon, but in
ordinary circumstances it was an excellent marriage for both, and as the king said (Act One Scene
Two) it was approved by the Council of State who was no doubt glad to have this easy transition from
reigning sovereign to successor.)
7. What is achieved by the entrance of the ghost?
Two instructions to Hamlet and the queen's conviction that he is mad.
8. What advice did Hamlet give to his mother?
Hamlet exhorts her to choose the good, to avoid Claudius, to cultivate the practice of virtue; for
custom, though sometimes a damnable thing, may also be a fit and commendable thing. Habit may
expel evil. "Good-night, mother, and when you want my blessing I will ask for yours." (Note: In this
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ACT III, HAMLET
last sentence Hamlet puts himself on the same level as his mother - both are in need of Heaven's
blessing.)
9. What does Hamlet know about his future, and what is to be his attitude towards it?
He informs his mother that he is to be sent to England under the charge of Rosencrantz and
Guildenstern whom he trusts no more than he trusts adders. They intend ill for him but he will turn
their tricks against them, will blow them up with their own bombs. This, he says, is great sport. "This
dead Polonius," he adds, "will send me to England. What a prating fool he was."
10. What will the Queen report to the King?
"Put me to any test of sanity. Do not think that I speak and act thus because I am mad; your sin is the
cause, and concealment of your sin will undo you; confess, repent; do not palliate your evil deed and
so make it worse. Forgive my acting good (virtuous) for in these wicked times the good man must
apologize for being good, and must even gain permission to do good. One closing word of advice: Do
not tell the king I am not mad but only pretending to be." The queen promises never to reveal any
words of Hamlet's.
11. What factors make this scene a favourite for great actors?
Hamlet and his mother have a terrible fight, Polonius is slain by Hamlet, and the ghost appears
again. We have drama at its highest and English at its strongest.
There is always something new about Hamlet, something changeable. At first he is to his mother
fearless, cruel, pitiless, as he thinks her an accomplice with her husband. Then he is convinced that
she was no accomplice; he is still the severe moralist, but he gradually melts into kindness, even
tenderness "When you are desirous to be blest, I'll blessing beg of you". To Polonius he is pitiless, and
though sorry for his death, still severe; to his father he is devoted, almost worshipping him; to Claudius
bitter, satirical, scathing; before the ghost, fearful, unmanned, in an ecstasy". His words are often wise
and righteous; he himself implies that he is feigning madness but the king must not know this.
Throughout this scene he has been terrible and tender, insane and yet very sane; cruel yet kind; both
loving son and scathing moralist. And he is an artist in the selection of his thoughts for each changing
situation, and of words to give his thoughts powerful expression.
Prior to this scene, the queen has been a negative person accepting the thoughts of others. In this
scene she begins the interview on a very positive note: she will put Hamlet in his place. But she is no
match for him. She is soon subdued, and becomes receptive. If we believe - as we are bound to - that
she had no part in the death of her husband, we must free her from most of the monstrous charges
that Hamlet at first hurled at her. She may have married too soon, and within limits at that time,
forbidden in marriage. She must have a conscience to see in her soul "such black and grained spots",
to find daggers in the words of Hamlet. She may be excused for thinking Hamlet mad in the presence
of the ghost. Who would not? With new insight she sees that her heart is both good and bad. She is
submissive and asks Hamlet what she now must do. His advice is copious, but we think she intends to
follow it. She has pity for poor Polonius. But we are left with the feeling that her mental capacity is not
great, since she so hurriedly married her husband's brother without any suspicions about him especially if he was what Hamlet describes him - this "king of shreds and patches".
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