Hamlet, act by act

The characters

Hamlet

Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, is one of Shakespeare's most remarkable characters,

but he is supported by a list of memorable people.

Claudius

Claudius, his uncle, is the unscrupulous embodiment of sinister charm.

Gertrude

Gertrude, his mother, redeems herself after succumbing to this same charm.

Polonius

Polonius, the king's advisor, a garrulous buffoon, speaks probably the finest words
of fatherly advice ever put into the mouth of any actor.

Ophelia

Ophelia, Polonius' daughter and Hamlet's love, lingers on in our memory long after
her unconvincing suicide.

Rosencrantz

Rosencrantz and his crony Guildenstern can be seen toadying their way into the
corridors of influence in any modern political structure, so timeless and typical are
they. There are other supporting characters who have stood the test of time, but we
return to Hamlet himself just as we started out with him.

Model royal

When first we meet Hamlet, Renaissance scholar prince and darling of the people of
Denmark, we find an understandably anxious but markedly purposeful young man
who is resolved to confront the ghostly likeness of his late father, Hamlet senior.

Here we would do well to remember that Elizabethan thinking was different from
our own, and that what we might today dismiss as superstition, carried different
weight in those times, when people believed far more readily in the workings of the
supernatural.

We duly learn from Hamlet senior the horrible truth about his death, and we watch
his son as he binds his companions (Horatio, Bernado and Marcellus) to secrecy
about the ghostly visitation.
Man alone

Then we enter Hamlet's world of diminishing horizons as he quickly realises that,

since there is no-one around him he can trust to save the steadfast Horatio, he must
effectively do whatever he has to do alone.

Hamlet's task

In brief, Hamlet is entrusted to rid Denmark of a scourge (his erstwhile uncle, now
his father-in-law, and king) without hurting his mother and in such a manner as to
satisfy the people of Denmark that:

 justice has been served

 he, Hamlet, the king's assassin, is still the right man for the job as the new
king.

The man

Shakespeare takes us into the very private world of a remarkable man charged with
an impossible task. As quickly as we realise what Hamlet has to do, so do we
become impatient with him for what we might call his inaction. In effect, it is only
when we look more closely at a list of his achievements (see "the agony of royalty"
which we talk about later) in the course of the play that we can come to appreciate
the extent of his triumph and, thereby, the magnitude of the man.

The method

Hamlet feigns madness, supposedly the result of uncontrollable grief at the sudden
death of his father, to enable him to roam the castle of Elsinore at will - dismissed as
a muttering madman by anyone who sees him. Openly thus can he go about planning
his revenge, although Claudius is not entirely convinced by this subterfuge. Hamlet's
formidable intellect requires him to prove Claudius' guilt for himself, and he seizes
brilliantly upon an opportunity to do just this with the timely arrival of a troupe of
actors known to him. By adding some 16 lines (of his own) to a scene with which he
is closely familiar (from his prior involvement in drama) Hamlet thus prepares The
Murder of Gonzago to confront Claudius with a re-enactment of his own crime of
fratricide (and regicide!).

Proof

Claudius is exposed, specifically to Hamlet and Horatio, whom Hamlet has taken
into his confidence and who also sees Claudius' reaction ("More light!") as
incontestable proof of his guilt. Doubtless other courtiers present at the performance
will have had suspicions, but the burden of proof is Hamlet's alone.

Revenge

Hamlet is honour-bound to avenge his father's death but, as the prince, his life is not
his own, since he has both family and personal involvements to consider. These
Hamlet: The agony of royalty

Hamlet has been described as a Renaissance scholar prince. He is learned,

sensitive, accomplished; furthermore he is the darling of the people of
Denmark, popularwill
additional burdens andserve
highly respected.
to drive him to Imagine
the point his consternation
of distraction, wherewhen an
he will
unreal his
review vision urges
options him to carry
somewhat out thebefore
desperately, horrifyingly realtoactstart
he resolves of murdering the
putting matters
king of Denmark.
right - beginning with his mother, Gertrude.

Hamlet's
Love life is overturned irreversibly when he is confronted by the ghost of
his late father. He is thrust, angrily but unwillingly, further into the political
limelight, where hisasown
Hamlet is portrayed an high profile makes
accomplished, it impossible
sensitive to plan
and passionate man,covertly.
so it is
The magnitude
perfectly of his
natural that he entrusted
should be task is utterly
attractive daunting;
to women. Indeedhe,wethe heir that
gather to the
he
throne, has to assassinate the present incumbent or at least take revenge
enjoyed success with women at university, but the atmosphere which surrounds his upon
him in suchwith
relationship a way as to make
Ophelia is warmtheand
actgenuine
justifiable, if he
- until notdrives
admirable.
her away, unwilling
as he is to embroil her in affairs over which he has little or no control and out of
We are prepared
consideration tofuture.
for her accuse Hamlet of inaction, even procrastination, but the
truth is that we are dealing with murder, even if it is in the spirit of revenge.
In this respect
Similarly, his realHamlet
love forishis
suddenly alone,him
mother moves surrounded
to confrontbyherthe now
with the unmasked
sins of her
and appalling truth of his most intimate environment. In whom
recent past, with the idea of making her see and repent for the error of her ways. canThis
he
confide?
is In whom
a relentless can he scene,
and disturbing place his trust? And
culminating how will
awkwardly he unforeseen
in the ever be able to
death
convince the good citizens of Denmark that he had to murder
of Polonius. Hereafter the tempo picks up and we observe with some admiration his own uncle
as an actdetachment
Hamlet's of justifiableandrevenge?
mettle, as he deals capably with one crisis after another.

In estimating the size of the task, we should not underestimate Hamlet. He

Triumph
has a formidable reputation as a swordsman, and no-one who has advanced
skills in the
Hamlet's finaluse of foil victory
gruesome and rapier
over can be ignorant
Claudius of the
caps a list murderous
of lesser triumphspotential
that go
of such skills; it is rather Hamlet's own refinement and sense of office
largely unnoticed. He displays cutting insight and steely resolve when dealing with that
restrain him from
Guildenstern, impulsive
a preface to theaction.
ruthlessness he will later display on board ship to
England when he discovers that death awaits him there. His unheralded return to
In effect his
Denmark, ownaovermastering
already royalty pales
triumph over Claudius, - his upbringing and character
beside his dramatic which,
appearance and
in combination, make him potentially a great leader - prevents him from
words at Ophelia's graveside. This takes courage and fortitude, from which Laertes'
rushing into adisplay
melodramatic coursecannot
of action hot-headedly, however revengeful he may feel.
detract.
This is a man who would lead a country, not undermine its very fabric and
infrastructure
The by his
rigged duel own actions.
provides further evidence of Hamlet's seemingly effortless
superiority, but his greatest triumph sees him avenge his father (and mother, who
Hamlet's
dies in his moral quandary
place by drinking is almostwine
poisoned insuperable. We needfortohim)
Claudius intended understand that,
by personally
in Hamlet, Shakespeare has created
killing the now discredited Claudius. an uncompromising hero like no other,
one whose enormous sensitivity is matched by his courage and intelligence;
one who remains completely true to himself and, in the end, succeeds in
Tragedy
ridding Denmark of a scourge. Perhaps we should look closely at a list of
Hamlet's accomplishments
Shakespeare's great tragedies in the course
enabled him toofexplore
the play, the better
the lives to men
of great appreciate
whose
the extent
downfall of as
came histhecourage
result ofand self-reliance
a character defect, in the face
or flaw. of respect, Hamlet,
In this treachery and
betrayal.
Prince of Denmark is exceptional, for Hamlet, the man, is anything but flawed. In
order to bring this out, we now need to move on to a detailed study of the play itself.
 Hamlet confronts the ghost.
 He accompanies it alone.
 He listens attentively to what it has to say.
 He maintains (henceforth) a dignified relationship with Claudius, for the sake of his
mother and Denmark.
 He breaks off with Ophelia for her own good and safety, not wanting her embroiled
in what he has to do, never suspecting that this will break her.
 He seizes brilliantly upon the opportunity to expose Claudius through a dramatic
presentation by a travelling troupe.
 He sees through the duplicity of his erstwhile friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
 He declines to murder Claudius at prayer.
 He succeeds in making his mother repent and see the error of her ways.
 He reacts positively and lethally to the unseen intruder in his mother's chamber.
 He succeeds in overturning Claudius' treachery on board ship to England.