Hamlet – Final Review

After reading Hamlet, I can officially announce that tragedy is my most favorite theme when it comes to plays. The story is more intense and there is less nonsense than in comedy. Although I tend to like historical tragedy (Julius Caesar, Antony & Cleopatra, Saint Joan and Richard III are my favorites), Hamlet is good, and I quite like it.

Hamlet is the Prince of Denmark. His father—Hamlet senior, the King—has just passed away, and now Denmark is ruled by Claudius, King Hamlet’s brother. Not only the kingdom, Claudius also took over the Queen—Gertrude—to be his wife. In his mourning, Hamlet was told by his friend Horatio that a Ghost that looked like the late King Hamlet has appeared lately. One night Hamlet saw, or rather met, the ghost of his father, who said that he has, in fact, been poisoned by Claudius while he was asleep, and he wanted Hamlet to take revenge for him.

Still unconvinced by the ghost, Hamlet arranged with a group of actors to perform a certain tragedy based on a story he wrote himself, the story of his father’s death (according to the ghost). Hamlet wanted to seek proof of Claudius guilt, and to justify his revenge plan. Claudius was angry and plannd to kill Hamlet, while Hamlet killed Polonius accidentally as he thought he was Claudius. Polonius’ son Laertes wanted to kill Hamlet to take revenge of his father’s death, and he was used by Claudius to kill Hamlet in an arranged duel, involving poisoned sword and poisoned goblet of wine. As in every tragedy, everybody died, leaving Horatio to tell the world the whole truth.

I like Hamlet for his smart tongue, it seems that he always wins from anyone who wants to pull something off him that he doesn’t freely give. His counter to Guildenstern’s unceasing pressing questions is one example. Hamlet insisted that Guildenstern should try playing a flute despite of the latter’s confession that he doesn’t know about melody. Hamlet then uses the flute playing to satirize his impending questions: “Call me what instrument you will, though you can fret me, yet you cannot play upon me.” Clever!

And when he wasn’t roused by the passion for revenge, he could be quite romantic too I guess…

“Doubt thou the stars are fire,

  Doubt that the sun doth move,

  Doubt truth to be a liar,

  But never doubt I love.”

I wonder, did he actually love Ophelia? And if Claudius have not killed his father, would he marry her? Just playing “if”…. :P

His speech, when he and Horatio met a gravedigger, is quite interesting too; he talked about how men would all end in the same shape: skulls in the grave. It makes me reflect of how vain everything we think is important in this world, as it would be vanished when we are dead.

One rather contradictory thing: Hamlet did not kill Claudius when he caught the King praying. Is it a noble act? If refusing to attack someone unprepared is the reason, then I can see Hamlet as a gentleman. However, Shakespeare purposely wrote that Hamlet thought that killing a man while he was praying would hinder the victim from ascending to Heaven. Is this some moral conscience? But he was having revenge, which is against conscience. And he killed Polonius nevertheless (thinking he was Claudius) when he was hiding behind the tapestry, definitely unprepared. So why did the praying aspect make the difference?

Overall, Hamlet could be one of my favorite characters, if only he hadn’t taken Polonius’ accidental death rather lightly. I know that he didn’t mean that, and he must focus on his own mission, but I still think he didn’t care much that he has wrongly killed an innocent man. Well….is it possible that Hamlet, in his effort to be appeared crazy, has let his mind be poisoned with the revenge plot, as to become slightly unbalanced? Maybe….

Four stars for Hamlet, and this would be my last play I read for Let’s Read Play!

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I read e-book version from Feedbooks

This play is counted as:

 13^th book for Let’s Read Plays (October) theme: Shakespeare Tragedy

19^th book for What's In a Name Reading Challenge 2013

57^th book for The Classics Club Project

Hamlet – Second Level Inquiry (Rhetoric Stage)

By what the play is given unity?

By passion to conquer. The play is started with the death of King Hamlet after he won the land from Norway. Claudius poisoned King Hamlet to take over the Kingdom as well as the Queen. Hamlet was instructed by his father’s ghost to take revenge, which means, in a way, to take back what he (King Hamlet) has lost. Meanwhile, young Fortinbras was preparing to attack Denmark to take back the land his father lost from King Hamlet. So….everything is about the passion to take from others, or to conquer.

What does each character stand for? Do any of the characters stand in opposition to each other?

To me, Hamlet and Laertes are victims, victim of the passion to conquer that others do. And that’s what makes this play is tragedy. On the other hand, Claudius—the main antagonist—stands for the conqueror; greedy people who would do anything to get what they don’t deserve. In fact, Claudius is not alone, but in this case, he stands in direct opposition against Hamlet.

Does the playwright lead you into a satisfying resolution?

Yes. In term of revealing the truth, Horatio was very loyal to Hamlet, without him, the truth would never be revealed. As for Hamlet, maybe it’s better for him to die, because I think he would never be good again after all that had happened. He is a victim, yet he let himself to be dragged to that situation. So yes, I’m satisfied with the resolution.

What is the play’s theme?

First, that revenge produces nothing. A crime must be revealed, the criminal must be punished. But it would be in vain if our main intention is to seek revenge. Look at Hamlet, he used to be a happy man with good future. However, his father’s ambition to take revenge has ruined him; Hamlet has been poised by hatred that he could no longer think wisely. He then become an easy target of Claudius’ wicked plan. Laertes shared the same faith as Hamlet; if only both gentlemen worked together against Claudius, they would not be Claudius’ pawns and ended up tragically.

Second, that passion to conquer will only be followed by tragedy. Ironically, people know about it, yet they still let themselves to be its slave. Greedines….the no. 1 enemy of humanity!

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Hamlet – First Level Inquiry (Grammar Stage)

What is the initial question or tension?

Is Claudius the murderer of Hamlet’s father?

Where is the point of greatest tension?

During the tragedy performance, when the actors played the King’s murder scene, and how after that King Claudius left the room, disturbed. It confirmed the Ghost’s statement and in a way justified Hamlet to take revenge.

Where does the play’s action reach its climax?

After Hamlet killed Polonius (accidentally). Now Claudius realized that Hamlet was serious about taking revenge, so he made plans to kill him. He did not even hide his intention by conspiring with Laertes. Ophelia became mad and killed herself, while Laertes came home full of hatred. Maybe Hamlet was the one unchanged by the climax, I think he remained unchanged since he met the Ghost for the first time.

Where is the resolution?

When Horatio told the whole truth to Fortinbras and later on to the world, so that they all know who were the real Kings, Hamlet, Sr and (supposedly) Hamlet the Junior—whose corpse was treated like a king by Fortinbras.

What holds the play’s action together?

Revenge!

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Hamlet – Act Summaries

Act I

Horatio and some court officers see a ghost similar to the late Danish King in armor suits in midnights. The King has killed Fortinbras—King of Norway—in the war, and now the descendent (also called Fortinbras) was preparing another war to take back the territory his father has lost. Meanwhile, Claudius—the present King, brother of old Hamlet—married Gertrude, Queen of the deceased old Hamlet. This angered young Hamlet who still mourned for his father. When Hamlet told about his father’s ghost, he decided to take on guard with Horatio and the others. On the other hand, Laertes and Polonius the father warned Ophelia to not taking Hamlet’s woe seriously because he was royal.

The Ghost came again and told Hamlet that it has been in purgatory, and urged him to take revenge of his father’s murder; that he didn’t die of poisonous snake but by Claudius, the present King. Hamlet agreed to do the mission and forced Horatio and Marcellus to swear that they won’t tell anyone about the ghost.

Act II

Polonius sent his servant to spy on his son Laertes’ activities in Paris. Norway ambassador brought news that King Fortinbras guaranteed that his son won’t attach Denmark, but he would pass Denmark on the way of attacking Poland.

Meanwhile Hamlet started to act like a mad man; which Polonius took as caused by Ophelia rejection of his love. On a visit of a group of tragedy actors, Hamlet arranged to slip several lines of his into the play to test King’s guilt of murdering Hamlet, Sr.

Act III

Polonius and Claudius hid when Ophelia would speak to Hamlet to prove that Hamlet was really mad because of love. Left alone, Hamlet reflected about life and death (this was where his famous monolog is” to be or not to be—“). Apparently, the tragedy brought the King and Queen’s story to live; which angered Claudius; and thus showed his guilt. Hamlet wanted to kill him when he was praying, but cancelled it. His mother called Hamlet to meet her, and Hamlet did his best to scold his mother for her sin. In the process, he accidentally killed Polonius who is hiding behind the tapestry, whom Hamlet thought as his uncle.

Act IV

Claudius decided to send Hamlet to England on a mission, while he secretly asked the English King to murder him. Meanwhile, Ophelia lost her sanity after her father’s death, and Laertes—her brother—led a rebellion against Claudius because he thought he has killed his father. Hamlet sent Horatio a letter telling that he was imprisoned at a pirate ship, and asked him to come as quick as possible to pick him up. With it, he sent a letter to Claudius that he was coming home. So Claudius told Laertes that the murderer of his father was Hamlet and persuaded him to kill Hamlet. But before the plan was settled, Ophelia was found drowned dead.

Act V

Arrived in Denmark, Hamlet and Horatio witnessed Ophelia’s funeral. Hamlet was angry of Laertes’ show of grief, and they wrestled. Hamlet told his story to Horatio, that he has secretly read Claudius letter to English King—instructing him to kill Hamlet—and immediately replaced the letter with the one he wrote himself, instructing the English King to kill the letter bearer. Meanwhile, Claudius executed his plan to trap Hamlet into a fencing duel with Laertes; either Laertes would kill him by a poisonous sword’s tip or he would drink from a poisoned cup. However, the Queen took that drink—and died. Laertes wounded Hamlet, but then their swords were swapped in scuffle, and Laertes was wounded by his own sword in Hamlet’s hand. Before he died, Laertes told the real plot, and Hamlet forced Claudius to drink from the poisoned cup, so the King died too. Hamlet asked Horatio to clear his name by retelling the story before he died too. Meanwhile, Fortinbras’ army came on the right time to overtake the throne, while Horatio told him and the world the whole story. Fortinbras instructed that Hamlet’s corpse was treated as a king’s.

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Scene on Three (6): Hamlet

I am now reading one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies: Hamlet. This scene is taken from the beginning of Act one, where some officers were on night watch together with Horatio (Hamlet’s friend). It was near twilight, when they saw the ghost of the late King appeared. However, before they brought it into conversation, the cock crowed, and the ghost disappeared. Apparently ghosts or spirits would immediately disappeared when cocks begin to crow. Shakespeare connected this to (a myth?) that two thousand years ago, when Christ was born, the cocks crowed all night long, and no spirit dared to appear. I’m just amazed at this scene, which feels so tranquil and so divine…. I think this scene would appear in my mind every time I sing Silent Night from now on! Oh, but if the cock crowed all night long, it was not that silent then? :)

“Some say that ever ‘gainst that season comes

Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated,

The bird of dawning singeth all night long;

And then, they say, no spirit dare to stir abroad;

The nights are wholesome; then no planet strikes,

No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm;

So hallow’d and so gracious is the time.”

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