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Damascus University,Daraa Campus,

English Department

Second Year,Second Semester,

2013

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Treatment of Act 3, Scenes 1+2+3

Hamlet’s “To Be or Not to Be” Soliloquy & the “Nunnery Scene”

Hamlet comes in:

To be, or not to be: that is the question:

There is no question, actually: this is a philosophical reflection. He is voicing out what is

going on in his head and his heart.

“This life that I am living, is it worth living, or is death a better option?”

In this soliloquy, there is no mention of personal elements. The soliloquy goes on a higher

level of humanity and universality. Therefore, we can link what he talks about to his

personal dilemmas, or just leave the philosophical wonderings on their universal level.

Hamlet is engaged in an internal, philosophical reflection asking rhetorical questions about

the reality of life.

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to sufferThe slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,And by opposing end them?

Fortune = life/chance/luck. This is a personification: Hamlet is personifying fortune as a

person holding arms and using them against the victims, humans. This is the image of life

in his head. So, he asks “is it worth living as such?” “Is life worth this suffering?”

For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,

Another personification, time has a lash سوط , and is punishing us. This is the same image

as the previous one. We are the victims of this life, and this time.

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The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,The pangs of despised love, the law's delay,

All these are examples of humiliating treatment. Oppressor is the people who are unjust to

other people. Despised love: unrequited love, when someone falls in love with the wrong

person –which is humiliating.

The law’s delay: bureaucracy, how things are delayed.

These are examples of injustice in life.

When he himself might his quietus makeWith a bare bodkin?

“Why would a human accept to suffer all these, accept to be a victim of all these injustices,

whereas he can hold up a dagger and end it all?!”

So, there is the choice of suicide. His suicide?

You can say yes/no at the same time. Yes, because we know why he is complaining.

No, because he is talking about a universal theme: injustice in life -which could be applied

to anyone who has suffered one of these examples of injustice.

-He provides an answer to his why:

But that the dread of something after death,

His answer is: death is not the end. He says “Something” which could be anything.

The undiscover'd country from whose bournNo traveller returns,

“For a life full of injustice, there might be a solution: suicide; but are we sure of what to

expect after death?”

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Nobody came back from the unknown territory of death to tell us about the horrors after

death. There’s uncertainty about what to expect.

Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;

Conscience = mental awareness and realization of the uncertainty of what comes after

death. We chicken out because of that kind of realization

To narrow down the previous argument into Hamlet’s situation: he is providing an excuse

for why he has not taken action yet:

“The injustice is when the King killed my father and married my mom.

The solution is to kill him!

The uncertainty is what do I expect after they kill me?”

And enterprises of great pith and momentWith this regard their currents turn awry,

Enterprise= project. “Such uncertainty makes projects of high importance go cold.”

In his case, the important project is killing Claudius. He has not done it because of

conscience/awareness/uncertainty.

“Turn awry,” is an image related to rivers: when a river is divided into many channels

going in different directions, that causes to reduce the river’s strength.

And lose the name of action.--

After all such distractions, you cannot call that river “action,” it is “inaction.”

Hamlet is locked in a state of inaction.

*Hamlet notices Ophelia, and this marks the beginning of “The Nunnery Scene.”

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They talk. Ophelia tells Hamlet she has some love tokens she wants to return to him. She is

acting on her father’s orders; and now she is giving him back his love gifts.

HAMLETNo, not I;I never gave you aught.

“I never gave you anything.”

HAMLETHa, ha! Are you honest?

This line marks the moment when Hamlet realizes that somebody is eavesdropping.

So, now he starts acting on two levels: 1- to insult Ophelia who accepted to work as a tool

for Polonius who is already a tool for the King; so, Ophelia is a tool of a tool!

2- Sending indirect messages to Claudius & Polonius who are eavesdropping.

Hamlet tells Ophelia: I did love you once.

“At one point in my life, I did love.”

She says, Indeed, my lord, you made me believe so.

“You made me believe that.”

It was he who convinced her that he loved her, and gave her love tokens.

This is a patriarchal kind of love, where the important figure of that relationship is the

male.

HAMLETYou should not have believed me…I loved you not.

“I was lying! I never loved you!”

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Now, think of Ophelia: a sweet girl who has no mother. She is surrounded by males, and is

controlled by her father. The handsome & intelligent prince of Denmark loves her, but her

father orders her to end it; & now that prince, Hamlet, is telling her he never loved her!

This is now a shock to Ophelia about the reality of love, which will enhance in her

subconscious the idea she got from Polonius: love as an element of self-destruction.

*What Hamlet is saying right now to Ophelia could be meant for Claudius and Polonius.

Polonius believes that the only reason Hamlet’s acting mad is because of his unrequited

love towards Ophelia, but now Hamlet is saying he never even loved Ophelia.

-The King doubts the whole love theory. What he hears now enhances his belief that

Hamlet is not crazy because of his love for Ophelia.

*Hamlet is maneuvering in this situation. He says,

Get thee to a nunnery: why wouldst thou be abreeder of sinners?

Nunnery = a place for religious women, nuns, where they do not get married.

“Don’t get married” is what he is telling her.

Hamlet is angry with Ophelia for her part in the King’s game against him.

why wouldst thou be abreeder of sinners?

“Why would you agree to be a mother and give birth to people who wrong other people?”

He is attacking her because her appearance is religious, but the reality is a political game,

the King’s game. He asks her: Where's your father?

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OPHELIAAt home, my lord.

Hamlet already realized that Polonius is eavesdropping, but asks to test Ophelia, and she

fails the test.

“At home, my lord” is the line that cut everything between Hamlet and Ophelia.

This is the straw that broke the camel’s back.. البعیرألقّشُة التي قصمْت ظھَر .

For Hamlet right now, Ophelia is just an agent of the King. He does not show her any

respect, not even to her as a woman. He treats her rudely and impolitely.

HAMLETLet the doors be shut upon him, that he may play thefool no where but in's own house.

“Lock him at home so he will only be a fool in his own house!”

This is meant for Ophelia’s ears and also Polonius’ ears.

OPHELIAO, help him, you sweet heavens!

See how sweet Ophelia is! With all the rudeness, the impoliteness, and the insults that

Hamlet directs at her, she prays to God to help him!

From a modern point of view, we can describe Ophelia as a pacifist: she receives all the

oppression from the males around, yet she reacts in a passive way.

… if thou wilt needsmarry, marry a fool; for wise men know well enoughwhat monsters you make of them.

“If you have to get married, marry a fool, a person who does not use his head because wise

men know well that you, women, turn them into monsters!”

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I think he is sending a message now to Claudius who killed King Hamlet to: 1- get the

throne, 2- and get Queen Gertrude. In a sense, Claudius acted like a monster to get these

two things. So, Hamlet is attacking the Queen because she turned Claudius into a monster!

OPHELIAO heavenly powers, restore him!

“Bring him back to his senses, Heaven.” She believes he has gone mad, and nothing on

Earth can bring him back; therefore, she directs her prayers to God.

Previously, the Queen told Ophelia that she wished it were her love that turned Hamlet

mad, and she wished that Ophelia would help him back to sanity.

Right now Ophelia is asking heavenly powers to restore him because she realizes that no

human, not even she, can help him back to sanity.

HamletI say, we will have no more marriages:

“We will stop the institution of marriage.” Marriage is an evil thing in Hamlet’s head.

those that are married already, all but one, shalllive; the rest shall keep as they are.

Those who got married before now are fine, they will survive…except one.

We understand this as a threat to King Claudius. So, Hamlet is talking to Ophelia, alright,

but he knows who is also listening.

*In this passage, Ophelia talks about the Hamlet that was as opposed to the Hamlet that is.

OPHELIAO, what a noble mind is here o'erthrown!The courtier's, soldier's, scholar's, eye, tongue, sword;The expectancy and rose of the fair state,

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The glass of fashion and the mould of form,The observed of all observers, quite, quite down!And I, of ladies most deject and wretched,That suck'd the honey of his music vows,Now see that noble and most sovereign reason,Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh;That unmatch'd form and feature of blown youthBlasted with ecstasy: O, woe is me,To have seen what I have seen, see what I see!

KING CLAUDIUSLove! his affections do not that way tend;

He does not believe that Hamlet is crazy because of love.

Nor what he spake, though it lack'd form a little,Was not like madness.

“What he said was incoherent, but that is not madness.” So, Claudius does not believe that

Hamlet is mad.

he shall with speed to England,

He is kicking Hamlet to England in a diplomatic way.

*************************************************************************

Scene 2A hall in the castle.

Hamlet arranges for a play to be acted in front of the court.

He gives it the title: The Mousetrap.

He intends to “catch” the King when he observes his reaction to the performance.

*Hamlet’s expressing his feelings towards Horatio.

Give me that manThat is not passion's slave, and I will wear himIn my heart's core, ay, in my heart of heart,As I do thee.

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“Bring me a man who is not a slave of passion, who is not driven by emotions; who is

motivated by his head and judgment, and I will put him in my heart of hearts on a pedestal,

as I do you.”

Hamlet sees Horatio as a person who deserves so much respect and love because Horatio is

a man of reason, a man judgment, a man driven by his head not by his emotions.

Over here, Hamlet is contrasting himself with Horatio.

Horatio judges things logically/reasonably; but Hamlet is the subject of his own emotions:

whatever happens in his heart influences the way his head works! See?

So, the reality of the situation is that Hamlet loves Horatio as his best friend, and not who

the Queen thought: Guildenstern and Rosencrantz.

*Notice that Hamlet is expressing himself sanely.

I prithee, when thou seest that act afoot,Even with the very comment of thy soulObserve mine uncle: if his occulted guiltDo not itself unkennel in one speech,It is a damned ghost that we have seen,

“Please observe my uncle.”

Unkennel = unfold. “If the King’s reaction does not reveal his guilt, that means it was a

damned ghost that we saw.”

Hamlet here is still divided or unsure of the reality of the ghost, and where it came from.

So, for Hamlet, “the play is the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.”

HAMLETThey are coming to the play; I must be idle:

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Hamlet tells Horatio, “they are coming, I must act mad.”

See how Hamlet alternates between sanity and insanity; how and when he chooses to put

on the antic disposition.

Sanity: with Horatio -who he trusts, loves, and respects so much.

Insanity: with the people he does not trust, he hates, and wants to kill!

*The play-within-the-play starts: The Player King tells the Player Queen he loves her so

much, in a patriarchal way, of course! The Player Queen replies to the King’s love

declaration telling him she loves soooo much & that she will not marry anyone after

him…etc.

Then the Player King goes to rest, alone. His nephew sneaks in and pours poison in his ear,

killing him immediately.

Metaphorically, the-play-within-the-play was like a mirror that Hamlet held up for

Claudius to see his ugly reality.

When Claudius sees the poisoning scene, he jumps!

Dramatic Structure: in every play/story, we have a beginning, middle, & end.

We call the beginning: exposition, the part where we hear about the characters, about

the action, and the history of the story. In Hamlet, Act I, Scene1 was the exposition.

Rising Action: series of events that lead up to the Climax. The rising action of Hamlet

was when Hamlet met the Ghost; that was the catalytic moment, which caused the

conflict and the change in the story.

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Meeting the Ghost accelerated the actions of the story.

Climax: the critical moment. In Hamlet, it was the-play-within-the-play. Over here,

all the realities of the conflict are presented. The characters have come face to face,

no more masks. How they will deal with this is the falling action: which is a series

of events leading to the resolution of the conflict. The denouement, where everything

is resolved.

-The Mousetrap is the climax in Hamlet: when King Claudius sees the murder he

committed –he sees it enacted in front of him.

KING CLAUDIUSWhat do you call the play?HAMLETThe Mouse-trap.and we that have free souls, ittouches us not:

“Those of us who have free conscience, the play will offend us.”

This is an attack on Claudius.

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When Claudius sees the poisoning, he jumps and asks for lights while leaving.

In a metaphorical sense, Claudius needs to light the darkness he lives in.

Light is an element of mercy and forgiveness.

*Hamlet and Horatio are now alone, and they both agree that the King is guilty.

Hamlet is very excited the Ghost’s words were proven true.

HAMLETO good Horatio, I'll take the ghost's word for athousand pound.

“The Ghost’s words are as good and true as a thousand pounds,” like a million dollars!

Didst perceive?HORATIOVery well, my lord.HAMLETUpon the talk of the poisoning?HORATIOI did very well note him.

It is all clear in Hamlet’s head now.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are now working as the shoes of the Queen

They come to tell Hamlet the Queen wants to meet him before he goes to sleep.

-Hamlet has seen the light of the reality of the situation.

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Scene 3A room in the castle.

Enter KING CLAUDIUS, ROSENCRANTZ, and GUILDENSTERN

We have seen that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are always mentioned together, and even

the lines that Shakespeare gives them are similar to each other’s.

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King Claudius talks about sending Hamlet to England because of his “lunacies.”

In the previous scene, he said “lunacy.” Now, he is using it in the plural!

GUILDENSTERNWe will ourselves provide:Most holy and religious fear it isTo keep those many many bodies safeThat live and feed upon your majesty.

“Your Majesty, you are the king; we have a religious duty towards you. You are ruling us

in the Name of God and appointed by God. These lunacies are dangerous not just to you,

but also to the many subjects who are ruled by you.”

For them, Hamlet is a threat to the whole Kingdom, and it is a religious duty to take him to

England, away from Denmark.

*Claudius is alone. He tries to pray.

O, my offence is rank it smells to heaven;

“My crime is grand, is unnatural that it stinks up to heaven!”

It hath the primal eldest curse upon't,A brother's murder.

Primal = original. This refers to Adam’s two sons: Cain & Abel .قابیل و ھابیل

“Cain killed Abel, and my murder is similar to that.”

He knows he should pray, but he cannot.

Pray can I not,Though inclination be as sharp as will:

“I want to pray and ask for God’s forgiveness, but I can’t.”

But, O, what form of prayerCan serve my turn? 'Forgive me my foul murder'?

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“How do I pray? What shall I say to God? What words should I use?

Do I say forgive me….”

He is trying to pray, but he cannot find a proper kind of language to address God.That cannot be; since I am still possess'dOf those effects for which I did the murder,My crown, mine own ambition and my queen.

“My prayer’s not going to work because I cannot choose the proper words and because I

still have the things I earned from that crime: the throne and the Queen.”

He then asks:May one be pardon'd and retain the offence?

“Will God forgive me if I keep the Queen and the throne? Can that happen?”

This is wishful thinking.

He is trying to say, “I really want God to forgive me, but I do not want to give up the

things I won because of my crime!”

O wretched state! O bosom black as death!O limed soul, that, struggling to be free,

Wretched state = wicked evil condition. Bosom = chest/heart as black as death.

Limed = trapped, cannot move. He wants to free himself from the murder he committed,

but he’s not ready to do what it takes to be forgiven i.e. he does not want to give up the

throne and the Queen, which he got as a result of his murder.

Help, angels! Make assay!

He is asking the angels to “assay” = try to help him. That means, he believes even the

angels cannot help him. That is true, simply because he is not ready to help himself!

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*Hamlet comes in, he sees Claudius alone, he draws up his sword to kill him, but then

realizes Claudius is “praying.” So, he stops because if he kills Claudius, that will send him

to heaven.

HAMLETNow might I do it pat, now he is praying;And now I'll do't. And so he goes to heaven;And so am I revenged. That would be scann'd:A villain kills my father; and for that,I, his sole son, do this same villain sendTo heaven.

“What kind of logic is this?”

Hamlet is a man of intellect. He sees the King alone, and this is the only time in the play

where he will see him alone, yet he starts philosophizing and talks about how he does not

want to send Claudius to heaven by killing him while he is praying.

Hamlet calculates and decides to kill Claudius later on when he is involved in a sinful act.

The moment Hamlet is describing never actually happens!

KING CLAUDIUSMy words fly up, my thoughts remain below:Words without thoughts never to heaven go.

“The words I am trying to address God with fly up high, but my thoughts are base.

Words I can say, speech is easy, but thoughts and actions that should follow these words

are not easy to apply.”

God forgives those who repent and who give up the evil “prize” they got from their crimes.