Hamlet’s feelings towards his mother’s relationship with his mother are also shown when he turns her words around when she says, “Thou know’st ‘tis common.” He replies: “Ay, madam, it is common.” Although this is not directly the topic of conversation, this is a play on words to sarcastically highlight the fact that she has cheapened herself by marrying Claudius, and that it is not common at all to marry your brother-in-law.
From these events very early on in the play, we can very quickly get an idea of Hamlet’s character. We can assume from his resentment that he is a very passionate, sensitive young man. He loved his mother and father dearly and is very hurt by the new marriage. This is displayed as he speaks to his mother very formally and coldly:
“I shall do my best to obey you Madam.”
His remarks are very quick-witted and meaningful, sometimes rhetorical – showing he is a man of intelligence and is very expressive of his feelings. He uses a range of metaphors to describe how he feels about other subjects other than that of conversation. (“Common”).
Although we as the audience know Hamlet to be fond of expressing his feelings, this is a much criticised point in the play. T S Eliot for example wrote one of the most famous essays on Hamlet, yet it was one of the most critical. He described the play as an artistic failure because Hamlet’s feelings are given inadequate explanation. However, I think that the play is artistic in this way, yet not a failure, as the audience is left to make up their own explanation of how Hamlet is feeling. The play is famous for the depth in which it explores the inner person of the protagonist; therefore the explanations are unnecessary – it is left for the audience to decide. Personally I think this is a much better technique, as the play sticks in the mind of the audience as they ponder the reasons for the actions of the characters.
In this scene the clothes that Hamlet is wearing are commented on a lot. It seems to be a kind of extended metaphor throughout the opening scenes. Hamlet’s mother Gertrude says:
“Good Hamlet cast thy nightly colour off.”
This of course could be referring to his glum expression; but it also has another more obvious meaning. The clothes that are described are indicative of Hamlet’s perception of the royal marriage, and also the colour refers to his state of mind relating to this and the recent death of his father.
“’Tis not alone my inky cloak…/ That can denote me truly.”
This quote suggests that Gertrude wasn’t necessarily mourning when she was wearing her mourning garments, or sad when she was crying. Appearance versus reality. Hamlet is saying that although he is dressed in black, he may not be mourning. We can draw a parallel to this: Hamlet thinks that although Claudius wears the clothes of a king, and sits on the throne – he is not the true king.
There is also a third meaning to this conversation, he could be trying to explain that his black attire scarcely shows how immense his sorrow is; his true emotions run much deeper than can be expressed by the petty decision of what to wear.
Hamlet detests the farce that is going on in the court, and refers to this with another play on words:
“These indeed seem, / For they are actions that a man night play.”
The word “seem” is particularly notable, as it clearly defines the lie that is the court of Denmark. It is ironic that Hamlet later decided to ‘play’ the role of a mad man.
Hamlet begins to be quite a complicated character to analyse because of the “antic disposition,” and therefore the most effective way of doing so is to concentrate on his asides as well as his actions. It is remarkable that his first thoughts are suicide, and that he quickly dismisses this option because of his loyalty to Christianity.
