“Murder most foul, as in the best it is,
But this most foul, strange, and unnatural” (Act 1 scene 5)
The description is extremely dramatic, as it is shocking to find out that the king was actually murdered and then to find out that it was in such a horrific manner. The murder is probably one of the main reasons why Hamlet feels so trapped, because firstly finding out that a murder could have actually happened, makes the whole place seem so much smaller and gives the idea that anything could happen and makes what is supposed to be his home seem very dangerous. Secondly, the fact that Hamlet realises that it is up to him now to seek revenge. Once Hamlet discovers that he must seek revenge he says,
“O cursed spite, That ever I was born to set it right!”
From his comment it is evident that he is very reluctant to take revenge, this is another reason as to why Hamlet feels so trapped, because he has been forced into doing something, which he doesn’t really want to do. His situation implies entrapment, as he has to carry out the task because he has to, rather than because he has a choice in the matter. Hamlet almost has a moral dilemma, which he does not seem to be able to find a solution for. He realises that it is slightly strange and unbelievable, that he is being told to carry out a task by a ghost, which seems to be his dead father. But then not to carry out the task would be a betraying his father. This is evident from the fact that he keeps delaying the murder even after he says:
“I with wings as swift
As meditation or the thoughts of love
May sweep to my revenge,” (Act 1 scene 5)
What Hamlet actually does and what he actually says are too completely different things. In response Hamlet shows his lack of self-knowledge. He cannot “sweep” to his revenge. Rather, he broods on his father’s death, his mother’s faithlessness and his uncle’s villainy. Even when he gets proof that Claudius murdered his father, Hamlet hesitates and he continues to hesitate even when the ghost has returned, “to whet thy almost blunted purpose” (3.4.110).
Hamlets reactions and behaviour towards the situations, which he finds himself in, reflect this idea of Denmark being a prison. He does not know exactly how he should go about dealing with his problems, such as whether he should seek revenge, what he should do about his mother and his uncle, also he is concerned and worried about the lack of trust from people who are supposed to be his friends.
This idea that ‘Denmark’s a prison’ is derived from the fact that there is so much spying and mistrust in the play. For instance we meet Polonius’s less agreeable side when he sends Reynaldo to Paris to spy on Laertes and authorises Reynaldo to criticise Laertes to others in order to hear their responses:
“and there on him
What forgeries you please; marry, none so rank
As may dishonour him, take heed of that,
But sir, such wanton, wild, and usual slips
As are companion noted and most known
To youth and liberty.
REYNALDO: As gaming lord?
POLONIUS: Ay, or drinking, fencing, swearing
Quarrelling, drabbing – you may go so far. (Act 2 scene 1)
Polonius has this tendency to spy on people on more than one occasion. Later, he insists on using Ophelia to discover what is wrong with Hamlet. For instance in Act 3 scene 1 both Polonius and the king spy on the conversation between Hamlet and Ophelia. Hamlet suspects that he is spied on and his remarks towards Ophelia are extremely cruel and harsh. The conversation between them convinces Claudius and that Hamlet is not upset because of his love for Ophelia. The way in which Hamlet reacts towards Ophelia reflects clearly the lack of privacy, which Hamlet has, and the extent to which this effects him. Hamlet says that ‘Denmark is a prison’ as he feels that he is continuously being watched.
He quickly realises that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are in the pay of his uncle; this shatters his trust of people further as they are supposed to be his friends,
‘Be even and direct with me, whether you were sent for or no.’
One of Hamlets main reasons for feeling so imprisoned is the fact that he can trust no one. He feels isolated and alone. He feels anger towards his mother and therefore cannot confide or rely on her, he also feels same way about his uncle. It probably feels worst to him that he cannot trust his own friends, however he manages to console himself by saying that it is probably because they are being paid. It probably affects him the most when he finds out that even Ophelia cannot be trusted. Gertrude, Claudius and Polonius all spy and interrogate Hamlet on his supposed madness. Polonius does not even mind eavesdropping on conversations between Ophelia and Hamlet, and Gertrude and Hamlet. The idea that there is always someone around the corner creates a huge amount of intensity and this very claustrophobic feeling.
In the film of Hamlet, Brannon is extremely effective in creating a claustrophobic setting for the film. There are a lot of corridors and corners in the castle for which people can hide behind and around. Also during Hamlets encounters with the ghost, the atmosphere was dark, gloomy and very foggy, which was effective in creating an uncertain feeling.
Hamlets character, in general is an extremely important asset in creating this impression of claustrophobia for both Hamlet as well as the audience. The reason Hamlets own characteristics create this imprisoned feeling for himself is because of the fact that he has such a diverse personality. He is, at one and the same time, gentle and cruel, loving and vindictive, a deeply reflective introvert and a man capable of acting on impulse, his diversity can be extremely difficult to deal with, and in that sense Hamlet feels imprisoned in himself. Hamlets personality is clearly portrayed to the audience, who can identify with Hamlets feelings of entrapment. Much of the dramatic impact is derived from the complexity of Hamlets character.
When we first meet Hamlet he is depressed and disillusioned. He feels lonely and imprisoned due to the fact that his father has died and his mother has married his uncle within two months of her husband’s death:
“That it should come to this!
But two months dead- nay not so much, not two-
Frailty thy name is women-
A little month, or ere those shoes were old
With which she followed my poor father’s body
Like nobe, all tears, why she, even she-
O God, a beast that wants discourse of reason
Would have mourned longer- married with my uncle,
My fathers brother” (Act 1 Scene 2)
And oppressed by the hypocrisy of his uncle:
“O villain, villain, smiling damned villain!
That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain” (Act 1 scene5)
Therefore it is evident that much of the reason why Hamlet feels so imprisoned is due to the fact that there is so much going on around him that he feels almost overwhelmed by it all. Hamlet makes it very clear that both his mother and uncle disgust him. Then he finds out that his father was murdered puts him still deeper into thought. He feels imprisoned due to the fact that he has so many problems and yet does not seem to be able to figure out any solutions to them.
Shakespeare uses soliloquies as a dramatic device in order to show the exact feelings and intensity of his characters. Through the soliloquies, which Hamlet speaks, the audience is clearly able to identify with his feeling of loneliness and entrapment. He feels isolated at the fact that he cannot trust anyone, he feels betrayed by his mother and angry with his uncle and Ophelia. All those factors are responsible for this confinement, which Hamlet feels. Soliloquies allow a character to reveal his thoughts to the audience but not to the other characters in the play. This is extremely effective as when an actor is alone on the stage he could speak aloud his thoughts, thus giving the audience clear insights into his character and his intentions. This is also the effect of dramatic irony as while the audience is watching the play they are laughing at the other characters in the play who do not know what is going on, which leads them to jump to their own conclusions which may be completely off the point. For example Polonius is convinced that Hamlets madness derives from his unfulfilled love Ophelia, when the audience clearly knows that Hamlet is just pretending to be mad, in the hope that people won’t realize that he is plotting to kill the king.
Prince Hamlet uses soliloquies in Act 1, scene 2 when he is oppressed by the problems surrounding him, his father’s death and his mother’s fickleness. In Act 2 scene 2 when he contrasts his failure to respond to his father’s murder with the actor’s expression of grief for the imaginary characters. In Act 3 scene 1 he expresses his disillusionment with life:
“To be, or not to be, that is the question”
The very first soliloquy, which Hamlet speaks, clearly reflects just how trapped and disturbed Hamlet really feels. It is in Act 1, scene 2 Hamlet first expresses his desire that he might escape from life:
‘O that this is too solid flesh would melt,
Thaw and resolve itself into dew’
He regrets that God’s law forbids suicide because suicide would be a means of escaping from a world that holds no pleasure for him, from a world: ‘That grows to seed’. At this point Hamlet reveals why life seems so ‘weary, stale, flat and unprofitable’. His father is not yet two months dead and his mother has married his uncle:
‘My father’s brother, but no more like my father
Than I to Hercules’
He remembers that his mother had seemed to love his father and how she had wept when he died and yet, in her frailty, she had married again:
‘Oh most wicked speed, to post
With such dexterity to incestuous sheets.’
Hamlet feels the marriage will have dire consequences but, for the time being, he must suffer and be silent.
This soliloquy clearly shows how disturbed Hamlet is by his mother’s marriage and how he overgenerelises her action so that all women are condemned: ‘frailty, thy name is woman’. It clearly reveals his sensitivity, his admiration of his father, his intense dislike of his uncle, his distress at his mother’s incestuous marriage and his inability to share his thoughts with others: ‘But break, my heart, for I must hold my tongue’. The aspects of Hamlets character revealed by this soliloquy help the audience to understand and assess all his subsequent actions. The fact that there is so much going on in Hamlets life and there is much for him to be worried about also reinforces Hamlets view that ‘Denmark is a prison’.
The use of soliloquies throughout the play is an excellent way in allowing the audience to really be able to identify with the feelings which Hamlet feels, as it is the only time that it is possible to understand and actually trust the characters feelings and state of mind.
Hamlet is a complex play, which deals with several interrelated themes. The most obvious theme in the play and the one, which reflects the cause and intensity of Hamlets feelings of imprisonment, is the theme of taking revenge. Hamlet feels even more pressure due to this theme than anything else due to the fact that others around him such as Fortinbras and Laertes attempt taking revenge for their particular causes. Fortinbras wants to take revenge on Denmark for the losses sustained by his father in a duel with Hamlets father. Laertes seeks to avenge the death of his father and the insanity and subsequent death of Ophelia. This contrasts with Hamlets personality and lack of action. Hamlet has lost a father and he has also been hurt by the over-hasty marriage between his mother and uncle and yet this is not enough for him to leap to action and even attempt to take revenge.
This play clearly reflects and substantiates the reasons as to why Hamlet feels so claustrophobic thereby driving him to describe his own home as being a ‘prison’. Shakespeare uses a number of different devices in order to create this impression, such as the effective use of soliloquies, the detailed scenes in the play, the behaviour of the characters, the language used throughout the play and finally the situation in which Hamlet finds himself. All of the Devices, which have been used, add to this very dramatic atmosphere of intrigue and menace throughout the play of Hamlet, thereby creating a very claustrophobic atmosphere.