The discussion between mother and son, the only extended one in the play, concentrates upon how her sexual lust has led her to leave her “wholesome brother” for “a mildewed ear”. This is the only scene where mother and son are alone (excluding Polonius). Hence Shakespeare is able to bring out Hamlet’s feelings and opinions about his mother’s incestuous crime. His opening lines itself show his mockery of the rhythm and the words of her reprimand. Hamlet turns the finger of accusation to her; he turns the tables on her through his language. “
Queen: Hamlet, thou hast thy father much offended.
Hamlet: Mother, you have my father much offended.
Queen: Come, come, you answer with an idle tongue.
Hamlet: Go, go, you question with a wicked tongue.”
Hamlet also makes his purpose clear: “You go not till I set you up on a glass where you may see the innermost part of you”.
The sudden interruption of their conference by Polonius’ murder is very surprising. Just before entering his mother’s closet Hamlet showed much reluctance to kill Claudius by using the excuse “A villain kills my father and for that I, his sole son, do this same villain send to heaven. Why this is hire and salary, not revenge.” Yet his sudden assault on Polonius shows his capability of quick and impulsive action. Even after the murder, he shows a complete lack of concern. His strange response “Dead for a ducat… is it the King?” contrasts with his reluctance to kill Claudius not so long ago. However he proves his capability when he murders the King impulsively in the final scene.
Hamlet “took thee [Polonius] for thy better [Claudius]” hence showing a different side of Hamlet. The murder of Polonius also mocks Hamlet’s word: “I will speak daggers to her, but use none”. Hamlet ends up killing Polonius hence using the daggers which he said he would not use.
The chief effect of Polonius’ murder is to clarify the extent of Gertrude’s sin. Hamlet uses Gertrude’s response to Polonius’ murder as a comparison to what she had done: “A bloody deed – almost as bad, good mother, as kill a king and marry with his brother.” The oxymoron probably suggests sarcasm in his tone as he in fact never really considered his mother as “good” after her sudden marriage with Claudius. Gertrude’s shocked echo “As kill a king” signals to the audience that she is innocent of King Hamlet’s murder and it shows her shock at the discovery that her new husband murdered him first. His hatred is proven when he tells Horatio in Act 1 Scene 2 “I prithee do not mock me, fellow-student. I think it was to see my mother’s wedding” when Horatio states that he had attended King Hamlet’s funeral.
Another important aspect of Polonius’ death is that it is the doorway to the rest of the tragedy which follows soon after. So, in a way, the accusation of the tragedy laid on Hamlet due to his tragic flaw is somewhat shared with Polonius. Had Polonius not been an “intruding fool” he might have survived death and so Ophelia would not commit suicide and Laertes would not join Claudius’ evil scheme to kill Hamlet. Shakespeare hence brings out Polonius’ contribution to the tragedy in this scene. Polonius in fact was a very smart person who only appeared to be a fool. His tragic flaw was his inquisitiveness. He liked to poke his nose into everything and so this time he ‘poked’ it too far thus preparing his death-bed.
After this murder follows now an episode of passionate intimacy unlike any other in the play. Here is where he really slashes his mother’s conscience with the “daggers” he uses on her; he “wag[s] thy [his] tongue in noise so rude against…” Gertrude. He intends to hurt her, to insult her and to humiliate her to such an extent that it would shock her into realizing and accepting her own lustful actions. This argument between the mother and son shows the intense feelings of the strong love and affection that exists between them and this is a scene that grips the audience by its forceful language. The comparison of Hamlet’s “god-like” father to the “mildewed ear” that Gertrude married shortly after his father’s death shows that Claudius was absolutely not even a fraction of what his father was. Shakespeare emphasizes this comparison through the use of metaphors, similes and other language techniques. The audience is able to understand Hamlet’s deep love and respect for his father through these lines. We see that he keeps on repeating the question “Have you eyes?” showing how he felt that her “sense is apoplexed”. He mocks her by saying that what devil “hath cozened you at hoodman-blind?” meaning that she picked the worst of all people as a husband in her blindness. Hamlet is so raged that he is at breaking point and is really unable to in any way accept his mother’s incestuous relationship and betrayal. All this time he was wondering “where is thy blush?” showing that he had hoped that his mother would realize much earlier the sin that she had committed and would turn away from it.
The harsh words that he uses “turnest my [Gertrude’s] eyes into my very soul” where she sees her incestuous sin as “such black and grained spots as will not leave their tinct”. This shows the impact that Hamlet’s language had on Gertrude. She is so fed up and exhausted that all she can do is beg him to “speak to me no more”. We see that in this scene the only time she addresses him as “sweet Hamlet” is when she is begging him to stop. This proves her acceptance of the fact that she is wrong and is now going through a traumatic experience of the clash between “her and her fighting soul”. The impact is so intense that she has no words to reply to Hamlet’s “daggers”. She is deeply ashamed of her behaviour.
Unlike Claudius Gertrude shows real sorrow for what she has done. It is clear from her remark and her astonishment “As kill a king!” that she is really innocent of King Hamlet’s death. She really sees the “black and grained spots” in her “very soul”.
Another important aspect of this scene is the entrance of the ghost. This second visit of the ghost finds it not in battle armour but in his “habit as he lived” which signifies the fatherly concern at the continuing conflict between mother and son. It is perhaps meant to show that Hamlet’s behaviour to his mother has exceeded the limit and has broken the promise. It also proves the late King’s protectiveness towards his wife while he was still alive. Even in Act 1 Scene 5 he commands Hamlet to “taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive against thy mother aught”. This is a reminder to Hamlet that he should stop hurting her. King Hamlet knows that Hamlet will be obedient and so he allows Hamlet to continue his conference in order to restore Gertrude’s spirit and take away her emotional burdens.
The appearance of the ghost also establishes the idea that Hamlet is delaying action and this is something that Hamlet confesses to the ghost. “Do you not come your tardy son to chide, that, lapsed in time and passion, let’s go by the important acting of your dread command?” Hamlet very well knows that his deadline is way past due and so he probably thinks that the ghost has come to punish him. This is why he abruptly cuts his
Another point to note is that the ghost is only visible to Hamlet alone in this scene. The only other characters that see the ghost other than Hamlet are Horatio, Barnardo and Marcellus. This small list of people suggests that the ghost is only visible to those who are pure at heart. Hamlet had not intentionally killed Polonius – he thought it was Claudius and so he wanted to complete the revenge scheme. Gertrude couldn’t see the ghost as she too was engaged in the incestuous sin with Claudius. This could also suggest that King Hamlet dearly wanted to talk to Gertrude but due to her impure state he was only able to use Hamlet to communicate. This is probably why he says “Speak to her, Hamlet”.
Shakespeare gives very clear indications through the way Hamlet confides in his mother. After piercing “daggers” and arousing her conscience Hamlet reveals his love for his mother and thus explains that “I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft”. He has confidence that his mother will not reveal his scheme to Claudius. He doesn’t want Claudius to know his secret and so to enforce his trust he warns her that if she tells on him she will gain nothing from it and instead come to grief like the ape who “unpeg the basket on the house’s top. Let the birds fly… to try conclusions in the basket creep and break your own neck down”.
This scene also adds details to the character of Hamlet. When Hamlet kills Polonius it does not show him to be a person who is capable of really slow attack but rather as a person who is capable of impulsive action. As soon as he hears Polonius he instantly cries “Dead for a ducat, dead!” This shows that he was going to kill without reconsidering. Polonius hence proves to be important once again in the play by bringing out the true side of Hamlet – why even though he is prepared to attack he is not able to kill Claudius for revenge. Even at the end of the play Hamlet shows the same kind of capacity for impulsive action because in the end the killing of Claudius is an impulsive act.
This scene also brings out the complexity of Hamlet’s character. Even in this scene his state of mind is difficult to understand. Hamlet is a character who develops emotionally throughout the play but he is a difficult character to understand and evaluate because there are so many sides to his complex character and each of these sides are only partially revealed at different sides. One characteristic that displays his varying mood is the contrast between Hamlet’s faked madness and his “mad in craft”. It is very hard for anybody to actually state whether Hamlet is pretending or is really mad at any point of time. Hence he again manages to frustrate any attempt to reduce him to a tidy analysis making him a very interesting character. The audience can relate to Hamlet in this scene as any human being put in such a situation would not be able to define himself as mad or not. Hamlet’s true insanity is brought out in Act 5 Scene 1 where he is informed of Ophelia’s death. His unbalanced state of mind causes him to pick up a fight with Laertes in a mourning ground.
Another debate in this scene is aroused by his persistence in saving his mother from the so-called addition that she has for Claudius – the argument between whether Hamlet is suffering from Oedipus complex or not. This again contributes to the complexity of Hamlet’s character. He “speak[s] daggers to her” in order to shame her into admitting her mistakes and joining his side which suggests that he suffers from Oedipus complex. Then again, he could just be advising her so that he could establish that bond between his father and mother so that Gertrude would not fall into the incestuous sin. He “do[es] not [want his mother to] spread the compost on the weeds to make them ranker.”
I feel Act 3 Scene 4 is really one of the most important scenes which builds up the plot of this tragedy. Had Polonius not have been murdered, Ophelia and Laertes would never have been involved in the plot and so Claudius would have been unsuccessful in his evil scheme to kill Hamlet. The complexity of Hamlet’s character and the addition of characteristics also make this scene important. The complexity of his character is what makes him interesting and this also allows the audience to relate to him. The mother-son conflict and rejoining also seasons the play as this makes the scene a very important climax of the play. Shakespeare’s use of language adds variety to the play and also keeps Hamlet’s description of his words as daggers to one’s heart true. In more simpler terms, Hamlet would have been a big failure if Act 3 Scene 4 was omitted. Prince Hamlet would not have been so complex without this scene and so he would not be as interesting as he would be now. This is probably why Shakespeare’s play still stands the test of time making him one of the most famous playwrights ever recorded in history.
