The following extracts from the play beginning with the first dialogue to Claudius when he calls him ‘son’ help understand his thoughts better:
“ A little more than kin, and less than kind”
(Act I Sc ii)
Hamlet probably means ‘ I am indeed something more than your kinsman (“cousin”), but very far from a ‘son’ in kind feelings towards you.’ (A.W.V.)
Right from the beginning Hamlet detests Claudius to usurp the role of his father as much he did to his throne. His untimely death is a great shock to him. Claudius asks:
“How is that the clouds still hang on you?”
(Act I Sc ii)
This question is an obvious reference to the old Hamlet’s death. But Claudius, with a newly married life, has these clouds of sorrow bringing in showers of happiness onto him but Hamlet could not get the rationale behind the question yet he was quick to answer:
“Not so, my lord, I am too much i’ the sun”
(Act I Sc ii)
And this reply perfectly answers both his uncle and himself. Hamlet means that “he is too much in the sunshine of the court, and too much in the relation of son- son to a dead father, son to an incestuous mother, son to an uncle-father” –Dowden. (This is one way of interpreting Hamlet’s retort. But F.C.Hunt relates this to the influence of Francis Bacon’s life on Shakespeare in writing Hamlet.)
This answer perhaps reflects the genius of Hamlet giving a reply without giving his mind.
Melancholy and ‘mirth’ fill Hamlet’s life for the three obvious reasons.
1.Death of his father
2.His mother being unfaithful to his father and marrying Claudius
3.Claudius crowning himself as King which rightly belongs to him after Old Hamlet’s death.
But of all these the second reason tortures his soul and leads him to say:
“ Seem to me all the uses of this world!
Fie on’t ! O fie ! ‘tis an unweeded garden,
That grows to seed ; things rank and gross in nature
Possess it merely”
(Act I Sc ii)
He finds that the whole world is full of weeds, that is , the earth is given into the hands of the wicked, an obvious reference to Claudius being the King. That is to say the second reason points to the third.
Hamlet is so ashamed of the act of his mother that he goes to the extent of disgracing the entire female sex saying:
“ Frailty , thy name is woman ! “
(Act I Sc ii)
This is an instance of Hamlet’s morbid generalization, but still they are acceptable as these are the words that came out of deep anguish. The following conversation between Hamlet and his friend Horatio highlights the “ anguish “:
“ Horatio : My Lord, I came to see your father’s funeral.
Hamlet : I pray thee, do not mock me, fellow-student;
I think it was to see my mother’s wedding.”
(Act I Sc ii)
These extracts from the play provide us an insight into Hamlet’s mental state at the beginning of the play.
The entry of Old Hamlet’s ghost into Hamlet’s life reveals the purpose of living to him. The ghost discloses to him the ‘truth’ behind the death of Old Hamlet and pleads for revenge. Hamlet at once believes in the disclosure of the apparition and comes to the conclusion that Claudius is the villain:
“ O villain,villain,smiling,damned villain !
…That one may smile and smile and be a villain;”
(Act I Sc v)
He also takes an oath to avenge his father’s death in ‘writing’
“ So,uncle,there you are.Now to my word,
It is,” Adieu, adieu! Remember me:”
I have sworn’t”
(Act I Sc v)
To understand why Hamlet requires proof of guilt of Claudius after taking oath to avenge his father’s death, we need to consider his mental state at the time he meets the apparition. He detests Claudius right from the beginning. Now punishing Claudius after listening to the apparition (since it is no concrete proof) would mean acting with a prejudiced mind that hated Claudius. Hamlet believes Claudius is the serpent that stung his father, but refrains to be overtaken by a prejudiced mindset. This is an indication of unquestionable wisdom on Hamlet’s part. Hamlet has the quality of emancipating himself from personal prejudices , which is rare among humans.
Does the instantaneous oath taken by him show that Hamlet is driven by impulses? Yes, Hamlet in fact , according to me acted by the impulse that the revelation of ‘truth’ brought in him. Impulsive action is an important trait of Hamlet’s life.
Hamlet’s madness is a very interesting and decisive part of his life. When the apparition informs who the murderer of his father was, he reacts saying :
“ O my prophetic soul!
My uncle ! “
(Act I sc v )
Hamlet is stunned and terrified at the revelation by the ghost. Even before the ghost’s revelation he was suspecting a foul play:
“ My father’s spirit in arms ! all is not well;
I doubt some foul play “
( Act I sc ii)
His suspicions having been confirmed by the revelation, he should have been convinced. But his reaction shows surprise and disbelief. Here again, it shows the wisdom of Hamlet .He is unaffected by his prejudices and hence his reaction is justifiable. But Hamlet’s reaction may also be interpreted as the one that terrified him and shook him tremendously in his deep state of melancholy. He must be fearing for life, threatened by the danger from Claudius. This may seem completely contrary to what he says to Horatio and Marcello before meeting the ghost.
“ I do not set my life at a pin’s fee ; “
( Act I sc ii)
But ,at the time when he said this he had no responsibility or duty. But after the ghost’s revelation the duty to avenge the death of his father requires him to be alive. And he begins to fear for his life. It is at this stage that he decides to act insane to order to mislead Claudius. Therefore it is not without reason that Hamlet pretends madness as the argument with reference to historical Amleth suggests.
Hamlet procrastinates his revenge as he does not find a way to wriggle out of the position of insanity that he chose for himself. He still wants to confirm the guilt of Claudius to proceed with the revenge. Hamlet makes changes to the play “Murder of Gonzago”,where Gonzago –the Duke of Vienna – was killed by his close relative by poisoning him.He makes changes in the depiction of how the murder was done much in the same manner as was narrated to him by the apparition about his father’s murder and he wishes to confirm the guilt of Claudius by observing his reaction to this.
“…I‘ll have the grounds
More relative than this: the play ‘s the thing;
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.”
(Act II sc ii)
But before he catches the conscience of the king his conscience catches him. Thus arises the famous soliloquy :
“To be or not to be : that is the question:
whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The stings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles.
……………………………………………….
Conscience does make cowards of us all;
And thus the native hue of resolution,
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,”
(Act III Sc i)
Now, it seems mysterious why Hamlet after having decided his course of action , that is to confirm the guilt of Claudius, Why does he think of “ To be or not to be” ?.It does not appear to be mysterious if we study the amazing intellectual activity that went on in his brain. Because he has to fulfill an oath that he took, he has “To be”. There is no point of “ not to be” in this context. But then Hamlet says “not to be “ also. This I think can be attributed to his conscience -
“Imagination conjures up visions of what may befall, and “conscience” paints the worst of the possible results of action – self reproach.. And so the will power is paralyzed, the current of resolve dissipated and lost amid the sands of doubt and irresolution. Hamlet is the best critic of Hamlet and his power of analysis is consciously tuned upon himself when he says:
“ Thus conscience does make cowards of us all;
And this the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o’er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn away,
And lose the name of action” “
-(A.W.V.)
Now, Hamlet is running out of time. That is, he starts feeling the pressure that he has not accomplished the task of taking revenge even after confirming Claudius’ guilt. At all times, Hamlet is self-conscious ,and therefore he always appreciates the qualities of action and the like in others, which he knows he lacks himself. He is very passionate. Coming back to the issue of running out of time, this is clear from the string of impulsive actions that he does beginning with the slaying of Polonius.The “action” from Hamlet begins only when he is driven by impulse. The end of these impulsive actions comes with the end of Hamlet himself. But even in his impulsive actions also, he thinks. This is clear from the fact that he shrugs off from slaying Claudius when he is meditating. He is driven by impulse to kill Claudius, but he drops his idea considering the ‘fact’ that if he kills Claudius when he is meditating, he may end up in heaven instead of hell in spite of all his misgivings. But ,the instance also reveals : “Give him time to weigh a deed in all its varied relations and potentialities, and the deed is not done.”(A.W.V.)
This is because of the intellectual genius of Hamlet that can make
analysis that is as comprehensive as it can ever be. His mind weighs all that may conceivably said for and against the course proposed.
Because of the great intellectual activity ,he makes things more difficult to execute. To quote Coleridge –
“In Hamlet, we see a great ,an almost enormous, intellectual activity ,and a proportionate aversion to real action consequent upon it, with all its symptoms and accompanying qualities. This character Shakespeare places in circumstances under which it is obliged to act … “
“… but he vacillates from sensibility and procrastinates from thought ,and loses the power of action in the energy of resolve.”(A.W.V.).
The word ‘sensibility’ here refers to sensibility as perceived by the whole world.
Hamlet is essentially a tragic figure. He is a failure (at least in the worldly sense) in life because he fails absolutely in fulfilling the task laid on him ,but fulfilling at appalling and needless cost. And this failure is tragic in highest degree because he is one of whom the highest was hoped.
Hamlet knows what he has to do. Though he has the capability of accomplishing the deed, he does it at the cost of his own life and the life of his dear Ophelia. The other six deaths may be, by some means can be held as a retributive justice against them for their own deeds. Except the deaths of king Claudius and ‘his’ Queen ,all the rest happen due to their involvement with the king. These deaths could have been avoided.But,once the death casts a shadow on someone,” the rest is silence”.
Note: The actual age of Hamlet is in question due to evidences based on various grounds. In my opinion the knowledge of Hamlet’s age can help in understanding his complex character to perfection.
Bibliography
1.Tales from Shakespeare – Charles and Mary Lamb
2. Hamlet - Commentary by A.W.Verity (A.W.V)
3. “Hamlet and His Problems” - Essay by T.S.Eliot
4. A.C.Bradley’s work on Hamlet
5. F.C.Hunt’s work on Hamlet referring to Bacon’s life
6. A Book of Quotations
7.