Before the nunnery scene, Hamlet’s main agenda is revenge. Hamlet wants revenge on Claudius and therefore will probably stoop to any level to get it. Therefore Hamlet may have put on an ‘antic disposition’ in order to be able to plot his revenge unnoticed. However, it could be that certain people are responsible for his madness. It could, for example, be down to Ophelia. Polonius initially believes that love-sickness is the cause of Hamlet’s “madness”. There is also the possibility that Ophelia’s deceit has finally rendered Hamlet mad. This could have been a step too far. There are other factors which could have rendered Hamlet mad. For example, the pressures of revenge may have sent Hamlet mad. One does need to remember the fact that just at the start of the nunnery scene, Hamlet was considering suicide, as witnessed during the ‘To be or not to be’ soliloquy. There is also the fact that he has seen the ghost of his dead father and the fact that his mother is in an “incestuous” relationship with Claudius. It is probably helpful to mention the fact that this sort of “incest” was a debatable issue in the Elizabethan period so Shakespeare could actually be leaving the audience to decide whether or not Claudius and Gertrude’s relationship really is incestuous. Overall, whether or not Hamlet is mad is debatable. He is violent towards Ophelia and also shouts out loud to people who are not visible (although the people who his rant is being directed at are there). This therefore could be down to ‘antic disposition’ or it could even be that Hamlet is flashing in-between madness and sanity. Indeed, whilst being berated by Hamlet, Ophelia seems to truly believe that Hamlet is mad as she repeatedly says things such as ‘Heavenly powers restore him’. Indeed when Hamlet leaves, Ophelia says her only soliloquy in which she states her belief that Hamlet is truly mad. Claudius, however, is less convinced and believes that Hamlet suspects something regarding Claudius’s crime. What one may conclude is that Claudius’ suspicions are correct as throughout most of the play after the nunnery, Hamlet seems to be relatively sane.
Misogyny is the hatred of women. Therefore, if one truly believes Hamlet hates women, one must consider one thing; when did Hamlet start to hate women? Probably the most obvious is that he started hating women after his mother’s marriage to Claudius. Hamlet believes that this relationship is nothing short of incestuous and resents his mother for this. So when he sees Ophelia, he starts out by being what some may believe to be ironic or even sarcastic when he first addresses Ophelia (“Nymph, in thy orisons…”). His tone of sarcasm is inflamed when Ophelia addresses Hamlet too formally. Hamlet begins his onslaught by asking Ophelia if she is honest and if she is fair. This is Hamlet basically asking Ophelia if she is chaste as well as beautiful. This is ironic as it has been said that chastity and beauty are incompatible. Indeed Hamlet seems to state that himself which prompts Ophelia to possibly try to move the focus from herself with abstract personification (“could Beauty… with Honesty”). His onslaught reaches new heights when he tells Ophelia to get herself to a nunnery. A ‘nunnery’ is actually a convent but is also Elizabethan slang for a brothel. Hamlet insults Ophelia more by telling her that she “jigs”, “ambles” and “lisps” like all women to as to suggest that all women are promiscuous. This is quite unfair as it has never been suggested that Ophelia is promiscuous. This is basically Hamlet generalising about all women and therefore confirming himself as a misogynist. Why Hamlet is being so derogatory is probably down to the fact that he is angry with his mother, especially the fact that his mother is married to the same man who murdered his father. Therefore, Hamlet’s attitude towards women may have been tainted. Indeed this seems apparent later on in the play when Hamlet confronts his mother violently and at one point, some say, simulates rape on her. However, Hamlet may be pretending to be a misogynist as part of his possible ‘antic disposition’. Therefore, telling Ophelia to get herself to a nunnery could be a warning to her telling her that she should go away to protect her virtue. Hamlet may be implying the fact that Ophelia is open to the many sinful temptations which are in Denmark. Therefore, one can debate the fact that he may not be a misogynist.
‘Hamlet’ is a play which has been adapted into films for decades. However, when it has come to the nunnery scene, directors have repeatedly used different techniques when staging the nunnery scene. This therefore, highlights the fact that people have interpreted the themes used in the nunnery scene different ways. Therefore, I am going to analyse different films and they have been interpreted.
One production of ‘Hamlet’ which has been made is one by Laurence Olivier which was made in 1948. In the nunnery scene here, Hamlet knows right from the start that Polonius and Claudius are hiding behind a large tapestry. One should also add that Hamlet seems a bit lost and off colour, suggesting that he is mad or feigning madness. During the scene, Ophelia is tetchy and more or less gives away the fact that Hamlet is being spied on, especially when Hamlet turns the book she is apparently reading the right way round. When she is being berated by Hamlet she also glances at the tapestry, which prompts Hamlet to verbally attack Claudius and Polonius as he knows they are hiding. Hamlet is verbally violent towards Ophelia and at one point slams her face down on the stairs. This displays the harsh treatment of Ophelia and Hamlet seems to realise that he has gone too far and is much tenderer towards her after this. This can be interpreted to say that Hamlet was either feigning madness or he snapped out of his madness and became sane. One should also note the fact that the “To be or not to be” soliloquy is after the nunnery scene.
Another production of ‘Hamlet’ which was made is a Kenneth Branagh production, made in 1996. First of all, one should note that this production of ‘Hamlet’ is set in the Victorian time period. This seems deliberate as the Victorians are notorious for their corruption and debauchery and are notable for their strict public morality being used as a tool to cover up these traits. The nunnery scene itself is set in a hall of mirrors which is an absolutely perfect place for spying and all forms of deceit. Before Ophelia appears, Hamlet is talking towards a one way mirror (which is the place where Claudius and Polonius are hiding). Here he is delivering his “To be or not to be” soliloquy and seems very suicidal, which is a possible hint that Hamlet is not in a good state of mind. Nevertheless when he sees Ophelia, their greeting is quite intimate and it seems like they are very much in love. However when Ophelia offers “remembrances” which Hamlet allegedly gave to her, Hamlet’s mood switches. From here, Hamlet is very physically violent and is very suspicious of Ophelia. His suspicions are confirmed when he hears a noise and soon starts searching for Claudius and Polonius behind the one way mirrors.
Going back to the play, after the “To be or not to be” soliloquy, Hamlet is in a melancholy mood. In fact, throughout the play Hamlet is portrayed as an extremely melancholy person. The play was written in the Elizabethan times so therefore, Shakespeare may have applied the theory of the humours. The theory of the humours was a theory during the Elizabethan period saying that all humans were made up of four humours including blood which was supposed to represent sanguine i.e. light heartedness, yellow bile which is basically saying that someone is angry or ‘choleric’, phlegm which is represents calmness, in other words someone who is phlegmatic. The final humour is black bile which represents melancholia. In fact the word ‘melancholy’ means black bile as melan means black and choly means bile. So it can be said that Hamlet is naturally melancholy and so his main humour is black bile. It is possible that Shakespeare displays this by portraying Hamlet as someone who always wears black.
The word “nunnery” is an ambiguous one as it has two meanings; it is generally a convent for nuns but in the Elizabethan period (when the play was written) was slang for a brothel. So why should Ophelia go to a nunnery? It can be decided that Hamlet is telling her to go to a nunnery as people in Denmark are corrupt and so she is open to their corruption. This may be a subliminal reference to the corruption of the Elizabethan court which was rife with spying. Therefore, it could be suggested that he is trying to make Ophelia withdraw from the rest of the world in order to protect her virtue.
After the “To be or not to be” soliloquy, Hamlet is in a melancholy mood. But why? There are plenty of possible reasons such as the fact that his father has been murdered and the very person who murdered his father is now married to his mother. This may have lead to him becoming suicidal and as a result he is at a low point. Therefore, metaphorically speaking, a Molotov cocktail has been made and the nunnery scene in which Ophelia seemingly betrays Hamlet is the perfect flame which blows up Hamlets remaining strand of reason whether or not he is feigning madness. This, however, leads to clashing responses from the audience. People believe that Hamlet is mad but some believe that he was not mad but has had his sanity wiped out as a result of the nunnery scene thus commencing his derogatory rant.
I think that it is impossible to label the nunnery scene under one theme. I believe that the nunnery scene is based on a cocktail of themes which make the scene like a pinnacle moment in the play. In some cases you can say that misogyny is the most prevalent theme. The end of love has also been touched upon and so it can be said that there are different opinions on what Shakespeare has purposely used the issues from the previous scenes as a way to build up the nunnery scene’s sense of explosion, trauma, resentment and treachery.
